JP2003156616A - Color filter and method for manufacturing the same, liquid crystal device and electronic appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve flatness of a protective film surface of a color filter and to provide a method for manufacturing the color filter excellent in the flatness of the protective film surface at a low cost. SOLUTION: The method for manufacturing the color filter 10, comprising coloring layers 15r, 15g, 15b formed on a substrate 11a and the protective film 16 formed on the coloring layers 15r, 15g, 15b, includes: a coloring layer forming step to form the coloring layers 15r, 15g, 15b on a substrate base material 11 for cutting out a plurality of the substrates 11a, a step to apply a coating liquid for the protective film on a full surface of the substrate base material 11 of the side whereon the coloring layers 15r, 15g, 15b are formed with an inkjet method, a hardening step to harden the coating liquid for the protective film applied on the substrate base material 11 and to form the protective film 16 and a cutting step to cut the substrate base material 11 with the protective film 16 formed thereon for the individual color filters 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color filter, a method for manufacturing the same, a liquid crystal device and electronic equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, liquid crystal devices have been widely used as means for displaying information in electronic devices such as notebook computers, mobile phones and electronic organizers. Recently, a color liquid crystal device in which a color filter is arranged on one of a pair of substrates opposed to each other with a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween to enable full-color display has become mainstream. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the color filter has R (red) and G on the surface of the transparent substrate 501 formed of glass or plastic.
(Green), B (blue) colored layers 502r, 502g, 502
b is formed, and a protective film 503 is formed thereon as needed. Three colored layers 502r, 502g, 50
Each of the pixels 2b constitutes a pixel, which are arranged in an array such as a stripe array, a delta array, or a mosaic array. Further, a black matrix 504 including a light shielding layer is provided between the pixels. Furthermore, a transparent electrode layer 505 made of an ITO film or the like is formed on the protective film 503.
Is provided. The protective film 503 is formed by the colored layers 502r, 50.
2g and 502b are formed for the purpose of filling the surface step and flattening the state, and preventing thermal deterioration of the colored layers 502r, 502g, and 502b in the process of forming the transparent electrode layer 505.

In order to manufacture a color filter having such a structure, for example, a black matrix 504 and then R are formed on a transparent substrate 501 by a photolithography method.
(Red), G (green), B (blue) colored layers 502r, 502
g, 502b, and then the three colored layers 502
A protective film 503 is formed on the upper layer of r, 502g, and 502b.

As a method of forming the protective film 503, there is a method of forming a protective film 503 by applying a coating liquid by a spin coating method and then heating and curing the coating solution. In this method, the surface of the protective film 503 is made flat. However, since the supplied coating liquid is scattered, the coating liquid is wasted a lot and the production cost is increased. Further, since the substrate is rotated during coating, the coating liquid tends to flow from the inner side to the outer side due to the centrifugal force, and the film thickness in the outer peripheral region tends to be thick, resulting in large variation in the film thickness of the protective film 503. There was an inconvenience. For these measures,
In recent years, a technique using a so-called inkjet has been proposed.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-329707 discloses a method of forming a protective film 503 patterned by an ink jet method. This method
As shown in FIG. 14, this is a method in which a coating liquid for forming a protective film is applied only on the effective region of a color filter by an inkjet method, pre-dried, and then heat-treated to cure.

[0006]

However, in this method, when the preliminary drying is performed, the coating film 513 applied on the effective area of the color filter as illustrated in FIG.
Since the edge portion 513a of the above is thicker than other portions and rises, there is a problem that the surface of the protective film 503 after curing is not flat. When a step is formed on the surface of the protective film 503 of the color filter in this way, when a liquid crystal device is configured using this color filter, gap unevenness occurs in the liquid crystal layer provided on the protective film 503 side of the color filter. However, there is a problem in that luminance unevenness occurs on the display screen.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a color filter having excellent flatness of the protective film surface, and to provide a method of manufacturing a color filter having excellent flatness of the protective film surface at low cost. is there. Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal device and electronic equipment using the color filter of the present invention.

[0008]

The present invention is intended to solve at least one of the above problems, and a method for producing a color filter according to the present invention is such that a colored layer is formed on a substrate,
A method for manufacturing a color filter comprising a protective film formed on the colored layer, the method comprising: forming a colored layer on a substrate base material; and forming the colored layer of the substrate base material. A coating step of applying a protective film coating solution on the entire surface by an inkjet method, a curing step of curing the protective film coating solution applied on the substrate base material to form a protective film, and the protective film It is characterized in that it has a cutting step of cutting the substrate base material on which is formed into individual color filters.

According to this color filter manufacturing method,
Since the protective film coating liquid is applied on the entire surface of the substrate base material, the edge portion of the coating film becomes the outer peripheral portion of the substrate base material. Therefore, even if the edge portion of the coating film rises in the step of curing the coating liquid for protective film, the outer peripheral portion of the substrate base material is merely thicker than the inner portion thereof. Therefore, on the substrate base material, if the design is made so that the effective area of each color filter is not included in the outer peripheral portion of the substrate base material where the coating film becomes thick, the surface of the protective film at least in the effective area of the color filter. Can be formed flat.

Further, in the method for manufacturing a color filter of the present invention, in the coating step, the inkjet head and the substrate base material are ejected while ejecting the protective film coating liquid from a plurality of nozzles provided in the inkjet head. Move the position of relative to scan and
It is characterized in that the width of the coating film is controlled so that the edge in the width direction of the coating film formed by one scan is located outside the effective region of the color filter.

In the conventional coating method using an inkjet, an area to be coated with the coating liquid simultaneously ejected from an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting the coating liquid is going to finally form a coating film. It is smaller than the entire application area. Therefore, since the entire application area is applied while moving (scanning) the inkjet head, the coating film is likely to be uneven at the boundary between scans (line feed portion). According to the method of the present invention, while the coating liquid for a protective film is discharged from the plurality of nozzles provided in the inkjet head, the positions of the inkjet head and the base material of the substrate are relatively moved and scanning is performed. Since the width of the coating film is controlled so that the edge in the width direction of the coating film formed by one scan is located outside the effective area of the color filter, the boundary between the scans (line feed) is the color filter. Is formed outside the effective area, and a uniform coating film is formed in the effective area. Here, the width direction of the coating film is a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the inkjet head relatively advances during scanning.

In the present invention, the width of the coating liquid for the protective film applied is controlled by the nozzle of the plurality of nozzles provided in the ink jet head, in which the coating liquid for the protective film is simultaneously ejected in the coating step. It is preferable to carry out by changing the combination of. According to such a method, it is possible to easily and highly accurately control the width of the coating film when applying the coating liquid for the protective film by the inkjet method, and it is possible to easily cope with the design change of the substrate base material and the like. be able to.

Further, in the present invention, in the coating step, the coating amount of the protective film coating liquid can be changed depending on the coating region. In the present invention, since the ink jet is used for forming the protective film, it is possible to change the coating amount according to the unevenness of the surface on which the protective film is to be formed, which further improves the flatness of the protective film surface. be able to.

