Techniques for Manufacturing Thin Films with Improved Homogeneity and Print Speed

A method of fabricating a layer of an electronic device on a substrate surface, the method comprising:

• receiving a desired thickness of a finished layer to be formed on the substrate surface;
• receiving data representing a spreading characteristic of liquid droplets to be deposited on the substrate surface;
• based on the spreading characteristic, selecting a largest droplet size from a plurality of available droplet sizes that results in a height of the finished layer after processing that is no greater than the desired thickness;
• dependent on the data, calculating a volume of the liquid per unit area of the substrate surface necessary to produce a continuous liquid coat on the substrate surface in a manner not having voids within the unit area of the substrate surface;
• scaling the volume of the liquid per unit area according to the desired thickness;
• determining a number of droplets of the liquid per unit area necessary to produce the scaled volume of the liquid per unit area;
• and
• assigning nozzle firing decisions to respective nozzles of a print head in the printer, to cause the printer to deposit droplets according to the number of droplets of the liquid per unit area to produce the desired thickness of the layer;
• using the printer to print droplets according to the assigned nozzle firing decisions to form the continuous liquid coat;
• and
• processing the continuous liquid coat to form the finished layer.