JP2004295121A - Tft sheet and manufacturing method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simple and efficient manufacturing method for a TFT sheet having a plurality of TFT elements connected and arrayed through a gate bus line and a source bus line, and then to provide a TFT sheet whose size precision and position precision are improved and which has less variance in performance among individual TFTs. <P>SOLUTION: The TFT sheet is manufactured by connecting the plurality of TFTs, each having as elements a gate electrode, and a source electrode and a drain electrode connected through a channel formed of a gate insulating film and a semiconductor layer, on a base sheet through the gate bus line and source bus line. In this manufacturing method, the positions of the gate bus line and source bus line formed on the sheet are detected and information on the array positions and shapes of the elements is outputted according to the position information to form the respective elements at the array positions. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a TFT sheet and a TFT sheet manufactured by the method.

  With the spread of information terminals, needs for flat panel displays as displays for computers are increasing. In addition, with the progress of computerization, information provided conventionally on paper media has been increasingly provided in the form of electronic media, and electronic paper or electronic paper has been used as a mobile display medium that is thin, light, and easily portable. The need for digital paper is also growing.

  Generally, in a flat panel display device, a display medium is formed using elements utilizing liquid crystal, organic EL, electrophoresis, or the like. Further, in such a display medium, in order to secure uniformity of screen luminance and screen rewriting speed, a technique using an active driving element constituted by a thin film transistor (TFT) as an image driving element has become mainstream.

  Here, the TFT element is usually formed by sequentially forming a semiconductor thin film such as a-Si (amorphous silicon) and p-Si (polysilicon) on a glass substrate and a metal thin film such as a source, a drain and a gate electrode on the substrate in order. It is manufactured by forming. The manufacture of a flat panel display using this TFT usually requires a high-precision photolithography process in addition to a vacuum system such as CVD and sputtering, and a thin film formation process requiring a high-temperature treatment process. The load is very large. Further, with the recent demand for larger screens of displays, their costs have become extremely enormous.

  In recent years, research and development of an organic TFT element using an organic semiconductor material has been actively pursued as a technique to compensate for the disadvantages of the conventional TFT element (see Patent Document 1, Non-Patent Document 1, etc.). Since this organic TFT element can be manufactured by a low-temperature process, it is said that a light and hard-to-break resin substrate can be used, and a flexible display using a resin film as a support can be realized (Non-Patent Document) 2). In addition, by using an organic semiconductor material that can be manufactured by a wet process such as printing or coating under atmospheric pressure, realization of a display with excellent productivity and extremely low cost can be expected.

Further, Patent Documents 2 and 3 propose a method of manufacturing an organic TFT element using an inkjet.
JP-A-10-190001 U.S. Pat. No. 6,087,196 International Publication No. 01/46987 pamphlet Advanced Material 2002, Issue 2, p. 99 (review) SID'02 Digest p57

  However, even in the production of organic TFT elements, a high-precision photolithographic process is still required to obtain the accuracy of the arrangement of each element constituting the element. In addition, there is a problem that dimensional accuracy and positional accuracy are significantly reduced as compared with a TFT element using glass as a support.

  That is, in the techniques of Patent Documents 2 and 3, there is a problem in the positional accuracy of each element of the TFT, and a large number of pixel units and corresponding bus lines cannot be accurately formed on the TFT sheet. Therefore, there is a problem that the performance variation between the TFT elements is increased. Further, in order to improve the positional accuracy, the patterning speed must be reduced, and efficient manufacturing cannot be performed, so that the cost is significantly increased. In particular, when a resin film is used for the support, these problems are remarkable.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a simple and efficient method of manufacturing a TFT sheet in which a plurality of TFT elements are connected and arranged via a gate bus line and a source bus line. It is another object of the present invention to provide a TFT sheet in which dimensional accuracy and positional accuracy are improved and variations in performance between individual TFTs are suppressed.

The object of the present invention is
1) A plurality of thin film transistor (TFT) elements each having a source electrode and a drain electrode connected by a channel formed of a gate electrode, a gate insulating layer, and a semiconductor layer as elements on a support sheet are provided with a gate bus line and a source bus line. In manufacturing the TFT sheet connected via the, the position of the gate bus line or the source bus line formed on the sheet is detected, and information on the arrangement position and the shape of the element is output based on the position information, A method of manufacturing a TFT sheet in which each element is formed at the arrangement position,
2) A plurality of thin film transistors having a gate electrode, a gate insulating layer, a source electrode and a drain electrode connected by a channel composed of a semiconductor layer, and a pixel electrode as elements in this order are formed on a support sheet by a gate bus line and a source. In manufacturing a TFT sheet connected via a bus line, a position of a gate bus line formed on the sheet is detected, and a semiconductor layer, a source bus line, a source electrode, a drain electrode, a pixel are detected based on the position information. A method for producing a TFT sheet that outputs information on the position and shape of at least one element selected from the electrodes and forms each element based on the information on the position and shape (first embodiment);
3) the method of manufacturing a TFT sheet according to 2), wherein at least one of a source bus line, a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a pixel electrode is formed by an inkjet method or laser irradiation;
4) The method for producing a TFT sheet according to any one of 1) to 3), wherein the semiconductor layer is made of an organic semiconductor material;
5) The method for manufacturing a TFT sheet according to any one of 1) to 4), wherein the semiconductor layer is formed by an inkjet method;
6) The method of manufacturing a TFT sheet according to any one of 1) to 5), wherein the position of the gate bus line or the source bus line on the conveyed sheet is detected.
7) A plurality of thin film transistor (TFT) elements each having a source electrode and a drain electrode connected by a channel including a gate electrode, a gate insulating layer, and a semiconductor layer as elements on a support sheet, and form a gate bus line and a source bus line. In manufacturing a TFT sheet connected via a support sheet, at least one selected from the elements is fixed on a rotating support member on which a pre-formed support sheet is formed in advance, and then the position of the formed element is detected. Manufacturing of a TFT sheet that outputs at least one type of arrangement position and shape information of another element to be additionally formed based on the position information, and additionally forms the other element at the arrangement position while rotating a rotation support member. Method (third embodiment),
8) The method of manufacturing a TFT sheet according to 7), wherein the preformed element is a gate electrode and / or a gate bus line;
9) The method of manufacturing a TFT sheet according to 7), wherein the preformed element is at least one selected from a source electrode, a source bus line, and a drain electrode.
10) The method of manufacturing a TFT sheet according to any one of 7) to 9), wherein the formation of another element to be additionally formed is performed by an inkjet method or laser irradiation.
11) The method for manufacturing a TFT sheet according to any one of 7) to 10), wherein the position of the gate bus line or the source bus line is detected;
12) The method of manufacturing a TFT sheet according to 11), wherein the support sheet is fixed to the support member such that the gate bus line or the source bus line is along the rotation direction of the rotary support member.
13) The method for producing a TFT sheet according to any one of 7) to 12), wherein the semiconductor layer is made of an organic semiconductor material;
14) a TFT sheet manufactured by the manufacturing method according to any one of 1) to 13),
15) The TFT sheet 14) using a support sheet made of resin,
Is achieved by

