JP2002243932A - Method for manufacturing color filter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing a high quality color filter using an inkjet method. SOLUTION: A drop of pixel material 203 is made to adhere to a transparent substrate 204 by setting speed Ve and volume Vo of the drop of the pixel material 203 discharged from a nozzle 105 of an inkjet head 201 to satisfy inequalities 3 m/s<Ve<5 m/s and 2 pl<Vo<4 pl, respectively. Furthermore, pattern drawing is carried out by setting a distance l from a flat surface of a nozzle plate 102, having the nozzle 105 formed thereon, to a surface of the transparent glass substrate 204 to satisfy an inequality 0.3 mm<1<0.8 mm.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a color filter obtained by forming a pattern by an ink jet method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A pattern forming method using an ink-jet method is based on a discharge method of various ink compositions, for example,
Electrostatic suction method, method of heating ink to foam and use the pressure to fly ink composition, method of applying mechanical vibration or displacement to ink using piezoelectric element that deforms when voltage is applied, etc. A pattern is formed on the surface of the base material by the ink composition ejected in (1) and (2).
In addition, a method of forming a pattern using an ink-jet method has attracted attention in many fields because it has advantages such as low noise generation, high-speed pattern formation, and easy formation of a multicolor pattern. And JP 59
JP-A-75205 describes a method of manufacturing a color filter by forming a colored layer on a substrate by an inkjet method.

[0003] Further, in Japanese Patent No. 3050091, in order to prevent color mixture of pixel material between pixels and variation in pixel density, the mass of a pixel material droplet is set to 500 to 50,000 pg, and the speed of the pixel material droplet is set to 5 to 5 pg. A method of manufacturing a color filter by an ink jet method at a setting of up to 16 m / s is disclosed. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-142643 discloses a method for improving the productivity of a color filter by eliminating an error in ink landing position. In addition, the sensor detects the gap between the nozzle of the inkjet head and the substrate that is the substrate to which the pixel material is adhered, and adjusts the average of the head inclination and the substrate inclination even if an error occurs when the substrate is attached. There is disclosed a method of drawing an R, G, B pattern while controlling the position so that the gap always has a predetermined value.

[0004]

However, when a color filter pattern is formed by the above-described conventional ink-jet method, the size of a pixel formed is about 70 μm in width, 200 μm in length, and about 2 μm in thickness. In addition, the thickness of the pixel, which greatly affects the performance of the color filter, could not be controlled to the order of 0.1 μm. That is, in a color filter manufactured by the conventional method, it was difficult to make the film thickness of each pixel uniform, so that the difference in the film thickness caused a difference in light transmittance between the pixels, which caused a problem in a liquid crystal display or the like. When used, there is a problem that the image quality is deteriorated.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-142463, although the gap between the nozzle of the ink jet head and the substrate is controlled to be uniform, the influence of the nozzle of the ink jet head and the periphery of the ink jet head, for example, the nozzle surface Since the proper gap is not set in consideration of the meniscus of the pixel material, etc. occurring in the pixel material, there is a possibility that the pixel material may be mixed between adjacent pixels.
In the case of the same color, there is a problem that the pixel material is biased to one side and the pixel density of the color filter becomes defective.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has been made to control the film thickness of pixels formed by an ink-jet method or to suppress color mixing between formed pixels.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a color filter capable of manufacturing a high quality color filter.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a color filter, comprising the steps of ejecting a pixel material droplet from a nozzle of an inkjet head and attaching the droplet to a transparent substrate. A method of manufacturing a color filter by the method, wherein the speed Ve of the pixel material droplet ejected from the nozzle is 3 <Ve <5 m / s,
In addition, the volume Vo of the pixel material droplet is set to 2 <Vo <4pl, and the pixel material droplet is discharged from the nozzle within the set range and adheres to the transparent substrate.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color filter manufacturing method according to the first aspect, wherein the pixel material discharge energy generating element of the ink jet head uses a piezoelectric element. Piezo type.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the method for manufacturing a color filter according to the first aspect, the nozzle diameter d of the inkjet head is 25 to 35 μm.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method for manufacturing a color filter according to the first aspect, the pixel material droplets are oil-based inks.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color filter manufacturing method according to the first aspect, wherein the pixel material droplets are adhered from a plane on which the nozzle is formed. The distance 1 to the surface is set to 0.3 <l <0.8 mm.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color filter manufacturing method according to the fifth aspect, wherein the plane on which the nozzles are formed has ink repellency. .

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the color filter manufacturing method according to the fifth aspect, wherein the external air is blown between the distance l around the ink jet head. Depending on the equipment, 0.5 to 1.0 m / of a cleanliness class of about 10,000
s.

