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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Xi WangJetting Technology CenterFUJIFILM Dimatix, Inc.

www.dimatix.com

Piezoelectric Inkjet Technology— From Graphic Printing to

Material Deposition

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Examples of Piezoelectric Printheads

Dimatix’ products

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Market / Technology Positioning

Markets

New

New

Current

Technology

Marking

& Coding

Wide Format Graphics

Ceramic Displays

Electronics

Product Decoration

BioTech

Textiles

Current

Glass

Sensors/RFID

Sensors/RFID

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Piezoelectric Inkjet Printing:

General Requirements

As a tool for depositing materials, inkjet printing must

v generate droplets sustainably;

v obtain a required drop volume;

v deliver material accurately;

v achieve a desired delivery rate.

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Case 1: Wide Format GraphicsHigh Quality Gray Scale Printing

l Definition: capability of varying drop sizes

l Major requirements

– Productivity

• Sustainability

– Wide range of ink types

• Water, Solvent, UV Curing

– High-end photographic image quality

• High resolution

– Small drop for highlights

– Large drop for dark tones

– High jet straightness

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

VersaDropTM: Waveform Tunability

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

VersaDropTM: Waveform Tunability

Small Medium Large

√

√

√

3

√√Large Drop

√Medium Drop

Small Drop

21Pulse #

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

24kHz, Steady State

Drop Speed Uniformity

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Imaging & Applications - Variable Dropsizes

Binary Small Drops Graininess-13%

OD-1.1

Multiple Size Drops Graininess-12%

OD-1.5

Binary Large DropsGraininess-18%

OD-1.7

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Case 2: Micro Feature Printing

l Key attributes of ink jet

– Drop Control (Drop Volume and Placement)

– Small Drop Sizes

– Non-Contact

– Variety of Working Fluids

– Additive Process (vs. Subtractive)

– Production Speeds

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Delivering OLEP for Fabricating Displays

Nozzle

Display Substrate

Droplet

Jet Trajectory

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Pixel Width

Standoff

Nozzle

Droplet

Drop Placement Error

θθθθ

Jet Trajectory Error

θθθθ

Jet Trajectory Error

Drop Placement Error Error Reduction

Standoff Decrease

θθθθ

Jet Trajectory Error

Nozzle Placement Error

Drop Placement Error Error Reduction

Standoff Decrease

Overall Drop Placement Error

XY

Z

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Drops too large Drops too small

Slow Jet

Crooked Jet

Weak jet Weak jet w/ good jet

Issues

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Non-Ideal Results

Courtesy Philips PolyLed

Non-optimum pixel filling

Overflow

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

SX3/SE3 with Per Nozzle Drive

Rocktrap

Descender Plate (2)

Silicon Nozzle Plate

Array body

Per Nozzle Driver Electrical Connection

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20

X Straightness (microns)

Y S

traig

htn

ess (

mic

rons)

SX-3: X and Y Straightness

Spec +/-10microns

@ 1mm standoff

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Trimming Using Jet Velocity

l Velocity variation results in different time of flight

l Trimmed jets have similar velocities

l Velocity uniformity is NOT a guarantee of volume uniformity

Before trimming After trimming

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Results from Jet Trimming

Drop mass uniformity is about +/-10%

1300733 All Jets S ing le V oltage

0.9

0.95

1

1.05

1.1

0 32 64 96 128

Je t #

No

rmali

zed

Vo

lum

e

1300733 Tuned Voltages

0.9

0.95

1

1.05

1.1

0 32 64 96 128

Je t #

No

rmali

zed

Vo

lum

e

Drop mass uniformity is now +/- 2%

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

0 2 4 6 8 10

Frequency (kHz)

Velo

cit

y (

m/s

)

Alone

All Jets

SX3 Frequency Response

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Results

Courtesy Philips PolyLed

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Parameters in Piezoelectric Inkjet Material Deposition

Jetting Fluid

Properties

Drop Size

and Speed

Frequency/

Productivity

Printhead

Design

Drop

Placement

Sustainability

UniformityWaveform

Jetting

Voltage

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Jetting Fluid

Application

Target

Printhead

Design

Waveform

Jetting

Voltage

Frequency+

Sustainability

Drop Size

and Speed

Productivity

Drop

Placement

Uniformity

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Baytron® P Jet UA (PEDT/PSS)

Drop separation: 40µmDrop merging insufficient

Drop separation: 25µmDrop merging excellentLayer thickness 100nmSurface roughness Ra ca. 1nm

Photos Courtesy of H. C. Stark

Target: Deposition of uniform area hole-injection layers for OLED lighting

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

3D Imaging -Pharmaceuticals

l Unique Dosage Forms

l Controlled Release

l Taste Masking

l Additional Features

Digital and Non-Contact is Key!

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Conclusions

l Piezoelectric inkjet printing technology has been proven in graphics and is promising as a process tool for material deposition;

l We need to integrate jetting fluid, printhead, and waveform design for a specified application target;

l Through selecting the correct printhead and managing the jetting performance, the high demand (accuracy, robustness, and productivity) of material deposition can be achieved.

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Nanotech Conference & Expo 2009, Houston, TX

Performance today, platforms for tomorrow