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, a TFT sheet can be simply and efficiently manufactured, and thereby, a dimensional accuracy and a positional accuracy are improved, and a TFT sheet in which variations in performance among individual TFTs are suppressed can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

  The method for manufacturing a TFT sheet according to the present invention detects a position of a gate bus line or a source bus line formed on the sheet, and outputs information on an arrangement position and a shape of an element constituting the TFT based on the position information. Each element is formed at the arrangement position (first and second embodiments).

  Further, the method of manufacturing a TFT sheet according to the present invention includes the steps of: forming a support sheet in which at least one selected from a source electrode and a drain electrode connected by a channel including a gate electrode, a gate insulating layer, and a semiconductor layer is formed on a rotating drum or After fixing on a rotating support member such as an endless belt, the position of the formed element is detected, and based on the position information, information of at least one type of arrangement position and shape of another element to be additionally formed is output. Another feature is that the other element is additionally formed at the arrangement position while rotating the rotation support member (third embodiment).

  The TFT sheet according to the present invention includes, on a support sheet, a plurality of thin film transistor elements each having a gate electrode, a gate insulating layer, and a source electrode and a drain electrode connected by a channel including a semiconductor layer as elements. It is formed by being connected via a bus line.

  The thin film transistor element has a source electrode and a drain electrode in contact with a semiconductor layer on a support, a top-gate type in which a gate electrode is provided thereover with a gate insulating layer interposed therebetween, and a gate electrode on the support first. The semiconductor device is roughly classified into a bottom gate type having a source electrode and a drain electrode connected by a semiconductor layer via a gate insulating layer.

  In the manufacturing method according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention, the position information of the source bus line is detected when the TFT element is a top gate type, and the position information of the gate bus line is detected when the TFT element is a bottom gate type. In particular, in a sheet having a bottom gate type TFT element, a pixel electrode is further used as an element, a position of a gate bus line is detected, and a semiconductor layer, a source bus line, a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a pixel electrode are detected based on the position information. Preferably, information on the position and shape of at least one selected element is output, and each element is formed based on the information on the position and shape.

  In the manufacturing method according to the third embodiment of the present invention, when the TFT element is a top gate type, the element formed in advance is at least one of a source electrode, a source bus line, and a drain electrode, and when the TFT element is a bottom gate type, the element is formed in advance. The formed element is at least one of the gate electrode and the gate bus line, and detects any one of the positional information. In the sheet having the bottom gate type TFT element, the pixel electrode is further used as an element, and at least one selected from a semiconductor layer, a source bus line, a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a pixel electrode based on the detected positional information of the element. It is preferable to output position and shape information, and to additionally form each element based on the position and shape information. In a sheet having a top gate type TFT element, at least one position and shape information selected from a semiconductor layer, a gate electrode, and a gate bus line is output based on the detected position information of the element, and the position and shape information are output. It is preferable to additionally form each element based on the above information.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of an arrangement of a sheet having a bottom gate type TFT element. The TFT element is an additional capacitor type, has a gate electrode 2 on a support first, and has a semiconductor layer 4 via a gate insulating layer. And a source electrode 6 and a drain electrode 5 which are connected by a channel consisting of: a gate bus line 12 and a source bus line 13 on a support sheet. 22, a pixel electrode; and 23, an additional capacitor. FIG. 2 is an example of a sheet on which storage capacitor type organic TFTs are arranged, and 24 is a storage capacitor.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic equivalent circuit diagram of an example of a sheet on which a plurality of TFT elements are arranged.

  The TFT sheet 11 has a large number of TFT elements 14 arranged in a matrix. Reference numeral 12 denotes a gate bus line of a gate electrode of each TFT element 14, and reference numeral 13 denotes a source bus line of a source electrode of each TFT element 14. An output element 16 is connected to a source electrode of each TFT element 14, and the output element 16 is, for example, a liquid crystal, an electrophoretic element, or the like, and forms a pixel in a display device. In the illustrated example, liquid crystal is shown as an output element 16 by an equivalent circuit including a resistor and a capacitor. Reference numeral 15 denotes a storage capacitor, 17 denotes a vertical drive circuit, and 18 denotes a horizontal drive circuit.

