• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2024

Roll-to-roll processing holds an integral position within the manufacturing landscape, and its significance reverberates across numerous industries. This versatile technology platform encompasses a diverse array of process methods and accommodates a wide spectrum of material categories, making it a cornerstone of modern production. Within this expansive domain, two commonly employed coating techniques, namely the slot die and gravure coating methods, have earned their prominence for their precision and efficiency in delivering flawless coatings. Additionally, the realm of drying processes relies heavily on thermal drying, infrared (IR) drying, and ultraviolet (UV) drying methods to expedite the transformation of materials from their liquid or semi-liquid states to solid, ready-to-use products. The undeniable importance of roll-to-roll processing lies in its ability to streamline manufacturing processes, reduce costs, and enhance product quality. This article embarks on a comprehensive journey to fathom the depth of this importance by delving into the intricacies of these common roll-to-roll process methods. Through rigorous research and meticulous data collection, we aim to shed light on the pivotal role these techniques play in shaping various industries and advancing the world of manufacturing. By understanding their significance, we can harness the full potential of roll-to-roll processing and pave the way for innovation and excellence in production.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.30-35
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• 2020

A microlens has been fabricated by various methods such as a thermal reflow, hot embossing, diamond milling, etc. However, these methods require a relatively complex process to control the microlens shape. In this work, we report on a simple and cost-effective method to fabricate a cylindrical microlens (CML), which can diffuse light widely. We have employed a slot-die head with the dual plate (a meniscus guide with a protruded μ-tip and a shim with a slit channel) for coating of a narrow stripe using poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). We have shown that the higher the coating gap, the lower the maximum coating speed, which causes an increase in the stripe width and thickness. The coated PMMA stripe has the concave shape. To make it in the shape of a convex microlens, we have applied the thermal reflow method. When the stripe thickness is small, however, its effect is negligible. To increase the stripe thickness, we have increased the number of repeated coating. With this scheme, we have fabricated the CML with the width of 223 ㎛ and the thickness of 7.3 ㎛. Finally, we have demonstrated experimentally that the CML can diffuse light widely, a feature demanded for light extraction efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and suppression of moiré patterns in displays.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.14-17
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• 2007

The slot-die coating & calcination process was adopted to fabricate the long YBCO precursor films on the buffered metal tape for the $2^{nd}$ generation coated conductors. To obtain the smooth and crack-free surface of long YBCO precursor films, the parameters of slot-die coating and the process variables of calcination step must be optimized simultaneously in reel-to-reel method. Among the parameter of slot-die coating process, the viscosities of the precursor solution was controlled from 60cP to 200cP to obtain the thicker films from on single coating. The slot-die gap, the injection rate of precursor solution, the moving speed of buffered metal tape etc. are controlled lot the full coverage and smooth surface of YBCO precursor films. The slot-die coated films are moved through the tube furnace with predetermined heating profiles in humid oxygen ambient The YBCO precursor films was identifed with $Y_2O_3,\;BaF_2$, and CuO phase by XRD and consisted of fine grains of about 20nm size observed by FE-SEM. The YBCO films show the critical current density over $MA/cm^2$ using the precursor films formed by the continuous slot-die coating & calcination process.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.61-65
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• 2015

We have fabricated poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) : poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT : PSS) thin films using a slotdie coater for the applications of OLED lightings. It is demonstrated that the properties of slot-die coated PEDOT : PSS films are comparable with those of spin-coated ones. Namely, the average and peak-to-peak roughness of the slot-die coated 50-nm-thick PEDOT : PSS film are measured to be as low as 0.247 nm and 1.3 nm, respectively. Moreover, we have obtained excellent thickness uniformity (~1.91%). With the slot-die coated PEDOT : PSS films, we have fabricated green phosphorescent OLED devices. For comparison, we have also fabricated OLED devices with spin-coated PEDOT : PSS films. Both show almost no discrepancy in device performance. The power efficiency (25.4 lm/W) and emission uniformity (77%) of OLEDs with slot-die coated PEDOT : PSS films are shown to be slightly lower than those (27.3 lm/W, 80%) of OLEDs with spin-coated PEDOT : PSS films at the luminance of 1,000nit, increasing the feasibility of using a slot-die coating process for the fabrication of large-area OLED lighting sources at a competitive price.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.69-74
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• 2019

The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of the microtip length in a slot-die head on coating of a fine poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) stripe. To this end, we have employed a meniscus guide with a 150-㎛-wide microtip and performed roll-to-roll slot-die coatings by varying its length between 500 ㎛ and 50 ㎛. When the microtip length is 150 ㎛ or shorter, we have observed three unexpected phenomena; 1) though the solution spreads much wider than the microtip width, yet the coated stripe width is almost the same as the microtip width, 2) the stripe width decreases, but the stripe thickness is rather increased with increasing coating speed at a fixed flow rate, 3) we obtain stripes much narrower than the microtip width at high coating speeds. It is due to the fact that 1) the meniscus is not well controlled by a short microtip, 2) the main stream of solution from the outlet is very close to the substrate and thus the distributed solution along the head lip merges with the main stream, and 3) the solution is not spread over the entire microtip end at high coating speeds, causing a tiny wobble in the meniscus. Using the 150-㎛-wide and 250-㎛-long microtip, we have fabricated 153-㎛-wide and 94-nm-thick PEDOT:PSS stripe at the maximum coating speed of 13 mm/s. To demonstrate its applicability in solution-processable organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), we have also fabricated an OLED device with the fine PEDOT:PSS stripe and obtained strong light emission from it.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.6-10
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• 2019

