JP2000347020A - Production of color filter and exposure device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To produce a color filter having a large area with a uniform opening rate and to improve the display quality by arranging a region to be exposed to light twice in the connecting part of patterns. SOLUTION: A light shielding plate 6 is disposed at a specified position of a photomask 2. A photosensitive layer on a substrate S is first exposed to light from an exposing part through the photomask 2. Then the light shielding plate 6 is shifted to the photomask 2 and the light shielding plate 6 is disposed at a specified position of the photomask by aligning a positioning mark 5b formed in the outer frame 4 of the photomask 2 and the positioning mark 7 of the light-shielding plate 6 by a position detecting device. The light shielding plate 6 is accurately stopped at the position where the part exposed in the first exposure process is partly again exposed in the second exposure process through the opening positioned in the connecting part 3B for exposure of the photomask 2 and that a specified exposure width can be obtained. In this state, the photosensitive layer on the substrate S is subjected to the second exposure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a color filter and an exposure apparatus, and more particularly to a method of manufacturing a color filter used in a large-area color liquid crystal display device and an exposure apparatus which can be used in this method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a monochrome or color liquid crystal display (LCD) has been used as a flat display. Color liquid crystal display devices include an active matrix system and a simple matrix system for controlling three primary colors, and a color filter is used in any of the systems. In the liquid crystal display device, the constituent pixels are composed of the three primary colors (R, G, B), and color display is performed by controlling the transmission of each light of the three primary colors by electrical switching of the liquid crystal.

The color filter includes, for example, three primary color layers of R, G, and B arranged in a predetermined pattern on a glass substrate, and a black matrix located at a boundary between the colored layers. The coloring layer, a dyeing substrate is coated on a glass substrate, a dyeing method for dyeing a pattern formed by exposing and developing via a photomask, a coloring pigment is dispersed in a photosensitive resist in advance, Formed by a pigment dispersion method that exposes and develops through a photomask, a printing method that prints each color with a printing ink, and an electrodeposition method that forms by electrodeposition using a transparent electrode patterned on a glass substrate can do. In addition, as a method of forming a black matrix, a method of etching a metal thin film using a patterned photosensitive resin, a method of etching a resin layer containing light-shielding particles using a patterned photosensitive resin, a method of shielding light, There is a method in which a photosensitive resin layer containing particles is formed, and the photosensitive resin layer is formed by patterning.

[0004] On the other hand, due to the recent demand for a large display screen, substrates used in the manufacture of color filters have shifted to substrates having larger areas. However, as the area of the substrate increases, the size of a photomask and an exposure apparatus used in the manufacturing process also need to be increased, and the limit of the area of the substrate to respond to the increase in the size of the display screen is beginning to be seen.

In order to solve such a problem, a conventional method of manufacturing a color filter using a large-sized photomask or an exposure apparatus corresponding to the area of the substrate has been changed from a conventional method of manufacturing a photomask or an exposure apparatus having a smaller area than the substrate. A method of manufacturing a large-area color filter by forming a pattern of a black matrix or a colored layer on a substrate by using an apparatus and joining them together has been studied.

[0006]

FIG. 8 is a partial plan view showing an example of such a color filter. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the color filter 101 has R, R on the substrate.
The coloring layers 105 of the three primary colors G and B are repeatedly arranged in a predetermined pattern, and a black matrix 103 (hatched portion) is provided at the boundary between the coloring layers. And 1
A color filter 101 formed on a substrate by setting a connecting portion J (indicated by a dashed line) in the black matrix 103a at a location and connecting the patterns of the black matrix and the colored layer at the connecting portion J.
A and 101B constitute a color filter 101.