Further, in the method for producing a color filter of the present invention, the colored layer forming step includes a step of applying a colored layer coating solution by an ink jet method and a step of curing the colored layer coating solution. The colored layer forming step and the coating step of applying the coating liquid for protective film can be performed in one manufacturing line. In such a method, an inkjet is also used for forming the colored layer, and subsequently, the formation of the protective film using the inkjet is performed in one manufacturing line. Therefore, it is possible to improve work efficiency and productivity. It is possible and preferable for realizing mass production.

The color filter of the present invention is a color filter having a colored layer formed on a substrate and a protective film formed on the colored layer, wherein the protective film is formed by an ink jet method. , The surface step of the protective film is 1
It is characterized by being less than or equal to μm.

In the present invention, by forming the protective film of the color filter by the ink jet method, the surface step difference can be suppressed to 1 μm or less. When the surface step of the protective film of the color filter is 1 μm or less, the flatness of the surface of the protective film is good, and when a liquid crystal device is configured using this color filter, the liquid crystal provided on the protective film side of the color filter. Good layer gap uniformity. As a result, display defects such as brightness unevenness due to gap unevenness of the liquid crystal layer are suppressed, and good display can be obtained.

In the color filter of the present invention, after the protective film forms a colored layer on a substrate base material for cutting out a substrate, the protective film is formed on the entire surface of the substrate base material on which the colored layer is formed. It is preferable that the coating liquid for a protective film is applied by an inkjet method, the coating liquid for a protective film is cured, and then the substrate base material is cut into individual color filters. The manufactured color filter used is characterized in that the protective film is formed on the entire surface of the substrate of the color filter.

The color filter of the present invention is obtained by forming a protective film on the entire surface of the substrate base material and then cutting the substrate into individual color filters. Therefore, when cutting the substrate base material, It is possible to cut off the swelling generated at the edge portion of the coating film when the protective film is formed. Therefore, the protective film on the substrate of each color filter has excellent surface flatness.

In the color filter of the present invention, the coating liquid for the protective film is applied to the inkjet head and the substrate base material while ejecting the coating liquid for the protective film from a plurality of nozzles provided in the inkjet head. Is preferably performed by moving the position of relative to scanning, and by using such a method, the edge in the width direction of the coating film applied in one scan is outside the effective area of the color filter. The existing color filters are obtained. In the color filter having such a configuration, since a non-uniform portion of the coating film is not formed in the effective area of the color filter due to the line feed of the inkjet, it is provided with a uniform protective film having excellent surface flatness. .

In the liquid crystal device of the present invention, the color filter of the present invention, a counter substrate which is arranged to face the side where the protective film of the color filter is formed, and which is sandwiched between the color filter and the counter substrate. And a liquid crystal composition prepared as described above. An electronic device of the present invention is characterized by including the liquid crystal device of the present invention.

According to the liquid crystal device of the present invention, since the color filter having excellent surface flatness of the protective film is used and the layer made of the liquid crystal composition is provided on the upper layer of the protective film, the uniformity of the gap of the liquid crystal layer is improved. Are better. Therefore, display defects such as brightness unevenness due to gap unevenness can be suppressed, and good display can be obtained. Further, according to the electronic device of the present invention, since the liquid crystal device including the color filter excellent in surface flatness of the protective film and excellent in the uniformity of the gap of the liquid crystal layer is used, display defects such as uneven brightness may occur. It is prevented and a good liquid crystal display is obtained.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the color filter of this embodiment. The color filter 10 includes pixels arranged in a matrix on a substrate 11a, and a boundary between the pixels includes a black matrix 12 formed of a light shielding layer and a bank 13 formed on the black matrix 12. It is separated by a partition 14. R (red), G (green), B for each pixel
Colored layers 15r and 15 made of any of the inks of (blue)
g and 15b are formed, and the protective film 16 is formed so as to cover all of them. The sequences of R, G and B are
A so-called mosaic arrangement may be used, or another arrangement such as a stripe arrangement or a delta arrangement may be used.

FIG. 2 shows the color filter 10 of this embodiment.
It is a schematic block diagram which shows the example of the manufacturing line used suitably for manufacturing. The manufacturing line of this example includes a colored layer forming device 51 for performing the step of forming the colored layers 15r, 15g, and 15b by the inkjet method, and a protective film for performing the step of forming the protective film 16 by the inkjet method. A forming device 52, and a conveying means is provided between these devices. Colored layer forming device 5
1 is the first to third inkjet devices 31, 32, 3
3 and the first to third drying devices 41, 42, 43 provided at the latter stage of the respective inkjet devices 31, 32, 33, and post-baking the ink at the latter stage of the third drying device 43. An oven 46 for performing the operation is provided.
In addition, a conveying means is provided between each device. The protective film forming device 52 includes a fourth inkjet device 34 and a fourth inkjet device 34.
The drying device 44 and the curing device 45 are sequentially provided, and a conveying unit is provided between the respective devices.

Colored layers 15r, 15 of the color filter 10
A method of forming g and 15b by an inkjet method is known (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-123007),
The colored layer forming device 51 can be configured by appropriately using a known inkjet device and drying device.

3 to 6 show an example of the fourth ink jet device 34. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the ink jet device 34, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the ink jet heads 72. 5 and 6 are explanatory views of the inkjet 72. The fourth inkjet device 34 includes an inkjet head group 1, which includes a plurality of inkjet heads 72 that discharge the protective film coating liquid L onto the substrate base material 11, an inkjet mechanism 2, an inkjet head group 1, and a substrate. A moving mechanism 3 that can move the position relative to the base material 11 relatively, and a control unit C that controls the inkjet mechanism 2 and the moving mechanism 3 are provided.

The moving mechanism 3 supports the inkjet head group 1 above the substrate base material 11 placed on the substrate stage 4 so that the nozzles 67 of the inkjet head 72 face downward, and at the same time, the substrate base material 11 is supported. On the other hand, it is composed of a head support section 5 for moving it to an arbitrary position, and a stage drive section 6 for moving the substrate base material 11 together with the substrate stage 4 with respect to the upper inkjet head group 1.

The head supporting portion 5 is a mechanism such as a linear motor capable of moving the ink jet head group 1 in the horizontal direction (X axis) and the vertical direction (Z axis) at an arbitrary moving speed and positioning, and a vertical central axis. And a mechanism such as a stepping motor capable of rotating the inkjet head group 1 around the center and setting it at an arbitrary angle with respect to the lower substrate base material 11.

The stage driving unit 6 rotates the substrate stage 4 about the vertical center axis and sets the θ-axis stage 7 that can set an arbitrary angle with respect to the upper inkjet head group 1, and the substrate stage 4 to the inkjet. The head group 1 is provided with a Y-axis stage 8 that is movable and positionable in a horizontal direction (Y-axis) that is orthogonal to the horizontal movement direction. The θ-axis stage 7 is composed of a stepping motor or the like, and the Y-axis stage 8 is composed of a linear motor or the like.

