Digital printer

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to digital printing of high aspect ratio features. Digital printers and printing methods are provided for transferring digitally predefined paste patterns onto a receiving substrate mounted on a movable platform to create printed elements, such as lines, bumps and / or pillars, having high aspect ratios. The printing paste is filled into the pits in the source substrate and transferred voxel-by-voxel onto the receiving substrate according to the paste pattern using focused illumination. Movement of the source substrate and / or the illumination source and / or the receiving substrate is controlled to form a paste pattern defined with respect to voxel position, vertical position, optionally paste type, and shape and size with respect to the dimples to form precise and stable elements with high aspect ratios. These movements are programmable to generate a digitally predefined paste pattern using one or more source substrates having dimples filled with one or more types of paste.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of digital printing, and more particularly to digital printing of components with high aspect ratios. Background Art

[0002] Printing conductive features on a receiving substrate typically involves applying a high viscosity metal paste based on silver, copper or other metal powders combined with a liquid organic component.

[0003] Digital printing of high aspect ratio (HAR) features requires ensuring non-contact printing of multiple layers, which is achieved by depositing metal paste onto a receiving substrate layer by layer. This process is called wet-on-wet printing because the printed paste on the receiving substrate is wet before the substrate with the printed pattern undergoes a thermal treatment for drying and sintering / curing the paste. Therefore, common methods for metal paste printing include screen (or stencil) printing (SP), which involves applying physical contact of a screen or stencil through which the metal paste is squeezed onto the receiving substrate, which is not useful for printing metal features with high aspect ratios.

[0004] Other methods, such as laser induced forward transfer (LIFT), are used to print metals and other materials by applying a focused high-power pulsed laser beam to ablate small pieces of film from surrounding films on a transparent source substrate to a receiving substrate. This method suffers from relatively low print resolution, extensive debris formation around printed features, and inefficient use of expensive metal pastes, since a significant portion of the paste remains on the source substrate after printing.

[0005] U.S. Patent No. 9,616,524 (which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) teaches a non-contact method for depositing a material on a receiving substrate, the method (referred to as pattern transfer printing - PTP) comprising: providing a source substrate with a specific pattern of a source coating material - a metal paste having a rear surface and a front surface, the rear surface carrying at least one piece of the coating material; providing a receiving substrate positioned adjacent to the source substrate and facing the coating material; and radiating light to the front surface of the source substrate to remove at least one piece of the coating material from the source substrate, and depositing the removed at least one piece as a whole onto the receiving substrate.

[0006] U.S. Patent No. 9,970,141 (which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) teaches an apparatus and method for printing high aspect ratio and / or specific vertical geometric patterns. The apparatus operates in a multi-pass printing mode and includes one or more slurry dispensing mechanisms configured to dispense a high viscosity slurry to form a pattern on a substrate.

[0007] Therefore, there is a need for printing programmable patterns including elements having high aspect ratios and, therefore, a need for digital printers for printing such programmable patterns. Utility Model Content

[0008] The following is a brief summary to provide an initial understanding of the utility model. This summary does not necessarily identify key elements, nor does it limit the scope of the utility model, but only serves as an introduction to the following description.

[0009] One aspect of the utility model provides a digital printer, which is configured to transfer a digitally predefined slurry pattern to a receiving substrate, which is mounted on a movable platform via a chuck, and the digital printer includes: a source substrate, which includes a plurality of pits that can be filled with slurry (for example, by a slurry filling module); an illumination source, which is configured to illuminate the source substrate by illumination; and a controller, which is configured to: move the platform with the receiving substrate according to the voxel position defined by the slurry pattern, move the illumination source and / or the source substrate to position the corresponding pit filled with slurry above the voxel position, and release the slurry from the pit to the voxel position on the receiving substrate by illumination from the illumination source.

[0010] One aspect of the utility model provides a digital printer, which is configured to transfer a digitally predefined slurry pattern to a receiving substrate, which is mounted on a movable platform via a chuck, and the digital printer comprises: a source substrate, which comprises a plurality of pits that can be filled with slurry; and an illumination source, which is configured to illuminate the source substrate by illumination, wherein the platform is movable to move the receiving substrate according to a voxel position defined by the slurry pattern, the illumination source and / or the source substrate is movable to position a corresponding pit filled with slurry above the voxel position, and the digital printer is also configured to release the slurry from the pit to the voxel position on the receiving substrate by illumination from the illumination source.

[0011] One aspect of the utility model provides a digital printing method of a predefined slurry pattern, the method comprising: moving a platform supporting a receiving substrate according to a voxel position defined by the slurry pattern, moving an illumination source and / or a source substrate comprising a plurality of pits that can be filled with slurry to position the corresponding pits filled with slurry above the voxel position, and releasing the slurry from the pits to the voxel position on the receiving substrate by illumination from the illumination source, wherein the steps of moving the platform, moving the illumination source and / or the source substrate, and releasing the slurry are repeated until the predefined slurry pattern is transferred to the receiving substrate.

