Deposition system with moveable-position web guides

A thin film deposition system for depositing a material onto a web of substrate travelling in an in-track direction along a web transport path, comprising:

• a web guide system having a plurality of web guides defining a web transport path for the web of substrate, the web guide system including:
• an entrance portion;
• an exit portion;
• and
• a moveable portion along the web transport path between the entrance portion and the exit portion, the moveable portion including:
• a first moveable-position web guide;
• and
• a second moveable-position web guide;
• wherein the web transport path directs the web of substrate through the entrance portion, then around the first moveable-position web guide, then around the second moveable-position web guide, then through the exit portion at a substantially constant web advance velocity;
• a deposition head for depositing the material onto a surface of the web of substrate as the web of substrate moves relative to the deposition head, the deposition head being located in a fixed position adjacent to the web of substrate along the web transport path between the first moveable-position web guide and the second moveable-position web guide;
• and
• a motion actuator system that is configured to synchronously move positions of the first and second moveable-position web guides such that they move forward and backward in a moveable portion motion direction according to a defined oscillating motion pattern while maintaining a constant distance between the first and second moveable-position web guides, thereby causing a portion of the web of substrate adjacent to the deposition head to move forward and backward in the in-track direction, so as to provide for a composite motion profile of the web of substrate adjacent to the deposition head in which the motion actuator system causes the forward and backward movement of the web of substrate adjacent to the deposition head while the web of substrate moves along the web transport path at the substantially constant web advance velocity and while the deposition head supplies material onto the surface of the web of substrate, wherein the backward movement of the web of substrate is smaller in distance than the forward movement of the web of substrate;
• wherein the web of substrate enters and exits the first and second moveable-position web guides in directions that are substantially parallel to the moveable portion motion direction;
• and
• wherein the web of substrate wraps around the first moveable-position web guide with a wrap angle substantially equal to 180 degrees and the web of substrate wraps around the second moveable-position web guide with a wrap angle substantially equal to 180 degrees, the wrap angle around the first moveable-position web guide being an angle in degrees in which the web of substrate wraps around the first moveable-position web guide from an entrance location to the first moveable-position web guide where the substrate first contacts the first movable-position web guide to an exit location from the first moveable-position web guide which is a last point of contact between the substrate and the first movable-position web guide, and the wrap angle around the second moveable-position web guide being an angle in degrees in which the web of substrate wraps around the second moveable-position web guide from an entrance location to the second moveable-position web guide where the substrate first contacts the second movable-position web guide to an exit location from the second moveable-position web guide which is a last point of contact between the substrate and the second movable-position web guide;
• and
• wherein the motion actuator system is configured to move the positions of the first and second moveable-position web guides in accordance with the oscillating motion pattern, wherein a substrate point at the portion of the web of substrate between the first and second moveable-position web guides and adjacent to the deposition head is displaced by a distance that is two times greater than a displacement distance of the first and second movable-position web guides.