JP2000241787A - Manufacturing device for liquid crystal display device and manufacture therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for grasping a charged state on a substrate after plasma treatment and when the substrate is raised and separated from an electrode after plasma treatment, by providing a counter electrode with a switch for connecting a charge measuring instrument or a micro current measuring instrument. SOLUTION: A counter electrode 2 opposing an electrode on which a substrate 4 is placed acts as a counter electrode during plasma treatment, while it acts as a measuring probe for measuring a surface potential, etc., of the substrate 4 after the plasma treatment. A switch 7 changes over a connection between the counter electrode 2 and a high frequency power source 5 to a connection between the counter electrode 2 and a charge amount measuring instrument 6 or a micro current measuring instrument. The substrate 4 is exposed to plasma treatment in a chamber 1, and the surface of the substrate 4 is charged after the plasma treatment has been completed, therefore, there exists a potential on the substrate 4 due to the charges. Here, when the switch 7 is change over to the charge amount measuring instrument 6 from the high frequency power source 5, it becomes possible to measure the surface of the substrate 4 because there is the counter electrode 2 connected with the charge amount measuring instrument 6 right above the substrate 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device and a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The technology of applying plasma generated in a vacuum chamber to the manufacture of devices has been used very widely in microfabrication such as CVD and doiler etching in the manufacturing process of semiconductors and liquid crystal display devices.

In a process utilizing plasma (particularly, low-temperature plasma), the process controllability is high, so that it is suitable for microfabrication. This is particularly useful in the production of a liquid crystal display device using a substrate larger than a semiconductor.

[0004] However, as the device is miniaturized, the withstand voltage of the device is reduced, and damage to the device by plasma has become a serious problem.

The root of device damage is due to the phenomenon that electric charges are charged on the device surface during plasma processing. In some cases, damage may be caused only by being charged, or damage may be caused when a charged substrate that is not damaged only by being charged is moved up and down by pins or the like.

[0006] The above-mentioned damage situation largely depends on factors such as the material and shape of the device and the process conditions. In the manufacture of a liquid crystal display device, the latter, that is, the moment the charged substrate is lifted and separated from the electrode, is required. Damage often occurs.

In the case of the liquid crystal device, the processing size of the element is larger than that of the semiconductor chip, so that the degree of damage should be low. However, in most cases, an insulating material such as glass is used as the substrate, and the area is also large. Because it ’s relatively large,
It is considered that device damage often occurs when the substrate is lifted away from the electrodes.

In order to reduce such damage to the element, it is important to understand the amount of charge remaining on the substrate after the plasma processing and the behavior of the charge on the substrate when raising and lowering the processed substrate. Yes, that requires some means of monitoring.

As the prior art, there is the following technology.

That is, there are a method of measuring the electric charge remaining on the substrate after the vacuum chamber is brought to the atmospheric pressure after the plasma processing of the product substrate, and a method of measuring the electric charge after removing the substrate from the vacuum chamber by transportation.

Further, the above-mentioned method has a drawback that accurate measurement cannot be performed because the process of atmospheric pressure or transporting affects the charged state on the substrate. No. and JP-A-5-304
As shown in Japanese Patent No. 117, a method of inserting a probe into a vacuum chamber has been considered.

Another method is disclosed in JP-A-9-74124.
As shown in the above item, there has been a method in which a substrate that is easily damaged is intentionally subjected to plasma processing, and the charging state is indirectly grasped from the damage state.

[0013]

As described above, several methods for monitoring the charge amount have been proposed, but each of them has the following problems.

The method of inserting the probe into the apparatus has disadvantages that only a part of the substrate can be measured and that the probe is corroded by gas during plasma processing. A method of scanning the probe over the entire surface of the substrate is also conceivable.However, fluctuations in the charging state due to the scanning itself, discharge damage due to the probe, attenuation of charge during measurement due to the time required for scanning, and leakage from the probe insertion part Other problems are conceivable.

