Emagin Corporation

Kerry Tice

Amalkumar P Ghosh

Ilyas I Khayrullin

Tariq Ali

Evan P Donoghue

Fridrich Vazan

Qi Wang

Laurie Sziklas

Munisamy Anandan

Ihor T Wacyk

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

In a method for designing and fabricating a micro-lens array, a design is finalized by varying certain features of a shadow mask, varying a distance between a source of lens-forming material and the shadow mask, and varying other parameters until the features and distances result in the formation of a micro-lens having desired shape, etc. A shadow mask in accordance with the design is then fabricated and is appropriately positioned with respect to a micro-display and a source of lens-forming material. A plume of lens-forming material is then generated under reduced pressure and which propagates toward the shadow mask, directly patterning the micro-lenses on sub-pixels of the micro-display.

Method of designing and fabricating a microlens array

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

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 tandem Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) apparatus and method of fabricating the same, where the tandem OLED apparatus includes a buffer assisted charge generation layer having a junction of a p-type doped semiconductor layer and an n-type doped semiconductor layer, where a hole buffer layer and an electron buffer layer pair surrounding the junction of the p-type and n-type doped semiconductor layers. The OLED apparatus further includes a first OLED emissive layer and a second OLED emissive layer pair surrounding the buffer assisted charge generation layer, and a cathode and anode layer pair further surrounding the first and second OLED emissive layer pair.

Buffer assisted charge generation layer for tandem OLEDs

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 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.

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Hopewell Junction, NY, United States of America

Kerry Tice