TWI826810B - Method for manufacturing metal mask and electroforming plate - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a metal mask includes: providing an electroforming plate including a substrate and a conductive pattern layer formed on the substrate. The conductive pattern layer is formed with conductive pattern portions, a conductive frame portion, outer boundary slots, and junction points, wherein each conductive pattern portion includes a plurality of pattern openings to expose the substrate, the conductive frame portion surrounds the conductive pattern portions, the outer boundary slots are respectively formed on opposite sides of each conductive pattern portion, and the junction points are formed in the outer boundary slot to electrically connect the conductive pattern portions and the conductive frame portion. The electroforming process is performed to form an electroforming film on the surface of the electroforming plate, then the electroforming film is cut corresponding to the outer boundary slot and the electroforming film is separated from the electroforming plate. The separated electroforming film includes a plurality of metal masks with mask opening. An electroforming plate is also provided.

Description

Manufacturing method of metal mask and electroforming motherboard

The present invention relates to a metal mask manufacturing technology, in particular to a metal mask manufacturing method using an electroforming process and an electroforming motherboard.

Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AMOLED) displays use organic light emitting diodes (OLED) as the light source, and have the characteristics of fast display response, ultra-wide viewing angle, ultra-high contrast and saturation, color Advantages of broad domain. The manufacturing process of AMOLED panels requires the use of organic film-forming technology using organic light-emitting materials as the light source. Among them, the vacuum evaporation method is currently the most mature and is also the organic film-forming technology used by most of the currently mass-produced small-size AMOLED products. In the evaporation process, a fine pitch metal mask (FMM) needs to be used for coating shielding to produce pixel graphics. The organic material is then heated in a vacuum environment to evaporate it and is masked on the substrate through the fine pitch metal mask. Select deposition film. Precision metal masks are the core molds and consumables in the AMOLED manufacturing process.

As the demand for display resolution increases, the dimensional tolerance requirements for high-precision OLED metal masks become more stringent. If the size and positioning accuracy of the metal mask used for evaporation is poor, it will cause different colors of the OLED display (luminous film) The disorder phenomenon seriously affects the uneven luminous efficiency of each organic light-emitting layer, making it impossible to display high-resolution text, pictures or patterns on the display surface.

Currently, when making metal masks using the electroforming process, they are limited by the design of the generally permanent boundary grooves (outlines) on both sides of the conductive pattern. Current can only enter the center of the conductive pattern from the other two sides of the conductive pattern, resulting in the formation of The openings of the metal mask have uneven film thickness and size.

The present invention provides a method for making a metal mask and an electroforming motherboard. During the electroforming process, current can be uniformly introduced into each conductive pattern portion to improve the uneven film thickness and size of the openings of the metal mask. Improve opening availability.

The method for making a metal mask provided by the present invention includes: providing an electroformed motherboard, including a base material and a conductive pattern layer. The conductive pattern layer is formed on the base material, and a conductive pattern part and a conductive frame part are formed on the conductive pattern layer. , multiple outer boundary slots and multiple current inflow points, the conductive pattern part is formed with multiple pattern openings to expose the base material, the conductive frame part surrounds the conductive pattern part, and the outer boundary slots are respectively formed on each conductive On opposite sides of the pattern portion, current inflow points are formed in grooves on the outer boundary of at least one side of each conductive pattern portion to electrically connect the conductive pattern portion and the conductive frame portion; an electroforming process is performed to form the electroforming mother An electroformed film is formed on the surface of the plate; and the electroformed film is cut corresponding to the outer boundary slot, and the electroformed film and the electroformed motherboard are separated, and the separated electroformed film constitutes a metal mask, and the metal mask has multiple mask opening.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the shape of the current inlet point is selected from one of rectangle, triangle and trapezoid or a combination thereof.

In one embodiment of the present invention, during the above-mentioned electroforming process, the electroformed motherboard is placed in the electroforming tank as the cathode body, and the current is evenly introduced into the conductive pattern part through the conductive frame part and the current infusion point.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the number of the above-mentioned conductive pattern parts is multiple, and the conductive frame part includes a conductive outer frame part and a plurality of conductive rib parts. The conductive rib parts are spaced apart and connected to the conductive outer frame part via The conductive ribs separate the conductive pattern parts two by two.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the outer boundary slots are provided in the conductive rib portion and the outer frame portion so as to be located on opposite sides of each conductive pattern portion.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the distribution of the mask openings corresponds to the distribution of the pattern openings, and the aperture of the mask opening is smaller than the aperture of the pattern opening.

