JP2000056116A - Device and method for manufacturing color filter and color filter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the manufacture tact of a color filter by performing the delivery of a substrate and the relative height adjustment of the substrate and an ink-jet head parallelly to the cleaning of the ink-jet head. SOLUTION: At the time of loading the substrate on a substrate chuck (S51), a substrate stage is moved to an automatic focus position and a Z-tilt direction is matched so as to make the surface of the substrate horizontal at prescribed height (S52). In order to bring an alignment mark on the substrate to a reference position, deviation amounts in the three directions of X, Y and θ are detected and corrected (S53). After positioning the substrate, a head cap is released and a plotting operation and the washing of a head cleaning mechanism and a head cap mechanism are simultaneously performed as well (S54 and 55). After the discharging and loading operation of the substrate (S56 and 51) after end of plotting, parallelly to the focusing of a new substrate (S52), a cleaning sequence (S57) and a head cap (S58) for head function maintenance are performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for manufacturing a color filter such as a color liquid crystal display used for a color television, a personal computer, etc., and more particularly to a technique utilizing an ink jet recording technique.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, methods for producing a color filter include a dye method, a pigment dispersion method, an electrodeposition method, and a printing method. The dye method is to form a layer of a water-soluble polymer material which is a material for a dye on a glass substrate, form this into a desired pattern by photolithography, and immerse the glass substrate in the dye layer. R is a step of obtaining a colored pattern,
The color filter is formed by repeating three times for the three colors G and B.

The electrodeposition method is a process of forming a transparent electrode pattern on a glass substrate, immersing the glass substrate in an electrodeposition coating solution containing a pigment, a resin, an electrolytic solution and the like to electrodeposit a single color. , G, and B colors are repeated three times and fired to form a color filter.

[0004] The printing method is a method in which R, G, and B colors are separately applied by repeating printing using a thermosetting resin in which a pigment is dispersed three times, and then the resin is thermoset. is there.

[0005] What is common to these four methods is that
It is necessary to repeat the same process three times in order to color the three colors of R, G, and B, and there are drawbacks such as a low yield and a high cost due to the large number of processes.

Furthermore, the electrodeposition method is difficult to apply to a TFT because the shape of a pattern that can be formed is limited.
Further, the printing method has disadvantages such as poor resolution and difficulty in responding to pattern miniaturization.

In order to compensate for these drawbacks, there has been proposed a technique of forming a filter pattern by discharging ink jet onto a glass substrate (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-869).
13, JP-A-9-48135).

In this ink jet technology, maintaining the discharge stability of the ink jet head is an important factor for improving the production yield, and a periodic cleaning operation (recovery operation) of the ink jet head is indispensable. (JP-A-9-4813
5). Specifically, mechanisms such as a tub for receiving ink and a blade for wiping the face surface of the head are required. During the cleaning operation, these mechanisms move to below the head, and the cleaning of the inkjet head is performed. Perform Further, at the time of drawing a color filter, it is retracted to a position where it does not interfere with the substrate stage, and the cleaning mechanism is cleaned.

[0009]

However, in view of productivity, it is necessary to reduce the time required for this cleaning step. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-869
According to No. 13, even if 60 nozzles per color are used, 9.4 is used.
At the time of drawing an inch size color filter substrate, it is estimated that the drawing time alone is about 70 seconds, and the time required for each process at the time of manufacturing each manufacturer's liquid crystal panel is less than 60 seconds, The necessity to reduce the time (manufacturing tact) required for each operation (substrate delivery, substrate autofocus, substrate alignment, drawing, recovery, etc.) is obvious.

In order to shorten the operation time and the moving time when performing the cleaning operation of the ink jet head, it is conceivable to increase the speed of the driving part. However, the disturbance level of the operation is increased, and the positioning accuracy of the stage is increased. Also, there is a problem that the positioning time is affected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in the conventional example, and has as its object to reduce the tact time for manufacturing a color filter (the time from sending a filter substrate to discharging it). .

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, a colorant is prepared by causing an ink jet head (head) to scan relative to a light transmitting substrate. When a plurality of filter elements colored by a coloring agent are arranged on a substrate to form a color filter, the delivery of the substrate and the relative height adjustment (autofocus) between the substrate and the inkjet head are performed by: It is characterized in that the cleaning is performed in parallel with the cleaning of the inkjet head (head function recovery operation).