  As the semiconductor material constituting the channel, known materials such as a-Si, p-Si, and an organic semiconductor material are used. Preferably, a π-conjugated material is used as the organic semiconductor material. For example, polypyrrole, poly (N- Polypyrroles such as substituted pyrrole), poly (3-substituted pyrrole), poly (3,4-disubstituted pyrrole), polythiophene, poly (3-substituted thiophene), poly (3,4-disubstituted thiophene), polybenzo Polythiophenes such as thiophene, polyisothianaphthenes such as polyisothianaphthene, polychenylenevinylenes such as polyphenylenevinylene, poly (p-phenylenevinylene) such as poly (p-phenylenevinylene), polyaniline, Poly (N-substituted aniline), poly (3-substituted aniline), poly (2,3-substituted aniline), etc. Polyaniline, polyacetylene such as polyacetylene, polydiacetylene such as polydiacetylene, polyazulene such as polyazulene, polypyrene such as polypyrene, polycarbazole such as polycarbazole, poly (N-substituted carbazole), polyselenophene etc. Polyselenophenes, polyfurans, polyfurans such as polybenzofuran, poly (p-phenylene) such as poly (p-phenylene), polyindoles such as polyindole, polypyridazines such as polypyridazine, naphthacene, pentacene, Polyaces such as hexacene, heptacene, dibenzopentacene, tetrabenzopentacene, pyrene, dibenzopyrene, chrysene, perylene, coronene, terylene, ovalen, quaterylene, circum anthracene Derivatives in which a part of carbons of benzenes and polyacenes are substituted with atoms such as N, S, O, and functional groups such as carbonyl groups (such as triphenodioxazine, triphenodithiazine, hexacene-6,15-quinone); Polymers such as polyvinyl carbazole, polyphenylene sulfide, and polyvinylene sulfide, and polycyclic condensates described in JP-A-11-195790 can be used.

  Further, for example, thiophene hexamer α-sexithiophene α, ω-dihexyl-α-sexithiophene, α, ω-dihexyl-α-quinkethiophene, α, ω-bis ( Oligomers such as 3-butoxypropyl) -α-sexithiophene and styrylbenzene derivatives can also be suitably used.

Further, metal phthalocyanines such as copper phthalocyanine and fluorine-substituted copper phthalocyanine described in JP-A-11-251601, naphthalene 1,4,5,8-tetracarboxylic diimide, N, N'-bis (4-trifluoromethylbenzyl) N, N′-bis (1H, 1H-perfluorooctyl), N, N′-bis (1H, 1H-perfluorobutyl) and N, N′- along with naphthalene 1,4,5,8-tetracarboxylic diimide Dioctylnaphthalene 1,4,5,8-tetracarboxylic diimide derivatives, naphthalene tetracarboxylic diimides such as naphthalene 2,3,6,7 tetracarboxylic diimide, and anthracene 2,3,6,7-tetracarboxylic acid Condensed ring tetracarboxylic acids such as anthracenetetracarboxylic diimides such as diimide Examples include diimides, fullerenes such as C ₆₀ , C ₇₀ , C ₇₆ , C ₇₈ and C ₈₄ , carbon nanotubes such as SWNT, and dyes such as merocyanine dyes and hemicyanine dyes.

  Among these π-conjugated materials, thiophene, vinylene, chenylene vinylene, phenylene vinylene, p-phenylene, a substituted product thereof, or two or more of these are used as a repeating unit, and the number n of the repeating unit is 4 to 4. At least one selected from the group consisting of an oligomer having 10 or a polymer in which the number n of the repeating unit is 20 or more, a condensed polycyclic aromatic compound such as pentacene, a fullerene, a condensed ring tetracarboxylic diimide, and a metal phthalocyanine Species are preferred.

  Other organic semiconductor materials include tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) -tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) complex, bisethylenetetrathiafulvalene (BEDTTTTF) -perchloric acid complex, BEDTTTF-iodine complex, and TCNQ-iodine complex. , Etc. can also be used. Further, σ-conjugated polymers such as polysilane and polygermane, and hybrid organic / inorganic materials described in JP-A-2000-260999 can also be used.

  In the present invention, for example, a material having a functional group such as acrylic acid, acetamido, dimethylamino group, cyano group, carboxyl group, or nitro group in the organic semiconductor layer, a benzoquinone derivative, tetracyanoethylene, and tetracyanoquinodimethane And materials that are functional acceptors such as amino groups, triphenyl groups, alkyl groups, hydroxyl groups, alkoxy groups and phenyl groups, and substituted amines such as phenylenediamine. , Anthracene, benzoanthracene, substituted benzoanthracenes, pyrene, substituted pyrene, carbazole and its derivatives, tetrathiafulvalene and its derivatives, etc. Process Good.

  The doping means that an electron donating molecule (acceptor) or an electron donating molecule (donor) is introduced into the thin film as a dopant. Therefore, the doped thin film is a thin film containing the condensed polycyclic aromatic compound and the dopant. Known dopants can be used for the present invention.

  These organic thin films can be prepared by vacuum deposition, molecular beam epitaxy, ion cluster beam, low energy ion beam, ion plating, CVD, sputtering, plasma polymerization, electrolytic polymerization, chemical polymerization, etc. Examples include a synthesizing method, a spray coating method, a spin coating method, a blade coating method, a dip coating method, a casting method, a roll coating method, a bar coating method, a die coating method, and an LB method, which can be used depending on the material. However, in terms of productivity, spin coating, blade coating, dip coating, roll coating, bar coating, die coating, etc., which can easily and precisely form a thin film using an organic semiconductor solution, are used. Preferred.

  In addition, as described in Advanced Material Magazine, No. 6, 1999, p480 to 483, those in which a precursor such as pentacene is soluble in a solvent are prepared by subjecting a precursor film formed by coating to a heat treatment to obtain an intended organic material. May be formed.

  In the manufacturing method of the present invention, position and shape information is output based on the detected position information of the source bus line or the gate bus line or the element formed in advance, and the semiconductor layer is formed based on the information. In this case, it is possible to output the position and shape information as image data to a driver of an ink jet printer via a computer that controls a TFT sheet manufacturing process or directly, and form a semiconductor layer by an ink jet method. This is advantageous from the viewpoint of easy control.

