US20230278069A1 - Systems and methods for residual material collection in laser-assisted deposition - Google Patents
Systems and methods for residual material collection in laser-assisted deposition Download PDFInfo
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- US20230278069A1 US20230278069A1 US18/168,057 US202318168057A US2023278069A1 US 20230278069 A1 US20230278069 A1 US 20230278069A1 US 202318168057 A US202318168057 A US 202318168057A US 2023278069 A1 US2023278069 A1 US 2023278069A1
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- B05C11/023—Apparatus for spreading or distributing liquids or other fluent materials already applied to a surface
- B05C11/025—Apparatus for spreading or distributing liquids or other fluent materials already applied to a surface with an essentially cylindrical body, e.g. roll or rod
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- B05C5/02—Apparatus in which liquid or other fluent material is projected, poured or allowed to flow on to the surface of the work the liquid or other fluent material being discharged through an outlet orifice by pressure, e.g. from an outlet device in contact or almost in contact, with the work
- B05C5/0245—Apparatus in which liquid or other fluent material is projected, poured or allowed to flow on to the surface of the work the liquid or other fluent material being discharged through an outlet orifice by pressure, e.g. from an outlet device in contact or almost in contact, with the work for applying liquid or other fluent material to a moving work of indefinite length, e.g. to a moving web
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
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- B23K1/0016—Brazing of electronic components
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- B23K26/00—Working by laser beam, e.g. welding, cutting or boring
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
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- B23K26/342—Build-up welding
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- B23K3/00—Tools, devices, or special appurtenances for soldering, e.g. brazing, or unsoldering, not specially adapted for particular methods
- B23K3/06—Solder feeding devices; Solder melting pans
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- B23K3/0638—Solder feeding devices for viscous material feeding, e.g. solder paste feeding
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- B23K3/00—Tools, devices, or special appurtenances for soldering, e.g. brazing, or unsoldering, not specially adapted for particular methods
- B23K3/08—Auxiliary devices therefor
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C64/00—Additive manufacturing, i.e. manufacturing of three-dimensional [3D] objects by additive deposition, additive agglomeration or additive layering, e.g. by 3D printing, stereolithography or selective laser sintering
- B29C64/10—Processes of additive manufacturing
- B29C64/141—Processes of additive manufacturing using only solid materials
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C64/00—Additive manufacturing, i.e. manufacturing of three-dimensional [3D] objects by additive deposition, additive agglomeration or additive layering, e.g. by 3D printing, stereolithography or selective laser sintering
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
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- 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
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- B05C11/1039—Recovery of excess liquid or other fluent material; Controlling means therefor
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- B23K2101/00—Articles made by soldering, welding or cutting
- B23K2101/36—Electric or electronic devices
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
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- B23K2103/50—Inorganic material, e.g. metals, not provided for in B23K2103/02 – B23K2103/26
- B23K2103/52—Ceramics
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- 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
- H05K2203/03—Metal processing
- H05K2203/0338—Transferring metal or conductive material other than a circuit pattern, e.g. bump, solder, printed component
-
- 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
- H05K3/1275—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 other printing techniques, e.g. letterpress printing, intaglio printing, lithographic printing, offset 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
- H05K3/00—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits
- H05K3/30—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor
- H05K3/32—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor electrically connecting electric components or wires to printed circuits
- H05K3/34—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor electrically connecting electric components or wires to printed circuits by soldering
- H05K3/3457—Solder materials or compositions; Methods of application thereof
- H05K3/3485—Applying solder paste, slurry or powder
Definitions
- the present invention relates to systems and methods for collecting residual material that remains on a donor substrate after laser-assisted deposition of the material from the donor substrate to a receiving substrate, allowing for immediate reuse of the collected residual material.
- a uniform layer of material is coated onto a donor substrate at a coating system, and portions of the material are jetted from the donor substrate to a receiving substrate at a printing unit, leaving residual portions of the material on the donor substrate.
- the present inventor has recognized that in a system configured to print a solder paste material, or any other viscous material, using laser-assisted deposition in which the material is first coated on and then printed from a donor substrate, there are advantages afforded by collecting (or aggregating) residual portions of the material in such a fashion that the residual material can be immediately used for subsequent printing processes.
- the present invention provides a printing system that coats the to-be-printed material on a donor substrate and thereafter prints the material to a receiving substrate via laser-assisted deposition. Following such printing, residual portions of the material that remain on the donor substrate are collected (or aggregated) in or near the area in which the initial coating of material was performed.
- this collection (or aggregation) of the residual material is done so that the residual material remains on (or near) the donor substrate, allowing it to be immediately reused following its collection (or aggregation). If needed, the residual portions of the material can be supplemented by additional amounts of material before the printing is performed.
- the printing system may include one or more imaging arrangements for monitoring the progress and/or assisting in the control of the various processes.
- the printing system includes a coating system that creates a uniform layer of the printed material on the donor substrate.
- the term “donor substrate” should be recognized as meaning any suitable film or substrate on which the material to be printed may be coated for purposes of transport to the laser-based printing portion of the printing system.
- the coating system may include a syringe of the to-be-printed material and an air or mechanical pump that drives the material onto the donor substrate. The donor substrate is then moved towards and through a well-defined gap (e.g., between rollers or knives) to create a uniform layer of the printed material with a thickness that is defined by the gap.
- the coating system may contain more than one material, thereby creating a possibility for printing a plurality materials onto the donor substrate in a controlled sequence and making it possible to print more than one material on the receiving substrate.
- the donor substrate is translatable in a bidirectional fashion and in a controlled manner (e.g., while opening a gap between coating rollers), thereby allowing for collection of residual material from the donor substrate after a printing operation without contamination of the rollers and loss of the residual material.
- the printed material may be a solder paste or other metal paste(s) used for printed electronics, a metal paste or a ceramic paste, a highly viscous material, a wax material, a polymer material, a mixture of a polymer and a monomer material, a low viscosity material, a material that can be cured by ultraviolet (UV) or visible light or by heating, or a material that can be dried.
- the printing process may use a laser-based system that contains a laser (e.g., a high frequency laser) to enable jetting of the material from the donor substrate to the receiving substrate.
- collection (or aggregation) of the residual material is performed using a blade or a squeegee.
- the residual material is collected (or aggregated) so that it remains on the donor substrate.