[0012] One aspect of the utility model provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a program is stored, wherein the program enables a computer to execute the digital printing method according to the present application.

[0013] The disclosed digital printer and digital printing method enable printing of programmable patterns including elements with high aspect ratios - slurry voxels are deposited one by one from a source substrate and according to a slurry pattern to produce high aspect ratio elements in a desired conductive pattern.

[0014] These, additional and / or other aspects and / or advantages of the present invention are set forth in the following detailed description; may be inferred from the detailed description; and / or may be learned through practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to better understand the embodiments of the present invention and to show how the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings by way of example only, in which like reference numerals always indicate corresponding elements or parts. In the drawings:

[0016] Figure 1A , Figure 2A and Figure 2B is a high-level schematic illustration of a digital printer according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 1B and Figure 2C is a high-level schematic illustration of a source substrate used in a digital printer according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0018] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C is a high level schematic example for depositing various elements having a high aspect ratio (HAR) using a disclosed digital printer, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 4A and Figure 4B is a high-level flow chart illustrating a digital printing method according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 5 is a high-level block diagram of an exemplary controller that may be used with embodiments of the present invention.

[0021] It should be understood that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, the elements shown in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, for clarity, the size of some of the elements may be enlarged relative to other elements. In addition, reference numerals may be repeated in the drawings to indicate corresponding or similar elements where deemed appropriate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In the following description, various aspects of the utility model are described. For the purpose of illustration, specific constructions and details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the utility model. However, it is also obvious to those skilled in the art that the utility model can be practiced without the specific details presented herein. In addition, in order not to obscure the utility model, well-known features may have been omitted or simplified. With specific reference to the accompanying drawings, it is emphasized that the details shown are exemplary and are only for the purpose of illustrative discussion of the utility model, and are presented in order to provide the most useful and most easily understood description of the principles and concepts of the utility model. In this regard, there is no attempt to show the structural details of the utility model in a more detailed manner than is necessary for a basic understanding of the utility model, and the description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings makes it obvious to those skilled in the art how several forms of the utility model can be embodied in practice.

[0023] Before explaining at least one embodiment of the utility model in detail, it should be understood that the utility model is not limited to the details of the construction and the arrangement of the parts set forth in the following description or shown in the drawings in its application. The utility model is applicable to other embodiments that can be practiced or executed in various ways and the combination of the disclosed embodiments. In addition, it should be understood that the words and terms used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be considered as limiting.

[0024] Unless otherwise specifically noted, as will be apparent from the following discussion, it should be understood that throughout the specification, discussions utilizing terms such as "process," "compute," "calculate," "determine," "enhance," "derive," etc. refer to the actions and / or processes of a computer or computing system or similar electronic computing device that manipulate data represented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within the computing system's registers and / or memories and / or transform that data into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computing system's memories, registers, or other such information storage devices, transmission, or display devices.

[0025] Some embodiments of the present invention provide efficient and economical methods and mechanisms for printing components with high aspect ratios, and thereby provide improvements in the field of slurry printing technology.

[0026] To this end, the present application provides a digital printer, which is configured to transfer a digitally predefined slurry pattern onto a receiving substrate, which is mounted on a movable platform via a chuck, and the digital printer includes: a source substrate, which includes a plurality of pits that can be filled with slurry; and an illumination source, which is configured to illuminate the source substrate by illumination, wherein the platform is movable to move the receiving substrate according to the voxel position defined by the slurry pattern, the illumination source and / or the source substrate are movable to position the corresponding pit filled with slurry above the voxel position, and the digital printer is also configured to release the slurry from the pit to the voxel position on the receiving substrate by illumination from the illumination source.

[0027] The functions of the digital printer described above (eg, the functions of the source substrate and the illumination source) may be implemented by a controller in the digital printer, or may be implemented by hardware configurations of various components of the digital printer.

[0028] In the present application, the digital printer can be configured to generate a digital predefined slurry pattern using one or more source substrates by specifying a platform with a receiving substrate and movement of an illumination source and / or source substrate relative to the predefined slurry pattern. For example, such configuration can be implemented by programming.

