Arrayed Printing Registration via Fiducial Detection and Control Data Transformation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manufacturing technologies face challenges in achieving precise alignment and uniformity of deposited layers in printing processes for products like OLED displays and solar panels, leading to potential defects and increased costs due to variations in substrate position, rotation, scale, and skew, which affect the accuracy and throughput of the manufacturing process.
Innovation Solution
A detection mechanism is used to identify fiducials on substrates, allowing for real-time adjustment of printer control data to correct positional errors, and the use of nozzle firing decisions and drive parameters are transformed to ensure precise registration with underlying product dimensions, enabling printing without altering preplanned raster sweeps and optimizing nozzle assignments and drive waveforms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If real-time detection and software correction of substrate misalignment is implemented, then manufacturing precision and throughput are improved, but device complexity increases due to detection mechanisms and control data transformation systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical alignment systems with a detection mechanism that captures substrate images and software-based control data transformation. Instead of using mechanical stages and physical alignment tools, the system uses fiducial detection and computational methods to correct misalignment, thereby reducing mechanical complexity while improving precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces fiducial markers as intermediaries between the substrate and the printing system. These fiducials serve as reference points that enable the detection mechanism to identify substrate position and orientation errors, which are then corrected through control data transformation, acting as a mediator that simplifies the alignment process.
2Productivity
If preplanned raster sweeps are maintained without alteration, then printing speed is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to substrate position variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the printing system dynamic by transforming control data in real-time based on detected substrate misalignment. While the raster sweep pattern itself remains unchanged to maintain speed, the control data is dynamically adjusted to compensate for substrate position and orientation variations, allowing the system to adapt without altering the fundamental printing sequence.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes control parameters (nozzle firing decisions, drive parameters) based on detected substrate errors. By transforming these parameters according to the detected misalignment, the system maintains printing speed while achieving precise registration, as the parameter transformation occurs computationally rather than requiring physical repositioning.
3Manufacturing precision
If mechanical alignment methods are used to ensure precise substrate positioning, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity decreases due to increased alignment time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces time-consuming mechanical alignment procedures with rapid optical detection and computational correction. Instead of using mechanical alignment tools and manual positioning, the system captures substrate images, detects fiducials, and transforms control data computationally, dramatically reducing alignment time while maintaining or improving precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary detection of substrate misalignment before printing begins. By capturing images and calculating correction parameters in advance, the system prepares the transformed control data beforehand, allowing the actual printing process to proceed without interruption or time loss during alignment correction.
4Manufacturing precision
If substrate position and orientation errors are corrected through detection and control data transformation, then manufacturing precision is improved, but use of energy increases due to real-time processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a computational model (copy) of the substrate's actual position and orientation based on detected fiducials. Instead of physically adjusting the substrate or using complex mechanical correction systems, the system generates transformed control data that represents the corrected printing pattern, thereby reducing energy consumption compared to physical correction methods.
Data Source
AI summary
A repeatable manufacturing process uses a printer to deposits liquid for each product carried by a substrate to form respective thin films. The liquid is dried, cured or otherwise processed to form from the liquid a permanent layer of each respective product. To perform printing, each newly-introduced substrate is roughly mechanically aligned, with an optical system detecting sub-millimeter misalignment, and with software correcting for misalignment. Rendering of adjusted data is performed such that nozzles are variously assigned dependent on misalignment to deposit droplets in a regulated manner, to ensure precise deposition of liquid for each given area of the substrate. For example, applied to the manufacture of flat panel displays, software ensures that exactly the right amount of liquid is deposited for each “pixel” of the display, to minimize likelihood of visible discrepancies in the resultant display.