JP2001337316A - Method for forming protective layer, method for forming alignment layer, liquid crystal device and electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new method for forming a protective layer which enables to reduce the quantity of raw materials and to improve the production efficiency and to form the protective layer for driving circuit protection only on a specified region on a substrate surface, and to provide a method for forming alignment layers, which enables to form uniform alignment layers without alignment defect only in specified regions on the substrate surfaces. SOLUTION: The protective layer 37 is formed only in specified regions including regions where at least a data line driving circuit 31 and a scanning line driving circuit 32 are formed on a surface of a substrate 11 using an ink-jet method. Preferably the protective layer 37 is formed only on a region outside a sealant 14 and no longer formed on a region where terminals 36 for connecting external circuits are formed. The alignment layers 18, 19 are formed only on regions including at least a pixel region 30 and further inside the sealant 14 on the surfaces of the substrates 11, 12 using the ink-jet method.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for forming a protective film for protecting a driving circuit, a method for forming an alignment film, a liquid crystal device, and an electronic apparatus. And a technology for forming a protective film for protecting a drive circuit and an alignment film only in a predetermined region.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 13 and 14 show a conventional liquid crystal device 100 for a projection type display using a TFT (Thin-Film Transistor) element as a switching element, respectively.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional structure and a schematic plan structure when the liquid crystal device 100 is cut in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction with respect to a substrate surface.
Will be described. FIG. 15 shows the liquid crystal device 1.
1 shows a schematic plan structure in which a part of a substrate (lower substrate) 110 of FIG. FIG. 13 shows A10-A10 ′ of FIG.
FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A20-A20 ′ of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 13, a substrate (lower substrate) 1
10 and a counter substrate (upper substrate) 120 are sealing materials 140
Are adhered at predetermined intervals through the substrate 110, the counter substrate 1
The liquid crystal layer 130 is sandwiched between the two. Although not shown in FIG. 13, optical elements such as a polarizing plate and a retardation plate are attached outside the substrate 110 and the counter substrate 120.

As shown in FIG. 14, a sealing material 140 is formed between the peripheral portions of the substrate 110 and the counter substrate 120. A liquid crystal injection hole 140A for injecting liquid crystal is formed in a part of the sealing material 140. After the liquid crystal is injected between the substrate 110 and the counter substrate 120 through the liquid crystal injection hole 140A, the liquid crystal injection hole 140A is It is sealed by the sealing material 140B. Although not shown in FIG. 14, the counter substrate 120 has substantially the same contour as the sealing material 140 and is disposed on the sealing material 140.

[0005] The structure of a portion of the liquid crystal device 100 inside the seal member 140 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 13, a sealing material 140 is provided on the upper surface (the liquid crystal layer 130 side) of the substrate 110 in the drawing.
A pixel electrode 150, a scanning line 220, and a TFT to be described later
The element 200 and the like are formed, and the pixel electrode 150, the scanning line 2
20, on the liquid crystal layer 130 side of the TFT element 200, an alignment film 180 for aligning the liquid crystal layer 130 in a predetermined direction is formed. Hereinafter, the pixel electrode 150 and the TFT element 2
The area where 00 is formed is referred to as a pixel area 300. On the other hand, on the lower surface (the liquid crystal layer 130 side) surface of the counter substrate 120, a common electrode 170 and an alignment film 190 are sequentially laminated in a region inside the sealing material 140.

The structure of the surface of the substrate 110 in the pixel region 300 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, scanning lines 220 and data lines 160 are arranged in a matrix on the
Each pixel is arranged according to the intersection between 0 and the data line 160, and each pixel is provided with a pixel electrode 150 and a TFT element 200 for driving each pixel electrode 150.

Next, the structure of the portion of the liquid crystal device 100 outside the seal member 140 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 14, a data line driving circuit 310 for driving the data line 160 is provided on the surface of the substrate 110 in a lower region outside the seal member 140 in the drawing. The data lines 160 and the data line driving circuit 310 are electrically connected via a plurality of omitted wirings. In addition, on the surface of the substrate 110, a scanning line driving circuit 320 for driving the scanning line 220 is provided in a region on the left side and the right side outside the sealing member 140 in the drawing, and a plurality of the drawing lines are omitted. The scanning line 220 and the scanning line driving circuit 320 are electrically connected via the wiring. In addition, the scanning line driving circuits 320 provided at two places on the left and right in the figure are connected on the surface of the substrate 110 via a plurality of wirings 330 provided in an upper area shown outside the sealant 140.

The data line driving circuit 310 and the scanning line driving circuit 320 are electrically connected to a plurality of external circuit connection terminals 360 via a plurality of wirings 340 and 350. The external circuit connection terminal 360 is connected to an ACF (anisotropic cond
Through an electrically conductive material such as uctive film), it is electrically connected to an external circuit (not shown).

[0013] As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, a protective film 370 for protecting the data line drive circuit 310 and the scan line drive circuit 320 is provided on the data line drive circuit 310 and the scan line drive circuit 320. Is formed.

Further, as shown in FIG.
In the corners of 0, a conductive material 380 made of an adhesive made of the same material as the sealing material 140 and a large number of conductive particles sealed in the adhesive is provided, and is formed on the surface of the counter substrate 120. The common electrode 170 is connected to the conductive material 3
80 is electrically connected. The conductive material 380 is electrically connected to some of the external circuit connection terminals 360 via the wiring 390.

In the above liquid crystal device 100, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 14, the protective film 370 is formed only on a predetermined area including at least the area where the data line driving circuit 310 and the scanning line driving circuit 320 are formed on the surface of the substrate 110, and is formed on other portions. Is not formed.
That is, the protective film 310 is formed outside the sealing material 140,
In addition, it is formed only in a region not including a region where the external circuit connection terminal 360 is formed. 13 and 14, the protective film 310 is formed only on the driving circuits 310 and 320, but the wirings 330, 340, 350 and 3
Desirably, it is formed also on the upper surface 90.

A conventional method for forming the protective film 370 will be briefly described. FIGS. 16A to 16C show a conventional protective film 370.
Is shown. FIGS. 16A to 16C are schematic sectional views.

A pixel electrode 150, a scanning line 220, a TFT element 200 and the like are formed in a pixel region 300, and a sealing material 1 is formed.
The data line driving circuit 310, the scanning line driving circuit 320, the external connection terminal 36
FIG. 16A shows the substrate 110 on which 0 is formed.

Next, as shown in FIG.
A photosensitive polymer film 370A made of a photosensitive polyimide or the like is formed on the entire surface of the surface of the “0”.

By forming the photosensitive polymer film 370A into a predetermined pattern by photolithography, at least the data line driving circuit 310 and the scanning line are formed on the surface of the substrate 110 as shown in FIG. The protection film 370 is formed only in a predetermined region including the region where the line drive circuit 320 is formed.

In the above-described liquid crystal device 100, as shown in FIG.
0, it is formed on almost the entire surface of the counter substrate 120.
Therefore, in the region outside the sealing material 140, the orientation film 180 is covered with the protective film 370 and the external circuit connection terminal 36.
It is also formed on zero. The alignment films 180 and 19 are also provided between the substrate 110 and the counter substrate 120 and the sealant 140.
0 is formed.

A conventional method for forming the alignment films 180 and 190 will be briefly described. Since the method for forming the alignment film 180 and the alignment film 190 are the same, the method for forming the alignment film 180 will be described with reference to the alignment film 180. FIG. 17 (a) to (d)
Next, a conventional process for forming the alignment film 180 will be described. Fig. 17 (a)
(D) is a schematic sectional view.

The substrate 110 on which the protective film 370 is formed is shown in FIG.
This is shown in FIG. FIG. 17 (a) is the same as the diagram shown in FIG. 16 (c), and a description thereof will be omitted.

An oriented polymer obtained by dissolving an oriented polymer such as an oriented polyimide in a predetermined single solvent or a mixed solvent by a screen printing method or the like over the entire surface of the substrate 110 shown in FIG. The solution is applied to form an oriented polymer solution film 180A as shown in FIG. next,
As shown in FIG. 17C, the oriented polymer solution film 180A
Is dried to remove the solvent contained in the oriented polymer solution film 180A to form the oriented polymer film 180B.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 17D, the surface of the oriented polymer film 180B is rubbed (rubbed) with a rubbing roller to form the oriented film 180.

