JP2005276573A - Photosensitive conductive paste and conductor pattern formed using it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photosensitive conductive paste which is superior in forming characteristics of a highly precise fine pattern, and in such storage stability that conductive powder such as silver powder is not sedimented even if it is stored over a long period. <P>SOLUTION: The photosensitive conductive paste is a paste containing (A) the conductive powder, (B) an organic binder, (C) a photopolymerizable monomer, (D) a photopolymerization initiator, and (E) a sedimentation inhibitor, and the sedimentation inhibitor (E) is a modified urea solution (isocyanate monomer or reaction product of these aducts and organic amine). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a photosensitive conductive paste and a conductor pattern formed using the same, and in particular, a photosensitive conductive material suitably used as a conductor material obtained by baking a pattern coating film formed by a photolithography technique. It relates to paste.

Conventionally, vapor deposition is known as a method for forming electrodes on non-alkali glass and other various glass substrates in components such as plasma display panels, CCD sensors, and image sensors.
However, in this vapor deposition method, an electrode forming member is housed in a vacuum vessel to form a metal vapor deposition film. Not only is the apparatus large and expensive, it is also troublesome to put in and out of the member, and it takes time to evacuate. There was a drawback that workability was poor.

  On the other hand, as another method of forming a conductor pattern layer on a substrate that can eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, a method of forming a conductor pattern using a photosensitive conductive paste and using a photolithography technique has been proposed ( Patent Document 1).

However, the photosensitive conductive paste used in such a forming method has a problem in that conductive powder such as silver powder settles when stored for a long period of time.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-269848

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and its main purpose is excellent in the formation of a high-definition pattern and a conductive powder such as silver powder even when stored for a long period of time. An object of the present invention is to provide a photosensitive conductive paste that does not settle and has excellent storage stability.

  As a result of earnest research for the realization of the above object, the inventor has completed an invention having the following contents as the gist.

That is, the photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention is a paste containing (A) conductive powder, (B) an organic binder, (C) a photopolymerizable monomer, (D) a photopolymerization initiator, and (E) an anti-settling agent. The anti-settling agent (E) is a modified urea solution.
Here, in the present invention, the modified urea solution refers to a reaction product of an isocyanate monomer or an adduct thereof and an organic amine (Gazette Official Notice No. 7-885).

The conductor pattern of the present invention is characterized in that a fired product pattern is formed using the above-described photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention.
The conductive pattern is formed by applying and drying the photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention on a substrate to form a dry coating film, then exposing and developing, and then drying the resulting photosensitive conductive paste. The coating pattern is preferably formed by baking at a temperature of 480 ° C. to 620 ° C. to remove the organic component.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the photosensitive electrically conductive paste which is excellent in the formation stability of a high-definition pattern, and is excellent in the storage stability which conductive powders, such as silver powder, do not settle even if preserve | saved over a long period of time can be provided. As a result, it is possible to easily form a conductor pattern that is excellent in both conductivity and resolution even through firing at a temperature of 620 ° C. or less without going through complicated steps.

Hereinafter, the photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention will be described.
The photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention is characterized by containing a modified urea (isocyanate monomer or a reaction product of these adducts and an organic amine) as an anti-settling agent (E). According to this modified urea solution, it is considered that a three-dimensional structure is mainly formed in the paste and pseudoplasticity and thixotropy are imparted. Further, according to this modified urea solution, the specific resistance value after firing is low and the conductivity is excellent, although the reason is not clear as compared with fatty acid amides and amino acid salts generally used as an anti-settling agent.
Examples of such a modified urea solution include BYK-410, BYK-411, BYK-420, and the like.

  The amount of the antisettling agent (E) is suitably 0.1 to 10 parts by mass, preferably 0.5 to 5 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the organic binder (B). When the amount of the anti-settling agent (E) is less than the above range, it is difficult to obtain a sufficient anti-settling effect. On the other hand, when the amount exceeds the above range, firing shrinkage increases, which is not preferable.

