Eastman-kodak Company

Emagin Corporation

University of Rochester

Other

Fridrich Vazan

Yuan-Sheng Tyan

Amalkumar P Ghosh

Ilyas I Khayrullin

Tariq Ali

Evan P Donoghue

Kerry Tice

Pranab K Raychaudhuri

Thomas Richard Cushman

Kee-Chuan Pan

George R Olin

Qi Wang

Giuseppe Farruggia

Bruno Primerano

Laurie Sziklas

Donald R Preuss

Munisamy Anandan

Yuan S Tyan

Kee C Pan

Ching W Tang

Amal Ghosh

Charles K Chan

James A Barnard

Guiseppe Farruggia

The present disclosure enables high-resolution direct patterning of a material on a substrate by establishing and maintaining a separation between a shadow mask and a substrate based on the thickness of a plurality of standoffs. The standoffs function as a physical reference that, when in contact between the substrate and shadow mask determine the separation between them. Embodiments are described in which the standoffs are affixed to an element selected from the shadow mask, the substrate, the mask chuck, and the substrate chuck.

Direct-deposition system including standoffs for controlling substrate-mask separation

A linear evaporation apparatus, system and method including a conductance chamber including a linear output section configured to emit a linear source deposition flux therethrough, an evaporative vapor communication conduit including an evaporative vapor mixing chamber and a plurality of crucible-receiving apertures at distal ends from the evaporative vapor mixing chamber, wherein the evaporative vapor mixing chamber is in communication with the conductance chamber and configured to transmit the linear source deposition flux therethrough, and a plurality of crucibles, each of the plurality of crucibles corresponding to one of the plurality of crucible-receiving apertures at the distal ends from the evaporative vapor mixing chamber, each of the plurality of crucibles configured to hold a material and heat the material to a corresponding material evaporation temperature, each of the plurality of crucibles further including a vapor pressure activated lid configured to open at a predetermined material vapor pressure value generated by heating the crucibles to at least the corresponding material evaporation temperature.

Linear source apparatus, system and method of use

A direct-deposition system forming a high-resolution pattern of material on a substrate is disclosed. Vaporized atoms from an evaporation source pass through a pattern of through-holes in a shadow mask to deposit on the substrate in the desired pattern. The shadow mask is held in a mask chuck that enables the shadow mask and substrate to be separated by a distance that can be less than ten microns. Prior to reaching the shadow mask, vaporized atoms pass through a collimator that operates as a spatial filter that blocks any atoms not travelling along directions that are nearly normal to the substrate surface. Vaporized atoms that pass through the shadow mask exhibit little or no lateral spread after passing through through-holes and the material deposits on the substrate in a pattern that has very high fidelity with the through-hole pattern of the shadow mask.

High-precision shadow-mask-deposition system and method therefor

A shadow mask that includes compensation layer operative for at least partially correcting gravity-induced sag of a shadow-mask membrane is disclosed. The compensation layer is formed on a surface of the shadow-mask membrane such that the compensation layer is characterized by a residual stress that gives rise to a first bending moment in the membrane, where the first bending moment is directed in the opposite direction to a second bending moment in the membrane that is induced by the effect of gravity.

Shadow mask comprising a gravity-compensation layer and method of fabrication

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to systems, method, and structures including a high-resolution shadow mask with tapered aperture/pixel openings that advantageously overcomes problems plaguing the prior art namely shadowing, sagging, and fragility.

High resolution shadow mask with tapered pixel openings

The method for producing an OLED micro-display on a silicon wafer uses a collimating shadow mask formed on a silicon substrate. The mask is fabricated by depositing a material layer on the front side and on the back side of the substrate and etching a portion of the layer on the back side of the substrate to a reduced thickness of at least 20 microns. At least one opening is created in the etched portion of the substrate. The substrate beneath the opening is removed to create the mask. The mask is situated at a location spaced from the surface of the silicon wafer and exposed to a linear evaporation source. Organic layers are then deposited on the silicon wafer in a location aligned with the mask opening.