An alignment film 190 is similarly formed, and is formed on the entire surface of the counter substrate 120 on which the common electrode 170 is formed.

[0024]

The above liquid crystal device 100
Data line driving circuit 31 on the surface of the substrate 110 of FIG.
0, the scanning line driving circuit 320 is formed only in a region outside the sealing material 140, as shown in FIG.
However, as described above, when the protective film 370 is formed by the photolithography method, after forming the photosensitive polymer film 370A over almost the entire surface of the substrate 110, most of the photosensitive polymer film 370A is formed. Need to be photo-etched. Therefore, there are many steps in forming the protective film, and there is a problem that the production efficiency is poor. In addition, a large amount of the photosensitive polymer is required, and most of the polymer is discarded, so that there is a problem that the cost of raw materials is high and the environment is not preferable.

If the protection film 370 is formed on the entire surface of the substrate 110 without forming the protection film 370 in a predetermined pattern, the production process can be shortened. Also, a protective film 370 is formed. The thickness of the protective film 370 is about 1 to 4 × 10 ⁻⁶ m and 20 to 20 × 10 ⁻⁶ m.
It is thicker than the alignment films 180 and 190 having a thickness of about 100 × 10 ⁻⁹ m.

Therefore, the protective film 370 having no conductivity
Is formed on the external circuit connection terminal 360, it is not easy to remove the protective film 370 on the external connection terminal 360, and the external circuit connection terminal 360 may be electrically connected to an external circuit. There is a risk that it will not be possible.

In the case where the protective film 370 is formed on the entire surface of the substrate 110 without being formed in a predetermined pattern,
It is not possible to reduce the amount of raw materials.

Therefore, the present inventor believes that the protective film 370 must be formed in a predetermined pattern instead of being formed on the external circuit connection terminal 360.

In the above-described conventional method of forming the alignment film 180, the region outside the formation region 140C of the sealing material 140 on the surface of the substrate 110 before the formation of the alignment film 180 is formed as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 17 (b) and 17 (c), since a number of steps are formed,
In a region outside the formation region 140C of the sealing material 140, a number of steps are formed in the oriented polymer solution film 180A or the oriented polymer film 180B.

Therefore, after forming the oriented polymer film 180B, when the oriented polymer film 180B is rubbed by a rubbing roller, the oriented polymer film 180B at these steps is also rubbed by the rubbing roller. At this time, a part of the orienting polymer film 180B at the step portion may be peeled off. As a result, after forming the alignment film 180,
In the step of cleaning the substrate 110, the peeled oriented polymer film 180B is moved along the flow of the cleaning liquid to form the pixel region 30.
0 and remains on the alignment film 180 within the alignment film 180.
Of the liquid crystal device 100 may be deteriorated.

When the alignment films 180 and 190 are formed, as described above, when an alignment polymer solution is applied to the entire surface of the substrate 110 and the counter substrate 120 by a screen printing method, the screen is Substrate 110, counter substrate 1
20, dust and the like that have adhered to the screen adhere to the substrate 110 and the opposite substrate 120, and the substrate 110,
The opposite substrate 120 may be contaminated, and the performance of the liquid crystal device 100 may be deteriorated.

Further, as described above, the alignment films 180, 1
When the substrate 90 and the counter substrate 120 are formed over the entire surface of the substrate 110 and the counter substrate 120, in the liquid crystal device 100, the alignment film 180 is disposed between the substrate 110 and the counter substrate 120 and the sealant 140.
190 are formed. The sealing material 140 is made of a thermosetting or photocurable adhesive such as an epoxy-based adhesive, and thus has excellent moisture proof properties. However, since the alignment films 180 and 190 are made of polyimide or the like, they have moisture permeability. Therefore, moisture in the outside air from the outside of the liquid crystal device 100
There is a possibility that the permeation of the alignment films 180 and 190 formed between the counter substrate 120 and the sealant 140 and the mixing of moisture into the liquid crystal layer 130 may deteriorate the performance of the liquid crystal device 100.

In the case where the alignment film 180 is formed on the entire surface of the substrate 110 as described above,
In the above, the alignment film 18 is also provided on the external circuit connection terminal 360.
0 is formed. Therefore, the external circuit connection terminal 3
When electrically connecting 60 to an external circuit via a conductive material such as ACF, a step of removing alignment film 180 formed on external circuit connection terminal 360 and having no conductivity is required, and the There is a possibility that the efficiency of the process of mounting the device 100 on the electronic device may be reduced.

Therefore, the present inventor has proposed that the alignment films 180, 19
It is considered that it is desirable to form 0 only in a region inside the sealing material 140.

When the alignment films 180 and 190 are formed by photolithography, a photosensitive polymer is used as the alignment polymer, and the photosensitive alignment polymer is coated on the entire surface of the substrate 110 and the counter substrate 120. After forming the film, by forming the film into a predetermined pattern by photoetching, the alignment films 180 and 190 can be formed only in the region inside the sealant 140.

However, when photo-etching the oriented polymer film, the surface of the oriented polymer film which eventually becomes the orientation films 180 and 190 without being etched is damaged,
The alignment films 180 and 190 cannot be formed uniformly,
Poor alignment may occur in the alignment films 180 and 190.

The above problem is not limited to a liquid crystal device using a TFT element, but may be a simple matrix type liquid crystal device or a liquid crystal device using a two-terminal type element such as a TFD (Thin Film Diode) element. This is a problem that occurs in any liquid crystal device.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a protection method that enables a reduction in the amount of raw materials and an improvement in production efficiency, and enables a protective film for protecting a drive circuit to be formed only in a predetermined region on the surface of a substrate. It is an object to provide a method for forming a film.

Further, the present invention solves the above problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for forming an alignment film that enables a uniform alignment film without alignment defects to be formed only in a predetermined region on a substrate surface.

Further, by providing the alignment film and the protective film formed by the method for forming the alignment film and the method for forming the protective film, the amount of raw materials can be reduced and the production efficiency can be improved. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal device which can be formed only in a predetermined region on a surface and can be formed only on the inner side of a sealing material without an alignment defect, and has good performance and excellent display quality. And

Further, it is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic device having a high performance and a high display quality by enabling the saving of raw materials and the improvement of production efficiency by providing the liquid crystal device.

[0042]

Means for Solving the Problems A first means taken by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems is that at least a drive circuit and an external circuit connection terminal for connecting the drive circuit to an external circuit are provided. A method for forming a protective film for protecting the drive circuit on a surface of a substrate provided, comprising a predetermined area including at least a region where the drive circuit is formed on the surface of the substrate by an inkjet method. A step of forming a polymer solution film by applying a polymer solution in which a polymer is dissolved in a solvent to only the region, and a step of drying and removing a solvent contained in the polymer solution film to form a protective film And characterized in that:

Further, on the surface of the substrate, the drive circuit and the external circuit connection terminal are arranged so that the substrate and the other substrate are opposed to each other and are adhered at a predetermined interval, so that a peripheral portion of the substrate is provided. And is formed in a region outside a formation region of a sealant formed between the peripheral portion of the other substrate and the predetermined region on the surface of the substrate,
It is characterized by belonging to a region outside the region where the sealing material is formed and a region not including the region where the external circuit connection terminal is formed.

According to the above means, by adopting the ink jet method and forming the polymer solution film only on a predetermined area on the surface of the substrate, the area on the surface of the substrate where the drive circuit is formed is formed. It is possible to provide a method for forming a protective film that enables a protective film for protecting a drive circuit to be formed only in a predetermined region including:

According to this method, when forming the protective film for protecting the drive circuit, it is not necessary to form the polymer solution film on the entire surface of the substrate, and the polymer film is etched. Therefore, it is possible to provide a method for forming a protective film, which can reduce the amount of raw materials and improve production efficiency. Further, according to this method, when forming a protective film for protecting the drive circuit, there is no need to use a photosensitive polymer as in the photolithography method, so that the raw material is not limited, and the raw material can be manufactured at low cost. Can be achieved.

