Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
  • B41M3/00—Printing processes to produce particular kinds of printed work, e.g. patterns
  • B41M3/006—Patterns of chemical products used for a specific purpose, e.g. pesticides, perfumes, adhesive patterns; use of microencapsulated material; Printing on smoking articles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41N—PRINTING PLATES OR FOILS; MATERIALS FOR SURFACES USED IN PRINTING MACHINES FOR PRINTING, INKING, DAMPING, OR THE LIKE; PREPARING SUCH SURFACES FOR USE AND CONSERVING THEM
  • B41N1/00—Printing plates or foils; Materials therefor
  • B41N1/003—Printing plates or foils; Materials therefor with ink abhesive means or abhesive forming means, such as abhesive siloxane or fluoro compounds, e.g. for dry lithographic printing
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41C—PROCESSES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR REPRODUCTION OF PRINTING SURFACES
  • B41C1/00—Forme preparation
  • B41C1/10—Forme preparation for lithographic printing; Master sheets for transferring a lithographic image to the forme

Definitions

• This disclosure relates in general to a test substrate for non-contact printing.
• the substrate can be used to optimize process and formulation variables.
• Non-contact printing processes are being developed for patterning electronic, optical, and biomedical devices - organic light-emitting diode (“OLED”) displays, circuitry, transistor arrays, radio frequency identification (“RFID”) tags, sensors, color filters, drug delivery systems, etc. These typically require precise deposition of a patterned printed layer with a uniform dry thickness.
• An attractive means for defining the printed pattern uses a reactive surface-active material as this approach has very high resolution and can be applied over many surfaces.
• the pattern tolerances, thickness, and uniformity of a printed material depend in a complex and coupled manner on process variables (e.g., print head speed, ink flow rate, temperature, nozzle design), the formulation of the liquid ink (e.g., concentrations of the solvents & solutes, viscosity, surface tension), substrate design (e.g., surface chemistry and roughness, patterns where wetting is desired vs. prohibited), and ink drying.
• process variables e.g., print head speed, ink flow rate, temperature, nozzle design
• the formulation of the liquid ink e.g., concentrations of the solvents & solutes, viscosity, surface tension
• substrate design e.g., surface chemistry and roughness, patterns where wetting is desired vs. prohibited
• an essentially planar test substrate comprising: a first layer having a first surface energy and having a planar measurement portion, a liquid containment pattern over at least the measurement portion of the first layer, said liquid containment pattern having a second surface energy, wherein the measurement portion of the first layer and the liquid containment pattern together are substantially planar, and the second surface energy is significantly different from the first surface energy.
• the term "radiation sensitive" when referring to a material is intended to mean that exposure to radiation results in a change of at least one chemical, physical, or electrical property of the material.
• surface energy is the energy required to create a unit area of a surface from a material. A characteristic of surface energy is that liquid materials with a given surface energy will not wet surfaces with a lower surface energy. The surface tension of a liquid is also referred to herein as surface energy.
• significantly different when referring to surface energies, is intended to mean that the contact angle of phenylhexane on a first film having a first surface energy is at least 10° different from the contact angle of phenylhexane on a second film having a second surface energy.
• layer is used interchangeably with the term “film” and refers to a coating covering a desired area.
• the term is not limited by size.
• the area can be as large as an entire device or as small as a specific functional area such as the actual visual display, or as small as a single sub-pixel.
• Layers and films can be formed by any conventional deposition technique, including vapor deposition, liquid deposition (continuous and discontinuous techniques), and thermal transfer.
• liquid composition is intended to mean a liquid medium in which a material is dissolved to form a solution, a liquid medium in which a material is dispersed to form a dispersion, or a liquid medium in which a material is suspended to form a suspension or an emulsion.
• Liquid medium is intended to mean a material that is liquid without the addition of a solvent or carrier fluid, i.e., a material at a temperature above its solidification temperature.
• measurement portion refers to that portion of the test substrate on which the printing test will be conducted. The measurement portion may represent a large part or small part of the total test substrate.
