Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Micron-scale lateral patterning of molecular organic thin films is still one of the most challenging issues in the practical fabrication of pixelated organic light emitting device (OLED) displays. In this work we demonstrate organic and metal thin film patterning using a micromachined printhead that modulates the vapor flux of evaporated materials incident on a substrate. The printhead is integrated with an x-y-z manipulator that facilitates patterning within a vacuum environment at pressure of less than 5×10-6 Torr. This printing scheme enables direct, solvent-free and mask-free patterning of organic optoelectronic devices on diverse substrates. As an example we fabricated an OLED array of 30×30 νm Alq3 (tris(8-hydroxyqunolinato) aluminum) pixels. 30 νm wide silver patterns were also directly written using the same technique. The results show that this printing method is capable of patterning molecular organic materials and metals at high resolution (800 dpi).