JP2006068664A - Apparatus and method for discharging liquid droplet, method for manufacturing device, and device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for discharging a liquid droplet having a simple circuit and suppressing a cost, and a method for discharging the liquid droplet. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus for discharging the liquid droplet includes a plurality of nozzle blocks formed of a plurality of nozzle units and carries out liquid droplet application on a medium by the liquid droplet discharged from the nozzle block wherein a discharge characteristic rank of each nozzle unit is roughly similarly arranged and a driving waveform generation circuit providing a common driving waveform on each nozzle unit is provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge apparatus and a droplet discharge method, and more specifically, a droplet for providing a plurality of nozzle blocks each including a plurality of nozzle units, and discharging droplets from the nozzle block and applying the droplets onto a medium. The present invention relates to a discharge apparatus and method, a device manufacturing method using the apparatus or method, and a device manufactured by the manufacturing method.

  When manufacturing a color filter layer of a liquid crystal display device by a droplet discharge method (inkjet method), pigment droplets (ink) are continuously applied to each pixel surrounded by a partition called a bank. And a color filter layer is formed. For example, a bank (about 1 micron in height, water repellency) is formed on a substrate, and color filter ink (hereinafter referred to as CF ink) is applied by ink jet coating (hereinafter referred to as IJ coating).

  As such an ink jet type droplet discharge device, a “multi-nozzle” type in which a large number of nozzles are arranged in an ink head has been developed. By increasing the number of nozzles, scanning of the ink head necessary for coating is performed. The number of times can be reduced, and the coating speed can be increased. However, stably forming a large number of nozzles in a single ink head at a predetermined nozzle pitch has a problem of reducing the yield such as nozzle pitch errors and nozzle defects, and is difficult in manufacturing.

Therefore, in order to realize a so-called multi-nozzle, there has been proposed one in which a plurality of nozzle units (conventional single ink heads) are arranged in tandem in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction to constitute a nozzle block. . The alignment of the ink dots formed by the ink droplets ejected from the nozzles of each nozzle unit can be performed, for example, by the method disclosed in Patent Document 1.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-220951 JP 2001-38892 A JP 2002-372921 A

  However, in such a droplet discharge device, even though the ink dot formation position can be adjusted to a predetermined position, the nozzle block is configured by combining a plurality of nozzle units. When the ejection characteristics are different, correction is required to make the ejection amount the same for each nozzle unit, and there is a problem that the circuit scale for driving the head becomes large.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a printing apparatus that includes a plurality of nozzle blocks each having a plurality of nozzle units, and each nozzle block is provided with a head drive circuit. A head drive circuit is required, which is complicated and expensive.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is manufactured by a droplet discharge apparatus and method capable of simplifying a circuit and suppressing cost, a device manufacturing method using the apparatus or method, and the manufacturing method. It aims at providing the device which can be used.