In an embodiment of the present invention, each of the above-mentioned conductive pattern parts includes two opposite first sides and two opposite second sides, outer boundary slots are respectively formed on the two first sides, and openings are formed on the conductive frame part. respectively located on two second sides of each conductive pattern portion.

In one embodiment of the present invention, positioning notches are formed on the above-mentioned metal mask, corresponding to the distribution of the openings.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the method for cutting the electroformed film is selected from one of mechanical cutting and laser cutting.

The method for making a metal mask provided by the present invention includes: providing an electroformed motherboard, including a base material and a conductive pattern layer. The conductive pattern layer is formed on the base material. A plurality of conductive pattern portions and conductive pattern portions are formed on the conductive pattern layer. In the frame part, each conductive pattern part is formed with a plurality of pattern openings to expose the substrate. The conductive frame part is formed with a conductive outer frame part and a plurality of conductive rib parts. The conductive rib parts are arranged at intervals and connected to the conductive outer frame part. The conductive frame part is The outer frame is surrounded by conductive pattern parts, and the conductive ribs separate the conductive pattern parts two by two; an electroforming process is performed to form an electroformed film on the surface of the electroformed motherboard; and the electroformed film is processed corresponding to the conductive ribs Cutting and separating the electroformed film and the electroformed motherboard, the separated electroformed film forms a metal mask, and the metal mask has multiple mask openings.

In one embodiment of the present invention, during the above-mentioned electroforming process, the electroformed motherboard is placed in the electroforming tank as the cathode body, and the current is uniformly introduced into the conductive pattern portion through the conductive outer frame portion and the conductive rib portion.

In an embodiment of the present invention, each of the above-mentioned conductive pattern parts includes two opposite first sides and two opposite second sides, the conductive ribs are arranged along at least one of the two first sides, and the conductive outer frame part Opening holes are formed respectively on two second sides of each conductive pattern part.

The electroformed motherboard provided by the invention includes a base material and a conductive pattern layer. The conductive pattern layer is formed on the substrate. The conductive pattern layer includes a conductive pattern portion, a conductive frame portion, a plurality of outer boundary slots, and a plurality of current inflow points. The conductive pattern portion includes a plurality of pattern openings to expose the substrate. The conductive frame part surrounds the conductive pattern part, the outer boundary slots are formed on opposite sides of each conductive pattern part, and the current infusion point is formed on the outer boundary slot of at least one side of each conductive pattern part to electrically Connect the conductive pattern part and the conductive frame part.

The electroformed motherboard provided by the present invention includes a base material and a conductive pattern layer. The conductive pattern layer is formed on the base material. The conductive pattern layer includes a plurality of conductive pattern parts and a conductive frame part. Each conductive pattern part includes a plurality of pattern openings. , to expose the substrate, the conductive frame part includes a conductive outer frame part and a conductive rib part, the conductive rib parts are arranged at intervals and connected to the conductive outer frame part, the conductive outer frame part surrounds the conductive pattern part, and the conductive rib part makes the conductive pattern part Separate each other.

The present invention forms a current inflow point by notching slots on the outer boundary, or by designing without leaving slots on the outer boundary, so that current can be evenly introduced into each conductive pattern part, thereby improving the uneven film thickness and size of the opening of the metal mask. situation to improve the availability of the opening.

In order to make the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, embodiments are given below and described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1A to 1C are partial cross-sectional schematic diagrams of a method for manufacturing a metal mask according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2A to 2C are schematic top views of a method for manufacturing a metal mask according to a first embodiment of the present invention. First, an electroformed motherboard 10 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A , the electroformed motherboard 10 includes a base material 12 and a conductive pattern layer 14 . The material of the base material 12 can be selected from glass and polyimide (PI). or polyester (PET). The conductive pattern layer 14 is formed on the substrate 12 . The material of the conductive pattern layer 14 is, for example, metal conductive materials such as copper, nickel, molybdenum, or other non-metal conductive materials. As shown in FIG. 2A , a conductive pattern portion 16 , a conductive frame portion 18 , a plurality of outer boundary slots 20 , and a plurality of current inflow points 22 are formed on the conductive pattern layer 14 . Each conductive pattern portion 16 is formed with a plurality of pattern openings 161 to expose the substrate 12 through the pattern openings 161; the conductive frame portion 18 surrounds the conductive pattern portion 16; the outer boundary slots 20 are respectively formed on opposite two sides of the conductive pattern portion 16. side; the current inflow point 22 is formed on the outer boundary slot 20 on at least one side of each conductive pattern portion 16 to electrically connect the conductive pattern portion 16 and the conductive frame portion 18 .