Next, the other structure in the photosensitive electrically conductive paste of this invention is demonstrated.
As the conductive powder (A) constituting the photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention, any conductive powder having a specific resistance value of 1 × 10 ³ Ω · cm or less can be widely used. For example, in addition to simple substances such as silver, gold, nickel, copper, aluminum, tin, zinc, iron, platinum, iridium, osmium, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, tungsten, molybdenum and their alloys, tin oxide, indium oxide, ITO, Examples include ruthenium oxide. These can be used alone or as a mixed powder of two or more.
The conductive powder (A) can be used in various shapes such as a spherical shape, a flake shape, and a dentlite shape, but it is preferable to use a spherical shape particularly considering optical characteristics and dispersibility.
This conductive powder (A) has an average particle diameter of 10 random silver powders observed at 10,000 times using an electron microscope (SEM), and is 0.1 to 5 μm, preferably 0.4 to 2 μm. It is preferable to use one having a size of 0.0 μm. If this average particle size is less than 0.1 μm, light transmission is poor and it becomes difficult to draw a high-definition pattern. On the other hand, if the average particle size exceeds 5 μm, it is difficult to obtain line edge linearity. It is not preferable.
The conductive powder (A) has a mean particle size of 0.5 to 3.5 μm measured using a laser diffraction / scattering particle size distribution measuring device or a particle size distribution measuring device utilizing a laser Doppler method. It is preferable.
The conductive powder (A) preferably has a specific surface area of 0.01 to 2.0 m ² / g, preferably 0.1 to 1.0 m ² / g. When this specific surface area is less than 0.01 m ² / g, sedimentation is likely to occur during storage. On the other hand, when the specific surface area exceeds 2.0 m ² / g, the oil absorption increases and the fluidity of the paste is impaired. It is not preferable.
In particular, regarding silver powder, it is desirable to use a silver (111) plane peak in the X-ray analysis pattern having a half width of 0.15 ° or more, preferably 0.19 ° or more. The silver powder having a half width of less than 0.15 is not preferable because the crystallinity of the silver powder is high and sintering between particles hardly occurs, and the resistance value does not decrease at a firing temperature of 620 ° C. or lower.

  The blending amount of the conductive powder (A) is appropriately 50 to 90 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the photosensitive conductive paste. When the blending amount of the conductive powder is less than the above range, sufficient conductivity of the conductor pattern obtained from such a paste cannot be obtained. On the other hand, when the amount exceeds the above range, the adhesion to the substrate is poor. It is not preferable because it gets worse.

Next, the organic binder (B) constituting the photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention functions as a binder for each component before firing, or imparting photocurability and developability of the composition.
As this organic binder, a carboxyl group-containing resin, specifically, a carboxyl group-containing photosensitive resin itself having an ethylenically unsaturated double bond and a carboxyl group-containing resin not having an ethylenically unsaturated double bond Either of these can be used. Examples of the resin (which may be either an oligomer or a polymer) that can be suitably used include the following.
(1) a carboxyl group-containing resin obtained by copolymerizing (a) an unsaturated carboxylic acid and (b) a compound having an unsaturated double bond,
(2) a carboxyl group-containing photosensitive resin obtained by adding an ethylenically unsaturated group as a pendant to a copolymer of (a) an unsaturated carboxylic acid and (b) a compound having an unsaturated double bond,
(3) produced by reacting (d) an unsaturated monocarboxylic acid with a copolymer of (c) a compound having an epoxy group and an unsaturated double bond and (b) a compound having an unsaturated double bond (E) a carboxyl group-containing photosensitive resin obtained by reacting a polybasic acid anhydride with a secondary hydroxyl group (4) (f) an acid anhydride having an unsaturated double bond and (b) an unsaturated double bond (G) a carboxyl group-containing resin obtained by reacting a compound having a hydroxyl group with a copolymer of the compound having
(5) (h) a copolymer of an acid anhydride having an unsaturated double bond and (b) a compound having an unsaturated double bond is reacted with a compound having (h) a hydroxyl group and an unsaturated double bond. Carboxyl group-containing photosensitive resin obtained by
(6) A carboxyl group-containing photosensitive resin obtained by reacting (i) a polyfunctional epoxy compound with (d) an unsaturated monocarboxylic acid and reacting the resulting secondary hydroxyl group with (e) a polybasic acid anhydride. ,
(7) (j) One carboxyl group in one molecule is added to the epoxy group of a copolymer of (b) a compound having an unsaturated double bond and (c) an epoxy group and a compound having an unsaturated double bond. A carboxyl group-containing resin obtained by reacting an organic acid having no ethylenically unsaturated bond and reacting the resulting secondary hydroxyl group with (d) a polybasic acid anhydride,
(8) (k) a carboxyl group-containing resin obtained by reacting a hydroxyl group-containing polymer with (d) a polybasic acid anhydride,
(9) Obtained by further reacting (c) a compound having an unsaturated double bond with a carboxyl group-containing resin obtained by reacting (k) a hydroxyl group-containing polymer with (d) a polybasic acid anhydride. And carboxyl group-containing photosensitive resin.

