Micro-component transfer device and micro-component transfer method

Abstract

The present application discloses a transfer device for microcomponents and a transfer method for microcomponents, wherein the transfer device comprises: a guide member for carrying the microcomponents; a driving member for driving the microcomponents to move along the guide member; and a positioning member provided with a positioning track, the positioning track docking with the guide member, for receiving the microcomponents on the guide member and guiding the microcomponents to move from the first end of the positioning member to the second end of the positioning member. The transfer device provided by the present application can ensure that the microcomponents are accurately aligned with the substrate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of micro-component transfer, and in particular to a micro-component transfer device and a micro-component transfer method. Background Art

[0002] Micro-LED (Micro Light Emitting Diode) is a new generation of display technology with the advantages of high brightness, good luminous effect and low power consumption. Currently in the Micro-LED manufacturing process, Stamp transfer and laser transfer are the two mainstream methods for batch transfer of LED micro components. However, both of these two mainstream methods have the problem that the LED micro components are not accurately placed, easy to fall off and difficult to control. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of this, the present application provides a micro-component transfer device and a micro-component transfer method, which can improve the accuracy of the micro-component landing point.

[0004] The first aspect of the present application provides a micro-component transfer device, comprising: a guide member for carrying a micro-component; a driving member for driving the micro-component to move along the guide member; a positioning member, provided with a positioning track, the positioning track docking with the guide member, for receiving the micro-component on the guide member and guiding the micro-component to move from the first end of the positioning member to the second end of the positioning member.

[0005] The guide member includes a first horizontal portion, a second horizontal portion, and an inclined portion connecting the first horizontal portion and the second horizontal portion, wherein the micro-element is driven by the driving member to reach the second horizontal portion from the first horizontal portion through the inclined portion.

[0006] Wherein, the first end portion of the positioning member is higher than the second horizontal portion, and the second end portion is lower than the second horizontal portion.

[0007] Wherein, the first horizontal part includes: a weight monitoring unit, used to determine the weight of the micro-component; wherein, the driving member is connected to the weight monitoring unit, and is used to blow / inhale air to the micro-component according to the weight after the weight monitoring unit determines the weight of the micro-component, so as to make the micro-component move at a uniform speed along the guide member.

[0008] Wherein, the first horizontal part further includes: a transmission unit horizontally connected to the weight monitoring unit and used for transmitting the micro-component to the weight monitoring unit.

[0009] The second aspect of the present application provides a method for transferring a microcomponent, comprising: setting a positioning member and a guide member on one side of a substrate, wherein the positioning member is provided with a positioning track, and the positioning track is docked with the guide member; transferring the microcomponent to the guide member, and setting a driving member to drive the microcomponent to move along the guide member, so that the microcomponent reaches the positioning track of the positioning member after passing through the guide member, and then moves from the first end of the positioning member to the substrate under the guidance of the positioning track.

[0010] Wherein, the guide member includes a first horizontal portion, a second horizontal portion and an inclined portion connecting the first horizontal portion and the second horizontal portion; the positioning member and the guide member are arranged on one side of the substrate, including: the positioning member is arranged at the edge of the pixel pit on the substrate, and part of the positioning member is suspended in the air; the guide member is arranged on the side of the substrate where the positioning member is arranged, so that the first end portion of the positioning member is higher than the second horizontal portion, and the second end portion of the positioning member opposite to the first end portion is lower than the second horizontal portion.

[0011] Wherein, after the micro-component moves onto the substrate, the method further includes: melting the positioning member, so that the melted positioning member fixes the micro-component on the substrate after being solidified.

[0012] Among them, before melting the positioning member, it also includes: providing a bonding device, the bonding device is provided with a protruding heat-conducting member, the length of the heat-conducting member is greater than the height of the positioning member in the direction perpendicular to the substrate; placing the bonding device on the side of the substrate where the micro-component is installed, and pressing the heat-conducting member on the corresponding micro-component to heat the solder between the micro-component and the substrate, so that the micro-component is electrically connected to the substrate.

[0013] Wherein, after the micro-component moves onto the substrate, the method further includes: removing the positioning member.

