PROBLEM
Cleaning thin films and addressing the impact of debris on yields, production, and quality. Highly engineered thin film is increasingly used in flat panel displays (FPD), touch panels, automotive applications, and thin film solar panels. In all these sectors there is a zero tolerance policy to defects, and the presence of foreign particles in the production process leads to high reject rates.

SOLUTION
The solution is the Ultracleen® range of contact cleaning roller by Teknek. Particles on a surface are held by several forces which make it difficult to remove them. Although the forces are small, in relation to the particles they are comparatively large. The main forces involved are static charge and Van der Vaals forces. Static charge is often induced in surfaces when they touch each other, especially if they are far apart on the tribo-electric scale. Van der Waals forces are typically seen when two very flat surfaces come in contact with each other (e.g. two sheets of glass) the sheets appear to be stuck together.

It is normal to incorporate static elimination on a surface after it has been cleaned. The surface energy of a pick-up roller has to be sufficient to overcome the static attractive forces and any Van der Waals forces. By breaking through the boundary layer and coming into direct contact with the particles, pick-up rollers can more easily overcome the forces keeping the particles tied to a surface.