JP2006015693A - Method of measuring liquid droplet discharge characteristic, liquid droplet discharge characteristic measuring apparatus, liquid droplet discharging apparatus, and manufacturing method for electro-optic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of measuring a liquid droplet discharge characteristic which can easily and simultaneously detect whether or not a flight state of liquid droplets is good and the precision of a liquid droplet weight, and to provide a liquid droplet discharge characteristic measuring apparatus, a liquid droplet discharging apparatus, and a manufacturing method for an electro-optic apparatus using the liquid droplet discharging apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: In the liquid droplet discharge characteristic measuring apparatus 80, in a state with a liquid droplet discharge head 22 and a gate member 81 being opposed to each other, a liquid droplet M0 is discharged from a nozzle 27. At this time, the liquid droplet M0 passes through a liquid droplet pass hole 82 if its flight characteristic is normal, and reaches a liquid droplet collecting member 85. In contrast, if the flight characteristic of the liquid droplet M0 is faulty, a part or the whole of the liquid droplet M0 deviates from the liquid droplet pass hole 82 and hits a surface 811 of the gate member 81. Whether or not the weight of the liquid droplet M0 is normal can be detected by obtaining the weight of the liquid droplet M0 which passes the liquid droplet pass hole 82, and whether or not the flight characteristic (hitting position) of the liquid droplet M0 is normal can also be detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge characteristic measurement method, a droplet discharge characteristic measurement device, a droplet discharge device, and a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device that measure the discharge property of a droplet discharged from a nozzle of a droplet discharge head. It is. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for measuring droplet discharge characteristics.

As a droplet discharge device that discharges droplets from a nozzle of a droplet discharge head and fixes them on a work, in addition to a device that discharges ink and records images and characters on a medium such as paper, a liquid composition Has been devised in which a color filter of a liquid crystal device is formed by discharging the liquid from a nozzle of a droplet discharge head onto a liquid crystal device substrate. In such a droplet discharge device, high accuracy is required for the landing position of the droplet on the substrate and the amount of the droplet, so the flight characteristics of the droplet are measured using a laser and the droplet weight is also measured. Thus, it has been proposed to measure discharge characteristics (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-94629 A

  However, in order to measure the ejection characteristics by the method described in Patent Document 1, an expensive optical system is required, which increases the cost. In addition, since a pair of laser light source units and laser light receiving units can only observe the planar flight state of droplets, a plurality of sets of laser light source units and laser light receiving units can be used to accurately observe the flight state of droplets. Part is necessary, and there is also a problem that the cost increases.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a droplet discharge capable of easily and simultaneously determining the quality of a droplet flight state and the accuracy of the droplet weight without using an expensive optical system. It is an object to provide a characteristic measurement method, a droplet discharge characteristic measurement device, a droplet discharge device, and a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device using the droplet discharge device.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, in a droplet discharge characteristic measuring method for measuring a droplet discharge characteristic of a nozzle of a droplet discharge head, a droplet passage hole for defining an allowable landing position range of the droplet In a state where the gate member provided with the nozzle member is disposed at a position facing the nozzle, the droplet is ejected from the nozzle toward the gate member, and the weight of the droplet that has passed through the droplet passage hole is obtained. It is characterized by determining the quality of the droplet discharge characteristics.

  If the flight characteristics of the droplets discharged from the nozzle are normal, they will land within the predefined landing position tolerance, and if the flight characteristics are defective, some or all of the droplets will land. Land at a position outside the allowable position range. Therefore, if a droplet is ejected from a nozzle toward a gate member having a droplet passage hole that defines the allowable landing position range, and the weight of the droplet that has passed through the droplet passage hole is obtained, the weight of the droplet is normal. It can be determined whether or not. If it is determined whether or not the weight is appropriate, it can be determined whether or not the flight characteristics (landing position) of the droplet are normal. Therefore, it is possible to easily and simultaneously determine the quality of the flying state of the droplet and the accuracy of the droplet weight without using an expensive optical system.

  In the present invention, the droplet discharge head often has a plurality of nozzles formed at a predetermined pitch. In this case, the gate member has the droplet passage holes at positions corresponding to the nozzles. It is preferable that a plurality are formed.

  In the present invention, when determining the weight of the droplet that has passed through the droplet passage hole, it is preferable that the droplet is ejected from the nozzle to the gate member a plurality of times. Since the weight of the liquid droplets discharged from the nozzle is generally about several ng to several tens of ng, when measuring the liquid droplet discharge characteristics, the liquid droplets are discharged from the nozzle a plurality of times, and the total number of liquid droplets for a plurality of times is measured. If the weight per drop is calculated from the weight, the measurement error can be reduced.

  In the present invention, a droplet collecting member that collects a droplet that has passed through the droplet passage hole is disposed on the side opposite to the nozzle side with respect to the gate member. It is preferable to eject droplets toward the surface.

  In the present invention, when determining the weight of the droplet that has passed through the droplet passage hole, for example, the gate member and the droplet collecting member before the droplet is ejected from the nozzle toward the gate member. After the total weight is obtained and droplets are ejected from the nozzle toward the gate member, the droplets adhering to the surface of the gate member are removed, and then the gate member and the droplet collecting member are removed. The total weight of the liquid droplets that have passed through the liquid droplet passage hole is determined by determining the amount of increase in the total weight before and after discharging the liquid droplets from the nozzle toward the gate member.

  In this case, it is preferable to use a gate member having at least the surface having liquid repellency with respect to the droplet. If comprised in this way, the droplet adhering to the surface of the said gate member can be removed easily and reliably.