The inkjet mechanism 2 is connected to the inkjet head group 1 via a tube 9a and stores the protective film coating solution L for supplying the protective film coating solution L to the inkjet head 72 of the inkjet head group 1. It is equipped with a tank 9b. That is, the tank 9b
The coating is performed by filling the inkjet head 72 of the inkjet head group 1 with the coating liquid L for the protective film through the tube 9a. The inkjet head 72 includes a discharge mechanism that compresses the liquid chamber by, for example, a piezo element and discharges the liquid by the pressure wave.
It has a plurality of nozzles 67 arranged in one row or a plurality of rows.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the arrangement of the nozzles 67 in the inkjet head group 1, and is a plan view of the lower surface of the inkjet head group 1 (the surface facing the substrate stage 4). In this example, the inkjet head group 1 includes 12 inkjet heads 72 (6 nozzles × 2 nozzles) each having a predetermined number of nozzles 67 and ejection mechanisms 71.
Rows) are provided. Assuming that the direction in which the inkjet head group 1 advances relative to the substrate base material 11 on the substrate stage 4 is S, and the direction perpendicular to this direction is the width direction W, the 12 inkjet heads 72 are nozzles. 6
7 are arranged so as to form a row along one direction having an arbitrary angle with respect to the traveling direction S, and straight lines parallel to the traveling direction S and passing through each nozzle 67 are arranged at equal intervals in the width direction W. Has been done. The number of nozzles 67 provided in one inkjet head 72 and the inkjet head 7
The number of 2 can be appropriately changed, but the width (size in the width direction W) that can be simultaneously applied by the coating liquid discharged from the plurality of nozzles 67 provided in the inkjet head group 1 is one color filter. It is set to be larger than the size of the 10 effective areas.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, for example, the structure of each ink jet head 72 includes a stainless nozzle plate 61 and a vibrating plate 62, both of which are joined via a partition member (reservoir plate) 63. ing. The partition member 6 is provided between the nozzle plate 61 and the vibration plate 62.
3, a plurality of spaces 64 and a liquid pool 65 are formed. The interiors of the spaces 64 and the liquid pool 65 are filled with the coating liquid L for the protective film, and the spaces 64 and the liquid pool 65 communicate with each other through the supply port 66. Further, the nozzle plate 61 is provided with a nozzle 67 that serves as a hole for ejecting the coating liquid L for the protective film from the space 64. On the other hand, the vibrating plate 62 has holes 68 for supplying the coating liquid L for the protective film to the liquid pool 65.

A piezoelectric element (piezo element) 69 is bonded to the surface of the diaphragm 62 opposite to the surface facing the space 64. The piezoelectric element 69 is located between the pair of electrodes 70, and when energized, the piezoelectric element 69 bends so as to project to the outside, and at the same time, the vibration plate 62 to which the piezoelectric element 69 is joined is also integrated to the outside. To bend. This increases the volume of the space 64. Therefore, the protective film coating liquid L corresponding to the increased volume in the space 64 is accumulated in the liquid pool 65.
Flows in through the supply port 66. Next, the piezoelectric element 69
When the energization is released, both the piezoelectric element 69 and the diaphragm 62 return to their original shapes. As a result, the space 64 also returns to the original volume, so that the pressure of the protective film coating liquid L inside the space 64 rises, and the droplets 60 of the protective film coating liquid L are ejected from the nozzle 67 toward the substrate base material 11. Is ejected. The ink jet system of the ink jet head 72 may be a system other than the piezo jet type using the above-mentioned piezoelectric element. For example, an ink bubbling pressure jetting system using an electrothermal converter as an energy generating element (for example, bubble jet ( A registered trademark) method) or the like may be adopted.

The control section C is a CPU such as a microprocessor for controlling the entire apparatus or a computer having an input / output function of various signals, and the ink jet mechanism 2
And the moving mechanism 3 are electrically connected to each other, and at least one of the discharging operation by the inkjet mechanism 2 and the moving operation by the moving mechanism 3 is controlled to control the protective film coating liquid L.
It has the function of changing the coating conditions.

In the present embodiment, the control section C controls the plurality of nozzles 6 in each ink jet head 72.
Nozzle 6 from which the protective film coating liquid L is discharged at the same time
It has the function to change the combination of 7. Thereby, the ejection position of the coating liquid L in the inkjet head 72 can be changed, and the inkjet head group 1
When moving in the traveling direction S once (1 scan),
The width over which the coating liquid L for the protective film is applied onto the substrate base material 11 can be controlled. Inkjet head group 1
If all the straight lines that are parallel to the traveling direction S and that pass through the nozzles 67 are controlled so that the number of nozzles 67 from which the coating liquid L for the protective film is discharged at the same time is equalized, the coating amount is made uniform. It is preferable above.

Further, it is preferable that the control section C has a function of controlling the coating amount depending on the region where the protective film coating liquid L is coated. For example, a control function of individually changing the discharge amount from each nozzle 67 and / or a control function of setting a coating condition for each repeated coating when repeatedly coating the same position on the substrate base material 11 are provided. It is preferable to be controllable so that there are portions having different film thicknesses in the coating film applied by scanning. With such a configuration, it is possible to further reduce the surface level difference D of the protective film 16 by changing the application amount according to the uneven shape of the surface of the substrate base material 11 immediately before the application of the protective film coating liquid L. Becomes

FIGS. 7A to 7E are schematic cross-sectional views showing a method of manufacturing the color filter 10 of this embodiment in the order of steps. First, the substrate 1 of one color filter 10
Substrate base material 1 large enough to cut out a plurality of 1a
1 is prepared, and the black matrix 12 is formed on the substrate base material 11 as shown in FIG. A glass substrate is generally used as the substrate base material 11, but a material other than glass may be used as long as it has characteristics such as transparency and mechanical strength required for use as a color filter. .

The black matrix 12 is made of metallic chrome,
It is formed of a laminate of metallic chromium and chromium oxide, or resin black or the like. To form the black matrix 12 made of a metal thin film, a sputtering method or a vapor deposition method can be used. Also, a black matrix 1 made of a resin thin film
For forming 2, the gravure printing method, the photoresist method, the thermal transfer method and the like can be used.

Subsequently, the bank 13 is formed on the black matrix 12. That is, as shown in FIG. 7B, a resist layer 17 made of a negative type transparent photosensitive resin composition is formed so as to cover the substrate base material 11 and the black matrix 12, and a matrix pattern is formed on the upper surface thereof. The exposure process is performed in a state where the mask film 18 formed in a shape is in close contact with the mask film 18. Then, as shown in FIG.
The resist layer 17 is patterned by etching the unexposed portion of the resist layer 17, and the bank 13
To form. The bank 13 and the black matrix 12 therebelow serve as a partition 14 that serves as a bank that controls the spread of the ink when the colored layers 15r, 15g, and 15b are formed by the inkjet method in the subsequent process.
Becomes

When a resin material having a coating film surface that is ink-phobic is used as a material for forming the bank 13, the surface of the glass substrate (substrate base material 11) is ink-philic, and therefore, in the subsequent step, ink jet is used. It is preferable because the accuracy of ink landing position is improved when the colored layers 15r, 15g, and 15b are formed on the substrate base material 11 surrounded by the bank 13 by the method. In this case, the colored layers 15r, 15g, 15b
After the formation, the upper surface of the bank 13 is preferably made to be ink-philic before forming the protective film 16, and a device therefor is preferably provided between the colored layer forming device 51 and the protective film forming device 52.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7D, the partition 1
In a region surrounded by 4, that is, a pixel, a coating liquid (ink) for a coloring layer is applied and dried to obtain a coloring layer 15r,
15g, 15b are formed. In the present embodiment, the colored layer forming device 51 including the first to third inkjet devices 31, 32, and 33 is used, and the colored layers 15 r and 15 of three colors are used.
g and 15b are sequentially formed. Three colored layers 15r, 15
The order of forming g and 15b is not limited.