[0007] The formation of the black matrix 103 in the color filter 101 is performed by first using a photomask having a smaller area than the substrate.
Exposure is performed on the photosensitive layer 106 on the substrate to form a black matrix 103A corresponding to the region (FIG. 9).
(A)). Next, after relatively moving the substrate and the photomask, exposure for forming the black matrix 103B corresponding to the color filter 101B region is performed on the unexposed region of the photosensitive layer 106 (FIG. 9B). . 2 above
By performing the exposure twice, the black matrix 103a located at the joint portion J of the black matrix 103 is exposed twice, so that the black matrix 103
3, the exposure amount is larger than in the other portions, and the line width of the black matrix changes. As a result, the aperture ratio of the portion where the black matrix 103a is present changes, and the aperture ratio of the color filter becomes uneven, and the vicinity of the joint portion J is recognized as a difference in image quality, which is the quality of the display image. There has been a problem of causing a decrease.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and a method of manufacturing a color filter capable of manufacturing a large-screen color liquid crystal display device having excellent display quality. An object of the present invention is to provide an exposure apparatus that can be used.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a method for manufacturing a color filter according to the present invention comprises a substrate, a plurality of coloring layers arranged in a predetermined pattern on the substrate, And a black matrix formed in a non-formation region of the layer, a method for manufacturing a color filter,
Using a photomask having an area smaller than that of the substrate having the opening pattern portion and the outer frame portion around the opening pattern portion, with the part of the opening portion located at the exposure joint portion of the opening pattern portion being shielded by the light shielding plate, A first exposure is performed on the photosensitive layer formed thereon through the photomask, and thereafter, a part of an opening located at another exposure joining portion of the opening pattern portion of the photomask is shielded by a light shielding plate. ,And,
The opening located at the other exposure splicing section is
A photomask and a substrate are relatively moved so as to partially overlap with an opening located at an exposure splicing part of a second exposure, and an exposure step of exposing an unexposed area of the photosensitive layer is provided. The configuration was adopted.

An exposure apparatus according to the present invention includes a photomask having a pattern opening and an outer frame around the pattern opening, a light shielding plate movably disposed with respect to the photomask, and A substrate mounting table movably arranged,
A configuration is provided that includes a position detection device for stopping the light shielding plate at a predetermined position with respect to the photomask, and an exposure unit.

Further, the photomask has alignment marks at two or more predetermined positions on an outer frame portion, the light shielding plate has alignment marks, and the position detecting device has a photomask mark and a light shielding mark. The light shielding plate is stopped at a predetermined position with respect to the photomask by detecting a mark on the plate, or the position detection device is provided with a laser interferometer.

[0012] It should be noted that the apparatus may be provided with a substrate position detecting device for stopping the substrate mounted on the substrate mounting table at a predetermined position with respect to the photomask.

According to the present invention, when the pattern exposure of the small area is connected to form the pattern exposure of the large area, the portion of the connecting portion that is exposed a plurality of times is smaller than the pattern width.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Exposure Apparatus FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of an exposure apparatus according to the present invention, wherein (A) and (B) show operating states, respectively, and FIG. 2 shows the operation of FIG. It is a front view of the exposure apparatus in a state. 1 and 2, the exposure apparatus 1 includes a photomask 2, a light shielding plate 6, a substrate mounting table 8, a position detection device 9A,
9B and an exposure unit 10.

The photomask 2 has a pattern opening 3 in which an opening for forming a black matrix is formed in a predetermined pattern, and an outer frame 4 provided around the pattern opening 3. Exposure joining portions 3A and 3B are set at the ends (both ends in the direction of arrow a in the illustrated example) of the pattern opening 3. Further, in the illustrated example, alignment marks 5a and 5b are provided at four predetermined positions of the outer frame portion 4 of the photomask 2 (the two positions at both ends in the direction of arrow a). Marks 5a and 5b may be provided).

The light shielding plate 6 is provided so as to be movable in the direction of arrow a with respect to the photomask 2. As a driving means of the light-shielding plate 6, the light-shielding plate 6 is screwed into a ball screw (not shown) disposed along the direction of arrow a, and the ball screw is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown). There is no particular limitation, such as a configuration for moving on a guide rail (not shown) arranged along the direction of arrow a. The light-shielding plate 6 is provided with a mark 7 for positioning, and the mark 7 and the mark 5a for positioning the photomask 2 described above.
When the light-shielding plate 6 is stopped at a position where the light-shielding plate 6 matches (FIG. 1A) or a position where the mark 5b matches (FIG. 1B), the light-shielding plate 6 Exposure splicing portions 3A and 3 of the two pattern openings 3
It is configured to shield a part of the opening located at B. The material of the light-shielding plate 6 is preferably a material having a light-shielding property and not generating scattered light, for example, a metal plate subjected to black alumite treatment.