  The thickness of the semiconductor layer is not particularly limited, but is generally 1 μm or less, particularly preferably 10 to 300 nm.

  In the present invention, the material forming the drain electrode 5, the source bus line 13, the source electrode 6, the gate electrode 2, the gate bus line 12, and the pixel electrode 22 is not particularly limited as long as it is a conductive material, and platinum, gold, silver , Nickel, chromium, copper, iron, tin, antimony lead, tantalum, indium, palladium, tellurium, rhenium, iridium, aluminum, ruthenium, germanium, molybdenum, tungsten, tin / antimony oxide, indium / tin oxide (ITO), fluorine Doped zinc oxide, zinc, carbon, graphite, glassy carbon, silver paste and carbon paste, lithium, beryllium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, calcium, scandium, titanium, manganese, zirconium, gallium, niobium, sodium, sodium -Potassium alloys, magnesium, lithium, aluminum, magnesium / copper mixtures, magnesium / silver mixtures, magnesium / aluminum mixtures, magnesium / indium mixtures, aluminum / aluminum oxide mixtures, lithium / aluminum mixtures, etc. are used, especially platinum, Gold, silver, copper, aluminum, indium, ITO and carbon are preferred. Alternatively, a known conductive polymer whose conductivity has been improved by doping or the like, for example, conductive polyaniline, conductive polypyrrole, conductive polythiophene, a complex of polyethylene dioxythiophene and polystyrene sulfonic acid, or the like is also preferably used. Among them, those having low electric resistance at the contact surface with the semiconductor layer are preferable.

  As a method of forming an electrode, a method of forming an electrode using a known photolithographic method or a lift-off method on a conductive thin film formed by using a method such as evaporation or sputtering using the above as a raw material, or a metal foil such as aluminum or copper There is a method of etching using a resist by thermal transfer, ink jet or the like. A solution or dispersion of a conductive polymer or a dispersion of conductive fine particles may be directly patterned by ink jet, or may be formed from a coating film by lithography or laser ablation. Further, a method of patterning an ink, a conductive paste, or the like containing a conductive polymer or conductive fine particles by a printing method such as letterpress, intaglio, lithographic, or screen printing can also be used.

  As a method for producing such a metal fine particle dispersion, a metal ion is reduced in a liquid phase, such as a physical generation method such as a gas evaporation method, a sputtering method, a metal vapor synthesis method, a colloid method, and a coprecipitation method. A chemical production method for producing metal fine particles may be mentioned, and preferably, a colloid method described in JP-A-11-76800, JP-A-11-80647, JP-A-11-319538, JP-A-2000-239853, etc. These are metal fine particle dispersions manufactured by the in-gas evaporation method described in JP 2001-254185, JP 2001-53028, JP 2001-35255, JP 2000-124157, JP 2000-123634 and the like. These metal fine particle dispersions are formed into a layer by the method described below, then the solvent is dried, and further heat-treated at 100 to 300 ° C., preferably 150 to 200 ° C., to thereby heat-bond the metal fine particles. Then, an electrode is formed.

  In the manufacturing method of the present invention, the TFT element is a bottom gate type, and the position of a gate bus line is detected (first embodiment), or the position of a gate electrode or a gate bus line is detected (second embodiment). In the case of forming each element such as a source bus line, a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a pixel electrode based on the positional information, the source bus line, the source electrode, the drain electrode, and the pixel electrode are formed by an inkjet method or laser irradiation. This is preferable because the position and the shape can be easily controlled. The same applies to the formation of the electrodes when detecting the position of the source bus line (first embodiment) or the positions of the source electrode, the source bus line, and the drain electrode (second embodiment) in the top gate type. It goes without saying that the same applies to the third embodiment.

  Similarly, in the case of laser irradiation, for example, when the TFT element is a bottom gate type, information on at least one output position and shape (also referred to as an electrode pattern) selected from a source bus line, a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a pixel electrode. Is output as image data to a driver of the laser exposure apparatus via a computer for controlling the TFT sheet manufacturing process or directly, and the laser exposure apparatus is driven.

  An ablation layer is used for forming an electrode by laser irradiation, and the ablation layer can be composed of an energy light absorber, a binder resin, and various additives added as needed.

  As the energy light absorber, various organic and inorganic materials that absorb the energy light to be irradiated can be used. For example, when the laser light source is an infrared laser, a pigment, a dye, a metal, a metal oxide, or a metal that absorbs infrared light is used. Ferromagnetic metal powders such as nitrides, metal carbides, metal borides, graphite, carbon black, titanium black, metal magnetic powders mainly containing Al, Fe, Ni, Co and the like can be used. Dyes such as black and cyanine, and Fe-based ferromagnetic metal powders are preferred. The content of the energy light absorber is about 30 to 95% by mass, preferably 40 to 80% by mass of the ablation layer forming component.

  The binder resin for the ablation layer can be used without any particular limitation as long as it can sufficiently retain the coloring material fine particles. Polyurethane resin, polyester resin, vinyl chloride resin, polyvinyl acetal resin, cellulose resin And acrylic resins, phenoxy resins, polycarbonates, polyamide resins, phenol resins, epoxy resins, and the like. The content of the binder resin is about 5 to 70% by mass, preferably 20 to 60% by mass, for the ablation layer forming component.

  Note that the ablation layer refers to a layer that is ablated by irradiation with high-density energy light, and the ablation referred to here is such that the ablation layer is completely scattered or partially destroyed or scattered due to a physical or chemical change. This includes the phenomenon that a physical or chemical change occurs only in the vicinity of the interface with the adjacent layer. A resist image is formed using this ablation to form an electrode.