  Such a carboxyl group-containing photosensitive resin and a carboxyl group-containing resin may be used alone or in combination, but in any case, they should be blended in a proportion of 5 to 50% by mass of the total amount of the composition. Is preferred. When the blending amount of these resins is less than the above range, the distribution of the resin in the coating film to be formed tends to be non-uniform, it is difficult to obtain sufficient photocurability and photocuring depth, selective exposure, Patterning by development becomes difficult. On the other hand, if it is more than the above range, it is not preferable because the pattern during baking and the line width shrinkage are likely to occur.

The carboxyl group-containing photosensitive resin and the carboxyl group-containing resin each have a weight average molecular weight of 1,000 to 100,000, preferably 5,000 to 70,000, and an acid value of 30 to 250 mgKOH / g, and In the case of a carboxyl group-containing photosensitive resin, those having a double bond equivalent of 350 to 2,000, preferably 400 to 1,500 can be suitably used.
When the molecular weight of the resin is lower than 1,000, the adhesion of the film during development is adversely affected. On the other hand, when the molecular weight is higher than 100,000, development defects are liable to occur. On the other hand, when the acid value is lower than 30 mgKOH / g, the solubility in an alkaline aqueous solution is insufficient, and development failure tends to occur. Part) is not preferable. Further, in the case of a carboxyl group-containing photosensitive resin, if the double bond equivalent of the photosensitive resin is less than 350, a residue is likely to remain at the time of baking, whereas if it is greater than 2,000, a work margin at the time of development. Is narrow, and a high exposure amount is required at the time of photocuring.

  The photopolymerizable monomer (C) constituting the photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention is used for promoting the imparting of photocurability of the composition and improving the developability. Examples of such a photopolymerizable monomer (C) include 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate, diethylene glycol diacrylate, triethylene glycol diacrylate, polyethylene glycol diacrylate, polyurethane diacrylate, trimethylol propane tri Acrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, trimethylolpropane ethylene oxide modified triacrylate, trimethylolpropane propylene oxide modified triacrylate, dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate, dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate and each methacrylate corresponding to the above acrylate Phthalic acid, adipic acid, malein Mono-, di-, tri- or higher polyesters of polybasic acids such as itaconic acid, succinic acid, trimellitic acid, terephthalic acid and the like and hydroxyalkyl (meth) acrylates. It is not limited and these can be used alone or in combination of two or more. Among these photopolymerizable monomers, polyfunctional monomers having two or more acryloyl groups or methacryloyl groups in one molecule are preferable.

  The blending amount of the photopolymerizable monomer (C) is suitably 20 to 100 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the organic binder (B). When the amount of the photopolymerizable monomer is less than the above range, it is difficult to obtain sufficient photocurability of the composition. On the other hand, when the amount exceeds the above range, the amount of light in the surface layer portion is larger than that in the deep portion of the film. Since curing becomes faster, uneven curing tends to occur.

  The photopolymerization initiator (D) constituting the photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention is a component that initiates a photoreaction, and is a specific example of the photopolymerization initiator (D) that mainly absorbs ultraviolet rays and generates radicals. Benzoin and benzoin alkyl ethers such as benzoin, benzoin methyl ether, benzoin ethyl ether and benzoin isopropyl ether; acetophenone, 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone, 2,2-diethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone, 1,1 -Acetophenones such as dichloroacetophenone; 2-methyl-1- [4- (methylthio) phenyl] -2-morpholinopropanone-1, 2-benzyl-2-dimethylamino-1- (4-morpholinophenyl)- Aminoacetophenones such as butanone-1; 2-methi Anthraquinones such as anthraquinone, 2-ethylanthraquinone, 2-t-butylanthraquinone, 1-chloroanthraquinone; 2,4-dimethylthioxanthone, 2,4-diethylthioxanthone, 2-chlorothioxanthone, isopropylthioxanthone, 2,4-diisopropyl Thioxanthones such as thioxanthone; ketals such as acetophenone dimethyl ketal and benzyl dimethyl ketal; benzophenones such as benzophenone; or xanthones; (2,6-dimethoxybenzoyl) -2,4,4-pentylphosphine oxide, bis (2 , 4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phenylphosphine oxide, 2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyldiphenylphosphine oxide, ethyl-2,4,6-trimethyl Phosphine oxides such as benzoylphenyl phosphinate; various peroxides and the like are mentioned, but it is not limited to specific ones, and these can be used alone or in combination of two or more. .

  Moreover, 1-30 mass parts is suitable per 100 mass parts of said organic binder (B), and, as for the mixture ratio in the paste of this photoinitiator (D), Preferably it is 5-20 mass parts. When the amount is less than the above range, it is difficult to obtain sufficient photocurability of the paste. On the other hand, when the amount exceeds the above range, light transmission is inhibited and it is difficult to obtain deep photocurability.