For example, first, the substrate base material 11 on which the partition 14 is formed is introduced into the first ink jet device 31,
The red ink is ejected from an inkjet head (not shown) only to a region in which a pixel including the R (red) colored layer 15r is formed among a large number of pixels. After this, the first
Of the ink, and the ink is dried there.
The (red) colored layer 15r is formed. Subsequently, the substrate base material 11 on which the R (red) colored layer 15r is formed is conveyed to the second inkjet device 32, and G (green) out of a large number of pixels.
The green ink is ejected from an inkjet head (not shown) only to a region where the pixel formed of the colored layer 15g is formed. Then, it is conveyed to the second drying device 42,
Here, the ink is dried to form a G (green) colored layer 15g. Then, the R (red) colored layer 15r and G
The substrate base material 11 on which the (green) colored layer 15g is formed is formed into a third layer.
The inkjet head (not shown) discharges the blue ink to only the area in which the pixel formed of the B (blue) colored layer 15b is formed among the large number of pixels. After that, the B (blue) colored layer 1 is conveyed to the third drying device 43 where the ink is dried.
5b is formed. In the first to third inkjet devices 31, 32, 33, for example, the black matrix 12 is used so that the substrate base material 11 can be precisely positioned.
It is preferable to form a positioning mark when forming the.

The ink forming the colored layers 15r, 15g and 15b has a viscosity of 2 to 20 mPa · s, a contact angle with the nozzle plate of more than 50 ° and a surface tension of 20.
It is preferably about 40 mN / m. If the viscosity of the ink is too high, the next ink may not be supplied in time after the ink is ejected, which may cause ejection failure.If the viscosity is too low, the fluidity may be too good and the ink may be over-supplied. is there. If the contact angle of the ink to the nozzle plate is too low, the nozzle plate will get wet with the ink,
When the ink droplet is ejected, the ink droplet may be attracted to the ink adhering to the nozzle plate, and may not be ejected to an accurate position. Further, if the surface tension of the ink is too large or too small, stable meniscus control due to vibration of the piezoelectric element cannot be performed. For example, acrylic resin color paste, water-based melamine color paste and the like can be used.

The thickness of the colored layers 15r, 15g, 15b is
Although there is a difference for each layer of RGB, it is generally 0.8 to 1.2.
It is set within the range of μm. 30 steps to dry the ink
It is preferable to perform the treatment in a temperature range of -80 ° C. for 3 to 5 minutes, and set the configurations of the first to third drying devices 41, 42 and 43 and the conveyance conditions so as to conform to these conditions. Preferably. The three colored layers 15r, 15
After forming g and 15b, post baking (main baking) is performed in the oven 46 to cure the ink. The heating conditions at this time are preferably set to, for example, 220 ° C. and about 30 minutes.

After this, as shown in FIG. 7E, the substrate base material 11, the partition 14, and the colored layers 15r, 15g, 1
A protective film 16 is formed so as to cover the upper surface of 5b. That is, the substrate base material 11 on which the colored layers 15r, 15g, 15b are formed is conveyed to the protective film forming device 52, and the fourth inkjet device 34 causes the colored layers 15r, 1r of the substrate base material 11 to be formed.
The coating liquid L for the protective film is applied to the entire surface on which 5 g and 15 b are formed, and is preliminarily dried by the fourth drying device 44, and then the coating liquid L is cured by the curing device 45 and the protective film 16 is formed.
Is formed.

As the coating liquid L for the protective film, any one can be used as long as it satisfies the characteristics required for the purpose as a protective film and can be applied by an inkjet method.
Similar to the inks forming 5r, 15g, and 15b, those having a viscosity of 2 to 20 mPa, a contact angle with the nozzle plate of 35 ° or more, more preferably more than 50 °, and a surface tension of 20 to 40 mN / m. preferable. Further, when selecting the material, it is preferable that the leveling property that the surface after application is quickly flattened is good, and the wettability to the application surface is good, and the solvent is particularly compatible with the drying method in the subsequent drying step. Good ones are preferred. As the additive, one that does not deteriorate the properties of the protective film is used. The curing rate of the protective film coating liquid L can be changed by changing the composition of the solvent. However, if the curing rate is too fast, the applied coating film will be cured before being flattened. The flatness of the surface of the protective film 16 may deteriorate. On the other hand, if the curing speed is too slow, the drying time will be long and the productivity will be poor.

The coating liquid L for the protective film is, for example,
Acrylic resin 10 to 20% by weight, epoxy resin 0.1
.About.3 wt%, coupling agent 0.1 to 3 wt%, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (solvent having a boiling point of 162 ° C.) 35 to 60 wt%, and butyl carbitol acetate (solvent having a boiling point of 247 ° C.) 20 to 45 wt%. , A viscosity of 4 to 8 mPa · s, a contact angle to the nozzle plate of 46 to 52 °, and a surface tension of 25 to 29 mN / m can be preferably used.

If the thickness of the protective film 16 after drying is too thin, the effect of filling the step between the partition 14 and the colored layers 15r, 15g, 15b to flatten the surface cannot be sufficiently obtained, and if it is too thick. It takes a long time to dry, resulting in poor productivity. In this embodiment, the step between the partition 14 and the colored layers 15r, 15g, and 15b immediately before forming the protective film 16 is generally about 1.5 to 1.8 μm, and the film of the protective film 16 that fills the step is formed. The thickness after curing is preferably about 3.0 to 4.0 μm.

In order to apply the coating liquid L for the protective film by the fourth ink jet device 34, first, the substrate base material 11 is set on the substrate stage 4, and the inkjet head group is provided above the application start position of the substrate base material 11. The inkjet head group 1 and / or the substrate stage 4 are moved so that 1 is located. Then, the substrate stage 4 is moved in the Y direction while applying the protective film coating liquid L from the inkjet head 72 of the inkjet head group 1 at a predetermined discharge interval, and the first scan is applied. In this case, the relative traveling direction S of the inkjet head 72 is the Y direction. Then, the inkjet head group 1 is moved in the X direction to perform a line feed, and then the inkjet head 72 is again used.
While the coating liquid L for the protective film is applied at a predetermined discharge interval, the substrate stage 4 is moved in the Y direction to apply the second scan. By repeating the line feed of the scan as described above, the coating liquid L for the protective film is applied to the entire surface of the substrate base material 11. Alternatively, while applying the protective film coating liquid L from the inkjet head 72 of the inkjet head group 1,
The inkjet head group 1 may be moved in the X direction to perform coating for one scan, and the substrate stage 4 may be moved in the Y direction at the time of line feed. In this case, the inkjet head 7
The relative traveling direction S of 2 is the X direction.