In order to solve the above problems, a droplet discharge apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of nozzle blocks including a plurality of nozzle units that discharge droplets, and droplet discharge that applies droplets onto a medium using the nozzle blocks. The apparatus is provided with a drive waveform generation circuit that drives the nozzle units by giving a common drive waveform to the nozzle units so that the discharge characteristic ranks of the nozzle units are substantially the same. It is characterized by.
According to the present invention, since the nozzle units included in each nozzle block are approximately the same rank product, only one drive waveform generation circuit is required, and a simple configuration can be achieved. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a droplet discharge device with reduced cost. Further, by selecting a driving waveform according to the rank of the mounted nozzle unit, it becomes possible to use nozzle units of different ranks.
Here, the rank of the nozzle unit refers to the ejection characteristics of the head, for example, the ejection volume with respect to a certain drive waveform and the characteristics of the natural vibration period of the cavity of the head. Needless to say, the ranks are not strictly the same, and can be substantially the same as long as the discharge characteristics are within a certain range. This width can be determined within a practically acceptable range depending on the allowable range of the coating amount according to the application target.
In the droplet discharge device of the invention, the drive waveform generation circuit outputs a drive waveform corresponding to the rank of each nozzle unit.
The droplet discharge amount changes according to the drive waveform. In the present invention, by appropriately selecting the drive waveform, even when all the nozzle units are changed to different ranks, an appropriate discharge amount can be obtained.
In addition, the droplet discharge device of the present invention includes detection means for detecting the rank of the mounted nozzle unit, and the drive waveform generation circuit switches the drive waveform according to the rank detected by the detection means. It is characterized by.
In the present invention, for example, a tag (ID label) indicating a rank is provided on the nozzle block, and detection means for detecting information on the tag is provided on the discharge device side. When the nozzle block is mounted, this tag is automatically detected, and the discharge device can obtain a correct discharge amount by selecting a drive waveform corresponding to the rank of the nozzle unit.
Further, in the droplet discharge device of the present invention, the drive waveform generation circuit includes a plurality of current amplification drive circuits corresponding to each nozzle block, which amplifies the current of the drive waveform and applies the current to the nozzle blocks. It is characterized by.
According to the present invention, it is possible to further increase the throughput by providing a current amplification drive circuit for each block.
In order to solve the above problems, a droplet discharge method of the present invention is a droplet discharge method for applying droplets onto a medium using a plurality of nozzle blocks each including a plurality of nozzle units that discharge droplets. The discharge characteristic ranks of the nozzle units are substantially the same, and the application is performed by driving the nozzle unit by giving a drive waveform in common to the nozzle units.
According to the present invention, since the nozzle units included in each nozzle block are approximately the same rank product, only one drive waveform generation circuit is required, and a simple configuration can be achieved.
The rank of the nozzle unit refers to the ejection characteristics of the head, as defined above, and refers to, for example, the characteristics of the ejection amount with respect to a certain drive waveform and the natural vibration period of the head cavity. Needless to say, the ranks are not strictly the same, and can be substantially the same as long as the ejection characteristics are within a certain range. This width can be determined within a practically acceptable range depending on the allowable range of the coating amount according to the application target.
The droplet discharge method of the present invention is characterized in that the drive waveform is switched according to the rank of the mounted nozzle unit.
The droplet discharge amount changes according to the drive waveform. In the present invention, by appropriately selecting the drive waveform, even when all the nozzle units are changed to different ranks, an appropriate discharge amount can be obtained.
The device manufacturing method of the present invention is characterized in that a device is formed by discharging droplets onto a substrate using the above-described droplet discharge apparatus or method.
According to the present invention, since a predetermined amount of liquid droplets are accurately ejected to a predetermined position on the substrate using the above-described liquid droplet ejection apparatus or method, a device having a desired function can be efficiently manufactured with a high yield. Can do.
The device of the present invention is manufactured using the above-described device manufacturing method.
According to the present invention, an electronic device having high functionality and high reliability is provided.

  Hereinafter, a droplet discharge apparatus and method, a device manufacturing method, and a device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Droplet ejection apparatus and method]
FIG. 1 shows a drive waveform generation circuit and a nozzle block used in the droplet discharge apparatus schematically shown in FIG.
First, a schematic configuration of the droplet discharge device 22 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows a droplet discharge device 22 used for IJ coating, which includes a droplet discharge head 31, an X-axis direction drive shaft 34, a Y-axis direction guide shaft 35, a control device 40, a stage 37, and a cleaning. A mechanism 38 and a base 39 are provided.
The stage 37 supports the substrate P on which the color filter ink (liquid material) is formed by the droplet discharge device 22, and includes a fixing mechanism (not shown) that fixes the substrate P at a reference position.

  The droplet discharge head 31 is a multi-nozzle type droplet discharge head having a plurality of discharge nozzles, and the longitudinal direction and the Y-axis direction are matched. The plurality of discharge nozzles are provided on the lower surface of the droplet discharge head 31 at regular intervals along the Y-axis direction. From the discharge nozzle of the droplet discharge head 31, the color filter ink containing the above-described coloring material is discharged onto the substrate P supported by the stage 37.

An X-axis direction drive motor 32 is connected to the X-axis direction drive shaft 34. The X-axis direction drive motor 32 is a stepping motor or the like, and rotates the X-axis direction drive shaft 34 when a drive signal in the X-axis direction is supplied from the control device 40. When the X-axis direction drive shaft 34 rotates, the droplet discharge head 31 moves in the X-axis direction.
The Y-axis direction guide shaft 35 is fixed so as not to move with respect to the base 39. The stage 37 includes a Y-axis direction drive motor 33. The Y-axis direction drive motor 33 is a stepping motor or the like, and when a drive signal in the Y-axis direction is supplied from the control device 40, the stage 37 is moved in the Y-axis direction.

