Nozzle design for organic vapor jet printing

Abstract

Nozzle designs which have been found to be effective in governing overspray in OVJP are provided. Aspects of the invention have been found to be effective in reducing or avoiding sudden pressure drops at the end of the nozzle close to the substrate, and may be advantageously employed in obtaining, for example, greater consistency between the nozzle outlet diameter and the deposited pattern width.

1 . A method of depositing an organic material, comprising:
 introducing a vapor including the organic material into a nozzle via an inlet;   ejecting the vapor from an outlet at a distal end of the nozzle, the outlet having a cross sectional area A 1 ;   after the ejecting, depositing the organic material on a substrate to form at least part of an organic emitting or detecting area,   wherein, the vapor is passed through a portion of the nozzle between the inlet and the outlet at an axial distance L 1  from the outlet, the portion of the nozzle having a cross sectional area A 2 ,   wherein A 1 /A 2  is approximately 16 or greater.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the organic material is deposited without the use of a shadow mask. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a shock front of the vapor is formed downstream of the vapor passing through said portion of the nozzle and substantially dissipates prior to the outlet. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the outlet has a radius R 1  and the portion of the nozzle has a radius R 2 , and L 1 /R 2  is in a range of approximately 3 to 200. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein L 1 /R 2  is in a range of approximately 5 to 20. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein R 1 /R 2  is in a range of approximately 4 to 100. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein A 1 /A 2  is in a range of approximately 16-200. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein A 1 /A 2  is approximately 16. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein A 1  is approximately 0.6-1.2 mm 2  and A 2  is approximately 0.04-0.1 mm 2 . 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the nozzle is included in a nozzle block with a plurality of similar nozzles, each of the plurality of nozzles configured to deposit an organic emitting material. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a width of the deposited organic material is substantially equal to a width of the outlet. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the vapor is formed into a collimated beam downstream of said portion of the nozzle and upstream of said outlet. 
     
     
         13 . An organic material depositing device, comprising:
 an organic material supply;   a carrier gas supply;   a nozzle in fluid communication with the organic material supply and the carrier gas supply, said nozzle including:
 an inlet; 
 an outlet at a distal end of the nozzle including a cross sectional area A 1  and a diameter D 1 ; and 
 a portion between the inlet and the outlet at an axial distance L 1  from the outlet, the portion of the nozzle including a cross sectional area A 2  and a diameter D 2 , 
   wherein A 2  is less than A 1 ,   L 1 /D 2  is greater than 2, and   the device is configured such that a vapor mixture of the carrier gas and the organic material is passed through the nozzle, and the organic material deposited on a substrate after exiting the outlet.   
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein the device is configured such that, in use, a shock front of the vapor is formed upon the vapor passing through said portion of the nozzle and substantially dissipates prior to the outlet. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein A 2  is less than A 1 . 
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein L 1 /D 2  is in a range of approximately 2 to 20. 
     
     
         17 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein D 1 /D 2  is in a range of approximately 4 to 100. 
     
     
         18 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein A 1 /A 2  is in a range of approximately 16-200. 
     
     
         19 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein A 1 /A 2  is approximately 16. 
     
     
         20 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein A 1  is approximately 0.6-1.2 mm 2  and A 3  is approximately 0.04-0.1 mm 2 . 
     
     
         21 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein the nozzle is included in a nozzle block with a plurality of similar nozzles, each of the plurality of nozzles configured to deposit an organic emitting material. 
     
     
         22 . The device of  claim 21 , wherein at least three different organic material supplies containing different organic emitting materials are connected to different nozzles. 
     
     
         23 . The device of  claim 21 , wherein the plurality of nozzles are arranged in a line. 
     
     
         24 . The device of  claim 21 , wherein the plurality of nozzles are arranged in a two dimensional array. 
     
     
         25 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein the portion of the nozzle includes an axial length L 2  with a substantially constant cross sectional area. 
     
     
         26 . The device of  claim 25 , wherein L 2 /R 3  is in a range of approximately 1 to 10. 
     
     
         27 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein the outlet includes a substantially constant cross sectional area along an axial length in which the vapor mixture is collimated. 
     
     
         28 . A method of depositing an organic material, comprising:
 introducing a vapor including the organic material into a nozzle via an inlet;   ejecting the vapor from an outlet at a distal end of the nozzle, the outlet having a cross sectional area A 1  and a diameter D 1 ;   after the ejecting, depositing the organic material on a substrate to form at least part of an organic emitting or detecting area,   wherein, the vapor is passed through a portion of the nozzle between the inlet and the outlet at an axial distance L 1  from the outlet, the portion of the nozzle having a cross sectional area A 2  and a diameter D 2 ,   wherein L 1 /D 2  is greater than 2.   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein A 1 /A 2  is approximately 16 or greater. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein a shock front of the vapor is formed downstream of the vapor passing through said portion of the nozzle and substantially dissipates prior to the outlet. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 28 , L 1 /D 2  is in a range of approximately 2 to 200. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein L 1 /D 2  is in a range of approximately 2 to 20. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein L 1 /D 2  is approximately 3. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein D 1 /D 2  is in a range of approximately 4 to 100. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein A 1 /A 2  is in a range of approximately 16-200. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein A 1 /A 2  is approximately 16. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein A 1  is approximately 0.6-1.2 mm 2  and A 2  is approximately 0.04-0.1 mm 2 . 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the nozzle is included in a nozzle block with a plurality of similar nozzles, each of the plurality of nozzles configured to deposit an organic emitting material. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein a width of the deposited organic material is substantially equal to a width of the outlet. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the vapor is formed into a collimated beam downstream of said portion of the nozzle and upstream of said outlet.