Gas enclosure assembly and system
The present teachings relate to various embodiments of a hermetically-sealed gas enclosure assembly and system that can be readily transportable and assemblable and provide for maintaining a minimum inert gas volume and maximal access to various devices and apparatuses enclosed therein. Various embodiments of a hermetically-sealed gas enclosure assembly and system of the present teachings can have a gas enclosure assembly constructed in a fashion that minimizes the internal volume of a gas enclosure assembly, and at the same time optimizes the working space to accommodate a variety of footprints of various OLED printing systems. Various embodiments of a gas enclosure assembly so constructed additionally provide ready access to the interior of a gas enclosure assembly from the exterior during processing and readily access to the interior for maintenance, while minimizing downtime.
1. A method, comprising:
transporting a substrate into a print-head chamber using a gas bearing;
floating the substrate in the print-head chamber using a combination of pressure and vacuum provided by an inert gas;
while floating the substrate in the print-head chamber, using a print-head to print a material on the substrate;
while using the print-head to print the material on the substrate, maintaining an inert atmosphere within the print-head chamber; and
after printing the material on the substrate, transporting the substrate out of the print-head chamber using a gas bearing.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gas bearing is provided by an inert gas.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is transported into the print-head chamber from an inlet chamber, the substrate is transported out of the print-head chamber to an outlet chamber, or both.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein using the print-head to print the material on the substrate comprises moving the print-head in a first direction and moving the substrate in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising aligning the substrate and the print-head in the print-head chamber.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein aligning the substrate and the print-head in the print-head chamber comprises using a pattern recognition system to recognize a pattern on the substrate.
7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising using the pattern recognition system to detect a misalignment of the substrate and adjusting print-head firing according to the detected misalignment.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to transporting the substrate into the print-head chamber, disposing the substrate in an inert environment.
9. A method, comprising:
transporting a substrate through a gate into a print-head chamber using a gas bearing;
floating the substrate in the print-head chamber using a combination of pressure and vacuum provided by an inert gas;
while floating the substrate in the print-head chamber, using a print-head to print a material on the substrate;
while using the print-head to print the material on the substrate, maintaining an inert atmosphere within the print-head chamber; and
after printing the material on the substrate, transporting the substrate through a gate out of the print-head chamber using a gas bearing.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the gas bearing is provided by an inert gas that includes nitrogen gas.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein using the print-head to print the material on the substrate comprises moving the print-head in a first direction and moving the substrate in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.
12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising aligning the substrate and the print-head in the print-head chamber.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein aligning the substrate and the print-head comprises using a pattern recognition system to register a pattern previously formed on the substrate.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the pattern recognition system detects a misalignment of the substrate and using the print-head to print the material on the substrate comprises adjusting print-head firing according to the detected misalignment.
15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising, prior to transporting the substrate into the print-head chamber, disposing the substrate in an inert environment.
16. A method, comprising:
disposing a substrate in an inert environment;
transporting the substrate from the inert environment through a gate into a print-head chamber using a gas bearing;
floating the substrate in the print-head chamber using a combination of pressure and vacuum provided by an inert gas;
while floating the substrate in the print-head chamber, using an array of print-heads to print an organic LED material on the substrate;
while using the array of print-heads to print the organic LED material on the substrate, maintaining an inert atmosphere within the print-head chamber; and
after printing the organic LED material on the substrate, transporting the substrate through a gate out of the print-head chamber using a gas bearing.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein using the array of print-heads to print the material on the substrate comprises moving the array of print-heads in a first direction and moving the substrate in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.
18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising registering a pattern previously formed on the substrate using a pattern recognition system.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the pattern recognition system detects a misalignment of the substrate, and using the array of print-heads to print the material on the substrate comprises adjusting print-head firing based on the misalignment.
20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the inert environment comprises nitrogen gas.