Continuing with the above description, in one embodiment, the number of conductive pattern portions 16 is, for example, multiple. In FIG. 2A , for example, three conductive pattern portions 16 are taken as an example. The conductive pattern portions 16 are arranged at intervals, and each conductive pattern portion 16 is omitted. It is elongated and has two opposite first sides 162 and two opposite second sides 163; please refer to FIG. 1A and FIG. 2A at the same time. The conductive pattern part 16 includes conductive sub-patterns 164, and the conductive sub-patterns 164 are formed between Pattern opening 161. The conductive frame part 18 includes a conductive outer frame part 181 and a plurality of conductive ribs 182. The conductive outer frame part 181 may include, for example, two opposing first frames 181a and two opposing second frames 181b. The conductive ribs 182 are spaced apart and arranged with each other. The two second frames 181b are connected, in which the conductive pattern portions 16 are separated from each other by the conductive ribs 182; and the outer boundary slots 18 are provided in the conductive ribs 182 and the conductive outer frame portion 181 to be located at each conductive pattern portion. 16 (for example, the two opposite first sides 162). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2A, an outer boundary slot 20 is formed on each of the two first frames 181a of the conductive outer frame part 181. Two outer boundary grooves 20 are each formed on the ribs 182 . Therefore, under the premise of having three conductive pattern portions 16 , six outer boundary grooves 20 are formed on the conductive pattern layer 14 . In addition, the current inflow point 22 can be disposed at the outer boundary slot 20 beside the two first sides 162 of each conductive pattern portion 16, so that although the outer boundary is opened between the first frame 181a/conductive rib 182 and the conductive pattern portion 16, The grooves 20 are separated, and the first frame 181a/conductive rib 182 and each conductive pattern part 16 can still be electrically connected through the current inlet point 22.

Next, an electroforming process is performed. In one embodiment, the electroformed motherboard 10 is placed in an electroforming tank as a cathode body, and current is uniformly introduced into the conductive pattern portion 16 through the conductive frame portion 18 and the current inlet point 22 . As shown in FIGS. 1B and 2B , an electroformed film 24 with a predetermined uniform thickness is formed on the surface of the electroformed motherboard 10 through an electroforming process. The electroformed film 24 can be made of nickel-iron (Ni-Fe) alloy. Made of indium steel (Invar). In addition to nickel-iron alloy, the electroformed film 24 can also be made of materials selected from nickel-tungsten (Ni-W) alloy and nickel-cobalt (Ni-Co) alloy. However, the electroformed film 24 materials are not limited to this. The electroformed film 24 covers, for example, the conductive frame part 18 (marked in FIG. 2A ) and part of the conductive pattern part 16 (marked in FIGS. 1A and 2A ), wherein on the conductive pattern part 16 , the electroformed film 24 covers each conductive pattern part 16 . The electronic pattern 164 (marked in FIGS. 1A and 2A ) and the sidewalls of each pattern opening 161 (marked in FIGS. 1A and 2A ) do not cover the middle portion of the pattern opening 161 , so that the electroformed film 24 has multiple masks. The mask opening 241 has a distribution corresponding to the pattern opening 161 , and the aperture of the mask opening 241 is smaller than the aperture of the pattern opening 161 . Through the arrangement design of the conductive sub-patterns 164, the mask opening 241 can be selected from one of a circle, an ellipse, a rectangle or a combination thereof.

Finally, the electroformed film 24 is cut corresponding to and along the outer boundary groove 20, and the electroformed film 24 is separated from the electroformed motherboard 10, as shown in FIG. 1C and FIG. 2C. In one embodiment, after forming Under the premise that there are six outer boundary slots 20, the separate electroformed film 24 may include three metal masks 24a, and each metal mask 24a has a plurality of mask openings 241. In one embodiment, the method for cutting the electroformed film 24 is selected from one of mechanical cutting and laser cutting. Due to the formation of the outer boundary groove 20 , the mechanical cutting method is used to cut the outer boundary groove 20 along the outer boundary groove 20 . The electroformed film 24 is cut, which has the advantages of speed and low cost.

The shape of the current inlet point 22 can be selected from one of rectangle, triangle and trapezoid or a combination thereof. Figures 3A to 3C are respectively schematic diagrams of different shapes of current inlet points formed on the outer boundary of the slot, as shown in Figure 3A to Figure 3C . The current inflow point 22 shown in FIG. 3A is rectangular and formed on the outer boundary of the slot 20 , the current inflow point 22A shown in FIG. 3B is triangular, and the current inflow point 22B shown in FIG. 3C is trapezoidal.

