NL2008066C2 - Method and inkjet system for printing an ink pattern on a substrate. - Google Patents

Method and inkjet system for printing an ink pattern on a substrate. Download PDF

Info

Publication number
NL2008066C2
NL2008066C2 NL2008066A NL2008066A NL2008066C2 NL 2008066 C2 NL2008066 C2 NL 2008066C2 NL 2008066 A NL2008066 A NL 2008066A NL 2008066 A NL2008066 A NL 2008066A NL 2008066 C2 NL2008066 C2 NL 2008066C2
Authority
NL
Netherlands
Prior art keywords
contour
algorithm
pattern
printing
axis
Prior art date
Application number
NL2008066A
Other languages
Dutch (nl)
Inventor
Joost Anne Veerman
Original Assignee
Mutracx B V
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority to NL2008066A priority Critical patent/NL2008066C2/en
Application filed by Mutracx B V filed Critical Mutracx B V
Priority to PCT/NL2012/050934 priority patent/WO2013103298A1/en
Priority to KR1020147021662A priority patent/KR102063516B1/en
Priority to CA3061803A priority patent/CA3061803A1/en
Priority to MYPI2014001972A priority patent/MY168052A/en
Priority to CN201710213913.5A priority patent/CN106985530B/en
Priority to SG11201403776XA priority patent/SG11201403776XA/en
Priority to EP12821205.7A priority patent/EP2800965B1/en
Priority to CN201710214103.1A priority patent/CN106973516B/en
Priority to CN201710213793.9A priority patent/CN106965554B/en
Priority to CN201710213912.0A priority patent/CN106965584B/en
Priority to CA2862582A priority patent/CA2862582C/en
Priority to CN201710214554.5A priority patent/CN106985520B/en
Priority to ES12821205.7T priority patent/ES2638597T3/en
Priority to CN201280071043.8A priority patent/CN104136917B/en
Priority to CN201710213914.XA priority patent/CN106998628B/en
Priority to KR1020207000005A priority patent/KR20200004463A/en
Priority to EP17175965.7A priority patent/EP3261425A1/en
Priority to US14/370,195 priority patent/US9363899B2/en
Publication of NL2008066C2 publication Critical patent/NL2008066C2/en
Application granted granted Critical
Priority to IL233458A priority patent/IL233458B/en
Priority to PH12014501520A priority patent/PH12014501520A1/en
Priority to HK14112454.8A priority patent/HK1199096A1/en
Priority to US15/148,780 priority patent/US9769932B2/en
Priority to US15/677,926 priority patent/US10123427B2/en
Priority to US16/152,065 priority patent/US20190037704A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/21—Ink jet for multi-colour printing
    • B41J2/2132—Print quality control characterised by dot disposition, e.g. for reducing white stripes or banding
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
    • H05K3/00—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits
    • H05K3/10—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits in which conductive material is applied to the insulating support in such a manner as to form the desired conductive pattern
    • H05K3/12—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits in which conductive material is applied to the insulating support in such a manner as to form the desired conductive pattern using thick film techniques, e.g. printing techniques to apply the conductive material or similar techniques for applying conductive paste or ink patterns
    • H05K3/1241—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits in which conductive material is applied to the insulating support in such a manner as to form the desired conductive pattern using thick film techniques, e.g. printing techniques to apply the conductive material or similar techniques for applying conductive paste or ink patterns by ink-jet printing or drawing by dispensing
    • H05K3/125—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits in which conductive material is applied to the insulating support in such a manner as to form the desired conductive pattern using thick film techniques, e.g. printing techniques to apply the conductive material or similar techniques for applying conductive paste or ink patterns by ink-jet printing or drawing by dispensing by ink-jet printing
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
    • H05K2203/00—Indexing scheme relating to apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits covered by H05K3/00
    • H05K2203/16—Inspection; Monitoring; Aligning
    • H05K2203/163—Monitoring a manufacturing process

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Quality & Reliability (AREA)
  • Ink Jet (AREA)
  • Application Of Or Painting With Fluid Materials (AREA)

