HK1146513B - Tip printing and scrape coating systems and methods for manufacturing electronic devices - Google Patents

Description

Tip printing and doctor blade system and method for manufacturing electronic devices

Technical Field

The present invention relates to tip printing and doctor coating of materials used in electronic applications, and methods of manufacturing electronic devices.

Background

A Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is a flat circuit board suitable for holding and connecting chips and other electronic components. The circuit board is made of layers that interconnect components by copper traces. PCBs typically connect substantially separate components and electronic microcircuits (e.g., chips). Each chip contains thousands to hundreds of millions of transistors fabricated by a semiconductor fabrication process.

In general, semiconductor device fabrication processes are used to fabricate transistors and integrated circuits in everyday electrical and electronic devices. The manufacturing process is a multi-step sequence of lithographic and chemical processing steps during which electronic circuits are gradually formed on a substrate made of undoped semiconductor material. In addition to various compound semiconductors, silicon is the most commonly used semiconductor material today. In some cases, the entire manufacturing process from the start to the chip to be packaged takes six to eight weeks and is performed in a very specialized and expensive facility called a fabrication plant (i.e., chip manufacturing plant).

In a chip foundry operation, the fixed indirect manufacturing cost (overhead) associated with producing a chip is typically high. For example, due to depreciation of the plant and its equipment, the operating costs are considerable even for simple designs. Furthermore, the manufacture of PCBs requires a large capital investment and expensive equipment, which adds to the overall cost of manufacturing electronic devices and systems.

Accordingly, there is a need for improved methods and systems for manufacturing electronic devices.

Disclosure of Invention

The inventors have discovered new processes by which electronic devices (e.g., transistors and other electronic components), solar cell arrays, optical display arrays, and the like can be fabricated using a doctor-blade or tip-printing process.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a method of forming an electronic device, the method comprising: (a) transferring the first curable material to a substrate using a pattern imparting medium to pattern the curable material; (b) constructing a pattern imparting medium such that the first curable material forms a plurality of substrate preforms on the substrate; and (c) forming a plurality of circuits on the substrate by transferring the second hardenable material to the substrate pre-form. The term "electronic device" as used herein is intended to include completed electronic devices and portions of devices, such as the drain portion of a printed semiconductor device or conductive connections in a circuit.

Certain implementations include one or more of the following features. The pattern imparting medium carries a pattern on a surface thereof, and an inverse pattern of the pattern is imparted to the first curable material. The method also includes coating a portion of the preform with a conductive material. The method further includes filling the recessed portion of the preform with a conductive material. The method also includes curing the curable material. The first curable material and the second curable material have different compositions. The first curable material is electrically non-conductive and the second curable material is electrically conductive. Coating includes tip printing. The filled recess comprised a drawdown preform. Tip printing involves coating the raised areas of the preform with an adhesive and then applying a conductive material to the adhesive. The pattern imparting medium is an engraved roll adapted to impart a pattern. The substrate is a continuous sheet of material.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of forming a circuit. The method includes (a) transferring a curable material onto a substrate to form a substrate preform having raised regions and recessed regions; (b) curing the curable material; and (c) applying a conductive coating to at least a portion of the preform in a configuration that defines at least a portion of the electrical circuit.

Some implementations include one or more of the following features. The method further comprises the following steps: a coating material different from the electrically conductive coating is applied to at least a portion of the preform. The method also includes communicating the electronic device with the printed circuit. The method further includes applying a coating material between the substrate preform and the conductive coating. The coating material may be an insulator. The conductive paint is applied to the raised areas using a tip printing process. Alternatively, the conductive paint is applied to the recessed areas using a doctor blade process. The substrate comprises a flat panel sheet and the circuit comprises an electrical array. The method further includes placing a grid-shaped layer of material on top of the conductive coating.

In another aspect, the present invention provides an electronic device comprising: (a) a substrate carrying a coating defining one or more substrate preforms, each substrate preform having a raised region and a recessed region, the raised region defining at least a portion of an electronic device; and (b) a conductive coating material disposed only on the raised regions of the substrate preform.