In the case of using a substrate which is easily damaged, when an actual product substrate is used, the trouble and cost are required. In the case of using a substrate in which the pattern and the manufacturing process are simplified, the charging condition is not necessarily required. The problem is that the charge state of the substrate is not always reflected.

The present invention solves the above problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for grasping a charging state on a substrate after plasma processing and when a substrate is lifted off an electrode after plasma processing, and a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device using the apparatus.

[0017]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, comprising: a substrate mounted in a vacuum chamber;
An apparatus that uses plasma generated by applying high-frequency power to at least one electrode, and includes a switch that connects a charge measuring device or a minute current measuring device to a counter electrode.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, comprising: mounting a substrate in a vacuum chamber, including a moving electrode and a counter electrode, and applying high-frequency power to at least one of the electrodes. An apparatus that uses plasma generated by the above-described process, and uses a plasma liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus equipped with a switch for connecting a charge measuring device or a microcurrent measuring device to the counter electrode, and performs processing on the substrate using the plasma. After that, a charge measuring device or a minute current measuring device is connected to the electrode facing the substrate to measure the surface charge amount of the substrate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, comprising: mounting a substrate in a vacuum chamber, including a moving electrode and a counter electrode, and applying high-frequency power to at least one of the electrodes. An apparatus that uses plasma generated by the above-described process, and uses a plasma liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus equipped with a switch for connecting a charge measuring device or a microcurrent measuring device to the counter electrode, and performs processing on the substrate using the plasma. After that, when raising and lowering the substrate with pins etc., a charge measuring device or a minute current measuring device is connected to the electrode facing the substrate, and the surface charge amount of the substrate or the displacement current at the time of lifting and lowering is measured. is there.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, wherein the opposing electrode is electrically divided into a plurality of parts.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the second aspect, wherein a device in which the counter electrode is electrically divided into a plurality is used.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the third aspect, wherein a device in which the counter electrode is electrically divided into a plurality is used.

[0023]

Embodiment 1 One embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

FIG. 1 shows a state before, during, and immediately after plasma processing in a liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a state when the switch 7 is switched from the high frequency power supply 5 to the charge amount measuring device or the minute current measuring device 6 after the plasma processing in the liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus in the embodiment of the present invention is completed. Show.

The reference numerals in FIGS. 1 and 2 are described below.

1 is a chamber for performing a plasma process.

Reference numeral 2 denotes an electrode facing the electrode on which the substrate is placed (hereinafter referred to as a counter electrode), which acts as the counter electrode during the plasma processing, but measures the potential of the substrate surface after the plasma processing. Acts as a probe.

Reference numeral 3 denotes an electrode on which the substrate is placed, which has a role of generating plasma in combination with the counter electrode 2 and holding the substrate.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a substrate. In the case of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, an insulating substrate such as glass is used.

Numeral 5 is a high-frequency power supply, and a commonly used frequency is 13.56 MHz. (Although the high-frequency electrode 5 is connected to the counter electrode 2 in this figure, it may be grounded.) Reference numeral 6 denotes a charge amount measuring device or a minute current measuring device.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a switch for switching the connection between the counter electrode 2 and the high-frequency electrode 5 to the connection between the counter electrode 2 and the charge measuring device or the minute current measuring device 6.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an elevating pin for raising and lowering the substrate when loading and unloading the substrate with a transfer arm or the like.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a pipe for introducing a gas for generating a discharge for performing plasma processing such as etching. The gas is introduced into the chamber 1 through a pipe inside the counter electrode 2.

An automatic pressure controller 10 has a function of maintaining the pressure inside the chamber 1 at a measured value by using, for example, an orifice.

Next, each step of measuring the charge amount will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows the state immediately before the plasma treatment, as described above.
This is a situation during and immediately after the plasma processing.

In FIG. 1, a substrate 4 is exposed to a plasma treatment in a chamber 1. After the plasma processing is completed, the surface of the substrate 4 is charged, so that a potential due to charging exists on the substrate 4.