[0014]

(Embodiment 1) Embodiment 1 of the present invention described in claims 1 to 4 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, the principle of manufacturing a color filter by an inkjet method according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of manufacturing a color filter by an inkjet method according to the first embodiment.

First, a transparent glass substrate 204 whose surface is polished
A black matrix 205 having a role of forming a pixel region 206 and a role of a light-shielding film is formed thereon with a black resist.

Next, a pixel material droplet 203 is ejected from a piezoelectric element type ink jet head 201 using a piezoelectric element, and the pixel material droplet 203 is deposited on a desired pixel region 206 of a black matrix 205 formed on the transparent glass substrate 204. Filling.

That is, the pixel material drops 203 of each color of red, green, and blue are applied to the nozzle 1 of each ink jet head 201.
05, the pixel area 206 partitioned by the black matrix 205 on the transparent glass substrate 204.
The color filter is manufactured through a process of applying a pre-drying hardening process and a main drying hardening process to make the pixels adhere in the X and Y directions in a predetermined arrangement order.

Here, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a piezoelectric element type ink jet head 2 according to the first embodiment will be described.
01 will be described. FIG. 1 shows the first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a view showing a structure of a piezoelectric element type ink jet head in FIG. 2, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of the ink jet head.

1 and 2, an ink jet head 201 includes an actuator substrate 101 made of piezoelectric ceramics as a piezoelectric element, a cover plate 103 made of a ceramic material or a resin material, a nozzle plate 102, and a driver substrate 106. It is composed of

In the actuator substrate 101, a plurality of pressure chambers 107, which are flow paths for pixel material, are formed in parallel. Each pressure chamber 107 has the same shape, and the depth of the groove gradually decreases as approaching the rear end face of the actuator substrate 101,
An electrical connection region with the driver board 106 is provided near the rear end face. The side walls 120 of each of the pressure chambers 107 are polarized in the direction of the depth of the groove to form a shear mode actuator using the drive electrode 104 provided on the upper half thereof. External electrodes 108 are also formed on the side and bottom surfaces of the electrical connection region. That is, the drive electrodes 104 formed on both sides of the side wall 120 are in a state of being electrically connected to the external connection electrodes 108. Further, a driver substrate 106 is bonded to the back surface of the actuator substrate 101, that is, the surface opposite to the side on which the pressure chamber 107 is formed.
A connection electrode 109 corresponding to the one-to-one correspondence is formed. The connection electrode 109 and the external connection electrode 108
The connection electrodes 110 are connected by wire-bonded connection wires 110, and the connection electrodes 109 are connected to output terminals of a driver substrate 106 (not shown). Therefore,
The actuator substrate 101 is connected to the drive electrode 1 through the external connection electrode 108 from the driver substrate 106.
04 when the electric field is applied.
The entire side wall 120 is adapted to cause shear mode deformation.

The cover plate 103 is joined to the upper surface of the actuator substrate 101 and supplies the pixel material to each pressure chamber 107 with the pixel material supply port 14.
A nozzle plate 102 having a plurality of nozzles 105 corresponding to each pressure chamber 107 is joined to the front end surfaces of the actuator substrate 101 and the cover plate 103.

Next, the operation of the ink jet head 201 having the above configuration will be described. First, when a voltage is applied to the drive electrode 104 from the connected driver substrate 106 through the external connection electrode 108, the side wall 1
20 cause shear mode deformation in the array direction. The deformation of the shear mode causes the pixel material supply port 1
The pressure applied to the pixel material in each pressure chamber 107 supplied from 40 is increased, and the pixel material droplet 2
03 is ejected.

That is, in the ink jet head 201 according to the first embodiment, the pressure is generated on the entire side surface 120 of each pressure chamber 107 which is a flow path, and the shape of each pressure chamber 107 is simple, so that the smoother pixels can be obtained. Since the flow of the material can be realized, the nozzle 1
The ejection speed and volume of the pixel material droplets 203 ejected from 05 are easy to control.

Next, a method of manufacturing the color filter according to the first embodiment using the ink jet head 201 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In the method for manufacturing a color filter according to the first embodiment, when the inkjet head 201 deposits the pixel material droplet 203 on the transparent glass substrate 204, the ejection speed Ve of the pixel material droplet 203 ejected from the nozzle 105, and The volume Vo of the pixel material droplet 203 is set in a predetermined range, and the thickness of the pixel film can be controlled.