In yet another aspect, the present invention provides an electronic device comprising: (a) a substrate carrying a coating defining one or more substrate preforms, each substrate preform having a raised region and a recessed region, the recessed region defining at least a portion of an electronic device; and (b) a conductive coating material disposed only in the recessed region of the substrate preform.

In another aspect, the present invention also provides a method of forming a circuit, the method comprising: (a) depositing a first curable material onto a substrate using a pattern imparting medium to produce a substrate preform, wherein the substrate preform has a recessed region configured to define a circuit shape; (b) curing the first curable material; and (c) applying a conductive ink to the preform to fill the recess to form one or more electrical lines.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of forming a transistor, the method comprising: (a) transferring a first curable material to a substrate using a pattern imparting medium to pattern the curable material; (b) configuring the pattern imparting medium such that the first curable material forms a substrate preform on the substrate; (c) tip printing a second layer on top of the raised portion on the substrate; (d) filling the recessed area of the preform with a conductive material; and (e) coating a third layer on the second layer, wherein the third layer covers a portion of the second layer and the recessed region.

In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method of forming an electronic device, the method comprising: (a) providing a substrate having a first layer of curable material forming a plurality of substrate pre-forms on the substrate, the substrate pre-forms comprising a pattern of raised regions and recessed regions; and (b) forming a plurality of circuits on the substrate by selectively transferring the second material only to predetermined portions of the substrate pre-form.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of forming an electrical feature, the method comprising: providing a pattern imparting medium comprising a surface having raised regions and recessed regions; draw down the surface to fill only the recessed areas with coating material; hardening the coating material to form electrical features within the recesses; and removing the electrical feature from the recessed area.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of forming a conductive grid, the method comprising: (a) providing a first substrate having a first layer of curable material forming a plurality of substrate pre-forms on the substrate, the substrate pre-forms comprising a pattern of raised regions and recessed regions in the form of parallel rows; (b) forming a plurality of conductive lines on the first substrate by selectively transferring the conductive material to only predetermined portions of the substrate preform; (c) providing a second substrate having a layer of a first curable material forming a plurality of substrate pre-forms on the substrate, the substrate pre-forms comprising a pattern of raised areas and recessed areas in parallel rows; (d) forming a plurality of conductive lines on a second substrate by selectively transferring the conductive paint to only predetermined portions of the substrate preform; and (e) positioning a second substrate on top of the first substrate, wherein the parallel rows on the second substrate are substantially perpendicular to the parallel rows on the first substrate.

Some implementations include one or more of the following features. The first substrate and the second substrate are part of a single continuous sheet or plate of material. The steps of forming parallel rows on the first and second substrates are performed simultaneously on the same sheet of material or material sheet. The method also includes separating the first substrate and the second substrate from the sheet or plate after forming the parallel rows. Alternatively, the two substrates may be formed separately, and may be formed of different materials and/or may be coated with different coatings. The method may further include disposing an insulating material between the first substrate and the second substrate.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process for forming a substrate preform;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating another process for forming a substrate preform;

FIGS. 3 and 3A are schematic diagrams illustrating a process for forming a circuit from the substrate preform formed in the process shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 and 4A are schematic diagrams illustrating an alternative process for forming a circuit from the substrate preform formed in the process shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of forming an electronic component from the substrate preform formed in the process shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing another process for forming an electrical circuit in which the coating material is applied directly to the engraved roll;

fig. 6A is a schematic front view illustrating the engraved roll shown in fig. 6 and a coater for applying a coating to the engraved roll;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a solar collector array according to one embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an optical display grid array according to an embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a printed circuit according to one embodiment;

fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a semiconductor device according to an embodiment;

