St. Charles. MO and Chemnitz, Germany - During the manufacturing process of an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) the different thin film layers needs to be structured. Up to now mechanical or wet chemical technologies were used. A new and innovative solution for structuring these thin films is selective laser structuring.
3D-Micromac AG (www.3d-micromac.com) has developed and successful introduced a state of the art machining concept for this laser structuring process, based on their microSTRUCT workstation A laser system was developed for selective structuring application of anode layers where the nearly transparent semiconductor tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) is used as anode material. The integration of an ultra short pulsed laser in microSTRUCT guarantees a gentle structuring of teh anode without material damage at substrate level. A special highlight is the processing of variable and scalable substrate sizes accomplished by an innovative software controlled machining concept that achieves a structuring speed of 1.5 meters per second or higher, depending on the selected laser source and the surface of the material.
In addition further layers of OLED can be machined with the same laser system. For instance there is the possibility to repair short circuits and remove other defects in the layer system of the OLED.
Furthermore the laser system can be used for engraving of the glass substrate. Marking can be done at the surface of the substrate as well as an engraving in the substrate. The nearly athermal laser machining allows a micro marking of glass without micro cracks in the substrate.A special feature of the laser workstation is an automatic handling system for reliable transportation of the OLED glass panels within the manufacturing process. An inspection system of the machined substrates - equipped with an automatic handling - can also be added.