The color filter manufacturing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention discharges a colorant while relatively scanning an ink jet head (head) with respect to a light-transmitting substrate, and discharges the colorant on the substrate. A color filter manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a color filter by arranging a plurality of filter elements colored by a colorant on a substrate, wherein an auto-focus sensor (substrate height position detection sensor) for the substrate is disposed on the substrate. It is characterized in that the held stage is arranged at a position where autofocus can be performed simply by moving the stage in the scanning orthogonal direction from the substrate transfer position.

Further, the color filter manufacturing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention is an ink jet head (head).
A colorant is ejected while relatively scanning the light-transmitting substrate with respect to a light-transmissive substrate, and a plurality of filter elements colored with the colorant are arranged on the substrate to form a color filter. In the device,
A mechanism for cleaning the ink-jet head, the cleaning mechanism having a movement axis in the same direction as the scanning direction, and a guide and an actuator provided on the substrate stage; It is characterized by being connected via a stand.

As the head, a head which uses thermal energy to eject ink and has a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy to be applied to the ink can be used.

[0016]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the operations from the substrate transfer to the autofocus and the head cleaning operation are performed simultaneously in parallel, so that the manufacturing is performed in comparison with the conventional case in which these operations are sequentially performed. Tact can be greatly reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, autofocus can be performed only by moving the substrate stage that has received the substrate in the scanning orthogonal direction, so that the time from substrate delivery to completion of autofocus can be reduced. Therefore, by performing the drawing operation by applying the first aspect to the apparatus according to the second aspect, the head cleaning operation from the substrate transfer operation to the autofocus operation of the substrate can be performed at the same time. If the time for head cleaning with a degree of freedom is shortened to a time equal to or less than the time from the delivery of the substrate to the completion of the autofocus, it is possible to further reduce the manufacturing tact.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, even when the first aspect is applied, it is possible to reduce the influence of disturbance generated by the cleaning operation, and to reduce the manufacturing time by applying the first aspect. High-accuracy drawing can be performed without affecting tact.

[0019]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic views of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body platen for mounting the apparatus, 2 denotes a vibration damping table for supporting the main body platen 1 and isolating external vibrations, and 3 denotes a substrate provided on the main body surface plate 1 for moving a substrate. Stage, a XY static pressure guide base used for the substrate stage 3, a yaw guide for static pressure guide used for the substrate stage 3, and an XY actuator 6 for the substrate stage. A linear motor, 7 is a Z-tilt and θ adjustment mechanism for correcting the Z-tilt and θ of the substrate, 8 is a substrate chuck for holding the substrate, 9 is a substrate for forming a color filter, and 10 is R , G, and B colors. Numeral 11 denotes a unitized head unit for facilitating replacement and position adjustment of the drawing heads of three colors, and has a relative position adjusting mechanism for each head. 12 is a head unit chuck for holding the head unit, 13 is an actuator for adjusting the θ of the head unit 11, 14 is a translation stage for adjusting the position of the head unit 11 in the scanning orthogonal direction and replacing the head unit, and 15 is a substrate 9 Optical system for detecting substrate alignment in the X, Y, and θ directions, 16
Denotes a Z detection optical system (autofocus), 17 denotes a cleaning unit for cleaning the head, 1
Reference numeral 8 denotes a cleaning unit for cleaning the cleaning unit 17, and 19 denotes a cleaning unit drive system for moving the cleaning unit 17 to a position below the drawing head 10. The auto focus 16 moves the substrate stage 3 from the substrate transfer position (not shown) at the lower left of FIG.
Direction) and a direction (X-direction) perpendicular to the direction of the auto-focus.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the Z-tilt and θ adjusting mechanism 7. The substrate stage 3 is provided with a Z-tilt actuator and a θ mechanism on an XY movable section. Reference numeral 20 denotes a θ · Z-tilt movable portion, on which the substrate chuck 8 is fixed. 21 is a Z-tilt actuator, 22 is a Z-tilt guide, 23 is a θ rotation direction actuator, 24 is a θ rotation direction guide, and 25 is a mounting plate with an XY movable base.

FIG. 4 shows a substrate processing operation of the color filter manufacturing apparatus shown in FIGS. In the above configuration, when the color filter is manufactured, when the substrate 9 is mounted on the substrate chuck 8 (step S51), the substrate stage 3 moves in the scanning orthogonal direction (X direction) to move the substrate 9 to the autofocus position by the autofocus 16. Move to At the autofocus position, measurement is performed by the autofocus 16 so that the surface of the substrate 9 is horizontal at a predetermined height.
The Z-tilt direction is adjusted by the tilt adjusting mechanism (21, 22) (step S52). Thereafter, the amounts of displacement in the X, Y, and θ3 directions are detected by the alignment detection optical system 15 so that the alignment marks on the substrate 9 are at the reference positions (step 53). This detection may be performed by using a plurality of detection systems for a plurality of marks, or by moving the substrate stage 3 using a single detection system for the plurality of detection marks. Based on this detection result, the deviation of the θ component is
The correction is performed by the θ adjustment mechanism (23, 24) on the substrate stage 3, and the deviation in the X direction is corrected by adjusting the X position of the substrate stage 3 (step 53).