The control device 40 supplies a droplet discharge control voltage to the droplet discharge head 31. Further, a drive pulse signal for controlling the movement of the droplet discharge head 31 in the X-axis direction is supplied to the X-axis direction drive motor 32, and a drive pulse signal for controlling the movement of the stage 7 in the Y-axis direction is sent to the Y-axis direction drive motor 33. Supply.
The cleaning mechanism 38 is for cleaning the droplet discharge head 31. The cleaning mechanism 38 includes a Y-axis direction drive motor (not shown). The cleaning mechanism moves along the Y-axis direction guide shaft 35 by driving the Y-axis direction drive motor. The movement of the cleaning mechanism 38 is also controlled by the control device 40.

  The droplet discharge device 22 discharges droplets onto the substrate P while relatively scanning the droplet discharge head 31 and the stage 37 that supports the substrate P. Here, in the following description, the X-axis direction is a scanning direction, and the Y-axis direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction is a non-scanning direction.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of the nozzles Nz in the droplet discharge head 31. In this example, the droplet discharge head 31 includes three rows of nozzle blocks 28, and each nozzle block 28 includes three nozzle units 29. In the nozzle nozzle unit 29, 320 (160 × 2 rows) nozzles Nz are arranged in a staggered pattern at a nozzle pitch k along the non-scanning direction. These nozzle units 29 are ranked according to discharge characteristics in the manufacturing process, and the nozzle units 29 provided in each nozzle block 28 are all of the same rank over all the nozzle blocks 28.
Here, the rank refers to the ejection characteristics of the head, for example, the ejection amount with respect to a certain drive waveform and the characteristics of the natural vibration period of the head cavity. Regarding the discharge amount, the discharge amount of the nozzle unit 29 is measured using an electronic balance in the inspection process of the production line. (Calculated as the average discharge amount of each nozzle Nz.)
For example, what is shown in FIG. 4 is rank classification using the drive voltage VH required for discharging 10 ng as an index.
Needless to say, the ranks are not strictly the same, and can be substantially the same as long as the discharge characteristics are within a certain range. This width can be determined within a practically acceptable range depending on the allowable range of the coating amount according to the application target.

  The nozzle unit 29 provided in each nozzle block 28 is provided so as to function as a single nozzle block 28, and the distance in the non-scanning direction between the nozzle units 29 is so-called interlaced printing. As described above, the distance between the nozzles Nz at the end of the adjacent nozzle units 29 is arranged to be an integral multiple of the distance in the non-scanning direction of the ink dots formed on the medium. In this example, each nozzle block 28 discharges RGB single color ink.

  Each nozzle Nz is provided with a piezo element PE which is one of electrostrictive elements and has excellent responsiveness. The piezo element PE is installed at a position in contact with an ink passage that guides ink to the nozzle Nz. As is well known, the piezo element PE is an element that transforms electro-mechanical energy at a very high speed because the crystal structure is distorted by application of a voltage. In the present embodiment, by applying a voltage having a predetermined time width between the electrodes provided at both ends of the piezo element PE, the piezo element PE expands for the voltage application time and deforms one side wall of the ink passage. As a result, the volume of the ink passage contracts according to the expansion of the piezo element PE, and the ink corresponding to the contraction is discharged as particles from the tip of the nozzle Nz at high speed. A color filter layer is formed by applying the ink particles to the substrate P.

  Next, an internal configuration of the control device 40 of the droplet discharge device 22 will be described, and a method for driving the nozzle block 28 including the plurality of nozzle units 29 illustrated in FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the internal configuration and the like of the control device 40. As shown in FIG. 5, in addition to the CPU 41, the PROM 42, and the RAM 43, an interface 44 for exchanging data with an external control device, an X-axis direction drive motor 32, and a Y-axis direction drive motor are included in the control device 40. A peripheral input / output unit (PIO) 45 for exchanging signals with a signal 33, a timer 46 for measuring time, a drive waveform generating circuit 47 for generating a drive voltage waveform of a piezo element, and head driving dot data and a drive signal An interface 49 for transmitting data to the circuit 51 is provided, and these elements and circuits are connected to each other via a bus 48. The drive waveform generation circuit 47 includes a D / A converter (DAC), an amplifier, and the like, and generates a drive voltage waveform of the piezo element in synchronization with the clock signal of the oscillator 50.

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram for explaining how a signal for driving the nozzle Nz is sent to the nozzle block 28. The drive signal COM generated by the drive waveform generation circuit 47 is transmitted to all the nozzle units 29 of each nozzle block 28 via the interface. Further, dot data is individually transmitted to each nozzle unit 29 from a control unit such as the CPU 41, PROM 42, RAM 43, etc. (not shown).
That is, in the present embodiment, the drive waveform generation circuit 47 is common to all the nozzle blocks 28, and the drive waveform generated by the drive waveform generation circuit 47 drives all the nozzle blocks 28.

