Substrate Pixel Printing With Mixed-Drop Nozzle Packs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate treating methods using nozzles of equal drop sizes face challenges in accurately forming pixels of a predetermined volume, requiring cumbersome multiple scan operations to achieve the desired size, leading to inefficiencies in productivity.
Innovation Solution
The method involves composing multiple nozzles with different drop sizes into unit packs and using these packs for pixel printing, allowing a single scan operation to achieve the desired pixel volume by selecting and extracting nozzles based on pixel volume and groove information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If nozzles of equal drop sizes are used for pixel printing, then the nozzle configuration is simple and easy to control, but multiple scan operations are required to achieve the desired pixel volume, reducing productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different drop sizes to different nozzles within the same nozzle pack based on their individual characteristics. Each nozzle is characterized to determine its specific drop size, and nozzles are grouped into packs such that the combination of nozzles in each pack can collectively provide the required pixel volume. This allows the system to use the actual discharge capabilities of each nozzle rather than assuming uniform drop sizes, thereby reducing the number of scan operations needed while maintaining precise volume control.
2Loss of time
If nozzles with different drop sizes are composed into unit packs, then a single scan operation can achieve the desired pixel volume, but the nozzle extraction and pack composition process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by characterizing each nozzle's drop size before forming the nozzle packs. The system performs advance measurements to determine the actual discharge volume of each nozzle, stores this information, and uses it to pre-calculate optimal nozzle pack compositions. This preliminary characterization allows the system to quickly assemble appropriate packs without complex real-time adjustments during operation, reducing scan time while managing the complexity through advance preparation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback by measuring the actual drop size of each nozzle and using this information to adjust the nozzle pack composition. The characterized nozzle data feeds back into the pack formation algorithm, which automatically selects and groups nozzles to achieve the required pixel volume. This feedback mechanism eliminates the need for manual configuration and reduces operational complexity by using measured data to drive automated pack assembly.
3Productivity
If multiple scan operations are performed to achieve predetermined pixel volume, then nozzle configuration remains simple, but the processing time increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by varying the drop size parameter across different nozzles within the same pack. Instead of using nozzles with uniform drop sizes, the system deliberately selects nozzles with different drop size parameters to collectively achieve the target pixel volume in a single scan. This change in the drop size parameter from uniform to varied allows the system to maintain precision while improving throughput by eliminating multiple scan operations.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for composing nozzles having different drop sizes into one or more pack units and performing pixel printing by using nozzles belonging to the thus composed packs. The substrate processing method includes extracting nozzles that have different drop sizes as different sized dropping nozzles, composing extracted nozzles into one or more packs, and performing pixel printing on the substrate with nozzles included in the pack by discharging a substrate treatment solution to a common target location on the substrate.