The high-density energy light can be used without any particular limitation as long as it is active light that generates ablation. As an exposure method, flash exposure using a xenon lamp, a halogen lamp, a mercury lamp, or the like may be performed via a photomask, or scanning exposure may be performed by converging laser light or the like. An infrared laser having an output of 20 to 200 mW per laser beam, particularly a semiconductor laser, is most preferably used. The energy density is preferably 50 to 500 mJ / cm ^2, more preferably a 100~300mJ / cm ^2.

  Various insulating films can be used as the gate insulating layer, and an inorganic oxide film having a high relative dielectric constant is particularly preferable. As the inorganic oxide, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, tantalum oxide, titanium oxide, tin oxide, vanadium oxide, barium strontium titanate, barium zirconate titanate, lead zirconate titanate, lead lanthanum titanate, strontium titanate, Examples include barium titanate, barium magnesium fluoride, bismuth titanate, strontium bismuth titanate, strontium bismuth tantalate, bismuth tantalate bismuth, and yttrium trioxide. Among them, preferred are silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, tantalum oxide and titanium oxide. Inorganic nitrides such as silicon nitride and aluminum nitride can also be suitably used.

  Examples of the method for forming the film include a vacuum deposition method, a molecular beam epitaxial growth method, an ion cluster beam method, a low energy ion beam method, an ion plating method, a CVD method, a dry process such as a sputtering method and an atmospheric pressure plasma method, and a spray method. Wet processes such as a coating method, a spin coating method, a blade coating method, a dip coating method, a casting method, a coating method such as a roll coating method, a bar coating method, a die coating method, and a patterning method such as printing or inkjet, Can be used depending on the material.

  The wet process is a method in which fine particles of an inorganic oxide are dispersed in an optional organic solvent or water using a dispersing aid such as a surfactant, if necessary, and a method of drying, or a method of drying an oxide precursor, for example, A so-called sol-gel method of applying and drying a solution of the alkoxide compound is used.

  Of these, the atmospheric pressure plasma method is preferable.

  The method of forming an insulating film by plasma film formation under atmospheric pressure is a process of forming a thin film on a substrate by discharging under an atmospheric pressure or a pressure close to the atmospheric pressure, exciting a reactive gas by plasma, and forming a thin film on the substrate. The method is described in JP-A-11-61406, JP-A-11-133205, JP-A-2000-121804, JP-A-2000-147209, and JP-A-2000-185362 (hereinafter also referred to as atmospheric pressure plasma method). Thereby, a highly functional thin film can be formed with high productivity.

  It is also preferable that the gate insulating layer is formed of an anodic oxide film or an anodic oxide film and an insulating film. The anodic oxide film is desirably subjected to a sealing treatment. The anodized film is formed by anodizing a metal capable of being anodized by a known method.

Examples of the metal that can be anodized include aluminum and tantalum. The method of the anodization is not particularly limited, and a known method can be used. By performing the anodic oxidation treatment, an oxide film is formed. As the electrolytic solution used for the anodic oxidation treatment, any electrolyte can be used as long as it can form a porous oxide film. In general, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, oxalic acid, chromic acid, boric acid, sulfamic acid, benzene sulfone Acids or the like, or mixed acids obtained by combining two or more kinds thereof or salts thereof are used. Anodizing treatment conditions vary depending on the electrolytic solution used, and thus cannot be specified unconditionally. However, in general, the concentration of the electrolytic solution is 1 to 80% by mass, the temperature of the electrolytic solution is 5 to 70 ° C, and the current density is A suitable range is 0.5 to 60 A / dm ² , a voltage of 1 to 100 volts, and an electrolysis time of 10 seconds to 5 minutes. A preferred anodic oxidation treatment is a method in which an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, or boric acid is used as an electrolytic solution and treatment is performed with a direct current, but an alternating current may be used. The concentration of these acids is preferably 5 to 45% by mass, and the electrolytic treatment is preferably performed at a temperature of the electrolytic solution of 20 to 50 ° C. and a current density of 0.5 to 20 A / dm ² for ²⁰ to 250 seconds.

  As the organic compound film, polyimide, polyamide, polyester, polyacrylate, photo-radical polymerization type, photo-cationic polymerization type photo-curable resin, or copolymer containing acrylonitrile component, polyvinyl phenol, polyvinyl alcohol, novolak resin, And cyanoethyl pullulan can also be used.

  As the method for forming the organic compound film, the wet process is preferable.

  The inorganic oxide film and the organic oxide film can be laminated and used together. The thickness of these insulating films is generally 50 nm to 3 μm, preferably 100 nm to 1 μm.

  Arbitrary orientation treatment may be performed between the gate insulating layer 3 and the semiconductor channel 4. A silane coupling agent, for example, octadecyltrichlorosilane, trichloromethylsilazane, or a self-assembled alignment film such as alkanephosphoric acid, alkanesulfonic acid, or alkanecarboxylic acid is preferably used.

  In the present invention, the support is preferably made of a resin, and for example, a plastic film sheet can be used. Examples of the plastic film include polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyether sulfone (PES), polyether imide, polyether ether ketone, polyphenylene sulfide, polyarylate, polyimide, polycarbonate (PC), Examples include a film made of cellulose triacetate (TAC), cellulose acetate propionate (CAP), and the like. As described above, by using a plastic film, the weight can be reduced as compared with the case of using a glass substrate, portability can be improved, and resistance to impact can be improved.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the arrangement of the gate bus line 12, the source bus line 13, the pixel electrode 22, and the semiconductor layer 4 of one pixel in a bottom gate type TFT element.

