• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.282-287
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• 2013

Slot coating has been widely spread in photo resist coating on glass for flat display monitor. High quality of coating is required as high quality of image in display is needed. Coating quality in the slot coating is divided into nozzle direction quality and machine direction quality. Nozzle direction quality is related to flow uniformity inside the die whereas machine direction quality is related to die lip design and operational conditions. In this study coating uniformity in the machine direction of slot coating has been investigated through computer simulation. Die lip angle and die lip length were considered as outside die geometry and coating speed was considered as operational condition. Coating behavior has been analyzed and coating quality has been evaluated through computer simulation. Coating thickness decreased and coating uniformity increased as coating speed increased. However, the stability of meniscus formation was reduced and subsequently coating stability was reduced as coating speed increased. Coating thickness deviation decreased as die lip angle increased in down stream die. Coating thickness decreased and time to reaching steady state increased as increased die lip length in down stream die.

• 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.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.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.