like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for fabricating electronic devices (e.g., components of transistors, solar cell arrays, optical display arrays, etc.) using tip printing and/or doctor blading processes. In some embodiments, a substrate preform comprising a pattern of recessed regions and raised regions (bumps) may be used as a base to accept one or more layers of material for electrical connection. The layer of material may be applied to the recessed areas by doctor blading and/or to the raised areas by tip printing. Using a knife coating process, a roller was used to flood coat (flood coat) the recessed areas with coating material. The substrate preform is then scratched to remove the coating material in areas outside the recessed area. Using a tip printing process, the coating material is applied only to the upper surfaces of the protrusions. The materials used in doctor blading and/or tip printing may be conductive, semiconductive or non-conductive. In certain embodiments of the present invention, a combination of blade coating and tip printing processes using conductive, non-conductive or semi-conductive materials are used to manufacture electronic devices.

In other embodiments, a pattern imparting medium, such as an engraved roll (engraved roll) or a patterned plate (patterned web), acts as an array of substrate preforms, wherein the coating material may be applied directly onto the pattern imparting medium by tip printing or doctor blading. The coating material may then be applied to a substrate and hardened, and the substrate and hardened coating material may be peeled from the pattern imparting medium.

Thus, electronic devices can be manufactured using tip printing and/or doctor blading processes. These processes will be discussed in detail below.

The methods and systems described herein may be used broadly for point printing and doctor blading various substrates such as flexible sheets, glass substrates, fiberglass substrates, metal sheets, plastic sheets, and the like.

Forming a substrate preform

In certain embodiments, the substrate preform is formed by a process comprising applying a curable liquid to a substrate, patterning the coating using a pattern imparting surface, curing the coating, and peeling the substrate and the cured coating from the pattern imparting surface. In certain embodiments, the entire process is performed on a continuous sheet of material drawn through a series of processing stations (e.g., as shown schematically in fig. 1).

Referring to fig. 1, in one process, a plate 110 (e.g., a polymer film) first passes through a coating station 112, where a coating head 114 applies a wet coating 116 to a surface 117 of the plate. Next, the coated sheet passes through a nip 118 between a backing roll 120 and an engraved roll 122 in a state where the wet coating layer 116 faces the engraved roll 122. The engraved roll carries a pattern on its surface, the inverse of which is imparted with a wet coating. The nip pressure is typically relatively low (e.g., "kiss" pressure) and is selected based on the viscosity of the coating to prevent the coating of the board from being squeezed out while still allowing the engraved texture to impart to the coating.

After separating the nip, the coated and patterned sheet passes through a curing station 124 (e.g., an electron beam (e-beam) or ultraviolet curing device or a heating device). The coating is cured while still in contact with the surface of the engraved roll. Energy of the electron beam or actinic radiation is typically applied from the back surface 126 of the plate and through the plate to cure the coating 116 to form a hardened and textured coating 128 that is securely attached to the plate 110. At this point, the plate 110 and the cured coating 128 may undergo one of the further processing steps discussed below to add a coating layer (e.g., a conductive, non-conductive, or semiconductor layer) to the substrate surface area. Alternatively, the sheet 110 and cured coating 128 may be stripped from the engraved roll at a take-off roll 132 and wound up on a take-up roll 130. If uv curing is used, and if curing is performed from the back of the panel as shown, the panel should be transparent or translucent to uv radiation.

The coating 116 may be applied using any suitable method. Suitable techniques include indirect gravure (offset printing), direct gravure (direct printing), knife over roll (knife over roll), curtain coating (curl coating), spray coating (spraying), and other printing and coating techniques. The coating may be applied directly to the plate before the substrate contacts the rollers, as shown in fig. 1; or alternatively, the coating may be applied directly to the roller, in which case the substrate is pressed against the coated roller.

The coating may be cured by thermal curing, electron beam irradiation or ultraviolet irradiation. Electron beam irradiation is preferred in some cases because it can penetrate the thick coating required for a particular desired pattern. The electron beam irradiation unit is readily available and is generally composed of a transformer capable of stepping up the line voltage and an electron accelerator. Manufacturers of electron beam irradiation units include Energy Sciences, Inc and pctennessed Systems, LLC, Davenport, Iowa. Suitable uv curing apparatus may be generally available (e.g., manufactured by Fusion, inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland). In certain embodiments, the coating material may be hardened after patterning without the use of a curing station.