  In addition, a wiping device capable of automatically wiping the surface of the gate member is provided, and after the droplets are ejected from the nozzle toward the gate member, the droplets adhered to the surface of the gate member by the wiping device. Is preferably removed.

  In the present invention, in determining the weight of the droplet that has passed through the droplet passage hole, the weight of the droplet collecting member before discharging the droplet from the nozzle toward the gate member is determined, After discharging a droplet from the nozzle toward the gate member, the weight of the droplet collecting member is obtained, and the droplet collecting member before and after discharging the droplet from the nozzle toward the gate member It is preferable to determine the weight of the droplet that has passed through the droplet passage hole by determining the amount of weight increase. If comprised in this way, the weight of the droplet which passed the said droplet passage hole can be calculated | required, without removing the droplet adhering to the surface of a gate member. Here, when a droplet is discharged from the nozzle toward the gate member, the gate member may be placed on the droplet collecting member, but the gate member may be placed at a position away from the droplet collecting member. For example, it is possible to prevent the measurement accuracy from being lowered due to the droplet that has passed through the droplet passage hole and reached the droplet collecting member adhering to the gate member.

  In the present invention, it is preferable to use a plate-like member as the gate member. If the gate member is plate-shaped, it is difficult for droplets to adhere to the inside of the droplet passage hole of the gate member. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in measurement accuracy due to whether the droplet attached to the inside of the droplet passage hole of the gate member is considered to be normal or defective.

  In the droplet discharge characteristic measuring apparatus for performing the droplet discharge characteristic measuring method according to the present invention, the droplet landing position allowable range is disposed at a position facing the nozzle when the droplet is discharged from the nozzle. A gate member having a droplet passage hole for defining a droplet, and a droplet collection member disposed on the opposite side of the nozzle side to the gate member and collecting a droplet that has passed through the droplet passage hole It has a member.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the droplet discharge characteristic measuring device includes a weighing device for forming a total weight of the gate member and the droplet collecting member or a weight of the droplet collecting member. If comprised in this way, it is not necessary to prepare a weighing apparatus separately.

  A droplet discharge apparatus equipped with such a droplet discharge characteristic measuring apparatus, for example, discharges the droplet onto an electro-optical device substrate and forms pixel components on the electro-optical device substrate. It can be used in a method for manufacturing an optical device.

  Hereinafter, an example of a droplet discharge device to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Overall configuration of droplet discharge device)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a droplet discharge apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view showing a main part of the droplet discharge device of the electro-optical element manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. Note that when color printing or a color display device is manufactured by a droplet discharge device, it is usually necessary to form three color R, G, and B picture elements. Accordingly, with regard to the droplet discharge device, one unit can be configured to discharge droplets corresponding to each color, or a plurality of units corresponding to a predetermined color are prepared. One of the plurality of prepared droplet discharge devices will be described.

  1 and 2, a droplet discharge device 10 discharges various liquid materials as droplets onto a desired position on a workpiece such as a substrate, and a nozzle that discharges liquid materials as droplets onto various workpieces. And a common carriage 26 that holds these droplet discharge heads 22. The droplet discharge device 10 includes a head position control device 17 that controls the position of the droplet discharge head 22, a substrate position control device 18 that controls the position of the substrate 12 as a workpiece, and the droplet discharge head 22 as a substrate. A main scanning drive unit 19 as a main scanning driving unit for main scanning movement with respect to 12, a sub scanning driving unit 21 as a sub scanning driving unit for moving the droplet discharge head 22 with respect to the substrate 12, and a substrate 12 is provided with a substrate supply device 23 for supplying 12 to a predetermined work position in the droplet discharge device 10 and a control device 24 for controlling the droplet discharge device 10 in general. The position control device 18, the main scanning drive device 19, and the sub-scanning drive device 21 constitute moving means for relatively moving the droplet discharge head 22 (carriage 26) and the substrate 12. There. The head position control device 17, the substrate position control device 18, the main scanning drive device 19, and the sub-scanning drive device 21 are installed on the base 9, and each of these devices is covered with a cover 14 as necessary.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the head position control device 17 includes an α motor 44 that rotates the droplet discharge head 22 in-plane, and a β that swings and rotates the droplet discharge head 22 around an axis parallel to the sub-scanning direction Y. A motor 46, a γ motor 47 that swings and rotates the droplet discharge head 22 around an axis parallel to the main scanning direction, and a Z motor 48 that translates the droplet discharge head 22 in the vertical direction are provided. The substrate position control device 18 includes a table 49 on which the substrate 12 is placed, and a θ motor 51 that rotates the table 49 in-plane as indicated by an arrow θ. The main scanning drive device 19 includes an X guide rail 52 extending in the main scanning direction X, and an X slider 53 incorporating a pulse-driven linear motor. The X slider 53 translates in the main scanning direction along the X guide rail 52 when the built-in linear motor operates. The sub-scanning drive device 21 includes a Y guide rail 54 that extends in the sub-scanning direction Y, and a Y slider 56 that incorporates a pulse-driven linear motor. The Y slider 56 translates in the sub-scanning direction Y along the Y guide rail 54 when the built-in linear motor operates.

  The linear motor that is pulse-driven in the X slider 53 and the Y slider 56 can finely control the rotation angle of the output shaft by the pulse signal supplied to the motor. Therefore, the droplet supported by the X slider 53 The position of the ejection head 22 in the main scanning direction X and the position of the table 49 in the sub-scanning direction Y can be controlled with high definition. The position control of the droplet discharge head 22 and the table 49 is not limited to the position control using the pulse motor, and can be realized by feedback control using a servo motor or any other control method.