[0029] A digital printer and printing method are provided for transferring a digitally predefined slurry pattern to a receiving substrate mounted on a movable platform to obtain a printed element with a high aspect ratio, such as a line, a bump and / or a column. The printing slurry is filled into a pit in a source substrate and transferred to a receiving substrate voxel by voxel using focused illumination according to the slurry pattern. The movement of the source substrate and / or the illumination source and / or the receiving substrate is controlled to form a slurry pattern, which is defined relative to the voxel position, the vertical position, the optional slurry type, and the shape and size of the pit - to form an accurate and stable element with a high aspect ratio. The movement is programmable to generate a digitally predefined slurry pattern using one or more source substrates having pits filled with one or more types of slurry. Programming can be performed by defining the slurry pattern in a digital software file, which includes graphic information input to a computer or controller of the printer.

[0030] Advantageously, the disclosed embodiments enable non-contact multi-layer printing of high viscosity slurries on a receiving substrate in a manner in which the print pattern in each layer can be configured solely through system software, thereby enabling digital printing, overcoming limitations of other high-quality printing methods such as SP and PTP. The slurry print pattern is defined in a digital and programmable manner - enabling computer-based designs to be directly implemented through the disclosed systems and methods without the need for intermediate physical patterning (e.g., in the form of a template or screen). In addition, the disclosed embodiments enable high-quality, high-resolution, and slurry-saving digital printing of high-aspect ratio features, which may involve different types of slurries - overcoming limitations of other methods such as LIFT. Specifically, the disclosed embodiments enable digital printing of high-resolution and high-aspect ratio conductive features using standard metal slurries, which may include printed features composed of different metal slurries. Non-limiting examples of features that can be manufactured by the disclosed 3D printer and method include: (i) high aspect ratio bumps for interconnects in semiconductor device assembly and packaging; (ii) high resolution conductors on glass substrates for flat panel displays, smart phones, touch screens, and other applications; (iii) high resolution and high aspect ratio solder arrays for micro-LEDs, etc.

[0031] Various embodiments of digital printing of high aspect ratio (HAR) features on a receiving substrate are based on the use of a transparent source substrate including a plurality of pits filled with a metal paste (referred to as paste voxels). The size and shape of the pits are predefined according to the required shape and resolution of the printed pattern on the receiving substrate. In operation, the paste voxels are irradiated (e.g., one by one according to a predetermined sequence) by a high-power pulsed laser beam, so that the paste voxels are deposited according to a digitally predefined paste pattern or a specified paste and released toward a receiving substrate located near the source substrate. The receiving substrate can be moved by a programmable x, y, z stage so as to create a specified x, y, z pattern in each printed layer during printing, and to create a specified z gap between the source substrate and the receiving substrate. The print voxel configuration (e.g., the number of voxels, their size and shape, location, and type of paste) can be predefined by the source substrate pattern. Optionally, if desired, during printing, the emptied pits in the source substrate can be continuously or periodically refilled with paste to achieve continuous production of paste patterns on one or more receiving substrates.

[0032] Advantageously, the disclosed embodiments not only enable printing elements with high aspect ratios, but are also very flexible in providing printable voxels that can be deposited according to a slurry patterning software program, substantially regardless of the pattern of pits on the source material, or even regardless of the shape of the source material. Furthermore and advantageously, while current SP and PTP technologies produce elements with aspect ratios (the ratio between the height and width of the element) of ≤ 1, the disclosed embodiments are implemented to enable printing elements with aspect ratios up to 3 and 4. Depending on the alignment accuracy and the slurry viscosity, the aspect ratios achieved by the disclosed digital printing can reach even higher values, such as 5 or 6.

[0033] Figure 1A , Figure 2A and Figure 2B is a high-level schematic illustration of a digital printer 100 according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 1B and Figure 2C is a high-level schematic illustration of a source substrate 110 used in a digital printer 100 according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 1A is a side view, and Figure 2A and Figure 2B It is a perspective side view. Figure 1B The source substrate 110 shown in FIG. Figure 1A FIG. 1 is a top view of a source substrate 110 used in a digital printer 100, and FIG. Figure 2C The source substrate 110 shown in FIG. Figure 2A and Figure 2B 1 is a side view of a source substrate 110 used in a digital printer 100 shown in FIG. Figure 2C Also schematically illustrated is the deposition of slurry 130 from the recesses 125 by the illumination beam 95 , and the refilling of the slurry 130 into the emptied recesses 125 by the slurry filling unit 140 , as disclosed herein.

