Soft Mold Patterning for Flat Panel Displays
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for fabricating flat panel displays, such as liquid crystal displays, require lengthy photolithography processes, leading to increased time, material wastage, and pattern defects due to the use of photo-resist and stripping solutions.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that utilize a soft mold with a permeable structure and a thin film resin layer to form an etch-resist pattern on the thin film without photolithography, allowing for etching as a mask to reduce process time and minimize defects by preventing solvent and gas infiltration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If photolithography process is used for patterning, then pattern formation is achieved, but process time increases and pattern defects occur
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the photolithography process from the fabrication sequence, replacing it with a direct soft mold pressing method that forms patterns without requiring photo-resist coating, exposure, development, or stripping steps, thereby dramatically reducing process time while maintaining pattern formation capability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a soft mold that contains a pattern copy or replica of the desired structure. By pressing this mold directly onto the substrate, the pattern is transferred through physical contact and material displacement, creating the final structure without needing photolithographic copying steps
2Manufacturing precision
If photolithography process is used for patterning, then pattern formation is achieved, but material wastage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the photolithography process entirely from the fabrication method, eliminating the need for photo-resist materials and their subsequent stripping solutions, thereby preventing the substantial material wastage that occurs when these chemicals are applied and then removed
Solution Approach 2:
The soft mold itself serves as a disposable or reusable patterning tool that can be directly pressed and then discarded or regenerated, replacing the consumable photo-resist materials with a more efficient and less wasteful patterning mechanism
3Manufacturing precision
If photolithography process is used for patterning, then pattern formation is achieved, but pattern defects increase
Solution Approach 1:
By extracting the photolithography process from the fabrication sequence, the invention eliminates the multiple sources of pattern defects that arise from photo-resist coating uniformity, exposure wavelength variations, development time control, and stripping residue, achieving cleaner pattern formation
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the complex photolithographic system (involving light sources, photo-resist chemistry, and multiple processing steps) with a straightforward mechanical pressing operation using a soft mold, thereby eliminating the chemical and optical variables that cause pattern defects
4Object-generated harmful factors
If soft mold with permeable structure is used, then gas infiltration is prevented, but solvent passage control is required
Solution Approach 1:
The soft mold incorporates a permeable or porous structure that allows controlled passage of solvents and gases during the pressing operation. This porosity enables trapped gases to escape during mold contact, preventing bubble formation and defects in the patterned structure
Solution Approach 2:
The permeable structure in the soft mold acts as an intermediary between the pressing operation and the substrate, mediating the flow of solvents and gases to prevent defect formation while still allowing effective pattern transfer through controlled material interaction
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 significantly reduces process time and minimizes pattern defects by using a soft mold with a permeable structure to absorb and discharge gases, preventing bubble-induced defects and allowing only controlled solvent and gas passage, thus enhancing the efficiency of the patterning process.
Implementation Method 1
a soft mold with a permeable structure to absorb and discharge gases, preventing bubble-induced defects
Implementation Method 2
allowing only controlled solvent and gas passage
Data Source
AI summary
This invention relates to a flat panel display and a fabricating method thereof that are adaptive for conducting a patterning process without using a photo process to thereby reduce its process time and minimize pattern defects. A fabricating method and device of a flat panel display according to an embodiment of the present invention spreads an etch-resist on a thin film and forms an etch-resist pattern on a thin film by pressing a soft mold of a permeable structure to the etch-resist.