Description

P30974NL00/KHO
Title: Method and inkjet system for printing an ink pattern on a substrate
The present invention relates to an inkjet system and method for printing an ink pattern on a substrate by using an inkjet system and based on a received pattern layout.
The method can be applied to any situation in which homogenous, smooth-walled features in a print pattern are required. The ink pattern is a two dimensional pattern. In particular, the 5 ink pattern is an integrated circuit (1C) pattern. An inkjet technology is applied to print the ink pattern.
Integrated circuit (1C) printing, which includes a printing of a printed circuit board, is an emerging technology that attempts to reduce the costs associated with 1C production by replacing expensive lithographic processes with simple printing operations. By printing an 1C 10 pattern directly on the substrate rather than using the delicate and time-consuming lithograpy processes used in conventional IC manufacturing, an IC printing system can significantly reduce IC production costs. The printed IC pattern can either comprise actual IC features (i.e., elements will be incorporated into the final IC, such as the gates and source and drain regions of thin film transistors, signal lines, opto-electronic device components, 15 etc. or it can be a mask for subsequent semiconductor processing (e.g., etch, implant, etc.).
Typically, IC printing involves depositing a print solution by raster bitmap along a single print travel axis (the "printing direction ") across a solid substrate. Print heads, and in particular the arrangements of the ejector(s) incorporated in those printheads, are optimised for printing along this print travel axis. Printing of an IC pattern takes place in a raster 20 fashion, with the printhead making "printing passes" across the substrate as the ejector(s) in the printhead dispense individual droplets of print solution onto the substrate. Generally, at the end of each printing pass, the printhead makes a perpendicular shift relative to the print travel axis before beginning a new printing pass. The printheads continues making printing passes across the substrate in this manner until the IC pattern has been fully printed.
25 Once dispensed from the ejector(s) of the print head, print solution droplets attach themselves to the substrate through a wetting action and proceed to solidify in place. The size and profile of the deposited material is guided by competing processes of solidification and wetting. In dependence of a type of ink, the ink solidifies by polymerisation, crystallisation, heat transfer by infra red radiation, etc. In the case of printing phase-change 30 materials for etch mask production, solidification occurs when the printed drop loses its thermal energy to the substrate and reverts to a solid form. In another case, colloidal suspensions such as organic polymers and suspensions of electronic material in a solvent or carrier are printed and wet to the substrate leaving a printed feature. The thermal conditions -2- and material properties of the print solution and substrate, along with the ambient atmospheric conditions, determine the specific rate at which the deposited print solution transforms from a liquid to a solid.
If a first droplet and a second adjacent droplet are applied onto the substrate within a 5 time prior to the phase transformation of the first droplet, the second droplet will wet and coalesce to the first droplet in its liquid or semi-liquid state to form a continuous printed feature.
When a printed feature is printed in a single printing pass, a so called swath, in the printing direction adjacent droplets will deposited during the single printing pass and will not 10 have time to dry between ejection events. A desired homogeneity and smooth side wall profile results when an optimal droplet coalescence occurs. However, in particular, a raster printing in a direction perpendicular to the printing direction often results in an ink pattern having a scalloped edge. An ink pattern extending in a direction perpendicular to the printing direction is typically a "multi-pass" feature; i.e., a printed feature formed by multiple 15 passes, so called multiple swaths, of the print head. In a multi-pass feature, the droplets deposited during sequential passes of the print head are typically dry before any adjacent droplets from the next printing pass are deposited. Consequently, the drops of print solution that make up the multi-pass feature are not able to coalesce and therefore create "scalloped" feature borders. This edge scalloping can be recognised in that individual print 20 solution droplets which are used to form the ink pattern are all clearly visible.
The edge scalloping is related to a variety of problematic issues. For example, if the IC pattern is a mask, the irregular edges of feature can result in unreliable print quality and patterning defects leading to inconsistent device performance. Perhaps more significantly, edge scalloping in an actual IC feature indicates a potentially serious underlying defect. The 25 electronic behaviour of an IC feature is affected by its molecular structure. In particular, the molecules of organic printing fluids are typically long chains that need to self-assemble in a particular order. However, if a droplet of such printing solution solidifies before an adjacent droplet is deposited, those chains are not allowed to properly assemble, leading to a significant reduction in the electrical continuity between the two droplets. This in turn can 30 severely diminish the performance of the device that incorporates the scalloped printed feature.
EP1.392.091 discloses a printing system and method to reduce the scalloping effect, but the printing system and the method is still not satisfying. The disclosed method separates an ink pattern into a first design layer and a second design layer. The first design 35 layer consists of features which run parallel to a first reference axis which is aligned with the printing direction. The second design layer consists of features which run parallel to a second reference axis which is non-parallel with the printing direction. The second design -3- layer is printed after printing the first design layer. A printed pattern can be formed by a series of printing operations, wherein the print direction of each printing operation is aligned with the parallel layout features of the design layer being printed.
A drawback of the method is that it provides no satisfying solution for ink patterns 5 which have a curved geometry. In particular, a circular ink pattern may still have scalloped edges. 1C printing includes a lot of circular ink patterns especially at connecting locations at an end of a circuit line for electrically connecting an 1C component.
The general object of the present invention is to at least partially eliminate the above mentioned drawbacks and/or to provide a useable alternative. More specific, it is an object 10 of the invention to provide a method for printing an ink pattern, wherein the resulted ink pattern has an increased homogeneity and an improved smooth side wall. It is a specific object to obtain an ink pattern which has a more accurate outer contour.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by a method for printing an ink pattern according to claim 1.
15 According to the invention a method is provided for printing an ink pattern on a substrate based on a pattern layout. In a step of the method the pattern layout is separated into a discrete contour layer and a discrete inner region layer. The pattern layout is separated in at least one step into at least one discrete contour layer comprising at least one contour part. Further, the pattern layout is separated in least one discrete inner region layer 20 comprising at least one inner region part. An imaginary X-Y plane including a first (X) and second (Y) axis is defined with respect to a used inkjet system. The first axis X is defined with respect to the inkjet system as extending in a direction perpendicular to a direction of movement of a linear movable substrate positioning stage. The second axis Y is oriented perpendicular to the first axis X and in a projection onto the inkjet system in parallel with a 25 direction of movement of the linear movable substrate positioning stage. Each contour part of the contour layer of the pattern layout has an orientation in the imaginary X-Y plane. Each contour part of a selective part of the pattern layout has an accompanying inner region part. The at least one contour part of a selective part of the pattern layout which has an nonparallel orientation with respect to the Y-axis is printed by contour droplets prior to printing 30 an inner region part of the inner region layer of the selective part of the pattern layout by fill-in droplets. Preferably, the at least one contour part has an orientation in parallel with the X-axis.
In the method according to the invention an inkjet system is used. The inkjet system receives a pattern layout, in particular an image file. The image file is for example a bitmap. 35 The pattern layout can be received from an information carrier like an USB-stick, CD-rom etc. or be supplied by a network connection. The inkjet system comprises control electronics for controlling the inkjet system. The control electronics comprises software which include -4- logic to separate a received pattern layout into a contour layer and an inner region layer.
The contour layer is defined separate from the inner region layer. In the method according to the invention, the contour layer is printed in a first step, wherein the inner region layer is printed later in a next step.
5 The method according to the invention is based on an insight regarding an interaction mechanism between neighbouring droplets after being deposited on a substrate. The interaction mechanism is a relevant factor in the finally obtained accuracy of the ink pattern.
An ink pattern is built up by many adjacent droplets which should recombine to get a 10 desired shape. In an inkjet system, the droplets are typically deposited in a structured way.
In a printing direction, which is a direction of movement of a substrate, droplets are typically deposited in multiple swaths. The swaths are successively positioned in parallel to each other. Neighbouring droplets in a same swath have a certain interaction mechanism to each other which differs from an interaction mechanism between neighbouring droplets of 15 successive swaths. The droplets in the swath are deposited shortly after each other to form the swath. A deposit time interval of neighbouring droplets in the same swath is typically about 0.1msec. After a deposition of a droplet, the droplet starts to solidify and changes from a wet condition to a solid condition. The solidification takes place in a time interval after deposition and may take e.g. 10 seconds. A deposit time interval of neighbouring droplets in 20 successive swaths is typically more than 10 seconds which is far longer than the deposit time interval of neighbouring droplets in the same swath. This time interval difference causes another flow behaviour and thus another interaction mechanism between neighbouring droplets. Due to the different interactions of droplets, the obtained ink pattern as a recombination of droplets varies over its geometry. At a first location in the ink pattern, 25 neighbouring droplets may have started a coalescence after some milliseconds, while at a second location neighbouring droplets may have started coalescence after e.g. 10seconds. The ink pattern has become for that reason a less accurate representation of the pattern layout.
Advantageously, this negative effect of different interaction is reduced by the method 30 according to the invention. According to the invention, the pattern layout is separated into a contour and inner region, wherein the contour is printed before printing the inner region. The accuracy of the contour of the obtained ink pattern mainly determines whether the ink pattern is an acceptable representation of the pattern layout. By printing first the contour a more accurate outer dimension of the obtained ink pattern is achieved. Also an edge 35 scalloping effect is reduced.
In particular, the contour is printed first by depositing contour droplets and thereafter the inner region is filled with fill-in droplets before a solidification of the ink takes place. The -5- contour of the ink pattern mainly determines the accuracy. Advantageously, the contour is created in a relative short time such that a variety of ink flow behaviour remains limited which results in a more accurate ink pattern.
A pattern layout may represent a complete 1C pattern, but may also represent a part 5 of the 1C pattern. The pattern layout may be separated in at least one step. The complete pattern layout may be separated in one step into a contour and an inner region.
Alternatively, the complete pattern layout may be separated in multiple steps into at least one contour layer and at least one inner region layer. A pattern layout of a complete 1C pattern may be subdivided in a set of pattern layout layers before printing. Subsequently, 10 according to the invention each pattern layout layer is considered as an individual pattern layout and is separated into a discrete contour and inner region, wherein the contour of the pattern layout part is printed prior to the inner region of the pattern layout part.
In an embodiment of the method according to invention, the received pattern layout is separated in one step into a discrete contour and a discrete inner region. The ink pattern 15 is printed by printing first the discrete contour and thereafter the inner region.
