Continuous coating apparatus

• Main Author: MANZ DIETER,BENDER MARCUS,HOFFMANN UWE,HAAS DIETER,ENGLERT ULRICH,LEHR HEINO,GUERKE ACHIM
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 01.11.2006
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; CHEMISTRY; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATIONOR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY IONIMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION INGENERAL; METALLURGY; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THESURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION

Aspects of the present invention concern a device and a process for continuous production of substrates provided with organic electroluminescent materials (OLED), especially OLED displays, screens, panels or other lighting elements, in which the device has a vacuum space and a transport device for transporting the substrates to be coated, which is at least partially arranged along the vacuum space and comprises carriers for the substrates, with the transport device comprising at least one endless loop for transport of the carriers and with the vacuum space being divided at least into two with a first part, in which is provided a first section of the transport device for transporting the carriers in a first direction (substrate-transport direction), and with a second part, in which is provided a second section of the transport device for transport of the carriers in a second direction (carrier-return-transport direction). Correspondingly, the masks necessary for structuring the OLED coatings are cleaned advantageously directly during return transport and no mask stockpiling is required.