In the first embodiment, the size of the pixel region 206 divided by the black matrix 205 on the transparent glass substrate 204 is 70 × 200 μm,
It is also assumed that the height of the black matrix 205 is 2.5 μm, and that the material of the pixel material droplets 203 discharged from the inkjet head 201 is an oil-based ink.

Using the ink-jet head 201 shown in FIG.
The range of the discharge speed Ve of the pixel material droplet 203 and its volume Vo that can be controlled on the order of 1 μm will be described.

First, in setting the above-mentioned ejection speed Ve, the ejection speed Ve is changed, and the pixel area 20 is changed.
The range of the discharge speed Ve capable of controlling the pixel film in No. 6 to a predetermined thickness on the order of 0.1 μm was examined. As a result, when the discharge speed Ve reaches 3 m / s, the discharge direction of the pixel material droplets 203 from the nozzles 105 is not constant, and adheres onto the black matrix 205 that defines the transparent glass substrate 204. Etc., the pixel area 206
Becomes thinner than a predetermined thickness, while the discharge speed V
When e exceeds 5 m / s, a mist-like droplet is generated at the same time as the main droplet of the pixel material droplet 203 is discharged, and the droplet formed by collecting the mist-like droplets is formed in the pixel region 206.
There is a case where the pixel region 206 is attached to the upper surface at random and becomes thicker than a predetermined thickness.

Next, regarding the setting of the volume Vo of the pixel material droplet 203, the volume Vo of the pixel material droplet 203 to be discharged is set.
And the pixel film in the pixel region 206 is set to 0.1
The range of the volume Vo that can be controlled to a predetermined thickness on the order of μm was examined. As a result, the volume Vo of the pixel material droplet 203 becomes 2
When set to pl, the discharge speed Ve is inevitably 3 m / s or less, the discharge direction from the nozzle 105 is unstable, and the film pressure in the pixel region 206 is lower than a predetermined film thickness. Become thin. On the other hand, when the volume Vo of the pixel material droplet 203 was set to 4 pl, the film thickness of the pixel region 206 changed by 0.2 μm due to the difference of one drop of the pixel material, and a predetermined film thickness could not be obtained.

Therefore, the ink jet head 201
Discharge speed Ve of the pixel material droplet 203 from the nozzle 105 of FIG.
Is set in the range of 3 <Ve <5 (m / s) and the volume Vo is set in the range of 2 <Vo <4 (pl), and the liquid is ejected to the pixel region 206 on the transparent glass substrate 204. As a result, the pixel film of the pixel region 206 is set to 0.1
The thickness can be controlled to a predetermined thickness in the order of μm.

As described above, in the first embodiment, when the pixel material droplet 203 is deposited on the transparent glass substrate 204 by the piezoelectric element type ink jet head 201, the nozzle 105 of the ink jet head 201 is used.
The velocity Ve of the pixel material droplet 203 ejected from the
<5 m / s, and the volume Vo of the pixel material droplet 203 is set within the range of 2 <Vo <4 pl. Therefore, the thickness of the pixel film of the color filter is controlled on the order of 0.1 μm. In addition, it is possible to make the light transmittance of each pixel uniform, and to provide a method of manufacturing a color filter capable of accurately and stably controlling the pixel film thickness.

Further, since oil-based ink is used as the material of the pixel material droplet 203, the adhesion to the transparent glass substrate 204 can be enhanced, and bubbles generated between the pixel material and the transparent glass substrate 204 can be eliminated. Thus, a more precise and stable pixel thickness of the color filter can be obtained.

The control of the pixel material droplets 203 ejected from the nozzles 105 to the volume Vo within the above-described set range is performed by controlling the drive electrodes 10 of the pressure chambers 107.
4 by controlling the pulse width of the electric signal sent from the driver board 106.
As described above, if the nozzle diameter is set such that a meniscus having a volume Vo within the set range and close to the outer shape of the droplet is formed in the nozzle 105, the ejection stability is further maintained. Here, the nozzle diameter d is set in consideration of ensuring the landing margin of the pixel material droplet 203 with respect to the width 70 μm of the pixel region 206.
Is preferably 25 to 35 μm.

(Embodiment 2) Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a color filter according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 according to claims 5 to 7. I do. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the method of manufacturing the color filter according to the second embodiment, the nozzle 105 is formed by setting the range of the distance 1 from the nozzle 105 to the surface of the transparent glass substrate 204 as shown in FIG. Nozzle plate 102
The pixel material accumulated on the transparent glass substrate 204 is randomly
This enables the production of a color filter having excellent performance by avoiding color mixing caused by adhering on the top, and color mixing due to the bending of the discharge of pixel material droplets caused by minute deformation of the nozzle 105 and the flow of surrounding air. is there.