High precision, high resolution collimating shadow mask and method for fabricating a micro-display

An apparatus and method for performing material deposition on an active-matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) display array on a substrate, includes aligning a shadow mask to a first position relative to the substrate; initially depositing a first material through the shadow mask onto the substrate at a first material deposition position relative to the first position of the aligned shadow mask and at a first deposition height; incrementing the position the shadow mask to a second position relative to the first material deposition position; and subsequently depositing one of the first material or a second material through the shadow mask onto the substrate at a second material deposition position relative to the first material deposition position, wherein the second material deposition position having an identical deposition pattern as the first material deposition position on account of the shadow mask.

Apparatus and method of directly patterning high resolution active matrix organic light emitting diodes using high-resolution shadow mask

A method of active alignment of a shadow mask to a substrate includes a first alignment by moving the shadow mask and the substrate a first distance in a vertical direction, capturing a first alignment image, determining at least one of a first correction distance and a first rotational correction angle, and aligning the shadow mask and the substrate by moving the first correction distance and rotating the first rotational correction angle. The method further includes performing a first material deposition process on the substrate and continuously capturing a first series of alignment images during the generation of the first material deposition flow. During the generation of the first material deposition flow the first series of alignment images are analyzed to determine a second correction distance and a second rotational correction angle and determining whether second distance and/or rotational correction angle is greater than or equal to a predetermined value to cause a second alignment process to occur.

Method of active alignment for direct patterning high resolution micro-display

A direct-deposition system capable of forming a high-resolution pattern of material on a substrate is disclosed. Vaporized atoms from an evaporation source pass through a pattern of through-holes in a shadow mask to deposit on the substrate in the desired pattern. The shadow mask is held in a mask chuck that enables the shadow mask and substrate to be separated by a distance that can be less than ten microns. As a result, the vaporized atoms that pass through the shadow mask exhibit little or no lateral spread (i.e., feathering) after passing through its apertures and the material deposits on the substrate in a pattern that has very high fidelity with the aperture pattern of the shadow mask.

Shadow-mask-deposition system and method therefor

A high efficacy multi-layer seal structure formed on an organic light emitting diode device and the process for depositing the same. A thin film seal is formed over the substrate having OLED layers, and includes a first metallic layer formed over the substrate, an inorganic layer formed over the first metallic layer, and a second metallic layer formed of the inorganic layer. The metallic layers comprise one or more oxide or nitride layers, each oxide or nitride comprising a metal. The inorganic layer comprises a metal oxide, a metal nitride or a metal oxynitride. The process for forming the multi-layer seal structure includes depositing the first metallic layer over the substrate using atomic layer deposition, depositing the inorganic layer over the first metallic layer using sputtering, and then depositing the second metallic layer over the inorganic layer using atomic layer deposition.

High efficacy seal for organic light emitting diode displays

A direct-deposition system capable of forming a high-resolution pattern of material on a substrate is disclosed. Vaporized atoms from an evaporation source pass through an aperture pattern of a shadow mask to deposit on the substrate in the desired pattern. Prior to reaching the shadow mask, the vaporized atoms pass through a collimator that operates as a spatial filter that blocks any atoms not travelling along directions that are nearly normal to the substrate surface. As a result, the vaporized atoms that pass through the shadow mask exhibit little or no lateral spread (i.e., feathering) after passing through its apertures and the material deposits on the substrate in a pattern that has very high fidelity with the aperture pattern of the shadow mask. The present invention, therefore, mitigates the need for relatively large space between regions of deposited material normally required in the prior art, thereby enabling high-resolution patterning.

A method of making a patterned OLED layer or layers. The method uses a shadow mask having, for example, a free-standing silicon nitride membrane to pattern color emitter material with a feature size of less than 10 microns. The methods can be used, for example, in the manufacture of OLED microdisplays.

Growing community of inventors

Pittsford, NY, United States of America

Fridrich Vazan