Manufacturing flat panel displays commonly used in notebook computers, desktop monitors and televisions uses processes that are similar to those in the semiconductor industry. There are many different types of displays that are available commercially, but thin-film transistor (TFT) panels are by far the most common, being used mostly for personal computer (PC) displays. Other types of panels such as plasma display panels (PDPs) for flat televisions and organic light emitting displays (OLEDs) for cellular telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Entegris makes the widest range of sensors, controllers, components and display handling products for display manufacturing in the industry today. These products are found in virtually every display manufacturing facility around the world. These products can either improve equipment throughput, help to reduce downtime during scheduled maintenance or protect valuable displays during transport.
Handling Products for Flat Panel Displays
Entegris is the provider of the highest quality flat panel display transport and handling products delivering maximum protection of the display. Shippers for cells, glass substrates and photomasks increase customers' yield and reduce overall cost of ownership. In addition, process carriers for internal processes offer protection during the manufacturing cycle.
Wet, Etch & Clean
Entegris offers several products that can filter unwanted contaminants from the etch/clean chemicals, leaving only ultrahigh purity chemicals for the actual process.Fluorogard FP® and FP-HP filters, manufactured with PTFE pleated membranes with polypropylene supports, provide unmatched durability and cleanliness for filtration of process fluids.
Panelgard® DPD disposable filters offer small volume point-of-use filtration. Designed to filter pigment dispersion photoresists and photochemical solvents.
Photoresist Coating
Prior to etch or deposition; flat panel display manufacturing requires that a photoresist coating be dispensed onto the substrate to "mask" the areas that cannot be affected by the subsequent process. The purity of this photoresist must be maintained up to this point of dispense - and Entegris' photoresist filters are designed for this specific task. Typically, they can remove particulate contaminants as small as 0.03 microns in size depending on the product and photoresist properties.
During the manufacturing of a TFT, a color filter is manufactured that is made with pigment photoresist. The filtration must allow for the pigment to pass and give a good distribution of particle size, while removing hard particles. Entegris has developed a special filter to address this market -- the Panelgard® PDP 40 Filter.
Deionized Water Cleaning
Deionized water (DIW) is used remove various chemical contaminants from the substrate surface. Once the DIW has been used for this purpose, it requires filtration and purification to remove the panel contaminants. Entegris filters have been used in this application successfully in virtually every panel manufacturing facility in operation today. The Optimizer ST DEV and DI disposable filters offer a solution for rapid filter change-out.
Chemical Vapor Deposition
Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) is a process that deposits thin films of semiconducting and insulating materials onto panel substrates. Typical films deposited by this method include polysilicon and silicon nitride; other films can also be deposited via CVD depending on the panel requirements. The process can occur either under vacuum or at atmospheric pressure. Entegris products are available for virtually all of these specific processes, including process gas flow control and purification; vacuum and pressure measurement and control; and minimizing particle contamination before the process.
Waferpure® Micro/Mini XL/Megaline integrated filters/purifiers provide particulate and molecular purification in the process tool.
IntelliFlow® II Digital flow controller offers advanced digital technology with industry leading configurability.