In the above-mentioned electroformed motherboard 10 shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 2A , the conductive pattern layer 14 of the electroformed motherboard 10 is formed with outer boundary slots 20 and current inlet points 22 . However, it is not limited thereto. The outer boundary slot 20 and the current inlet point 22 may not be formed thereon. 4A to 4C are top schematic diagrams of a method for manufacturing a metal mask according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, reference can still be made to the partial cross-sectional schematic diagrams shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C for the first embodiment. The main difference between the first embodiment and the second embodiment lies in the design of the conductive pattern layer 14/14A on the electroformed motherboard 10/10A. In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A , the electroformed motherboard 10A provided includes a base material 12 (marked in FIG. 1A ) and a conductive pattern layer 14A. There is no conductive pattern layer 14A formed on the conductive pattern layer 14A in the first embodiment. Shown is the outer boundary slot 20 and current entry point 22. Specifically, a plurality of conductive pattern portions 16 and a conductive frame portion 18 are formed on the conductive pattern layer 14A. Each conductive pattern portion 16 is formed with a plurality of pattern openings 161 to expose the substrate 12 through the pattern openings 161. The conductive frame portion 18 has a conductive outer frame part 181 and a plurality of conductive ribs 182. The conductive ribs 182 are spaced apart and connected to the two opposite second frames 181b of the conductive outer frame part 181. The conductive outer frame part 181 surrounds the conductive pattern part 16, and The conductive ribs 182 separate the conductive pattern portions 16 from each other.

Next, an electroforming process is performed. In one embodiment, the electroformed motherboard 10A is placed in an electroforming tank as a cathode body, and current can be evenly introduced into the conductive pattern portion 16 through the conductive outer frame portion 181 and the conductive rib portion 182, as shown in As shown in FIG. 4B , an electroformed film 24 with a predetermined uniform thickness is formed on the surface of the electroformed motherboard 10A through an electroforming process. The electroformed film 24 has a plurality of mask openings 241 . The material of the electroformed film 24 and the shape of the mask opening 241 have been disclosed above and will not be described again here.

Finally, the electroformed film 24 is cut correspondingly and along the conductive ribs 182 , as shown in FIG. 4C , and the electroformed film 24 is separated from the electroformed motherboard 10A, wherein the electroformed film 24 is cut by laser cutting. Cutting is performed, and on the premise that the conductive pattern layer 14A is formed with three conductive pattern portions 16, the cut and separated electroformed film 24 forms three metal masks 24a, and each metal mask 24a has a plurality of mask openings 241.

In the above embodiments shown in FIGS. 2A and 4A , a plurality of openings 26 are formed on each conductive frame part 18 , respectively located on the two second sides 163 of each conductive pattern part 16 ; in this way, during electroforming During the manufacturing process, a notch 28 will be formed in the electroformed film 24 at a position corresponding to the opening 26, which serves as a metal mask 24a for fixture clamping and positioning in subsequent manufacturing processes.

In the manufacturing method of the metal mask according to the embodiment of the present invention, the current sinking point is formed by slotting on the outer boundary, so that although the conductive frame part and the conductive pattern part are separated by the slotting on the outer boundary, they can still be connected by the current sinking point. The entry point is electrically connected to the conductive frame part and each conductive pattern part, so that the current can be evenly introduced into each conductive pattern part, so as to improve the uneven film thickness and size of the opening of the metal mask, and improve the availability of the opening ( utilization rate). Or in the manufacturing method of the metal mask according to the embodiment of the present invention, the design of the outer boundary slot may not be reserved so that the current can be evenly introduced into each conductive pattern part, and after the electroforming process, the metal mask is defined by laser cutting. The outer boundary of the mask, in this way, can also improve the uneven film thickness and size of the openings of the metal mask through the uniform introduction of current, thereby improving the availability of the openings.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above through embodiments, they are not intended to limit the present invention. Those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs can make some modifications and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the appended patent application scope.

