Slanted Crucible Covers for Evaporation Material Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
In evaporation processes for thin-film deposition, it is challenging to monitor and control the status of evaporation materials, leading to reduced yield rates due to accumulation and formation of defective particles.
Innovation Solution
A crucible design featuring a tank with an inner and outer cover, where the inner cover has a slanted first bottom surface and a top surface, and the outer cover has a slanted second bottom surface, allowing evaporation materials to flow back to the bottom due to gravity, reducing accumulation and defective particles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If evaporation material is heated in the crucible, then thin film deposition is achieved, but evaporation material accumulates on the inner and outer covers forming defective particles
Solution Approach 1:
The inner cover and outer cover are designed with slanted bottom surfaces instead of flat surfaces. The inner cover has a first bottom surface slanted at an angle of 10° to 20° relative to the horizontal plane, and the outer cover has a second bottom surface slanted at an angle of 10° to 20° relative to the horizontal plane. This curvature/slant design prevents evaporation material from accumulating on the covers by guiding it back to the tank bottom, thereby eliminating defective particles.
2Productivity
If evaporation material is monitored during heating, then process control is improved, but monitoring difficulty increases due to heating conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the monitoring function from the heating process by designing the crucible structure itself to indicate the status of evaporation material. The slanted bottom surfaces of the inner and outer covers create visible patterns of material distribution that can be observed during heating, allowing process control without complex monitoring equipment.
3Ease of manufacture
If the crucible structure is simplified, then manufacturing is easier, but evaporation material accumulation cannot be prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The solution adds only slanted bottom surfaces to the inner and outer covers, which is a simple geometric modification that can be easily manufactured. This minimal structural change effectively prevents material accumulation without requiring complex mechanisms or additional components, thus maintaining ease of manufacture while eliminating harmful accumulation.
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 crucible design enhances the yield rate of the evaporation process by minimizing the accumulation of evaporation materials on the inner and outer covers, thereby reducing defective particles and improving the quality of the evaporation target.
Implementation Method 1
an evaporation material in a liquid phase remaining on the inner cover and the outer cover can flow due to gravity and then drop back to the bottom of the tank
Data Source
AI summary
A crucible includes a tank and an inner cover. The tank has a cavity. The inner cover is disposed in the cavity of the tank and has a first bottom surface and at least one hole. The first bottom surface faces a bottom of the tank and protrudes toward the bottom of the tank. A vertical distance between the bottom of the tank and the first bottom surface of the inner cover is gradually decreased from an edge toward a center of the first bottom surface.