[0034] The digital printer 100 includes an illumination source 90, such as a pulsed laser, a flash lamp, or one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs), that radiates a beam 95 that can be focused onto a specified location on a source substrate 110, the source substrate 110 including a plurality of wells 125 that can be filled (e.g., by a slurry filling module) and filled with a slurry 130, such as various types of printing slurries, in operation. The digital printer 100 is configured to transfer a digitally predefined slurry pattern onto a receiving substrate 85, which is mounted and clamped on a vacuum chuck 82 on a movable platform 80 (e.g., movable along the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis) and is located near the source substrate 110 (e.g., with a gap of tens of micrometers to hundreds of micrometers, such as 10 μm to 50 μm, 50 μm to 100 μm, 100 μm to 500 μm, or intermediate values ​​or intermediate ranges). The one or more controllers 105 of the digital printer 100 are configured to move the platform 80 with the receiving substrate 85 according to the voxel position 87 defined by the slurry pattern, move the illumination source 90 with its illumination beam 95 and / or the source substrate 110 to position the corresponding recess 125 filled with the slurry 130 above the voxel position 87, and release the slurry 130 from the recess 125 to the voxel position 87 on the receiving substrate 85 by the illumination 95 from the illumination source 90 ( Figure 1A Schematically indicated by arrows).

[0035] In various embodiments, the illumination source 90 and the light beam 95 may be movable relative to the source substrate 110 and / or the source substrate 110 may be movable relative to the illumination source 90 or the light beam 95 .

[0036] In various embodiments, the source substrate 110 may include Figure 1A and Figure 1B 10 (e.g., a glass disk having dimples 125 positioned along one or more rings arranged concentrically about mounting hole 112 of disk-shaped source substrate 110). For example, illumination source 90 and light beam 95 may be stationary, while disk-shaped source substrate 110 may be rotated (e.g., by rotation motor 144, about rotation axis 115) to move dimples 125 filled with slurry to the location of laser beam 95. In some embodiments, a plurality of concentric circles of dimples ( Figure 1B ), and the illumination source 90 and / or the light beam 95 may be moved from one circle to another. The emptied pits 125 may be continuously (or intermittently) refilled during the rotation of the disc, for example, by Figure 1A The slurry filling head 140 schematically shown in FIG. Figure 2C, where filling some or all of the wells 125 can be completed in one filling stroke). One or more controllers 105 can control the rotation of the disk, such as by controlling the rotation motor 144 to control the rotation of the disk, and control the refilling of the wells 125 with slurry, such as by controlling the slurry filling head 140 to control the refilling of the wells 125 with slurry. In various embodiments, emptying the wells 125 and refilling the wells 125 with slurry can be configured to keep most or all of the slurry 130 in the wells 125 at similar freshness (e.g., to prevent different degrees of drying), which can help control the ability to deposit and help the uniformity of the deposited elements. In various embodiments, the voxel and well shapes can vary, for example, having a trapezoidal, triangular or rectangular profile (longitudinal cross-section), a square or circular cross-section, or having other volumetric shapes.

[0037] In various embodiments, the source substrate 110 may include FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C 125 . For example, the matrix-shaped source substrate 110 can be stationary, while the illumination source 90 and / or the light beam 95 can be applied to a specific pit 125, for example, by a (schematically shown) 2D laser scanner 92, such as a galvanometer (galvo) scanner. The slurry filling head 140 can include a filling mechanism, such as a scraper-type filling mechanism, that fills all pits 125 in one stroke, such as after all slurry voxels are printed (after slurry 130 from all pits 125 is released). Advantageously, scanning the illumination beam 95 onto the pit 125 for releasing the slurry 130 can be performed very quickly and accurately by the laser scanner 92. In various embodiments, the voxel and pit shapes can vary, for example, including any of a full cone or truncated cone, a parallelogram (in cross section) or a prism, a cylinder, a full pyramid or truncated pyramid, a cube, a cross, a hexagonal prism, etc.

[0038] In various embodiments, the recesses 125 of the source substrate 110 may be filled with different types of slurries 130A, 130B (e.g., Figure 2B130B, and / or different pits 125 on one or more source substrates 110 may be filled with different types of paste, which are selectively and controllably released onto the receiving substrate 85 with respect to the paste type and the paste pattern. Note that the digitally predefined paste pattern may define one, two, three or more levels of paste deposition at each voxel location 87, and define each deposition of each type of paste (either the same or different from other depositions at the same voxel location 87). The deposition of each pit content forms a voxel of a print element, and multiple voxels (each voxel corresponding to the paste released from the corresponding pit) may be printed at the same voxel location, one voxel above another).

[0039] Note that multi-material HAR structures can be printed in the same printing process by using different slurries in two ways: (i) by using a plurality of, for example, two or more print heads, each print head comprising an illumination source 90 and a source substrate 110, and the platform 80 moves the receiving substrate 85 to the corresponding print head according to a predefined slurry pattern; or (ii) by using a single illumination source 90 and multiple source substrates 110 and / or multiple segments on one source substrate 110, the multiple segments being filled with different slurries. For example, the source substrate 110 can include two segments 110A, 110B, each segment being filled with a different slurry 130A, 130B, respectively, wherein the laser scanner 92 moves the laser beam 95 to each segment.

