Granted Patent B2

US 12,334,402 · App. 18/065,797 · Granted Jun 17, 2025

Inventors: Eliyahu Vronsky (Los Altos, CA); Nahid Harjee (Sunnyvale, CA)

Assignee: Kateeva, Inc.

H01L22/12B05C11/10B41J2/01B41J2/04581B41J2/2054B41J2/21B41J3/407B41M3/00B41M5/0047B41M7/0081H01L21/02288H01L21/67126H01L22/26H04N1/405H10F19/80H10F77/50H10H20/852H10H20/853H10K50/84H10K50/844H10K71/00H10K71/135H10K71/70B41M7/009H10H20/0362H10H20/854H10K50/8445H10K59/1201H10K59/8731Y02E10/549Y02P70/50

Abstract

Claims (39)

1. A method of fabricating a layer of an electronic device, wherein the layer is to span an area of a substrate, the area having at least one lateral edge, the method comprising:

receiving a value representing a desired thickness of the layer;

using an ink jet printer to deposit droplets of liquid, the droplets to coalesce to form a continuous liquid coat within the area; and

using a curing mechanism to cure the continuous liquid coat to form the layer;

wherein using the ink jet printer to deposit the droplets of liquid comprises deposing droplets at a first density of droplets at the at least one lateral edge to form a frame for the layer, and

depositing droplets within the frame at a second density of droplets different from the first density of droplets, wherein the second density of droplets is based on the value and on a correction image representing a topography of the area.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprises at least one of an encapsulation layer, or a planarization layer, or a barrier layer.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the electronic device comprises light emitting elements and wherein each layer of the at least one is to span the light emitting elements.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the liquid comprises a first material, wherein the curing mechanism comprises a source of radiation, and wherein the method further comprises exposing the continuous liquid coat to the source of radiation to convert the first material into a second material.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first material is a monomer and the second material is a polymer.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein:

depositing droplets within the frame at the second density of droplets comprises driving nozzles of a print head using a nozzle drive waveform in a manner dependent on the value and the correction image.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein depositing droplets comprises using nozzle drive waveforms selected according to the received value and the correction image.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein density of droplets is varied according to the value and the correction image.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein depositing the droplets at the first density of droplets comprises using the ink jet printer to print within a controlled atmosphere, and wherein depositing the droplets at the second density of droplets comprises using the ink jet printer to print within the controlled atmosphere.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising producing the layer for each respective substrate of a series of substrates, and using the ink jet printer to print the liquid according to a common scan pattern and a common nozzle firing pattern for each of the respective substrates.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first density of droplets is greater the second density of droplets.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second density of droplets is defined by a pattern of droplets resolved from the correction image.

13. A method, comprising:

forming an electroluminescent element on a substrate; and

forming a uniform layer over an area of the substrate and over the electroluminescent element, the layer having a plurality of thicknesses, by:

forming a frame by depositing a first plurality of droplets of a liquid with first droplet coverage at an edge of the area, the frame defining a central area within the frame; and

depositing a second plurality of droplets of the liquid with second droplet coverage in the central area, the second droplet coverage based on a topology of the substrate in the central area; and

solidifying the uniform layer.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein forming the uniform layer further comprises depositing a third plurality of droplets of the liquid with a third droplet coverage, different from the first and second droplet coverages, within an intermediate region in the central area adjacent to the frame.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the first and second droplet coverages are defined by a droplet deposition density.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the droplets are ejected from a plurality of nozzles of a print head of an inkjet printer, and droplet coverage is defined by a selection of waveforms applied to the nozzles to adjust size of the droplets ejected from the nozzles.

17. The method of claim 13 , wherein the second droplet coverage is defined by a pattern of droplets resolved from a correction image based on the topology of the substrate in the central area.

18. A method, comprising forming an electroluminescent element on a substrate; and

forming a uniform layer over an area of the substrate and over the electroluminescent element, the layer having a plurality of thicknesses, by:

forming a frame by depositing a first plurality of droplets of a liquid with first droplet coverage at an edge of the area, the frame defining a central area within the frame;

depositing a second plurality of droplets of the liquid with second droplet coverage in the central area, the second droplet coverage based on a topology of the substrate in the central area; and

depositing a third plurality of droplets of the liquid in the central area with a third droplet coverage different from the first and second droplet coverages; and

solidifying the uniform layer.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the droplets are ejected from a plurality of nozzles of a print head of an inkjet printer, and droplet coverage is defined by one or more of:

a selection of nozzles and waveforms that adjust size and deposition density of the droplets;

a time dependent frequency of a trigger signal for ejecting the droplets; and

a correction image based on a topography of the substrate.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the first droplet coverage is greater than the second droplet coverage.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (12)

References Cited (400)