The engraved roll described above is an example of a replicative surface that can be used to pattern a wet coating disposed on an endless rotating surface such as a roll, web, or other cylindrical surface. Other types of pattern imparting means including a flat replicated surface and a textured plate may also be used as a mold to cast the substrate pre-form. The disclosure of application No. 11/742,257 filed on 4/4 of 2007 is hereby incorporated by reference. The application provides such a method to manufacture a substrate preform.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a textured plate may be used in place of an engraved roll to pattern the substrate pre-form. Referring to fig. 2, a mechanism 410' for manufacturing a substrate pre-form includes a textured plate 412, the textured plate 412 being transported by a supply roll 414 and wound on a take-up roll 416. The textured plate 412 provides a replication surface 418 against which the substrate is pressed. A curable coating is applied to surface 418 at coating station 420. The textured plate and the curable coating are selected such that the curable coating detaches from the textured plate when cured.

As shown in fig. 2, the substrate 422 ' is a series of separate circuit boards or other substantially rigid electronic substrates, and the substrate 422 ' enters the mechanism at the nip 424 and is pressed against the roller 426 '. The circuit board is supported by a conveyor or set of rollers (not shown). The roller 426 'presses the coated surface of the textured plate 412 against the surface of the substrate 422' facing the textured plate 412. The sandwich structure thus formed then travels through a curing station 430, which curing station 430 includes an irradiation delivery device 432, such as an ultraviolet lamp or electron beam delivery device. The radiation delivery device is mounted above the sandwich structure with the texturing medium above the substrate 422' so that the coating can be cured by the texturing medium while the circuit board is supported by the underlying drive or rollers.

After curing, the textured plate 412 is peeled from the substrate with the cured coating by passing the textured plate 412 around a peel roller 413. The cured, textured coating remains on substrate 422' to define a finished substrate pre-form 435. In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the weight of the circuit board keeps the circuit board pressed against the conveyor or roller during peeling. In other embodiments, other types of lift-off techniques may be employed. The textured plate 412 is wound on the wind-up roll 416 and may be reused multiple times (e.g., more than 50 times or more than 70 times).

Because curing is performed from the textured plate side, the substrate may be any desired material having any desired thickness, for example, a cellulosic material (cellulose), a ceramic, a metal, or a textile material. As a result, various substrate preforms can be manufactured using this process.

The replicated surfaces discussed above may have various patterns consistent with the shape and layout of the desired electronic circuitry, printed circuitry, electrical arrays, such as solar collector arrays or optical display grid arrays.

Next, coating and substrate materials will be discussed in the "materials" section.

Applying coating material to substrate preform

After forming the substrate preform using one of the above-described processes shown in fig. 1 or fig. 2, a coating material (e.g., a conductive ink) is applied to the substrate preform to form a layer. (the term "layer" as used herein is intended to include discontinuous layers, such as those formed by discrete raised areas of a tip printed substrate preform). The conductive ink may be applied, for example, using any of the processes shown in fig. 3-3A and 4-4A. The process shown in fig. 3-3A is referred to as "doctor blading" and is suitable for use when the pattern applied by the engraved roll during the process shown in fig. 3 is a positive image of the desired electronic device shape (i.e., the pattern on the engraved roll is positive or pattern-on). In contrast, the process shown in fig. 4-4A is known as tip printing and is suitable for use when the pattern applied to the plate is the reverse of the desired electronic device shape.

Referring to fig. 3-3A, in a blade coating process, a coating material is applied to the substrate preform to fill the recess (or recesses) 40 in the cured coating 42 on the panel 10. Using a scraping device 48, a conductive ink 44 or other coating material is applied to a top surface 46 of the cured coating 42 and the top surface 46 is scraped across (fig. 3A) to fill the recess 40, forming a finished pattern that corresponds to the electronic device or a portion of the electronic device. After blade coating, the top surface 46 is substantially free of coating material.