The width of the coating film formed by one scan is made larger than the effective area of one color filter 10, and the edge in the width direction of the coating film formed by one scan is the effective area of the color filter. Apply so that it is located outside. Also,
It is preferable to control the coating amount so as to obtain a desired film thickness. The coating amount per unit area may be uniform over the entire surface of the substrate base material 11, or depending on the unevenness of the surface of the substrate base material 11 immediately before the application of the protective film coating liquid L, the coating amount may vary depending on the part. You can change it. For example, since the partition 14 and the colored layers 15r, 15b, and 15c have different heights, the surface of the protective film 16 can be controlled by changing the ejection amount when ejecting the coating liquid L for the protective film onto the respective upper surfaces. The flatness can be further improved.

Specifically, the control unit C can control the film thickness by changing the discharge amount of the coating liquid L from each nozzle 67. That is, the coating amount per unit area changes in proportion to the ejection amount, and the film thickness can be increased by increasing the ejection amount and can be decreased by decreasing the ejection amount. Alternatively, when the coating is repeatedly applied to the same position on the substrate base material 11, the film thickness of the coating film can be controlled by controlling the discharge amount of the coating liquid L from each nozzle 67 for each repeated coating. You can

In the step of predrying the coating film of the coating liquid for protective film with the fourth drying device 44, known methods such as spin drying method, hot plate drying method and vacuum drying method can be appropriately used. Not only the state of the coating film before drying, but also the difference in the drying method, the surface flatness of the protective film 16 after drying can change, so while considering the finish of the protective film 16 surface, productivity, etc., It is preferable to employ an appropriate drying method depending on the surface condition of the coating film before drying.

In the step of curing the coating film after the preliminary drying by the curing device 45, the substrate base material 11 after the preliminary drying is heat-treated by the curing device 45 having a heating means such as an oven having a warm air blowing mechanism. By doing so, the coating film is cured to form the protective film 16. The conditions for heating are appropriately set according to the material and film thickness of the coating film.

After forming the protective film 16 in this way,
The color filter 10 is obtained by cutting the substrate base material 11 into individual effective regions. When the color filter 10 is used in a liquid crystal device, the substrate base material 1
After assembling the liquid crystal panel using 1, or in the middle of assembling the liquid crystal panel, it is preferable to cut the substrate base material 11 for each color filter.

According to this embodiment, the surface step D of the protective film 16 can be reduced to 1 μm or less. The value of the surface step D here means the value of the difference between the upper end and the lower end when the surface is measured by the contact type step measuring device. In addition, the protective film 16
Since the ink-jet method is used for forming, the amount of the coating liquid used is smaller than that in the case of using the spin coating method, and the color filter having excellent surface flatness can be manufactured at low cost.

In this embodiment, the inkjet head group 1 provided with a plurality of inkjet heads 72 is used as the means for ejecting the coating liquid L in the inkjet apparatus. However, a coating film having a desired width can be obtained by one scan. If possible, it is possible to configure the ejection means with only one inkjet head. If the ejection means is configured by using a plurality of inkjet heads 72 as in the present embodiment, the existing small inkjet heads can be used.
It can be configured so that a relatively wide coating can be obtained by scanning.

The arrangement of the ink jet heads 72 in the ink jet head group 1 is not limited to the arrangement of this embodiment, but the nozzles 67 are arranged in rows along one direction having an arbitrary angle with respect to the traveling direction S. It is sufficient that the straight lines that are parallel to the traveling direction S and pass through the nozzles 67 are arranged at equal intervals in the width direction W, and an appropriate arrangement can be adopted. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of inkjet heads 72 are provided in the width direction W, three in this example, two rows are provided in the traveling direction S, and the nozzles 67 of each inkjet head 72 are arranged in the width direction W. They may be arranged in rows. A straight line that is parallel to the traveling direction S at the end portion 72a in the width direction W of the first row inkjet head 72 and passes through the nozzle 67, and is parallel to the traveling direction S at the end portion 72b in the width direction W of the second row inkjet head 72. It is preferable that the straight lines passing through the nozzle 67 partially overlap each other. It should be noted that the ejection mechanism of the inkjet head is not shown in this figure.

FIG. 9 shows the color filter 10 of this embodiment.
A first example in which a liquid crystal device is configured by using
It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of a passive matrix type liquid crystal device (liquid crystal device). A transmissive liquid crystal display device as a final product is obtained by mounting auxiliary elements such as a liquid crystal driving IC, a backlight, and a support on the liquid crystal device 100 of this example.

The liquid crystal device 100 includes the color filter 10 described in the first embodiment, and the color filter 10 is arranged on the upper side (observer side).
In the present embodiment, the color filter 10 will be briefly described. This figure shows a main part of a transmissive liquid crystal device 100. The liquid crystal device 100 includes a counter substrate 10 including a color filter 10 and a glass substrate.
A liquid crystal layer 103 made of an STN (Super Twisted Nematic) liquid crystal composition or the like is sandwiched between the first and the second liquid crystal display devices 1 and 1 to form a schematic structure. The color filter 10 is the same as the color filter described in the first embodiment, and the partition 1 including the substrate 11a, the black matrix 12 and the bank 13 is provided.
4, colored layers 15r, 15g, 15b, and protective film 16
Is equipped with.

On the protective film 16 of the color filter 10 (on the liquid crystal layer side), a plurality of first electrodes 106 are formed in stripes at predetermined intervals, and an alignment film 109 is formed so as to cover the upper surface thereof. Has been done. On the other hand, on the surface of the counter substrate 101 facing the color filter 10 (on the liquid crystal layer side)
A plurality of second electrodes 105 extending in a direction orthogonal to the first electrode 106 on the color filter 10 side are formed in stripes at predetermined intervals, and an alignment film 107 is formed so as to cover the upper surface thereof. Has been formed. The portion where the first electrode 106 and the second electrode 105 intersect is a pixel, and the colored layer 15r of the color filter 10 is provided at the portion that becomes the pixel.
It is configured such that 15g and 15b are located. Although not shown, polarizing plates are provided on the outer surfaces of the counter substrate 101 and the color filter 10, respectively. Further, reference numeral 104 is a spacer for keeping the distance between the substrates (called a cell gap) constant within the substrate surface, and reference numeral 110 is a sealant for holding the liquid crystal composition between the substrates. The first electrode 106 and the second electrode 105 are formed of a transparent conductive material such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) in a stripe shape in plan view. First
One end of the electrode 106 is formed so as to extend to the outside of the sealing material, and forms a lead wiring 106a.

According to the liquid crystal device 100 having such a configuration, since the protective film 16 of the color filter 10 is formed by cutting the film on the entire surface of the substrate base material 11 by ink jet and then cutting it, the surface is flat. It has excellent properties. Therefore, the unevenness of the cell gap in the liquid crystal device 100 is suppressed to be small, the unevenness of the brightness on the display screen is improved, and good display can be obtained. In addition, since the surface flatness of the protective film 16 of the color filter 10 is good, the surface flatness of the first electrode and the alignment film 109 formed thereabove are also good. Therefore, rubbing unevenness caused by the surface step of the alignment film 109 is prevented, and good liquid crystal display characteristics are obtained. Furthermore, since the inkjet is used to form the protective film 16, the amount of the coating liquid used is smaller than that in the case where the protective film is formed by the spin coating method, and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

FIG. 10 shows the color filter 1 of this embodiment.
2 is a cross-sectional view showing a second example in which a liquid crystal device is configured by using 0, and showing a schematic configuration of a passive matrix type liquid crystal device (liquid crystal device). Liquid crystal device 2 of this embodiment
By mounting auxiliary elements such as a liquid crystal driving IC, a backlight, and a support member on 00, a transmissive liquid crystal display device as a final product can be obtained. This liquid crystal device 200
A major difference from the liquid crystal device 100 of the first example is that the color filter 10 is arranged on the lower side (the side opposite to the observer side). In the present example, the constituent elements of the color filter 10 are designated by the same reference numerals as those in the first example, and the description thereof is omitted.