  In FIG. 1 again, the substrate supply device 23 includes a substrate accommodating portion 57 that accommodates the substrate 12 and a robot 58 that conveys the substrate 12. The robot 58 includes a base 59 placed on an installation surface such as a floor, the ground, a lift shaft 61 that moves up and down relative to the base 59, a first arm 62 that rotates about the lift shaft 61, and a first arm. A second arm 63 that rotates with respect to 62 and a suction pad 64 provided on the lower surface of the front end of the second arm 63 are provided. The suction pad 64 can suck the substrate 12 by air suction or the like.

  A head camera 79 that moves integrally with the droplet discharge head 22 is disposed in the vicinity of the droplet discharge head 22. A support device (not shown) provided on the base 9 is provided with a substrate camera (not shown), and the substrate camera can photograph the substrate 12.

  Here, a capping mechanism 76 and a cleaning mechanism 77 are arranged under the trajectory of the droplet discharge head 22 that is driven by the main scanning driving device 19 and moves in the main scanning direction, at one side of the sub-scanning driving device 21. In the other side position, a droplet discharge characteristic measuring device 80 described later is arranged. The capping mechanism 76 is a mechanism for preventing the nozzle from drying when the droplet discharge head 22 is in a standby state. The cleaning mechanism 77 is a mechanism for cleaning the droplet discharge head 22.

(Configuration of droplet discharge head)
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the droplet discharge head 22. 4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams schematically showing the internal structure of the droplet discharge head 22, respectively. Note that a plurality of droplet discharge heads 22 are held by a common carriage 26, but since they basically have the same configuration, one of them will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the droplet discharge head 22 includes a nozzle row 28 formed by arranging a large number of nozzles 27 in a row. The number of nozzles 27 is, for example, 180, the hole diameter of the nozzles 27 is, for example, 28 μm, and the nozzle pitch between the nozzles 27 is, for example, 141 μm. The main scanning direction X of the droplet discharge head 22 with respect to the substrate 12 and the sub-scanning direction Y orthogonal thereto are as illustrated. That is, the droplet discharge head 22 is positioned so that the nozzle row 28 extends in a direction crossing the main scanning direction X, and the liquid material is discharged from the plurality of nozzles 27 while moving in parallel in the main scanning direction X. By selectively discharging, droplets are landed at predetermined positions in the substrate 12. Further, the droplet discharge head 22 can be moved in parallel in the sub-scanning direction Y by a predetermined distance, so that the main scanning position by the droplet discharge head 22 can be shifted at a predetermined interval.

  4A and 4B, the droplet discharge head 22 includes, for example, a stainless steel nozzle plate 29, a diaphragm 31 opposed to the nozzle plate 29, and a plurality of partition members 32 that join them together. have. A plurality of pressure generating chambers 33 and liquid reservoirs 34 are formed between the nozzle plate 29 and the diaphragm 31 by the partition member 32. The plurality of pressure generating chambers 33 and the liquid reservoir 34 communicate with each other through a passage 38. A liquid material supply hole 36 is formed at an appropriate position of the diaphragm 31, and a liquid material supply device 37 is connected to the liquid material supply hole 36. The liquid material supply device 37 supplies the liquid material M to be discharged to the liquid material supply hole 36. The supplied liquid material M fills the liquid reservoir 34, and further fills the pressure generating chamber 33 through the passage 38.

  The nozzle plate 29 is provided with a nozzle 27 for ejecting the liquid M from the pressure generating chamber 33 in a jet (droplet M0), and the nozzle forming surface 271 where the nozzle 27 is open is a flat surface. It is said that. A pressure generating element 39 is attached to the rear surface of the surface of the diaphragm 31 that forms the pressure generating chamber 33 so as to correspond to the pressure generating chamber 33. As shown in FIG. 5B, the pressure generating element 39 includes a piezoelectric element 41 and a pair of electrodes 42a and 42b that sandwich the piezoelectric element 41. The piezoelectric element 41 is bent and deformed so as to protrude outward as indicated by an arrow C by energization of the electrodes 42a and 42b, thereby increasing the volume of the pressure generating chamber 33. Then, the liquid M corresponding to the increased volume flows from the liquid reservoir 34 through the passage 38 into the pressure generating chamber 33.

  Next, when energization to the piezoelectric element 41 is released, both the piezoelectric element 41 and the diaphragm 31 return to their original shapes. As a result, the pressure generating chamber 33 also returns to its original volume, so that the pressure of the liquid M in the pressure generating chamber 33 rises, and the liquid M becomes droplets M0 from the nozzle 27 toward the substrate 12. Erupts. In addition, a liquid repellent layer 43 made of, for example, a Ni-tetrafluoroethylene eutectoid plating layer is provided on the periphery of the nozzle 27 in order to prevent the flying of the droplet M0 and the clogging of the nozzle 27.

(Structure of droplet discharge characteristic measurement mechanism)
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a droplet discharge characteristic measuring device 80 provided in the droplet discharge device shown in FIG. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams showing a method for measuring the ejection characteristics of the droplets ejected from the nozzles 27 by the droplet ejection characteristic measuring device 80, respectively.

  1, 2, and 5, the droplet discharge characteristic measuring apparatus 80 according to the present embodiment obtains the weight of the droplet M 0 that has landed in the landing position allowable range, thereby obtaining the droplet discharge characteristic of the droplet discharge head 22. The plate-like gate member 81 having a droplet passage hole 82 for defining the landing position allowable range of the droplet M0 and the side opposite to the nozzle 27 side with respect to the gate member 81 And an electronic balance 86 (weighing device) for forming the total weight of the gate member 81 and the droplet collecting member 85 or the weight of the droplet collecting member 85. is doing.