- the collection (or aggregation) is preferably performed in the vicinity of the coating system, for example, immediately upstream (as measured from the direction of travel of the donor substrate from the coating system to the printing unit) of the coating system so that the collected residual material and any supplemental material from the coating system may be immediately moved towards and through the well-defined gap, resulting in the donor substrate that has been recoated with a uniform layer of the to-be-printed material of a desired thickness that is ready for a subsequent printing operation.
- the coating system includes a gap control unit configured to maintain the dimensions of the well-defined gap.
- the well-defined gap may be maintained by rollers, one or more of which is positionable with respect to the other or one another using actuators.
- the actuators may be piezoelectric actuators capable of small displacements in one or more dimensions, allowing for fine control of the gap width.
- the donor substrate may be any suitable film or substrate on which the material to be printed may be coated and, in some embodiments of the invention, may be a continuous or other transparent film substrate, a transparent film substrate coated by a metal layer or by a metal and a dielectric layer, or a transparent solid substrate.
- the donor substrate may be a film substrate that, by rolling (under the influence of one or more motors or by being turned on a reel), can deliver the to-be-printed material from the coating system to the printing unit.
- a system that employs a narrow or contact gap printing system to effect printing of viscous materials, such as solder paste, performs an initial coating of the viscous material on a donor substrate.
- the donor substrate may be observed by one or more imaging arrangements for monitoring and control of the coating and subsequent printing and residual material recovery processes.
- the coated donor substrate is employed in printing of the viscous material to a receiving substrate.
- This printing procedure may involve the viscous material being distributed on the receiving substrate as dots (e.g., small, generally round spots or droplets) or other segments through a laser-assisted deposition or other laser dispensing printing operation, where the dots or other segments of the viscous material are ejected from a uniform layer thereof on the coated donor substrate onto the receiving substrate using a laser (e.g., a high frequency laser).
- a laser e.g., a high frequency laser
- Residual, un-jetted portions of the viscous material remaining on the donor substrate after the laser-assisted deposition or other laser dispensing printing operation are then recovered, preferably by returning the portion of the donor substrate with the residual material thereon to an area near (or within) the coating system and so that it remains on the donor substrate so that it is available for immediate reuse (optionally along with additional amounts of the viscous material applied to the donor substrate by the coating system).
- the coating system used to coat the donor substrate may be a syringe and a gap system in which the viscous material is dispensed from a syringe (or other applicator) to the donor substrate which then passes through a well-defined gap (e.g., formed by blade of other kind of barrier, or a pair of rollers or cylinders). After passing through the gap, a uniform layer of the viscous material is present on the donor substrate and the laser assisted deposition / laser dispensing system can be used to jet dots of material from the coated, donor substrate to the receiving substrate.
- a well-defined gap e.g., formed by blade of other kind of barrier, or a pair of rollers or cylinders.
- the donor substrate can be returned to the coating system (e.g., by linear translation in a reverse direction from that which it travelled to the printing area) for collection (or aggregation) of the residual material on the donor substrate and recoating thereof by the coating system to create a new uniform coated layer on the donor substrate for the next printing.
- the donor substrate may be a transparent film or other substrate, with or without a metal (or other) coating.
- Systems configured in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may be used for printing a wide variety of liquid and/or paste materials.
- the present invention provides particular benefits for the printing of highly viscous materials that cannot be printed well in high resolution by other methods.
- systems configured in accordance with embodiments of the present invention find particular application in printing solder pastes and other metal pastes, as well as high viscosity polymers, like acrylics, epoxies, and urethane-based adhesives, pastes or waxes.
- the present invention may also be employed in connection with the printing of temperature or oxygen sensitive materials since a coated, donor substrate can be maintained in a controlled environment prior to the printing process so as to avoid solvent evaporation or oxidation of the material to be printed.
- the printing process in which the viscous material is transferred from the donor substrate to the receiving substrate may make use of a laser-based system.
- a printing head in the form of a laser e.g., high frequency laser
- the laser e.g., high frequency laser
- the laser may be arranged to scan the donor substrate in two dimensions so as to jet the dots or other segments of viscous material from the donor substrate to the receiving substrate.
- the viscous material disposed on the receiving substrate may be cured by UV or infra-red light or dried by a heater, or may be subsequently transferred from the receiving substrate to another substrate by a further printing process.
- FIG. 1 depicts a side view of a printing system with a coating system and a printing unit, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 2 depicts material (i.e., to-be-printed material) being dispensed from a syringe (or other applicator) into a vicinity of a gap between two coating rollers of the coating system, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- material i.e., to-be-printed material
- FIG. 3 depicts the dispensed material being passed through the gap by translation of the donor substrate, the passing of the dispensed material through the gap resulting in the formation of a uniform layer of the to-be-printed material on the donor substrate, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 4 depicts the donor substrate with a uniform layer of the to-be-printed material within the printing unit, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 5 depicts the jetting of portions of the material from the donor substrate onto the receiving substrate by scanning a laser (e.g., a high frequency laser) over the donor substrate, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- a laser e.g., a high frequency laser
- FIG. 6 depicts the widening of the gap between the coating rollers, in preparation for a recoating process, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 7 depicts the translation of residual portions of the material on the donor substrate away from the printing unit, and towards and through the gap of the coating system, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 8 depicts the positioning of a squeegee on the surface of the donor substrate, near and upstream of the gap between the coating rollers, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 9 depicts the gap between coating rollers being returned to its original width, the donor substrate being advanced in its original direction of travel towards the printing unit, and the collection (or aggregation) of the residual portions of material into a blob at the interface between the squeegee and the donor substrate, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 10 depicts the blob of aggregated material disposed on the donor substrate after the squeegee has been removed, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 11 depicts additional material (i.e., to-be-printed material) being dispensed from a syringe into a vicinity of the gap between the coating rollers, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- additional material i.e., to-be-printed material
- FIG. 12 depicts the donor substrate being advanced towards the printing unit so as to pass the collected residual material through the gap between the coating rollers, and form a new uniform layer of the to-be-printed material on the donor substrate, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- FIGS. 13 A and 13 B depict a top view of a portion of the coating system showing the residual material on the donor substrate before being aggregated by a (stationary) squeegee ( FIG. 13 A ) and the residual material after being aggregated by the squeegee into a blob ( FIG. 13 B ), in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 14 A depicts the residual portions of the material being collected (or aggregated) by translating the donor substrate through a narrowed gap between the coating rollers, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 14 B depicts the residual portions of the material being collected (or aggregated) by translating the donor substrate through a narrowed gap between the coating rollers, and further translating a film in the opposite direction of the donor substrate through the gap in order to draw the collected material away from the gap, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 15 A (side view) and FIG. 15 B (top view) depict a squeegee being positioned within a widened gap between the coating rollers for collecting the residual material, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
- FIGS. 1 - 12 illustrate schematically aspects of a system 100 configured in accordance with the overview provided above.
