OLED Thermal Treatment Module for Low-Contaminant Printed Layers
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenges in OLED manufacturing include complex and wasteful vacuum deposition processes, sensitivity of organic materials to ambient contaminants, and limitations in scalability due to mechanical instability of shadowmasks and patterning techniques, leading to degradation and inefficiencies in producing high-quality OLED devices.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a printing technique with a controlled environment for depositing patterned organic layers, including a printing system and a thermal treatment module, maintains low oxygen, ozone, and water vapor levels to prevent degradation, and uses a stacked thermal treatment configuration for efficient processing of multiple substrates, enhancing scalability and reducing material waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If vacuum deposition is used to deposit organic films, then the films can be deposited in a controlled environment, but material waste increases and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces vacuum deposition with printing techniques performed in an inert atmosphere (nitrogen or other protective gas). This maintains the controlled environment needed for organic film deposition while dramatically reducing material waste, as materials are deposited only where needed rather than being wasted on chamber walls and fixtures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the mechanical vacuum deposition system with a printing-based deposition system. This replacement eliminates the need for complex vacuum chambers and pumping subsystems, reducing both device complexity and material waste while maintaining manufacturing precision through controlled material application.
2Manufacturing precision
If shadowmask is used for patterning, then direct pattern deposition is achieved, but device complexity increases and material waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical shadowmask system with a printing-based patterning approach. The printing system directly deposits material in the desired pattern without requiring physical masks, eliminating the complexity of mask handling, positioning, and alignment mechanisms while maintaining pattern deposition accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the shadowmask component from the deposition system entirely. By using printing techniques, the system achieves patterning without the mask, eliminating material waste on the mask itself and removing the associated handling and positioning complexity.
3Manufacturing precision
If photolithography is used for patterning, then pattern definition is achieved, but organic film degradation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces photolithography with direct printing patterning. This substitution eliminates the need for photolithographic chemicals and processing steps that can damage organic films, while still achieving precise pattern definition through controlled material deposition only in the desired areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs printing in an inert atmosphere that protects organic materials from degradation. This controlled environment prevents harmful chemical reactions and exposure to reactive species that would otherwise damage the organic films during patterning, while still enabling precise pattern formation.
4Manufacturing precision
If vacuum chamber is used for deposition, then controlled deposition environment is provided, but productivity decreases and maintenance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an inert atmosphere system instead of vacuum chambers. This allows for faster processing cycles without the time required to pump down and maintain vacuum, significantly improving productivity while still providing the controlled environment needed for high-quality organic film deposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the vacuum chamber system with an atmospheric pressure printing system operated in inert gas. This eliminates the pumping subsystem and vacuum maintenance requirements, reducing maintenance needs and increasing manufacturing throughput while maintaining deposition control quality.
5Loss of substance
If shadowmask is used for patterning, then material waste is reduced compared to blanket coating, but mask maintenance and replacement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the shadowmask from the system entirely by using direct printing patterning. This eliminates material deposition on masks and removes all associated maintenance and replacement activities, as the printing system directly creates patterns without requiring physical masks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the shadowmask-based patterning system with a printing system that directly deposits material in patterns. This eliminates the mask component that would require maintenance and replacement, transferring the patterning function to the printing mechanism itself.
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 improves the efficiency and scalability of OLED manufacturing by reducing material waste, minimizing degradation, and enabling the production of high-quality OLED devices with enhanced throughput and reduced maintenance, while maintaining a controlled environment to protect sensitive organic materials.
Implementation Method 1
an enclosed thermal treatment module including a stacked configuration of thermally-controlled regions... each configured to accommodate a substrate and provide one or more of a specified substrate temperature or a specified substrate temperature uniformity
Implementation Method 2
OLED devices can be fabricated in part via vacuum deposition of a series of organic thin films onto a substrate using the technique of thermal evaporation
Implementation Method 3
a printing system configured to deposit a first patterned organic layer on a substrate
Implementation Method 4
The organic materials used in OLED devices are also generally highly sensitive to exposure to various ambient materials, such as oxygen, ozone, or water... chemically active contaminants can trigger a chemical reaction in the film that degrades the film material
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and techniques are described herein for use in manufacturing electronic devices. such as can include organic light emitting diode (OLED) devices. Such apparatus and techniques can include using one or more modules having a controlled environment. For example, a substrate can be received from a printing system located in a first processing environment, and the substrate can be provided a second processing environment, such as to an enclosed thermal treatment module comprising a controlled second processing environment. The second processing environment can include a purified gas environment having a different composition than the first processing environment.