  FIG. 4A shows a configuration in which a projection (source electrode 6) is provided on the pixel electrode 22, and the semiconductor layer 4 is provided so that the source bus line 13 and the source electrode 6 are connected on the gate bus line 12. FIG. 4B shows a configuration in which a protrusion (drain electrode 5) is provided on the source bus line 13, and the semiconductor layer 4 is provided so that the pixel electrode 22 and the drain electrode 5 are connected on the gate bus line 12. (C) shows a configuration in which a projection (gate electrode 2) is provided on the gate bus line 12, and the semiconductor layer 4 is provided so that the source bus line 13 and the pixel electrode 22 are connected on the gate electrode 2. 4D, a plurality of protruding portions are further provided on the protruding portion (drain electrode 5) of the source bus line 13, and a plurality of protruding portions are also provided on the pixel electrode 22, so that they are connected on the gate bus line 13. The layer 4 is provided.

  For example, when the position of the gate bus line is detected and the source bus line, the pixel electrode, and the semiconductor layer are formed by the inkjet method based on the position information, respectively, as shown in FIG. The arrangement position and shape may be stored as image information in the memory of the driver of the inkjet printer, or may be stored in the memory of a computer that controls the entire TFT sheet manufacturing process. When the source bus lines and the pixel electrodes are formed by laser irradiation, the information may be stored as image information in the memory of the driver of the laser scanning exposure apparatus, or may be stored in the memory of the computer that controls the entire TFT sheet manufacturing process. May be.

  In this embodiment, the position of the gate bus line is detected using an optical sensor in which a light emitting element 20 and a light receiving element 21 are combined as shown in FIG. Detection may be performed with reflected light (FIG. 5A) or transmitted light (FIG. 5B).

  FIG. 5 is a model showing the detection in the case where the source bus line and the pixel electrode are formed by laser irradiation. The gate bus line 12 formed on the support 1 having the undercoat layer 8 has the anodic oxide film 9 formed thereon. The position of the gate bus line is detected in a state where the gate bus line is covered with the gate insulating layer 3 and the ablation layer and the layer in which the metal fine particles of the electrode material are dispersed are formed thereon.

  The detection of the gate bus line or the source bus line in the first and second embodiments may be performed by scanning the position detection sensor, but it is preferable that the sensor is fixed and the support sheet is conveyed. Further, the transport direction of the support sheet with respect to the position detection sensor may be arbitrary, but is preferably a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the bus line.

  With reference to FIG. 6, a method for detecting gate bus line positions by forming gate bus lines (gate electrodes) in parallel on a resin sheet in the first embodiment will be described.

  The transfer direction with respect to the gate bus line may be the direction shown in FIG. 6A or the direction shown in FIG. 6B, but is orthogonal to the gate bus line shown in FIG. The direction is preferred. In this case, for example, a gate bus line is detected by a linear optical sensor S as shown in FIG. It goes without saying that the number and arrangement of the optical sensors are arbitrary.

  Note that it is also possible to further increase the positional accuracy of a source electrode, a drain electrode, and the like other than the gate electrode by installing a sensor S 'for detecting fluctuation in the transport direction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6D, lines L, L ',... Serving as markers in the transport direction (direction orthogonal to the gate bus line) x are inserted to form a gate bus line in the gate bus line direction y. The displacement of the area may be detected, and the output position of the element forming the TFT element may be corrected. Note that it is preferable to perform element formation using an ink jet printer having a line head with the sheet conveyance direction as the sub-scanning direction, because deviation in the y direction does not have to be a problem.

  After detecting the position information of the gate bus line, the output position of the pixel is arbitrary. For example, a pixel corresponding to the detected gate bus line may be output, or a pixel corresponding to a gate bus line next or a plurality of places ahead of the detected gate bus line may be output.

  FIG. 10 schematically shows a mechanism for detecting the position of a previously formed element in the third embodiment.

  In the figure, a position detection sensor 31 is adjacent to the rotating drum 30 prior to an additional element forming unit 32 such as an ink jet printer or a laser exposure device on the downstream side in the conveying direction (drum rotation direction) y of the support sheet 1. To detect the position of the preformed element on the support sheet 1 fixed on the drum. In the detection, the elements on the entire surface of the support sheet may be detected or may be partially sampled and detected. A plurality of position detection sensors may be provided, or a linear head in which a plurality of detection sensors are arranged may be used. Further, it is preferable to detect the reflection of the electrode or the bus line using an optical sensor as shown in FIG. The detection sensor may be embedded in the rotating drum 30.

  As a method of fixing the support sheet, any method can be used, such as suppressing the end of the sheet with a clamp mechanism or bringing the sheet into close contact with a drum.

  In addition, it is preferable that the nozzles of the head of the ink jet printer and the beam head of the laser exposure device are multi-layered as the additional element forming means 32. Further, by connecting these heads 321 and arranging them in an inline shape as shown in FIG. 11A, the patterning time can be reduced and the output position accuracy can be improved. Further, by tilting the head as shown in FIG. 11B, the output resolution can be increased.

  FIG. 7 schematically shows an example of an apparatus configuration according to the method for manufacturing a TFT sheet of the present invention.

  As a first embodiment, a support sheet on which a gate bus line is formed is conveyed, and a position detecting means S detects the positions of the gate bus lines g1, g2,. Output to the central processing unit (CPU) 101 of the process control computer 100. The computer 100 has, as a memory, in advance in the ROM 102, an arithmetic program for outputting the data of the arrangement of the TFT elements corresponding to the production lot, and the position and shape, and stores the bus line position information output from the position detection means S in the ROM 102. Based on the calculation program read from the ROM 102, the arrangement of the elements of the individual TFT elements formed on the TFT sheet is calculated with reference to the arrangement data of the ROM 102, and the position (shape) data (information) is determined by the manufacturing lot. The data is written into the RAM 103 in association with the data.

  For example, even if there is some variation in each interval of the gate bus lines g1, g2,... GN due to expansion and contraction of the resin sheet and the bus line manufacturing method, or even if there is some fluctuation in the lines, Since the position of the bus line is detected and the position and shape data of the other elements are created based on the position, all the TFT elements are reliably connected via the gate bus line and the source bus line.