- system 100 the viscous material jetting process is segregated from the viscous material application process, thereby avoiding issues that can be experienced in conventional printing processes.
- System 100 also includes one or more imaging arrangements 102 for monitoring and control of the jetting and application processes.
- a coating system 104 creates a uniform layer 106 of the to-be-printed material 108 (e.g., a highly viscous material such as a solder paste or other metal paste(s), a ceramic paste, a wax material, a polymer material, a mixture of a polymer and a monomer material, or a low viscosity material) on a donor substrate 110 .
- the coating system 104 includes a syringe (or other applicator) 112 of the to-be-printed material and an air or mechanical pump (not shown) that drives the material, under the control of a controller (not shown), onto the donor substrate 110 .
- the donor substrate 110 is then moved, using rollers 114 , which may be driven under the control of the controller by motors (not shown), toward a well-defined gap 116 between coating rollers 118 a , 118 b or knives (not shown) to create the uniform layer 106 of the to-be-printed material with a thickness that is defined by the gap 116 .
- the donor substrate 110 can be translated bidirectionally in a controlled manner, while widening the gap 116 between the coating rollers 118 a , 118 b , allowing for recoating of the donor substrate 110 with reclaimed residual portions of the material that are not consumed during a printing process without contamination to the rollers 118 a , 118 b . This not only reduces the amount of donor substrate 110 consumed during the printing process, but also prevents waste of the to-be-printed material as any residual material from a printing process can be used in subsequent iterations of that process.
- the coating system 104 and, optionally, the laser-based scanning print system 120 may be housed inside a closed cell with a controlled environment (cold or hot) in order to prevent evaporation of solvent from the to-be-printed material or to prevent material oxidation, thereby prolonging the pot life of the material.
- the coating system 104 contains more than one material, thereby allowing a plurality of materials to be printed onto the donor substrate 110 in a controlled sequence and making it possible to print more than one material on a receiving substrate 122 .
- FIGS. 1 - 3 highlight the creation of a uniform layer 106 of the to-be-printed material 108 on the donor substrate 110 .
- printing system 100 is arranged so that the coating rollers 118 a , 118 b of coating system 104 are spaced apart from one another so as to create a well-defined gap 116 between them.
- the distance “d” between facing planes of the rollers, that is, the width of gap 116 may be set using actuator 124 .
- actuator 124 may use piezoelectric translators that include a piezoelectric ceramic that expands in a defined direction upon application of an electric current (e.g., under the control of a controller).
- the ceramic is orientated so that when it expands (at the application of a current under the control of the controller), coating roller 118 b is displaced along one or more axes, towards or away from coating roller 118 a , thereby narrowing or widening gap 116 .
- a number of piezoelectric translators may be used to move the coating roller 118 b and the various piezoelectric translators may be energized at the same time (or nearly so) so that their actions are coordinated with one another.
- the piezoelectric translators may be arranged so that they impart motion to the coating roller 118 b in the same direction and the translation distance may be proportional to the magnitude of the current applied to the piezo translators.
- the translation distance of the coating roller 118 b for each activation of the piezoelectric translators may be on the order of a few tens of nanometers to a few microns or more.
- actuator 124 may be configured to drive a lead screw to translate coating roller 118 b towards or away from coating roller 118 a .
- a second actuator may be associated with coating roller 118 a and the respective positions of the two coating rollers may be adjustable independently or collectively with respect to one another using individual actuators.
- coating roller 118 b may carry a film or other substrate 126 to aid in creating the uniform layer 106 of material on donor substrate 110 . Accordingly, the substrate 126 may be tensioned so as to eliminate any slack when the coating roller 118 b is translated towards or away from coating roller 118 a .
- FIG. 2 illustrates the initial dispensing of an amount of the to-be-printed material 108 by coating system 104 .
- the to-be-printed material 108 is dispensed from syringe 112 onto the donor substrate 110 in the vicinity of the gap 116 between coating rollers 118 a , 118 b .
- the amount and location of this dispensing may be monitored by one or more imaging arrangements 102 and the dispensing site may be varied by altering the position and orientation of the syringe 112 using appropriate control means.
- the donor substrate 110 is advanced so as to cause the to-be-printed material 108 thereon to be passed through the gap 116 between coating rollers 118 a , 118 b . As shown in FIG. 3 , this causes the to-be-printed material 108 to be drawn over a length of the donor substrate 110 in a uniform (or nearly so) layer 106 with a thickness equal to (or nearly so) the width of gap 116 .
- the uniform layer 106 of to-be-printed material on donor substrate 110 has reached a printing position with respect to printing unit 128 .
- the donor substrate 110 may be a transparent film, that is, a film that is transparent at the wavelength(s) of the laser used for the printing process
- the printing unit 128 includes a laser scanner 120 that contains a laser (e.g., a high frequency laser) arranged to jet portions of the layer of coated material 108 from the donor substrate 110 to receiving substrate 122 by focusing a laser beam 130 onto the interface between the layer of material 108 and the donor substrate 110 , as shown in FIG. 5 .
- the incident laser beam 130 causes local heating followed by a phase change and high local pressure which drives jetting of the material 108 from the donor substrate 110 onto the receiving substrate 122 .
- the printing process may be monitored using one or more imaging arrangements 102 and the laser controlled accordingly.
- this residual material 132 may be returned to the coating system 104 for reuse.
- the laser scanner 120 is switched off, and the gap 116 between coating rollers 118 a , 118 b is increased from its original width “d” to a wider width “w”.
- Width w may be a multiple of d, but in any event is sufficiently wide enough so as to allow the donor substrate 110 to pass between coating rollers 118 a , 118 b without contaminating the rollers with any of the residual portions of material 108 present thereon. That is, as shown in FIG.
- the donor substrate 110 is translated by rollers 114 in the reverse direction from that which it traveled from coating system 104 to printing unit 128 so that the residual material 132 is located upstream (from the perspective of the original direction of travel of donor substrate 110 ) of the gap 116 between coating rollers 118 a , 118 b .
- the residual material 132 can be reused.
- a squeegee 136 may be positioned on the surface of the donor substrate 110 , near but upstream of the gap 116 .
- the gap 116 between coating rollers 118 a , 118 b may be returned to its original width, “d” and the donor substrate 110 advanced in its original direction of travel. This causes the residual material 132 on donor substrate 110 to be collected (or aggregated) into a blob 138 at the interface between the squeegee 136 and the donor substrate 110 .
