Auxiliary Enclosure for OLED Printing Inert Atmosphere
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Solution Overview
Problem
Scaling OLED printing systems to larger substrate sizes while maintaining an inert, substantially particle-free environment is challenging due to engineering difficulties in creating a hermetically sealed facility and managing reactive gases and particulate matter, especially with bundles of cabling and tubing, which leads to contamination and downtime issues.
Innovation Solution
A gas enclosure system with a dual-volume design, featuring a primary volume for the printing system and a smaller auxiliary volume for maintenance and management, utilizing dynamic and structural closures to maintain a controlled inert and particle-free environment, and incorporating a pressurized inert gas recirculation system to minimize contamination and downtime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a large facility is hermetically sealed to maintain inert atmosphere for large substrate printing, then the inert atmosphere is maintained, but engineering challenges and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The gas enclosure system is divided into a primary enclosure for the printing system and an auxiliary enclosure for maintenance activities. This segmentation allows the main printing environment to remain sealed and inert while permitting access to the auxiliary enclosure for maintenance without compromising the primary enclosure's atmosphere, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The auxiliary enclosure acts as an intermediary space between the inert primary enclosure and the external environment. It provides a buffer zone that allows maintenance personnel and equipment to access the printing system through sealed interfaces (such as glove ports or transfer chambers) without directly exposing the primary enclosure to atmospheric contaminants.
2Ease of operation
If bundles of cabling and tubing are used to feed the printing system, then operational functionality is provided, but dead volume for reactive gases and particulate matter increases
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary enclosure extracts and concentrates the cabling and tubing bundles in a dedicated maintenance zone away from the primary printing environment. This allows the bundles to be managed and maintained without occupying valuable space in the primary enclosure and minimizes their exposure to the inert atmosphere, reducing the dead volume effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The auxiliary enclosure provides a localized area with different atmospheric requirements compared to the primary enclosure. Cabling and tubing can be routed through this auxiliary space where atmospheric composition is less critical, allowing functional connectivity while isolating potential contamination sources from the sensitive printing environment.
3Ease of repair
If maintenance procedures are performed in the main printing environment, then system maintenance is possible, but contamination risk and downtime increase
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure system is segmented into primary and auxiliary zones, allowing maintenance procedures to be concentrated in the auxiliary enclosure. This segmentation enables maintenance personnel to work on the printing system components that are accessible through the auxiliary enclosure without exposing the entire primary enclosure to contamination, thereby reducing downtime.
Solution Approach 2:
The auxiliary enclosure is prepared in advance as a maintenance-ready space with appropriate equipment and atmospheric conditions. Components requiring maintenance can be pre-positioned or accessed through the auxiliary enclosure, allowing maintenance personnel to begin work immediately without disrupting the primary printing environment or causing extended downtime.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method, comprises: using a first handler located in a first transfer chamber operably coupled to an infeed end of a printing module, moving a substrate from a first load lock chamber to a first buffer chamber, the first buffer chamber configured to store a first plurality of substrates; using the first handler, moving one of the first plurality of substrates from the first buffer chamber to the printing module; while supporting the one of the first plurality of substrates using a gas bearing, conveying the one of the first plurality of substrates from the infeed end of the printing module to a location to be printed by a printhead assembly located in the printing module; and depositing, by the printhead assembly, a material onto a surface of the one of the first plurality of substrates.