The substrate mounting table 8 is disposed so as to be movable in the direction of arrow a with respect to the photomask 2. Substrate mounting table 8
The driving means may have the same configuration as the driving means for the light shielding plate 6 described above, and is not particularly limited. The holding mechanism for the substrate S may be a suction holding method, a mechanical holding method, or a combination thereof. There is no particular limitation.

The position detecting devices 9A and 9B are provided with positioning marks 5 provided on the photomask 2 respectively.
a, 5b. These position detecting devices 9A and 9B transmit a signal to a control device (not shown) when the alignment mark 7 of the light shielding plate 6 matches the mark 5a or the mark 5b of the photomask 2. The control device stops the driving device of the light shielding plate 6 immediately. Thus, the light-shielding plate 6 can be accurately stopped at a predetermined position with respect to the photomask 2, and the openings of the photomask 2 located at the exposure joint portions 3 </ b> A and 3 </ b> B are partially shielded by the light-shielding plate 6. Can be performed accurately. As such position detecting devices 9A and 9B, halogen lamps and lens lamps (for example, manufactured by Hamai Light Bulb Co., Ltd.) and CCD cameras (for example, TV camera WV-CD50 manufactured by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.)
Can be used.

The exposure apparatus 1 is provided with a position detecting device (not shown) for detecting the position of the substrate S with respect to the photomask 2 so that the substrate S can be accurately positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the photomask 2. Can be stopped.

FIG. 3 is a front view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing another embodiment of the exposure apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 3, an exposure apparatus 1 ′ includes a photomask 2 ′, a light shielding plate 6 ′, a substrate mounting table 8,
It includes position detection devices 9 ′ A and 9 ′ B and an exposure unit 10.

The exposure apparatus 1 'includes a photomask 2',
The light-shielding plate 6 'is different from the above-described exposure apparatus 1 in that each of the light-shielding plates 6' has no alignment mark. The position detecting devices 9'A and 9'B are constituted by laser interferometers,
The light shielding plate 6 ′ movable in the direction of the arrow a with respect to the photomask 2 ′ is provided with the exposure joining portion 3
When it reaches a position where a part of the opening located at A and 3B is shielded with a predetermined width, it is arranged at a position where it is accurately detected. In FIG. 3, the position detection devices 9'A and 9'B are located on the side surface of the light shielding plate 6 '. Further, as such position detecting devices 9′A and 9′B,
A laser interferometer such as an ultra-high precision laser displacement meter (manufactured by Keyence Corporation) can be used.

Further, the exposure apparatus of the present invention may include a substrate position detecting device for stopping the substrate mounted on the substrate mounting table at a predetermined position with respect to the photomask. In this case, as the substrate position detecting device, a device including the above-described laser interferometer can be used.

The method for producing a color filter Then, a method for producing a color filter of the present invention, illustrating the case of using the above exposure apparatus of the present invention as an example.

According to the method of manufacturing a color filter of the present invention, a large area color filter is manufactured by forming a pattern of a black matrix or a colored layer on a substrate using a photomask smaller than the area of the substrate. Is what you do. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of such a color filter manufactured according to the present invention. In FIG. 4, a color filter 11 includes a pattern portion 12 made of a black matrix or a colored layer on a large-sized substrate S. The pattern portion 12 is formed by connecting the pattern portion 12A and the pattern portion 12B at the connection portion J by performing a plurality of exposures (two times in the illustrated example) using a photomask smaller than the substrate S. are doing.

The formation of the pattern portion 12 will be described by taking as an example the pattern exposure for a black matrix on the photosensitive layer provided on the substrate S using the exposure apparatus 1 of the present invention. In this exposure, first, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 5, the light shielding plate 6 is positioned at a predetermined position of the photomask 2. In this case, the alignment mark 5a formed on the outer frame portion 4 of the photomask 2 and the alignment mark 7 of the light shielding plate 6 are matched by the position detection device 9A. In this state, the plurality of openings 3 for forming the black matrix of the pattern openings 3 of the photomask 2 are formed.
Part of the opening 3 ′ a located at the exposure joining portion 3 </ b> A at the right end of the drawing is shielded by the light shielding plate 6 at a predetermined width W <b> 2. Further, the substrate mounting table 8 is also accurately positioned so that the substrate S becomes the first exposure position with respect to the photomask 2. In this state, a first exposure is performed on the photosensitive layer on the substrate S from the exposure unit 10 via the photomask 2.