The protective film for protecting the drive circuit is formed only on the surface of the substrate outside the region where the sealing material is formed, and is formed on the region where the external circuit connection terminals are formed. Desirably not. By forming the protective film in this manner, the amount of raw materials can be reduced, and since the protective film is not formed on the external circuit connection terminal, the external circuit connection terminal is electrically connected to the external circuit. The process becomes easy.

In the above means, it is desirable that the viscosity of the polymer solution is not more than 10 × 10 ⁻³ Pa · s. Further, the viscosity of the polymer solution is 3-4 × 10 ^−3.
More preferably, it is Pa · s.

It is preferable that the concentration of the polymer in the polymer solution is 50 g / L or less.

Further, in the above-mentioned means, in the step of forming the polymer solution film, one or a plurality of ink jet nozzles for discharging droplets of the polymer solution are used.

The viscosity of the polymer solution is 10 × 10^-3Pa · s
Hereinafter, more preferably, 3 to 4 × 10 ^-3Pa · s, high
The concentration of the polymer in the molecular solution is set to 50 g / L or less.
Stable and continuous from the inkjet nozzle
This makes it possible to discharge droplets of the polymer solution. Also,
By using multiple inkjet nozzles,
Since the polymer solution film can be formed efficiently,
Shortening the process of forming a protective film to protect circuits
Can be

A second means taken by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problem is a method of forming an alignment film for aligning liquid crystal in a predetermined direction on the surface of a substrate. A step of forming an oriented polymer solution film by applying an oriented polymer solution in which an oriented polymer is dissolved in a given solvent to at least a predetermined area including at least a pixel area on the surface of the substrate; Drying the solvent contained in the oriented polymer solution film to form an oriented polymer film.

According to this means, by adopting an ink-jet method and forming an oriented polymer solution film only on a predetermined region on the surface of the substrate, a predetermined region including at least a pixel region is formed on the surface of the substrate. It is possible to provide a method for forming an alignment film that enables the formation of the alignment film only in the region.

Also, by employing the ink jet method, only the droplets of the oriented polymer solution come into contact with the substrate, so that the substrate can be oriented on the surface of the substrate without contaminating the substrate unlike the conventional screen printing method. The conductive polymer solution can be applied.

In addition, since the step of etching the oriented polymer film is not required by adopting the ink jet method, an oriented film having no alignment defect without damaging the oriented film can be formed on the surface of the substrate. Can be formed only in the region.

In the above means, the region for forming the oriented polymer solution film is formed on the surface of the substrate so that the substrate and the other substrate are opposed to each other and adhered at a predetermined interval. Desirably, it belongs to a region inside a formation region of a sealing material formed between a peripheral portion and a peripheral portion of the other substrate.

In this case, since the oriented polymer film is formed only in the region inside the seal material forming region having a small step, the rubbing of the oriented polymer film is
Since the alignment polymer film can be prevented from being peeled, poor alignment of the alignment film can be prevented.

In the above means, the viscosity of the oriented polymer solution is desirably 10 × 10 ⁻³ Pa · s or less. Further, the viscosity of the oriented polymer solution is 3 to
More preferably, it is 4 × 10 ⁻³ Pa · s.

In the above means, the concentration of the oriented polymer in the oriented polymer solution is 50 g /
L or less is desirable.

In the above means, one or more inkjet nozzles for discharging droplets of the oriented polymer solution are used in the step of forming the oriented polymer solution film.

The viscosity of the oriented polymer solution is set to 10 × 10 ⁻³ P
a.s or less, more preferably 3 to 4 × 10 ⁻³ Pa · s, and by controlling the concentration of the orienting polymer in the orienting polymer solution to 50 g / L or less, it is possible to stably and continuously from the inkjet nozzle. The droplet of the oriented polymer solution can be ejected in an appropriate manner. Further, by using a plurality of ink jet nozzles, an oriented polymer solution film can be efficiently formed, so that the process of forming an oriented film can be shortened.

Further, by providing the protective film formed by the above-described method for forming a protective film, the protective film formed by the method for forming an alignment film, and the alignment film, at least the protective film for protecting the drive circuit on the surface of the substrate is provided. A liquid crystal device which is formed only in a predetermined region including a region where a driving circuit is formed and in which an alignment film having no alignment defect is formed only in a predetermined region including at least a pixel region can be provided.

On the substrate surface of this liquid crystal device, a protective film for protecting the drive circuit is formed only in the region outside the sealing material and in the region where the external circuit connection terminals are formed. Not desirable. Also,
On the substrate surface of the above liquid crystal device, it is desirable that the alignment film is formed only in a region inside the sealing material.

Since the protective film for protecting the drive circuit is formed by using the ink jet method, as described above, this liquid crystal device can reduce the amount of raw materials, improve the production efficiency, and reduce the amount of raw materials. This makes it possible to reduce costs.

Further, since the alignment film is formed only in the region inside the sealing material, no alignment film is formed between the substrate and the sealing material, so that water is mixed into the liquid crystal layer from outside the liquid crystal device. And a liquid crystal device having good performance and excellent display quality can be provided.

Further, since the alignment film is formed only in the region inside the sealing material, the alignment film is not formed on the external circuit connection terminal. Therefore, when the external circuit connection terminal is connected to the external circuit, a conductive film is formed. This eliminates the need for a step of breaking an alignment film having no properties, and can shorten the step of mounting the liquid crystal device on an electronic device.

Further, by providing the above-mentioned liquid crystal device, it is possible to reduce the amount of raw materials and improve the production efficiency, and it is possible to provide an electronic device having good performance and excellent display quality.

[0067]

Next, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail.

First Embodiment FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment according to the present invention, respectively.
TFT (Thin-Film Transisto) as a switching element
r) A schematic cross-sectional structure and a schematic plane structure when a liquid crystal (display) device 10 for a projection display using elements is cut in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction with respect to a substrate surface are shown. explain. FIG. 3 shows a schematic plan structure in which a part of a substrate (lower substrate) 11 of the liquid crystal device 10 is enlarged. FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along line A1-A1 ′ of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A2-A2 ′ of FIG. FIG.
In FIG. 3 to FIG. 3, the scale of each layer and each member is shown differently from the actual one in order to make each layer and each member large enough to be recognized in the drawing.

First, the schematic structure of the liquid crystal device 10 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, a substrate (lower substrate) 11
And an opposing substrate (upper substrate) 12 are adhered at predetermined intervals via a sealing material 14, and a liquid crystal layer 13 is sandwiched between the substrate 11 and the opposing substrate 12. The sealing material 14 is formed from a thermosetting or photocurable adhesive such as an epoxy-based material.
Although not shown in FIG. 1, the sealing material 14 has a size of 2 to 5 × in accordance with the distance between the substrate 11 and the counter substrate 12 in order to make the cell gap of the liquid crystal cell uniform.
A spacer having a diameter of about 10 ⁻⁶ m is included. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the substrate 11,
Optical elements such as a polarizing plate and a phase difference plate are attached to the outside of the counter substrate 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sealing material 14 is formed between the peripheral portions of the substrate 11 and the counter substrate 12. A liquid crystal injection hole 14A for injecting liquid crystal is formed in a part of the sealing material 14, and the substrate 11, the liquid crystal injection hole 14A is formed through the liquid crystal injection hole 14A.
After the liquid crystal is injected between the opposing substrates 12, the liquid crystal injection hole 14A is sealed with a sealing material 14B. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the opposing substrate 12 has substantially the same contour as the sealing material 14 and is disposed on the sealing material 14.

Next, the structure of a portion of the liquid crystal device 10 inside the seal member 14 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 1, on the upper surface of the substrate 11 (on the liquid crystal layer 13 side) in the drawing, a region inside the sealing material 14 (the right region of the sealing material 14 in the drawing) is scanned with the pixel electrode 15. A line 22, a TFT element 20 described later, and the like are formed, and the pixel electrode 15, the scanning line 22, and the TFT element 2 are formed.
On the 0 liquid crystal layer 13 side, an alignment film 18 for aligning the liquid crystal layer 13 in a predetermined direction is formed. Hereinafter, a region where the pixel electrode 15 and the TFT element 20 are formed is referred to as a pixel region 30.