- the squeegee 136 may be removed. Note, some of the sequence of events may be modified from that shown in the illustrations. For example, the gap 116 between coating rollers 118 a , 118 b may be returned to its original dimension “d” prior to, simultaneous with, or following the advancing of the donor substrate 110 . Also, the advancing of the donor substrate 110 may result in a very thin layer of material 108 being formed on the donor substrate 110 as the residual portions thereof are collected into the blob 138 . This very thin layer of material may or may not be removed, for example, through subsequent collection in the fashion discussed above.
- additional amounts of material 108 may be needed for a subsequent printing operation.
- additional amounts of material 108 may be dispensed using syringe 112 onto donor substrate 110 in the vicinity of gap 116 .
- the printing process may be commenced again, with the collected (or aggregated) residual material and any additional material being formed into a uniform (or nearly so) layer 106 of material on donor substrate 110 by advancing the donor substrate 110 towards the printing unit 128 . As the material passes through gap 116 , it is formed into the uniform layer 106 .
- the printing and recovery process may be repeated as desired in order to form one or more layers of material 140 on receiving substrate 122 .
- FIGS. 13 A and 13 B depict a top view of a squeegee 136 in the collection of residual material 132 on a donor substrate 110 .
- FIG. 13 A shows the situation before the collection of the residual material 132 into a blob 138 , with portions of residual material 132 disposed on donor substrate 110 upstream of the squeegee 136 .
- the residual material 132 is collected into blob 138 by squeegee 136 .
- FIG. 13 B shows the situation after collection of the residual material 132 into the blob 138 .
- the squeegee 136 may be shaped in the form of a chevron or other convenient shape (e.g., a crescent).
- a separate film may be used to aid in the collection of the residual material 132 .
- a film carried by one or more rollers may be moved into position atop the donor substrate 110 and the donor substrate 110 advanced towards the interface with the film. The residual material 132 will collect upstream of that interface and thereby be available for use.
- the squeegee 136 may be positioned so as to collect residual material 132 on the donor substrate 110 as the donor substrate 110 is returned to the coating system 104 . That is, the squeegee 136 may be positioned upstream of the gap 116 (with the stream direction referring to the original direction and not the reverse direction) so that the residual material 132 is collected into a blob as the donor substrate 101 travels in its reverse direction, thereby avoiding the need to separately position the squeegee 136 and have the donor substrate 110 travel in its original direction for collection of the residual material. This will result in the residual material being collected further upstream from the gap 116 than is the case according to the above-described method, however, in some cases it may be preferable or at least permissible to do so.
- FIG. 14 A shows yet a further embodiment where the gap 116 is used as a collection element for residual material 132 .
- the gap 116 is compressed to a width d′, for example, by extending actuator 124 so that the film 126 touches the donor substrate 110 .
- the residual material 132 will collect in (or aggregate into) a blob 138 adjacent the area where the film 126 and donor substrate 110 meet, just prior to the now very narrow gap 116 between coating rollers 118 a , 118 b .
- the gap 116 is so narrow, only a very small amount of the material 108 will pass through the gap 116 (in the form of a very thin layer of material on the donor substrate 110 ), with the majority of the residual material 132 being collected for reuse. The gap 116 can then be widened back to its original width, “d,” and the donor substrate 110 recoated using the residual material in the fashion described above (see FIG. 12 ).
- FIG. 14 B shows a variation of the solution depicted in FIG. 14 A .
- the gap 116 is again used as a collection element for residual material, but this time the collected residual material is also taken up on film 126 .
- the residual material 132 is located upstream of the gap 116 between coating rollers 118 a , 118 b .
- the gap 116 is compressed to a width d′, for example, by extending actuator 124 so that the film 126 touches the donor substrate 110 .
- the residual material 132 will collect in a blob 138 adjacent the area where the film 126 and donor substrate 110 meet, just prior to the now very narrow gap 116 between coating rollers 118 a , 118 b .
- the film 126 is moved in the opposite direction (e.g., by rollers 114 ′), so that it draws portions of the residual material 132 ′ away from the gap 116 on film 126 .
- the speed ratio between the film 126 and the donor substrate 110 as well as the amount of residual material 132 will determine the distribution of the portions of the residual material 132 ′ on film 126 .
- the gap 116 can then be widened back to its original width, “d,” and the direction of motion of film 126 can be reversed so that it now moves to bring the collected portions of the residual material 132 ′ towards the donor substrate 110 near the gap 116 and the donor substrate 110 can be recoated using the collected portions of the residual material 132 ′, optionally along with additional material dispensed from syringe 112 in the fashion described above (see FIG. 11 ).
- the recoated donor substrate 110 can then be moved to the printing stage, as described above (see FIG. 12 ).
- FIG. 15 A a side view, and 15 B, a top view, illustrate yet a further embodiment of the invention, this time with the squeegee 136 being positioned within a widened gap 116 between coating rollers 118 a , 118 b for collecting the residual material 132 .
- the gap width between the coating rollers 118 a , 118 b is widened so as to accommodate squeegee 136 , which is positioned between the two rollers 118 a , 118 b .
- the squeegee 136 is shaped so as to allow collection of the residual material 132 without contaminating the rollers 118 a , 118 b , for example in a “U” or similar shape.
- the residual material 132 is collected by the squeegee 136 on donor substrate 110 , allowing it to be reused as discussed above.
- the squeegee 136 may be removed and the gap 116 between coating rollers 118 a , 118 b may be returned to its original dimension “d,” allowing the collected residual material to be coated on the donor substrate 110 in a uniform layer 106 .
- the donor substrate 110 may be necessary to first rewind the donor substrate 110 so that the collected residual material is moved out of the area of the gap 116 (e.g., is drawn out of a cavity of the squeegee 136 ) before the squeegee 136 is removed.
- controllers which, preferably, are processor-based controllers that operate under the instruction of machine-executable instructions stored on tangible machine-readable media.
- controllers may include a microprocessor and memory communicatively coupled to one another by a bus or other communication mechanism for communicating information.
- the memory may include a program store memory, such as a read only memory (ROM) or other static storage device, as well as a dynamic memory, such as a random-access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, and each may be coupled to the bus for providing and storing information and instructions to be executed by the microprocessor.
- ROM read only memory
- RAM random-access memory
- the dynamic memory also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by the microprocessor.