In the presence of $\mu-tip$ for narrow stripe coating, there appears lateral capillary flow along the hydrophilic head lip because the $\mu-tip$ has some resistance to flow. It was known to be suppressed by increasing the contact angle of the head lip. In this paper, we have demonstrated by computational fluid dynamics(CFD) simulations that it can also be suppressed by the formation of micro-patterns on the shim and meniscus guide embedded into the slot-die head. To optimize the micro-patterned structure, we have performed simulations by varying the groove width, depth, and clearance. In the absence of micro-patterns, it is shown by experiment and simulation that the solution spreads to a distance of $1,300{\mu}m$ from the ${\mu}-tip$. In the presence of micro-patterns with the groove width and clearance of $50{\mu}m$, the distance the solution spreads is reduced to $260{\mu}m$. However, no further suppression in the capillary flow is observed with micro-patterns with the groove width of $40{\mu}m$ or less. It is also observed that the capillary flow is not affected by the groove depth if it is larger than $10{\mu}m$. We have shown that the distance the solution spreads can be reduced further to $204{\mu}m$ by coating a hydrophobic material (contact angle of $104^{\circ}$) on the surface of micro-patterns having the groove width and clearance of $50{\mu}m$.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.92-96
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• 2019

In the presence of ${\mu}-tip$ embedded in a slot-die head for stripe coatings, there arises the capillary flow that limits an increase of the stripe density, which is required for the potential applications in organic light-emitting diode displays. With an attempt to suppress it, we have employed a computational fluid dynamics software and performed simulations by varying the ${\mu}-tip$ length and the contact angles of the head lip and ${\mu}-tip$. We have first demonstrated that such a capillary flow phenomenon (a spread of solution along the head lip) observed experimentally can be reproduced by the computational fluid dynamics software. Through simulations, we have found that stronger capillary flow is observed in the hydrophilic head lip with a smaller contact angle and it is suppressed effectively as the contact angle increases. When the contact angle of the head lip increases from $16^{\circ}$ to $130^{\circ}$, the distance a solution can reach decreases sharply from $256{\mu}m$ to $44{\mu}m$. With increasing contact angle of the ${\mu}-tip$, however, the solution flow along the ${\mu}-tip$ is disturbed and thus the capillary flow phenomenon becomes more severe. If the ${\mu}-tip$ is long, the capillary flow also appears strong due to an increase of flow resistance (electronic-hydraulic analogy). It can be suppressed by reducing the ${\mu}-tip$ length, but not as effectively as reducing the contact angle of the head lip.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.33-38
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• 2022

With an attempt to suppress the moiré phenomenon caused by the interference between the black matrix of a display panel and the metal grid of a camera, we have fabricated an anti-moiré filter using light diffusing particles (LDPs) with the average diameter of 20 ㎛. It is demonstrated that the anti-moiré filter coated on a glass substrate (370 mm × 470 mm) using a table slot-die coater reduces the moiré intensity to a great extent when the area covered by LDPs is 50%. To quantify the intensity of moiré phenomenon, we have measured the lightness ratio and found that it is reduced from 132.12 down to 105.71 by the filter. To find the optimum area covered by LDPs, we have performed ray tracing simulations using Mie scatters as a substitute for LDPs. From the simulated irradiation distribution, we have calculated the standard deviation (SD) and contrast ratio (CR) to evaluate the moiré strength. As expected, the SD and CR values decrease with increasing covered area by LDPs. However, there exists a trade-off between the transmittance of the filter and its capability of reducing the moiré intensity in determining the area covered by LDPs.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.32-37
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• 2023

For the potential applications in large-area OLED lightings, hydrogen fuel cells, and secondary batteries, we have performed an intermittent coating of high-viscosity polydimethylsiloxane using roll-to-roll slot die coater. During intermittent coating, dead zones inevitably appear where the thickness of PDMS patch films becomes non-uniform, especially at the leading/trailing edge. To reduce it, we have coated the PDMS patches by varying the process parameters such as the installation angle of the slot die head, coating speed, and patch interval. It is observed that the PDMS solution flows down and thus the thickness profile is non-uniform for horizonal intermittent coating, whereas the PDMS solution remaining on the head lip causes an increase in the PDMS thickness at the leading/trailing edges for vertical intermittent coating when the coating velocity is low. As the coating speed increases, however, the dead zone is shown to be reduced. It is addressed that the overall dead zone (the dead zone at the leading edge + the dead zone at the trailing edge) is smaller with horizontal intermittent coating than with vertical intermittent coating.