Light-Addressable Etch Resist for Flat Panel Display Patterning
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for fabricating flat panel displays, such as liquid crystal display devices, are cumbersome and inefficient due to the lengthy photolithography process, significant material waste, and the need for expensive equipment, while also facing challenges in achieving accurate alignment of thin film patterns.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that utilize an etch-resist solution with polarity changeable by light, combined with a soft mold having a projected surface and groove, to simplify the patterning process by aligning and forming an etch-resist pattern without the need for photolithography, ensuring accurate alignment and efficient thin film pattern formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If photolithography process is used for patterning, then thin film patterns can be formed, but the process becomes lengthy and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the photolithography step from the conventional fabrication process. Instead of using photoresist coating, exposure, and development steps, the patent directly forms patterns by depositing etch resist material only in desired areas followed by etching, thereby removing the complex photolithography subsystem while maintaining pattern formation capability
Solution Approach 2:
The fabrication process is segmented into distinct sequential steps: first depositing etch resist material, then performing etching, and finally removing the etch resist. This segmentation replaces the integrated photolithography process with simpler, separate operations that can be performed with less complex equipment and fewer process steps
2Manufacturing precision
If photolithography process is used for patterning, then thin film patterns can be formed, but material waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by depositing etch resist material only in the specific areas where patterns are needed, rather than coating the entire substrate with photoresist. This localized application eliminates material waste in non-pattern areas and reduces overall material consumption while maintaining precise pattern formation
Solution Approach 2:
The etch resist material is deposited in advance only in the areas where patterns will be formed, before the etching step. This preliminary localized deposition avoids the waste of applying and subsequently removing photoresist from entire substrates, reducing material loss while ensuring patterns are formed with the required precision
3Manufacturing precision
If photolithography process is used for patterning, then thin film patterns can be formed, but expensive equipment is required
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the need for expensive photolithography equipment (coaters, aligners, exposure tools, developers) by replacing the entire photolithography subsystem with simpler material deposition and etching processes that can be performed with less costly equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The etch resist material serves as a disposable masking layer that is deposited, used for etching, and then removed. This approach replaces expensive, complex photolithography equipment with simpler, less costly deposition and etching equipment, reducing capital investment while maintaining pattern formation capability
4Manufacturing precision
If conventional patterning method is used, then thin film patterns can be formed, but alignment accuracy of thin film pattern decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Alignment marks are formed in advance on the substrate before depositing the etch resist material. This preliminary action ensures that subsequent etching steps can be accurately aligned with previously formed structures, improving alignment accuracy while maintaining fabrication efficiency by eliminating the need for complex photolithography alignment procedures
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 approach simplifies the fabrication process, reduces material waste, eliminates the need for expensive equipment, and enhances alignment accuracy, enabling the formation of thin film patterns at the desired position without photolithography, thus improving the overall efficiency and precision in flat panel display manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
an etch-resist solution which changes a polarity of the etch-resist solution by application of light
Implementation Method 2
the etch-resist solution moves into the groove
Data Source
AI summary
A fabricating method of a flat panel display includes the steps of spreading an etch-resist on a thin film formed on a substrate, a polarity of the etch-resist changed by irradiation with a first light; providing a soft mold having a projected surface and a groove at an upper surface of the etch-resist at a distance from the substrate, the soft mold surface treated to be the same polarity as the etch-resist; performing a first and a second alignments of the soft mold and substrate; changing the polarity of the etch-resist by irradiation with the first light such that the etch-resist moves into a groove of the soft mold; forming an etch-resist pattern by irradiating a second light onto the etch-resist in the groove; separating the soft mold from the etch-resist pattern; and forming a thin film pattern by etching a portion of the thin film and the etch-resist pattern.