The displacement in the Y direction is performed by adjusting the Y position of the substrate stage 3 in the drawing scanning direction or by controlling the ejection timing from the drawing head 10. After the substrate alignment, a head cap described later is released to perform a drawing operation (step S54). The cleaning of the head cleaning mechanism and the head cap mechanism is simultaneously performed during the drawing operation (step S54) to maintain a clean state (step S55). At the time of discharging and mounting the substrate after drawing is completed (steps S56, S5
A cleaning sequence (Step S57) and a head cap (Step S58) for maintaining the head function are performed in parallel with the focus adjustment of a new substrate (S52) from 1). The head cap is a measure for preventing drying after head cleaning. The broken line in the figure is the flow of the sequence up to now.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the cleaning mechanism of the cleaning unit 17. Reference numeral 30 denotes a sponge-shaped blade corresponding to each of the R, G, and B color heads, reference numeral 31 denotes a blade unit stage that moves the blade 30 in the vertical direction, and reference numeral 32 denotes a blade suction pipe that adjusts the degree of wetness of the blade 30. In the head cleaning sequence, the cleaning unit 17 moves to the lower part of the head 10, and the blade stage 31 rises and moves back and forth (oscillates in the Y direction) at that location, thereby forming a wet sponge-like blade. This is performed by wiping the ejection surface of the head 10 at 30. As the actuator for wiping the head, a linear motion stage may be provided on the blade stage, or the cleaning unit drive system 19 may be used.
Further, in order to wet the blade 30, pure water is applied to the blade 30 by the cleaning unit 18 to flow ink, and the blade 30 is wetted.
0 is cleaned, and the blade is vacuumed by a vacuum pump through the blade suction pipe 32 so that the blade is appropriately moistened. The degree of wetness is adjusted by controlling the vacuum time.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the cleaning unit 18. Reference numeral 33 denotes a cleaning shower unit for applying pure water to the blade 30, and reference numeral 34 denotes a cleaning nozzle. Are located. The cleaning unit 17 is configured to be moved by the cleaning unit drive system 19 and to move under the cleaning unit 18 and under the head 10.

Here, the head cleaning operation is performed in the manner shown in FIG.
As shown in the drawing device operation flow, the process is performed between the discharge of the drawn substrate and the input of the new substrate for each substrate, and the condition of the head surface for each substrate is kept constant. For this reason, if the time required for the cleaning operation becomes longer, the manufacturing tact is affected. According to the apparatus configuration of the present embodiment, it is possible to perform even the autofocus operation of the substrate during the cleaning operation, and it is possible to reduce the manufacturing tact.
In particular, as the size of the glass substrate for producing a color filter increases in the future, the size of the apparatus will increase, and the movement stroke of the cleaning unit will increase.

Actually, in the manufactured drawing apparatus, the stroke in which the cleaning unit moves under the head is one.
The tact time can be reduced by about 200 mm, which takes about 20 seconds including the reciprocating movement time and the cleaning time, by the above-described apparatus configuration.

(Embodiment 2) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described. 7 and 8 are a plan view and a side view schematically showing a color filter manufacturing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 40 denotes a cleaning unit base mount for holding the cleaning unit 17 and the drive system 19 of the cleaning unit, and 41 denotes an escape provided on the main body base 1 to escape contact between the cleaning unit base mount 40 and the main body base 1. The hole, 42 is a cleaning unit support for holding the cleaning unit, 43 is the main body platen 1,
This is a base for positioning the cleaning unit base frame 40 and the cleaning unit support 42.

As shown in FIG.
By connecting the substrate stage 3 and the substrate stage 3 under the anti-vibration table 2, the influence of disturbance caused by the cleaning unit 17 can be reduced, and the auto-focusing of the substrate performed in parallel with the cleaning sequence can be reduced. It is possible to reduce the influence and the effect of cleaning of the cleaning unit performed during the drawing sequence.

When the cleaning unit 17 and the cleaning unit 18 are actually configured on the main body platen 1, when the electromagnetic valve for flowing the pure water of the cleaning unit 18 is turned on and off, an impulse-like vibration ( (Approximately 2 μm in amplitude), but no influence occurred in the device using this configuration.

