Apparatus for applying of a conductive pattern to a substrate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11546999-B2
Application number	US-202017060078-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 1, 2020
Priority date	Jul 28, 2016
Publication date	Jan 3, 2023
Grant date	Jan 3, 2023

Abstract

An apparatus is disclosed for transferring a pattern of a composition containing particles of an electrically conductive material and a thermally activated adhesive from a surface of a flexible web to a surface of a substrate. The apparatus comprises:
respective drive mechanisms for advancing the web and the substrate to a nip through which the web and the substrate pass at the same time and where a pressure roller acts to press the surfaces of the web and the substrate against one another, a heating station for heating at least one of the web and the substrate prior to, or during, passage through the nip, to a temperature at which the adhesive in the composition is activated, a cooling station for cooling the web after passage through the nip, and a separating device for peeling the web away from the substrate after passage through the cooling station, to leave the pattern of composition adhered to the surface of the substrate.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for transferring a pattern of a composition containing particles of an electrically conductive material and an adhesive from a surface of a flexible web to a surface of a substrate, the method comprising:
i. providing a flexible web, the web having on or within a web surface a pattern of a composition containing particles and an adhesive,
ii. providing a substrate having a substrate surface,
iii. advancing the web and the substrate by respective drive mechanisms to a nip through which the web and the substrate pass at the same time, the nip including a pressure roller serving to press the web surface and the substrate surface against one another during passage through the nip,
iv. heating at least one of the web and the substrate prior to, or during, passage through the nip, to a temperature at which the adhesive in the composition is activated when the surfaces are in contact with one another so as to adhere the pattern to the surface of the substrate, and
v. cooling the web and/or the substrate after passage through the nip.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising peeling the web away from the substrate after the cooling of the web, to leave the pattern of composition adhered to the surface of the substrate.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism for the web comprises a web supply roll, a web take-up roll and drive rollers for continuously driving the web from the supply roll to the take-up roll via the nip, the web being disposable.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the drive mechanism for the web further comprises a web guide to inhibit lateral movement of the web so as to maintain the web aligned with the substrate.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the drive mechanism for the web includes a sensor for detecting the position of patterns on the web and a dancer roller to enable the speed and/or tension of the web relative to the nip to be increased or decreased, in order to ensure correct positioning of each pattern relative to reference edges of the surface of the substrate.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism for the substrate comprises a stack of substrates and an indexing mechanism for feeding substrates individually from the stack to the nip in synchronism with the movement of the web.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the substrate indexing mechanism comprises an alignment device with abutments for ensuring correct alignment of edges of the substrate along mutually orthogonal axes.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the substrate indexing mechanism includes an analyzer for detecting defects in substrates drawn from the stack and an ejector for rejecting substrates found to contain defects.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein only the substrate is heated.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is heated to a first temperature prior to passage through the nip and the nip is heated to a second temperature, the second temperature being lower than the first temperature.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the web is cooled after passage through the nip by thermal contact with a circulating endless cooling belt or by an air blower.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the web is cooled after passage through the nip by a heat sink, at least one roller ensuring contact between the web and the heat sink or between the substrate and the heat sink.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying sufficient energy to sinter the electrically conductive material and render electrically conductive the composition transferred to the substrate.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the web is a first web having on or within a surface thereof a first pattern of a first composition containing first particles of an electrically conductive first material and a first adhesive, the nip through which the first web and the substrate pass at the same time being a first nip, the method further comprising:
i. providing a second flexible web, the second web having on or within a surface of the second web a second pattern of a second composition containing second particles of an electrically conductive second material and a second adhesive,
ii. advancing the second web and the substrate by respective drive mechanisms to a second nip through which the second web and the substrate pass at the same time, the second nip including a pressure roller serving to press the surface of the second web and a second surface of the substrate opposite the surface against which the first web was pressed, the surfaces being pressed one against the other during passage through the second nip,
iii. heating at least one of the second web and the substrate prior to, or during, passage through the second nip, to a temperature at which the second adhesive in the second composition is activated when the surfaces are in contact with one another, and
iv. cooling the second web and/or the substrate after passage through the second nip.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein at least one of the following is fulfilled:
a—the second web differs from the first web,
b—the second pattern differs from the first pattern,
c—the second particles of an electrically conductive second material differ from the first particles of an electrically conductive first material,
d—the second adhesive differs from the first adhesive,
e—the second composition differs from the first composition, and
f—the second nip differs from the first nip.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising peeling at least one of the first web and the second web away from the substrate respective surface after the cooling of the respective web, to leave at least one of the first pattern of the first composition and the second pattern of the second composition adhered to the substrate.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first nip and the second nip are one and the same, the method serving to apply first and second patterns of first and second compositions at the same time to opposite surfaces of the substrate, the nip being defined between two pressure rollers each serving to press a respective one of the webs against a respective surface of the substrate, the pressure rollers being symmetrical.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is selected from a group comprising a rigid substrate, a plate, a wafer, a flexible substrate, and a non-planar substrate.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nip is defined between the pressure roller and a backing support.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the backing support is in motion to match a relative movement of the web.

Assignees

• Landa Labs 2012 Ltd
• Lumet Tech Ltd

Inventors

• Landa Benzion
• Touitou Haim
• Thygelbaum Stanislav
• Elfassy Naomi

Classifications

• H05K2203/1131

  Sintering, i.e. fusing of metal particles to achieve or improve electrical conductivity · CPC title

• H05K2203/0139

  Blade or squeegee, e.g. for screen printing or filling of holes · CPC title

• H05K1/092

  Dispersed materials, e.g. conductive pastes or inks · CPC title

• H05K1/165

  incorporating printed inductors · CPC title

• Y02E10/52

  PV systems with concentrators · CPC title