[0014] The beneficial effect is: the transfer device of the present application includes a guide member for carrying a micro-component, a driving member for driving the micro-component to move along the guide member, and a positioning member provided with a positioning track docking with the guide member, wherein, after the micro-component detaches from the guide member, the positioning member can limit the micro-component, ensuring that the micro-component can fall at a predetermined position on the substrate, ensuring that the micro-component and the substrate are accurately aligned. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work. Among them:

[0016] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a process of an implementation method of a micro-component transfer method of the present application;

[0017] Figure 2 It corresponds to Figure 1 Transfer process diagram of the transfer method;

[0018] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 A schematic top view of the positioning member and the micro-component;

[0019] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the present application when a bonding device is used to bond a micro-component to a substrate;

[0020] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the micro-component and the substrate after the transfer method is completed;

[0021] Figure 6 yes Figure 2 The enlarged schematic diagram of point A in the middle;

[0022] Figure 7 It is a diagram of the preparation process of the positioning piece;

[0023] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the transfer device of the micro-component of the present application when working. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0025] See also Figures 1 to 3 In one embodiment of the present application, the method for transferring the micro-component includes:

[0026] S110 : a positioning member 1100 and a guide member 1200 are arranged on one side of the substrate 10 , wherein the positioning member 1100 is provided with a positioning track 1101 , and the positioning track 1101 is connected to the guide member 1200 .

[0027] S120: The microcomponent 20 is transferred to the guide member 1200, and a driving member 1300 is set to drive the microcomponent 20 to move along the guide member 1200, so that the microcomponent 20 reaches the positioning track 1101 of the positioning member 1100 after passing through the guide member 1200, and then moves from the first end 1110 of the positioning member 1100 to the substrate 10 under the guidance of the positioning track 1101.

[0028] In one application scenario, the substrate 10 includes a stacked TFT backplane 11 and a pixel definition layer 12, and the microcomponent 20 is a Micro-LED. Through the method of the present application, the Micro-LED can be transferred to the pixel definition layer 12, so that the Micro-LED emits light under the drive of the TFT backplane 11.

[0029] The guide member 1200 is used to carry the micro-component 20 . During the process of transferring the micro-component 20 , the micro-component 20 is first transferred to the guide member 1200 .

[0030] After the micro-component 20 is transferred to the guide member 1200, the driving member 1300 is used to drive the micro-component 20 to move along the guide member 1200. In this embodiment, the driving member 1300 is an airflow driving member, which blows dry and clean gas to the micro-component 20, or sucks air toward the micro-component 20, so that the micro-component 20 moves on the guide member 1200. The driving member 1300 is set as an airflow driving member, so that the relative movement speed between the micro-component 20 and the guide member 1200 can be adjusted by adjusting the size of the airflow generated by the driving member 1300 blowing / sucking air, thereby controlling the ease of separation of the micro-component 20 and the guide member 1200.

[0031] The positioning member 1100 includes a first end portion 1110 and a second end portion 1120 which are disposed opposite to each other. The positioning member 1100 is disposed at a predetermined position of the substrate 10 so that the second end portion 1120 abuts against the substrate 10 .

[0032] At the same time, the positioning track 1101 provided on the positioning member 1100 is docked with the guide member 1200 to receive the micro-component 20 detached from the guide member 1200 and guide the micro-component 20 to move from the first end 1110 of the positioning member 1100 to the second end 1120 so as to fall on the substrate 10.

[0033] That is to say, after the microcomponent 20 detaches from the guide member 1200, the microcomponent 20 enters the positioning track 1101 in the positioning member 1100. At this time, the positioning member 1100 can limit the microcomponent 20, thereby ensuring that the microcomponent 20 can accurately fall at the predetermined position on the substrate 10, ensuring that the microcomponent 20 and the substrate 10 are accurately aligned.

[0034] In one application scenario, in order to prevent the micro-component 20 from being damaged due to collision with the positioning member 1100 when moving along the positioning track 1101, the positioning member 1100 is made of a flexible material, for example, polyimide (PI).

