Granted Patent B2

US 12,285,945 · App. 18/429,872 · Granted Apr 29, 2025

Inventors: Sass Somekh (Los Altos, CA); Eliyahu Vronsky (Los Altos, CA); Conor F. Madigan (San Francisco, CA)

Assignee: Kateeva, Inc.

B41J2/14B05B17/0638B05B17/0646B05C5/0208B05C13/02B41J2/015B41J2/16505B41J2/315B41J11/0015B41J29/393B41M5/0011B41M5/0047C23C4/137H01L21/67201H01L21/67784H05B33/10H10H20/01B05C15/00B05D5/00B41J2202/09B41J2202/16H10K71/00H10K71/135H10K71/40

Abstract

Claims (47)

1. 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.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving the substrate at a inlet region, isolating the inlet region, and forming the inert gas environment prior to transporting the substrate to the printhead region.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, after transporting the substrate to the printhead region, isolating the printhead region.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transporting the substrate from the printhead region to an outlet region, wherein the printhead region and the outlet region are enclosed in a housing and separated by a partition.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising controlling a location of the substrate using the pressure and vacuum.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein using the detected misalignment to control printing the material comprises adjusting position of at least one of the print-head and the substrate based on the misalignment and adjusting print-head firing based on the misalignment.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein detecting the misalignment comprises determining a magnification misalignment, a translational misalignment, an angular misalignment, or a combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein detecting the misalignment comprises identifying an alignment target on the substrate using a camera.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising aligning the substrate along the first direction before printing the material on the substrate.

10. 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.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein printing the material on the surface of the substrate comprises printing the material in a pattern on the surface of the substrate.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the material is printed in a pattern on the surface of the substrate to form a display device.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the material comprises an organic material.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein detecting the misalignment comprises determining a magnification misalignment, a translational misalignment, an angular misalignment, or a combination thereof.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein using the detected misalignment to control printing the material comprises adjusting position of at least one of the print-head and the substrate based on the misalignment to correct for the misalignment.

16. The method of claim 10 , further comprising controlling a location of the substrate using the pressure and vacuum.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein:

the at least one print-head comprises an energizing element to dispense the material from 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 comprises activating the energizing element based on the misalignment.

18. 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.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising controlling a location of the substrate using the pressure and vacuum.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the material comprises an organic material.

Continuity (11)

References Cited (357)