  In addition, when a deeper photocuring depth is required, a titanocene photopolymerization initiator such as Irgacure 784 manufactured by Ciba Specialty Chemicals, which starts radical polymerization in the visible region, and leuco dye are cured as necessary. It can be used in combination as an auxiliary agent.

  In addition, the photosensitive electrically conductive paste of this invention can mix | blend low melting glass for the purpose of raising the adhesiveness to a glass substrate and the intensity | strength of a baked film. As the low melting point glass, a low melting point glass powder having a glass transition point (Tg) of 300 to 500 ° C. and a softening point (Ts) of 400 to 600 ° C. such as lead, bismuth, phosphoric acid and lithium is used. It is preferable. Further, from the viewpoint of resolution, a powder having a particle size of 10 μm or less is preferable, and may be either crystalline or non-crystalline.

  Further, if necessary, the photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention is an acid compound such as phosphoric acid, phosphate ester, carboxylic acid-containing compound, silicone-based, acrylic-based defoaming and leveling to ensure storage stability. Other additives such as an agent, a thixotropic agent for adjusting fluidity, and a silane coupling agent for improving the adhesion of the film can also be blended. Furthermore, if necessary, a known and commonly used antioxidant for preventing oxidation of the conductive powder, a thermal polymerization inhibitor for improving the thermal stability during storage, and bonding with the substrate during firing. Fine particles such as metal oxides, silicon oxides, boron oxides, and low-melting glass as components can be added. In addition, inorganic powders such as silica, bismuth oxide, aluminum oxide, and titanium oxide, organic metal compounds, metal organic acid salts, metal alkoxides, and the like can be added for the purpose of adjusting firing shrinkage.

Further, for the purpose of adjusting the color tone, a black pigment made of a metal oxide or a composite metal oxide containing one or more of Fe, Co, Cu, Cr, Mn, Al, Ru, Ni as a main component, four Black materials such as cobalt trioxide (Co ₃ 0 ₄ ), ruthenium oxide, and lanthanum composite oxide can also be added.

  The photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention is obtained by blending the above-described essential components and optional components in a predetermined ratio and uniformly dispersing them in a kneader such as a three roll or blender. The photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention thus obtained is formed as a conductor pattern on a substrate through, for example, the following steps.

(1) First, the photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention is applied to a base material such as a glass substrate serving as a front substrate of a plasma display panel (PDP) by an appropriate coating method such as a screen printing method, a bar coater, or a blade coater. In order to obtain a touch-drying property, the organic solvent is evaporated by drying at about 60 to 120 ° C. for about 5 to 40 minutes in a hot air circulating drying furnace or a far infrared drying furnace, and a tack-free coating is applied. Get a membrane.
Here, the base material is not limited to a specific one, but for example, a heat resistant substrate such as a glass substrate or a ceramic substrate can be used.
Note that the paste can be formed into a film in advance. In this case, the film may be laminated on the substrate.

(2) Next, the dry coating film formed on the substrate is subjected to pattern exposure and developed.
As the exposure step, contact exposure or non-contact exposure using a negative mask having a predetermined exposure pattern is possible. As the exposure light source, a halogen lamp, a high-pressure mercury lamp, a laser beam, a metal halide lamp, a black lamp, an electrodeless lamp, or the like is used. The exposure amount is preferably about 50 to 1000 mJ / cm ² .

  As the development process, a spray method, an immersion method, or the like is used. Developers include aqueous alkali metal solutions such as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate and sodium silicate, and aqueous amine solutions such as monoethanolamine, diethanolamine and triethanolamine, especially about 1.5% by mass or less. A dilute alkaline aqueous solution having a concentration of 1 is preferably used, as long as the carboxyl group of the carboxyl group-containing resin in the composition is saponified and the uncured part (unexposed part) is removed. It is not limited to. Further, it is preferable to perform washing with water and acid neutralization in order to remove an unnecessary developer after development.

(3) A predetermined conductor pattern is formed by baking the pattern of the obtained photosensitive conductive paste to remove the organic component contained in the paste.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated concretely based on an Example, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to the following Example. In the following, “parts” are all parts by mass unless otherwise specified.
(Synthesis Example 1)
A flask equipped with a thermometer, stirrer, dropping funnel, and reflux condenser is charged with methyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid in a molar ratio of 0.87: 0.13, dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether as a solvent, and azobisiso as a catalyst. Butyronitrile was added and stirred at 80 ° C. for 2 to 6 hours under a nitrogen atmosphere to obtain a resin solution. The organic binder A (copolymer resin) in this resin solution had a weight average molecular weight of about 10,000 and an acid value of 74 mgKOH / g.
In addition, the weight average molecular weight of the organic binder A in the obtained resin solution connects three Shimadzu pump LC-6AD and Showa Denko column Shodex (registered trademark) KF-804, KF-803, and KF-802. It was measured using high performance liquid chromatography.