In an embodiment of the method according to invention, the pattern layout comprises at least two pattern layout layers which are printed in successive printing steps. Each pattern layout layer is printed by printing a contour prior to an inner region of the pattern layout layer.
20 In a particular embodiment of the method according to invention, the pattern layout may comprise at least two pattern layout layers, wherein a first pattern layout layer is printed at a constant X-coordinate. The complete pattern layout is subdivided in a set of pattern layout layers based on travel movements of the substrate in the inkjet system. During a first printing step, the X-coordinate is kept constant by preventing a movement of the substrate in 25 X-direction. The subsequent second pattern layout layer is subsequently printed in a second printing step after a shift of the substrate in X-direction. The shift may be a distance of at most 100pm, in particular at most 0.50pm, but preferably at most 0.25pm in X-direction. The first pattern layout layer is printed by printing first a contour and subsequently an inner region of the first pattern layout layer. Hereby, the first pattern layout layer is completely 30 printed. Subsequently, the second pattern layout layer is printed by printing first a contour and subsequently an inner region of the second pattern layout layer. Herewith, the second pattern layout layer is completely printed after a complete printing of the first pattern layout layer. It is an advantage to complete a pattern layout layer before printing a next pattern layer by printing both the contour as the inner region, because this allows a reduction of a 35 total of printing steps to complete the ink pattern. The complete ink pattern can be printed in a shorter printing time.
-6- ln a particular embodiment of the method according to invention, the pattern layout may comprise at least two pattern layout layers, wherein a first pattern layout layer comprises a first class of contour types and wherein a second pattern layout layer comprises a second class of contour types. A particular classification of contours in dependence of an 5 orientation of at least a part of a contour is described hereafter. The first pattern layout layer comprising contours of the first class may be completely printed in which both the contour and the inner region are included before starting a printing step in which the second pattern layout layer is printed which comprises contours of the second class to obtain a final ink pattern which corresponds with the received pattern layout. A class of contour types may be 10 characterised by a specific time interval for depositing ink droplets. A speed of a substrate positioning stage may correspond with the class of contour types which have to be deposed. The ink pattern may be created by successively printing the first and second pattern layout layer. Advantageously, by subdividing the received pattern layout into several pattern layout layers based on a classification of contour types, a total printing time to print the complete 15 ink pattern may be reduced. According to the invention, the plurality of pattern layout layers are each considered as an individual pattern layout in which each individual pattern layout is separated into a discrete contour and a discrete inner region, wherein the contour of the pattern layout is printed by contour droplets prior to printing the inner region of the pattern layout by fill-in droplets.
20 In a particular embodiment of the method according to invention, a pattern layout may be subdivided in a set of pattern layout features before printing the ink pattern. A feature may e.g. be a connection point for an electrical component on a printed circuit board. Such a feature has typically a circular geometry. The pattern layout feature is separated into a discrete contour and a discrete inner region. The contour of the pattern layout feature is 25 printed prior to printing the inner region of the pattern layout feature.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, a pattern layout is separated in a contour layer and an inner region layer. In a particular embodiment, a pattern layout may comprise only a contour. After applying the logic to separate the pattern layout, the inner region may appear to be a blank region, such that a printing of the inner region can 30 be omitted.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the contour layer of the pattern layout is printed by depositing contour droplets prior to printing the inner region layer of the pattern layout by depositing fill-in droplets. All contour parts are printed prior to an inner region part. Advantageously, no exception needs to be programmed in the control 35 electronics for contour parts having an orientation in parallel with the Y-axis.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention a contour print algorithm is applied for printing the contour, wherein the contour print algorithm converts the contour to -7- a set of droplet positions. The used inkjet system comprises control electronics to control the system. The control electronics comprise software which is configured to convert a received pattern layout into a set of droplet positions. The software comprises logic for separating the pattern layout into a discrete contour and an inner region. The logic includes the contour 5 print algorithm. By applying the contour print algorithm, the contour of a pattern layout is converted into a set of droplet positions. In a next step the inkjet system is operated to deposit contour droplets at the calculated droplet positions.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the method comprises a step of defining an orientation of at least a part of a contour of the pattern layout. The 10 orientation of the contour is defined by an angle in a plane with respect to a reference axis.
In particular, the reference axis corresponds with a printing direction of the inkjet system.
The printing direction of the inkjet system may be defined by a direction of movement of a substrate positioning stage which passes in a movement a printing head.
For instance, the contour or a part of a contour may be a line. The orientation of the 15 line may be determined by measuring an angle between the line and the reference axis. The orientation of the at least part of the contour of a pattern layout may be defined by determining at least two dimensional position coordinates of the contour in a Cartesian system. The orientation may be determined by subtracting the position coordinates.
For instance, the contour or a part of the contour may be arc shaped. The orientation 20 of the arc shaped contour may be determined by measuring an angle between a tangent line and the reference axis.
In dependence of the obtained orientation of the at least part of the contour, the at least part of the contour is subsequently classified in a corresponding contour class of a classification system.
25 In a subsequent step of the method a contour print algorithm is selected in dependence of the classified contour class. By applying the selected contour print algorithm, the at least part of the contour of the pattern layout is converted to a set of contour droplet positions and the contour droplets of the at least part of the contour are printed to the substrate.
30 By using dedicated contour print algorithms for several classes of a classification system, it is possible to take due account for an ink flow behavior which is dependent on the orientation of a part of a pattern layout. Advantageously, herewith it is possible to produce a more accurate ink pattern.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, a contour class is 35 characterized by an orientation of a contour in an imaginary plane including a first X and second Y axis oriented in said plane, wherein the first axis is defined perpendicular to a linear movement of the substrate during operation, wherein the second axis Y is oriented -8- perpendicular to the first axis and in a projection onto an inkjet system in parallel with a direction of movement of a linear movable substrate positioning stage.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the classification system comprises a first contour class, a second contour class and a third contour class, wherein 5 the first, second and third contour class include contour orientations in a first quadrant of a Cartesian system including an X and Y axis, wherein the Y-axis corresponds with a printing direction of the inkjet system which is a direction of movement of the substrate.
The first contour class (I) corresponds with a group of contour parts which are orientated in a quadrant region bounded by a direction in parallel with the X-axis and a 10 direction under a predefined angle a with respect to the Y-axis. The first contour class I can also be indicated as an X-X'-orientation, wherein the orientation is aligned with a reference axis in X direction, the X-axis, or under an inclination with respect to the X-axis, a X'-axis.
The second contour class (II) corresponds with a group of contour parts which are orientated in the quadrant region in between the direction under the predefined angle a and 15 a direction in parallel with the Y-axis. The second class may also be indicated as a group of contour parts having an X-Y orientation.
The third contour class (III) corresponds with a group of contour parts which are orientated in a direction in parallel with the Y-axis. The third class may also be indicated as a group of contour parts having an Y orientation.
20 In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the classification system comprises additional classes which corresponds with orientations in the second, third and/or fourth quadrant of the Cartesian system.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the method comprises a step of converting a defined orientation of at least a part of a contour of the pattern layout to 25 an orientation which falls within the first quadrant. The conversion to the first quadrant may be obtained by mirroring an orientation about the first and/or second reference axis. After applying a selected contour print algorithm, the at least part of the contour of the pattern layout is converted to a set of contour droplet positions. Subsequently, the set of contour droplet positions which are determined for the first quadrant are reconverted to the second, 30 third or fourth quadrant. After the reconversion, the final set of positions are obtained and the contour droplets of the at least part of the contour are ready to be printed to the substrate.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the contour print algorithm comprises a coverage algorithm for converting at least a part of the contour into a 35 set of coverage elements before generating the set of droplet positions. In stead of a direct conversion in one step from the pattern layout to a set of positions, an intermediate step is introduced to convert at least a part of a contour of a pattern layout to at least one coverage -9- element. Subsequently, calculations defined by the algorithm are performed onto the coverage element. The coverage element may be a simplified form of the at least part of the contour. The coverage element may e.g. be a line, arc or circular element. Preferably, the coverage element is a line element, also called a strip element. Advantageously, by applying 5 a coverage algorithm as a feature of the contour print algorithm, the contour print algorithm is simplified. A number of calculations in the contour print algorithm may be reduced by converting the at least part of the contour into the coverage elements. A calculation capacity of the control electronics is less loaded. Advantageously, the inkjet system may have an increased speed and production capacity.
10 In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the contour print algorithm of the first contour class I comprises a coverage algorithm which includes at least one of the following parameters: a parameter defining a number of droplets; a parameter defining a size of droplets; a parameter defining a constant mutual distance between droplets; and a parameter defining at least one absolute droplet position.
15 The outcome of the coverage algorithm of the first contour class may be a strip element as a coverage element. The strip element has an orientation in X-direction. The strip element may extend in X-direction under an angle. The strip is build up with a constant mutual distance between droplets.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the contour print 20 algorithm of the second contour class comprises a coverage algorithm which includes at least one of the following parameters: a parameter defining a size of droplets; a parameter defining at least one absolute droplet position; a parameter defining a number of droplets at an X-position extending in Y direction; and a parameter defining at least one mutual distance between droplets as a function of an absolute droplet position.
25 The outcome of the coverage algorithm of the second contour class may be a strip element as a coverage element. The strip may be an inclined strip. Preferably, the coverage element is a strip element which has an orientation in a direction in parallel with the Y-axis.
The strip is build up with a varying mutual distance between droplets over a length of a contour. Advantageously, a varying mutual distance between the droplets allow a more 30 accurate contour of the ink pattern.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the contour print algorithm of the third contour class comprises a coverage algorithm which includes at least one of the following parameters: a parameter defining a size of droplets; a parameter defining a constant mutual droplet distance for at least a part of a contour; a parameter 35 defining at least one absolute droplet position.