However, at this time, there is no means for measuring the potential.

Here, the switch 7 is switched from the high-frequency power supply 5 to
FIG. 2 shows a state where the switching to the counter electrode 2 is performed.

In FIG. 2, since the counter electrode 2 connected to the charge amount measuring device 6 exists directly above the substrate 4, the surface potential of the substrate 4 can be measured.

Here, if it takes a long time from when the plasma processing is completed to when the switch is switched, the charge on the substrate may be attenuated or vanished. Therefore, to measure the charge amount immediately after the plasma processing. It is better to switch as quickly as possible.

To further improve the accuracy of the measurement, it is preferable to perform the zero point adjustment. However, as the timing, immediately before the plasma processing, the switch 7 is switched from the high-frequency power supply 5 to the charge amount measuring device 6 so that the zero point is adjusted. After the adjustment, there is a method of immediately reconnecting the switch 7 to the high frequency power supply 5.

Here, an electrode which is electrically divided and subdivided into a plurality may be used as the counter electrode 2.

In this case, a charge amount measuring device or a minute current measuring device is connected for each section.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the counter electrode is divided.

In FIG. 4, when the charge amount is measured, that is, the switch 11 is disconnected from the high frequency power supply 5 and connected to the charge amount measuring device 6 for each of the divided electrodes, and the substrate 4 is raised by the lifting pins 8. Indicates the situation.

Since connecting a large number of measuring instruments increases the cost, a method of performing high-speed time-division measurement of each section may be used.

FIG. 5 shows the embodiment. FIG. 5 shows a switch 12 for switching between plasma processing and charge amount measurement.
And a time-division switch 13 for selecting one of the divided electrodes when measuring the charge amount.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the charge amount is measured, that is, the switch 12 is disconnected from the high frequency power supply 5 and the charge amount
2 shows that the charge amount measuring device 6 is connected to only one of the divided areas of the counter electrode 2 because it is connected to the side.

Here, the time division switch 13 may be a mechanical type or an electronic type as long as it can switch to a plurality of terminals.

As described above, the use of the electrode which is electrically divided and subdivided into a plurality has the advantage that the distribution state of the charged charges in the substrate surface can be grasped.

Embodiment 2 Next, each step of measuring the charge amount will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

FIG. 1 shows the state immediately before the plasma processing, as described above.
This is a situation during and immediately after the plasma processing.

In FIG. 1, the substrate 4 is exposed to plasma by plasma processing in the chamber 1. After the plasma processing is completed, the surface of the substrate 4 is charged, so that a potential due to charging exists on the substrate 4.

However, at this time, there is no means for measuring the potential and the potential change.

Here, the switch 7 is switched from the high-frequency power supply 5 to
FIG. 2 shows a state where the switching to the counter electrode 2 is performed.

In FIG. 2, the surface potential or displacement current of the substrate 4 can be measured because the counter electrode 2 connected to the charge amount measuring device or the minute current measuring device 6 exists directly above the substrate 4. .

Next, FIG. 3 shows a situation in which the lifting pins 8 are raised to raise the substrate 4 and the substrate 4 is separated from the electrodes 3. Since the change in the charge arrangement due to the movement of the charged substrate causes a change in potential and the generation of a displacement current, the amount of charge on the substrate is estimated by measuring these physical amounts using the charge amount measuring device or the minute current measuring device 6. It is possible to do.

Here, an electrode which is electrically divided and divided into a plurality of pieces may be used as the counter electrode 2.

In this case, a charge amount measuring device or a minute current measuring device is connected for each section.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the counter electrode is divided.

In FIG. 4, when the charge amount is measured, that is, the switch 11 is disconnected from the high-frequency power source 5 and connected to the charge amount measuring device 6 for each of the divided electrodes, and the substrate 4 is raised by the lifting pins 8. Indicates the situation.