Referring to fig. 4-4A, in a tip printing process, a coating material is applied to the substrate preform so as to coat only the protrusion (or protrusions) 50 defined by the raised area of the cured coating 42. In this case, as shown, conductive ink 44 or other coating material is applied to the upper surface 52 of the projections 50 (e.g., using a rotating printing roll 54). Alternatively, an adhesive may be applied to the upper surface 52, with conductive particles or conductive foil applied to the adhesive. After tip printing, the areas 51 are substantially free of conductive ink or other coating material.

As shown in fig. 3-3A and 4-4A, the shaped recesses or protrusions may have various patterns that conform to the shape and layout of the desired circuit. The recessed areas or protrusions may comprise patterns of various shapes and forms depending on the application.

For example, in some embodiments, as shown in fig. 7, the patterns may be in the form of parallel rows (e.g., parallel ridges and valleys) which are then tip printed or knife coated with a conductive material to define parallel lines of conductive material, e.g., to define a solar collector array.

If the desired finished product is in the form of an optical display grid array as shown in fig. 8, two pieces of material having parallel conductive lines as shown in fig. 7 may be placed one on top of the other and one piece may be rotated about 90 degrees relative to the other so that the lines of one piece are substantially perpendicular to the lines of the other piece. The substrate located between the two sets of lines may serve as an insulator, or a separate insulator may be interposed between the two substrates for further preventing short circuits. If desired, the two sheets may be manufactured in a single process, for example by forming parallel lines of electrically conductive material on a single continuous sheet of material which is then formed into a sheet, with the sheet being arranged as described above.

In other embodiments, as shown in fig. 9, the pattern may be in a form suitable for future printed circuit electrical connections for electrical components (e.g., microchips, etc.). For example, microchips may be in electrical communication with the printed circuit 800 at the input/output ports 801, 802, and 803.

Referring to fig. 5, in an alternative process, a plate 302 with a recessed substrate preform 304 is passed under the surface of a backing roll 300 of a roll knife coater and flood coated with conductive ink 306 at a coating station 308, where the coating station 308 fills the preform with conductive ink. After the recesses of the plate are flood coated with conductive ink 306, a blanket roll 360 is engaged with the plate 302. As the take-up roll 370 winds the sheet 364 including each coating unit 309, each coating unit 309 is removed from the sheet 302 and transferred to the sheet 364. In some cases, after each coating unit 309 is removed from the plate 302 and transferred to the plate 364, a tip printing process (not shown) is used to apply the coating onto the upper surface of the coating unit 309.

Depending on the application, the inks and/or coatings used in these processes may have a particle size of from 1.0 × 10^-9Ohm-meter to about 1.0 x 10¹⁵Ohm-meters resistivity, and in some applications, the resistivity of the inks and/or coatings used in the tip printing process may be equal to or greater than 1.0 x 10¹¹Ohm-meter. In other embodiments, other coating materials such as polishing materials, films, etc. may be employed instead of conductive ink.

Electronic semiconductor devices can be fabricated on substrates using the above-described doctor blading and/or tip printing. For example, as shown in fig. 10, transistor 900 may be fabricated by a combination of one or more doctor blading and/or tip printing processes.

Forming electrical features using patterned media as preforms

Referring to fig. 6, in another apparatus, using patterned media (the engraved roll in fig. 6) as a preform (to which the coating material is knife coated), electrical features (e.g., layers) are formed on the sheet at a single processing station 200. In this process, the preforms are not formed on a plate, but rather the electrical features are formed directly on the patterned media and then placed on the plate 206.

A curable conductive coating 202 is applied to the engraved roll 204 at the area and then transferred to a plate 206 to form an electrical feature 208. For example, referring to fig. 6A, an engraved roll may include regions 212 engraved with a pattern of printed circuits 214. The coater 220 delivers the conductive paint 202 to the area 212. Referring again to fig. 6, the coating is then transferred to the plate 206 at nip 224, cured by an electron beam or uv curing device 226, and the coated plate is stripped from the engraved roll at a separator roll 228.