  The gate member 81 is, for example, a plate made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and the whole has a liquid repellency. In the gate member 81, the droplet passage holes 82 are formed in a row, and the number thereof is 180, which is the same as the nozzle 27 described with reference to FIGS. The pitch of the droplet passage holes 82 is equal to the pitch of the nozzles 27 and is 141 μm. Accordingly, when the droplet discharge head 22 is moved in the main scanning direction X to the position directly above the droplet discharge characteristic measuring device 80, the nozzle forming surface 271 of the droplet discharge head 22 and the gate member 81 face each other. In this state, the center position of the nozzle 27 and the center position of the droplet passage hole 82 coincide in a plane. Here, the diameter of the droplet passage hole 82 formed in the gate member 81 is set to a size corresponding to the allowable range of the landing position of the droplet M0 on the substrate 12.

  The droplet collecting member 85 is for collecting the droplet M0 that has passed through the droplet passage hole 82 of the gate member 81, and the droplet holding layer 83 and the droplet holding layer 83 on the back side. And a support plate 84 to be supported. The droplet holding layer 83 is made of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) wipe cloth or the like, and holds the droplet M0 after receiving the droplet M0 passing through the droplet passage hole 82. In the droplet holding layer 83, the support plate 84 is made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or the like.

(Droplet discharge characteristic measurement method 1)
A method for measuring the droplet discharge characteristic of the nozzle 27 using the droplet discharge characteristic measuring apparatus 80 configured as described above will be described below. Here, the droplet M0 discharged from the nozzle 27 has a weight per droplet of several ng to several tens ng, and it is difficult to measure the weight per droplet directly with the electronic balance 86 in terms of accuracy. is there. Therefore, in the method described below, a method is adopted in which the droplet M0 is ejected from all the nozzles 27 a plurality of times, and the weight per droplet is calculated from the total droplet weight.

  In this embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 6A, the nozzle forming surface 271 of the droplet discharge head 22 and the gate member 81 are opposed to each other with a predetermined distance, and the center position of the nozzle 27 and the liquid are set. The center position of the droplet passage hole 82 is made to coincide with the plane. At that time, foreign matters are wiped off in advance on the surface 811 of the gate member 81.

  Next, the droplet M0 is ejected from each nozzle 27 a plurality of times. At this time, if the flight characteristics are normal, the droplet M0 lands within a predetermined landing position allowable range, whereas if the flight characteristics are defective, a part of the droplet M0 or All land at a position outside the allowable landing position range. Therefore, when the droplet M0 is ejected from the nozzle 27 toward the gate member 81, the droplet M0 passes through the droplet passage hole 82 if the flight characteristics are normal, and the liquid in the droplet collecting member 85 is discharged. The droplet holding layer 83 is reached. On the other hand, if the flight characteristics of the droplet M0 are defective, as shown in FIG. 6B, a part or all of the droplet M0 is detached from the droplet passage hole 82, so that the surface of the gate member 81 811 is landed and does not pass through the droplet passage hole 82. Therefore, after the droplet M0 is ejected from the nozzle 27 toward the gate member 81, the weight of the droplet M0 that has passed through the droplet passage hole 82 can be determined to determine whether or not the weight of the droplet M0 is normal. At the same time, if it is determined whether or not the weight is appropriate, it can be determined whether or not the discharge weight from the nozzle 27 and the flight characteristic (landing position) of the droplet M0 are normal.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the total weight W11 of the gate member 91 and the droplet collection member 85 before discharging the droplet M0 from the nozzle 27 toward the gate member 81 is obtained by the electronic balance 86, and the gate from the nozzle 27 is gated. After ejecting the droplet M0 toward the member 81, the droplet M0 adhering to the surface 811 of the gate member 81 is wiped off, and then the total weight W12 of the gate member 81 and the droplet collecting member 85 is obtained by the electronic balance 86. Ask.

  Next, an increase amount Wt (W12−W11) of the total weights W11 and W12 before and after discharging droplets from the nozzle 27 toward the gate member 91 is obtained, whereby the droplet M0 that has passed through the droplet passage hole 82 is obtained. Obtain the total weight Wt.

  Next, if the total weight Wt of the droplet M0 that has passed through the droplet passage hole 82 is divided by the number of nozzles 27 and the number of discharges from each nozzle 27, the droplet collection member passes through the droplet passage hole 82. The weight W1 per droplet M0 that reaches 85 can be calculated. Therefore, if the weight W1 is within the predetermined range, it can be determined that the droplet discharge amount from the nozzle 27 and its flight state are normal.

  For example, in the experiment conducted by the inventors of the present application, the case where 100,000 droplets M0 are discharged from each nozzle 27 of the droplet discharge head 22 under normal conditions and the case where the droplet M0 is discharged under defective conditions is 100,000. When compared with the case where ejection is performed one by one, the surface 811 of the gate member 81 does not get wet under normal conditions, whereas the surface 811 of the gate member 81 gets wet under bad conditions. Obtained. Further, the weight W1 per droplet M0 that has passed through the droplet passage hole 82 and reached the droplet collecting member 85 was 13 ng under normal conditions, whereas it was 13 ng under abnormal conditions. 9 ng.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to easily and simultaneously determine the quality of the flying state of the droplet M0 (accuracy of the landing position) and the accuracy of the droplet weight without using an expensive optical system. .

