Method and Apparatus for Organic Vapor Printing

Abstract

In one embodiment, the disclosure relates to providing a first gas stream carrying vaporized material and depositing the vaporized material onto a substrate by directing a plurality of gas streams containing the vaporized material to a substrate, forming an gas curtain around the material to condense on the target print area. In another embodiment, heat is used to regulate the flow of the material and the thickness of the deposited layer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A film deposition apparatus, comprising:
 a conduit for communicating a first gas stream carrying vaporized material, the first gas stream having vaporized material of ink composition;   a multipore nozzle having a first plurality of micropores in fluid communication with the conduit, the nozzle dividing the first gas stream into a plurality of micron-scale sub-streams, each sub-stream carrying the vaporized material; and   a substrate positioned relative to the multipore nozzle to condense the vaporized material of ink composition thereby forming a substantially solid film on a target print area;   wherein the plurality of sub-streams are positioned relative to each other to deposit a film having a substantially uniform film thickness profile.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the conduit is integrated with the multipore nozzle. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the multipore nozzle further comprising a second plurality of nozzles providing a gas curtain around the first plurality of sub-streams. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the gas curtain prevents the first plurality of sub-streams from extending beyond the target print area. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the second plurality of nozzles comprise a set of single-pore nozzles. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the first plurality of nozzles direct the plurality of sub-streams onto the target print area to thereby form a print layer of substantially uniform thickness. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the first plurality of nozzles are arranged to form a nozzle array, and at least one of the plurality of second plurality of nozzles provides a fluid curtain. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the multipore nozzle comprises a plurality of independent orifices in which at least two orifices are connected through an opening. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the conduit and the multi-nozzle pore nozzle are integrated into one structure. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the sub-streams are independent of each other. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the nozzles are positioned relative to each other such that at least two of the plurality of sub-streams are overlapping. 
     
     
         12 . An apparatus for forming a film layer, the apparatus comprising:
 a substrate for receiving and condensing the quantity of organic material onto a print layer having an edge, the substrate having a target print area;   a multipore nozzle comprising:
 a first set of discharge nozzles for discharging a carrier gas containing a quantity of organic material in a plurality of micron-scale sub-streams; and 
 a second set of discharge nozzles for forming a fluid curtain over at least a portion of the target print area; 
   wherein the plurality of micron-scale sub-streams are positioned relative to each other and the fluid curtain to deposit a film having a substantially uniform film thickness profile.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the multipore nozzle is configured to divide the carrier gas stream into multiple parallel gas streams. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the first set of discharge nozzles comprises multiple sub-nozzles, each sub-nozzle comprising a multi pore nozzle for dividing the carrier gas stream into multiple parallel gas streams. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising a conduit for communicating the carrier gas to the multipore nozzle. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the first set of discharge nozzles further comprises a plurality of micropores where adjacent micropores are separated by a partition. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the first set of discharge nozzles further comprises a plurality of micropores and wherein the second set of discharge nozzles form a fluid curtain such that the film formed on the target print area has a substantially flat surface. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the first set of discharge nozzles further comprises a plurality of micropores and wherein the second set of discharge nozzles form a fluid curtain such that the film formed on the target print area defines a substantially profiled edge. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the fluid curtain is defined by a second gas flow having a flow rate higher than the carrier gas flow rate. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the first plurality of nozzles are micropores having a diameter of between about 1 μm to about 100 μm.