On the other hand, the lower side of the counter substrate 12 (the liquid crystal layer 1)
(3) On the surface, a common electrode 17 and an alignment film 19 are sequentially laminated in a region inside the sealing material 14. In the present embodiment, the alignment films 18 and 19 are formed only on a predetermined region including at least the pixel region 30 on the surfaces of the substrate 11 and the counter substrate 12. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the alignment films 18 and 19
Is desirably formed only on a region inside the sealing material 14 on the surfaces of the substrate 11 and the counter substrate 12. The structure of the surface of the substrate 11 in the pixel region 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG.
On the substrate 11, the scanning lines 22 and the data lines 16 are arranged in a matrix, and each pixel is arranged according to the intersection of the scanning line 22 and the data line 16, and each pixel has a pixel electrode 15
And a TFT element 20 for driving each pixel electrode 15. Details of the TFT element 20 will be described later.

Next, the structure of the portion of the liquid crystal device 10 outside the seal member 14 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 2, a data line drive circuit 31 for driving the data lines 16 is provided on the surface of the substrate 11 in a lower region outside the seal member 14 in the drawing. The data lines 16 and the data line driving circuit 31 are electrically connected via a plurality of omitted wirings.

On the surface of the substrate 11, a scanning line driving circuit 32 for driving the scanning lines 22 is provided on the left and right sides of the sealing material 14 in the drawing.
The scanning lines 22 and the scanning line driving circuit 32 are electrically connected through a plurality of wirings not shown. The scanning line driving circuits 32 provided at two places on the left and right sides
On the surface of the first member 1, they are electrically connected to each other via a plurality of wirings 33 provided in a region on the upper side of the drawing outside the sealing member 14.

Data line drive circuit 31, scan line drive circuit 3
2 is electrically connected to a plurality of external circuit connection terminals 36 provided near the lower end on the surface of the substrate 110 via a plurality of wirings 34 and 35. The external circuit connection terminal 36 is an ACF (anisotropic conductive
Through a conductive material such as film), it is electrically connected to an external circuit (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a protective film 37 for protecting the data line driving circuit 31 and the scanning line driving circuit 32 is provided on the data line driving circuit 31 and the scanning line driving circuit 32. Is formed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, at the corner of the sealing material 14, an adhesive made of the same material as the sealing material 14 and a conductive material made of a large number of conductive particles sealed in the adhesive are provided. The common electrode 17 formed on the surface of the counter substrate 12 is electrically connected to these conductive members 38. In addition, the conductive material 38 is electrically connected to some of the external circuit connection terminals 36 via the wiring 39.

In the present embodiment, the protective film 37 is formed on the surface of the substrate 11 at least in the data line driving circuit 3.
1. It is formed only in a predetermined area including the area where the scanning line drive circuit 32 is formed. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
In the present embodiment, the protective film 37 is formed on the surface of the substrate 11 only in a region outside the sealing material 14,
It is desirable that at least the drive circuits 31 and 32 be formed so as to cover them and not be formed in a region where the external connection terminals 36 are formed. Further, it is desirable that the protective film 37 is also formed on the wirings 33, 34, 35, and 39.

In the above liquid crystal device 10, the alignment film 1
The film thickness of 8 and 19 is 20-100 × 10 ^-9m, protective film
The film thickness of 36 is 1-4 × 10^-6m, the film of the sealing material 14
The thickness is 2-5 × 10^-6m.

Next, the details of the TFT element 20 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional structure when the substrate 11 shown in FIG. 3 is cut along the line BB ′ to show details of the TFT element 20. In FIG. 4, the orientation film 18 is omitted for simplification.

Polysilicon layer 2 located on substrate 11
Reference numeral 1 denotes an active layer (source / drain / channel region) of the TFT element 20, and a gate insulating film 23 is formed on the surface thereof by thermal oxidation. Further, a scanning line 22 made of polysilicon or the like is formed on the surface of the gate insulating film 23, and thereafter, a first interlayer insulating film 24 is formed. Here, the contact hole 26
Is formed in the source region of the TFT element 20, whereby the first interlayer insulating film 24 and the gate insulating film 23 are opened, where the data line 16 is formed and the connection with the source region is achieved. ing. After the data lines 16 are formed, a second interlayer insulating film 25 is further formed.
Here, the contact hole 28 is formed in the drain region of the TFT element 20, whereby the first interlayer insulating film 24, the second interlayer insulating film 25, and the gate insulating film 23 are opened. 15 are formed to establish connection with the drain region.

Next, the protective film 37 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The method for forming the film will be described. 5A to 5C show steps of forming the protective film 37. 5A to 5C are schematic sectional views. In the present embodiment, the protective film 3 is formed by using an ink-jet method known for an ink-jet printer or the like.
7 is formed.

The pixel electrode 15 and the scanning line 2
2. After forming the TFT element 20 and the like, the data line driving circuit 31,
FIG. 5A shows the substrate 11 on which the scanning line driving circuit 32 and the external connection terminals 36 are formed.

As shown in FIG. 5B, on the surface of the substrate 11, at least a predetermined region including a region where the data line driving circuit 31 and the scanning line driving circuit 32 are formed is provided.
A polymer solution in which a polymer made of polyimide or the like is dissolved in a single solvent such as γ-butyl lactone or butyl cellosolve or a mixed solvent thereof is applied by an inkjet method to form a polymer solution film 37A. The structure of the inkjet nozzle used in this step will be described later.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5B, the polymer solution film 37A is
It is preferable that the external circuit connecting terminal 36 is formed only in a region outside the region 4C and covers at least the driving circuits 31 and 32, and is not formed in a region where the external circuit connecting terminal 36 is formed. In addition, the polymer solution film 37A has a wiring 33,
Desirably, it is formed also on 34, 35 and 39.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the polymer solution film 37A is dried, and the solvent contained in the polymer solution film 37A is removed to form the protective film 37.

Here, FIGS. 6 and 7 show an example of an ink jet nozzle suitable for use in the step of forming the polymer solution film 37A, and the structure of the ink jet nozzle 50 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6, the ink jet nozzle 50 includes, for example, a nozzle plate 51 and a diaphragm 52 made of stainless steel, and both are joined via a partition member (reservoir plate) 53. Nozzle plate 51
A plurality of spaces 54 and a pool 55 are formed between the diaphragm 52 and the diaphragm 52 by a partition member 53. Each space 5
4 and the inside of the liquid reservoir 55 are filled with a polymer solution obtained by dissolving a polymer such as polyimide in a predetermined single solvent or a mixed solvent, and each space 54 and the liquid reservoir 55 are connected through a supply port 56. Communicating. Further, the nozzle plate 51 is provided with a nozzle hole 57 for ejecting the polymer solution from the space 54. On the other hand, a hole 58 for supplying a polymer solution to the liquid reservoir 55 is formed in the vibration plate 52.

As shown in FIG. 7, a piezoelectric element 59 is joined to the surface of the diaphragm 52 opposite to the surface facing the space 54. The piezoelectric element 59 is located between the pair of electrodes 60, and when energized, the piezoelectric element 59 is bent so as to protrude outward, and at the same time, the vibration plate 52 to which the piezoelectric element 59 is joined is also integrated and outward. Bend. As a result, the volume of the space 54 increases. Therefore, the polymer solution corresponding to the increased volume flows into the space 54 from the liquid reservoir 55 through the supply port 56. Next, when the power supply to the piezoelectric element 59 is released, both the piezoelectric element 59 and the diaphragm 52 return to their original shapes. Thereby, since the space 54 also returns to the original volume, the pressure of the polymer solution inside the space 54 increases,
The droplet 6 of the polymer solution is directed from the nozzle hole 57 toward the substrate 11.
1 is discharged. The diameter of the nozzle hole 57 is, for example, 30 ×
Since is 10 ^-6 m, in diameter of the droplet 61 of the polymer solution to be discharged, for example, a 30 × 10 ^-6 m.