The main part of the transmissive liquid crystal device 200 is shown in FIG.
ST between 0 and the counter substrate 201 made of a glass substrate or the like.
Liquid crystal layer 2 made of N (Super Twisted Nematic) liquid crystal, etc.
03 is pinched | interposed and it is comprised roughly. On the protective film 16 (on the liquid crystal side) of the color filter 10, a plurality of first electrodes 206 are formed in stripes at predetermined intervals,
An alignment film 209 is formed so as to cover the upper surface.
On the other hand, on the surface of the counter substrate 201 facing the color filter 10 (on the liquid crystal layer side), the plurality of second electrodes 20 extending in the direction orthogonal to the first electrode 206 on the color filter side.
5 are formed in stripes at predetermined intervals, and an alignment film 207 is formed so as to cover the upper surface thereof. And
A portion where the first electrode 206 and the second electrode 205 intersect is a pixel, and the colored layers 15r, 15g, and 15b of the color filter 10 are arranged at the portion that becomes the pixel.

Although not shown, the counter substrate 201 is also provided.
Polarizing plates are installed on the outer surface side of the color filter 10, respectively. Further, reference numeral 204 is a spacer for keeping the distance between the substrates (cell gap) constant within the substrate surface, and reference numeral 210 is a sealing material for holding the liquid crystal between the substrates. The first electrode 206 and the second electrode 205 are formed of a transparent conductive material such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) in a stripe shape in plan view. According to the liquid crystal device 200 having such a configuration, the first
The same effects as those of the liquid crystal device 100 of the above example can be obtained, and the uneven brightness and the uneven rubbing in the liquid crystal device can be improved and the cost can be reduced.

FIG. 11 shows the color filter 1 of this embodiment.
3 is a third example in which a liquid crystal device is configured by using 0, and is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a transmissive TFT type (Thin Film Transistor type) liquid crystal device 300. FIG. A transmissive liquid crystal display device as a final product is configured by mounting auxiliary elements such as a liquid crystal driving IC, a backlight, and a support on the liquid crystal device 300 of this embodiment. The liquid crystal device 300 includes the color filter 10 of the first embodiment, and the color filter 10 is arranged on the upper side (observer side). In the present example, the constituent elements of the color filter 10 are designated by the same reference numerals as those in the first example, and the description thereof is omitted.

In the liquid crystal device 300 of this embodiment, the color filter 10, the counter substrate 314 disposed so as to face the color filter 10, the liquid crystal layer (not shown) sandwiched therebetween, and the upper surface side of the color filter 10 are provided. A polarizing plate 316 attached to the (observer side) and a polarizing plate (not shown) attached to the lower surface side of the counter substrate 314 are mainly configured. An electrode 318 for driving a liquid crystal is formed on the protective film 16 of the color filter 10. This electrode 318 is
It is made of a transparent conductive material such as TO (Indium Tin Oxide) and is a full-face electrode that covers the entire region where a pixel electrode 332 to be described later is formed. Further, an alignment film 319 is provided on the liquid crystal layer side so as to cover the electrode 318.

On the other hand, the insulating layer 325 is formed on the counter substrate 314.
And a TFT type switching element and a pixel electrode 332 are formed on the insulating film 325.
Although an alignment film is provided on the pixel electrode 332 in the actual liquid crystal device, it is omitted in this figure.

In the thin film transistor T (TFT) as a switching element, scanning lines 351 ... And signal lines 352 ... Are formed in a matrix on an insulating layer 325 formed on a counter substrate 314, and these scanning lines 351 ... The pixel electrode 332 is provided in each area surrounded by the signal line 352 and the signal line 352. The source electrode, the drain electrode, the semiconductor, the pixel electrode 332 are provided in the corner portion of each pixel electrode 332 and the portion between the scanning line 351 and the signal line 352. And a thin film transistor T including a gate electrode. Then, the thin film transistor T is turned on / off by applying a signal to the scanning line 351 and the signal line 352 to control the energization of the pixel electrode 332.

According to the liquid crystal device 300 having such a configuration, the same effect as that of the liquid crystal device 100 of the first example can be obtained, and the uneven brightness and the uneven rubbing in the liquid crystal device can be improved and the cost can be reduced. Although the liquid crystal device of each of the above examples has a transmissive configuration, a reflective layer or a semi-transmissive reflective layer may be provided at an appropriate position to configure a reflective liquid crystal device or a semi-transmissive reflective liquid crystal device. You can also

FIG. 12 is a partial sectional view showing a second embodiment of the color filter. A major difference of the color filter 90 of the present embodiment from the color filter 10 of the first embodiment is that the colored layers 95r, 95g, 95b are formed by a photolithographic method without using an inkjet. The color filter 90 includes pixels arranged in a matrix on a substrate 91a, and a boundary between the pixels is separated by a black matrix 92 formed of a light shielding layer. Colored layers 95r, 95g, and 95b made of any one of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) inks are formed in each pixel, and a protective film covers all of these. 96 are formed. The arrangement of R, G, B may be a so-called mosaic arrangement, or may be another arrangement such as a stripe arrangement or a delta arrangement.

In order to manufacture the color filter 90 of this embodiment, a black matrix 92, and then R (red) and G are formed on the substrate base material 91 by the photolithography method.
Colored layers 95r and 95 composed of (green) and B (blue) inks
After forming g and 95b in order, a protective film 96 is formed by an inkjet method, and thereafter, the substrate base material 91 may be cut into individual color filters. The protective film 96 is formed by the protective film forming apparatus 52 in the first embodiment,
That is, using the same devices as the fourth inkjet device 34, the fourth drying device 44, and the curing device 45, it is possible to perform the same procedure as the step of forming the protective film 16 in the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, since the inkjet is used to apply the coating liquid L for the protective film on the substrate base material 91 on which the colored layers 95r, 95g, and 95b are formed, the application amount per unit area is set to the substrate base material 91. May be uniform over the entire surface, or the film thickness may be controlled by changing the coating amount on the black matrix 92 and the colored layers 95r, 95g, 95b.

Also in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the surface step D of the protective film can be reduced to 1 μm or less. Further, since the inkjet is used for forming the protective film, the amount of the coating liquid used is smaller than that in the case where the spin coating method is used, and the color filter having excellent surface flatness can be manufactured at low cost. .
Further, the color filter 91 of the present embodiment can also configure a liquid crystal device in the same manner as the color filter 10 of the first embodiment, and can obtain similar operational effects.