Hereinafter, the nozzle plate 102 in which the nozzle 105 of the ink jet head 201 shown in FIG.
The range of the distance l from the surface of the transparent glass substrate 204 to which the substrate 03 is attached will be described.

In the second embodiment, the ejection speed Ve of the pixel material droplet 203 ejected from the piezoelectric element type ink jet head 201 shown in FIG. 1 is 4 m / s, and the volume Vo of the pixel material droplet 203 is 3 pl. And In addition, the nozzle plate 102 of the inkjet head 201, in which the nozzles 105 are formed, is provided with a material having a lyophobic effect in order to suppress the amount of pixel material accumulated in the nozzle plate 102 and the size of the formed meniscus. , For example, a coating treatment with a silicon-based liquid repellent, etc.,
As shown in FIG. 3, an external blower (not shown) is provided between the nozzle 105 of the inkjet head 201 and the transparent glass substrate 204 to suppress color mixture between pixels due to dust or the like attached to the transparent glass substrate 204. ), Air having a cleanliness class of about 10,000 is flowed at 0.5 m / s.

When the pixel material droplet 203 is ejected from the nozzle 105 of the ink jet head 201 shown in FIG. 1, a certain amount of pixel material is accumulated on the plane of the nozzle plate 102. Due to the meniscus which is a pool of the pixel material, the pixel material adheres to a portion other than a predetermined position on the transparent glass substrate 204, and there is a possibility that color mixture occurs between pixels. Therefore, if the meniscus diameter of the pixel material generated on the plane of the nozzle plate 102 is measured and the distance 1 is equal to or longer than the meniscus diameter, color mixing can be avoided. Here, the meniscus diameter was at most 0.25 mm. That is, the distance l is 0.3
By setting the thickness to at least mm, it is possible to prevent the pixel material accumulated on the plane of the nozzle plate 102 from adhering to the transparent glass substrate 204 at random.

On the other hand, if the distance l is too wide,
Due to the minute deformation of the nozzle and the flow of the surrounding air, the minute pixel material droplet 203 ejected from the nozzle 105 causes an ejection bend, so that the landing position cannot be kept within a predetermined range and color mixing between pixels occurs. Can cause Here, air having a cleanliness class of about 10,000 is flowed at a rate of 0.5 / s between the nozzle 105 of the inkjet head 201 and the transparent glass substrate 204 by an external blower (not shown). If the distance 1 is 0.8 mm or more, the amount of air flowing between the nozzle 105 and the transparent glass substrate 204 increases, which affects the direction of the pixel material droplet 203 ejected from the nozzle 105, and This will result in color mixing.

Therefore, in order to avoid color mixture between pixels on the transparent glass substrate 204, the ejection speed Ve of the pixel material droplet 203 ejected from the nozzle 105 must be 4 m / s.
It has been found that when the volume Vo is 3 pl, the range of the distance 1 should be 0.3 <l <0.8 (mm).

In the second embodiment, the discharge speed Ve of the pixel material droplet 203 is 4 m / s and the volume Vo
Is 3 pl, the ejection speed Ve
Is 3 <Ve <5 m / s, and the volume Vo is 2 <Vo <4p
If it is 1, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, in the state where the air of 0.5 m / s with a cleanness of about 10,000 is flowing between the nozzle 105 and the transparent glass substrate 204, the ink jet is performed. Nozzle 201
Discharge speed Ve of the pixel material droplet 203 from 3 <Ve <5
m / s and the volume Vo thereof are set to 2 <Vo <4pl, the transparent glass substrate 204 on which the pixel material droplets 203 are adhered from the plane of the nozzle plate 102 on which the nozzle 105 of the inkjet head 201 is formed. Since the distance l to the surface is set to be 0.3 <l <0.8 mm, the pixel material accumulated in the nozzle plate 102 on which the nozzle 105 is formed may adhere to the transparent glass substrate 204 at random. In addition, it is possible to avoid color mixing caused by minute deformation of nozzles or bending of ejection of pixel material droplets due to the flow of peripheral air, and also suppress color mixing between pixels due to dust. .

The surface of the nozzle plate 102 on which the nozzles 105 for ejecting the pixel material droplets 203 are formed is coated with a material having a lyophobic effect, so that the pixel material remaining on the nozzle plate 102 is removed. The amount and the size of the meniscus that is the accumulated pixel material can be suppressed.