In the present embodiment, the viscosity of the polymer solution used is 10 mPa · s or less, more preferably 3 to 4 ×
It is desirable to set to 10 ⁻³ Pa · s. Further, the concentration of the polymer in the polymer solution is desirably set to 50 g / L or less. By setting the viscosity and the concentration of the polymer solution in this manner, the droplet 61 of the polymer solution can be stably and continuously discharged from the inkjet nozzle 50.

In the step of forming the polymer solution film 37A, one or a plurality of ink jet nozzles 50 can be used, and by using a large number of the ink jet nozzles 50, the polymer solution film 37A can be formed efficiently. Therefore, the step of forming the protective film 37 can be shortened.

Next, the alignment film 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The method for forming 8 and 19 will be described in detail. In the present embodiment, when forming the alignment films 18 and 19, an ink jet system known by an ink jet printer or the like is employed.

Since the method for forming the alignment film 18 and the alignment film 19 are the same, the method for forming the alignment film 18 will be described below. FIGS. 8A to 8D show steps of forming the alignment film 18 and a method of forming the alignment film 18 will be described.

In the pixel region 30, the pixel electrode 15, the scanning line 2
2. After forming the TFT element 20 and the like, the data line driving circuit 31,
Scanning line drive circuit 32, protective film 37, external connection terminal 36
FIG. 8A shows the substrate 11 on which is formed.

As shown in FIG. 8B, on a surface of the substrate 11, at least a predetermined area including the pixel area 30 is coated with an oriented polymer such as an oriented polyimide by γ-butyrolactone by an ink jet method. An oriented polymer solution dissolved in a predetermined single solvent or a mixed solvent such as butyl cellosolve is applied to form an oriented polymer solution film 18A.

In this step, the oriented polymer solution film 18A is formed by using one or a plurality of ink jet nozzles capable of discharging droplets of the oriented polymer solution. The structure of the ink jet nozzle used in this step is the same as the structure of the ink jet nozzle 50 used in the step of forming the protective film 37, and a description thereof will be omitted. In the present embodiment, the oriented polymer solution film 18
A is desirably formed at least in the pixel region 30 and formed only in a region inside the formation region 14C of the sealant 14.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, the oriented polymer solution film 18A is dried, and the oriented polymer solution film 18A is dried.
The solvent contained in A is removed, and the oriented polymer film 18 is removed.
Form B.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 8D, the surface of the oriented polymer film 18B is rubbed (rubbed) with a rubbing roller to form the oriented film 18.

In the present embodiment, the viscosity of the oriented polymer solution used is 10 mPa · s or less, more preferably 3 mPa · s or less.
It is desirable to set to 4 × 10 ⁻³ Pa · s. Further, the concentration of the oriented polymer in the oriented polymer solution is desirably set to 50 g / L or less. By setting the viscosity and the concentration of the oriented polymer solution in this way, it is possible to stably and continuously discharge droplets of the oriented polymer solution from the inkjet nozzle.

In the present embodiment, the orientation polymer solution film 18A can be efficiently formed by using a large number of ink jet nozzles.
8 can be shortened.

In this embodiment, only the method for forming the alignment film 18 has been described, but the method for forming the alignment film 19 is the same as the method for forming the alignment film 18.

Using the same oriented polymer solution used in the step of forming the alignment film 18, a predetermined area including at least the pixel region 30 is formed on the surface of the counter substrate 12 on which the common electrode 17 is formed by the ink jet method. The alignment film 19 is formed through the same steps as those for forming the alignment film 18 by forming the alignment polymer solution film only in the region. In the present embodiment, the alignment film 19 is formed on at least the pixel region 30 on the surface of the counter substrate 12,
In addition, it is desirable that the sealing material 14 is formed only in a region inside the forming region 14C.

According to the present embodiment, the ink jet method is adopted, and the polymer solution film 37A is formed only on a predetermined region on the surface of the substrate 11, so that the substrate 11
, At least the data line driving circuit 31,
It is possible to provide a method for forming a protective film that enables the formation of the protective film 37 for protecting the drive circuit only in a predetermined region including the region where the scanning line drive circuit 32 is formed.

According to this method, when forming the protective film 37 for protecting the drive circuit, it is not necessary to form the polymer solution film 37A over the entire surface of the substrate 11, and the polymer film is Since the step of etching is not required, a method for forming the protective film 37 which can reduce the amount of raw materials and improve the production efficiency can be provided. Further, according to this method, when forming the protective film 37 for protecting the drive circuit, there is no need to use a photosensitive polymer unlike the photolithography method, so that the raw material is not limited, and the raw material is low. Cost can be reduced.

Further, a protective film 3 for protecting the drive circuit
7 is preferably formed only in a region outside the formation region of the sealing material 14 and is not formed in a region where the external circuit connection terminals 36 are formed. Thus, the protective film 3
7, the amount of raw materials can be reduced, and the protective film 37 is formed on the external circuit connection terminals 36.
Are not formed, so that the step of electrically connecting the external circuit connection terminal 36 to the external circuit is facilitated.

According to the present embodiment, the orientation polymer solution film 18A is formed only in a predetermined area on the surface of the substrate 11 (opposite substrate 12) by adopting the ink jet method, whereby the substrate 11 It is possible to provide a method for forming the alignment film 18 (19) that allows the alignment film 18 (19) to be formed only on a predetermined region including at least the pixel region 30 on the surface of the (counter substrate 12). .

Also, by employing the ink jet method, only the droplets of the oriented polymer solution come into contact with the substrate 11 (opposite substrate 12). It is possible to apply the oriented polymer solution on the surface of the substrate 11 (opposite substrate 12) without contaminating a portion other than the pixel region 30.

In addition, since the step of etching the oriented polymer film 18B is not required by adopting the ink jet method, the oriented film 18 (19) free from defective orientation is not damaged without damaging the oriented film 18 (19). ) Can be formed.

By adopting the ink jet method, the oriented polymer solution film 18A can be formed only in a predetermined area on the surface of the substrate 11 (opposite substrate 12). The alignment film 18 (19) can be formed only on the area inside the formation area 14C of the sealing material 14 on the surface of (1).

In this case, since the oriented polymer film 18B is formed only in a region having a small step and inside the formation region 14C of the sealing material 14, the orientation polymer film 18B is not rubbed in the step of rubbing the oriented polymer film 18B. Since peeling of the polymer film 18B can be prevented, poor alignment of the alignment film 18 (19) can be prevented.

The alignment films 18 and 19 formed by the method for forming an alignment film and the method for forming a protective film according to the present embodiment, and the protective film 3
The liquid crystal device 10 provided with the semiconductor device 7 has a protection film 37 for protecting the drive circuit, on the surface of the substrate 11, including at least a region where the data line drive circuit 31 and the scan line drive circuit 32 are formed. The alignment films 18 and 19, which are formed only in the regions and have no alignment failure, are formed only on predetermined regions including the pixel region on the surfaces of the substrate 11 and the counter substrate 12.

On the surface of the substrate 11 of the liquid crystal device 10, a protective film 37 for protecting the drive circuit is provided with the sealing material 1.
Desirably, it is formed only in a region outside the region 4 and is not formed in a region where the external circuit connection terminal 36 is formed. In addition, it is desirable that the alignment films 18 and 19 are formed only on the area inside the sealant 14 on the surface of the substrate 11 of the liquid crystal device 10.

Since the protective film 37 for protecting the drive circuit is formed by using the ink jet method,
This liquid crystal device 10 can reduce the amount of raw materials, improve production efficiency,
It becomes possible to reduce the cost of raw materials.

Further, the liquid crystal device 10 has alignment films 18 and 19.
Is formed only in the area inside the seal material 14,
Since the alignment films 18 and 19 are not formed between the substrate 11, the counter substrate 12 and the sealant 14, it is possible to prevent moisture from being mixed into the liquid crystal layer 13 from outside the liquid crystal device 10, The performance is good and the display quality is excellent.

