An English technology company has developed a method of extending the lifespan and improving efficiency of evaporation masks using a rhodium plating.

Masks are typically used to deposit inks onto substrates as part of the manufacturing process of flat-panel display technologies, but have traditionally been prone to erosion when cleaned with a mild acid-flash etch.

Devon-based Tecan used an electroforming process to manufacture display masks with burr-free aperture edges and controllable draft angles for use in light-emitting diode, plasma panel vacuum fluorescent and field emission displays, electropages.com reports.

The rhodium plated masks offer a number of advantages over existing technologies such as inkjet printing or screen printing with emulsion stencils because they are resistant to the acids that are employed in post-deposition cleaning.

As a result, cleaning can be carried out as normal but with no damage to the mask itself, thus cutting costs.

Tecan's high-accuracy masks are also available with stepped recesses, which limit the need for spacer sheets in multiple-sheet sets.

Source:

Gold and rhodium plated evaporation masks last longer
http://www.tecan.co.uk/core/news/latestnews.php?article=100

Tecan - Electroformed deposition masks for metal sputtering and displays, 07/09/07
http://www.electropages.com/viewArticle.aspx?intArticle=9450

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