• liquid containment pattern is intended to mean a pattern within or on a workpiece, wherein such one or more patterns, by themselves or collectively, serve a principal function of constraining or guiding a liquid within an area or region as it flows over the workpiece.
• substantially planar as it refers to the first layer and containment pattern, is intended mean that the variation in height of the first layer and the containment pattern does not interfere with the measurement of critical dimensions of additional layers.
• the substantially planar containment pattern has a thickness no greater than 1O ⁇ A. In one embodiment, the thickness is no greater than 1 ⁇ A.
• liquid medium is intended to mean a liquid material, including a pure liquid, a combination of liquids, a solution, a dispersion, a suspension, and an emulsion. Liquid medium is used regardless whether one or more solvents are present.
• the first layer in the test substrate is the layer on which the printed layer is to be deposited.
• the first layer is made of the same material or very similar material as in the actual device in which the printing will be used.
• the first layer comprises a support.
• support is intended to mean a base material that can be either rigid or flexible and may be include one or more layers of one or more materials, which can include, but are not limited to, glass, polymer, metal or ceramic materials or combinations thereof.
• the first layer comprises an organic layer on a support.
• the organic layer can be an active layer for a device.
• active material refers to a material which electronically facilitates the operation of the device.
• active materials include, but are not limited to, materials which conduct, inject, transport, or block a charge, where the charge can be either an electron or a hole; or materials which emit radiation or exhibit a change in concentration of electron-hole pairs when receiving radiation.
• the organic layer can be an inactive layer for a device.
• inactive materials include, but are not limited to, planarization materials, insulating materials, and environmental barrier materials.
• the first layer comprises an inorganic layer on a support.
• the inorganic layer can be an electrode for a device.
• At least the measurement portion of the first layer is approximately flat and planar. This is the area on which the containment pattern will be applied and the printing tested. Areas outside the planar portion may have other structures, as desired.
• the first layer can be. formed by any deposition technique, including vapor deposition techniques, liquid deposition techniques, and thermal transfer techniques.
• the first layer is deposited by a liquid deposition technique, followed by drying.
• a first material is dissolved or dispersed in a liquid medium.
• the liquid deposition method may be continuous or discontinuous.
• Continuous liquid deposition techniques include but are not limited to, spin coating, roll coating, curtain coating, dip coating, slot-die coating, spray coating, and continuous nozzle coating.
• Discontinuous liquid deposition techniques include, but are not limited to, ink jet printing, gravure printing, flexographic printing and screen printing.
• the first layer is deposited by a continuous liquid deposition technique. 3. Containment Pattern
• the containment pattern is applied to the measurement portion of the first layer.
• the containment pattern has a surface energy that is substantially different from the surface energy of the first layer.
• the surface energy of the containment pattern may be higher or lower than that of the first layer. In some embodiments, the surface energy of the containment pattern is lower than that of the first layer.
• the difference in surface energies between the first layer and the containment pattern are used to define the areas to be printed.
• the liquid printing composition has a surface energy that is less than the surface energy of the first layer, but approximately the same as or greater than the surface energy of the containment pattern.
• the liquid composition will wet the first layer, but will be repelled from the containment pattern areas.
• the liquid may be forced onto the containment pattern during printing, but it will de-wet.
• the containment pattern is formed by applying a low-surface-energy material ("LSE") over the first layer in a pattern.
• LSE low-surface-energy material
• the term "low-surface-energy material” is intended to mean a material which forms a layer with a low surface energy.
• the LSE forms a containment pattern having a surface energy lower than that of the first layer.
• the LSE is a fluorinated material.
• the LSE can be applied by vapor deposition or thermal transfer.
• the LSE can be applied by a discontinuous liquid deposition technique from a liquid composition.
• the containment pattern is formed by depositing a blanket layer of an LSE.
• the LSE is then removed in a pattern. This can be accomplished, for example, using photoresist techniques or by laser ablation.
• the LSE is thermally fugitive and is removed by treatment with an IR laser.
• the containment pattern is formed by applying a reactive surface-active composition ("RSA") to the first layer.