[0040] The digital printer 100 may be programmable to generate a predefined paste pattern using one or more source substrates 110 by specifying movement of the platform 80, receiving substrate 85, and illumination source 90 and / or source substrate 110 relative to the predefined paste pattern. Programming may be performed by defining the paste pattern in a digital software file that includes graphical information that is input to a computer or controller 105 of the printer.

[0041] Different types of slurries may be used to fill (and / or refill) the recesses 125 of the source substrate 110 , for example, as used in SP or PTP, as long as the slurry can be released from the recesses 125 upon illumination, as disclosed herein.

[0042] For example, the paste may include various high viscosity thixotropic metal pastes based on metal particles combined with organic binders and additives, such as compositions of silver and / or silver epoxy pastes, possibly with various additives, compositions of other metals and / or metal-epoxy pastes, and compositions of metal pastes including nanoparticles.

[0043] The slurry 130 can be filled into the recesses 125 by various methods, for example, using a doctor blade method, which includes moving a roll of slurry along the source substrate 110 by a squeegee, wherein the viscosity of the shear stress (thixotropic) slurry is reduced under the squeegee, thereby allowing the slurry to penetrate into the recesses 125. Typically, the doctor blade slurry filling method is applied with a squeegee over the surface of the screen / stencil in SP or the tape in PTP (such as the source substrate 110). Alternatively, the slurry 130 can be filled into the recesses 125 by the method taught in Israel Patent Application No. 294,060, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, for example, dispensing the slurry from a closed pressurized filling head onto the surface of the source substrate 110 through a narrow gap above or below the filling surface.

[0044] Optionally, if desired, during printing, the emptied recesses 125 in the source substrate 110 may be continuously or periodically refilled with slurry 130 in order to enable continuous production of slurry patterns on one or more receiving substrates 85. The disclosed digital printer 100 may also include (one or more) corresponding slurry filling units 140 (shown in a highly schematic manner).

[0045] The slurry 130 may absorb the applied laser radiation, and / or the slurry 130 may be transparent and include a light absorbing component, or may include an additional light absorbing release layer, as taught, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023 / 0129519, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In some embodiments, the slurry 130 may be multi-layered to enable the use and release of (one or more) stacks of different materials in some or all of the pits 125, as taught, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023 / 0207720, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0046] After deposition on the receiving substrate 85, for example after printing a predefined paste pattern, the paste may be subjected to a heat treatment for sintering or curing the printed material.

[0047] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C is a high level schematic example for depositing various elements having a high aspect ratio (HAR) using the disclosed digital printer 100 according to some embodiments of the present invention. According to various embodiments of the present invention, Figure 3A The deposition of HAR lines 132 is schematically shown, Figure 3B schematically illustrates depositing HAR bumps 134, and Figure 3C Deposition of the HAR tip 136 is schematically shown. FIG. 3A to FIG. 3CEach figure in [the patent] includes a side view and a top view schematic illustration of a portion of a source substrate 110 having a pit 125 and a portion of a receiving substrate 85 having a slurry 130 deposited thereon from the pit 125 and forming elements 132, 134, 136, respectively.

[0048] In a non-limiting example, the pit 125 on the source substrate 110 can be shaped as a frustum pyramid having a square or rectangular coverage area (e.g., see Figure 3A , the outer dimension A can range between 10 μm and 50 μm, the inner dimension a can range between 5 μm and 40 μm (a < A), and the height h can range between 5 μm and 30 μm), or as a frustum cone having a circular (or elliptical) coverage area (e.g., see Figure 3B and Figure 3C , the outer diameter D can range between 10 μm and 50 μm, the inner diameter d can range between 5 μm and 40 μm (d < D), and the height h can range between 5 μm and 30 μm).

[0049] In some embodiments, the pits 125 can have the same size (e.g., see Figure 3A and Figure 3B ), and can be used to deposit a linear element 132 including a slurry 130 from multiple pits (e.g., see Figure 3A ), where the linear element 132 can be multi-layered and have a high aspect ratio.

[0050] In various embodiments, the pit 125 can be used to deposit a bump 134 as a column element or a post element with a high aspect ratio.

[0051] In some embodiments, the pits 125 can have different sizes (e.g., see Figure 3C , denoted as 125C, 125D, 125E to specify different sizes), and can be used to deposit a tapered element 136 (e.g., a tip) with a high aspect ratio - respectively including slurry voxels 130C, 130D, 130E having different volumes. For example, the outer diameters D1, D2, D3, etc. can each range between 10 μm and 50 μm, the inner diameters d1, d2, d3, etc. can each range between 0 μm and 40 μm (d1 < D1, d2 < D2, d3 < D3, where a zero value assumes a tip end), and the height h can range between 5 μm and 30 μm.