The resin solution containing the organic binder A thus obtained was blended at the composition ratio shown below, stirred with a stirrer, kneaded with a three-roll mill to form a paste, and a photosensitive conductive paste was prepared. Produced. As the low melting point glass powder, Bi ₂ O ₃ is pulverized 50%, B ₂ O ₃ is 15%, ZnO is 15%, SiO ₂ is 6%, BaO is 17%, and the thermal expansion coefficient α ₃₀₀ = 85 × 10 ⁻⁷ / ° C., glass transition point 460 ° C., and average particle size 1.6 μm were used.

(Composition Example 1)
Organic binder A 100.0 parts Trimethylolpropane triacrylate 50.0 parts 2-Benzyl-2-dimethylamino-1-
(4-morpholinophenyl) -butanone-1 10.0 parts 2,4-diethylthioxanthone 1.0 part dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether 90.0 parts Silver powder (average particle size (D50): 2.5 μm) 700.0 Part Antisettling agent (BYK-410: manufactured by Big Chemie Japan) 5.0 parts Glass powder 35.0 parts Phosphate ester 2.0 parts Antifoam agent (BYK-354: manufactured by Big Chemie Japan) 1.0 part

(Comparative composition example 1)
Organic binder A 100.0 parts Trimethylolpropane triacrylate 50.0 parts 2-Benzyl-2-dimethylamino-1-
(4-morpholinophenyl) -butanone-1 10.0 parts 2,4-diethylthioxanthone 1.0 part dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether 90.0 parts Silver powder (average particle size (D50): 2.5 μm) 700.0 Part

Glass powder 35.0 parts Phosphate ester 2.0 parts Antifoam (BYK-354: manufactured by Big Chemie Japan) 1.0 part

The viscosity of each of the photosensitive conductive pastes of Composition Example 1 and Comparative Composition Example 1 thus obtained was adjusted with dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether so as to be 80 ps (measured value of an E-type viscometer). Each paste thus obtained was evaluated for resolution, specific resistance, adhesion, firing shrinkage, and silver powder sedimentation. The evaluation method is as follows.
Specimen creation:
Each photosensitive conductive paste for evaluation was applied on the entire surface of a glass substrate using a 180 mesh polyester screen, and then dried at 90 ° C. for 20 minutes in a hot-air circulating drying oven to provide good touch drying properties. A good coating was formed. Next, using a metal halide lamp as a light source, pattern exposure was performed through a negative mask so that the integrated light amount on the dried coating film was 300 mJ / cm ^2, and then a 0.5 wt% Na ₂ CO ₃ aqueous solution having a liquid temperature of 30 ° C. Development was carried out using and washed with water. And the board | substrate which formed the coating film pattern in this way was heated up to 550 degreeC by 5 degree-C / min in air atmosphere, and baked at 570 degreeC for 30 minutes, and the test piece which formed the conductor pattern was created.

(Resolution)
The minimum line width of the test piece prepared by the above method was evaluated.
(Specific resistance value)
A test piece having a pattern of 4 mm × 10 cm was prepared by the above method, and the specific resistance value was calculated by measuring the pattern resistance value and the film thickness.
(Adhesion)
About the test piece created by the above-mentioned Hobo, adhesive tape peeling was performed and evaluated whether there was no peeling of a pattern.
(Sedimentation of silver powder)
After 300 g of the paste was put in a 350 ml container and sealed, it was allowed to stand in a 10 ° C. cool box for 3 months, and then a metal spatula was inserted into the paste to confirm whether there was sedimentation at the bottom of the container.
These evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

As is clear from the results shown in Table 1, according to the photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention, a high-definition conductor pattern can be easily formed. Moreover, it can be seen that the photosensitive conductive paste of the present invention is excellent in storage stability in which conductive powder such as silver powder does not settle even when stored for a long period of time.

Claims (2)

A paste containing (A) conductive powder, (B) an organic binder, (C) a photopolymerizable monomer, (D) a photopolymerization initiator, and (E) an anti-settling agent, wherein the anti-settling agent (E) is A photosensitive conductive paste, which is a modified urea solution. A conductor pattern obtained by forming a fired product pattern using the photosensitive conductive paste according to claim 1.