Next, the light-shielding plate 6 is moved with respect to the photomask 2, and the alignment marks 5 b formed on the outer frame 4 of the photomask 2 and the alignment marks 7 of the light-shielding plate 6 are aligned. The position is matched by the position detecting device 9B, and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG.
At a predetermined position. In this state, of the plurality of openings 3a (opening width W1) for forming the black matrix of the pattern openings 3 included in the photomask 2, the opening 3 ″ located at the exposure joint 3B at the left end in the drawing.
Part of “a” is shielded by the light shielding plate 6 with a predetermined width W′2. The shielding width W′2 may be the same as or different from the shielding width W2. Further, the substrate mounting table 8 is moved with respect to the photomask 2, and the portion exposed by the opening 3'a located at the exposure joint 3A of the photomask 2 in the first exposure is used in the second exposure. Opening 3 ″ located at exposure joint 3B of photomask 2
The exposure is stopped at a position where exposure is partially overlapped by a and the exposure width becomes W1. In this state, a second exposure is performed on the photosensitive layer on the substrate S from the exposure unit 10 via the photomask 2.

By such two exposures, as shown in FIG. 7, the photosensitive layer 16 on the substrate S is exposed to a plurality of black matrix exposure patterns exposed at the line width W1 by the first exposure. And a pattern portion 12B composed of a plurality of black matrix exposure patterns exposed at the line width W1 by the second exposure are formed by a connection portion J. And, the joining portion J has a shielding width W2, W'2
Are exposed twice for a black matrix having a line width W1. A double exposure portion having a line width W3 is present at the center of the joining portion. As described above, although there is a portion to be exposed twice in the joining portion J, the line width (W3) of this portion is smaller than the pattern width W1, and the exposure amount is larger than the other portions. The effect on the pattern width is extremely small. Therefore, the line width of the black matrix formed after the development becomes uniform, thereby making it possible to manufacture a color filter having an even aperture ratio.

[0029]

Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples. 550mm × as substrate for color filter
A glass substrate (Corning 7059 glass) with a thickness of 650 mm and a thickness of 1.1 mm was prepared. A negative type photosensitive composition for a black matrix having the following composition was applied on the entire surface of one side of the glass substrate by a spin coating method and dried to form a photosensitive layer (thickness: 1.0 μm).

(Photosensitive composition for black matrix) Titanium black 13R (manufactured by Mitsubishi Materials Corporation) 23 parts by weight Sorbitan fatty acid ester-based dispersant 1.5 parts by weight Acrylic resin polymer and dipentaerythritol Resin consisting of hexaacrylate (DPHA) ... 5 parts by weight Initiator consisting of Irgacure 369 (manufactured by Ciba Geigy), DETX-S (manufactured by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.) and biimidazole ... 2.3 parts by weight-Propylene glycol monomethyl Ether acetate: 68.2 parts by weight

Next, a photomask having a pattern opening in which openings (opening width W1 = 50 μm) for forming a black matrix were formed at a pitch of 200 μm was mounted on an exposure apparatus of the present invention as shown in FIG. Further, the glass substrate on which the photosensitive layer was formed as described above was held on a substrate mounting table.

Next, a light-shielding plate is positioned with respect to the photomask, and as shown in FIG. 5, an opening located at one of the exposure joining portions among a plurality of openings for forming a black matrix of the photomask. The portion was shielded by a light shielding plate (shielding width W2 = 20 μm). Then, a first exposure was performed on the photosensitive layer on the glass substrate through a photomask with an ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp.

Next, the light-shielding plate is moved with respect to the photomask to perform alignment, and as shown in FIG. 6, of the plurality of openings for forming a black matrix of the photomask, another exposure joining portion is formed. Was shielded by a light-shielding plate (shielding width W′2 = 20 μm). Also,
The substrate mounting table is moved with respect to the photomask, and the exposure joint portion of the first exposure region is exposed by the opening located at the exposure joint portion of the photomask in the second exposure, and the exposure is performed. The width is 50 μm (= W
The glass substrate was accurately stopped at the position 1). Then, a second exposure was performed on the photosensitive layer on the glass substrate through a photomask with an ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp.

Thereafter, development was performed, and a curing treatment was performed at 230 ° C. for 0.5 hour to form a black matrix on the glass substrate. The line width of this black matrix was 50 ± 1.0 μm in the joint portion and 50 ± 0.2 μm in other regions. From these results, it was confirmed that a black matrix having extremely high line width accuracy can be formed on a large-sized glass substrate.