- a storage device such as a solid state memory, magnetic disk, or optical disk may be provided and coupled to the bus for storing information and instructions.
- the controller may also include a display, for displaying information to a user, as well as various input devices, including an alphanumeric keyboard and a cursor control device such as a mouse and/or trackpad, as part of a user interface for the printing system.
- various input devices including an alphanumeric keyboard and a cursor control device such as a mouse and/or trackpad, as part of a user interface for the printing system.
- one or more communication interfaces may be included to provide two-way data communication to and from the printing system.
- network interfaces that include wired and/or wireless modems may be used to provide such communications.
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Abstract
Description
- This application is a nonprovisional of, claims priority to, and incorporates by reference U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/268,969, filed on 7 Mar. 2022 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/268,867, filed on 4 Mar. 2022.
- The present invention relates to systems and methods for collecting residual material that remains on a donor substrate after laser-assisted deposition of the material from the donor substrate to a receiving substrate, allowing for immediate reuse of the collected residual material.
- In a laser-assisted deposition system, a uniform layer of material is coated onto a donor substrate at a coating system, and portions of the material are jetted from the donor substrate to a receiving substrate at a printing unit, leaving residual portions of the material on the donor substrate.
- The present inventor has recognized that in a system configured to print a solder paste material, or any other viscous material, using laser-assisted deposition in which the material is first coated on and then printed from a donor substrate, there are advantages afforded by collecting (or aggregating) residual portions of the material in such a fashion that the residual material can be immediately used for subsequent printing processes. To that end, in various embodiments, the present invention provides a printing system that coats the to-be-printed material on a donor substrate and thereafter prints the material to a receiving substrate via laser-assisted deposition. Following such printing, residual portions of the material that remain on the donor substrate are collected (or aggregated) in or near the area in which the initial coating of material was performed. Importantly, this collection (or aggregation) of the residual material is done so that the residual material remains on (or near) the donor substrate, allowing it to be immediately reused following its collection (or aggregation). If needed, the residual portions of the material can be supplemented by additional amounts of material before the printing is performed. The printing system may include one or more imaging arrangements for monitoring the progress and/or assisting in the control of the various processes.
- In some embodiments of the invention, the printing system includes a coating system that creates a uniform layer of the printed material on the donor substrate. The term “donor substrate” should be recognized as meaning any suitable film or substrate on which the material to be printed may be coated for purposes of transport to the laser-based printing portion of the printing system. Where present, the coating system may include a syringe of the to-be-printed material and an air or mechanical pump that drives the material onto the donor substrate. The donor substrate is then moved towards and through a well-defined gap (e.g., between rollers or knives) to create a uniform layer of the printed material with a thickness that is defined by the gap. In some cases, the coating system may contain more than one material, thereby creating a possibility for printing a plurality materials onto the donor substrate in a controlled sequence and making it possible to print more than one material on the receiving substrate. Within the coating system, the donor substrate is translatable in a bidirectional fashion and in a controlled manner (e.g., while opening a gap between coating rollers), thereby allowing for collection of residual material from the donor substrate after a printing operation without contamination of the rollers and loss of the residual material.
- In various embodiments of the invention, the printed material may be a solder paste or other metal paste(s) used for printed electronics, a metal paste or a ceramic paste, a highly viscous material, a wax material, a polymer material, a mixture of a polymer and a monomer material, a low viscosity material, a material that can be cured by ultraviolet (UV) or visible light or by heating, or a material that can be dried. The printing process may use a laser-based system that contains a laser (e.g., a high frequency laser) to enable jetting of the material from the donor substrate to the receiving substrate.
- In some cases, collection (or aggregation) of the residual material is performed using a blade or a squeegee. By translating the donor substrate under the blade or squeegee, the residual material is collected (or aggregated) so that it remains on the donor substrate. The collection (or aggregation) is preferably performed in the vicinity of the coating system, for example, immediately upstream (as measured from the direction of travel of the donor substrate from the coating system to the printing unit) of the coating system so that the collected residual material and any supplemental material from the coating system may be immediately moved towards and through the well-defined gap, resulting in the donor substrate that has been recoated with a uniform layer of the to-be-printed material of a desired thickness that is ready for a subsequent printing operation.
- In some embodiments of the invention, the coating system includes a gap control unit configured to maintain the dimensions of the well-defined gap. For example, the well-defined gap may be maintained by rollers, one or more of which is positionable with respect to the other or one another using actuators. The actuators may be piezoelectric actuators capable of small displacements in one or more dimensions, allowing for fine control of the gap width.
- As noted above, the donor substrate may be any suitable film or substrate on which the material to be printed may be coated and, in some embodiments of the invention, may be a continuous or other transparent film substrate, a transparent film substrate coated by a metal layer or by a metal and a dielectric layer, or a transparent solid substrate. For example, the donor substrate may be a film substrate that, by rolling (under the influence of one or more motors or by being turned on a reel), can deliver the to-be-printed material from the coating system to the printing unit.
- In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, a system that employs a narrow or contact gap printing system to effect printing of viscous materials, such as solder paste, performs an initial coating of the viscous material on a donor substrate. As part of this procedure, the donor substrate may be observed by one or more imaging arrangements for monitoring and control of the coating and subsequent printing and residual material recovery processes. The coated donor substrate is employed in printing of the viscous material to a receiving substrate. This printing procedure may involve the viscous material being distributed on the receiving substrate as dots (e.g., small, generally round spots or droplets) or other segments through a laser-assisted deposition or other laser dispensing printing operation, where the dots or other segments of the viscous material are ejected from a uniform layer thereof on the coated donor substrate onto the receiving substrate using a laser (e.g., a high frequency laser). Residual, un-jetted portions of the viscous material remaining on the donor substrate after the laser-assisted deposition or other laser dispensing printing operation are then recovered, preferably by returning the portion of the donor substrate with the residual material thereon to an area near (or within) the coating system and so that it remains on the donor substrate so that it is available for immediate reuse (optionally along with additional amounts of the viscous material applied to the donor substrate by the coating system). To ensure the uniform coating of the viscous material onto the donor substrate, the coating system used to coat the donor substrate may be a syringe and a gap system in which the viscous material is dispensed from a syringe (or other applicator) to the donor substrate which then passes through a well-defined gap (e.g., formed by blade of other kind of barrier, or a pair of rollers or cylinders). After passing through the gap, a uniform layer of the viscous material is present on the donor substrate and the laser assisted deposition / laser dispensing system can be used to jet dots of material from the coated, donor substrate to the receiving substrate. After providing the uniform layer of viscous material for printing, the donor substrate can be returned to the coating system (e.g., by linear translation in a reverse direction from that which it travelled to the printing area) for collection (or aggregation) of the residual material on the donor substrate and recoating thereof by the coating system to create a new uniform coated layer on the donor substrate for the next printing. As indicated above, the donor substrate may be a transparent film or other substrate, with or without a metal (or other) coating.
