Segmented Evaporation Crucible for OLED Material Uniformity
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing crucibles for OLED evaporation processes are prone to material leakage, drift, and loss due to their large transverse span, leading to uneven material distribution, inaccurate weighing, and difficult cleaning, which increases costs and affects film thickness uniformity.
Innovation Solution
A crucible with multiple sub-cavities within a main cavity, allowing for more controlled and uniform filling, accurate weighing, and easier cleaning, featuring detachable sub-cavities with conduits for uniform pressure and switch shutters to prevent material loss during filling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If an integrally cast crucible with large transverse span is used, then the crucible can contain sufficient evaporation material for OLED manufacturing, but material leakage, drift and loss occur during filling operations
Solution Approach 1:
The crucible is divided into multiple independent sub-cavities (first sub-cavity, second sub-cavity, etc.) within the main cavity. Each sub-cavity can be filled separately with evaporation material through individual filling holes, preventing material leakage and drift that occurs when filling a large single cavity. This segmentation allows controlled filling of smaller volumes while maintaining total material capacity.
2Quantity of substance
If an integrally cast crucible with large transverse span is used, then the crucible can hold sufficient evaporation material, but the material cannot be uniformly distributed during filling
Solution Approach 1:
The crucible is divided into multiple independent sub-cavities (first sub-cavity, second sub-cavity, etc.) within the main cavity. Each sub-cavity can be filled separately with evaporation material through individual filling holes, preventing material leakage and drift that occurs when filling a large single cavity. This segmentation allows controlled filling of smaller volumes while maintaining total material capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
Each sub-cavity is equipped with its own filling hole and can be filled independently, allowing local control of material distribution. The internal structure of each sub-cavity can be optimized for uniform material distribution, and the bottom surface of each sub-cavity can be designed with specific geometries to ensure even material layering during filling.
3Quantity of substance
If an integrally cast crucible with large transverse span is used, then the crucible can contain sufficient evaporation material, but accurate weighing of the filled material becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The crucible is divided into multiple independent sub-cavities (first sub-cavity, second sub-cavity, etc.) within the main cavity. Each sub-cavity can be filled separately with evaporation material through individual filling holes, preventing material leakage and drift that occurs when filling a large single cavity. This segmentation allows controlled filling of smaller volumes while maintaining total material capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple sub-cavities serve as replicated units within the crucible, each with identical or similar dimensions and filling characteristics. This allows standardized weighing procedures to be applied to each sub-cavity, improving measurement accuracy compared to weighing a single large crucible. The consistent geometry of sub-cavities enables precise control and verification of material quantities.
4Quantity of substance
If an integrally cast crucible with large transverse span is used, then the crucible can contain sufficient evaporation material, but cleaning after evaporation becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The crucible is divided into multiple independent sub-cavities (first sub-cavity, second sub-cavity, etc.) within the main cavity. Each sub-cavity can be filled separately with evaporation material through individual filling holes, preventing material leakage and drift that occurs when filling a large single cavity. This segmentation allows controlled filling of smaller volumes while maintaining total material capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The sub-cavities are designed to be detachable from the main crucible body through connecting devices. After evaporation, the sub-cavities can be removed and cleaned separately, which is much more convenient than cleaning a large integrated crucible. This extraction of cleaning operations to separate components significantly improves maintenance efficiency.
5Device complexity
If an integrally cast crucible with large transverse span is used, then the crucible structure is simple, but the overall device complexity increases due to multiple sub-cavities and connecting devices
Solution Approach 1:
The crucible is divided into multiple independent sub-cavities (first sub-cavity, second sub-cavity, etc.) within the main cavity. Each sub-cavity can be filled separately with evaporation material through individual filling holes, preventing material leakage and drift that occurs when filling a large single cavity. This segmentation allows controlled filling of smaller volumes while maintaining total material capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple sub-cavities are integrated within a single main crucible body, combining the benefits of small individual cavities (easy filling, accurate weighing, easy cleaning) with the capacity of a large crucible. The connecting devices merge the sub-cavities into a unified structure that can be handled and installed as a single component, balancing structural simplicity with operational convenience.
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
Reduces material waste, ensures uniform material distribution, facilitates accurate measurement, and simplifies the cleaning process, resulting in improved film thickness consistency and reduced operational costs.
Implementation Method 1
through heating the crucible, the material is converted from solid to gas atoms, atom groups or molecules, and then accumulated on the surface of a substrate to be coated to form a film
Implementation Method 2
a conduit for mutual communication between said two sub-cavities is arranged; a through hole is formed on a side wall of each of the sub-cavities at a position being connected with the conduit
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a crucible, and belongs to the field of evaporation technology, for solving such problems of an existing crucible that evaporation material loss occurs in evaporation process, the crucible is inconvenient to clean, and the evaporation material filled in the crucible is not uniform. The crucible of the present invention includes a main cavity and a plurality of sub-cavities which are used for containing evaporation material and are arranged in the main cavity, each sub-cavity being provided with an opening. The crucible of the present invention may be used in preparation of an OLED device.