On the other hand, as a comparison, the same as above, except that the opening positioned at the exposure joint was not shielded by the shielding plate, and the exposure width was 50 μm (= W1) at the exposure joint. Exposure was performed twice.

Thereafter, development and curing were performed in the same manner as described above to form a black matrix on the glass substrate. The line width at the joining portion of the black matrix is 54 μm, which is larger than the line width of 50 μm in other regions, and the obtained large-area glass substrate has an uneven aperture ratio of the black matrix. Met.

[0037]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, there is a portion to be exposed twice at the joint portion of the pattern, and the width of this portion is smaller than the pattern width. The effect on the pattern width due to the fact that the amount of exposure is greater than that of the other portions is extremely small, which enables the manufacture of a large-area color filter with an even aperture ratio and a large screen with excellent display quality. This makes it possible to manufacture a color liquid crystal display device. Further, since the exposure apparatus of the present invention includes a position detection device that stops the light shielding plate at a predetermined position with respect to the photomask,
A part of the opening located at the exposure joint portion of the photomask can be shielded with high accuracy by the light-shielding plate, so that the method for manufacturing a color filter of the present invention can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of an exposure apparatus according to the present invention, wherein (A) and (B) each show an operation state.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the exposure apparatus in the operation state of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing another embodiment of the exposure apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a color filter manufactured by the method for manufacturing a color filter of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows 1 in the method for manufacturing a color filter of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a partial plan view showing a positional relationship between a photomask and a light shielding plate at the time of a second exposure.

FIG. 6 shows 2 in the method for manufacturing a color filter of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a partial plan view showing a positional relationship between a photomask and a light shielding plate at the time of a second exposure.

FIG. 7 is a partial plan view showing an exposure pattern of a photosensitive layer exposed by the method of manufacturing a color filter of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partial plan view showing a pattern of a black matrix and a colored layer formed by a conventional color filter manufacturing method.

FIG. 9 is a partial plan view showing an exposure pattern of a photosensitive layer exposed by a conventional color filter manufacturing method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1 'Exposure device 2, 2' Photomask 3 Pattern opening 3A, 3B Exposure joint 3a, 3'a, 3 "a Opening 4 Outer frame 5a, 5b Positioning Mark 6, 6 '... light shielding plate 7 ... mark for alignment 8 ... substrate mounting table 9A, 9B, 9'A, 9'B ... position detection device 10 ... exposure unit 11 ... color filter 12, 12A, 12B … Pattern part J… Connecting part S… Substrate

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H048 BA00 BA45 BB02 BB14 BB42 2H091 FA02Y FA35Y FC10 FC29 FC30 LA12 2H097 GB00 JA01 KA03 KA12 KA20 LA17

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a color filter comprising a substrate, a plurality of colored layers arranged in a predetermined pattern on the substrate, and a black matrix formed in a region where no colored layer is formed, comprising: Using a photomask that has a smaller area than the substrate that has an outer frame part around it and a part of the opening located at the exposure splicing part of the opening pattern part is formed on the substrate with the light shielding plate blocking part of the opening The first exposure is performed on the photosensitive layer through the photomask, and thereafter, a part of an opening located at another exposure joining portion of the opening pattern of the photomask is shielded by a light shielding plate, and
The opening located at the other exposure splicing section is
Having an exposure step of relatively moving the photomask and the substrate so as to partially overlap with the opening located at the exposure joining portion of the second exposure, and exposing an unexposed area of the photosensitive layer. Characteristic color filter manufacturing method. 2. A photomask having a pattern opening and an outer frame around the pattern opening, a light-shielding plate movably disposed with respect to the photomask, and movably disposed with respect to the photomask. An exposure device, comprising: a mounted substrate mounting table; a position detection device for stopping the light shielding plate at a predetermined position with respect to the photomask; and an exposure unit. 3. The photomask includes alignment marks at two or more predetermined locations on an outer frame portion, the light-shielding plate includes alignment marks, and the position detection device includes a photomask mark and a light-shielding mark. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the light shielding plate is stopped at a predetermined position with respect to the photomask by detecting a mark on the plate. 4. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the position detection device includes a laser interferometer.