- Systems configured in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may be used for printing a wide variety of liquid and/or paste materials. However, the present invention provides particular benefits for the printing of highly viscous materials that cannot be printed well in high resolution by other methods. For example, systems configured in accordance with embodiments of the present invention find particular application in printing solder pastes and other metal pastes, as well as high viscosity polymers, like acrylics, epoxies, and urethane-based adhesives, pastes or waxes. The present invention may also be employed in connection with the printing of temperature or oxygen sensitive materials since a coated, donor substrate can be maintained in a controlled environment prior to the printing process so as to avoid solvent evaporation or oxidation of the material to be printed.
- The printing process, in which the viscous material is transferred from the donor substrate to the receiving substrate may make use of a laser-based system. For example, a printing head in the form of a laser (e.g., high frequency laser) may be used to selectively transfer dots or other segments of viscous material from the donor substrate to the receiving substrate. The laser (e.g., high frequency laser) may be arranged to scan the donor substrate in two dimensions so as to jet the dots or other segments of viscous material from the donor substrate to the receiving substrate. After being printed to the receiving substrate, the viscous material disposed on the receiving substrate may be cured by UV or infra-red light or dried by a heater, or may be subsequently transferred from the receiving substrate to another substrate by a further printing process.
- These and further embodiments of the invention are described in detail below.
- The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which:
-
FIG. 1 depicts a side view of a printing system with a coating system and a printing unit, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 2 depicts material (i.e., to-be-printed material) being dispensed from a syringe (or other applicator) into a vicinity of a gap between two coating rollers of the coating system, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 3 depicts the dispensed material being passed through the gap by translation of the donor substrate, the passing of the dispensed material through the gap resulting in the formation of a uniform layer of the to-be-printed material on the donor substrate, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 4 depicts the donor substrate with a uniform layer of the to-be-printed material within the printing unit, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 5 depicts the jetting of portions of the material from the donor substrate onto the receiving substrate by scanning a laser (e.g., a high frequency laser) over the donor substrate, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 6 depicts the widening of the gap between the coating rollers, in preparation for a recoating process, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 7 depicts the translation of residual portions of the material on the donor substrate away from the printing unit, and towards and through the gap of the coating system, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 8 depicts the positioning of a squeegee on the surface of the donor substrate, near and upstream of the gap between the coating rollers, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 9 depicts the gap between coating rollers being returned to its original width, the donor substrate being advanced in its original direction of travel towards the printing unit, and the collection (or aggregation) of the residual portions of material into a blob at the interface between the squeegee and the donor substrate, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 10 depicts the blob of aggregated material disposed on the donor substrate after the squeegee has been removed, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 11 depicts additional material (i.e., to-be-printed material) being dispensed from a syringe into a vicinity of the gap between the coating rollers, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 12 depicts the donor substrate being advanced towards the printing unit so as to pass the collected residual material through the gap between the coating rollers, and form a new uniform layer of the to-be-printed material on the donor substrate, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIGS. 13A and 13B depict a top view of a portion of the coating system showing the residual material on the donor substrate before being aggregated by a (stationary) squeegee (FIG. 13A ) and the residual material after being aggregated by the squeegee into a blob (FIG. 13B ), in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 14A depicts the residual portions of the material being collected (or aggregated) by translating the donor substrate through a narrowed gap between the coating rollers, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 14B depicts the residual portions of the material being collected (or aggregated) by translating the donor substrate through a narrowed gap between the coating rollers, and further translating a film in the opposite direction of the donor substrate through the gap in order to draw the collected material away from the gap, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIG. 15A (side view) andFIG. 15B (top view) depict a squeegee being positioned within a widened gap between the coating rollers for collecting the residual material, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. -
FIGS. 1-12 illustrate schematically aspects of asystem 100 configured in accordance with the overview provided above. Insystem 100, the viscous material jetting process is segregated from the viscous material application process, thereby avoiding issues that can be experienced in conventional printing processes.System 100 also includes one ormore imaging arrangements 102 for monitoring and control of the jetting and application processes. - In
system 100, acoating system 104 creates auniform layer 106 of the to-be-printed material 108 (e.g., a highly viscous material such as a solder paste or other metal paste(s), a ceramic paste, a wax material, a polymer material, a mixture of a polymer and a monomer material, or a low viscosity material) on adonor substrate 110. In the illustrated example, thecoating system 104 includes a syringe (or other applicator) 112 of the to-be-printed material and an air or mechanical pump (not shown) that drives the material, under the control of a controller (not shown), onto thedonor substrate 110. Thedonor substrate 110 is then moved, usingrollers 114, which may be driven under the control of the controller by motors (not shown), toward a well-definedgap 116 betweencoating rollers uniform layer 106 of the to-be-printed material with a thickness that is defined by thegap 116. As will be apparent, thedonor substrate 110 can be translated bidirectionally in a controlled manner, while widening thegap 116 between the coatingrollers donor substrate 110 with reclaimed residual portions of the material that are not consumed during a printing process without contamination to therollers donor substrate 110 consumed during the printing process, but also prevents waste of the to-be-printed material as any residual material from a printing process can be used in subsequent iterations of that process. - Although not shown in detail in these figures, the
coating system 104 and, optionally, the laser-basedscanning print system 120 may be housed inside a closed cell with a controlled environment (cold or hot) in order to prevent evaporation of solvent from the to-be-printed material or to prevent material oxidation, thereby prolonging the pot life of the material. In some embodiments of the invention, thecoating system 104 contains more than one material, thereby allowing a plurality of materials to be printed onto thedonor substrate 110 in a controlled sequence and making it possible to print more than one material on a receivingsubstrate 122. -