The engraved roll may include a pattern of features that may have various shapes and forms depending on the application. If desired, a different patterned media, such as a plate with a pre-patterned layer, may be used instead of an engraved roll.

Material

The substrate may be any desired material, for example, a circuit board or glass (e.g., paper or film) to which a curable coating can be attached. Polymer films to which the coating cannot normally adhere can be treated by, for example, flame treatment, corona discharge or pre-coating with adhesion promoters. Suitable substrates include paper, polyester films, and films of cellulose triacetate, biaxially oriented polystyrene, and acrylics.

If electron beam or UV curing is used, the above-mentioned non-conductive coating preferably includes an acrylate oligomer, a monofunctional monomer, and a multifunctional monomer for crosslinking. If ultraviolet radiation is used to cure the acrylic functional coating, the coating also includes a photoinitiator as is well known in the art. The conductive coating may employ these components as a binder, and silver fillers or other highly conductive fillers are added to the coating.

Preferred acrylate oligomers include acrylic urethane, epoxy, polyester, acrylic, and silicone. The oligomers contribute substantially to the final properties of the coating. Those skilled in the art know how to select the appropriate oligomers to achieve the desired final properties. The desired end properties of the release sheet used in the present invention generally require an oligomer that provides elasticity and durability. A large number of commercial acrylate oligomers are available from Cytec Surface Specialties Corporation and Sartomer Company, Inc such as Ebecryl 6700, 4827, 3200, 1701, and 80 and such as CN-120, CN-999, and CN-2920.

Typical monofunctional monomers include acrylic acid, N-vinylpyrrolidone, ethyl (ethoxyethoxy) acrylate or isodecyl acrylate. The preferred monofunctional monomer is isodecyl acrylate. The monofunctional monomer serves as a diluent, i.e., reduces the viscosity of the coating while increasing the elasticity of the coating. Examples of monofunctional monomers include SR-395 and SR-440, available from Sartomer company, Inc., and Ebecryl 111 and ODA-N (octyl acrylate/decyl acrylate), available from Cytec Surface Specialties Corporation.

Polyfunctional monomers which are commonly used for crosslinking purposes are trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA), Propoxylated Glycerol Triacrylate (PGTA), tripropylene glycol diacrylate (TPGDA) and dipropylene glycol diacrylate (DPGDA). Preferably, the multifunctional monomer is selected from the group consisting of TMPTA, TPGDA and mixtures thereof. Preferred multifunctional monomers act as crosslinkers to provide solvent resistance to the cured layer. Examples of multifunctional monomers include SR-9020, SR-351, SR-9003 and SR9209, manufactured by Sartomer Company, Inc., and TMPTA-N, OTA-480 and DPGDA, manufactured by Cytec Surface Specialties Corporation.

Preferably, the coating prior to curing comprises 20-50% of an acrylate oligomer (acrylate oligomer), 15-35% of a monofunctional monomer, and 20-50% of a multifunctional monomer. The formulation of the coating depends on the final target viscosity of the cured coating and the desired physical properties. In some devices, the viscosity is preferably from 0.2 to 5 Pascal-seconds, more preferably from 0.3 to 1 Pascal-seconds, measured at room temperature (21-24 ℃).

The coating composition may also include other ingredients such as opacifying agents, colorants, slip agents/dispersants, and antistatic or anti-wear additives. The opacity of the coating can be changed, for example, by the addition of various pigments such as titanium dioxide, barium sulfate, and calcium carbonate, by the addition of hollow or solid glass beads, or by the addition of incompatible liquids such as water. Opacity can be varied by varying the amount of additive employed.

As noted above, a photoinitiator or photoinitiator encapsulation may be included if the coating is uv cured. A suitable photoinitiator is available from Sartomer Company under the trade name KTO-46^TMThe photoinitiator of (1). Photoinitiators may be included, for example, in amounts of 0.5 to 2%.