[0035] In this embodiment, combined with Figure 4 After the micro-component 20 moves onto the substrate 10, the method further includes: providing a bonding device 2000, wherein the bonding device 2000 is provided with a protruding heat-conducting member 2100, wherein the length of the heat-conducting member 2100 is greater than the height of the positioning member 1100 in a direction perpendicular to the substrate 10; placing the bonding device 2000 on the side of the substrate 10 where the micro-component 20 is mounted, and pressing the heat-conducting member 2100 on the corresponding micro-component 20 to heat the solder between the micro-component 20 and the substrate 10, so that the micro-component 20 is electrically connected to the substrate 10. That is, in this embodiment, the micro-component 20 is electrically connected to the substrate 10 by means of thermocompression bonding using the bonding device 2000.

[0036] The number of the heat conducting members 2100 on the bonding device 2000 may be equal to or different from the number of the microcomponents 20 on the substrate 10. It is understood that when the number of the heat conducting members 2100 is not equal to the number of the microcomponents 20, the bonding device 2000 needs to be used multiple times to electrically connect the microcomponents 20 on the substrate 10 to the substrate 10.

[0037] In this embodiment, combined with Figure 2 and Figure 5 After the micro-component 20 and the substrate 10 are electrically connected together, the method further includes: melting the positioning member 1100 so that the melted positioning member 1100 fixes the micro-component 20 on the substrate 10 after being solidified.

[0038] Specifically, the substrate 10 is sent into a high-temperature chamber, the positioning piece 1100 is melted, and then the melted positioning piece 1100 is solidified at room temperature to fix the microcomponent 20 on the substrate 10, thereby avoiding the position of the microcomponent 20 from being offset in subsequent processes.

[0039] It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, melting of the positioning member 1100 occurs after thermocompression bonding is performed using the bonding device 2000 , but in other embodiments, melting of the positioning member 1100 may also occur before thermocompression bonding is performed using the bonding device 2000 .

[0040] In this embodiment, combined with Figure 2 and Figure 6, a pixel pit 101 is provided on the substrate 10, and the micro-component 20 finally falls into the pixel pit 101 under the guidance of the positioning piece 1100. In order to ensure that the melted positioning piece 1100 can flow into the pixel pit 101, when the positioning piece 1100 is provided on one side of the substrate 10, the positioning piece 1100 is provided at the edge of the pixel pit 101, and part of the positioning piece 1100 is suspended in the air. This arrangement allows the positioning piece 1100 to flow into the pixel pit 101 under the action of gravity and the tilt support force during the melting process.

[0041] In one application scenario, in order to further ensure that the melted positioning member 1100 can flow into the pixel pit 101, more than half of the positioning member 1100 is set to be in a suspended state.

[0042] When the micro-component 20 is a Micro-LED, in order to prevent the melted positioning member 1100 from affecting the light-emitting surface of the micro-component 20, when the positioning member 1100 is arranged on the substrate 10, the volume of the positioning member 1100 needs to be controlled to ensure that the height of the positioning member 1100 does not exceed the height of the micro-component 20 after being melted and solidified. Figure 5 shown.

[0043] In this embodiment, combined with Figure 7 The step of setting the positioning member 1100 on the substrate 10 includes: forming a material layer 13 on one side of the substrate 10, and then patterning the material layer 13 to obtain the positioning member 1100.

[0044] At this time, after the micro-component 20 falls on the substrate 10, in addition to melting the positioning member 1100 to fix the micro-component 20 on the substrate 10, the positioning member 1100 can also be removed from the substrate 10 by methods such as mechanical cutting and chemical etching.

[0045] In other embodiments, the step of disposing the positioning member 1100 on the substrate 10 includes: disposing the pre-prepared positioning member 1100 on the substrate 10 .

[0046] Specifically, the positioning member 1100 has been prepared in advance. When it is necessary to set the positioning member 1100 on the substrate 10, the positioning member 1100 is directly fixed on the substrate 10. The fixing method can be fixed by an adhesive, or a slot can be set on the substrate 10, and one end of the positioning member 1100 is set in the slot to achieve the fixing purpose.

[0047] At this time, after the microcomponent 20 falls on the substrate 10, in addition to melting the positioning piece 1100 to fix the microcomponent 20 on the substrate 10, the microcomponent 20 can also be removed by a destructive method or a non-destructive method, wherein the destructive method includes mechanical cutting or chemical corrosion of the positioning piece 1100, and the non-destructive method includes using external force to remove the positioning piece 1100 from the slot on the substrate 10, or using laser irradiation and other methods to reduce the stickiness between the positioning piece 1100 and the substrate 10, and then removing the positioning piece 1100 from the substrate 10.