Further, the liquid crystal device 10 has alignment films 18 and 19.
Is formed only in the area inside the seal material 14,
Since the alignment film 18 is not formed on the external circuit connection terminal 36, the step of connecting the external circuit connection terminal 36 to an external circuit can be shortened in the process of mounting the liquid crystal device 10 on an electronic device. Becomes

Second Embodiment Next, FIGS. 9 and 10 show a second embodiment of the present invention.
A schematic cross-sectional structure when a liquid crystal (display) device 70 for a projection display using a TFT element as a switching element is cut in a direction perpendicular to a substrate surface is shown, and the structure of the liquid crystal device 70 will be described. FIG. 9 shows a partial structure inside the seal material, and FIG. 10 shows a partial structure outside the seal material. In FIGS. 9 and 10, the scale of each layer and each member is different from the actual scale in order to make each layer and each member a recognizable size in the drawings. The planar structure of the liquid crystal device 70 is the same as that shown in FIG. 2 in the first embodiment. 9 and FIG.
In FIG. 0, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

Since the schematic structure of the liquid crystal device 70 is the same as the schematic structure of the liquid crystal device 10 in the first embodiment, the description is omitted, and the structure inside and outside the seal member 14 will be described in detail.

First, the structure inside the seal member 14 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 9, a pixel electrode 79 is provided on the upper surface of the substrate 11 (on the liquid crystal layer 13 side) in the drawing, and each pixel electrode 79 is driven at a position adjacent to the pixel electrode 79 on the substrate 11. A TFT element 80 for performing the operation is provided. In the present embodiment, the pixel electrode 79,
The region where the TFT element 80 is formed is called a pixel region.

The TFT element 80 is an LDD (Lightly Dope
d Drain) structure, a scanning line 73a, a channel region 71a 'of a semiconductor layer 71a in which a channel is formed by an electric field from the scanning line 73a, and a gate insulating film for insulating the scanning line 73a from the semiconductor layer 71a. 72, data line 7
6, a low-concentration source region 71b and a low-concentration drain region 71c of the semiconductor layer 71a, and a high-concentration source region 71d and a high-concentration drain region 71e of the semiconductor layer 71a.

On the scanning line 73a, the gate insulating film 72
A contact hole 75 leading to the high-concentration source region 71d and a high-concentration drain region 7
A first interlayer insulating film 74 in which contact holes 78 each leading to 1e are formed is formed. That is, the data line 76 is electrically connected to the high-concentration source region 71d via the contact hole 75 penetrating the first interlayer insulating film 74. Further, a second interlayer insulating film 77 having a contact hole 78 leading to the high-concentration drain region 71e is formed on the data line 76 and the first interlayer insulating film 74. That is, the high-concentration drain region 71e is electrically connected to the pixel electrode 79 via the contact hole 78 penetrating the first interlayer insulating film 74 and the second interlayer insulating film 77. The pixel electrode 79
The high-concentration drain region 71e may be electrically connected to the data line 76 by relaying the same aluminum film as the data line 76 or the same polysilicon film as the scanning line 73a.

The gate insulating film 72 is extended from a position facing the gate electrode, which is a part of the scanning line 73a, to be used as a dielectric film, and the semiconductor layer 71a is extended to form a first storage capacitor electrode 71f. , And the capacitance line 7 facing these
A storage capacitor 90 is formed by using a part of 3b as a second storage capacitor electrode. More specifically, the semiconductor layer 7
The high-concentration drain region 71e of 1a extends below the data line 76 and the scanning line 73a, and is disposed opposite to the capacitor line 73b extending along the data line 76 and the scanning line 73a via the gate insulating film 72. Thus, the first storage capacitor electrode 71f is provided.

The TFT element 8 on the substrate 11
0, an alignment film 86 is formed on the pixel electrode 79 and the like.

On the surface of the counter substrate 12 on the liquid crystal layer 13 side,
A color filter layer 83 including a light shielding film 83a and color pixels 83b is formed. Data line 7 on substrate 11
6, a light-shielding film 83a is formed in a region opposed to the region where the scanning line 73a and the TFT element 80 are formed, that is, in a non-display region of each pixel, and red (R), green (G), and blue (B) are formed in the display region.
Color pixels 83b are formed.

On the liquid crystal layer 13 side of the color filter layer 83, a common electrode 81 and an alignment film 82 are laminated.

In this embodiment, the alignment films 82 and 86 are used.
Is formed only on a predetermined region including at least a pixel region on the surfaces of the substrate 11 and the counter substrate 12.
In the present embodiment, the alignment films 82 and 86
On the surface of the counter substrate 12, it is desirable to form it only in a region inside the sealing material 14.

Next, the structure outside the seal member 14 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 10, a drive circuit 95 is formed on the upper surface of the substrate 11 in the region outside the seal member 14. As the drive circuit 95, a data line drive circuit for driving data lines and a scan line drive circuit for driving scan lines are provided. The data line drive circuit and the scan line drive circuit are provided on the substrate 11. , The data line driving circuit 31 and the scanning line driving circuit 32 of the first embodiment are arranged similarly.

The drive circuit 95 has a structure similar to that of the TFT element 80 formed inside the sealing material 14, and is formed at the same time when the TFT element 80 is formed.

The structure of the drive circuit 95 will be described in detail. In a region on the substrate 11 where the drive circuit 95 is formed,
A semiconductor layer 91 having a structure similar to the semiconductor layer 71a of the TFT element 80 is formed, and a gate insulating film 92 is formed thereon. The gate electrode 9 is formed on the gate insulating film 92.
3 and a first interlayer insulating film 74 is formed thereon.

First interlayer insulating film 74, gate insulating film 92
Are formed with contact holes 94 and 98, in which a source electrode 96 and a drain electrode 99 are formed. The drain electrode 99 extends rightward in the figure and is connected to an external circuit connection terminal 36 (not shown). On the source electrode 96 and the drain electrode 99, the second
Is formed.

On the drive circuit 95, a protective film 97 for protecting the drive circuit 95 is formed. In the present embodiment, the protective film 97 is formed only on a predetermined region including at least a region where the drive circuit 95 is formed on the surface of the substrate 11. In the present embodiment, the protective film 9
7 is formed only on the surface of the substrate 11 outside the sealing material 14, is formed so as to cover at least the drive circuit 95, and is not formed on the area where the external connection terminals 36 are formed. It is desirable. Also,
The protective film 97 is preferably formed also on the wirings 33, 34, 35, 39.

The protective film 97 and the alignment films 82 and 86 of the liquid crystal device 70 of this embodiment are formed by using an ink jet method. The method for forming the protective film 97 and the alignment films 82 and 86 is the same as the method for forming the protective film 37 and the alignment films 18 and 19 in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will not be repeated.

In the liquid crystal device 70 of the present embodiment, the protective film 97 for protecting the drive circuit is formed on the surface of the substrate 11 only in a predetermined area including at least the area where the drive circuit 97 is formed. The alignment films 82 and 86 having no alignment defect are formed only on a predetermined region including the pixel region on the surfaces of the substrate 11 and the counter substrate 12.

On the surface of the substrate 11 of the liquid crystal device 70, a protective film 97 for protecting the drive circuit is provided with a sealing material 1
Desirably, it is formed only in a region outside the region 4 and is not formed in a region where the external circuit connection terminal 36 is formed. In addition, it is desirable that the alignment films 82 and 86 are formed only in the region inside the sealant 14 on the surface of the substrate 11 of the liquid crystal device 70.

In the present embodiment, since the protective film 97 for protecting the drive circuit is formed by using the ink jet method, the liquid crystal device 70 can reduce the amount of raw materials, as in the first embodiment. This will improve production efficiency and reduce raw material costs.

The liquid crystal device 70 has alignment films 82 and 86.
Is formed only in the area inside the seal material 14,
Since the alignment films 82 and 86 are not formed between the substrate 11, the counter substrate 12 and the sealant 14, it is possible to prevent moisture from being mixed into the liquid crystal layer 13 from outside the liquid crystal device 70, The performance is good and the display quality is excellent.

The liquid crystal device 70 has alignment films 82 and 86.
Is formed only in the area inside the seal material 14,
Since the alignment film 86 is not formed on the external circuit connection terminal 36, the step of connecting the external circuit connection terminal 36 to an external circuit can be shortened in the step of mounting the liquid crystal device 70 on the electronic device. Becomes

In the first and second embodiments, only the liquid crystal device for a projection type display has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a direct-view type liquid crystal device in which a spacer is arranged in a liquid crystal layer. The present invention can also be applied to a liquid crystal device for a display.