  When forming an element that outputs position and shape information by an ink-jet method or a laser irradiation method, the CPU 101 reads out the position and shape information corresponding to the production lot from the RAM 103 and sets an interface (I / F) not shown. The image data is output as image data to the driver 110 of the inkjet printer 111 or the driver 120 of the laser exposure device 121 via the printer. The formation of these elements may be online or offline.

  In the third embodiment, for example, after a support sheet on which a gate bus line is formed in advance is fixed on a rotary support member such as a rotary drum, the position of the gate bus line is detected, and based on the position information, At least one kind of arrangement position and shape information of another element to be additionally formed is output, and the other element is additionally formed at the arrangement position while rotating the rotation support member. Is the same as above.

  The method of forming the source bus line, the source electrode or the pixel electrode in the subsequent step is optional, and a method using ordinary metal thin film formation and etching by photolithography may be used, or the electrode material is patterned by screen printing. May be. In this case, the CPU 101 outputs to the mask forming means 130 information on the position and shape associated with the production lot read from the RAM 103.

  FIG. 8 shows the positions of gate bus lines or source bus lines according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention, and information on the arrangement position and shape of the elements constituting the TFT element based on the position information. 3 is a flowchart of an example of the operation for outputting the.

  The bus line position detection command is issued from the CPU 101 to the position detection means S, and the process starts.

  The conveyance of the sheet on which the bus line is formed is started (step S1), and the clock means of the CPU 101 starts counting (step S2). The position detecting means S (or the position detecting sensor 31) includes a plurality of optical sensors s1, s2,... Sn, and sends a signal to the CPU 101 each time each optical sensor detects a bus line (step S3). The CPU 101 calculates the image data as shown in FIG. 6, for example, by plotting the position of each bus line and the state of fluctuation on the xy coordinates, for example, in association with the clock count and the signal from the optical sensor (step S4). ).

  When the detection of the positions of all the bus lines is completed (YES in step S5), the counting by the clock means is completed (step S6), and the CPU 101 refers to the arrangement data in the ROM 102 and checks the individual TFT elements formed on the TFT sheet. The actual arrangement of the elements is calculated (step S7), and the position and shape data (information) is written in the RAM 103 in association with the production lot (step S8). If it is not online manufacturing having a forming step (NO in step S9), the process is terminated.

  In the case of online manufacturing (YES in step S9), the CPU 101 reads out information on the position and shape associated with the manufacturing lot from the RAM 103 (step S10), and sends the image data to the driver of the inkjet printer or laser exposure apparatus via the interface. Is output (step S11), and the process ends.

  The above is the flow of outputting the position and shape information of the elements of the TFT elements in the entire area of the TFT sheet after the detection of the positions of all the bus lines is completed. FIG. 9 shows a flow of outputting the information of the shape and the shape, and further outputting the image data to the driver of the ink jet printer or the laser exposure apparatus on-time as shown in FIG. 9. In the case of the third embodiment of the present invention, such a flow is also shown. It becomes. In this case, it is not always necessary to store the position and shape information in the RAM 103. In this example, the position and the shape information are output simultaneously with the detection. However, the position and the information of the element on the bus line may be detected after detecting a certain number of bus lines. May be used to start output.

  The conveyance of the sheet on which the bus line is formed or the conveyance of the sheet by the rotation of the rotary drum 30 is started (step S101), and the clock means of the CPU 101 starts counting (step S102). The CPU 101 resets the count n = i of the bus line to 0 (step S103).

  The position detection means S (or the position detection sensor 31) similarly includes a plurality of optical sensors s1, s2,... Sn, and transmits a signal to the CPU 101 when each optical sensor detects the bus line bi (step S104). The CPU 101 associates the clock count with the signal from the optical sensor and calculates the position of the bus line bi and the state of fluctuation as data to be plotted on, for example, xy coordinates (step S105). The CPU 101 calculates the arrangement of the elements of the TFT elements on the bus line bi formed on the TFT sheet while referring to the arrangement data in the ROM 102 (step S106), and sends the image data to the driver of the ink jet printer or the laser exposure apparatus via the interface. (Step S107).

  Next, the CPU 101 sets the count n of the bus line to i + 1 (step S108), checks whether the detection of all the bus lines is completed (i + 1 = N?) (Step S109), and continues until the detection of all the bus lines is completed. Steps S104 to S109 are repeated.

  When the detection of all the bus lines is completed (YES in step S109), the counting by the clock unit is completed (step S110), and the process is terminated.

Example 1
A 200-nm-thick aluminum film was formed on a 200-μm-thick polyimide film by a sputtering method, and a gate electrode and a gate bus line were patterned by a photolithography method. Further, a 200-nm-thick silicon oxide film was formed as a gate insulating layer by an atmospheric pressure plasma method under the following conditions. At this time, the temperature of the film was 180 ° C.

(Used gas)
Inert gas: 98.25% by volume of helium
Reactive gas: oxygen gas 1.5 vol%
Reactive gas: tetraethoxysilane vapor 0.25% by volume
(Bubbling with helium gas)
(Discharge conditions)
Discharge output: 10 W / cm ²
The position of the gate electrode and the gate bus line is detected by the operation flow as described above, and based on the position information, the output operation of the arrangement position and shape of each element is used as image data as image data by the piezo-type inkjet method. A TFT sheet was formed in this order.

<Organic semiconductor layer forming step>
Next, on the gate insulating layer, a chloroform solution of the following compound is discharged to a region where a channel is to be formed by an ink-jet method based on the above image data, and dried in a nitrogen gas at 50 ° C. for 3 minutes. Heat treatment was performed at 10 ° C. for 10 minutes to form an organic semiconductor layer that was a pentacene thin film having a thickness of 50 nm.

