Transferring viscous materials

A transfer device for transferring of a functional material, onto a receiving substrate, the device comprising:

• a plate having a donor surface that includes at least one donor area that is formed as a cavity in the donor surface and that is filled with the functional material, the functional material being one selected from the group consisting of:
• an electric conductor, an electric insulator, a thermal conductor and a thermal insulator, and wherein the functional material has a viscosity of at least 50 Pa·s and a material composition that, when sufficiently heated, generates a gas at an interface between the donor area surface in the donor area and the functional material, to transfer the functional material from the at least one donor area by the gas generation onto the receiving substrate;
• a plurality of individually addressable resistive heater elements, each of the individually addressable resistive heater elements being in thermal contact with a respective zone of the cavity forming the at least one donor area;
• and
• control circuitry configured to supply an electric power having a respective time dependent magnitude to respective ones of the plurality of individually addressable resistive heater elements,
• wherein the control circuitry is configured to supply the electric power in a plurality of heating cycles,
• wherein the control circuitry, during mutually different phases within a heating cycle, provides a respective one of at least a subset of the plurality of individually addressable heater elements with an electric power,
• wherein the electric energy provided within a single phase is below a threshold value at which a transfer of the functional material occurs, and the total amount of electric energy provided in the plurality of heating cycles exceeds the threshold value.

A transfer device for transferring of a functional material, onto a receiving substrate, the device comprising:

• a plate having a donor surface that includes at least one donor area that is formed as a cavity in the donor surface and that is filled with the functional material, the functional material being one selected from the group consisting of:
• an electric conductor, an electric insulator, a thermal conductor and a thermal insulator, and wherein the functional material has a viscosity of at least 50 Pa·s and a material composition that, when sufficiently heated, generates a gas at an interface between the donor area surface in the donor area and the functional material, to transfer the functional material from the at least one donor area by the gas generation onto the receiving substrate;
• a plurality of individually addressable resistive heater elements, each of the individually addressable resistive heater elements being in thermal contact with a respective zone of the cavity forming the at least one donor area;
• and
• control circuitry configured to supply an electric power having a respective time dependent magnitude to respective ones of the plurality of individually addressable resistive heater elements,
• wherein the transfer device is configured to move the plate and the receiving substrate relative to each other while in the process of transferring functional material from the at least one donor area, a first portion thereof already adheres to the receiving substrate while another portion thereof remains adhered to the plate surface in the donor area.

A transfer device for transferring of a functional material, onto a receiving substrate, the device comprising:

• a plate having a donor surface that includes at least one donor area that is formed as a cavity in the donor surface and that is filled with the functional material, the functional material being one selected from the group consisting of:
• an electric conductor, an electric insulator, a thermal conductor and a thermal insulator, and wherein the functional material has a viscosity of at least 50 Pa·s and a material composition that, when sufficiently heated, generates a gas at an interface between the donor area surface in the donor area and the functional material, to transfer the functional material from the at least one donor area by the gas generation onto the receiving substrate;
• a plurality of individually addressable resistive heater elements, each of the individually addressable resistive heater elements being in thermal contact with a respective zone of the cavity forming the at least one donor area;
• and
• control circuitry configured to supply an electric power having a respective time dependent magnitude to respective ones of the plurality of individually addressable resistive heater elements,
• wherein the plurality of individually addressable heater elements are arranged in successive zones of the at least one donor area,
• wherein the control circuitry is configured to sequentially supply an electric power to a respective one of the plurality of individually addressable heater elements, and
• wherein a non-linear relationship exists between a rank of the individually addressable heater elements in the succession and a point in time at which a supply of electric power is initiated to a particular addressed one of the individually addressable heater elements.