Since connecting a large number of measuring instruments increases the cost, a method of performing high-speed time division measurement of each section may be used.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment thereof. FIG. 5 shows a switch 12 for switching between plasma processing and charge amount measurement.
And a time-division switch 13 for selecting one of the divided electrodes when measuring the charge amount.

FIG. 5 shows the state of the charge amount measurement, that is, the switch 12 is disconnected from the high frequency power supply 5 and the charge amount
2 shows that the charge amount measuring device 6 is connected to only one of the divided areas of the counter electrode 2 because it is connected to the side.

Here, the time division switch 13 may be a mechanical type or an electronic type as long as it can switch to a plurality of terminals.

As described above, the use of the electrode which is electrically divided and divided into a plurality of parts has an advantage that the distribution state of the charged charges in the substrate surface can be grasped.

As described in the first embodiment, it is preferable to perform the zero point adjustment to further improve the measurement accuracy.
As the timing, there is a method in which the switch 7 is switched from the high frequency power supply 5 to the charge amount measuring device 6 immediately before the plasma processing, the zero point is adjusted, and then the switch 7 is immediately connected to the high frequency power supply 5 again.

[0070]

According to the apparatus and method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element of the present invention, the charge amount of the substrate after the plasma processing can be measured without adversely affecting the substrate to be processed, so that the process conditions of the plasma processing are optimized. It is possible to provide an inexpensive liquid crystal display device by reducing the occurrence of defective products by utilizing it as an evaluation means to perform evaluation and as a monitoring means for preventing charge destruction during production.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a state before, during, and immediately after plasma processing in a liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a switch is switched from a high-frequency power supply to a counter electrode after the plasma processing is completed in the liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the substrate is lifted by lifting pins after the completion of the plasma processing in the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram in a case where a counter electrode is electrically divided into a plurality of units and a plurality of charge amount measuring devices are used in the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram in a case where a counter electrode is electrically divided into a plurality of units and one charge amount measuring device is used in the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Chamber 2 Counter electrode 3 Substrate holding electrode 4 Substrate 5 High frequency power supply 6 Charge amount measuring device 7, 11, 12, 13 Switch 8 Substrate elevating pin 9 Gas introduction piping 10 Pressure regulator

Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 2G036 AA28 BA33 CA00 2H088 FA17 FA18 FA30 HA01 MA20 2H090 JB02 JC09 4K030 CA06 FA03 GA02 GA12 KA15 KA30 KA39 LA18 5F045 AA08 AF07 BB10 CA15 EH04 EH07 EH14 EM10

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus, comprising: a substrate mounted in a vacuum chamber; a moving electrode; and a counter electrode, wherein plasma is generated by applying high-frequency power to at least one of the electrodes. An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device having a switch for connecting a charge measuring device or a minute current measuring device to an electrode. 2. An apparatus comprising: a substrate mounted in a vacuum chamber; a moving electrode; and a counter electrode, wherein plasma is generated by applying high-frequency power to at least one of the electrodes. Using a liquid crystal display device manufacturing device equipped with a switch for connecting a charge measuring device or a minute current measuring device to the electrode, applying plasma to the substrate, and then applying a charge measuring device or a minute amount to the electrode facing the substrate. A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device in which a current measuring device is connected and a surface charge amount of a substrate is measured. 3. An apparatus, comprising: a substrate mounted in a vacuum chamber, a moving electrode, and a counter electrode, wherein plasma is generated by applying high-frequency power to at least one of the electrodes. Using a manufacturing device for a liquid crystal display device equipped with a switch for connecting a charge measuring device or a micro-current measuring device to the electrodes, applying a process to the substrate using plasma, and then moving the substrate up and down with pins etc. A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, in which a charge measuring device or a minute current measuring device is connected to an electrode opposed to the above, and a surface charge amount of the substrate or a displacement current at the time of lifting / lowering is measured. 4. The manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opposing electrode is electrically divided into a plurality. 5. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to claim 2, wherein a manufacturing device in which a counter electrode is electrically divided into a plurality of units is used. 6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the counter electrode is electrically divided into a plurality of units.