Heat Equalizer for Uniform Organic EL Evaporation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional evaporation apparatuses for organic EL material processing suffer from non-uniform temperature distribution within the container, leading to incomplete and uneven evaporation, which hampers precise film-forming processes due to the heating of the outer surface rather than the inner surface where the material is deposited, resulting in temperature differences and prolonged stabilization times.
Innovation Solution
A heat equalizer design featuring an inner and outer container with a working fluid held in the gap between them, where the inner container has protrusions and depressions for enhanced heat transfer, allowing the gaseous working fluid to condense and re-evaporate, ensuring a uniform temperature across the inner surface, thereby improving the uniformity of the material's heating and evaporation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If the outer surface of the container is heated by a heater, then the container temperature increases, but the inner surface temperature distribution becomes non-uniform
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of heating the outer surface and relying on heat conduction to the inner surface, the invention inverts the approach by directly heating the inner surface through the material feed pipe. The heater is embedded in the feed pipe that delivers material into the container, ensuring the inner surface and material receive uniform direct heat while the outer surface remains cooler.
Solution Approach 2:
The material feed pipe serves as an intermediary heating element. It contains a heater that directly contacts or closely approaches the material and inner container surface, acting as a mediator to transfer heat precisely where needed. This eliminates the need for outer surface heating and achieves uniform inner surface temperature distribution.
2Device complexity
If conventional heating methods are used, then the apparatus structure is simple, but the stabilization time is prolonged
Solution Approach 1:
The heater is installed in advance within the material feed pipe, positioned to directly heat the material and inner container surface from the start of the heating process. This preliminary positioning of the heat source eliminates the delay associated with heat conduction through container walls, allowing immediate and uniform heating that rapidly stabilizes temperature.
3Ease of manufacture
If the material melt has temperature difference, then the evaporation process is simple, but the evaporation uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of relying on convection and conduction to equalize temperature in the material melt, the invention inverts the approach by directly heating the material through the feed pipe heater before it enters the container. This ensures the material is pre-heated uniformly, eliminating temperature differences in the melt and ensuring uniform evaporation across the entire material surface.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design achieves precise control over the material's temperature, ensuring uniform evaporation and enhancing the efficiency of the film-forming process by minimizing temperature differences and convection, thus making the apparatus suitable for high-precision film deposition.
Implementation Method 1
the gaseous working fluid to condense and re-evaporate
Implementation Method 2
the gaseous working fluid to condense and re-evaporate
Implementation Method 3
ensuring a uniform temperature across the inner surface
Data Source
AI summary
A heat equalizer includes a container structure, a material feed pipe, and a heating mechanism. The container structure includes an inner container and an outer container. In the outer container, a working fluid is held. Respective upper ends of the inner container and the outer container are joined to form a hollow portion between the inner container and the outer container. The material feed pipe extends from an outside of the container structure to the inner surface of the inner container. The heating mechanism is placed at the bottom of the outer container. At the bottom surface of the inner container, a plurality of protrusions protruding toward the inside of the inner container and depressions formed by the bottom surface depressed inward of the protrusions and capable of receiving the vaporized working fluid are formed.