OLED Metal Mask With Segmented Through Holes

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing metal masks used in OLED panel production suffer from poor through hole shape and significant shadow effects during evaporation, affecting the quality of light-emitting patterns on glass substrates.

Innovation Solution

A metal mask design featuring through holes with a primary opening and secondary openings, where the size decreases gradually from the evaporation surface to the back surface, and a method involving patterned photoresist layers and etching to form these openings, reducing the shadow effect by controlling the distance between corresponding edges.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If a conventional metal mask with simple through holes is used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the through hole shape is poor and shadow effect is significant during evaporation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvethrough hole shapeVSAvoidthrough hole structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The through hole is divided into multiple opening parts: a primary opening part and multiple secondary opening parts located at the corners. This segmentation allows each part to serve a specific function - the primary opening provides the main evaporation path while the secondary openings at corners reduce shadow effects by providing additional material deposition paths, thereby improving overall through hole shape quality without requiring a completely complex structure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different parts of the through hole are given different characteristics - the primary opening part has larger dimensions for main evaporation, while the secondary opening parts at the corners have smaller dimensions. This local differentiation optimizes the evaporation process by ensuring uniform material distribution throughout the through hole, improving shape quality while maintaining manufacturing feasibility

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Manufacturing precision

If the through hole size is reduced to improve fineness, then the light-emitting pattern fineness increases, but the shadow effect during evaporation becomes more significant

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelight-emitting pattern finenessVSAvoidshadow effect

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

By segmenting the through hole into primary and secondary opening parts, the invention maintains the overall small size needed for fine light-emitting patterns while adding corner openings that reduce shadow effects. The secondary openings provide additional pathways for material evaporation, ensuring uniform deposition even in corners where shadow effects would otherwise be prominent

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The invention converts the potentially harmful shadow effect into a beneficial feature by strategically placing secondary opening parts at the corners. These corner openings actually utilize the shadow effect by providing controlled material deposition paths that enhance the overall evaporation uniformity, turning what would be a defect into an advantage for improving pattern quality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

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 metal mask achieves a good through hole shape with reduced shadow effect, enhancing the quality of light-emitting patterns on OLED panels by minimizing deformation and notch formation during evaporation.

Implementation Method 1

forming a first patterned photoresist layer on the evaporation surface and forming a second patterned photoresist layer on the back surface

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectPhotolithography: Photopolymerisation

Implementation Method 2

etching the metal panel to form a plurality of through holes

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectEtching: Ablation

Implementation Method 3

evaporating Fine Metal Mask (FMM) in a matched manner on the glass substrate

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectEvaporation: Evaporation

Data Source

PatentUS20240191335A1Metal mask and method to produce metal mask

Publication Date: 2024.06.13 DARWIN PRECISIONS CORP

AI summary

A metal mask includes a metal panel, provided with an evaporation surface and a back surface opposite to each other and a plurality of through holes extending from the evaporation surface to the back surface. A size of each through hole decreases gradually from the evaporation surface towards the back surface. A first opening is formed by each through hole in the evaporation surface. The first opening includes a primary opening part and a plurality of secondary opening parts. The primary opening part is provided with two long edges opposite to each other and two short edges opposite to each other. The two short edges are connected between the two long edges, and the secondary opening parts are connected at two ends of the long edges. Each secondary opening part has a width perpendicular to the length. A method to produce the metal mask is also provided.