In this embodiment, a liquid crystal device using a TFT element has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to any liquid crystal device. The present invention can also be applied to a liquid crystal device of a liquid crystal device, an active matrix liquid crystal device using a two-terminal element represented by a TFD element, and the like.

Next, a specific example of an electronic apparatus provided with one of the liquid crystal devices 10 and 70 according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 11A is a perspective view showing an example of a portable telephone. In FIG. 11A, reference numeral 400 denotes a main body of a mobile phone, and reference numeral 401 denotes a liquid crystal display section provided with either the liquid crystal device 10 or 70 described above.

FIG. 11B is a perspective view showing an example of a portable information processing device such as a word processor or a personal computer. FIG.
In FIG. 1B, reference numeral 500 denotes an information processing apparatus; 501, an input unit such as a keyboard; 503, an information processing main body; and 502, a liquid crystal display unit including one of the liquid crystal devices 10 and 70.

FIG. 11C is a perspective view showing an example of a wristwatch-type electronic device. In FIG. 11C, reference numeral 600 denotes a watch main body, and reference numeral 601 denotes a liquid crystal display unit including either the liquid crystal device 10 or 70 described above.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a main part of a projection type display device using either the liquid crystal device 10 or 70 as a light modulation device. In FIG. 12, 710 is a light source, 713 and 714 are dichroic mirrors, 71
5, 716 and 717 are reflection mirrors, 718 is an entrance lens, 719 is a relay lens, 720 is an exit lens, 72
2, 723 and 724 are liquid crystal light modulators, 725 is a cross dichroic prism, and 726 is a projection lens.

The light source 710 is a lamp 7 such as a metal halide.
11 and a reflector 712 that reflects the light of the lamp. Dichroic mirror 713 that reflects blue light and green light
Transmits red light of the light beam from the light source 710 and reflects blue light and green light. The transmitted red light is reflected by the reflection mirror 717 and is incident on the liquid crystal light modulation device 722 for red light.

On the other hand, the green light of the color light reflected by the dichroic mirror 713 is reflected by the green light reflecting dichroic mirror 714 and is incident on the liquid crystal light modulator 723 for green light. On the other hand, the blue light also passes through the second dichroic mirror 714. For blue light, in order to prevent light loss due to a long optical path, a light guide unit 721 including a relay lens system including an incident lens 718, a relay lens 719, and an emission lens 720 is provided. The light enters the liquid crystal light modulation device 724 for light.

The three color lights modulated by the respective light modulators enter the cross dichroic prism 725. This prism is formed by bonding four right-angle prisms, and a dielectric multilayer film that reflects red light and a dielectric multilayer film that reflects blue light are formed in a cross shape on the inner surface. The three color lights are combined by these dielectric multilayer films to form light representing a color image. The combined light is projected on a screen 727 by a projection lens 726 which is a projection optical system, and an image is enlarged and displayed.

Since each of the electronic devices shown in FIGS. 11A to 11C and FIG. 12 is provided with one of the liquid crystal devices 10 or 70, the amount of raw materials can be reduced and the production efficiency can be improved. Thus, the cost of the raw material can be reduced, the performance is good, and the display quality is excellent.

[0152]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Adopting the inkjet method, on the surface of the substrate,
By forming a polymer solution film only in a predetermined area,
It is possible to provide a method for forming a protective film that enables a protective film for protecting a drive circuit to be formed only in a predetermined region including at least a region where a drive circuit is formed on a surface of a substrate. .

According to this method, when forming the protective film for protecting the drive circuit, it is not necessary to form the polymer solution film on the entire surface of the substrate, and the process of etching the polymer film is not necessary. Therefore, it is possible to provide a method for forming a protective film, which can reduce the amount of raw materials and improve production efficiency. Further, according to this method, when forming a protective film for protecting the drive circuit, there is no need to use a photosensitive polymer as in the photolithography method, so that the raw material is not limited, and the raw material can be manufactured at low cost. Can be achieved.

It is preferable that the protective film for protecting the drive circuit is formed only in the region outside the region where the sealant is formed, and is not formed in the region where the external circuit connection terminal is formed. By forming the protective film for protecting the drive circuit in this manner, it is possible to reduce the amount of raw materials, and since the protective film is not formed on the external circuit connection terminal, the external circuit connection terminal is connected to the external circuit connection terminal. The step of electrically connecting to a circuit is facilitated.

In the present invention, the viscosity of the polymer solution used for forming the protective film for protecting the drive circuit is 1
Desirably, it is 0 × 10 ⁻³ Pa · s or less. Further, it is more desirable that the viscosity of the polymer solution is 3 to 4 × 10 ⁻³ Pa · s.

It is desirable that the concentration of the polymer in the polymer solution be 50 g / L or less.

The viscosity of the polymer solution was 10 × 10^-3Pa · s
Hereinafter, more preferably, 3 to 4 × 10 ^-3Pa · s, high
The concentration of the polymer in the molecular solution is set to 50 g / L or less.
Stable and continuous from the inkjet nozzle
This makes it possible to discharge droplets of the polymer solution. Also,
It is desirable to use multiple inkjet nozzles
The use of multiple inkjet nozzles
The polymer solution film can be formed efficiently.
A step of forming a protective film for protecting the drive circuit.
Can be shortened.

Further, according to the present invention, at least a pixel region is formed on the surface of the substrate by adopting the ink jet method and forming an oriented polymer solution film only on a predetermined region on the surface of the substrate. It is possible to provide a method for forming an alignment film that enables an alignment film to be formed only in a predetermined region including the alignment film.

In addition, by adopting the ink jet method, only the droplets of the oriented polymer solution come into contact with the substrate, so that the substrate can be oriented on the surface of the substrate without contaminating the substrate unlike the conventional screen printing method. The conductive polymer solution can be applied.

In addition, since the step of etching the oriented polymer film is unnecessary by employing the ink jet method, an oriented film free from defective orientation can be formed without damaging the oriented film.

In the present invention, the region for forming the oriented polymer solution film is formed so that the substrate and the other substrate are opposed to each other on the surface of the substrate and are adhered at a predetermined interval. It is desirable to belong to the region inside the formation region of the sealing material formed between the substrate and the peripheral portion of the substrate.

In this case, since the oriented polymer film is formed only in the region having less steps and inside the region where the sealing material is formed, the rubbing process of the oriented polymer film is not required.
Since the alignment polymer film can be prevented from being peeled, poor alignment of the alignment film can be prevented.

In the present invention, the viscosity of the oriented polymer solution used when forming the oriented film is 10 × 10 ⁻³ Pa · s.
It is desirable that: Further, it is more desirable that the viscosity of the oriented polymer solution is 3 to 4 × 10 ⁻³ Pa · s.

It is desirable that the concentration of the oriented polymer in the oriented polymer solution is 50 g / L or less.

The viscosity of the oriented polymer solution is set to 10 × 10 ⁻³ P
a.s or less, more preferably 3 to 4 × 10 ⁻³ Pa · s, and by controlling the concentration of the orienting polymer in the orienting polymer solution to 50 g / L or less, it is possible to stably and continuously from the inkjet nozzle. The droplet of the oriented polymer solution can be ejected in an appropriate manner. In addition, it is desirable to use a plurality of ink jet nozzles, and since it is possible to efficiently form an oriented polymer solution film by using a plurality of ink jet nozzles, the process of forming an oriented film can be shortened. .

Further, by providing the alignment film and the protective film formed by the above-described method for forming the alignment film and the method for forming the protective film, the protective film for protecting the driving circuit is formed on the surface of the substrate at least. Provided is a liquid crystal device which is formed only in a predetermined region including a region where a driving circuit is formed, and in which an alignment film having no alignment defect is formed only in a predetermined region including at least a pixel region on a surface of a substrate. can do.

On the surface of the substrate of this liquid crystal device, a protective film for protecting the drive circuit is formed only in a region outside the seal material, and is not formed in a region where the external circuit connection terminals are formed. It is desirable. Further, on the surface of the substrate of the liquid crystal device, it is desirable that the alignment film is formed only in a region inside the sealing material.

