Method and apparatus for load-locked printing
View Patent ↗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.
1. A method for forming a film on a substrate, comprising:
receiving a substrate at a substrate-inlet region;
transporting the substrate to a substrate-printing region comprising an inert gas environment;
floating the substrate in the substrate-printing region, wherein the substrate is floated using a substrate floatation system comprising at least one gas inlet port and at least one gas outlet port;
while floating the substrate in the substrate-printing region, printing a film of a selected material on the substrate with at least one print-head having at least one nozzle;
transporting the substrate away from the substrate-printing region; and
removing the substrate from a substrate-outlet region.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate floatation system is configured to provide gas inflow from the at least one gas inlet port and gas outflow from the at least one gas outlet port.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate floatation system is configured to float the substrate at a floating height that is a function of gas inflow from the at least one gas inlet port and gas outflow from the at least one gas outlet port.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising after receiving a substrate at a substrate-inlet region:
isolating the substrate-inlet region; and,
providing the substrate-inlet region with an inert-gas environment.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising after transporting the substrate to a substrate-printing region:
isolating the substrate-printing region.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising aligning the substrate before the printing a film of a selected material on the substrate.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising after transporting the substrate away from the substrate-printing region:
moving the substrate to a substrate-outlet region; and
isolating the substrate-printing region from the substrate-outlet region.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate-inlet region and the substrate-outlet region are the same region.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said inert-gas environment comprises a non-oxidizing environment.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said inert-gas environment comprises a nitrogen-gas environment.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein a floatation gas used with the substrate floatation system comprises an inert gas.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the inert gas is nitrogen.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein printing a film comprises forming a patterned film.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the patterned film is printed on a substrate for an OLED display.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein said selected material comprises an organic material.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the organic material comprises an OLED material.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the print-head comprises an ink chamber in flow communication with a nozzle.