Next, embodiments of the electronic equipment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 13A is a perspective view showing an example of a mobile phone. Reference numeral 600 indicates a mobile phone main body, and reference numeral 601 indicates a liquid crystal display unit. FIG. 13B is a perspective view showing an example of a portable information processing device such as a word processor and a personal computer. Reference numeral 700 is an information processing device, reference numeral 7
Reference numeral 01 denotes an input unit such as a keyboard, reference numeral 703 denotes an information processing apparatus main body, and reference numeral 702 denotes a liquid crystal display unit. FIG. 13C is a perspective view showing an example of a wrist watch type electronic device. Reference numeral 800 indicates a watch body, and reference numeral 80
1 has shown the liquid crystal display part. In these electronic devices, the liquid crystal display units 601, 702, and 801 have a liquid crystal device including any one of the first and second color filters 10 and 90, for example, the liquid crystal device 10 of the first to third examples.
It is configured by using any one of 0, 200, and 300.

In the electronic equipment of these embodiments,
Since the liquid crystal display units 601, 702, and 801 are configured by using the liquid crystal devices 100, 200, and 300 that are provided with the color filter 10 having excellent surface flatness of the protective film and have excellent gap uniformity of the liquid crystal layer, A good liquid crystal display can be obtained by preventing display defects such as uneven brightness.

[0074]

Example 1 A color filter 10 was manufactured by the method shown in FIG. First, the substrate base material 11 made of alkali-free glass having a length of 47 cm, a width of 37 cm, and a thickness of 0.7 mm
Was prepared, and the surface was washed with a cleaning solution in which 1% by weight of hydrogen peroxide solution was added to hot concentrated sulfuric acid, rinsed with pure water, and then air-dried to clean the surface. Next, an average film thickness of 0.2 μm was formed on the surface of the cleaned substrate base material 11 by the sputtering method.
After forming a chromium thin film of m, the black matrix 12 was formed by etching. Arrangement of the plurality of color filters 10 on the substrate base material 11 has a width of 20 mm in the peripheral portion.
28mm vertical and 3 horizontal, leaving a frame-shaped margin
The effective areas of 6 mm were arranged in a matrix. Further, the interval between the effective regions adjacent to each other in the vertical direction was 7 mm, and the interval between the effective regions adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction was 6 mm.

Next, on the substrate base material 11 on which the black matrix 12 is formed, a resist layer 17 made of a negative type fluorine-containing acrylic transparent photosensitive resin composition is formed by spin coating, and this is formed at 100 ° C. After being heated for 20 minutes to be pre-dried, the mask film 18 formed in a predetermined matrix pattern shape was exposed to ultraviolet rays while being in close contact. Then, after immersing in an alkaline developing solution to remove the resist layer in the unexposed portion, rinsing with pure water, spin drying, and heat curing were sequentially performed to form bank 13. The heating conditions for thermosetting were 200 ° C. for 30 minutes. The surface of the bank 13 is ink-phobic and has a height of about 2.5 μm.

Next, the substrate base material 11 on which the partition 14 composed of the black matrix 12 and the bank 13 is formed is introduced into the first ink jet device 31, and the pixel composed of the R (red) colored layer 15r is formed. Area (partition 14
A red ink was ejected from an inkjet head (not shown) to a region surrounded by. As a red ink, after dispersing a red organic pigment in a polyurethane resin oligomer, cyclohexanone and butyl acetate are added as a low-boiling solvent, butyl carbitol acetate is added as a high-boiling solvent, and a nonionic surfactant is added. 0
1% by weight was added as a dispersant, and the viscosity was 6-8 mPa · s.
Was used. The contact angle of this red ink with the nozzle plate is 40.1 °, and the surface tension is 30.8 mN.
Was / m. After that, it is conveyed to the first drying device 41,
Here, the ink was dried to form an R (red) colored layer 15r. Drying was performed using a hot plate under heating conditions of 50 ° C. for 3 minutes. The height of the R (red) colored layer 15r (the film thickness after drying) was 1.2 μm.

Subsequently, the ink is introduced into the second ink jet device 32, and an ink jet head (not shown) is applied to a region (a region surrounded by the partition 14) in which a pixel composed of the G (green) colored layer 15g is formed. ) Ejected a green ink. As the green ink, the same composition as the red ink used above except that the organic pigment was changed to the green one, and the viscosity was 6 to 8 mPa · s. The contact angle of this green ink with the nozzle plate is 40.
The surface tension was 5 ° and 31.4 mN / m. After this,
It was conveyed to the 2nd drying device 42, and the ink was dried here, and 15 g of G (green) colored layers were formed. Dry the above R
The same procedure was performed as for the (red) colored layer 15r. The height of the G (green) colored layer 15g (film thickness after drying) was 1.0 μm.

Then, the ink is introduced into the third ink jet device 33, and an ink jet head (not shown) is applied to the region (the region surrounded by the partition 14) in which the pixel composed of the B (blue) colored layer 15b is formed. ) Ejected blue ink. As the blue ink, one having the same composition as that of the red ink used above except that the organic pigment was changed to a blue one and having a viscosity of 6 to 8 mPa · s was used. The contact angle of this blue ink with the nozzle plate is 39.
The surface tension was 8 ° and 30.9 mN / m. And
It was conveyed to the third drying device 43, and the ink was dried there to form the B (blue) colored layer 15b. Dry the above R
The same procedure was performed as for the (red) colored layer 15r. The height (film thickness after drying) of the B (blue) colored layer 15b was 0.8 μm.
After that, it is conveyed to an oven 46, and post-baked under the conditions of 220 ° C. for 30 minutes to obtain colored layers 15r, 15g, 1
5b was cured.

Subsequently, the substrate base material 11 on which the colored layers 15r, 15g and 15b are formed is subjected to AP treatment (atmospheric pressure plasma treatment) to make the surface of the bank 13 ink-philic, and then the fourth ink jet. After being introduced into the device 34, the protective film coating liquid L was applied to the entire surface of the substrate base material 11 on which the colored layers 15r, 15g, and 15b were formed. As the coating liquid L for the protective film, acrylic resin, epoxy resin,
A thermosetting resin composition comprising a coupling agent, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (solvent having a boiling point of 162 ° C.), and butyl carbitol acetate (solvent having a boiling point of 247 ° C.) was used. The viscosity of the coating liquid L for this protective film is 6 m.
Pa · s, the contact angle with the nozzle plate was 50 °, and the surface tension was 28 mN / m.

The fourth ink jet device 34 is constructed so that the maximum value of the coatable width is 152 mm by one scan of the ink jet head group 1. Then, the substrate base material 11 is set on the substrate stage 4 so that the longitudinal direction of the substrate base material 11 is the traveling direction S,
The coating was started from the corner of the substrate base material 11. When applying,
By appropriately setting the combination of the nozzles 67 that simultaneously eject the coating liquid L among the plurality of nozzles 67,
The edge of the coating film formed by scanning is located outside the effective area of the color filter on the substrate base material 11,
The width of the coating was controlled. Specifically, the coating width of the first scan was 126 mm, and coating was applied from one end to the other end of the substrate base material 11 in the vertical direction, and then the substrate base material 11 was line-feeded in the horizontal direction to perform the second scan. The line feed width was set so that there was no overlap or gap between the coating film formed in the first scan and the coating film formed in the second scan, and the coating width in the second scan was 126 mm. Similarly, the third scan was applied to apply the protective film coating liquid L on the entire surface of the substrate base material 11.