Here, as in this embodiment, the substrate stage 3
When the cleaning unit 17 is connected under the vibration isolation table 2, the head 6 and the cleaning unit 17 are displaced due to the swing of the vibration isolation table 2, but the amount thereof is 1 mm or less at the maximum, and There is no problem with the effect. If the acceleration (currently 0.1 G) at the time of movement of the substrate stage 3 becomes larger and the vibration is a concern, the vibration is reduced by changing the vibration isolation table 2 from a new fusion (air cushion) to an active damper. It is possible to

As described above, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the effect of disturbance due to the operation of the cleaning unit is reduced by performing the cleaning operation, auto-focusing of the substrate, and cleaning of the cleaning unit, and high-precision drawing is performed. It can be performed without affecting the manufacturing tact.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By performing the head cleaning operation at the same time as the transfer of the substrate and the autofocus operation, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing tact time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of a color filter manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part of the XY stage in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of substrate processing in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a cleaning unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a blade cleaning mechanism for the cleaning unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of a color filter manufacturing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the apparatus shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: body platen, 2: anti-vibration table, 3: substrate stage, 4: base guide, 5: yaw guide, 6: linear motor, 7:
Z-tilt and θ adjustment mechanism, 8: substrate chuck, 9: substrate, 10: drawing head, 11: head unit, 12:
Head unit chuck, 13: Head unit θ actuator, 14: Head unit linear stage, 1
5: substrate alignment detection optical system, 16: autofocus, 17: cleaning unit, 18: cleaning unit, 19: cleaning unit drive system, 20: θ ·
Z-tilt movable part, 21: Z-tilt actuator, 22: Z-tilt guide, 23: θ direction actuator, 24: θ direction guide, 25: XY movable part base mounting plate, 30: blade, 31: blade Unit stage, 32: blade suction pipe, 33: cleaning shower unit, 34: cleaning nozzle, 40: cleaning unit base pedestal, 41: body plate escape hole, 42: cleaning unit support, 43: base.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A colorant is discharged while an inkjet head is relatively scanned with respect to a light-transmitting substrate held on a substrate stage, and a plurality of filter elements colored with the colorant are formed on the substrate. In a color filter manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a color filter by forming side by side, the delivery of the substrate and the auto focus for adjusting the relative height between the substrate and the inkjet head are performed in parallel with the cleaning of the inkjet head. An apparatus for producing a color filter, comprising: 2. The auto-focus sensor according to claim 1, wherein the auto-focus sensor is arranged at a position where the auto-focus can be performed only by moving the substrate stage from a transfer position of the substrate in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction. The color filter manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2. 3. The cleaning mechanism has a movement axis in the same direction as the scanning direction, and its guide and actuator are connected via a vibration isolation table on which the substrate stage and the substrate stage are mounted. The color filter manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. A color filter, wherein a colorant is ejected while an ink jet head is relatively scanned with respect to a light transmissive substrate, and a plurality of filter elements colored with the colorant are arranged on the substrate to form a color filter. An apparatus for manufacturing a color filter for manufacturing, wherein the autofocus sensor for the substrate, the substrate stage holding the substrate is moved only in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction from the transfer position of the substrate, the autofocus An apparatus for manufacturing a color filter, wherein the apparatus is arranged at a position where the color filter can be formed. 5. A colorant is ejected while causing an inkjet head to relatively scan with respect to a light-transmitting substrate held on a substrate stage, and a plurality of filter elements colored with the colorant are formed on the substrate. In a color filter manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a color filter by forming side by side, has a movement axis in the same direction as the scanning direction, the guide and actuator, the substrate stage and the vibration isolation table mounted on the substrate stage An apparatus for manufacturing a color filter, comprising: a cleaning mechanism for the ink-jet head, the cleaning mechanism being connected to the ink-jet head via an ink jet head. 6. The head according to claim 1, wherein the head is a head that discharges ink by using thermal energy, and includes a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy to be applied to the ink. Item 6. A color filter manufacturing apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 5. 7. A colorant is discharged while an ink-jet head is relatively scanned with respect to a light-transmitting substrate held on a substrate stage, and a plurality of filter elements colored with the colorant are formed on the substrate. In a color filter manufacturing method for manufacturing a color filter by forming side by side, the delivery of the substrate and the autofocus for adjusting the relative height between the substrate and the inkjet head are performed in parallel with the cleaning of the inkjet head. A method for manufacturing a color filter, comprising: 8. A color filter manufactured by the color filter manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 or the color filter manufacturing method according to claim 7.