Horizontal Electro-Forming Apparatus for Uniform Invar Alloy Plating
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing vertical electro-forming method for producing Invar alloy masks for OLED display devices faces challenges with non-uniform current density and plating layer thickness, limiting the scalability and productivity of large-scale OLED manufacturing due to the need for larger plating baths and increased manufacturing costs.
Innovation Solution
A horizontal electro-forming apparatus is developed, featuring a plating bath with a clamp system to grasp the substrate, an anode assembly with optimized distance and plating solution supply, and a driving unit for uniform current distribution, allowing for larger substrate processing without the need for extensive installation space and ensuring uniform plating layer thickness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If vertical electro-forming method is used, then plating can be performed on substrate, but current density becomes non-uniform and plating layer thickness becomes non-uniform as plating area increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional vertical electro-forming configuration by placing the substrate horizontally at the bottom of the plating bath and positioning the anode above it. This inversion allows the anode to be positioned at an optimized distance from the substrate surface, enabling uniform current density distribution across large-area substrates and producing uniformly thick plating layers without requiring excessively large plating baths.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from vertical electro-forming to horizontal electro-forming, changing the spatial dimension of the plating process. By positioning the substrate horizontally and the anode above it in the vertical dimension, the system achieves better current density uniformity across the substrate surface area, resolving the contradiction between plating area and thickness uniformity.
2Productivity
If plating bath size is increased to accommodate larger substrates, then large-scale OLED manufacturing is enabled, but installation space requirement increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the electro-forming configuration to horizontal orientation with the anode positioned above the substrate, the patent achieves uniform plating on large substrates without requiring proportionally larger plating baths. This enables large-scale OLED manufacturing with controlled installation space requirements and maintains high productivity.
3Ease of manufacture
If cold-rolling process is used to produce thin Invar plates, then thin masks can be manufactured, but manufacturing process becomes long and complicated with high cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical cold-rolling process with electro-forming, an electrochemical process that directly deposits Invar alloy onto the substrate. This substitution eliminates the need for multi-stage rolling operations, simplifies the manufacturing process, reduces cost, and enables precise control of plate thickness through electrochemical parameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses electro-forming to control plate thickness by adjusting electrochemical parameters such as current density, plating time, and electrolyte composition, rather than relying on mechanical rolling parameters. This enables precise thickness control with a simplified single-step process.
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
The horizontal electro-forming method enhances productivity by reducing the size of the plating bath, maintaining uniform current density and plating layer thickness, and improving the yield of large-scale OLED display devices, thus lowering manufacturing costs.
Implementation Method 1
an anode and a cathode are disposed in parallel facing each other in an inside space of a plating bath and a substrate to be plated is disposed between the anode and the cathode. After a plating solution (an electrolyte) is supplied into the inside space of the plating bath, the anode and the cathode are connected to an anode power supply and a cathode power supply, respectively. Then, when a current is applied thereto, a plating layer (an Invar alloy) is formed on one surface of the substrate.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an apparatus for electro-forming. The apparatus for electro-forming includes a plating bath which is a space where a substrate is plated and a clamp disposed within the plating bath and configured to grasp the substrate disposed in a horizontal direction. The apparatus for electro-forming further includes an assembly including an anode spaced above the substrate and connected to an external power supply and a plating solution supply unit spaced above the substrate and configured to supply a plating solution. The apparatus for electro-forming also includes a driving unit configured to reciprocate the assembly in a horizontal direction at a distance from the substrate. The assembly further includes an insulator between the anode and the plating solution supply unit.