[0043]

As described above, according to the method for manufacturing a color filter according to the first aspect of the present invention, a color filter is manufactured by an inkjet method in which a pixel material droplet is discharged from a nozzle of an inkjet head and adheres to a transparent substrate. A velocity V of a pixel material droplet ejected from the nozzle.
e is 3 <Ve <5 m / s, and the volume Vo of the pixel material droplet is
Is set to 2 <Vo <4pl, and the pixel material droplet is ejected from the nozzle within the setting range and adheres to the transparent substrate, so that the pixel thickness of the color filter is 0.1%.
The control can be performed on the order of μm, and precise and stable control of the pixel film thickness for uniformizing the light transmittance of each pixel can be realized.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color filter manufacturing method according to the first aspect, wherein the pixel material discharge energy generating element of the ink jet head comprises a piezoelectric element. Since the piezo type is used, the desired pixel material meniscus can be formed at the tip of the nozzle without being greatly affected by the viscosity of the pixel material, etc. And it can control stably.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the method for manufacturing a color filter according to the first aspect, the nozzle diameter d of the ink jet head is 25 to 35 μm. Pixel material drops can be controlled well.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color filter manufacturing method according to the first aspect, wherein the pixel material droplet is an oil-based ink. Increase the adhesion to the transparent substrate, eliminate bubbles and the like between the pixel material and the transparent substrate,
It is possible to obtain a more stable pixel film thickness.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color filter manufacturing method according to the first aspect, wherein the pixel material droplet is adhered from a plane on which the nozzle is formed. Since the distance 1 to the surface is set to 0.3 <l <0.8 mm, the color mixing caused by the pixel material accumulated on the plane on which the nozzles are formed adhering to the transparent substrate at random, It is possible to avoid color mixing due to bending of ejection of pixel material droplets due to minute deformation or the like, and to manufacture a color filter having excellent performance.

In the method of manufacturing a color filter according to claim 6 of the present invention, the flat surface on which the nozzles are formed has ink repellency in the method of manufacturing color filter of claim 5. The pixel material does not accumulate in the vicinity of the nozzle, and the variation in the ejection direction of the pixel material droplet can be minimized.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color filter manufacturing method according to the fifth aspect, further comprising: Depending on the equipment, 0.5 to 1.0 m / of a cleanliness class of about 10,000
Since the air flow of s is generated, pixels can be drawn on the transparent substrate while removing dust floating around the pixel material droplets discharged from the nozzle, and the pixel material droplets are added to the dust. The landing position shift caused by the adhesion of the ink can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an inkjet head according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an inkjet head according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing a color filter according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing a color filter according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 actuator substrate 102 nozzle plate 103 cover plate 104 drive electrode 105 nozzle 106 driver substrate 107 pressure chamber 108 external connection electrode 109 connection electrode 110 connection wire 120 side wall 140 pixel material supply port 201 inkjet head 203 pixel material droplet 204 transparent glass substrate 205 Black matrix 206 pixel area

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Koji Sone, Inventor Koji Sone, 8-8 Koshinmachi, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture F term (reference) 2C056 EC07 EC31 EC72 FA04 FB01 2C057 AF23 AG12 AJ10 AM15 AP60 BA03 BA14 2H048 BA02 BA11 BA64 BB01 BB02 BB14 BB42

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a color filter by an inkjet method in which a pixel material droplet is ejected from a nozzle of an inkjet head and adheres to a transparent substrate, wherein a speed Ve of the pixel material droplet ejected from the nozzle is 3 <
Ve <5 m / s and the volume Vo of the pixel material droplet is 2 <V
o <4 pl, and the pixel material droplets are ejected from the nozzles within the set range and adhere to the transparent substrate. 2. The method for manufacturing a color filter according to claim 1, wherein the pixel material discharge energy generating element of the inkjet head is a piezo type using a piezoelectric element. . 3. The method for manufacturing a color filter according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle diameter d of the inkjet head is 25 to 35 μm.
m. A method for producing a color filter, wherein 4. The method for manufacturing a color filter according to claim 1, wherein said pixel material droplets are oil-based inks. 5. The method for manufacturing a color filter according to claim 1, wherein a distance l from a plane on which the nozzle is formed to a surface of the transparent substrate on which the pixel material droplet is adhered is 0.3 <l <0.8 mm.
A method for manufacturing a color filter, characterized in that: 6. The method for manufacturing a color filter according to claim 5, wherein the plane on which the nozzles are formed has ink repellency.
A method for manufacturing a color filter, comprising: 7. The method for manufacturing a color filter according to claim 5, wherein a cleanness class of 10 is provided around the ink jet head by an external blower toward the distance l.
A method for producing a color filter, comprising: generating an air flow of about 0.5 to 1.0 m / s of about 000.