Method and apparatus for load-locked printing
AssigneeKateeva, Inc.
InventorsSass Somekh, Eliyahu Vronsky, Conor F. Madigan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for preventing oxidation or contamination during a circuit printing operation. The circuit printing operation can be directed to OLED-type printing. In an exemplary embodiment, the printing process is conducted at a load-locked printer housing having one or more of chambers. Each chamber is partitioned from the other chambers by physical gates or fluidic curtains. A controller coordinates transportation of a substrate through the system and purges the system by timely opening appropriate gates. The controller may also control the printing operation by energizing the print-head at a time when the substrate is positioned substantially thereunder.
Claims20
A method for forming a film on a substrate, the method comprising:
- transporting a substrate to a printhead region having an inert gas environment using gas floatation,
- floating the substrate on a gas in the printhead region using a combination of pressure and vacuum;
- and
- while floating the substrate in the printhead region:
- moving the substrate in a first direction and moving at least one print-head in a second direction, the first and second directions being substantially orthogonal to each other,
- controlling a float height of the substrate using pressure of the gas,
- detecting a misalignment of the substrate,
- printing a material on a surface of the substrate using the at least one print-head;
- and
- using the detected misalignment to control printing the material on the surface of the substrate.
A method for forming a film on a substrate, the method comprising:
- transporting a substrate to a printhead region having an inert gas environment using gas floatation,
- floating the substrate on a gas in the printhead region using a combination of pressure and vacuum;
- and
- while floating the substrate in the printhead region:
- moving the substrate in a first direction and moving at least one print-head in a second direction, the first and second directions being substantially orthogonal to each other,
- controlling a float height of the substrate using pressure of the gas,
- detecting a misalignment of the substrate,
- printing a material on a surface of the substrate using the at least one print-head;
- and
- using the detected misalignment to control dispensing the material from the at least one print-head while printing the material on the surface of the substrate.
A method for forming a film on a substrate, the method comprising:
- transporting a substrate to a printhead region having an inert gas environment using gas floatation,
- floating the substrate on a gas in the printhead region using a combination of pressure and vacuum;
- and
- while floating the substrate in the printhead region:
- moving the substrate in a first direction and moving at least one print-head in a second direction, the first and second directions being substantially orthogonal to each other,
- controlling a float height of the substrate using pressure of the gas,
- detecting a misalignment of the substrate,
- printing a material on a surface of the substrate by activating an energizing element of the at least one print-head to dispense the material onto the surface of the substrate;
- positioning the substrate based on the detected misalignment;
- and
- activating the energizing element of the at least one print-head based on the detected misalignment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.