  In this embodiment, since the gate member 91 has a liquid repellent surface, the liquid adhering to the surface 811 of the gate member 81 after discharging the droplet M0 from the nozzle 27 toward the gate member 81 is used. It is easy to remove the drop M0.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the gate member 91 is plate-like and thin, and the whole is liquid-repellent, the droplet M0 does not easily adhere to the inner surface of the droplet passage hole 82. Measurement errors due to the weight of the droplet M0 adhering to the inner surface are less likely to occur. However, in order to prevent such an error from occurring, in the gate member 91, the landing position allowable range may be defined by the opening position on the surface side of the droplet passage hole 82. May be a tapered hole having a small opening diameter on the front surface side and a large opening diameter on the back surface side.

  In the above embodiment, since the weight including the gate member 81 is measured, it is necessary to wipe the surface 811 of the gate member 81 before and after discharging the droplet M0. Therefore, an automatic wiping device that automatically wipes the surface 811 of the gate member 81 by holding a wiping member such as a porous member on an arm or the like is added to the droplet discharge characteristic measuring device 80, and the surface is removed by this automatic wiping device. The foreign matter and droplet M0 adhering to 811 may be automatically removed.

(Droplet discharge characteristic measurement method 2)
Another method for measuring the droplet discharge characteristic of the nozzle 27 using the droplet discharge characteristic measuring apparatus 80 of this embodiment will be described below. Also in this embodiment, the droplet M0 discharged from the nozzle 27 has a weight per droplet of several ng to several tens ng, and it is difficult to measure the weight per droplet directly in terms of accuracy. In the method described below, a method is employed in which the droplet M0 is ejected from all the nozzles 27 a plurality of times, and the weight per droplet is calculated from the total droplet weight.

  In this embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 6A, the nozzle forming surface 271 of the droplet discharge head 22 and the gate member 81 are opposed to each other with a predetermined distance, and the center position of the nozzle 27 and the droplet passage are arranged. The center position of the hole 82 is made to coincide with the plane.

  Next, the droplet M0 is ejected from each nozzle 27 a plurality of times. At that time, if the flight characteristics are normal, the droplet M0 will land within a predetermined landing position tolerance range, and if there is a defect in the flight characteristics, a part or all of the droplets will allow the landing position tolerance. Land at a position outside the range. Therefore, when the droplet M0 is ejected from the nozzle 27 toward the gate member 81, the droplet M0 passes through the droplet passage hole 82 if the flight characteristics are normal, and the droplet collection member 85 holds the droplet. Layer 83 is reached. On the other hand, if the flight characteristics of the droplet M0 are defective, as shown in FIG. 6B, a part or all of the droplet M0 is detached from the droplet passage hole 82, so that the surface of the gate member 81 811 is landed and does not pass through the droplet passage hole 82. Therefore, after the liquid droplets are ejected from the nozzle 27 toward the gate member 81 and then the weight of the liquid droplet M0 passing through the liquid droplet passage hole 82 is obtained, it can be determined whether or not the weight of the liquid droplet M0 is normal. If it is determined whether or not the weight is appropriate, it can be determined whether or not the flight characteristics of the droplet M0 are normal.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the total weight W21 of the droplet collecting member 85 before discharging the droplet M0 from the nozzle 27 toward the gate member 81 is obtained by the electronic balance 86, and the nozzle 27 is directed toward the gate member 81. After discharging the droplet M0, the gate member 81 is removed, and the weight W22 of the droplet collecting member 85 is obtained by the electronic balance 86.

  Next, the droplet passage hole 82 is obtained by determining the weights W21 and W22 increase Wt (W22-W21) of the droplet collecting member 85 before and after discharging the droplet M0 from the nozzle 27 toward the gate member 91. The total weight Wt of the droplet M0 that has passed through is obtained.

  Next, if the total weight Wt of the droplet M0 that has passed through the droplet passage hole 82 is divided by the number of nozzles 27 and the number of discharges from each nozzle 27, the droplet collection member passes through the droplet passage hole 82. The weight W1 per droplet M0 that reaches 85 can be calculated. Therefore, if the weight W1 is within the predetermined range, it can be determined that the droplet discharge amount from the nozzle 27 and its flight state are normal. Therefore, the quality of the flying state of the droplet M0 (accuracy of the landing position) and the accuracy of the droplet weight can be easily and simultaneously determined without using an expensive optical system.

  Further, in this embodiment, since the gate member 91 is plate-like and thin, and the entirety thereof is liquid repellent, the droplet M0 is unlikely to adhere to the inner surface of the droplet passage hole 82. Measurement errors due to the weight of the droplet M0 adhering to the inner surface are less likely to occur. However, in order to prevent such an error from occurring, in the gate member 91, the landing position allowable range may be defined by the opening position on the back surface side of the droplet passage hole 82. May be a tapered hole having a large opening diameter on the front surface side and a small opening diameter on the back surface side.

  In the above embodiment, the gate member 81 is superimposed on the droplet collecting member 85 and the droplet M0 is ejected from the nozzle 27 toward the gate member 81. However, as shown in FIG. It is preferable to float from the droplet collecting member 85 and to face each other with a predetermined interval. With this configuration, unlike the method shown in FIG. 6, a part of the droplet M0 that passes through the droplet passage hole 82 and reaches the droplet collecting member 85 is attached to the gate member 81. Since it can prevent, measurement accuracy can be raised.

[Example of configuration and manufacturing method of electro-optical device]
As an example of an electro-optical device, a configuration of an organic EL display device and a manufacturing process thereof will be described. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an organic EL display device including an EL element using a charge injection type organic thin film as an electro-optical material. 9 to 11 are manufacturing process cross-sectional views showing the steps of the manufacturing process of the organic EL display device, and correspond to a cross section of one pixel of the organic EL display device.