• the RSA is a radiation-sensitive composition having a low surface energy.
• the RSA is a fluorinated material.
• RSA When exposed to radiation, at least one physical property and/or chemical property of the RSA is changed such that the exposed and unexposed areas can be physically differentiated. Treatment with the RSA lowers the surface energy of the material being treated.
• the RSA is applied to the primer layer, it is exposed to radiation in a pattern, and developed to remove either the exposed or unexposed areas. Examples of development techniques include, but are not limited to, heating, treatment with a liquid composition, treatment with an absorbent material, treatment with a tacky material, and the like.
• the RSA reacts with the underlying first layer when exposed to radiation.
• the exact mechanism of this reaction will depend on the materials used.
• the RSA is removed in the unexposed areas by a suitable development treatment, as discussed above.
• the RSA is removed only in the unexposed areas.
• the RSA is partially removed in the exposed areas as well, leaving a thinner layer in those areas.
• the RSA that remains in the exposed areas is less than 5 ⁇ A in thickness.
• the RSA that remains in the exposed areas is essentially a monolayer in thickness.
• the test substrate includes visible reference marks to allow alignment of a printer, an automated measurement system, etc. These marks may be printed, etched, engraved, or otherwise applied in a manner so they are reliable and are not degraded by subsequent processing of the test substrate.
• the alignment marks are etched using a photolithographic process. When an RSA is used to form the containment pattern, the resolution and precision of that pattern and the reference marks will be similar.
• Types of non-contact printing include ink jet printing, continuous nozzle printing, and their variants
• Critical dimensions may include dry layer thickness, line width, line position vs. the desired position, by way of example. Difficulties arise, as the dimensions of the dried printed layer may only be small fractions of the dimensions of the structure; this is especially true when measuring the thickness (and especially uniformity of thickness) of a printed material. Hence variations in the structure may induce variations in the printed layer and make such variations difficult to measure or quantify.
• the new planar test substrate described herein allows unambiguous measurement of film thickness and uniformity.
• the containment pattern and first layer in the measurement region are substantially planar. Other variations in height, such as alignment marks, are placed outside the measurement region.
• One metric characterizing process capability is to determine the smallest feature that can be printed reliably.
• the containment pattern to make this determination has features of varying sizes, and with various distances between the features. Taken together, feature size and spacing characterize the resolution that can be printed.
• test patterns are separated by a sufficient distance to allow reliable measurement of the smallest dimensions of interest; typically these dimensions are on the order of microns or millimeters.
• our invention includes many repeated patterns, allowing replicated measurements, and a way to assess uniformity across a relatively large area.
• the definition of "large area” depends on the device being printed, but is typically on the order of millimeters, centimeters, or meters.
• This example describes preparing test substrates and using them to select an appropriate process tool.
• HFDA heneicosafluorododecyl acrylate
• HFDA received radiation through the photomask it grafted to the surface of the primer coating.
• HFDA that was not grafted to the primer coating was removed by evaporation at 130C for 30 minutes in a nitrogen-purged convection oven.
• the ink wets the surface within the printing lanes, and dewets outside the printing lanes.
• the uniformity of the non-wetting surface determines the uniformity of the printed line width.
• Coater C In all cases the uniformity of the containment surface provided by Coater C gives printed lines with lower standard deviations. Coater C is preferred for applying the HFDA solution.

Landscapes

• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Pest Control & Pesticides (AREA)
• Electroluminescent Light Sources (AREA)
• Application Of Or Painting With Fluid Materials (AREA)
• Manufacturing Of Printed Wiring (AREA)
• Printing Methods (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

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• 2007
  • 2007-06-07 US US11/759,286 patent/US7838195B2/en active Active
  • 2007-06-08 TW TW096120918A patent/TW200807176A/zh unknown
  • 2007-06-08 JP JP2009514411A patent/JP2009540577A/ja active Pending
  • 2007-06-08 EP EP07795935A patent/EP2024179A2/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2007-06-08 WO PCT/US2007/013583 patent/WO2007146170A2/en not_active Ceased

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