[0048] It is understandable that after the positioning member 1100 is removed from the substrate 10 using a non-destructive method, the positioning member 1100 can be used repeatedly.

[0049] Continue reading Figure 2 In this embodiment, in order to ensure that the micro-component 20 can reach the substrate 10 in a horizontal state, the guide member 1200 includes a first horizontal portion 1210, a second horizontal portion 1220, and an inclined portion 1230 connecting the first horizontal portion 1210 and the second horizontal portion 1220. The micro-component 20, driven by the driving member 1300, passes through the inclined portion 1230 from the first horizontal portion 1210 to the second horizontal portion 1230. In order to ensure the smooth transfer of the micro-component 20, the surfaces of the first horizontal portion 1210, the second horizontal portion 1220, and the inclined portion 1230 are all flat surfaces, and the airflow generated by the driving member 1300 blowing / sucking air to the micro-component 20 is parallel to the surface of the inclined portion 1230.

[0050] In this embodiment, combined with Figure 2 In order to reduce energy consumption, the first horizontal portion 1210 of the guide member 1200 is set higher than the second horizontal portion 1220, so that the micro-component 20 can also be driven by its own gravity to move on the guide member 1200. It should be noted that in other embodiments, the height of the first horizontal portion 1210 can be equal to the height of the second horizontal portion 1220, or the first horizontal portion 1210 can also be lower than the second horizontal portion 1220.

[0051] Continue to combine Figure 2 In order to ensure that the micro-component 20 can be received by the positioning member 1100 after being separated from the guide member 1200, when the guide member 1200 is set, the second horizontal portion 1220 of the guide member 1200 is set lower than the first end portion 1110 of the positioning member 1100 and higher than the second end portion 1120 of the positioning member 1100. At this time, after the micro-component 20 is separated from the guide member 1200, it will inevitably be blocked by the positioning member 1100 in the forward direction, so as to achieve the purpose of being received by the positioning member 1100.

[0052] Among them, continue to combine Figure 2, the first horizontal portion 1210 of the guide member 1200 includes a weight monitoring unit 1211 and a conveying unit 1212 .

[0053] The weight monitoring unit 1211 is used to determine the weight of the micro-component 20, and the driving member 1300 is connected to the weight monitoring unit 1211, and is used to blow / inhale air to the micro-component 20 according to the weight after the weight monitoring unit 1211 determines the weight of the micro-component 20, so that the micro-component 20 moves at a uniform speed along the guide member 1200.

[0054] Specifically, after the weight monitoring unit 1211 obtains the weight of the micro-component 20, the driving member 1300 determines the size of the airflow generated by blowing or inhaling according to the weight of the micro-component 20, so that the micro-component 20 is in a state of force balance on the guide member 1200, thereby making the micro-component 20 move at a uniform speed on the guide member 1200. It can be understood that for the same micro-component 20, the airflow generated by blowing or inhaling by the driving member 1300 is a constant airflow.

[0055] It should be noted that in other embodiments, the weight monitoring unit 1211 may not be provided to obtain the weight of the microcomponent 20. Instead, the microcomponents 20 of the same batch are deemed to have equal weights, and the weights of the microcomponents 20 are sent to the driving member 1300 in advance before the microcomponents 20 of the same batch are transferred.

[0056] The conveying unit 1212 is horizontally connected to the weight monitoring unit 1211, and is used to convey the micro-component 20 to the weight monitoring unit 1211. The conveying unit 1212 includes but is not limited to a conveyor belt, a conveyor track, and the like.

[0057] In order to better understand the transfer method of the present application, Figure 2 , Figure 3 as well as Figure 4 , the transfer method of this application is introduced in detail:

[0058] First, the transport unit 1212 transports the micro-component 20 to the weight monitoring unit 1211 , and then the weight monitoring unit 1211 obtains the weight of the micro-component 20 . Then, the driving member 1300 determines the size of the airflow generated by blowing or inhaling according to the weight of the micro-component 20 .

[0059] Then the driving member 1300 blows or sucks air toward the micro-component 20, so that the micro-component 20 passes through the inclined portion 1230 at a constant speed from the first horizontal portion 1210 of the guide member 1200 to the second horizontal portion 1220. Then, after reaching the second horizontal portion 1220, the micro-component 20 detaches from the second horizontal portion 1220 at a certain speed.