[0052] Note that depending on the configuration of the source substrate 110 and the printing device for the pits 125 used to form the slurry pattern, pits 125 having the same shape but varying coverage areas (e.g., pits 125C, 125D, 125E) to be used in different layers can be adjacent or spaced on the source substrate 110.

[0053] like Figure 3C Surface tension acting on the wet deposited slurry voxels 130C, 130D, 130E can smooth the edges of the deposited layer to form a smooth tip 136. The slurry properties and deposition time can be configured to provide a specified level of smoothing.

[0054] The paste pattern may include different types of features, which may be made from the same or different types of paste, to produce useful circuits or portions thereof, particularly circuits or portions thereof having high aspect ratios.

[0055] Figure 4A and Figure 4B is a high-level flow chart illustrating a digital printing method 200 according to some embodiments of the present invention. The method stages may be performed for the digital printer 100 described above, which may optionally be configured to implement the method 200. The method 200 may be implemented at least in part by at least one computer processor in, for example, the controller(s) 105 of the digital printer 100. Certain embodiments include a computer program product including a computer-readable storage medium having a computer-readable program contained therein and configured to perform the relevant stages of the method 200. The method 200 may include the following stages, regardless of their order.

[0056] The digital printing method 200 includes digitally printing a paste pattern on a receiving substrate, for example in a programmable manner (stage 205). The method 200 may include, for example as a preparatory stage, digitally defining the paste pattern with respect to voxel positions, vertical positions at voxel positions, shapes and sizes of individual pits and / or with respect to different types of pastes (stage 207), or a predefined pattern of paste deposition may be provided as a specification, which may optionally be adjusted to be performed by the printing method 200. The method 200 may also include, for example as a preparatory stage, filling the pits with one or more types of pastes and / or refilling the pits of the source substrate with paste when necessary (stage 270). For example, during printing, the emptied pits in the source substrate may be refilled with paste continuously or periodically to enable continuous manufacturing of paste patterns on one or more receiving substrates.

[0057] The digital printing method 200 includes moving a stage supporting a receiving substrate according to a voxel position defined by a slurry pattern (stage 210), moving an illumination source and / or a source substrate including a plurality of pits that can be filled with slurry (e.g., by a slurry filling module) to position a corresponding pit filled with slurry over the voxel position (stage 220), and releasing the slurry from the pit to the voxel position on the receiving substrate by illumination from the illumination source (stage 250), wherein the steps of moving the stage, moving the illumination source and / or the source substrate, and releasing the slurry are repeated until the predefined slurry pattern is transferred to the receiving substrate. The digital printing method 200 may include focusing the illumination beam on the source substrate (stage 248). The digital printing method 200 may include repeatedly depositing onto the voxel position pit by pit according to the slurry pattern (stage 260), possibly depositing an element made of slurry from a plurality of pits to achieve a high aspect ratio (stage 262). The digital printing method 200 may include using pits having the same size to deposit high aspect ratio multi-layered elements, such as lines, bumps, and / or pillars composed of slurry from multiple pits (stage 264). The high aspect ratio of the element can be achieved by printing multiple layers of voxels at the same voxel position (one voxel on top of another voxel).

[0058] In various embodiments, the digital printing method 200 may include moving the illumination source relative to the source substrate and / or moving the source substrate relative to the illumination source (stage 220). The method 200 may also include positioning the source substrate adjacent to the receiving substrate (stage 222), for example with a gap of tens to hundreds of microns, for example 10 μm to 50 μm, 50 μm to 100 μm, 100 μm to 500 μm, or intermediate values ​​or intermediate ranges.

[0059] The digital printing method 200 can be programmed to generate a digital predefined slurry pattern using one or more source substrates by specifying a platform with a receiving substrate and movement of an illumination source and / or source substrate relative to the predefined slurry pattern (stage 225). The predefined slurry pattern can define one, two, three or more levels of slurry deposition at each voxel location, and each deposition can include a corresponding type of slurry (same or different than other depositions at the same voxel location). The deposition of each pit content forms a voxel of a printing element.

[0060] In various implementations, the source substrate may include a disk having circularly arranged pits, and the digital printing method 200 may include rotating the disk-shaped source substrate to position corresponding filled pits over respective voxel locations (stage 230).

[0061] In various embodiments, the source substrate may include at least one matrix of pits, and the digital printing method 200 may include moving the matrix-shaped source substrate to position corresponding filled pits over corresponding voxel locations (stage 232).

[0062] In any of the embodiments, different recesses may be filled with different types of paste, and the digital printing method 200 may include using source substrate(s) having different types of paste to be transferred according to the paste pattern (stage 234).