  In FIG. 8, an organic EL display device 500p is a display device that drives and controls an EL element that emits light when a drive current flows through an organic semiconductor film, and all of the light emitting elements used in this type of display device are self-contained. Since it emits light, there is an advantage that a backlight is not required and the viewing angle dependency is small. In the electro-optical device 500p shown here, a plurality of scanning lines 563p, a plurality of data lines 564 extending in a direction intersecting with the extending direction of the scanning lines 563p, and the data lines 564 are arranged in parallel. A plurality of common power supply lines 505 and pixels 515p corresponding to the intersections of the data lines 564 and the scanning lines 563p are configured, and the pixels 515p are arranged in a matrix in the image display region 100. A data line driving circuit 551p including a shift register, a level shifter, a video line, and an analog switch is configured for the data line 564. A scanning line driving circuit 554p including a shift register and a level shifter is configured for the scanning line 563p. Each of the pixels 515p has a switching thin film transistor 509 to which a scanning signal is supplied to the gate electrode via the scanning line 563p, and a storage capacitor for holding an image signal supplied from the data line 564 via the switching thin film transistor 509. 533p, a current thin film transistor 510 to which an image signal held by the storage capacitor 533p is supplied to the gate electrode, and a drive current from the common power supply line 505 when electrically connected to the common power supply line 505 via the current thin film transistor 510. The light emitting element 513 into which the liquid flows is configured. The light-emitting element 513 has a structure in which a counter electrode made of a metal film such as a hole injection layer, an organic semiconductor film as an organic EL material layer, lithium-containing aluminum, or calcium is laminated on the upper side of the pixel electrode. The counter electrode is formed over the plurality of pixels 515p across the data line 564 and the like.

  In order to manufacture the organic EL display device 500p having such a configuration, a substrate is prepared. Here, in the organic EL display device 500p, light emitted from a light emitting layer to be described later can be extracted from the substrate side, or can be configured to be extracted from the side opposite to the substrate. In the case where the emitted light is extracted from the substrate side, a transparent or translucent material such as glass, quartz, or resin is used as the substrate material, and glass is particularly preferably used. Alternatively, a color filter film, a color conversion film containing a fluorescent material, or a dielectric reflection film may be disposed on the substrate to control the emission color. In the case where the emitted light is extracted from the side opposite to the substrate, the substrate may be opaque. In that case, a ceramic sheet such as alumina, a metal sheet such as stainless steel that has been subjected to an insulation treatment such as surface oxidation, A curable resin, a thermoplastic resin, or the like can be used.

  In this example, as shown in FIG. 9A, a transparent substrate 502 made of glass is prepared as a substrate, and TEOS (tetraethoxysilane) or oxygen gas is used as a raw material for the transparent substrate 502 as necessary. A base protective film (not shown) made of a silicon oxide film having a thickness of about 200 to 500 nm is formed by plasma CVD.

Next, the temperature of the transparent substrate 502 is set to about 350 ° C., and a semiconductor film 520a made of an amorphous silicon film having a thickness of about 30 to 70 nm is formed on the surface of the base protective film by plasma CVD. Next, a crystallization process such as laser annealing or solid phase growth is performed on the semiconductor film 520a to crystallize the semiconductor film 520a into a polysilicon film. In the laser annealing method, a line beam having a beam length of 400 mm is used with, for example, an excimer laser, and the output intensity is set to, for example, 200 mJ / cm ² . With respect to the line beam, the line beam is scanned so that a portion corresponding to 90% of the peak value of the laser intensity in the short dimension direction overlaps each region.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the semiconductor film (polysilicon film) 520a is patterned to form an island-shaped semiconductor film 520b, and a plasma CVD method using TEOS, oxygen gas, or the like as a raw material on the surface thereof. As a result, a gate insulating film 521a made of a silicon oxide film or a nitride film having a thickness of about 60 to 150 nm is formed. Note that the semiconductor film 520b serves as a channel region and a source / drain region of the current thin film transistor 510 illustrated in FIG. 8, but the semiconductor film serves as a channel region and a source / drain region of the switching thin film transistor 509 at different cross-sectional positions. Is also formed. That is, in the manufacturing process shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, two types of transistors 509 and 510 are formed at the same time, but since they are manufactured in the same procedure, only the current thin film transistor 510 will be described in the following description. The description of the switching thin film transistor 509 is omitted.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9C, a conductive film made of a metal film such as aluminum, tantalum, molybdenum, titanium, or tungsten is formed by sputtering, and then patterned to form a gate electrode 510g. Next, high-concentration phosphorus ions are implanted in this state, and source / drain regions 510a and 510b are formed in the semiconductor film 520b in a self-aligned manner with respect to the gate electrode 510g. Note that a portion where impurities are not introduced becomes a channel region 510c.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9D, after an interlayer insulating film 522 is formed, contact holes 523 and 524 are formed, and relay electrodes 526 and 527 are embedded in these contact holes 523 and 524. Next, a signal line, a common power supply line, and a scanning line (not shown) are formed over the interlayer insulating film 522. Here, the relay electrode 527 and each wiring may be formed in the same process, and in this case, the relay electrode 526 is formed of an ITO film described later.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 9E, an interlayer insulating film 530 is formed so as to cover the upper surface of each wiring, and then a contact hole 532 is formed in the interlayer insulating film 530 at a position corresponding to the relay electrode 526. To do. Next, an ITO film is formed so as to fill the contact hole 532, and the ITO film is further patterned to electrically connect the source / drain region 510a to a predetermined position surrounded by the signal line, the common power supply line, and the scanning line. A pixel electrode 511 connected to is formed. Here, a portion sandwiched between the signal line, the common power supply line, and the scanning line is a place where a hole injection layer and a light emitting layer to be described later are formed.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 10A, a partition wall 505 is formed so as to surround a formation place of the hole injection layer and the light emitting layer. This partition 505 functions as a partition member, and is preferably formed of an insulating organic material such as polyimide. About the film thickness of the partition 505, it forms so that it may become the height of 1-2 micrometers, for example. Further, the partition wall 505 is preferably one that exhibits liquid repellency with respect to the liquid material discharged from the droplet discharge head 22 described above. In order to make the partition 505 exhibit liquid repellency, for example, a method of treating the surface of the partition 505 with a fluorine compound or the like is employed. Examples of the fluorine compound include CF4, SF5, and CHF3. Examples of the surface treatment include plasma treatment and UV irradiation treatment. In this manner, a sufficiently high step 535 is formed between the hole injection layer and the light emitting layer formation place, that is, between the application position of these forming materials and the surrounding partition 505.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10B, the hole injection layer forming material 540a is transferred from the droplet discharge head 22 of the droplet discharge apparatus 10 described above with the upper surface of the transparent substrate 502 facing upward. Then, it is selectively applied to a coating position surrounded by the partition 505, that is, in the partition 505. At that time, the forming material 540a tends to spread in the horizontal direction due to its high fluidity. However, since the partition wall 505 is formed so as to surround the applied position, the forming material 540a extends beyond the partition wall 505 to the outside thereof. It does not spread. Here, as the hole injection layer forming material 540a, 3,4-polyethylenediosithiophene / polystyrene sulfonic acid (PEDOT / PSS), which is a polyolefin derivative, is used as a hole injection material, and an organic solvent is used as a main solvent. A dispersion obtained by dispersing as is preferably used. However, the hole injecting material is not limited to those described above, but polyphenylene vinylene whose polymer precursor is polytetrahydrothiophenylphenylene, 1,1-bis- (4-N, N-ditolylaminophenyl) ) Cyclohexane, tris (8-hydroxyquinolinol) aluminum and the like can also be used.

  In this way, after the forming material 540a is discharged from the droplet discharge head 34 and disposed at a predetermined position, the liquid forming material 540a is dried to evaporate the dispersion medium in the forming material 540a. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10C, a solid hole injection layer 513a (pixel constituent element) is formed on the pixel electrode 511.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 11A, with the upper surface of the transparent substrate 502 facing upward, the light emitting layer forming material 540b is applied as a liquid from the droplet discharge head 22 of the droplet discharge device 10 described above. Then, it is selectively applied on the hole injection layer 513a in the partition 505. As the light emitting material, for example, a polymer material having a molecular weight of 1000 or more is used. Specifically, a polyfluorene derivative, a polyphenylene derivative, a polyvinyl carbazole, a polythiophene derivative, or a polymer material thereof, a perylene dye, a coumarin dye, a rhodamine dye such as rubrene, perylene, 9,10-diphenylanthracene, What doped tetraphenyl butadiene, Nile red, coumarin 6, quinacridone, etc. is used. As such a polymer material, a π-conjugated polymer material in which π electrons of a double bond are non-polarized on a polymer chain is also a conductive polymer, and thus has excellent light emitting performance. Preferably used. In particular, a compound having a fluorene skeleton in the molecule, that is, a polyfluorene compound is more preferably used. In addition to such materials, for example, a composition for an organic EL device disclosed in JP-A-11-40358, that is, a precursor of a conjugated polymer organic compound, and at least one kind for changing light emission characteristics A composition for an organic EL device comprising the above fluorescent dye can also be used as a light emitting layer forming material. As an organic solvent for dissolving or dispersing such a light emitting material, a nonpolar solvent is preferable. In particular, since the light emitting layer is formed on the hole injection layer 513a, Insoluble materials are used. Specifically, xylene, cyclohexylbenzene, dihydrobenzofuran, trimethylbenzene, tetramethylbenzene and the like are preferably used. Note that the formation of the light emitting layer by discharging the forming material 540b includes the formation material of the light emitting layer that emits red colored light, the material of the light emitting layer that emits green colored light, and the light emitting layer that emits blue colored light. The forming material is discharged and applied to each corresponding pixel. Further, the pixels corresponding to the respective colors are determined in advance so that they are regularly arranged.

  After discharging the light emitting layer forming material 540b of each color in this way, the liquid light emitting layer forming material 540b is dried to evaporate the dispersion medium in the light emitting layer forming material 540b. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11B, a solid light emitting layer 513b (pixel constituent element) is formed on the hole layer injection layer 513a. Thus, a light emitting element 513 including the hole layer injection layer 513a and the light emitting layer 513b is obtained.

  In addition, about the drying process of the forming material 540b, it is preferable to dry by heating at the temperature below the glass transition point of the forming material 540b, for example, the temperature of less than 100 degrees. By drying at such a temperature, the evaporation rate of the solvent in the forming material 540b can be kept relatively low, and the flow due to liquefaction of the forming material 540b can also be suppressed. As a result, the resulting light emitting layer 513b can also be sufficiently flattened. In addition, thermal damage caused by the drying process during the formation of the light emitting layer is reduced not only for the light emitting layer 513b but also for the hole injection layer 513a, so that a decrease in display performance due to a decrease in initial luminance or the like is suppressed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 11C, LiF / Al (a laminated film of LiF and Al), MgAg, or LiF / Ca / Al (LiF and Ca) are formed on the entire surface of the transparent substrate 502 or in the form of stripes. A counter electrode 512 is formed by depositing a film of Al and Al) by a vapor deposition method or the like. Then, after sealing, by forming various elements such as wiring, an organic EL display device 500p (electro-optical device) including an organic EL element is manufactured.

(Other application examples)
In the above embodiment, the present invention is used in the manufacturing process of the organic EL display device. However, the present invention may be applied to formation of a color filter (pixel constituent element) of a liquid crystal display device. Further, the present invention may be applied to a droplet discharge device called an ink jet printer.

  The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the specific materials and configurations described in the embodiment are included. These are merely examples, and can be changed as appropriate.

1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a droplet discharge device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the principal part of the droplet discharge apparatus shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the droplet discharge head used for the droplet discharge apparatus shown in FIG. (A), (B) is explanatory drawing which shows typically the internal structure of the droplet discharge head shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the droplet discharge characteristic measuring apparatus comprised in the droplet discharge apparatus shown in FIG. (A), (B) is explanatory drawing which shows the method of measuring the droplet discharge characteristic of a nozzle, respectively with the droplet discharge characteristic measuring apparatus shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows another method of measuring the droplet discharge characteristic of a nozzle with the droplet discharge characteristic measuring apparatus shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of an organic EL display device. It is sectional drawing which shows the procedure of the manufacturing process of an organic electroluminescence display. It is sectional drawing which shows the procedure of the manufacturing process of an organic electroluminescence display. It is sectional drawing which shows the procedure of the manufacturing process of an organic electroluminescence display.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Droplet discharge device, 12 Substrate, 22 Droplet discharge head, 27 Nozzle, 271 Nozzle formation surface, 80 Droplet discharge characteristic measuring device, 81 Gate member, 82 Droplet passage hole, 83 Droplet holding layer, 84 Support plate , 85 Droplet collection member, 86 Electronic balance (weighing device), M liquid, M0 droplet

Claims (14)

In a droplet discharge characteristic measuring method for measuring a droplet discharge characteristic of a nozzle of a droplet discharge head,
In a state where a gate member provided with a droplet passage hole that defines an allowable landing position range of the droplet is disposed at a position facing the nozzle, the droplet is discharged from the nozzle toward the gate member,
A method for measuring a droplet discharge characteristic, wherein the quality of the droplet discharge characteristic is determined by determining the weight of the droplet that has passed through the droplet passage hole. In Claim 1, a plurality of the nozzles are formed at a predetermined pitch in the droplet discharge head,
The method for measuring droplet discharge characteristics, wherein the gate member has a plurality of droplet passage holes formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of nozzles.   3. The droplet discharge characteristic according to claim 1, wherein when the weight of the droplet that has passed through the droplet passage hole is obtained, the droplet is discharged from the nozzle to the gate member a plurality of times. Measuring method.   4. The droplet collecting member according to claim 1, wherein a droplet collecting member that collects a droplet that has passed through the droplet passage hole is disposed on a side opposite to the nozzle side with respect to the gate member. A droplet discharge characteristic measuring method, wherein a droplet is discharged from the nozzle toward the gate member. In claim 4, the total weight of the gate member and the droplet collection member before discharging droplets from the nozzle toward the gate member,
After discharging droplets from the nozzle toward the gate member, removing the droplets attached to the surface of the gate member,
Thereafter, the total weight of the gate member and the droplet collecting member is obtained, and the increase in the total weight before and after the droplet is ejected from the nozzle toward the gate member is obtained. A method for measuring droplet discharge characteristics, wherein the weight of a droplet passing through a hole is obtained.   6. The droplet discharge characteristic measuring method according to claim 5, wherein at least the surface of the gate member has liquid repellency with respect to the droplet. In Claim 5 or 6, providing a wiping device capable of automatically wiping the surface of the gate member,
A droplet discharge characteristic measuring method, wherein after the droplet is discharged from the nozzle toward the gate member, the droplet attached to the surface of the gate member is removed by the wiping device. In claim 4, the weight of the droplet collecting member before discharging the droplet from the nozzle toward the gate member,
After discharging droplets from the nozzle toward the gate member,
The weight of the droplet collecting member was obtained, and the weight increase amount of the droplet collecting member before and after discharging the droplet from the nozzle toward the gate member was passed through the droplet passage hole. A method for measuring droplet discharge characteristics, wherein the weight of a droplet is obtained.   9. The droplet discharge characteristic measuring method according to claim 8, wherein the gate member is disposed at a position away from the droplet collecting member.   10. The droplet discharge characteristic measuring method according to claim 4, wherein a plate-like member is used as the gate member. A droplet discharge characteristic measuring apparatus for measuring the discharge characteristic of a droplet discharged from a nozzle of a droplet discharge head,
A gate member that is disposed at a position facing the nozzle when discharging a droplet from the nozzle, and in which a droplet passage hole that defines an allowable landing position allowable range of the droplet is formed;
A droplet collecting member that is disposed on the opposite side of the nozzle side with respect to the gate member, and that collects the droplet that has passed through the droplet passage hole;
A droplet discharge characteristic measuring apparatus comprising:   12. The droplet discharge characteristic according to claim 11, further comprising a weighing device for forming a total weight of the gate member and the droplet collecting member or a weight of the droplet collecting member. measuring device.   A droplet discharge device comprising the droplet discharge characteristic measuring device as defined in claim 11.   An electro-optical device, wherein the droplet is ejected onto an electro-optical device substrate using the droplet ejecting device defined in claim 13 to form a pixel component on the electro-optical device substrate. Manufacturing method.

Images