FIGS. 1-3 highlight the creation of auniform layer 106 of the to-be-printed material 108 on thedonor substrate 110. InFIG. 1 ,printing system 100 is arranged so that thecoating rollers coating system 104 are spaced apart from one another so as to create a well-definedgap 116 between them. The distance “d” between facing planes of the rollers, that is, the width ofgap 116, may be set usingactuator 124. In one embodiment,actuator 124 may use piezoelectric translators that include a piezoelectric ceramic that expands in a defined direction upon application of an electric current (e.g., under the control of a controller). The ceramic is orientated so that when it expands (at the application of a current under the control of the controller),coating roller 118 b is displaced along one or more axes, towards or away from coatingroller 118 a, thereby narrowing or wideninggap 116. Generally, a number of piezoelectric translators may be used to move thecoating roller 118 b and the various piezoelectric translators may be energized at the same time (or nearly so) so that their actions are coordinated with one another. Thus, the piezoelectric translators may be arranged so that they impart motion to thecoating roller 118 b in the same direction and the translation distance may be proportional to the magnitude of the current applied to the piezo translators. In some embodiments, the translation distance of thecoating roller 118 b for each activation of the piezoelectric translators may be on the order of a few tens of nanometers to a few microns or more. - Alternatively,
actuator 124 may be configured to drive a lead screw to translatecoating roller 118 b towards or away from coatingroller 118 a. Additionally, although only asingle actuator 124 is shown, in some embodiments a second actuator may be associated withcoating roller 118 a and the respective positions of the two coating rollers may be adjustable independently or collectively with respect to one another using individual actuators. As shown in the illustrated example,coating roller 118 b may carry a film orother substrate 126 to aid in creating theuniform layer 106 of material ondonor substrate 110. Accordingly, thesubstrate 126 may be tensioned so as to eliminate any slack when thecoating roller 118 b is translated towards or away from coatingroller 118 a. -
FIG. 2 illustrates the initial dispensing of an amount of the to-be-printed material 108 bycoating system 104. The to-be-printed material 108 is dispensed fromsyringe 112 onto thedonor substrate 110 in the vicinity of thegap 116 betweencoating rollers more imaging arrangements 102 and the dispensing site may be varied by altering the position and orientation of thesyringe 112 using appropriate control means. - As the to-
be-printed material 108 is dispensed, or upon completion of an initial dispensing thereof, thedonor substrate 110 is advanced so as to cause the to-be-printed material 108 thereon to be passed through thegap 116 betweencoating rollers FIG. 3 , this causes the to-be-printed material 108 to be drawn over a length of thedonor substrate 110 in a uniform (or nearly so)layer 106 with a thickness equal to (or nearly so) the width ofgap 116. - In
FIG. 4 , theuniform layer 106 of to-be-printed material ondonor substrate 110 has reached a printing position with respect toprinting unit 128. Thedonor substrate 110 may be a transparent film, that is, a film that is transparent at the wavelength(s) of the laser used for the printing process, and theprinting unit 128 includes alaser scanner 120 that contains a laser (e.g., a high frequency laser) arranged to jet portions of the layer ofcoated material 108 from thedonor substrate 110 to receivingsubstrate 122 by focusing alaser beam 130 onto the interface between the layer ofmaterial 108 and thedonor substrate 110, as shown inFIG. 5 . Theincident laser beam 130 causes local heating followed by a phase change and high local pressure which drives jetting of the material 108 from thedonor substrate 110 onto the receivingsubstrate 122. The printing process may be monitored using one ormore imaging arrangements 102 and the laser controlled accordingly. - After such printing, a
residual amount 132 ofmaterial 108 will remain on thedonor substrate 110. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, thisresidual material 132 may be returned to thecoating system 104 for reuse. As shown inFIG. 6 , following the printing, thelaser scanner 120 is switched off, and thegap 116 betweencoating rollers donor substrate 110 to pass betweencoating rollers material 108 present thereon. That is, as shown inFIG. 7 , thedonor substrate 110 is translated byrollers 114 in the reverse direction from that which it traveled fromcoating system 104 toprinting unit 128 so that theresidual material 132 is located upstream (from the perspective of the original direction of travel of donor substrate 110) of thegap 116 betweencoating rollers - By returning the
residual material 132 ondonor substrate 110 to thecoating system 104, theresidual material 132 can be reused. As shown inFIG. 8 , with therollers squeegee 136 may be positioned on the surface of thedonor substrate 110, near but upstream of thegap 116. Then, as shown inFIG. 9 , thegap 116 betweencoating rollers donor substrate 110 advanced in its original direction of travel. This causes theresidual material 132 ondonor substrate 110 to be collected (or aggregated) into ablob 138 at the interface between thesqueegee 136 and thedonor substrate 110. Once theresidual material 132 has been so collected (or aggregated), then, as shown inFIG. 10 , thesqueegee 136 may be removed. Note, some of the sequence of events may be modified from that shown in the illustrations. For example, thegap 116 betweencoating rollers donor substrate 110. Also, the advancing of thedonor substrate 110 may result in a very thin layer ofmaterial 108 being formed on thedonor substrate 110 as the residual portions thereof are collected into theblob 138. This very thin layer of material may or may not be removed, for example, through subsequent collection in the fashion discussed above. - Depending on the amount of
residual material 132 recovered intoblob 138, additional amounts ofmaterial 108 may be needed for a subsequent printing operation. As shown inFIG. 11 , additional amounts ofmaterial 108 may be dispensed usingsyringe 112 ontodonor substrate 110 in the vicinity ofgap 116. Then, as shown inFIG. 12 , the printing process may be commenced again, with the collected (or aggregated) residual material and any additional material being formed into a uniform (or nearly so)layer 106 of material ondonor substrate 110 by advancing thedonor substrate 110 towards theprinting unit 128. As the material passes throughgap 116, it is formed into theuniform layer 106. The printing and recovery process may be repeated as desired in order to form one or more layers ofmaterial 140 on receivingsubstrate 122. -
FIGS. 13A and 13B depict a top view of asqueegee 136 in the collection ofresidual material 132 on adonor substrate 110.FIG. 13A shows the situation before the collection of theresidual material 132 into ablob 138, with portions ofresidual material 132 disposed ondonor substrate 110 upstream of thesqueegee 136. As thedonor substrate 110 is advanced in its original direction of travel towards the gap (not shown in this view), theresidual material 132 is collected intoblob 138 bysqueegee 136.FIG. 13B shows the situation after collection of theresidual material 132 into theblob 138. To aid in this process and to keep the collected residual material on thedonor substrate 110, thesqueegee 136 may be shaped in the form of a chevron or other convenient shape (e.g., a crescent). - In some embodiments, rather than a
squeegee 136, a separate film may be used to aid in the collection of theresidual material 132. For example, a film carried by one or more rollers may be moved into position atop thedonor substrate 110 and thedonor substrate 110 advanced towards the interface with the film. Theresidual material 132 will collect upstream of that interface and thereby be available for use. - In other embodiments, the