<Formation of source electrode and drain electrode>
An aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was ejected onto the organic semiconductor layer by inkjet and dried to form an insulating region separating the source electrode and the drain electrode.

  Next, at both ends of the insulating region, a dispersion liquid of silver fine particles was ejected by ink jet to form a source electrode and a drain electrode, and at the same time, a source bus line and a pixel electrode were formed.

All of the organic TFT elements of the produced TFT sheet exhibited favorable operation characteristics of the p-channel enhancement type FET.
Example 2
A semiconductor layer was formed on the polyimide film on which the gate electrode, the gate bus line, and the gate insulating film were formed in Example 1.
<Organic semiconductor layer forming step>
Well purified, poly (3-hexylthiophene) chloroform solution was prepared regioregular body (Aldrich), and by bubbling with N ₂ gas to remove dissolved oxygen in the solution, in N ₂ gas atmosphere The surface of the gate insulating film was applied using an applicator, dried at room temperature, and then subjected to a heat treatment in an N ₂ gas atmosphere at 50 ° C. for 30 minutes. At this time, the film thickness of poly (3-hexylthiophene) was 50 nm.
<Formation of source electrode and drain electrode>
The film obtained above is set on the drum of FIG. 10, and the positions of the gate electrode and the gate bus line are detected by the operation flow as described above. Using the shape information as image data, the source electrode and the drain electrode are formed by scanning the outer surface of the cylinder while discharging the dispersion liquid of the fine gold particles by the ink jet method using a piezo ink jet method, and simultaneously the source bus line and the pixel electrode are formed. did.

  All of the organic TFT elements of the produced TFT sheet exhibited favorable operation characteristics of the p-channel enhancement type FET.

It is a figure showing an example of arrangement of an additional capacitor type organic TFT sheet. It is an example of a sheet on which a storage capacitor type organic TFT is arranged. 1 is a schematic equivalent circuit diagram of one example of a TFT sheet of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the arrangement of a gate bus line, a source bus line, a pixel electrode, and a semiconductor layer. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating detection of a gate bus line when a source bus line and a pixel electrode are formed by laser irradiation. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for detecting position information of a gate bus line during conveyance. It is a figure which shows an example of the apparatus structure based on the manufacturing method of the TFT sheet of this invention modelly. 6 is a flowchart of an example of an operation of outputting information on the arrangement position and shape of the elements constituting the TFT element according to the present invention. 9 is a flowchart of another example of the operation of outputting information on the arrangement position and shape of the elements constituting the TFT element according to the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically illustrating a mechanism for detecting a position of an element in a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a head configuration of an additional element forming unit according to a third embodiment.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Support body 2 Gate electrode 3 Gate insulating layer 4 Semiconductor layer 5 Drain electrode 6 Source electrode 11 TFT sheet 12 Gate bus line 13 Source bus line 14 TFT element 15 Storage capacitor 16 Output element 17 Vertical drive circuit 18 Horizontal drive circuit 20 Light emitting element Reference Signs List 21 light receiving element 22 pixel electrode 23 additional capacitor 24 storage capacitor 30 rotating drum 31 position detection sensor 32 additional element forming means

Claims (15)

A plurality of thin film transistor (TFT) elements each having a source electrode and a drain electrode connected by a channel including a gate electrode, a gate insulating layer, and a semiconductor layer as elements are provided on a support sheet through a gate bus line and a source bus line. In manufacturing a connected TFT sheet, the position of a gate bus line or a source bus line formed on the sheet is detected, and information on the arrangement position and shape of the elements is output based on the position information, and the arrangement is performed. A method for manufacturing a TFT sheet, wherein each element is formed at a position. On a support sheet, a plurality of thin film transistors having a gate electrode, a gate insulating layer, a source electrode and a drain electrode connected by a channel composed of a semiconductor layer, and a pixel electrode in this order as a gate bus line and a source bus line In manufacturing a TFT sheet connected via a TFT, a position of a gate bus line formed on the sheet is detected, and based on the position information, a semiconductor layer, a source bus line, a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a pixel electrode are used. A method for producing a TFT sheet, comprising outputting information on the position and shape of at least one selected element and forming each element based on the information on the position and shape. The method according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the source bus line, the source electrode, the drain electrode, and the pixel electrode is formed by an inkjet method or laser irradiation. The method of manufacturing a TFT sheet according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor layer is made of an organic semiconductor material. The method according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor layer is formed by an inkjet method. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein a position of a gate bus line or a source bus line on the conveyed sheet is detected. A plurality of thin film transistor (TFT) elements each having a source electrode and a drain electrode connected by a channel including a gate electrode, a gate insulating layer, and a semiconductor layer as elements are provided on a support sheet through a gate bus line and a source bus line. In manufacturing the linked TFT sheet, after fixing a support sheet in which at least one selected from the elements is formed in advance on a rotating support member, the position of the formed element is detected, and the position information is detected. TFT that outputs information of at least one kind of arrangement position and shape of another element to be additionally formed based on the above, and additionally rotates the other element at the arrangement position while rotating a rotation support member. Sheet manufacturing method. The method according to claim 7, wherein the preformed element is a gate electrode and / or a gate bus line. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the element formed in advance is at least one selected from a source electrode, a source bus line, and a drain electrode. The method of manufacturing a TFT sheet according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein formation of another element to be additionally formed is performed by an inkjet method or laser irradiation. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein a position of a gate bus line or a source bus line is detected. The method of manufacturing a TFT sheet according to claim 11, wherein the support sheet is fixed to the support member such that the gate bus line or the source bus line is along the rotation direction of the rotation support member. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the semiconductor layer is made of an organic semiconductor material. A TFT sheet manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 1. 15. The TFT sheet according to claim 14, wherein a support sheet made of a resin is used.

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