- 10-
The outcome of the coverage algorithm of the third contour class may be a strip element as a coverage element. The strip element has an orientation in Y-direction. The strip element is build up with a constant mutual distance between droplets.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the contour print 5 algorithm of the first contour class comprises a coverage algorithm which includes a parameter defining a distance between a contour droplet and a fill-in droplet. Herewith it is possible to accurately position two adjacent coverage elements, wherein a ink flow effect is taken into account which occurs when two coverage elements including a certain orientation are positioned adjacent each other.
10 In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, an inner region print algorithm is applied for printing the inner region of the pattern layout by fill-in droplets. The inner region print algorithm converts the inner region to a set of fill-in droplets. Analogue to the above described contour print algorithm, the inner region print algorithm may also comprise a coverage algorithm for converting at least a part of the inner region into a set of 15 coverage elements before generating the set of fill-in droplet positions. Preferably, the coverage element is a strip element having an orientation in Y-direction. In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the contour print algorithm comprises an ink flow algorithm for taking into account an ink flow effect before generating the set of droplet positions. The ink flow effect may e.g. depend on a applied combination of ink and substrate 20 or a time interval for depositing neighbouring droplets. Advantageously, an incorporation of the ink flow algorithm in the contour print algorithm improves an accuracy of an obtained ink pattern.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, both the coverage algorithm and the ink flow algorithm may be incorporated in the contour print algorithm. In a 25 first step of the contour print algorithm a contour of a pattern layout may be converted into a certain coverage element. In a subsequent step, the coverage element is converted to a set of droplet positions, wherein due account is taken of flow behaviour of ink droplets for forming the certain coverage element in dependence of current circumstances. For instance the type of ink and substrate material may be taken into account when determining a set of 30 droplet positions for a certain coverage element. Advantageously, an incorporation of both the coverage as the ink flow algorithm in the contour print algorithm improves an accuracy of an obtained ink pattern.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the ink flow algorithm includes ink flow parameters originating from a measurement of at least one test pattern. In 35 the method the ink flow parameters are determined by comparing the printed test pattern with a desired pattern, the pattern layout.
-11 -
The test pattern may comprise at least one coverage element. In particular, the test pattern comprises a pair of coverage elements which are positioned adjacent each other to determine an ink flow effect in between paired coverage elements to define an ink flow parameter which takes account of the measured ink flow effect. The ink flow effect may be a 5 narrowing effect or a time dependent effect which can e.g. be compensated by adjusting a droplet size or positioning. Preferably, the measurement is carried out in the inkjet system, wherein the inkjet system comprises a calibrated scanning unit for capturing an image of the printed test pattern. Advantageously, an online measurement can be carried out to determine the ink flow parameters.
10 In an embodiment of the method according to the invention a width of a test pattern is measured and compared with a pattern layout to determine a deficiency and to determine the ink flow parameter to compensate for the deficiency.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention an outcome of the ink flow algorithm determines the predefined angle a as a boundary between the first and 15 second class of the classification system. Advantageously, the contour print algorithm can be optimised by optimising use of different coverage elements.
In an embodiment of the method according to the invention an outcome of the ink flow algorithm determines a value of a parameter of the coverage algorithm.
20 Further, the invention relates to an inkjet system, in particular a drop-on-demand inkjet system for industrial applications. The inkjet system is arranged for printing an ink pattern, in particular an IC pattern on a substrate. The inkjet system comprises at least one inkjet print head for ejecting a droplet of ink onto the substrate. The inkjet system comprises a substrate positioning stage for carrying and moving the substrate. The inkjet system 25 further comprises control electronics for controlling the inkjet system. The control electronics comprise software which is configured to apply a method according to the invention for printing an ink pattern on a substrate based on a received pattern layout. The software comprises logic to separate the pattern layout into a discrete contour and a discrete inner region. The software comprises logic for extracting the discrete contour and the discrete 30 inner region from the received pattern layout. The control electronics are programmed to print the contour of the pattern layout by contour droplets prior to printing the inner region of the pattern layout by fill-in droplets.
Further embodiments are defined in the subclaims.
35 The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the appended drawings. The drawings show a practical embodiment according to the invention, which may not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention. Specific features may also be - 12- considered apart from the shown embodiment and may be taken into account in a broader context as a delimiting feature, not only for the shown embodiment but as a common feature for all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims, in which: 5 Fig. 1a shows a flow chart of the method according to the invention for printing an ink pattern;
Fig. 1b shows the flow chart of Fig. 1a including an example of a pattern layout;
Fig. 2 shows a classification system in a Cartesian system;
Figures 3a-3d show several examples of orientations of contours in several directions; 10 Fig. 4 shows a flow chart, wherein the contour print algorithm is subdivided into a coverage algorithm and an ink flow algorithm;
Fig. 5 shows a flow chart of the ink flow algorithm, wherein a set of coverage elements is converted to an ink pattern;
Fig. 6a shows a combination of coverage elements which include a narrowing effect as an 15 ink flow effect;
Fig. 6b shows the same combination of two coverage elements as shown in Fig.6a, but by applying another time interval;
Fig. 6c shows an alternative combination of coverage elements to achieve an ink pattern with a certain width; and 20 Fig. 7a and 7b show a further exemplary illustration of two different combinations of test patterns.
Fig. 1a shows a flow chart of the method according to the invention. In the method a pattern layout L is received by control electronics of an inkjet system. The control electronics 25 comprise a software to convert the pattern layout to an ink pattern. The software includes logic I to convert the received pattern layout L into a separate contour layer including at least one contour part and a separate inner region layer including at least an inner region part of the pattern layout. The logic I provides output data which is used to control at least one print head of the inkjet system. The logic I provides a first 1 and second 2 output data. The first 30 output data 1 comprises contour data for printing a contour as defined in the contour layer. The second output data 2 comprises inner region data for printing an inner region as defined in the inner region layer. A contour of a pattern layout is defined by an outer border region of the pattern layout. An inner region is defined by a region which is enclosed by at least two border regions. A contour forms a border for an inner region. The first and second output 35 data are subsequently processed to print the ink pattern. In a first step the contour data is processed to print the contour. The contour C is printed by deposing contour droplets onto a substrate. In a second following step, the inner region data is processed to print the inner - 13- region within a printed contour. The inner region F is printed by depositing fill-in droplets onto the substrate. After printing both the contour C and the inner region F, the final ink pattern P is obtained.
Fig. 1b illustrates a processing of an exemplary pattern layout in a flow chart as 5 shown in Fig. 1a. The pattern layout is a typical integrated circuit (IC) pattern layout and includes a circuit line and a circular end portion. The circular end portion of the IC pattern layout can be used to connect an electrical component to build a printed circuit board (PCB). In the method according to the invention, the IC pattern layout P is separated into a contour layer and an inner region layer. Logic I is applied to the IC pattern layout and contour data 1 10 is generated which is first processed to print the contour C on a substrate. An obtained contour C is depicted in a subsequent box in the flow chart of Fig. 1b. The contour C is an outline of the pattern layout. Logic I is further applied to generate inner region data 2. The inner region data 2 is processed to print an inner region F on the substrate. The inner region F may be printed by printing at least one swath of fill-in droplets inside the already printed 15 contour. The inner region F can be defined as the pattern layout in which an outer edge which defines the contour is subtracted. The outer edge may have a width of at least one contour droplets. Preferably, the outer edge has a width of one contour droplet.
The control electronics comprise a contour print algorithm to print the contour C to a substrate. The contour print algorithm converts the contour C to a set of droplet positions.
20 The contour print algorithm is e.g. a rasterizing algorithm, wherein the contour data is projected onto a raster to obtain a distribution for contour droplets. The raster may have a plurality of raster cells in which the contour algorithm may generate a droplet position for each raster cell which is covered for a certain amount.
Preferably, the contour print algorithm is based on an orientation of at least a part of 25 the contour. The orientation of the at least part of the contour is measured relative to a reference axis. The orientation may be defined by an angle with respect to the reference axis. In a step of the orientation based contour print algorithm, the at least part of the contour is classified in dependence of the defined orientation. The at least part of the contour is classified in a class of a classification system. Each class has its own conversion 30 to obtain a set of positions of the contour droplets. In dependence of the orientation of the at least part of the contour, the conversion of contour the differs. Herewith, an optimal compensation for an interaction mechanism between adjacent droplets can be achieved.
The contour droplets are printed by applying the class dependent selected contour print algorithm.
35 In fig. 2 a classification system is depicted in a Cartesian system. The Cartesian system has a first quadrant which is delimited by an X-axis and an Y-axis. The classification system has three classes, a first class I, a second class II, and a third class III.
- 14- A first class I is defined for a group of contour parts which have an orientation in a direction of the X-axis and in a direction under an angle larger than a predetermined angle a. The predetermined angle a is an angle in the first quadrant with respect to the Y-axis. The predetermined angle a may be a parameter which may be a function of ink flow and/or 5 substrate properties.
A second class II is defined for a group of contour parts which has an orientation in a direction under an angle smaller or equal to the predetermined angle a.
A third class III is defined for a group of contour parts which has an orientation in a direction of the Y-axis.
10 In the method according to the invention, the Cartesian system is projected onto a layout of the inkjet system. The inkjet system has a layout which includes a printing direction which corresponds with a travel direction of the substrate. The Y-axis is projected onto the printing direction of the inkjet system.
In the method according to the invention all separated contour parts are classified 15 into one of the three classes. Contour parts having an orientation falling outside the first quadrant and in one of the second, third, or fourth quadrant of the Cartesian system are in a preparing step first mirrored to obtain an orientation falling in the first quadrant. In a subsequent step, the set of droplet positions is determined, wherein the mirroring step is compensated again to obtain a set of droplet positions in the corresponding quadrant.