squeegee 136 may be positioned so as to collectresidual material 132 on thedonor substrate 110 as thedonor substrate 110 is returned to thecoating system 104. That is, thesqueegee 136 may be positioned upstream of the gap 116 (with the stream direction referring to the original direction and not the reverse direction) so that theresidual material 132 is collected into a blob as the donor substrate 101 travels in its reverse direction, thereby avoiding the need to separately position thesqueegee 136 and have thedonor substrate 110 travel in its original direction for collection of the residual material. This will result in the residual material being collected further upstream from thegap 116 than is the case according to the above-described method, however, in some cases it may be preferable or at least permissible to do so. -
FIG. 14A shows yet a further embodiment where thegap 116 is used as a collection element forresidual material 132. In this case, with theresidual material 132 located upstream of thegap 116 betweencoating rollers gap 116 is compressed to a width d′, for example, by extendingactuator 124 so that thefilm 126 touches thedonor substrate 110. Now, whendonor substrate 110 is advanced in its original direction, theresidual material 132 will collect in (or aggregate into) ablob 138 adjacent the area where thefilm 126 anddonor substrate 110 meet, just prior to the now verynarrow gap 116 betweencoating rollers gap 116 is so narrow, only a very small amount of thematerial 108 will pass through the gap 116 (in the form of a very thin layer of material on the donor substrate 110), with the majority of theresidual material 132 being collected for reuse. Thegap 116 can then be widened back to its original width, “d,” and thedonor substrate 110 recoated using the residual material in the fashion described above (seeFIG. 12 ). -
FIG. 14B shows a variation of the solution depicted inFIG. 14A . In this embodiment, thegap 116 is again used as a collection element for residual material, but this time the collected residual material is also taken up onfilm 126. Initially, theresidual material 132 is located upstream of thegap 116 betweencoating rollers gap 116 is compressed to a width d′, for example, by extendingactuator 124 so that thefilm 126 touches thedonor substrate 110. Now, whendonor substrate 110 is advanced in its original direction, theresidual material 132 will collect in ablob 138 adjacent the area where thefilm 126 anddonor substrate 110 meet, just prior to the now verynarrow gap 116 betweencoating rollers donor substrate 110 is advanced, thefilm 126 is moved in the opposite direction (e.g., byrollers 114′), so that it draws portions of theresidual material 132′ away from thegap 116 onfilm 126. The speed ratio between thefilm 126 and thedonor substrate 110 as well as the amount ofresidual material 132 will determine the distribution of the portions of theresidual material 132′ onfilm 126. After the portions of theresidual material 132′ have been collected onfilm 126, thegap 116 can then be widened back to its original width, “d,” and the direction of motion offilm 126 can be reversed so that it now moves to bring the collected portions of theresidual material 132′ towards thedonor substrate 110 near thegap 116 and thedonor substrate 110 can be recoated using the collected portions of theresidual material 132′, optionally along with additional material dispensed fromsyringe 112 in the fashion described above (seeFIG. 11 ). The recoateddonor substrate 110 can then be moved to the printing stage, as described above (seeFIG. 12 ). -
FIG. 15A , a side view, and 15B, a top view, illustrate yet a further embodiment of the invention, this time with thesqueegee 136 being positioned within a widenedgap 116 betweencoating rollers residual material 132. In this example, the gap width between the coatingrollers squeegee 136, which is positioned between the tworollers squeegee 136 is shaped so as to allow collection of theresidual material 132 without contaminating therollers donor substrate 110 advanced in its original direction of travel, theresidual material 132 is collected by thesqueegee 136 ondonor substrate 110, allowing it to be reused as discussed above. Once theresidual material 132 has been so collected (or aggregated), thesqueegee 136 may be removed and thegap 116 betweencoating rollers donor substrate 110 in auniform layer 106. Note, in this case it may be necessary to first rewind thedonor substrate 110 so that the collected residual material is moved out of the area of the gap 116 (e.g., is drawn out of a cavity of the squeegee 136) before thesqueegee 136 is removed. - Thus, systems and methods for collecting residual material that remains on a donor substrate after laser-assisted deposition of the material from the donor substrate to a receiving substrate, allowing for immediate reuse of the collected residual material have been described. Although not illustrated in detail, it should be appreciated that the various components of the systems described herein operate under the control of one or more controllers, which, preferably, are processor-based controllers that operate under the instruction of machine-executable instructions stored on tangible machine-readable media. Such controllers may include a microprocessor and memory communicatively coupled to one another by a bus or other communication mechanism for communicating information. The memory may include a program store memory, such as a read only memory (ROM) or other static storage device, as well as a dynamic memory, such as a random-access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, and each may be coupled to the bus for providing and storing information and instructions to be executed by the microprocessor. The dynamic memory also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by the microprocessor. Alternatively, or in addition, a storage device, such as a solid state memory, magnetic disk, or optical disk may be provided and coupled to the bus for storing information and instructions. The controller may also include a display, for displaying information to a user, as well as various input devices, including an alphanumeric keyboard and a cursor control device such as a mouse and/or trackpad, as part of a user interface for the printing system. Further, one or more communication interfaces may be included to provide two-way data communication to and from the printing system. For example, network interfaces that include wired and/or wireless modems may be used to provide such communications.
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LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 100 Printing system 102 Imaging arrangements 104 Coating system 106 Uniform layer 108 Material, to- be-printed material 110 Donor substrate 112 Syringe 114 Rollers 114′ Rollers 116 Gap 118 a, b Coating roller 120 Laser scanner 122 Receiving substrate 124 Actuator 126 Film or other substrate 128 Printing unit 130 Laser beam 132 Residual material 132′ Collected or aggregated residual material 136 Squeegee 138 Blob 140 One or more layers of material d Gap width d′ Narrowed gap width w Widened gap width
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US18/168,057 US11779955B1 (en) | 2022-03-04 | 2023-02-13 | Methods for residual material collection in laser-assisted deposition |
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US18/364,698 US20230372965A1 (en) | 2022-03-04 | 2023-08-03 | Systems for residual material collection in laser-assisted deposition |
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US18/168,057 US11779955B1 (en) | 2022-03-04 | 2023-02-13 | Methods for residual material collection in laser-assisted deposition |
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US20190322052A1 (en) | 2012-10-31 | 2019-10-24 | Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Toegepast-Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek Tno | Production line for making tangible products by layerwise manufacturing |
US9925797B2 (en) | 2014-08-07 | 2018-03-27 | Orbotech Ltd. | Lift printing system |
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