[0063] For example, the source substrate may include at least two matrices of pits, wherein the pits of different matrices are filled with different types of slurries.The slurry pattern may define slurry deposition correspondingly with respect to voxel positions, with respect to vertical positions at voxel positions, and optionally with respect to different types of slurries.

[0064] In some embodiments, the digital printing method 200 may include using pits on a source substrate that are shaped as truncated pyramids with a square footprint (see Figure 3A , as non-limiting examples), and / or dimples shaped as truncated cones with circular footprints (see Figure 3B , as a non-limiting example), and / or possibly dimples shaped or combined to form linear elements (stage 240). As an example of the latter option, the dimples may have the same size and be used to deposit linear elements composed of slurry from multiple dimples and / or columnar elements with a high aspect ratio (see Figure 3A , as a non-limiting example).

[0065] In some embodiments, the digital printing method 200 may include depositing narrowed elements having a high aspect ratio using pits having different sizes (stage 242) (see Figure 3C , as a non-limiting example).

[0066] Figure 5 is a high-level block diagram of an exemplary controller 105 that may be used with embodiments of the present invention. For example, Figure 5 The controller 105 shown implements the controller 105 and the stages of the method 200 described herein. The controller(s) 105 may include: one or more controllers or processors 193, which may be or include, for example, one or more central processing unit processors (CPUs), one or more graphics processing units (GPUs or general purpose GPUs - GPGPUs), chips, or any suitable computing or computable devices; operating system 191, memory 192, storage device 195, input device 196, and output device 197.

[0067] The operating system 191 may be or may include any code segment designed and / or configured to perform tasks involving coordination, scheduling, arbitration, supervision, control, or otherwise managing the operation of the controller(s) 105 (e.g., scheduling the execution of a program). The memory 192 may be or may include, for example, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a synchronous DRAM (SD-RAM), a double data rate (DDR) memory chip, a flash memory, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, a cache memory, a buffer, a short-term memory unit, a long-term memory unit, or other suitable memory unit or storage device unit. The memory 192 may be or may include a plurality of possibly different memory units. The memory 192 may store, for example, instructions (e.g., code 194) for executing a method and / or data such as user responses, interrupts, etc.

[0068] Executable code 194 can be any executable code, such as an application, program, process, task or script. Executable code 194 may be executed by controller 193 under the control of operating system 191. For example, according to an embodiment of the present invention, executable code 194 may cause the generation or compilation of computer code when executed, or application execution such as VR execution or reasoning. Executable code 194 may be code generated by the method described herein. For the various modules and functions described herein, one or more computing devices and / or components of (one or more) controllers 105 may be used. Devices including components similar to or different from those included in (one or more) controllers 105 may be used, and may be connected to a network and used as a system. One or more processors 193 may be configured to execute embodiments of the present invention by, for example, executing software or code.

[0069] The storage device 195 may be or may include, for example, a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a compact disk (CD) drive, a CD-Recordable (CD-R) drive, a universal serial bus (USB) device, or other suitable removable and / or fixed storage device unit. Data such as instructions, codes, VR model data, parameters, etc. may be stored in the storage device 195 and may be loaded from the storage device 195 into the memory 192, where the data may be processed by the controller 193. In some embodiments, the memory 192 may be omitted. Figure 5 Some of the components shown.

[0070] The input device 196 may be or may include, for example, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen or a touch pad, or any suitable input device. It will be appreciated that, as shown in box 196, any suitable number of input devices may be operatively connected to (one or more) controllers 105. The output device 197 may include one or more displays, speakers, and / or any other suitable output devices. It will be appreciated that, as shown in box 197, any suitable number of output devices may be operatively connected to (one or more) controllers 105. Any applicable input / output (I / O) device may be connected to (one or more) controllers 105, for example, a wired or wireless network interface card (NIC), a modem, a printer or fax machine, a universal serial bus (USB) device, or an external hard drive may be included in the input device 196 and / or the output device 197.

[0071] Embodiments of the present invention may include: one or more articles (e.g., memory 192 or storage device 195), such as a computer or processor non-transitory readable medium or a computer or processor non-transitory storage medium, such as, for example, a memory, a disk drive, or a USB flash drive; a code that includes or stores instructions (e.g., computer executable instructions) that, when executed by a processor or controller, perform the methods disclosed herein.

[0072] From Figures 1A to 5 The elements of the present invention may be combined in any operable combination, and the illustration of certain elements in certain drawings and not in other drawings is for illustrative purposes only and is non-limiting.

[0073] Aspects of the present invention are described above with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or partial schematic diagrams of methods, devices (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the present invention. It will be understood that each part in the flowchart illustration and / or partial schematic diagram and the combination of parts in the flowchart illustration and / or partial schematic diagram can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that instructions executed by a processor of a computer or other programmable data processing device create a device for implementing the functions / actions specified in a flowchart and / or partial schematic diagram or a portion of a flowchart and / or partial schematic diagram.

