Swaying Substrate Holder for Uniform Liquid Coating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for smoothly coating substrates with liquids, such as chemical coating or etching, face challenges in achieving uniform thickness and preventing reagent wastage, especially when using premixed solutions that react before reaching the surface, leading to inefficiencies and uneven coatings.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method involving a holder for the substrate, a wetting mechanism to introduce liquid, and a swaying mechanism that tilts the substrate relative to two axes to distribute the liquid evenly, preventing concentration at specific locations and allowing for controlled chemical reactions on the surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If premixed reagents are applied to the substrate surface, then coating can be performed, but the reagents react within the liquid volume before reaching the surface causing uneven coating and reagent wastage
Solution Approach 1:
The reagents are segmented into separate storage containers rather than being premixed. Each reagent is stored separately and only mixed at the moment of application to the substrate surface, preventing premature reaction and ensuring uniform coating distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The reagents are prepared and stored in separate containers in advance, but the actual mixing action is delayed until immediately before application. This preliminary preparation without premature mixing prevents the reagents from consuming themselves before reaching the substrate surface.
2Manufacturing precision
If liquid coating material is distributed by rotation, then coating can be applied, but most of the mixture is removed from or centrifuged off the surface
Solution Approach 1:
The mixing action is extracted from the bulk liquid volume and relocated to occur only at the substrate surface during application. This eliminates the problem of reagents reacting and being centrifuged off before coating, as mixing and application happen simultaneously at the target surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate surface acts as an intermediary medium where the reagents are mixed and applied simultaneously. Instead of mixing in a separate bulk volume and then applying, the surface itself becomes the mixing zone, ensuring reagents are distributed uniformly without being removed by centrifugal forces.
3Productivity
If a large volume of premixed reagents is kept on stock, then coating process can continue, but the reagents will consume themselves by reacting within the liquid volume
Solution Approach 1:
Reagents are segmented into separate storage units that can be kept on stock without reacting. Only when needed for coating are they mixed in controlled amounts and applied immediately, preventing self-consumption while maintaining process continuity through separate storage of large volumes.
Solution Approach 2:
Reagents are prepared and stored separately in advance in large volumes without mixing. The mixing action is postponed until the moment of application, allowing large stocks to be maintained without reagent consumption, thus ensuring both productivity and reagent efficiency.
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 ensures uniform coating and etching, reduces reagent consumption, and prevents wastage by maintaining a constant motion of the liquid, resulting in a homogeneous layer thickness and efficient chemical processing.
Implementation Method 1
a swayer (60) implemented to tilt the holder (20b) including the substrate (22) relative to two axes (16a, 16b), which are arranged in a plane parallel to the surface of the substrate (22) and form a predetermined angle relative to each other so as to thereby distribute the liquid on the surface of the substrate
Implementation Method 2
a wetter (50) implemented to introduce the liquid into the process volume onto the surface of the substrate
Implementation Method 3
the material is automatically distributed, by the centrifugal forces, on the surface of the disk, to which it adheres in a uniform layer thickness on account of adhesive forces
Implementation Method 4
the holding means (20b) including the substrate (22) is set in a swaying motion by means of a swaying means (60), so that the liquid will smoothly spread on the surface of the substrate. By the swaying motion, concentration of the volume of liquid at a specific location of the substrate surface is prevented
Data Source
AI summary
The surface of a substrate may be smoothly covered with a liquid when the substrate is fixed in a holder which together with forms, together with the surface of the substrate, a process volume into which the liquid may be introduced onto the surface of the substrate by means of a wetter, and when the holder including the substrate is set in a swaying motion by means of a swayer, so that the liquid will smoothly spread on the surface of the substrate. By the swaying motion, concentration of the volume of liquid at a specific location of the substrate surface is prevented, since the direction of motion of the liquid changes constantly.