Since the protective film for protecting the drive circuit is formed by using the ink jet method, as described above, this liquid crystal device can reduce the amount of raw materials, improve the production efficiency, and reduce the amount of raw materials. This makes it possible to reduce costs.

Further, since the alignment film is formed only in the region inside the sealing material, no alignment film is formed between the substrate and the sealing material, so that moisture is mixed into the liquid crystal layer from outside the liquid crystal device. And a liquid crystal device having good performance and excellent display quality can be provided.

Further, since the alignment film is formed only in the region inside the seal material, the alignment film is not formed on the external circuit connection terminals. It is possible to provide a liquid crystal device capable of shortening a step of connecting a terminal to an external circuit.

Further, by providing the above-mentioned liquid crystal device, the amount of raw materials can be reduced and the production efficiency can be improved, and an electronic device having good performance and excellent display quality can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a TFT according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view when a liquid crystal device using an element is cut in a direction perpendicular to a substrate surface.

FIG. 2 shows a TFT according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view when a liquid crystal device using an element is cut in a horizontal direction with respect to a substrate surface.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a TFT according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view in which a part of a substrate (lower substrate) of a liquid crystal device using elements is enlarged.

FIG. 4 is a TFT according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a TFT element of a liquid crystal device using the element.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are process diagrams showing a method for forming a protective film for protecting the drive circuit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of an inkjet nozzle used in a method for forming a protective film for protecting a drive circuit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration example of an inkjet nozzle used in a method of forming a protective film for protecting a drive circuit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 8A to 8D are process diagrams showing a method for forming an alignment film according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows a TFT according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a structure inside a seal material of a liquid crystal device using an element.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing T in the second embodiment according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a structure outside a seal material of a liquid crystal device using an FT element.

FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating an example of a mobile phone including the liquid crystal device according to the embodiment; FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating a portable information processing device including the liquid crystal device according to the embodiment; FIG. 11C is a diagram illustrating an example of a wristwatch-type electronic device including the liquid crystal device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a main part of a projection display device using the liquid crystal device of the above embodiment as a light modulation device.

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view when a conventional liquid crystal device using a TFT element is cut in a direction perpendicular to a substrate surface.

FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view when a conventional liquid crystal device using a TFT element is cut in a horizontal direction with respect to a substrate surface.

FIG. 15 is a schematic plan view enlarging a part of a substrate (lower substrate) of a conventional liquid crystal device using a TFT element.

FIGS. 16A to 16C are process diagrams showing a conventional method for forming a protective film for protecting a drive circuit.

FIGS. 17A to 17D are process diagrams showing a conventional method for forming an alignment film.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10, 70 Liquid crystal (display) device 11 Substrate (lower substrate) 12 Opposite substrate (upper substrate) 13 Liquid crystal layer 14 Sealing material 14A Liquid crystal injection hole 14B Sealing material 14C Sealing material forming region 15, 79 Pixel electrode 16, 76 Data line 17, 81 Common electrode 18, 19, 82, 86 Orientation film 18A Oriented polymer solution film 18B Oriented polymer film 20, 80 TFT element 21 Polysilicon layer 22, 73a Scanning line 23, 72 Gate insulating film 24 , 74 First interlayer insulating film 25, 77 Second interlayer insulating film 26, 28, 75, 78 Contact hole 71a Semiconductor layer 73b Capacity line 90 Storage capacity 83 Color filter layer 30 Pixel region 31 Data line drive circuit 32 Scan line Drive circuit 95 Drive circuit 33, 34, 35, 39 Wiring 36 External circuit connection terminal 37, 97 Protective film 37A polymer solution film 38 conductive material 50 inkjet nozzle 61 droplet of polymer solution

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C056 FB01 FB08 HA44 2H090 HA03 HA08 HB07X HB07Y HC05 HD05 LA04 2H092 GA35 GA43 GA44 GA59 MA10 NA25 PA02 PA04 5G435 AA14 AA17 BB12 BB15 BB17 EE31 EE40 GG31 KK09 LL08

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A method for forming a protective film for protecting a drive circuit on a surface of a substrate having at least a drive circuit and an external circuit connection terminal for connecting the drive circuit to an external circuit. A polymer solution obtained by dissolving a polymer in a solvent is applied only to a predetermined region including at least a region where the drive circuit is formed on the surface of the substrate by an inkjet method. A method for forming a protective film, comprising: forming a solution film; and drying and removing a solvent contained in the polymer solution film to form a protective film. 2. A peripheral portion of the substrate, on the surface of the substrate, wherein the drive circuit and the external circuit connection terminal are arranged so that the substrate and the other substrate are opposed to each other and are attached at a predetermined interval. And a peripheral region of the other substrate is formed in a region outside a formation region of a sealing material formed on the surface of the substrate, and the predetermined region is formed on a surface of the substrate more than a formation region of the sealing material. 2. The method for forming a protective film according to claim 1, wherein the region belongs to an outer region and does not include a region where the external circuit connection terminal is formed. 3. The polymer solution has a viscosity of 10 × 10 ^−3.
3. The method for forming a protective film according to claim 1, wherein the pressure is equal to or less than Pa · s. 4. The polymer solution has a viscosity of 3 to 4 × 10
3. The method for forming a protective film according to claim 1, wherein the pressure is ⁻³ Pa · s. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the concentration of the polymer in the polymer solution is 50 g / L or less.
The method for forming a protective film according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of forming the polymer solution film, one or a plurality of inkjet nozzles for discharging droplets of the polymer solution are used.
A method for forming a protective film according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. A method for forming an alignment film for orienting liquid crystal in a predetermined direction on a surface of a substrate, wherein the alignment film is formed only on a predetermined region including at least a pixel region on the surface of the substrate by an inkjet method. Forming an oriented polymer solution film by applying an oriented polymer solution in which an oriented polymer is dissolved in a predetermined solvent, and drying and removing the solvent contained in the oriented polymer solution film And
Forming an oriented polymer film. 8. On the surface of the substrate, the predetermined region is arranged so that the substrate and the other substrate are opposed to each other and are adhered at a predetermined interval. 8. The method for forming an alignment film according to claim 7, wherein the method belongs to a region inside a formation region of the sealant formed between the portion and the portion. 9. The viscosity of the oriented polymer solution is 10 ×
The method for forming an alignment film according to claim 7, wherein the pressure is 10 ⁻³ Pa · s or less. 10. The viscosity of the oriented polymer solution is 3 to 10.
9. The method for forming an alignment film according to claim 7, wherein the pressure is 4 × 10 ⁻³ Pa · s. 11. The alignment film according to claim 7, wherein the concentration of the alignment polymer in the alignment polymer solution is 50 g / L or less. Forming method. 12. In the step of forming the oriented polymer solution film, a step of discharging droplets of the oriented polymer solution is performed.
The method for forming an alignment film according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein one or a plurality of inkjet nozzles are used. 13. A liquid crystal device comprising two opposing substrates sandwiching a liquid crystal layer, which are adhered at a predetermined interval via a sealing material formed between the peripheral portions of the respective substrates, A driving circuit for driving the liquid crystal device, a protective film for protecting the driving circuit, and an external circuit for connecting the driving circuit to an external circuit. A liquid crystal device including an external circuit connection terminal for connection, wherein the protective film is formed using an inkjet method, and the protective film is formed on a surface of the substrate, and A liquid crystal device formed only in a predetermined region including the formed region. 14. On the surface of the substrate, the drive circuit and the external circuit connection terminal are formed in a region outside the sealing material, and the predetermined region is formed on the surface of the substrate. 14. The liquid crystal device according to claim 13, wherein the liquid crystal device belongs to a region outside the sealing material and not including a region where the external circuit connection terminal is formed. 15. The two substrates each include an electrode and an alignment film on a surface on a liquid crystal layer side, wherein the alignment film is formed using an inkjet method. The liquid crystal device according to claim 13, wherein the alignment film is formed only on a predetermined region including a pixel region on the surface of the substrate. 16. The liquid crystal device according to claim 15, wherein on the surface of the substrate, the predetermined region belongs to a region inside the sealing material. 17. An electronic apparatus comprising the liquid crystal device according to claim 13. Description: