JP2005288412A - Apparatus and method for discharging droplet - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus and method for discharging droplets capable of realizing a precise discharge action for droplets and obtaining a sufficient discharge precision even if applying a size of substrate such as a large-sized substrate and a tiling substrate, suppressing the drying irregularity of a functional layer drawn on the substrate, and forming a uniform film quality of the functional layer. <P>SOLUTION: An apparatus for discharging droplets is provided with a drawing means 14, 16 forming patterns on a substrate P while a discharge head 20 and the substrate P are relatively moved, an imaging means 24 obtaining alignment information on the substrate P, a positioning means 14, 16 deciding a relative position of the discharge head 20 and the substrate P and a control means CONT. The imaging means 24 is characterized in forming patterns in each drawing region while the control means CONT operates the positioning means 14, 16 and the drawing means 14, 16 from the alignment information which is acquired in a batch by the alignment information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge device and a droplet discharge method.

  In recent years, liquid crystal devices, organic electroluminescence devices, and the like have been used as display portions of electronic devices such as mobile phones and portable computers. For example, in a liquid crystal device, various functional layers are formed on the surface of a substrate made of glass, plastic, or the like. For example, when a color filter is formed as a functional layer on a substrate, each color filter element in the form of red, green, and blue dots is arranged in a predetermined arrangement such as a so-called stripe arrangement, delta arrangement, or mosaic arrangement. A color filter is formed.

  Recently, as a method for forming a functional layer including such a color filter, a method using an ink jet apparatus has been proposed. In the inkjet device, for example, a color filter is easily manufactured by discharging each droplet onto a glass substrate while scanning an inkjet head filled with droplets of red, green, and blue pigments. It becomes possible. In addition, the application range of the ink jet device and the ink jet method includes not only a color filter manufacturing process but also a process of drawing a liquid containing a metal material in a predetermined pattern to form a metal wiring, a light emitting material, and a hole injection material. It can also be used in the process of drawing a liquid material to form pixels. That is, the ink jet device can be applied to the manufacturing process of various functional layers as long as it is a functional material that is dispersed or dissolved in a dispersion or solution.

  In such an ink jet apparatus, a method has been proposed in which the accuracy of assembling the ink jet head and the detection of the nozzle position are improved in order to improve the accuracy during ink jet drawing (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  On the other hand, in an inkjet apparatus, droplets are ejected based on alignment information obtained by imaging an alignment mark on a substrate to form a pattern on the substrate. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, in order to form a pattern in each of the plurality of drawing areas 201 to 204 on the substrate 200, a pattern is formed in each drawing area through the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. ing.

Specifically, first, the alignment mark 201a in the first drawing area 201 is imaged to acquire alignment information (step S101), and the relative positions of the ejection head and the substrate 200 are roughly aligned based on the alignment information. The rough position is adjusted (step S102), the position is adjusted more precisely (step S103), and droplet ejection / drawing (step S104) is performed to form a pattern in the first drawing area 201. Thereafter, the alignment mark 202a in the second drawing area 202 is imaged to obtain alignment information (step S105), and the rough position is adjusted by substantially matching the relative positions of the ejection head and the substrate 200 based on the alignment information ( In step S106, the position is adjusted more precisely (step S107), droplet ejection / drawing (step S108) is performed, and a pattern is formed in the second drawing region 202.
Similar operations are continuously performed in the third and fourth drawing areas in the same manner (steps S109 to S116), so that patterns are sequentially formed in the first to fourth drawing areas 201 to 204.

JP 2003-90909 A

  However, the technique described in the above-mentioned patent document has a problem that the stage accuracy of the ink jet apparatus is insufficient and the droplets cannot be ejected with sufficient accuracy. Furthermore, when drawing on a large substrate or a tiling substrate, there is a problem that sufficient accuracy cannot be obtained, and the discharge ink cannot be discharged into the target pixel.

  Further, in the ink jet apparatus, a liquid material containing a solvent is discharged / drawn on the substrate and the solvent is dried to form a pattern on the substrate. Therefore, when the operation shown in FIG. In the drawing area (for example, the first drawing area) where the liquid material is applied before the drawing area, the liquid material is dried first, and drying unevenness occurs on the substrate 2. Such drying unevenness has a problem that it causes variations in film thickness of functional layers such as color filters. Such film thickness variation has a problem that it becomes difficult to obtain in-plane film thickness uniformity as the substrate size increases. Further, if the droplet discharge is interrupted for a long time by acquiring the alignment information (step S105), there is a possibility that solid matter contained in the liquid material adheres to the nozzle surface of the ink jet apparatus and causes a discharge failure.

For example, as an example of the functional layer, when the film thickness variation of the color filter occurs, there is a problem that the color balance of the plurality of colored layers becomes uneven. Further, as an example of the functional layer, when the film thickness variation of the metal wiring pattern occurs, there is a problem that the metal resistance becomes non-uniform. Further, as an example of the functional layer, when there is a variation in the thickness of the light emitting functional layer made of a light emitting material, a hole injection material, or the like, there is a problem that the light emitting characteristics and the light emitting lifetime become non-uniform.
Accordingly, there is a problem in that unevenness of drying of various functional materials on the substrate causes variations in film thicknesses of various functional layers formed using the ink jet apparatus, resulting in performance deterioration of the functional layers. It was.

  The present invention has been devised in view of the above-described problems, and realizes a high-precision droplet discharge operation and obtains sufficient discharge accuracy even when a substrate size such as a large substrate or a tiling substrate is employed. Provided are a droplet discharge apparatus and a droplet discharge method capable of forming a functional layer having a uniform film quality by suppressing drying unevenness of a functional layer drawn on a substrate. With the goal.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following configuration.
The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to the present invention includes a drawing unit that forms a pattern of the liquid material in a drawing region on the substrate while relatively moving the ejection head filled with the liquid material and the substrate, and a plurality of the liquid material on the substrate. An imaging unit that captures the alignment mark to acquire alignment information, a positioning unit that determines a relative position of the ejection head and the substrate according to the alignment information, the drawing unit, the imaging unit, and the positioning Control means for controlling the means, wherein the imaging means collectively obtains the alignment information on the substrate, and the control means, based on the collectively obtained alignment information, The positioning unit and the drawing unit are operated in each drawing region to form the pattern in each drawing region. There.

Here, the background art and the present invention will be described. In the background art, before forming each of the plurality of drawing regions, alignment information is acquired, and further, the relative position between the ejection head and the substrate is roughly adjusted. ing. That is, a plurality of preliminary operations are performed before the drawing operation. Therefore, in the background art, since the preliminary operation time is accumulated, it takes a long time to form a pattern in all the drawing regions on the substrate. In the formed drawing area, the liquid material was dried first, and drying unevenness occurred in the entire substrate.
On the other hand, in the present invention, before the pattern is formed in the drawing area, the imaging means collectively acquires alignment information, and the control means operates the positioning means and the drawing means based on the alignment information. A pattern is formed in each of the plurality of drawing areas. In particular, in the present invention, since the alignment information is acquired in a lump, it is not necessary to acquire alignment information for positioning the ejection head and the substrate in each of a plurality of drawing regions, and the alignment information is acquired. The operation to perform can be omitted.

  Further, since the alignment information is acquired collectively by the imaging means, it is not necessary to acquire alignment information in another drawing area after a pattern is formed in one drawing area. Therefore, after the pattern of one drawing area is formed, only the positioning operation is performed before the pattern is formed in the other drawing area, and then the pattern is applied to the other drawing area by performing the drawing operation. Can be formed.

  In this way, compared with the background art, the total of the preliminary operation time before drawing a pattern in each drawing area is extremely reduced, so that drying unevenness on the substrate can be suppressed. Therefore, a uniform film thickness can be achieved in the functional layer formed using the droplet discharge device. In addition, the larger the substrate size, the more likely the film thickness varies, but the present invention can achieve film thickness uniformity even on a large substrate. Further, since it is not necessary to interrupt the droplet discharge and acquire the alignment information, it is possible to reduce the adhesion of the solid matter contained in the liquid material to the nozzle surface.

  Furthermore, when the pattern formed in the drawing region is a color filter, the color filter can be formed with a uniform film thickness, so that the color balance of the plurality of colored layers can be made uniform. Further, when the pattern formed in the drawing region is a metal wiring pattern, the metal resistance can be made uniform. Further, when the pattern formed in the drawing region is a light emitting functional layer made of a light emitting material, a hole injection material, or the like, the light emission characteristics and the light emission lifetime can be made uniform. Moreover, also when forming the pattern which consists of various functional materials, the film thickness variation of various functional layers can be suppressed and the performance degradation of the said functional layer can be suppressed.

  Further, according to the present invention, since an alignment mark is imaged and a drawing operation is performed based on the alignment information, a pattern can be formed with higher accuracy than the above-mentioned patent document. Also, even when a substrate size such as a large substrate or a tiling substrate is employed, the drawing operation can be performed with high accuracy, so that sufficient ejection accuracy can be obtained.

  Further, since the alignment information is acquired by collectively imaging the alignment marks in this way, the distances between all the alignment marks can be measured. Therefore, even when the substrate is stretched or contracted, the positioning operation and the drawing operation are performed based on the alignment information, so that the pattern can be formed with high accuracy.

Further, the liquid droplet ejection apparatus includes a plurality of the imaging means.
Here, it is difficult to acquire highly accurate alignment information by capturing a plurality of alignment marks at once with a single imaging unit. This is because, in order to image a plurality of alignment marks with a single imaging means, it is necessary to reduce the magnification of the imaging means and image the substrate over a wide range, so inevitably obtaining highly accurate alignment information Can not do it.
On the other hand, in the present invention, since a plurality of imaging means are provided, a plurality of alignment marks on the substrate can be imaged. Therefore, it is possible to collectively image a plurality of alignment marks on the substrate, and alignment information obtained by a plurality of imaging means can be acquired.
Also, by having a plurality of imaging means corresponding to each of the plurality of alignment marks, each imaging means only needs to image one alignment mark, so each alignment mark can be imaged at a high magnification. . Therefore, positioning can be performed with high accuracy.

In the droplet discharge device, the imaging unit is fixed at a position corresponding to the alignment mark on the substrate.
In this way, the alignment mark on the substrate can be imaged by the imaging means fixed to the droplet discharge device. Therefore, when alignment marks are formed at the same position on a plurality of substrates, it is possible to image the alignment marks on each substrate in a lump and acquire alignment information.
As described above, the droplet discharge device including the fixed imaging unit is particularly effective in single-product mass production in which patterns are drawn on a plurality of substrates on which the same alignment mark is formed.

In the liquid droplet ejection apparatus, the imaging means can be moved to a position corresponding to the alignment mark on the substrate.
In this way, the alignment mark on the substrate can be imaged by the imaging means that is movable to the droplet discharge device. Therefore, when the position of the alignment mark on each substrate is different on a plurality of substrates, it is possible to move the image pickup means corresponding to the alignment mark and collectively image the alignment mark on each substrate. Can be obtained.
As described above, the droplet discharge device including the movable image pickup unit is particularly effective in the high-mix low-volume production in which a pattern is drawn on each of a plurality of substrates on which alignment marks are formed at different positions.

In the liquid droplet ejection apparatus, the control means calculates the alignment information and creates relative position data of the ejection head and the substrate.
Thus, since the control means creates relative position data based on the alignment information, the positioning step can be performed based on the relative position data. In addition, by performing such calculation processing, it is possible to collectively calculate the relative position data of a plurality of drawing regions from the alignment information acquired collectively. Therefore, the positioning process in each of the plurality of drawing regions can be performed based on the relative position data calculated in a lump.

  In addition, the droplet discharge method of the present invention includes a drawing step of forming a pattern of the liquid material in a drawing region on the substrate while relatively moving the discharge head filled with the liquid material and the substrate; An imaging step of imaging the plurality of alignment marks to acquire alignment information, and a positioning step of determining a relative position of the ejection head and the substrate according to the alignment information, the imaging step The alignment information on the substrate is collectively acquired, and the positioning step and the drawing step are performed in each of the plurality of drawing regions based on the collectively acquired alignment information. It is characterized by forming a pattern.

In this way, before forming a pattern in the drawing area, the alignment information is acquired collectively by the imaging process, the positioning process and the drawing process are performed based on the alignment information, and the pattern is formed in each of the plurality of drawing areas. Is forming. In particular, in the present invention, since the alignment information is acquired in a lump, it is not necessary to acquire alignment information for positioning the ejection head and the substrate in each of a plurality of drawing regions, and the alignment information is acquired. The operation to perform can be omitted.
Further, since the alignment information is acquired collectively by the imaging means, it is not necessary to acquire alignment information in another drawing area after a pattern is formed in one drawing area. Therefore, after the pattern of one drawing area is formed, only the positioning operation is performed before the pattern is formed in the other drawing area, and then the pattern is applied to the other drawing area by performing the drawing operation. Can be formed.
In this way, compared with the background art, since the total time of the preliminary process before drawing a pattern in each drawing area is extremely reduced, drying unevenness on the substrate can be suppressed. Therefore, a uniform film thickness can be achieved in the functional layer formed using the droplet discharge device. In addition, the larger the substrate size, the more likely the film thickness varies, but the present invention can achieve film thickness uniformity even on a large substrate.

  Furthermore, when the pattern formed in the drawing region is a color filter, the color filter can be formed with a uniform film thickness, so that the color balance of the plurality of colored layers can be made uniform. Further, when the pattern formed in the drawing region is a metal wiring pattern, the metal resistance can be made uniform. Further, when the pattern formed in the drawing region is a light emitting functional layer made of a light emitting material, a hole injection material, or the like, the light emission characteristics and the light emission lifetime can be made uniform. Moreover, also when forming the pattern which consists of various functional materials, the film thickness variation of various functional layers can be suppressed and the performance degradation of the said functional layer can be suppressed.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the alignment mark is imaged and the drawing process is performed based on the alignment information, the pattern can be formed with higher accuracy than the above-mentioned patent document. In addition, even when a substrate size such as a large substrate or a tiling substrate is employed, the drawing process can be performed with high accuracy, so that sufficient ejection accuracy can be obtained.

In the droplet discharge method, the substrate has a plurality of the drawing regions.
Here, for example, when the substrate has the first to fourth drawing areas, the imaging unit collects the alignment marks and acquires the alignment information as described above. It is not necessary to image an alignment mark before drawing a pattern in the second to fourth drawing areas, and it is not necessary to roughly adjust the relative position of the ejection head and the substrate when performing a positioning operation. Therefore, the operation of the droplet discharge device can be simplified. In addition, the relative position between the ejection head and the substrate can be determined with high accuracy.
Therefore, it is only necessary to perform the positioning operation before forming the pattern in each of the second to fourth drawing areas, and thereafter, by performing the drawing operation on each drawing area, each of the second to fourth drawing areas. A pattern can be formed for each.
As described above, when the pattern is formed in each of the second to fourth drawing regions, the total of the preliminary operation time before drawing the pattern is extremely reduced, so that drying unevenness on the substrate can be suppressed. Therefore, a uniform film thickness can be achieved in the functional layer formed using the droplet discharge device. In addition, the larger the substrate size, the more likely the film thickness varies, but the present invention can achieve film thickness uniformity even on a large substrate.

In the droplet discharge method, the substrate includes a plurality of drawing substrates having the drawing regions and a support substrate that supports the plurality of drawing substrates.
Here, the present invention is to form a pattern on a tiling substrate on which a plurality of substrates are bonded, and in the present invention, the “support substrate” corresponds to the “substrate” described above, The “drawing substrate” corresponds to the “drawing area” described above.

Therefore, for example, when the support substrate includes the first to fourth drawing substrates, the imaging unit collects images of the alignment marks and acquires the alignment information. It is not necessary to image the alignment mark before drawing a pattern on the drawing substrate, and it is not necessary to roughly adjust the relative position of the ejection head and the support substrate when performing the positioning operation. Therefore, the operation of the droplet discharge device can be simplified. In addition, the relative position between the ejection head and the support substrate can be determined with high accuracy.
Therefore, it is only necessary to perform the positioning operation before forming the pattern on each of the second to fourth drawing substrates. Thereafter, by performing the drawing operation on each drawing substrate, each of the second to fourth drawing substrates. A pattern can be formed for each.

  As described above, when the patterns are formed on the second to fourth drawing substrates, the total of the preliminary operation time before drawing the pattern is extremely reduced, so that drying unevenness on the support substrate can be suppressed. . Therefore, a uniform film thickness can be achieved in the functional layer formed using the droplet discharge device. In addition, when a pattern is drawn on a tiling substrate, the larger the support substrate size, the more likely the film thickness varies. However, the present invention achieves film thickness uniformity even on a large tiling substrate. be able to.

The present invention will be described in detail below.
This embodiment shows some aspects of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention, and can be arbitrarily changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Moreover, in each figure shown below, in order to make each layer and each member the size which can be recognized on drawing, the scale is varied for each layer and each member. In addition, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It is only an example and can be changed as appropriate.

(First embodiment of droplet discharge device)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a droplet discharge device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
1A is a plan view of a droplet discharge device, and FIG. 1B is a side view of the droplet discharge device.
As shown in FIG. 1, the droplet discharge device 1 is interposed between a base 12, a stage ST that supports the substrate P on the base 12, and the base 12 and the stage ST, and supports the stage ST so as to be movable. A first moving device (positioning means, drawing means) 14, a discharge head (drawing means) 20 capable of discharging a predetermined liquid material material to the substrate P supported by the stage ST, and the discharge head 20 can be moved. The second moving device (positioning means, drawing means) 16 supported on the tank, the tank 63 in which the liquid material discharged from the discharge head 20 is stored, and the control device (control) for controlling the discharge operation of the liquid material of the discharge head 20 Means) It is configured to include CONT and an alignment camera (imaging means) 24.
In addition, creation of a drive signal to be supplied to the ejection head 20 to perform a droplet ejection operation, drive control of the first moving device 14 and the second moving device 16, an imaging operation of the alignment camera 24, processing of the captured image, etc. The operation of the droplet discharge device 1 including is controlled by the control device CONT.

  The first moving device 14 is installed on the base 12 and is positioned along the Y-axis direction. The second moving device 16 is mounted upright with respect to the base 12 using the support columns 16A and 16A and the side frames 16B and 16B, and is mounted at the rear portion 12A of the base 12. The X-axis direction of the second moving device 16 is a direction orthogonal to the Y-axis direction of the first moving device 14. Here, the Y-axis direction is a direction along the front 12B and rear 12A directions of the base 12. On the other hand, the X-axis direction is a direction along the left-right direction of the base 12 and is horizontal. The Z-axis direction is a direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

  The first moving device 14 is configured by, for example, a linear motor, and includes guide rails 40 and 40 and a slider 42 (positioning unit) provided to be movable along the guide rail 40. Here, the slider 42 is provided at the bottom of the stage 42. The slider 42 of the linear motor type first moving device 14 can be positioned by moving in the Y-axis direction along the guide rail 40.

  The slider 42 includes a motor 44 for rotating around the Z axis (θZ). The motor 44 is, for example, a direct drive motor, and the rotor of the motor 44 is fixed to the stage ST. Thereby, by energizing the motor 44, the rotor and the stage ST can rotate along the θZ direction to index (rotate index) the stage ST. That is, the first moving device 14 can move the stage ST in the Y-axis direction and the θZ direction.

  The stage ST holds the substrate P and positions it at a predetermined position. Further, the stage ST has a suction holding device (not shown). When the suction holding device is operated, the substrate P is sucked and held on the stage ST through the hole of the stage ST.

  The second moving device 16 is configured by a linear motor, and includes a guide rail 62A fixed to the columns 16A and 16A, and a slider 60 supported so as to be movable in the X-axis direction along the guide rail 62A. The slider 60 can be positioned by moving in the X-axis direction along the guide rail 62 </ b> A, and the ejection head 20 is attached to the slider 60. Accordingly, the ejection head 20 can move in the X-axis direction.

  The discharge head 20 has a swing positioning motor. When the motor is operated, the discharge head 20 can move up and down along the Z-axis to be positioned. The Z axis is a direction (vertical direction) orthogonal to the X axis and the Y axis. Further, the ejection head 20 can be positioned by swinging in the θY direction around the Y axis, the θX direction around the X axis, and the θZ direction around the Z axis. That is, the second moving device 16 supports the ejection head 20 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction, and supports the ejection head 20 in the θX direction (around the X axis), the θY direction (around the Y axis), and θZ. It is supported so as to be movable in the direction (around the Z axis).

  1 can be positioned by linearly moving in the Z-axis direction in the slider 60, and can be positioned by swinging along the θX, θY, and θZ directions. The nozzle formation surface 20P of 20 can accurately control the position or posture with respect to the substrate P on the stage ST side. A plurality of nozzles 211 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) for discharging the liquid material are provided on the nozzle forming surface 20P of the discharge head 20.

Next, the structure of the ejection head 20 will be described with reference to FIGS.
2 is an exploded perspective view showing the ejection head 20, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the perspective view of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the ejection head 20 is configured by fitting a pressure chamber substrate 220 provided with a nozzle plate 210 provided with a plurality of nozzles 211 and a vibration plate 230 into a housing 250. The main structure of the discharge head 20 includes a structure in which a pressure chamber substrate 220 is sandwiched between a nozzle plate 210 and a diaphragm 230 as shown in FIG. The nozzle 211 is formed with a nozzle 211 at a position corresponding to the cavity 221 when the nozzle plate 210 is bonded to the pressure chamber substrate 220. The pressure chamber substrate 220 is provided with a plurality of cavities 221 so that each can function as a pressure chamber by etching a silicon single crystal substrate or the like. The cavities 221 are separated by side walls 222. Each cavity 221 is connected via a supply port 224 to a reservoir 223 that is a common flow path. The diaphragm 230 is made of, for example, a thermal oxide film. The diaphragm 230 is provided with a liquid material tank port 231 so that an arbitrary liquid material can be supplied from the tank 63 of FIG. A piezoelectric element (discharge means) 240 is formed at a position corresponding to the cavity 221 on the vibration plate 230. The piezoelectric element 240 has a structure in which a piezoelectric ceramic crystal such as a piezoelectric element is sandwiched between an upper electrode and a lower electrode (not shown). The piezoelectric element 240 is configured to be able to cause a volume change corresponding to the voltage waveform of the drive signal supplied from the control device CONT.
The nozzle plate 210 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is made of a metal material such as stainless steel, and a thin film is formed in the vicinity of the nozzle 211 by a film forming process such as eutectoid plating. The peripheral edge is mainly in a state in which liquid repellency is ensured.

  In order to eject the liquid material from the ejection head 20, first, the control device CONT supplies a voltage waveform for ejecting the liquid material to the ejection head 20. The liquid material flows into the cavity 221 of the ejection head 20, and in the ejection head 20 to which the ejection signal is supplied, the piezoelectric element 240 causes a volume change due to the voltage applied between the upper electrode and the lower electrode. . This volume change deforms the diaphragm 230 and changes the volume of the cavity 221. As a result, a liquid material droplet is ejected from the nozzle 211 of the cavity 221. The liquid material reduced by the discharge is newly supplied from the tank to the cavity 221 from which the liquid material has been discharged.

In this embodiment, the droplet discharge device 1 employs a configuration including one discharge head 20 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, but this is not a limitation.
For example, the droplet discharge device 1 may employ a configuration having a discharge head group including a plurality of discharge heads 20. Further, the nozzle forming surface 20P may be configured to include a larger number of nozzles 211 than those illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, for example, a configuration in which 180 nozzles 211 are formed in a row. In addition to a plurality of ejection heads 20 arranged in a row, a configuration in which a plurality of ejection heads 20 are arranged in a plurality of rows may be employed. When a plurality of discharge heads 20 are provided, two rows of discharge heads 20 that are shifted by 1/2 pitch in the X-axis direction with respect to the interval (pitch) of the nozzles 211 may be arranged. When a large number of ejection heads 20 are arranged in this way, droplets can be ejected at an interval smaller than the interval between the nozzles 211.
Further, the discharge head 20 may be disposed at a predetermined angle with respect to the X-axis direction. Even in this case, the liquid droplets can be discharged at an interval smaller than the interval between the nozzles 211.

  Examples of the liquid material discharged from the discharge head 20 include materials such as ink containing a coloring material used when forming a color filter, and metal fine particles used when forming a metal wiring. Used in forming organic electroluminescent devices, such as PEDOT: PSS used for forming organic electroluminescent devices, solutions containing organic electroluminescent materials such as light-injecting materials such as PEDOT: PSS, and liquid crystal devices. High-viscosity functional liquids such as liquid crystal materials, functional liquids containing materials used in forming microlenses, and biopolymers such as proteins used in forming microarrays such as DNA chips A liquid material containing a material corresponding to various target functional layers, such as a solution, is employed.

  The droplet discharge means of the discharge head 20 may be other than the electromechanical converter using the piezoelectric element described above. For example, a method using an electrothermal converter as an energy generating element, a charge control type, a pressurization It is also possible to employ a continuous method such as a vibration type, an electrostatic suction method, or a method in which an electromagnetic wave such as a laser is applied to generate heat and a liquid material is discharged by the action of the generated heat.

The alignment camera 24 captures the vicinity of an alignment mark formed on a substrate P, which will be described later, and acquires alignment information. The alignment camera 24 is fixedly provided on the guide rail 62A of the second moving device 16, and is arranged toward the side facing the substrate P, that is, the lower side of the drawing in the Z-axis direction in FIG. ing. As shown in FIG. 1A, six such alignment cameras 24 are provided, each corresponding to the position of the alignment mark on the substrate P.
The alignment camera 24 includes an image receiving element such as a CCD or a CMOS sensor, and an image captured by the image receiving element is stored by the control device CONT. Further, the alignment camera 24 can capture the vicinity including the alignment mark at a predetermined magnification, and can enlarge or reduce the vicinity of the alignment mark.

  The control device CONT is electrically connected to each component of the droplet discharge device 1 described above, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM, a RAM, an input / output interface, an oscillation circuit, etc. are connected by a bus. So-called computer. Such a control device CONT controls the droplet discharge device 1 in accordance with a program inputted in advance. In addition, the control device CONT drives and controls each component in the droplet discharge device 1, the discharge head 20, the first moving device 14, the second moving device 16, the alignment camera 24, and the like, as described above, and the alignment camera. Based on the alignment information imaged by 24, the relative position data for positioning is calculated. Then, by driving the first moving device 14 and the second moving device 16 based on such a calculation result, the relative position between the substrate P and the ejection head 20 can be determined in a short time before the drawing operation. It is possible.

Next, the substrate P will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the substrate P. FIG.
The substrate P is a transparent substrate such as a glass substrate or a resin substrate, or a non-transparent substrate such as a metal substrate. In addition, various sizes are adopted as the size, for example, a size that is about 500 mm in length and breadth to more than 1000 mm may be used.
A plurality of alignment marks A1 to A6 are formed on the substrate P. The alignment marks A1 to A6 are imaged by the alignment camera 24, whereby alignment information is acquired, and the relative position between the substrate P and the ejection head 20 is set as desired.
The substrate P also has a first drawing area 201 and a second drawing area 202. The first drawing area 201 and the second drawing area 202 are areas in which a predetermined pattern is formed by discharging the liquid material filled in the discharge head 20.
As will be described later, the first drawing area 201 and the second drawing area 202 are positioned based on the alignment information, and then a pattern is formed.
In addition, as a pattern formed on the substrate P, for example, a pixel pattern for forming a color filter by drawing colored layers of RGB or the like, or a circuit wiring by drawing a dispersion of metal fine particles High-viscosity functional liquid such as a metal wiring pattern for forming, a pixel pattern for drawing a functional liquid material containing a hole injection layer material or a light emitting material to form a light emitting functional layer, or a liquid crystal material A liquid crystal pattern for drawing a liquid crystal layer, a lens pattern for drawing a microlens material to form the microlens, and a biopolymer such as a protein used when forming a DNA chip Patterns according to various purposes such as a microarray pattern for drawing a solution to form a microarray are employed.

(First embodiment of droplet discharge method)
Next, a droplet discharge method will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for performing a droplet discharge method using the droplet discharge apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. In the following description, it is assumed that the substrate P is previously mounted on the stage ST in the droplet discharge device 1.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, alignment information of the first and second drawing regions 201 and 202 on the substrate P is acquired (step S1, imaging step).
In step S1, the stage ST on which the substrate P is mounted moves to the rear portion 12A of the base 12, whereby the substrate P is disposed below the alignment camera 24 disposed at positions corresponding to the alignment marks A1 to A6. Here, each of the plurality of alignment cameras 24 collectively captures the vicinity including the alignment marks A1 to A6, and acquires alignment information. The alignment information is stored by the control device CONT, and the control device CONT performs arithmetic processing on the alignment information and draws a relative position coordinate (relative position data) for drawing a pattern in the first drawing area 201, and a second value. Relative position coordinates (relative position data) for drawing a pattern in the drawing area 201 are calculated. Here, the relative position coordinate means a relative position coordinate between the substrate P and the ejection head 20.

  Next, based on the calculation result of the control device CONT, the first moving device 14 and the second moving device 16 operate, and the relative positions of the ejection head 20 and the substrate P are substantially matched, so that the first drawing region 201 is precisely set. The rough position before adjustment is adjusted (step S2, positioning step).

  Next, based on the calculation result of the control device CONT, the first moving device 14 and the second moving device 16 operate, and the precision of the substrate P and the discharge head 20 for discharging the liquid material to the first drawing region 201 is determined. The relative position is adjusted (step S3, positioning step).

  Next, based on the electronic data of the drawing pattern stored in advance in the control device CONT, the liquid material in the ejection head 20 is made into droplets while relatively moving the ejection head 20 and the substrate P, and the first of the substrate P is obtained. The ink is discharged to the drawing area 201, and a pattern is drawn in the first drawing area 201 (step S4, drawing process).

  Next, based on the calculation result of the control device CONT, the first moving device 14 and the second moving device 16 operate, and the relative positions of the ejection head 20 and the substrate P are substantially matched, so that the second drawing region 202 is precisely set. The rough position before adjustment is adjusted (step S5, positioning step).

  Next, based on the calculation result of the control device CONT, the first moving device 14 and the second moving device 16 operate, and the precision of the substrate P and the discharge head 20 for discharging the liquid material to the second drawing region 202 is determined. The relative position is adjusted (step S6, positioning step).

  Next, based on the electronic data of the drawing pattern stored in advance in the control device CONT, the liquid material in the ejection head 20 is made into droplets while moving the ejection head 20 and the substrate P relative to each other, and the second of the substrate P is obtained. The ink is discharged to the drawing area 202, and a pattern is drawn on the second drawing area 202 (step S7, drawing process).

  As described above, in the droplet ejection apparatus and the droplet ejection method according to the present embodiment, the alignment camera 24 collectively acquires alignment information before forming a pattern in the first and second drawing regions 201 and 202. A pattern is formed in each of the first drawing area 201 and the second drawing area 202 based on the alignment information. Thus, since the alignment information is acquired in a lump, it is not necessary to acquire alignment information for positioning the second drawing region 202, and an operation for acquiring the alignment information can be omitted.

  In addition, since the alignment information is collectively acquired by the alignment camera 24, it is not necessary to acquire the alignment information in the second drawing area 202 after the pattern is formed in the first drawing area 201. Therefore, after the pattern formation in the first drawing area 201, only the rough position adjustment and the fine position adjustment need be performed before the pattern is formed in the second drawing area 202. Thereafter, the drawing process is performed to perform the second process. A pattern can be formed in the drawing area 202.

  In this way, compared to the background art, the total of the preliminary operation time before drawing a pattern in each drawing area 201, 202 is extremely reduced, so that drying unevenness on the substrate P can be suppressed. Therefore, a uniform film thickness can be achieved in the functional layer formed using the droplet discharge device 1. In addition, the larger the substrate size, the more likely the film thickness varies. However, the use of the droplet discharge device 1 can achieve film thickness uniformity even on a large substrate.

  Further, when the pattern formed in the first and second drawing regions 201 and 202 is a color filter, the color filter can be formed with a uniform film thickness, so that the color balance of the plurality of colored layers is uniform. Can be. Further, when the pattern formed in the drawing region is a metal wiring pattern, the metal resistance can be made uniform. Further, when the pattern formed in the drawing region is a light emitting functional layer made of a light emitting material, a hole injection material, or the like, the light emission characteristics and the light emission lifetime can be made uniform. Moreover, also when forming the pattern which consists of various functional materials, the film thickness variation of various functional layers can be suppressed and the performance degradation of the said functional layer can be suppressed.

  Moreover, since the alignment marks A1 to A6 are imaged and the drawing process is performed based on the alignment information, a pattern can be formed with higher accuracy than the background art. In addition, even when a substrate size such as a large substrate or a tiling substrate is employed, the drawing process can be performed with high accuracy, so that sufficient ejection accuracy can be obtained.

  Further, since the control device CONT creates the relative position coordinates based on the alignment information, the positioning process can be performed based on the relative position coordinates. Further, by performing such calculation processing, the relative position coordinates of a plurality of drawing areas can be calculated in a batch from the alignment information acquired in a batch. Therefore, the positioning process in each of the plurality of drawing regions can be performed based on the relative position data calculated in a lump.

  In addition, since the alignment information is obtained by collectively imaging the alignment marks A1 to A6 in this way, the distance between all the alignment marks A1 to A6 can be measured. Therefore, even when the substrate P is expanded or contracted, the positioning process and the drawing process are performed based on the alignment information, so that the pattern can be formed with high accuracy.

(Second Embodiment of Droplet Discharge Method)
Next, a second embodiment of the droplet discharge method will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a tiling substrate (substrate) P ′.
The tiling substrate P ′ includes a support substrate (substrate) P1 and drawing substrates (drawing regions) P2 to P5.
The support substrate P1 is a substrate that supports the drawing substrates P2 to P5 attached to the support substrate P1 itself. As the size of the support substrate P1, various sizes are adopted, and for example, there are cases where a size of about 500 mm in length and breadth to over 1000 mm is adopted.
The drawing substrates P2 to P5 are attached to the support substrate P1 with an adhesive or the like. In addition, alignment marks A1 to A8 are formed on the drawing substrates P2 to P5, respectively. The alignment marks A1 to A8 are imaged by the alignment camera 24, whereby alignment information is acquired, and the relative position between the substrate P and the ejection head 20 is set as desired.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for performing a droplet discharge method using the droplet discharge apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. In the following description, it is assumed that in the droplet discharge device 1, the tiling substrate P ′ is previously mounted on the stage ST. Further, the droplet discharge device 1 in the present embodiment has a configuration in which eight alignment cameras 24 are provided. Therefore, the alignment marks A1 to A8 can be collectively imaged by the eight alignment cameras 24.
In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the previous embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description will be simplified.

First, as shown in FIG. 7, alignment information of the first to fourth drawing substrates P2 to P5 on the tiling substrate P ′ is acquired (step S11, imaging step).
In step S11, the stage ST on which the tiling substrate P ′ is mounted moves to the rear portion 12A of the base 12, so that the tiling substrate is positioned below the alignment camera 24 disposed at the position corresponding to the alignment marks A1 to A8. Place P ′. Here, each of the plurality of alignment cameras 24 collectively captures the vicinity including the alignment marks A1 to A8, and acquires alignment information. The alignment information is stored by the control device CONT, and the control device CONT calculates the relative position coordinates for drawing the pattern on each of the first to fourth drawing substrates P2 to P5 by calculating the alignment information. To do.

  Next, based on the calculation result of the control device CONT, the first moving device 14 and the second moving device 16 are operated, and the relative positions of the ejection head 20 and the tiling substrate P ′ are approximately matched, whereby the first drawing substrate. The rough position before precise adjustment to P2 is adjusted (step S12, positioning step).

  Next, on the basis of the calculation result of the control device CONT, the first moving device 14 and the second moving device 16 operate, and the tiling substrate P ′ and the discharge head for discharging the liquid material onto the first drawing substrate P2. The precise relative position of 20 is adjusted (step S13, positioning step).

  Next, based on the electronic data of the drawing pattern stored in advance in the control device CONT, the liquid material in the discharge head 20 is made into droplets while moving the discharge head 20 and the tiling substrate P ′ relative to each other. The ink is discharged onto the drawing substrate P2, and a pattern is drawn on the first drawing substrate P2 (step S14, drawing step).

  Next, based on the calculation result of the control device CONT, the first moving device 14 and the second moving device 16 are operated, and the relative positions of the ejection head 20 and the tiling substrate P ′ are approximately matched, whereby the second drawing substrate. The rough position before precise adjustment to P3 is adjusted (step S15, positioning step).

  Next, on the basis of the calculation result of the control device CONT, the first moving device 14 and the second moving device 16 operate, and the tiling substrate P ′ and the discharge head for discharging the liquid material onto the second drawing substrate P3. 20 precise relative positions are adjusted (step S16, positioning step).

  Next, based on the electronic data of the drawing pattern stored in advance in the control device CONT, the liquid material in the ejection head 20 is made into droplets while moving the ejection head 20 and the tiling substrate P ′ relative to each other. The ink is discharged onto the drawing substrate P3, and a pattern is drawn on the second drawing substrate P3 (step S17, drawing step).

  Next, based on the calculation result of the control device CONT, the first moving device 14 and the second moving device 16 are operated, and the relative positions of the ejection head 20 and the tiling substrate P ′ are substantially matched, whereby the third drawing substrate. The rough position before precise adjustment to P4 is adjusted (step S18, positioning step).

  Next, on the basis of the calculation result of the control device CONT, the first moving device 14 and the second moving device 16 operate, and the tiling substrate P ′ and the discharge head for discharging the liquid material onto the third drawing substrate P4. The precise relative position of 20 is adjusted (step S19, positioning step).

  Next, based on the electronic data of the drawing pattern stored in advance in the control device CONT, the liquid material in the ejection head 20 is made into droplets while moving the ejection head 20 and the tiling substrate P ′ relative to each other to form a third liquid. It discharges to the drawing board | substrate P4 and a pattern is drawn on the said 3rd drawing board | substrate P4 (step S20, drawing process).

  Next, based on the calculation result of the control device CONT, the first moving device 14 and the second moving device 16 operate, and the relative positions of the ejection head 20 and the tiling substrate P ′ are approximately matched, whereby the fourth drawing substrate. The rough position before precise adjustment to P5 is adjusted (step S21, positioning step).

  Next, on the basis of the calculation result of the control device CONT, the first moving device 14 and the second moving device 16 operate, and the tiling substrate P ′ and the discharge head for discharging the liquid material onto the fourth drawing substrate P5. 20 precise relative positions are adjusted (step S22, positioning step).

  Next, based on the electronic data of the drawing pattern stored in advance in the control device CONT, the liquid material in the ejection head 20 is made into droplets while moving the ejection head 20 and the tiling substrate P ′ relative to each other to form fourth droplets. It discharges on the drawing board | substrate P5 and draws a pattern on the said 4th drawing board | substrate P5 (step S23, drawing process).

  As described above, in the droplet discharge method of the present embodiment, before the pattern is formed on the drawing substrates P2 to P5 on the tiling substrate P ′, the alignment camera 24 collectively acquires alignment information, and A pattern is formed on each of the drawing substrates P2 to P5 based on the alignment information. Thus, since the alignment information is acquired collectively, it is not necessary to acquire alignment information for positioning the drawing substrates P2 to P5, and an operation for acquiring the alignment information can be omitted.

Further, since the alignment information is collectively acquired by the alignment camera 24, it is not necessary to acquire the alignment information on the second drawing substrate P3 after the pattern is formed on the first drawing substrate P2. Therefore, after the pattern formation on the first drawing substrate P2, only the rough position adjustment and the precise position adjustment need be performed before the pattern is formed on the second drawing substrate P3. A pattern can be formed on the drawing substrate P3.
Therefore, after forming the pattern on the first drawing substrate P2, it is only necessary to perform the positioning step before forming the pattern on the second drawing substrate P3. After that, the pattern is formed on the second drawing substrate P3 by performing the drawing step. Can be formed. Further, the same effect can be obtained in the drawing substrates P4 and P5.
In this way, compared with the background art, since the total of the preliminary operation time before drawing the pattern on each of the drawing substrates P2 to P5 is extremely reduced, drying unevenness on the tiling substrate P ′ is suppressed. Can do. Therefore, a uniform film thickness can be achieved in the functional layer formed using the droplet discharge device 1. In addition, the larger the substrate size, the more likely the film thickness varies. However, the use of the droplet discharge device 1 can achieve film thickness uniformity even on a large substrate.

(Second Embodiment of Droplet Discharge Device)
Next, a second embodiment of the droplet discharge device will be described.
In the present embodiment, only parts different from the first embodiment will be described.
The droplet discharge device of the present embodiment is movable at a position where the plurality of alignment cameras 24 face the substrate P. The alignment camera 24 is moved according to the position of the alignment mark on the substrate P, and the movement of the alignment camera 24 is comprehensively controlled by the control device CONT.

As described above, in the droplet discharge device of this embodiment, the alignment mark 24 on the substrate P can be imaged by providing the movable alignment camera 24. Therefore, when the position of the alignment mark on each substrate is different on a plurality of substrates, it is possible to move the alignment camera 24 corresponding to the alignment mark and image the alignment mark on each substrate P at once. Alignment information can be acquired.
As described above, the droplet discharge device including the movable alignment camera 24 is particularly effective in the high-mix low-volume production in which a pattern is drawn on each of a plurality of substrates on which alignment marks are formed at different positions.

(Third embodiment of droplet discharge method)
Next, a third embodiment of the droplet discharge method will be described with reference to FIGS.
Here, a droplet discharge method in the case of using a droplet discharge apparatus provided with the movable alignment camera 24 will be described.
FIG. 8 is a plan view of the substrate P having a plurality of drawing regions, FIG. 8A is a diagram showing a case where the drawing region is chamfered from the substrate P, and FIG. 8B is a drawing from the substrate P. It is a figure which shows the case where an area | region is 6 chamfered. In FIG. 8, reference numerals A1 to A9 indicate alignment marks.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart for performing the droplet discharge method on the substrate P in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

(In the case of 4 chamfers)
First, the case of four chamfering shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, in the droplet discharge device 1, the alignment camera 24 moves to a position corresponding to the alignment marks A1 to A6 (step S31).

Next, alignment information of the first to fourth drawing regions 201 to 204 on the substrate P is acquired (step S32, imaging step).
In step S32, each of the plurality of alignment cameras 24 collectively captures the vicinity including alignment marks A1 to A6, and acquires alignment information. Here, the alignment camera 24 is in a fixed state while the alignment mark is imaged collectively. The alignment information is stored by the control device CONT, and the control device CONT calculates the relative position coordinates for drawing the pattern in each of the first to fourth drawing areas 201 to 204 by calculating the alignment information. .

  Next, based on the alignment information and relative position coordinates acquired in step S32, the processes shown in steps S33 to S38 are performed. Here, steps S33 to S38 correspond to steps S2 to S7 of the previous embodiment, and the description will be simplified. Further, after step S38, a positioning process and a drawing process for forming a pattern in the third and fourth drawing regions 203 to 204 are performed, and the same process as described above is performed.

(In case of 6 chamfers)
Next, the case of 6 chamfering shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, in the droplet discharge device 1, the alignment camera 24 moves to a position corresponding to the alignment marks A1 to A9 (step S31).

Next, alignment information of the first to sixth drawing regions 201 to 206 on the substrate P is acquired (step S32, imaging step).
In step S32, each of the plurality of alignment cameras 24 collectively captures the vicinity including alignment marks A1 to A6, and acquires alignment information. Here, the alignment camera 24 is in a fixed state while the alignment mark is imaged collectively. The alignment information is stored by the control device CONT, and the control device CONT calculates the relative position coordinates for drawing the pattern in each of the first to fourth drawing areas 201 to 204 by calculating the alignment information. .

  Next, based on the alignment information and relative position coordinates acquired in step S32, the processes shown in steps S33 to S38 are performed. Here, steps S33 to S38 correspond to steps S2 to S7 of the previous embodiment, and the description will be simplified. Further, after step S38, a positioning process and a drawing process for forming a pattern in the third to sixth drawing regions 203 to 206 are performed, and the same process as described above is performed.

As described above, in the droplet discharge method of the present embodiment, an alignment mark at an arbitrary position on the substrate P can be imaged by using the movable alignment camera 24. Therefore, when the positions of the alignment marks on the substrates differ in the number of chamfered substrates, the alignment camera 24 is moved corresponding to the alignment marks A1 to A9, and the alignment marks on the substrates P are collectively imaged. And alignment information can be acquired.
As described above, the droplet discharge device including the movable alignment camera 24 is particularly effective in the high-mix low-volume production in which a pattern is drawn on each of a plurality of substrates on which alignment marks are formed at different positions.

The figure which shows 1st Embodiment in the droplet discharge apparatus of this invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an ejection head according to the first embodiment in the droplet ejection apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an ejection head according to the first embodiment in the droplet ejection apparatus of the present invention. The top view which shows the board | substrate of 1st Embodiment in the droplet discharge apparatus of this invention. The flowchart figure of 1st Embodiment in the droplet discharge method of this invention. The top view which shows the board | substrate of 2nd Embodiment in the droplet discharge method of this invention. The flowchart figure of 2nd Embodiment in the droplet discharge method of this invention. The top view which shows the board | substrate of 3rd Embodiment in the droplet discharge method of this invention. The flowchart figure of 3rd Embodiment in the droplet discharge method of this invention. The top view which shows the board | substrate in the conventional droplet discharge method. The flowchart in the conventional droplet discharge method.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Droplet discharge device, 14 1st movement apparatus (positioning means, drawing means), 16 2nd movement apparatus (positioning means, drawing means), 20 discharge head (drawing means), 24 alignment camera (imaging means), 201 1st 1 drawing area (drawing area), 202 second drawing area (drawing area), 203, 204, 205, 206 drawing area, P substrate, P ′ tiling substrate (substrate), P1 support substrate (substrate), P2, P3 , P4, P5 Drawing substrate (drawing area), CONT control device (control means), A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9 Alignment mark

Claims (8)

A drawing means for forming a pattern of the liquid material in a drawing region on the substrate while relatively moving the discharge head filled with the liquid material and the substrate;
Imaging means for capturing alignment information by imaging a plurality of alignment marks on the substrate;
In accordance with the alignment information, positioning means for determining a relative position between the ejection head and the substrate;
Control means for controlling the drawing means, the imaging means, and the positioning means;
With
The imaging means collectively acquires the alignment information on the substrate,
The control means operates the positioning means and the drawing means in each of the plurality of drawing areas based on the collectively acquired alignment information to form the pattern in each of the drawing areas. A droplet discharge apparatus characterized by the above.   The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of the imaging units.   The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit is fixed at a position corresponding to the alignment mark on the substrate.   The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit is movable to a position corresponding to the alignment mark on the substrate.   5. The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit calculates the alignment information and creates relative position data of the ejection head and the substrate. A drawing step of forming a pattern of the liquid material in a drawing region on the substrate while relatively moving the discharge head and the substrate filled with the liquid material;
An imaging step of acquiring alignment information by imaging a plurality of alignment marks on the substrate;
In accordance with the alignment information, a positioning step for determining a relative position between the ejection head and the substrate;
Including
The imaging step collectively acquires the alignment information on the substrate,
A droplet discharge method comprising: performing the positioning step and the drawing step in each of the plurality of drawing regions based on the collectively acquired alignment information, and forming the pattern in each of the drawing regions .   The droplet discharge method according to claim 6, wherein the substrate has a plurality of the drawing regions. The droplet discharge method according to claim 6, wherein the substrate includes a plurality of drawing substrates having the drawing region and a support substrate that supports the plurality of drawing substrates.

Images