[0060] Then, the micro-component 20 separated from the second horizontal portion 1220 enters the positioning track 1101 in the positioning member 1100 , and reaches the substrate 10 along the positioning track 1101 .

[0061] Then, the micro-component 20 is electrically connected to the substrate 10 by means of thermocompression bonding using the bonding device 2000 .

[0062] Finally, the substrate 10 is sent into a high-temperature chamber to melt the positioning piece 1100 , and after the melted positioning piece 1100 is solidified, the micro-component 20 is fixed on the substrate 10 .

[0063] See also Figure 8 The present application also protects a transfer device 3000, which includes a positioning member 3100, a guide member 3200 and a driving member 3300, wherein the positioning member 3100 is the same as the positioning member 1100 in the above embodiment, the guide member 3200 is the same as the guide member 1200 in the above embodiment, and the driving member 3300 is the same as the driving member 1300 in the above embodiment. For details, please refer to the above embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0064] The above description is only an implementation method of the present application, and does not limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present application specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly used in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A micro-component transfer device, characterized in that: include: A guide member for carrying the microcomponent; A driving member, used for driving the micro-element to move along the guide member; A positioning member, provided with a positioning track, the positioning track is docked with the guide member, and is used to receive the micro-component on the guide member and guide the micro-component to move from the first end of the positioning member to the second end of the positioning member; The guide member includes a first horizontal portion, a second horizontal portion, and an inclined portion connecting the first horizontal portion and the second horizontal portion, wherein the micro-element is driven by the driving member to pass through the inclined portion from the first horizontal portion to the second horizontal portion; The first horizontal portion comprises: a weight monitoring unit for determining the weight of the micro-component; The driving member is connected to the weight monitoring unit and is used to blow / inhale air to the micro-component according to the weight after the weight monitoring unit determines the weight of the micro-component, so as to make the micro-component move at a uniform speed along the guide member.

2. The transfer device according to claim 1, characterized in that The first end of the positioning member is higher than the second horizontal portion, and the second end is lower than the second horizontal portion.

3. The transfer device according to claim 1, characterized in that The first horizontal portion further comprises: The conveying unit is horizontally connected to the weight monitoring unit and is used to convey the micro-component to the weight monitoring unit.

4. A method for transferring a micro-component, characterized in that: The method comprises: A positioning member and a guide member are arranged on one side of the substrate, wherein the positioning member is provided with a positioning track, and the positioning track is connected to the guide member; The micro-component is transferred to the guide member, and a driving member is provided to drive the micro-component to move along the guide member, so that the micro-component reaches the positioning track of the positioning member after passing through the guide member, and then moves from the first end of the positioning member to the substrate under the guidance of the positioning track; wherein the guide member includes a first horizontal portion, a second horizontal portion, and an inclined portion connecting the first horizontal portion and the second horizontal portion; The positioning member and the guide member are arranged on one side of the substrate, including: The positioning member is arranged at the edge of the pixel pit on the substrate, and a part of the positioning member is suspended in the air; The guide member is disposed on one side of the substrate where the positioning member is disposed, so that the first end of the positioning member is higher than the second horizontal portion, and the second end of the positioning member opposite to the first end is lower than the second horizontal portion.

5. The transfer method according to claim 4, characterized in that: After the micro-component moves onto the substrate, the method further comprises: The positioning piece is melted so that the melted positioning piece fixes the micro-component on the substrate after being solidified.

6. The transfer method according to claim 5, characterized in that: Before melting the positioning piece, the method further comprises: Providing a bonding device, wherein the bonding device is provided with a protruding heat-conducting member, wherein the length of the heat-conducting member is greater than the height of the positioning member in a direction perpendicular to the substrate; The bonding device is placed on the side of the substrate where the microcomponent is mounted, and the heat conductive member is pressed onto the corresponding microcomponent to heat the solder between the microcomponent and the substrate, so that the microcomponent is electrically connected to the substrate.

7. The transfer method according to claim 4, characterized in that: After the micro-component moves onto the substrate, the method further comprises: The retaining member is removed.

Images