US 11,739,417 B2
Method and a device for automatically determining adjustment values for operating parameters of a deposition line
Yohan Faucillon, Courbevoie (FR); Vojislav Gajic, Courbevoie (FR); Thierry Kauffmann, Courbevoie (FR); and Etienne Sandre-Chardonnal, Nantes (FR)
Assigned to SAINT-GOBAIN GLASS FRANCE, Courbevoie (FR)
Appl. No. 16/770,818
Filed by SAINT-GOBAIN GLASS FRANCE, Courbevoie (FR)
PCT Filed Dec. 7, 2018, PCT No. PCT/FR2018/053163
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 8, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/110948, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 13, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 1761786 (FR), filed on Dec. 7, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2020/0392617 A1, Dec. 17, 2020
Int. Cl. C23C 14/34 (2006.01); C23C 14/35 (2006.01); C23C 14/54 (2006.01); G05B 17/02 (2006.01); H01J 37/34 (2006.01)
CPC C23C 14/3492 (2013.01) [C23C 14/35 (2013.01); C23C 14/547 (2013.01); G05B 17/02 (2013.01); H01J 37/3464 (2013.01); H01J 2237/24592 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An adjustment-determining method for automatically determining an adjustment value for at least one operating parameter of a deposition line for depositing a stack of thin layers on a glass or polymeric organic transparent substrate, the deposition line including at least two separate deposition compartments each depositing a separate thin layer of the stack of thin layers, the method being performed by a computer and comprising:
obtaining a mathematical model relating at least one operating parameter of the deposition line to at least one predetermined quality function defined from at least one quality measurement of said stack of thin layers deposited by the deposition line, the at least one predetermined quality function being defined without relying on a measurement in any of the at least two separate deposition compartments;
obtaining a value of said at least one quality function from a value of said at least one quality measurement measured at the outlet of the deposition line on said stack of thin layers deposited by the deposition line on said glass or polymeric organic transparent substrate while the deposition line was set so that at least one operating parameter had a current value; and
automatic adjustment-determining, using the mathematical model, an adjustment value for the current value of said at least one operating parameter serving to reduce a difference that exists between the value obtained for said at least one quality function and a target value selected for said at least one quality function for the stack of thin layers,
wherein the value of the at least one quality function is obtained from quality measurements taken at different points across the entire width or surface of the substrate,
wherein said obtaining the mathematical model comprises:
obtaining a reference value for said at least one operating parameter corresponding to a setting of the deposition line while performing a reference deposition of a stack of thin layers on a substrate;
for a plurality of training stacks of thin layers deposited by the deposition line on a substrate while said deposition line is set with values of said at least one operating parameter presenting determined variations relative to said reference value, obtaining a plurality of values for said at least one quality function, and
determining the mathematical model from the plurality of values for said at least one quality function as obtained for the plurality of training stacks of thin layers, and
wherein the deposition line has N deposition compartments, N being an integer greater than 1, each deposition compartment being associated with a respective operating parameter P(n), n=1, . . . , N, and the mathematical model is a linear model using a matrix written M and comprising N columns u(n), each column being defined by:

OG Complex Work Unit Math
where var(n) designates the difference between the values of said at least one quality function obtained for two training stacks of thin layers deposited by the deposition line while it was set with a value for the operating parameter P(n) presenting a variation +δ (n) relative to the reference value for the operating parameter P(n) and to a value of the operating parameter P(n) presenting a variation −δ (n) relative to the reference value for the operating parameter P(n).