The conductive paint or other coating material can be any paint that can be tip printed or blade coated (depending on the process used) and is suitable for forming the desired circuit or component. The coating material may be conductive, semiconductive, or nonconductive, and may be hardened by any desired method, including curing, ignition, and solvent evaporation.

Other embodiments

Some embodiments of the invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Although specific shapes have been shown and discussed herein, the electrical patterns may take any desired shape, such as circular, elliptical, and diamond shapes.

Furthermore, a combination of multiple doctor blade and/or tip printing processes may be employed, wherein the different material layers tip printed and/or doctor blade may have various resistivities to form a transistor or a portion of a transistor on the substrate pre-form. For example, in some embodiments, one layer may be covered by an insulator (e.g., an insulating layer), and the insulating layer may be covered by another conductive layer or a semiconductor layer. Furthermore, the different conductive layers separated by the insulating layer may be connected by another process, e.g. a pressing step, wherein one region of the first layer is connected to another region of the second layer. As such, tip printing and/or doctor blading may be used to form a portion of various semiconductor devices (e.g., a portion of a transistor) that are placed in an electronic component, which is then placed in electrical communication with other devices.

Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (26)

1. A method of forming an electronic device, comprising:

(a) transferring a first curable material to a substrate using a pattern imparting medium, the pattern imparting medium patterning the curable material, and the pattern imparting medium being a textured plate, the textured plate being conveyed by a supply roll and wound on a take-up roll;

(b) configuring the pattern imparting medium such that the first curable material forms a plurality of substrate pre-forms on the substrate; and

(c) forming a plurality of circuits on the substrate by transferring a second hardenable material onto the substrate pre-form.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a pattern is provided on a surface of the pattern imparting medium and an inverse of the pattern is imparted to the first curable material.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising coating a portion of the preform with a conductive material.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising filling the recessed portion of the preform with a conductive material.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising curing the curable material.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first curable material is electrically non-conductive and the second hardenable material is electrically conductive.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein coating comprises tip printing.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein filling the recessed portion comprises doctor blading the preform.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a continuous sheet of material.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the substrate pre-forms have raised and recessed regions, the second hardenable material being a conductive paint applied to at least a portion of the pre-forms in a configuration defining at least a portion of each circuit.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising applying a coating material different from the electrically conductive coating to at least a portion of the preform.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising communicating an electronic device with the circuit.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the coating material comprises an insulator, and the coating material is applied between the substrate pre-form and the conductive coating.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising placing a grid-shaped layer of material on top of the conductive paint, wherein the substrate comprises a flat panel sheet and the circuit comprises an array of appliances.

15. The method of claim 5, wherein the curable material is cured using radiation while the pattern imparting medium is still in contact with the curable material.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the irradiation is directed through the pattern imparting medium to cure the curable material.

17. A method of forming an electronic device, comprising:

(a) transferring a first curable material to a substrate using a pattern imparting medium that patterns the curable material, the pattern imparting medium being a textured plate that is conveyed by a supply roll and wound on a take-up roll;

(b) configuring the pattern imparting medium such that the first curable material forms a plurality of substrate pre-forms on the substrate; and

(c) forming a plurality of circuits on the substrate by transferring conductive material to the substrate pre-forms using tip printing.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein a pattern is provided on a surface of the pattern imparting medium and an inverse of the pattern is imparted to the first curable material.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising curing the curable material.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the substrate is a continuous sheet of material.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising applying a coating material different from the electrically conductive coating to at least a portion of the preform.

22. The method of claim 17, further comprising communicating an electronic device with one or more of the plurality of circuits.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the coating material comprises an insulator, and the coating material is applied between the substrate pre-form and the conductive coating.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising placing a grid-shaped layer of material on top of the conductive paint, wherein the substrate comprises a flat panel sheet and the circuit comprises an array of appliances.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the curable material is cured using radiation while the pattern imparting medium is still in contact with the curable material.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the irradiation is directed through the pattern imparting medium to cure the curable material.