10, 10A: electroformed motherboard 12:Substrate 14, 14A: Conductive pattern layer 16: Conductive pattern department 161: Pattern opening 162: First side 163: Second side 164: Conductive electron pattern 18:Conductive frame part 181: Conductive outer frame 181a: first border 181b: Second border 182:Conductive rib 20: Slotting on the outer boundary 22, 22A, 22B: current inflow point 24: Electroformed film 24a:Metal mask 241: Mask opening 26:Opening 28: Positioning gap

1A to 1C are partial cross-sectional schematic diagrams of a manufacturing method of a metal mask according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2A to 2C are schematic top views of a manufacturing method of a metal mask according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Figures 3A to 3C show schematic diagrams of current inflow points of different shapes formed on the outer boundary of the slot. 4A to 4C are schematic top views of a manufacturing method of a metal mask according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

10:Electroforming motherboard

12:Substrate

14: Conductive pattern layer

16: Conductive pattern department

161: Pattern opening

162: First side

163: Second side

164: Conductive electron pattern

18:Conductive frame part

181: Conductive outer frame

181a: first border

181b: Second border

182:Conductive rib

20: Slotting on the outer boundary

22:Current inflow point

26:Opening

Claims (10)

A method of making a metal mask, including: providing an electroformed motherboard, including a base material and a conductive pattern layer, the conductive pattern layer is formed on the base material, and a plurality of conductive pattern parts are formed on the conductive pattern layer , a conductive frame part, a plurality of outer boundary slots, and a plurality of current inflow points, each of the conductive pattern parts is formed with a plurality of pattern openings to expose the substrate, the conductive frame part surrounds each of the These conductive pattern parts, the conductive frame part includes a conductive outer frame part and a plurality of conductive rib parts, the conductive rib parts are arranged at intervals and connected to the conductive outer frame part, and the conductive pattern parts are made through the conductive rib parts Separated two by two, the outer boundary slots are provided on the conductive ribs and the conductive outer frame part to be located on opposite sides of each of the conductive pattern parts, and the current inflow points are formed on each of the conductive pattern parts. The outer boundary of at least one side of the conductive pattern parts is slotted to electrically connect the conductive pattern parts and the conductive frame part; an electroforming process is performed to form an electroforming film on the surface of the electroformed motherboard; And cutting the electroformed film corresponding to the outer boundary slots, and separating the electroformed film and the electroformed motherboard, the separated electroformed films constitute a plurality of metal masks, and the metal masks are Features multiple mask openings. The method of making a metal mask as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pattern of the current inlet points is selected from one of rectangle, triangle, trapezoid or a combination thereof. The manufacturing method of a metal mask as described in claim 1, wherein during the electroforming process, the electroforming motherboard is placed in an electroforming tank as a cathode body, and an electric current passes through the conductive frame part and The current introduction points are uniformly introduced into the conductive pattern parts. The method of manufacturing a metal mask as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distribution of the mask openings corresponds to the distribution of the pattern openings, and the apertures of the mask openings are smaller than the apertures of the pattern openings. The method of manufacturing a metal mask as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the conductive pattern portions includes two opposite first sides and two opposite second sides, and the outer boundary slots are respectively formed on the two first sides. , at least two openings are formed on the conductive frame part, respectively located on the two second sides of each of the conductive pattern parts. The method of making a metal mask as claimed in claim 5, wherein at least two positioning notches are formed on the metal masks, corresponding to the distribution of the at least two openings. The method of manufacturing a metal mask as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method for cutting the electroformed film is selected from one of mechanical cutting and laser cutting. An electroformed motherboard includes a base material; and a conductive pattern layer formed on the base material. The conductive pattern layer includes a plurality of conductive pattern parts, a conductive frame part, a plurality of outer boundary slots, and a plurality of The current inlet point, each of the conductive pattern portions includes a plurality of pattern openings to expose the substrate, the conductive frame portion surrounds each of the conductive pattern portions, the conductive frame portion includes a conductive outer frame portion and multiple conductive ribs, the conductive ribs are spaced apart and connected to the conductive outer frame part, and the conductive pattern parts are separated by two through the conductive ribs, and the outer boundary slots are provided on the conductive ribs The conductive outer frame portion and the conductive outer frame portion are located on opposite sides of each of the conductive pattern portions, and the current inflow points are formed in the outer boundary slots on at least one side of each of the conductive pattern portions to electrically Connect the conductive pattern parts and the conductive frame part. The electroformed motherboard according to claim 8, wherein the pattern of the current inflow points is selected from one of rectangle, triangle and trapezoid or a combination thereof. The electroformed motherboard of claim 8, wherein each of the conductive pattern portions includes two opposite first sides and two opposite second sides, and the outer boundary grooves are respectively formed on the two first sides, and the At least two openings are formed on the conductive frame part, respectively located on the two second sides of each of the conductive pattern parts.

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