20 The figures 3a-3d show several examples of orientations of contours in several directions. The contours may be combined as contour parts to obtain a complete contour as defined by a pattern layout. The figures show an X-axis and an Y-axis of a Cartesian system. An ink pattern is illustrated which has a contour C and an inner region F. The ink pattern is obtained by depositing contour and fill-in droplets in a printing process. The 25 printing direction is in parallel with an Y-axis. The contour C is deposited first and formed by an array of contour droplets. The array of contour droplets form a strip element. The inner region F is formed by filling in a region in between the two opposite contours C by depositing fill-in droplets. The fill-in droplets are deposited in swaths. Fig. 3a-3d show a bold line C' at the contour C which indicates a resulting pattern layout edge which borders the ink pattern 30 after spreading out.
Fig. 3a shows an orientation of a contour in a first class I. The orientation of the contour is in a X-direction. The contour is formed by a deposition of contour droplets. The contour droplets are positioned in a line and have a constant Y-coordinate. The contour droplets form a strip element. The strip element is built with contour droplets of a constant 35 size. The strip element is built with a single array of contour droplets. The strip element has a constant pitch. The mutual distance between two successive contour droplets in the strip element is constant.
- 15-
Fig. 3b shows another orientation of a contour in a first class I, wherein the orientation is under an angle with respect to the Y-axis which is larger than or equal to the predefined angle a. The contour is formed by a deposition of contour droplets. The contour droplets are positioned in a line. The contour droplets form a strip element. The strip element 5 is built with a double array of contour droplets. The strip element is built with contour droplets of a constant size. The strip element has a constant pitch. The mutual distance between two successive contour droplets in the strip element is constant.
Fig. 3c shows an orientation of a contour in a second class II. The orientation of the contour is in a direction under an angle with respect to the Y-axis which is smaller than the 10 predefined angle a as depicted in Fig. 3b. The contour is formed by a deposition of contour droplets. The contour droplets form a strip element. The strip element is built with a single outer array of contour droplets. The strip element has a varying pitch in between the droplets. The mutual distance between two successive contour droplets in the strip element is linearly increasing in the Y-direction of the contour element. The mutual distance in 15 between a pair of two neighboring droplets is a function of a position of the pair of droplets. The strip element is built with contour droplets of a constant size.
The strip element is built up with a sequence of strip partitions. The strip partitions extend in Y-direction. Each strip partition has a constant X-coordinate. Each strip partition has a fixed length of a fixed amount of droplets to obtain the strip with a linear extension in 20 an inclined orientation. Adjacent strip partitions in X-direction are staggered positioned with a stagger pitch of a size of a droplet. Initially, in comparison with the resulting ink pattern, indicated with the bold line C', the initial outer edge has an edge gap at a cross over from a first swath in Y-direction to a second swath in Y-direction. After a flow out of the droplets, a resulting outer edge is obtained which is indicated by the bold line 'C'.
25 Fig. 3d shows an orientation of a contour in a third class III. The orientation of the contour is in a Y-direction. The contour is formed by a deposition of contour droplets. The contour droplets are positioned in a line and have a constant X-coordinate. The contour droplets form a strip element. The strip element is built with contour droplets of a constant size. The strip element is built with a single array of contour droplets. The strip element has 30 a constant pitch. The mutual distance between two successive contour droplets in the strip element is constant.
Fig. 3d illustrates further an changing ink flow effect when the pitch of the strip element is adjusted. The bold line C' marks a resulting ink pattern outer edge. In the illustration, a smaller pitch in between droplets is applied at the left side in comparison with 35 the right side. At the right side of the illustration the deposited droplets have hardly any ink flow at a predetermined time interval, the outer edge of the contour coincidences with the bold line C'. In contrast, the left side of the illustration shows relatively more ink flow in the - 16- time interval which has occurred by applying a small pitch. By applying the small pitch, an initial off set has occurred in which the outer edge of the contour lies away from the final obtained edge of a pattern layout as indicated by the bold line C'.
Fig. 4 shows a flow chart, wherein the contour print algorithm CPA is subdivided into 5 a coverage algorithm CA and an ink flow algorithm I FA. The coverage algorithm CA is applied in a first step. The ink flow algorithm IFA is applied in a second step.
The pattern layout L is an input for the coverage algorithm CA. In the coverage algorithm at least a part of the contour, a contour part, of the pattern layout is converted into a set of coverage elements. The pattern layout is built up by the coverage elements. The 10 coverage algorithm is applied to obtain an optimal coverage of the pattern layout by coverage elements. A set of coverage elements including their position is an output after applying the coverage algorithm to a pattern layout. In particular, the coverage element is a strip element. The strip element as a coverage element includes a length, an orientation and at least one absolute position of a droplet. The set of coverage elements can be printed in a 15 subsequent step to obtain the ink pattern P.
The coverage algorithm may include several coverage parameters for defining a coverage element. A coverage parameter may be a droplet size, a number of droplets per coverage element, a function or value for a mutual distance between two adjacent droplets in a coverage element. The coverage parameters may vary in dependence of circumstances 20 like e.g. ink and substrate material.
The ink flow algorithm converts the coverage elements into a set of absolute positions for the contour droplets to obtain the ink pattern, wherein a factor of ink flow behaviour is included. A coverage element is an input for the ink flow algorithm. A set of absolute positions of droplets is an output of the ink flow algorithm. In particular a bitmap 25 may be generated which contains droplet positions for optimally printing the coverage elements. Control electronics are provided to translate the set of absolute positions of the ink pattern to control signals for the inkjet system, in particular for a print head and substrate positioning stage.
Fig. 5 shows a flow chart of the ink flow algorithm, wherein a set of coverage 30 elements is converted to an ink pattern P.
The ink flow algorithm has ink flow parameters which are determined by using the inkjet system. The ink flow parameters are determined in several steps. In a first step 5.1, at least one test pattern is printed. Preferably, the test pattern is a coverage element or a set of coverage elements. In a second step 5.2, the at least one test pattern is scanned. The inkjet 35 system has a scanning unit for scanning the test pattern. An image is captured of the test pattern by the scanning unit. The scanning unit is an internal scanning unit. The scanning unit is integrated in the inkjet system. In a third step 5.3, a test pattern is extracted. In a - 17- fourth step 5.4 at least one relevant parameter like a width is extracted from the test pattern. Herewith, measurement data is collected to establish an ink flow effect. In a fifth step 5.5, the ink flow parameters are determined. The measurement data can be compared with the pattern layout to determine any deficiencies. For instance, the width of a test pattern can be 5 compared with an inputted pattern layout. If a width is too large for a combination of coverage elements, the contour print algorithm may be corrected. Herewith, the contour print algorithm may be self-teaching. Parameters relating to the ink flow effect are inputted in the ink flow algorithm to compensate for deficiencies. The deficiencies can be compensated in a next print. Preferably, the width W is the only dimension that needs to be measured by a test 10 pattern.
Fig. 6a-c show in an exemplary illustration a test pattern comprising of a set of two coverage elements. A resulting width W0 or \N^ which is indicated with a bold line and an arrow is obtained by applying a predetermined time interval At for applying a subsequent adjacent coverage element. The time interval is a delay time for depositing a subsequent 15 neighboring coverage element. The coverage elements are strip elements which extend in Y-direction and which are disposed at a distance Ax from each other. A first coverage element is printed and after the predetermined time interval At a second coverage element is printed at the predetermined pitch Ax adjacent the first coverage element. The contour may be printed first by printing the first coverage element, whereafter the inner region is 20 printed by printing the second coverage element. The first coverage element may be a contour part, the second coverage element may be an inner region part.
Fig. 6a shows a narrowing effect as an ink flow effect. The test pattern comprises two equal coverage elements s1. The combination of two s1 coverage elements results in a narrowing effect by applying a time interval At of 5seconds. The measured width of the 25 resulting ink pattern is WO which is smaller than the desired width W1.
Fig. 6b shows the same combination of two coverage elements s1 as shown in Fig.6a, but by applying a time interval At of 10seconds. The width of the resulting ink pattern is now W1. The result of the ink flow effect in dependence of the time interval At can be stored in the control electronics of the inkjet system.
30 Fig. 6c shows an alternative combination of coverage elements to achieve an ink pattern with a width W1. A first coverage element s1 is combined with a second coverage element s2 by applying a time interval At of 5 seconds. In comparison with the combination of two coverage elements s1, this combination of s1 and s2 leads in a shorter time to the desired W1. In the first place, in the contour coverage algorithm, coverage elements are 35 selected that best fit the desired contours. Furthermore, to obtain a shorter printing process, it may be preferred to apply the combination as shown in Fig. 6c in stead of the combination as shown in Fig. 6b. The inkjet system may be self teaching by measuring test patterns and - 18- programmed to select subsequently a combination of coverage elements based on a reduction of a print process.
Fig. 7a and 7b show a further exemplary illustration of two different combinations of test patterns.
5 In fig. 7a a test pattern is printed by a combination of two coverage elements s1 and sO. The first coverage element s1 is formed by positioning six ink droplets in Y-direction at a certain mutual distance. The second coverage element sO is formed by positioning five ink droplets in Y-direction at a larger mutual distance. A pitch in between the first and second element is 50|jm in X-direction. of A time interval of 10 seconds is applied before printing the 10 second coverage element SO.
In fig. 7b a test pattern is printed by a combination of two coverage elements s1 and s3. The first coverage element s1 is formed by positioning six ink droplets in Y-direction at a certain mutual distance. The second coverage element s3 is formed by positioning eight ink droplets in Y-direction at a smaller mutual distance. Now, a pitch in between the first and 15 second element is 25pm in X-direction and a time interval of 5 seconds is applied before printing the second coverage element s3. The combination of s1 and s3 has a narrowing effect as an ink flow effect. In comparison with the combination as shown in Fig. 7a, the combination of coverage elements s1 and s3 lead in a shorter printing time to the same result in width w2. The inkjet system may be programmed to select in this case a 20 combination of s1 and s3 when a short printing time is preferred.
In a variant, the coverage and ink flow algorithm may also be applied to determine a position of the fill-in droplets to form the inner region.
It is remarked that aspects according to the invention and in particular mentioned in the dependent claims can be advantageous as such and are considered patentable as such. 25 In particular, it may be advantageous to apply a coverage or ink flow algorithm in a printing algorithm before generating a set of droplet positions independent of whether contour droplets are printed prior to fill-in droplets.
Although the invention has been disclosed with reference to particular embodiments, from reading this description those of skilled in the art may appreciate a change or 30 modification that may be possible from a technical point of view but which do not depart from the scope of the invention as described above and claimed hereafter. Modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. It will be understood by those of skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements 35 thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed in the above detailed - 19- description, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
Thus, the invention provides a method for printing a more accurate ink pattern. In particular, the invention provides a method to print an integrated circuit pattern. The method 5 can be carried in a simple manner by applying the presented improvements to applied algorithms to converting a pattern layout to a set of droplet positions.

