Coating system and coating method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018015501-A1
Application number	US-201515537281-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 16, 2015
Priority date	Dec 17, 2014
Publication date	Jan 18, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

A coating system ( 1 ) is provided comprising a coating chamber ( 20 ) having arranged therein a coating apparatus ( 10 ) for providing a substrate (S) with an organic coating layer. The coating apparatus ( 10 ) comprises a coating device ( 12 ) for depositing a solvent free, curable liquid organic precursor for said organic coating layer and a curing unit ( 14 ) for curing the liquid organic precursor deposited on said substrate (S) by supplying energy to said liquid organic precursor. The coating system further comprises a vacuum pump ( 30 ) that, while coating, maintains a pressure inside said coating chamber below 1 mbar. A supply facility ( 152, 152 ′) for controllably supplies the curable liquid organic precursor from the reservoir to the coating device ( 12 ), The supply facility ( 152, 52 ′) has an input ( 1510 ) for receiving curable liquid organic precursor from the reservoir. A position of a bottom ( 150 B) of the reservoir is arranged at a height (H 1 ) above the input ( 1510 ). The coating system has a first operational mode wherein curable liquid organic precursor to be supplied to the coating apparatus is exposed to a vacuum having a pressure with a first pressure value that is equal to or lower than the chamber pressure value, and has a second operational mode following the first operational mode, wherein the supply facility ( 152, 152 ′) supplies the curable liquid organic precursor to the coating device ( 12 ).

First claim

1 . A coating system comprising a coating chamber having arranged therein a coating apparatus for providing a substrate with an organic coating layer, the coating apparatus comprising a coating device for depositing a solvent free, liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor for said organic coating and a curing unit for curing the organic precursor deposited on said substrate by supplying energy to said organic precursor, the coating system further comprising a vacuum pump for in an operational mode of the coating system maintaining a pressure inside said coating chamber at a chamber pressure value being less than 1 mbar, a transport facility for transporting the substrate along the coating apparatus, a reservoir for the liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor, and a supply facility for controllably supplying the liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor from said reservoir to said coating device, said supply facility having an input for receiving liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor from the reservoir, wherein a position of a bottom of said reservoir is arranged at a height above said input, the coating system having a first operational mode wherein liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor to be supplied to the coating apparatus is exposed to a vacuum having a pressure with a first pressure value that is equal to lower than the chamber pressure value, and having a second operational mode following the first operational mode, wherein said supply facility supplies the liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor to the coating device.

2 . The coating system according to claim 1 , wherein said first pressure has a value in the range between 0.001 mbar and 0.1 mbar.

3 - 13 . (canceled)

14 . The coating system according to claim 1 , comprising in addition to said coating apparatus for providing a substrate with an organic coating layer, a further coating apparatus for providing the substrate with an inorganic coating layer, wherein said transport facility further transports the substrate from the coating apparatus to the further coating apparatus or from the further coating apparatus to the coating apparatus.

15 . The coating system according to claim 14 , wherein said coating apparatus and said further coating apparatus are arranged in a common chamber.

16 . The coating system according to claim 1 , further comprising a pressuring gas supply, which pressuring gas supply is arranged to apply a gas pressure in said reservoir with an inert gas at a pressure in a range between 100 and 300 mbar.

17 . The coating system according to claim 1 , comprising a further reservoir, a pump being provided to pump the liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor from the further reservoir to the reservoir, wherein said supply facility is arranged at a second height above said coating device, wherein said further reservoir has a bottom arranged at a third height above an input of said pump and wherein said third height is less than a sum of said first height and said second height.

18 . The coating system according to claim 17 , comprising an overflow conduit for allowing a flow of liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor from the reservoir back to the further reservoir.

19 . The coating system according to claim 1 , wherein said coating device includes a deposition slot and a first and a second pressure chamber arranged on mutually opposite sides of the deposition slot, which are provided to jet a stream of gas in the direction of the deposition slot in said second operational mode.

20 . The coating system according to claim 1 , wherein the deposition head includes a deposition slot, a surface area of the deposition head bounding the deposition slot having a surface energy that is low with respect to the liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor.

21 . The coating system according to claim 20 , wherein said surface energy is at most 20 mN/m.

22 . The coating system according to claim 1 , wherein the coating device includes a first and a second part that bound a deposition slot at mutually opposite sides and that are displaceable with respect to each other to control a flow of the liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor, wherein the coating apparatus is arranged to operate intermittently by controlling the flow with said displacement.

23 . The coating system according to claim 1 , wherein the coating apparatus includes a positioning unit to position the coating device at a controllable distance with respect to said substrate, the positioning unit being arranged to position the coating device at a first distance with respect to said substrate in a first positioning mode and at a second distance with respect to said substrate in a second positioning mode, the first distance being smaller than the second distance.

24 . The coating system according to claim 1 , wherein said coating system includes an additional vacuum pump for providing the vacuum to which the liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor in the reservoir is to be exposed in the first operational mode.

25 . A method of coating a substrate (S), the method including the steps of:
exposing a liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor to a vacuum having a first pressure, supplying liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor to a coating device of a coating apparatus, which is arranged in an evacuated chamber, the liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor being substantially free from solvents and dissolved gases when it is supplied to the coating device, depositing the solvent free, liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor on the substrate, while transporting the substrate in said coating chamber along the coating device, curing the liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor deposited on the substrate by supplying energy to the liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor, therewith obtaining an organic coating layer on the substrate, wherein a chamber pressure in said evacuated chamber is less than 1 mbar, and wherein said first pressure is equal to or lower than said chamber pressure.

26 . The method of coating a substrate according to claim 25 , comprising circulating liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor in a reservoir by pumping the organic precursor from a volume of said liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor at a lower level in said reservoir to a surface level of said volume in said reservoir, while exposing the surface level of said volume of said liquid photo-polymerizable organic precursor to the vacuum having the first pressure.

Assignees

• Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Toegepast-Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek Tno

Inventors

• De Vries Ike Gerke
• Unnikrishnan Sandeep
• Manders Wilhelmus Hubertus
• Smeltink Jeroen Anthonius
• Toonen Leonardus Maria

Classifications

• B05D7/04

  to surfaces of films or sheets (producing layered products by applying coatings of pasty or pulverulent plastics B29C41/00) · CPC title

• C23C14/06

  characterised by the coating material ({C23C14/0021} , C23C14/04 take precedence) · CPC title

• C23C14/34

  Sputtering · CPC title

• B05D7/54

  No clear coat specified · CPC title

• B05D3/0493 Primary

  using vacuum · CPC title