Imprinting apparatus and method for operating imprinting apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016200127-A1
Application number	US-201514738082-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 12, 2015
Priority date	Jan 8, 2015
Publication date	Jul 14, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Provided is an imprinting apparatus including: a stamp disposed on an area of a film; a first roller and a second roller configured to rotatably support the film such that the stamp moves along a lengthwise direction of the film as the first roller and the second roller rotate; a substrate which has an area corresponding to an area of the stamp and including a resin-coated surface disposed on a surface of the substrate; and a transfer unit which transfers the substrate while maintaining the resin-coated surface of the substrate faces downward.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An imprinting apparatus comprising:
a stamp disposed on an area of a film; a first roller and a second roller configured to rotatably support the film such that the stamp moves along a lengthwise direction of the film as the first roller and the second roller rotate; a substrate which has an area corresponding to an area of the stamp and comprising a resin-coated surface disposed on a surface of the substrate; and a transfer unit configured to transfer the substrate while maintaining the resin-coated surface of the substrate facing downward.

2 . The imprinting apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an injector configured to spray resin toward the surface of the substrate in a state where the surface of the substrate is placed to face downward toward the injector.

3 . The imprinting apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first roller and the second roller are positioned at a same height from a ground, a horizontal field in which the film is parallel to the ground is defined between the first roller and the second roller, and a vertical field in which the film is perpendicular to the ground is defined on both sides of the horizontal field between the first roller and the second roller.

4 . The imprinting apparatus of claim 3 , wherein a feed part connected to a winding roller is disposed in one of the vertical fields, and a discharge part to which the film is discharged is disposed in the other one of the vertical fields.

5 . The imprinting apparatus of claim 3 , further comprising a cleaning device configured to clean the stamp from the side when the stamp of the film is located in one of the vertical fields.

6 . The imprinting apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the cleaning device is of a dry type.

7 . The imprinting apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the stamp is formed by preparing a master mold having a nano-pattern and imprinting the nano-pattern of the master mold on a resin-coated area of the film, the master mold comprising a metal.

8 . The imprinting apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a heating device disposed in the horizontal field and configured to heat the stamp and the resin-coated surface.

9 . The imprinting apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising a support chuck which faces the resin-coated surface of the substrate aligned with the stamp, wherein the support chuck and the resin-coated surface of the substrate are configured to be pressed against each other.

10 . The imprinting apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the stamp comprises stamp patterns disposed on the film of the winding roller with a determined interval therebetween along a winding direction of the winding roller.

11 . The imprinting apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an irradiating device provided in the horizontal field and configured to radiate ultraviolet (UV) light toward the stamp and the resin-coated surface.

12 . The imprinting apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the stamp is a fine pattern comprising a plurality of stripes separated by a predetermined distance.

13 . The imprinting apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the transfer unit is configured as one of pneumatic, electrostatic, and electromagnetic chucks to fix the substrate thereto by suction.

14 . The imprinting apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the injector comprises a nozzle surface from which ink is sprayed, and an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the nozzle surface.

15 . An imprinting method comprising:
forming a resin-coated surface by coating resin on a bottom surface a substrate; placing the resin-coated surface to face downward toward a ground and fixing a top surface to a transfer unit by suction; forming a stamp on a film using a master mold; and pressing the resin-coated surface of the substrate against the stamp by moving the resin-coated surface downward toward the stamp.

16 . The imprinting method of claim 15 , wherein the stamp is transferred as rollers rotate, and wherein the film is rotatably supported by the rollers.

17 . The imprinting method of claim 15 , further comprising cleaning the stamp while the resin is being coated on the bottom surface of the substrate.

18 . The imprinting method of claim 15 , further comprising operating an injector having a nozzle surface which faces upward to spray the resin toward the bottom surface of the substrate in a state where the bottom surface of the substrate faces the ground.

19 . The imprinting method of claim 18 , wherein the nozzle surface is placed at a same height as an upper surface level of ink contained in an ink cartridge.

20 . The imprinting method of claim 15 , further comprising inspecting a degree of damage to the stamp to determine whether the stamp can be reused after a pattern of the stamp is transferred onto the resin-coated surface by pressing the resin-coated surface of the substrate against the stamp.

Assignees

• Samsung Display Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Tae Gyun
• Kim Jin Lak

Classifications

• B41K3/54 Primary

  Inking devices · CPC title

• G03F7/0002 Primary

  Lithographic processes using patterning methods other than those involving the exposure to radiation, e.g. by stamping · CPC title

• B82B3/0014

  Array or network of similar nanostructural elements · CPC title