Claims (22)

1. Werkwijze voor het printen van een inktpatroon op een substraat gebaseerd op een ontvangen patroon lay-out met gebruikmaking van een inkjet systeem, waarbij de patroon layout in ten minste een stap gescheiden is in ten minste een afzonderlijke contourlaag omvattende ten minste een contourgedeelte en ten minste een afzonderlijke binnengelegen 5 gebied laag omvattende ten minste een binnengelegen gebiedgedeelte, waarbij het ten minste ene contourgedeelte een oriëntatie heeft in een imaginair vlak met een eerste (X) en een tweede (Y) as, waarbij de eerste as is gedefinieerd ten opzichte van het inkjetsysteem en zich uitstrekt in een richting loodrecht op een bewegingsrichting van een lineair beweegbare substraat positioneerslede en waarbij de tweede as is georiënteerd loodrecht op de eerste as 10 parallel aan een bewegingsrichting van de lineair beweegbare substraat positioneerslede, waarbij een contourgedeelte in de contour laag van een selecteerbaar gedeelte van de patroon lay-out welke een niet-parallelle oriëntatie heeft ten opzichte van de Y-as geprint wordt door contourdruppels alvorens het printen van een binnen gelegen gebied van de binnengelegen gebied laag van het selecteerbaar gedeelte van de patroon lay-out door invul 15 druppels.A method for printing an ink cartridge on a substrate based on a received cartridge layout using an inkjet system, wherein the cartridge layout is separated in at least one step into at least one separate contour layer comprising at least one contour portion and at least one separate inner area layer comprising at least one inner area portion, the at least one contour portion having an orientation in an imaginary plane with a first (X) and a second (Y) axis, the first axis being defined with respect to of the inkjet system and extends in a direction perpendicular to a direction of movement of a linearly movable substrate positioning carriage and wherein the second axis is oriented perpendicular to the first axis 10 parallel to a direction of movement of the linearly movable substrate positioning carriage, a contour portion in the contour layer of a selectable portion of the pattern layout which has a non-parallel orientation with respect to the Y-axis is printed by contour drops before printing an inner area of the inner area layer of the selectable portion of the pattern layout by filling in 15 drops. 2. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 1, waarbij een contourprintalgoritme wordt toegepast voor het printen van de contour, waarbij het contourprintalgoritme de contour converteert naar een set van contour druppel posities.The method of claim 1, wherein a contour print algorithm is used to print the contour, wherein the contour print algorithm converts the contour to a set of contour drop positions. 3. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 1 of 2, waarbij de werkwijze de stappen omvat van: - het definiëren van een oriëntatie van ten minste het contourgedeelte van de patroon lay-out; - het classificeren van ten minste het contourgedeelte in afhankelijkheid van de gedefinieerde oriëntatie in een bijbehorende contourklasse van een classificatiesysteem; 25. het selecteren van een contourprintalgoritme in afhankelijkheid van de geclassificeerde contourklassen; en - het printen van contourdruppels van ten minste het contour gedeelte van de patroon lay-out door het toepassen van de geselecteerde contourprintalgoritme.A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the method comprises the steps of: - defining an orientation of at least the contour portion of the pattern layout; - classifying at least the contour part in dependence on the defined orientation in an associated contour class of a classification system; 25. selecting a contour print algorithm depending on the classified contour classes; and - printing contour drops from at least the contour portion of the pattern layout by applying the selected contour printing algorithm. 4. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 3, waarbij een contourklasse is gekarakteriseerd door een oriëntatie van een contourgedeelte in een imaginair vlak met een eerste (X) en een tweede (Y) as georiënteerd in genoemd vlak, waarbij de eerste as is gedefinieerd ten opzichte van een inkjet systeem en zich uitstrekt in een richting loodrecht op een bewegingsrichting van een lineair beweegbare substraat positioneerslede zich de, waarbij de 35 tweede as loodrecht op de eerste as georiënteerd is en in een projectie op het inkjetsysteem parallel is met een bewegingsrichting van de lineair beweegbare substraat positioneert slede. -21 -The method of claim 3, wherein a contour class is characterized by an orientation of a contour portion in an imaginary plane with a first (X) and a second (Y) axis oriented in said plane, the first axis being defined with respect to a inkjet system and extends in a direction perpendicular to a direction of movement of a linearly movable substrate, the second axis being oriented perpendicular to the first axis and in a projection on the inkjet system parallel to a direction of movement of the linearly movable substrate positions sledge. -21 - 5. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 3 of 4, waarbij het classificatiesysteem een eerste contour klasse I, een tweede contour klasse II en een derde contour klasse III omdat, waarbij de eerste, tweede en derde contour klasse contouroriëntaties omvatten in een eerste kwadrant van een Cartesiaanssysteem met een X en Y-as, waarbij de Y-as correspondeert 5 met een print richting welke in een projectie op een inkjet systeem parallel is met een bewegingsrichting van een lineair beweegbare substraat positioneer slede, waarbij de eerste contour klasse (I) correspondeert met een groep van contourgedeelten welke een oriëntatie hebben in een kwadrantgebied begrensd door een richting parallel aan de X-as en een richting onder een vooraf bepaalde hoek a ten opzichte van de Y-as; waarbij de tweede 10 contour klasse (II) correspondeert met een groep van contourgedeelten welke een oriëntatie hebben in het kwadrantgebied tussen de richting onder de vooraf bepaalde hoek a en een richting parallel aan de Y-as; waarbij de derde contour klasse (III) correspondeert met een groep van contourgedeelten welke een oriëntatie hebben in een richting parallel aan de Y-as.A method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the classification system comprises a first contour class I, a second contour class II and a third contour class III because, wherein the first, second and third contour class comprise contour orientations in a first quadrant of a Cartesian system with an X and Y axis, wherein the Y axis corresponds to a print direction which in a projection on an inkjet system is parallel to a direction of movement of a linearly movable substrate positioning slide, the first contour class (I) corresponding to a group of contour portions having an orientation in a quadrant region bounded by a direction parallel to the X-axis and a direction at a predetermined angle α relative to the Y-axis; wherein the second contour class (II) corresponds to a group of contour portions which have an orientation in the quadrant region between the direction below the predetermined angle α and a direction parallel to the Y-axis; wherein the third contour class (III) corresponds to a group of contour portions that have an orientation in a direction parallel to the Y-axis. 6. Werkwijze volgens een van de conclusies 2-5, waarbij het contourprintalgoritme een dekkingsalgoritme omvat voor het converteren van ten minste een contourgedeelte naar een set van ten minste een dekkingselement alvorens het genereren van de set van druppelposities.The method of any one of claims 2-5, wherein the contour printing algorithm comprises a coverage algorithm for converting at least one contour portion to a set of at least one coverage element before generating the set of drop positions. 7. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 6, waarbij het dekkingselement een strip element is welke een oriëntatie heeft in een richting parallel aan de Y-as.The method of claim 6, wherein the cover element is a strip element which has an orientation in a direction parallel to the Y-axis. 8. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 6 of 7, bij het contourprintalgoritme van de eerste contour klasse (I: X-X'-oriëntatie) een dekkingsalgoritme omvatten welke ten minste een van 25 de volgende parameters omvat: - een parameter welke een aantal druppels definieert; - een parameter welke een grootte van een druppel definieert; - een parameter welke een constante onderlinge afstand tussen druppels definieert; en - een parameter welke ten minste één absolute druppel positie definieert. 308. Method according to claim 6 or 7, in the contour printing algorithm of the first contour class (I: X-X 'orientation) comprising a cover algorithm comprising at least one of the following parameters: - a parameter which defines a number of drops; - a parameter defining a droplet size; - a parameter which defines a constant mutual distance between drops; and - a parameter that defines at least one absolute drop position. 30 9. Werkwijze volgens een van de conclusies 6 treedt 8, waarbij het contourprintalgoritme van de eerste contourklasse (I) een dekkingsalgoritme omvat welke een parameter heeft welke een afstand tussen een contourdruppel en een invuldruppel definieert.A method according to any of claims 6 to 8, wherein the contour print algorithm of the first contour class (I) comprises a cover algorithm which has a parameter that defines a distance between a contour drop and a fill drop. 10. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 6 of 7, waarbij het contourprintalgoritme van de tweede contour klasse (II: X-Y oriëntatie) een dekkingsalgoritme omvat welke ten minste een van de volgende parameters omvat: - een parameter welke een grootte van een druppel definieert; -22- - een parameter welke ten minste een absolute druppelpositie definieert; - een parameter welke een aantal druppels op een X-positie die zich uitstrekken in een Y richting definieert; en - een parameter welke ten minste een onderlinge afstand tussen druppels als een functie van 5 een absolute druppel positie definieert.A method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the contour print algorithm of the second contour class (II: X-Y orientation) comprises a coverage algorithm comprising at least one of the following parameters: - a parameter defining a droplet size; -22- - a parameter that defines at least an absolute drop position; a parameter defining a number of drops at an X position extending in a Y direction; and - a parameter which defines at least a mutual distance between drops as a function of an absolute drop position. 11. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 6 of 7, waarbij het contourprintalgoritme van de derde contour klasse (III: Y- oriëntatie) een dekkingsalgoritme omvat welke ten minste een van de volgende parameters omvat: 10. een parameter die een grootte van druppels definieert; - een parameter welke een constante onderlinge druppel afstand voor ten minste een gedeelte van een contour definieert; - een parameter welke een absolute druppelpositie definieert.A method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the contour print algorithm of the third contour class (III: Y orientation) comprises a coverage algorithm comprising at least one of the following parameters: 10. a parameter defining a drop size; - a parameter which defines a constant mutual drop distance for at least a portion of a contour; - a parameter that defines an absolute drop position. 12. Werkwijze volgens een van de voorgaande conclusies, waarbij het printalgoritme een inkt stromingsalgoritme omvat om een inkt stromingseffect in aanmerking te nemen alvorens het genereren van de set van druppelposities.The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the printing algorithm comprises an ink flow algorithm to consider an ink flow effect before generating the set of drop positions. 13. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 12, waarbij het inkt stromingsalgoritme een inkt stroming 20 parameter omvat die afkomstig is van een meting van ten minste een testpatroon.The method of claim 12, wherein the ink flow algorithm comprises an ink flow parameter that is derived from a measurement of at least one test pattern. 14. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 13, waarbij het testpatroon ten minste een dekkingselement omvat.The method of claim 13, wherein the test pattern comprises at least one coverage element. 15. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 13, waarbij het dekkingselement een strip element is welke een oriëntatie heeft in een richting parallel aan de Y-as.The method of claim 13, wherein the cover element is a strip element which has an orientation in a direction parallel to the Y-axis. 16. Werkwijze volgens een van de conclusies 13-15, waarbij het testpatroon een paar dekkingselementen omvat welke aangrenzend aan elkaar zijn gepositioneerd om een inkt 30 stromingseffect te bepalen tussen de gepaarde dekkingselementen om een inkt stromings parameter definiëren welke het gemeten inkt stromingseffect in aanmerking neemt.16. Method according to any of claims 13-15, wherein the test pattern comprises a pair of cover elements positioned adjacent to each other to determine an ink flow effect between the paired cover elements to define an ink flow parameter that takes into account the measured ink flow effect. . 17. Werkwijze volgens een van de conclusies 12-16, waarbij de meting is uitgevoerd in het inkjet systeem, waarbij het inkjetsysteem een gekalibreerde scaneenheid omvat voor het 35 ontvangen van een beeld van een geprint testpatroon, waarbij de inkt stromingsparameters zijn bepaald door een vergelijking van een geprint testpatroon met een patroon lay-out. -23-17. Method as claimed in any of the claims 12-16, wherein the measurement is carried out in the inkjet system, wherein the inkjet system comprises a calibrated scanning unit for receiving an image of a printed test pattern, the ink flow parameters being determined by a comparison of a printed test pattern with a pattern layout. -23- 18. Werkwijze volgens een van de conclusies 12-17, waarbij een breedte van het testpatroon gemeten en vergeleken wordt met een patroon lay-out om een afwijking te bepalen om de inktstromingsparameter te bepalen om voor de afwijking te compenseren.The method of any one of claims 12-17, wherein a width of the test pattern is measured and compared with a pattern layout to determine a deviation to determine the ink flow parameter to compensate for the deviation. 19. Werkwijze volgens een van de conclusies 5-18, waarbij een uitkomst van de inkt stromingsalgoritme de vooraf bepaalde hoek a als een grens tussen de eerste en tweede klasse bepaald.The method of any one of claims 5-18, wherein an outcome of the ink flow algorithm determines the predetermined angle α as a boundary between the first and second class. 20. Werkwijze volgens een van de conclusies 11-19, waarbij een uitkomst van de inkt 10 stromingsalgoritme een waarde van een parameter van het dekkingsalgoritme bepaald.The method of any one of claims 11-19, wherein an outcome of the ink flow algorithm determines a value of a parameter of the coverage algorithm. 21. Inkjet systeem, in het bijzonder een drop-on-demand inkjet systeem, voor een industriële toepassing voor het printen van een inktpatroon op een substraat omvattende: een inkjet printkop voor het uitspuiten van een druppel inkt op een substraat; 15 een substraat positioneerslede voor het dragen en bewegen van het substraat, een besturing; electronica voor het besturen van het inkjet systeem, waarbij de besturingelektronica is ingericht om een werkwijze volgens een van de conclusies 1-19 uit te voeren, omvattende software die is ingericht om een werkwijze uit te voeren voor het gebaseerd op een ontvangen patroon lay-out printen van een inktpatroon op een substraat, 20 waarbij de patroon lay-out gescheiden is in een afzonderlijk contour en een afzonderlijke binnengebied, waarbij het contour van de patroon lay-out geprint wordt door contourdruppels alvorens het binnengebied van de patroon lay-out door invuldruppels wordt geprint, waarbij de software logica omvat voor het extraheren van het afzonderlijke contour en het afzonderlijke binnengebied van de ontvangen patroon lay-out. 25An inkjet system, in particular a drop-on-demand inkjet system, for an industrial application for printing an ink cartridge on a substrate comprising: an inkjet printhead for spraying a drop of ink on a substrate; 15 a substrate positioning slide for supporting and moving the substrate, a control; electronics for controlling the inkjet system, wherein the control electronics are adapted to perform a method according to any of claims 1-19, comprising software adapted to perform a method for based on a received pattern layout printing an ink cartridge on a substrate, the cartridge layout being separated into a separate contour and a separate inner area, the contour of the cartridge layout being printed by contour drops before the inner area of the cartridge layout by fill-in drops is printed, the software including logic for extracting the individual contour and the separate inner area of the received pattern layout. 25 22. Gebruik van de werkwijze volgens een van de conclusies 1- 20 om een geïntegreerd circuit patroon, in het bijzonder een patroon lay-out voor een printed circuit board (PCB) te printen.Use of the method according to any of claims 1-20 to print an integrated circuit pattern, in particular a pattern layout for a printed circuit board (PCB).
NL2008066A 2012-01-02 2012-01-02 Method and inkjet system for printing an ink pattern on a substrate. NL2008066C2 (en)

