Creating layers in thin-film structures

摘要

A layer of a material is created in a thin-film structure by coating a substrate ( 14 ) in one pass with an ink having a major, fugitive component ( 13 ) and at least one minor, non-fugitive component ( 12 ) and treating the ink to expel the major component ( 13 ) to leave the layer ( 15 ) of material. The layer ( 15 ) may bean electrically insulating layer having a thickness in the range 0.5 to 10 micrometres, with the ink containing non-fugitive colloidal ceramic nanoparticles having a size in the range 10 to 100 nanometres. The layer ( 15 ) may be a process control. layer, such as an etch stop layer or barrier layer. The layer ( 15 ) may be an optically emissive layer or a layer of predetermined electrical conductivity.