[0074] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable medium, which may direct a computer, other programmable data processing device, or other apparatus to operate in a specific manner so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium produce a manufactured product, which includes instructions for implementing the functions / actions specified in the flowchart and / or partial schematic diagram or portions of the flowchart and / or partial schematic diagram.

[0075] The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing device, or other apparatus so that a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable device, or other apparatus produces a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide a process for implementing the functions / actions specified in the flowchart and / or partial schematic diagram or portions of the flowchart and / or partial schematic diagram.

[0076] Above-mentioned flow chart and schematic diagram illustrate the architecture, function and operation of the possible implementation of the system, method and computer program product according to various embodiments of the utility model.In this respect, each part in flow chart or partial schematic diagram can represent the module, section or part of code, and the module, section or part of the code include one or more executable instructions for realizing (one or more) specified logical functions.It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the function pointed out in the part may not occur in the order pointed out in the figure.For example, depending on the function involved, the two parts shown in succession can actually be performed substantially at the same time, or these parts can sometimes be performed in reverse order.It will also be noted that the combination of each part in partial schematic diagram and / or flow chart diagram and the part in partial schematic diagram and / or flow chart diagram can be realized by the combination of hardware-based system or special-purpose hardware and computer instructions for performing special-purpose specified functions or actions.

[0077] In the above description, an embodiment is an example or implementation of the utility model. The various occurrences of "one embodiment", "embodiment", "certain embodiments" or "some embodiments" do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. Although the various features of the utility model can be described in the context of a single embodiment, these features can also be provided separately or in any suitable combination. On the contrary, for the sake of clarity, although the utility model can be described in the context of a separate embodiment herein, the utility model can also be implemented in a single embodiment. Certain embodiments of the utility model may include features from different embodiments disclosed above, and certain embodiments may include elements from other embodiments disclosed above. Disclosing the elements of the utility model in the context of a specific embodiment should not be considered as limiting the use of the elements in a specific embodiment only. In addition, it should be understood that the utility model can be implemented or practiced in various ways, and the utility model can be implemented in certain embodiments other than the embodiments outlined in the above description.

[0078] The utility model is not limited to those schematic diagrams or corresponding descriptions. For example, the process does not need to move through each illustrated box or state, or move in exactly the same order as illustrated and described. Unless otherwise defined, the meaning of the technical terms and scientific terms used herein should be generally understood by ordinary technicians in the field to which the utility model belongs. Although the utility model has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the utility model, but as examples of some preferred embodiments. Other possible changes, modifications and applications are also within the scope of the utility model. Therefore, the scope of the utility model should not be limited by what has been described so far, but by the attached claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

1. A digital printer, characterized in that: The digital printer is configured to transfer a digitally predefined paste pattern onto a receiving substrate, the receiving substrate being mounted on a movable platform via a chuck, the digital printer comprising: a source substrate comprising a plurality of recesses that can be filled with a slurry, and an illumination source configured to illuminate the source substrate by illumination, wherein the platform is movable to move the receiving substrate according to the voxel positions defined by the slurry pattern, The illumination source and / or the source substrate are movable to position corresponding recesses filled with slurry over the voxel locations, and The digital printer is also configured to release the slurry from the recesses onto the voxel locations on the receiving substrate by illumination from the illumination source.

2. The digital printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The digital printer also includes a slurry filling module configured to fill and / or refill the recesses of the source substrate with slurry.

3. The digital printer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The illumination source is also configured to focus the illumination beam onto the source substrate.

4. The digital printer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The illumination source is movable relative to the source substrate.

5. The digital printer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The source substrate is movable relative to the illumination source.

6. The digital printer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The source substrate is located in proximity to the receiving substrate, between 10 μm and 500 μm.

7. The digital printer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The source substrate comprises a disk having circularly arranged pits.

8. The digital printer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The source substrate includes a matrix of pits.

9. The digital printer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The source substrate includes recesses filled with different types of slurries.

10. The digital printer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The pits on the source substrate are shaped as truncated pyramids with a square footprint or truncated cones with a circular footprint.

11. The digital printer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The pits have the same size and are used to deposit high aspect ratio multi-layer components composed of slurry from a plurality of pits, wherein the multi-layer components include lines, bumps and / or pillars.

12. The digital printer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The pits have different sizes and are used to deposit narrowed elements with a high aspect ratio.

13. The digital printer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The digital printer is configured to generate the digitally predefined paste pattern using one or more source substrates by specifying the platform with the receiving substrate and movement of the illumination source and / or the source substrate relative to the predefined paste pattern.

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