Priority Applications (25)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
NL2008066A NL2008066C2 (en) 2012-01-02 2012-01-02 Method and inkjet system for printing an ink pattern on a substrate.
CN201280071043.8A CN104136917B (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Inkjetsystem for printing a printed circuit board
KR1020147021662A KR102063516B1 (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Inkjetsystem for printing a printed circuit board
CN201710213914.XA CN106998628B (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Stop metering
CN201710213913.5A CN106985530B (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Print head maintenance
SG11201403776XA SG11201403776XA (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Inkjetsystem for printing a printed circuit board
EP12821205.7A EP2800965B1 (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Inkjetsystem for printing a printed circuit board
CN201710214103.1A CN106973516B (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 The positioning and transmission of substrate
CN201710213793.9A CN106965554B (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Ink-jet system
CN201710213912.0A CN106965584B (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Profile printing
CA2862582A CA2862582C (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Inkjet system for printing a printed circuit board
CN201710214554.5A CN106985520B (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Virtual plane
PCT/NL2012/050934 WO2013103298A1 (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Inkjetsystem for printing a printed circuit board
CA3061803A CA3061803A1 (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Inkjet system for printing a printed circuit board
MYPI2014001972A MY168052A (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Inkjetsystem for printing a printed circuit board
KR1020207000005A KR20200004463A (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Inkjetsystem for printing a printed circuit board
EP17175965.7A EP3261425A1 (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Inkjetsystem for printing a printed circuit board
US14/370,195 US9363899B2 (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Inkjet system for printing a printed circuit board
ES12821205.7T ES2638597T3 (en) 2012-01-02 2012-12-28 Inkjet system for printing a printed circuit
IL233458A IL233458B (en) 2012-01-02 2014-06-30 Inkjet system for printing a printed circuit board
PH12014501520A PH12014501520A1 (en) 2012-01-02 2014-06-30 Inkjetsystem for printing a printed circuit board
HK14112454.8A HK1199096A1 (en) 2012-01-02 2014-12-11 Inkjetsystem for printing a printed circuit board
US15/148,780 US9769932B2 (en) 2012-01-02 2016-05-06 Inkjet system for printing a printed circuit board
US15/677,926 US10123427B2 (en) 2012-01-02 2017-08-15 Inkjet system for printing a printed circuit board
US16/152,065 US20190037704A1 (en) 2012-01-02 2018-10-04 Print head maintenance