Then, the protective film coating liquid L applied onto the substrate base material 11 was pre-dried by being transported to the fourth drying device 44 and dried by hot plate. The heating condition during drying was 100 ° C. for 5 minutes. Furthermore, the color filter 1 is introduced into the curing device 45 and heat-treated at 200 ° C. for 30 minutes to completely cure the coating film, thereby forming the protective film 16.
I got 0. The surface step of the obtained color filter 10 was measured. Measurement is 2 on one color filter
The surface level difference was measured at 0 points, and the average value of the 20 points was calculated. As a result, the surface step difference of the protective film 16 was about 0.29 μm. Further, by using the obtained color filter 10, a transmission type TF having the configuration shown in FIG.
A T-type liquid crystal device was manufactured. When the obtained liquid crystal device was driven, no interference unevenness was observed at the edge portion of the display screen, and good display was obtained.

Comparative Example 1 A color filter was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the protective film 16 was not provided on the entire surface of the substrate base material 11 but was formed only in the effective region of the color filter 10. That is, the black matrix 12, the bank 13, and the colored layers 15r, 15g, and 15b were formed on the substrate material 11 in the same manner as in Example 1 above. Subsequently, after applying an AP treatment to make the surface of the bank 13 ink-philic, the protective film coating liquid L was applied by an ink jet method only to the region on the substrate base material 11 that becomes the effective region of the color filter 10. The same coating liquid L for the protective film as in Example 1 was used. Thereafter, in the same manner as in Example 1 above, the coating film was pre-dried and heat-cured, and then the substrate base material 11 was cut to obtain a color filter.

The surface level difference of the obtained color filter 10 was measured in the same manner as in Example 1 above. As a result, the surface level difference of the protective film 16 was about 0.30 μm. However, when the protective film 16 was used for a transmissive TFT liquid crystal device in the same manner as in Example 1, the peripheral edge of the display screen was observed when the liquid crystal device was driven. Interference fringes, which are thought to be caused by the film thickness unevenness, were observed at the edge (edge portion).

[0084]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the protective film coating liquid applied by the inkjet method on the substrate base material is dried, even if swelling occurs at the edge part of the coating film, when cutting the substrate base material into individual color filters, this Since the portion where the swelling occurs can be cut off, it is possible to manufacture a color filter having excellent surface flatness of the protective film. Further, as compared with the conventional method of forming a protective film by using a spin coating method, the amount of the coating liquid for the protective film to be used can be smaller, so that the cost of raw materials and the cost can be reduced. Further, the color filter of the present invention has good surface flatness because the surface step of the protective film is 1 μm or less, and the liquid crystal provided on the upper layer of the color filter by forming a liquid crystal device using this color filter. It is possible to prevent the layer gap unevenness, suppress display defects such as brightness unevenness, and obtain a good liquid crystal display. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a liquid crystal device and an electronic device having excellent display screen homogeneity.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of a color filter of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a production line suitably used in the method for producing a color filter of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of an inkjet device that is preferably used in the color filter manufacturing method of the present invention.

4 is a plan view showing an example of an array of inkjet heads in the inkjet apparatus of FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a main part of an inkjet head in the inkjet device of FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view of an inkjet head in the inkjet device of FIG.

7A to 7E are schematic cross-sectional views showing the method of manufacturing the color filter of the first embodiment in the order of steps.

8 is a plan view showing another example of an array of inkjet heads in the inkjet apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a liquid crystal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a liquid crystal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a liquid crystal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of the color filter of the invention.

13A and 13B show examples of electronic devices according to the present invention, where FIG. 13A is a perspective view of a mobile phone, FIG. 13B is a perspective view of a portable information processing device, and FIG. It is a perspective view of an electronic device.

FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional color filter.

FIG. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a surface step in a conventional color filter.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 90 ... Color filters 11, 91 ... Substrate base materials 11a, 91a, 501 ... Substrate, 15r, 15g, 15b, 95r, 95g, 95b, 5
02r, 502g, 502b ... Colored layer, 16, 96, 5
03 ... Protective film 1 ... Inkjet head group 67 ... Nozzle 72 ... Inkjet head L ... Protective film coating liquid 100, 200, 300 ... Liquid crystal device 101, 201, 314 ... Counter substrate 103, 203 ... Liquid crystal layer D ... Surface step

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 2C056 EA24 FA10 FB01 HA11 HA44                       HA46                 2H048 BA64 BB02 BB24 BB37 BB44                 2H091 FA02Y FA35Y FB02 FB08                       FC01 FC10 GA03 GA16 LA12                       LA15 LA18

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a color filter comprising a colored layer formed on a substrate and a protective film formed on the colored layer, the method comprising forming a colored layer on a substrate base material. A coating step for coating a protective film coating liquid on the entire surface of the substrate base material on which the colored layer is formed by an inkjet method; and a protective film coating liquid applied on the substrate base material. A method of manufacturing a color filter, comprising: a curing step of curing the resin to form a protective film; and a cutting step of cutting the substrate base material on which the protective film is formed into individual color filters. 2. In the coating step, the positions of the inkjet head and the substrate base material are relatively moved while discharging the protective film coating liquid from a plurality of nozzles provided in the inkjet head. The width of the coating film is controlled so that the widthwise edge of the coating film formed by one scan is located outside the effective area of the color filter while scanning. Of manufacturing color filter of. 3. In the coating step, the protective film coating liquid is coated by changing the combination of nozzles of the plurality of nozzles provided in the ink jet head that simultaneously discharge the protective film coating liquid. The method for manufacturing a color filter according to claim 2, wherein the width of the color filter is controlled. 4. The method for manufacturing a color filter according to claim 1, wherein in the coating step, the coating amount of the protective film coating liquid is changed depending on the coating region. 5. The coloring layer forming step includes a step of applying a coloring layer coating solution by an ink jet method and a step of curing the coloring layer coating solution. The method of manufacturing a color filter according to claim 1, wherein the coating step of coating the film coating liquid is performed in one manufacturing line. 6. A color filter comprising a colored layer formed on a substrate and a protective film formed on the colored layer, wherein the protective film is formed by an inkjet method. A color filter having a surface step of 1 μm or less. 7. The protective film is formed by forming a colored layer on a substrate base material for cutting out a substrate, and then forming a protective film on the entire surface of the substrate base material on which the colored layer is formed by an inkjet method. Is formed by cutting the substrate base material into individual color filters after applying the coating liquid for coating and curing the coating liquid for the protective film. The color filter according to claim 6, which is formed on the entire surface of the substrate. 8. The coating of the coating liquid for protective film is performed by ejecting the coating liquid for protective film from a plurality of nozzles provided in the inkjet head, and the relative positions of the inkjet head and the base material of the substrate. 8. The color according to claim 7, wherein an edge in the width direction of the coating film applied by one scan is present outside the effective area of the color filter. filter. 9. The color filter according to claim 6, a counter substrate disposed opposite to a side of the color filter on which a protective film is formed, the color filter and the counter substrate. A liquid crystal device comprising a liquid crystal composition sandwiched therebetween. 10. An electronic apparatus comprising the liquid crystal device according to claim 9.