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
NL2008066A NL2008066C2 (en) 2012-01-02 2012-01-02 Method and inkjet system for printing an ink pattern on a substrate.
NL2008066 2012-01-02

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
NL2008066C2 true NL2008066C2 (en) 2013-07-03

Family

ID=46051878

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
NL2008066A NL2008066C2 (en) 2012-01-02 2012-01-02 Method and inkjet system for printing an ink pattern on a substrate.

Country Status (1)

Country Link
NL (1) NL2008066C2 (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US11577536B2 (en) 2020-03-02 2023-02-14 Ming Xu Image receiver media and imaging process

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1392091A2 (en) * 2002-08-20 2004-02-25 Xerox Corporation Method and system for printing integrated circuit patterns
US20090079777A1 (en) * 2007-09-26 2009-03-26 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink jet printing apparatus and ink jet printing method

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1392091A2 (en) * 2002-08-20 2004-02-25 Xerox Corporation Method and system for printing integrated circuit patterns
US20090079777A1 (en) * 2007-09-26 2009-03-26 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ink jet printing apparatus and ink jet printing method

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US11577536B2 (en) 2020-03-02 2023-02-14 Ming Xu Image receiver media and imaging process

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
EP1392091B1 (en) Method and system for printing integrated circuit patterns
EP3263351B1 (en) Screen printing method and imprinting apparatus
EP1367871B1 (en) Wiring forming systems for forming wiring on wiring board
EP3388223B1 (en) Three-dimensional object production method and three-dimensional object production device
DE102016200465B4 (en) Method for operating a printer for three-dimensional objects with the generation of test patterns for measuring a distance between print head and substrate and printer for three-dimensional objects
US9449379B2 (en) Method for inspecting solution discharge apparatus and method for producing device
KR101463869B1 (en) Apparatus for forming thin film and method for forming the same
CN109262110A (en) A kind of metal arc increasing material manufacturing method
NL2008066C2 (en) Method and inkjet system for printing an ink pattern on a substrate.
EP3875280B1 (en) Method for digitally coating three-dimensional workpiece surfaces
EP1757175B1 (en) Method and apparatus for accurately applying structures to a substrate
WO2021185925A1 (en) Method for calibrating inkjet nozzles in a printing device, and printing device to be operated using such a method
JP2017104854A (en) Film pattern drawing method, coating film base material and coating applicator
JP7055185B2 (en) Droplet ejection device, droplet ejection method, program and computer storage medium
CN115923340A (en) Nozzle inspection method, nozzle inspection apparatus, and substrate processing apparatus including the same
CN118238513A (en) Discharge device, substrate processing device, and article manufacturing method
KR20240124037A (en) Nozzle Inspection Method, Nozzle Inspection Apparatus, and Substrate Processing Device
WO2017090547A1 (en) Film pattern writing method, coating film base material, and coating device
CN118181947A (en) Test printing method before jet printing processing and inkjet printing system
JP2004138696A (en) System and method for forming element

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PD Change of ownership

Owner name: MUTRACX INTERNATIONAL B.V.; NL

Free format text: DETAILS ASSIGNMENT: VERANDERING VAN EIGENAAR(S), OVERDRACHT; FORMER OWNER NAME: MUTRACX B.V.

Effective date: 20151124

MM Lapsed because of non-payment of the annual fee

Effective date: 20210201