  The head drive circuit 51 controls the drive of the nozzle block 28. The head drive circuit 51 includes a shift register, a latch circuit, a level shifter, a switch circuit, and the like. The dot data is transmitted to the shift register via the interface 49 in synchronization with the clock signal from the oscillator 50. This data is once held in the latch circuit, amplified to a voltage that can operate the switch circuit by the level shifter, and input to the switch circuit. A drive signal from the drive waveform generation circuit 47 is input to the switch circuit via the interface 49 regardless of whether ink dots are formed. A piezo element is connected to the output side of the switch circuit, and only the switch receiving the dot data supplies a drive signal to the piezo element, and ink droplets are ejected.

  The droplet discharge device 22 having the above-described hardware configuration is configured to relatively move the substrate P and the droplet discharge head 31 by the X-axis direction drive motor 32 and the Y-axis direction drive motor 33, and at the same time, the piezo elements of the nozzle block 28. The PE is driven to discharge each color ink droplet.

Here, the relationship between the drive waveform and the ink discharge amount will be described in detail.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the profile of the drive signal applied to the piezo element PE and the ink droplet (droplet) Ip ejected from the nozzle Nz. The drive signal indicated by a broken line in FIG. 6 is a signal for forming a normal ink dot. In the section d2, once the voltage applied to the piezo element PE is lowered below the intermediate potential VM, the piezo element PE is deformed in the direction of increasing the cross-sectional area of the ink passage, and as shown in the state A in FIG. The ink interface called meniscus Me is indented inside the nozzle Nz. On the other hand, when the drive signal indicated by the solid line in FIG. 6 is used and the applied voltage is rapidly decreased from the intermediate potential VM as shown in the section d1, the meniscus Me is greatly inward compared to the state A as shown in the state a. It becomes indented. Next, when the voltage applied to the piezo element PE is increased above the intermediate potential VM (section d3), the piezo element PE is deformed in the direction of decreasing the cross-sectional area of the ink passage, and the ink droplet Ip is ejected. At this time, a large ink droplet Ip is ejected from the state (state A) where the meniscus Me is not recessed very much (state A), and from the state where the meniscus Me is greatly recessed (state a) as shown in state B and state C. As shown in state b and state c, a small ink droplet Ip is ejected.
Thus, the ink discharge amount depends on the shape of the drive waveform and also depends on the drive voltage VH. Furthermore, when the ranks of the nozzle units are different, the discharge characteristics (discharge amount) with respect to the drive voltage VH are different as shown in FIG.

  Conventionally, only a head having a specific rank is used without changing the drive waveform (drive signal COM). This is because changing the nozzle rank changes the discharge amount. In the present embodiment, the drive waveform is reset according to the rank of the nozzle unit 29.

For example, when the nozzle block 28 is replaced due to its service life, all the nozzle blocks 28 are replaced with another nozzle block 28 '. The new nozzle block 28 ′ similarly includes the same rank nozzle unit 29 ′, but a different rank product from the nozzle unit 29 used in the old nozzle block 28 can be used.
When the rank of the nozzle unit 29 ′ is different from that of the nozzle unit 29, it is necessary to change the drive waveform so that the discharge amount becomes appropriate. At this time, the user may manually input the rank of the nozzle unit to the control device 40 or may automatically read the rank. For example, the nozzle block 28 is provided with a tag (ID label) indicating a rank, and the control device 40 of the droplet discharge device 22 is provided with detection means (not shown) for detecting information on the tag. When the nozzle block 28 'is mounted, this tag is automatically detected, and the control device 40 can output a drive waveform with a correct discharge amount by selecting a drive waveform corresponding to the rank of the nozzle unit. .

As described above, since each nozzle block 28 includes the nozzle units 29 of the same rank, each nozzle block 28 can be driven by a common drive waveform, and only one drive waveform generation circuit 47 is required. Therefore, the circuit becomes simple and the cost can be suppressed.
Furthermore, as described above, when replacing each nozzle block 28 with a nozzle block of a different rank, the drive waveform is appropriately selected, so that the nozzle block of various ranks is used without being limited to the nozzle block of a specific rank. can do.
The drive waveform can be driven at a high frequency by a combination of fine vibration in printing and a discharge waveform. Therefore, the degree of freedom of thickening countermeasure (fine vibration waveform design in printing) is improved, and the ejection stability can be improved.

  If it is desired to further increase the throughput, a current amplification drive circuit 47a may be provided for each nozzle block 28 as shown in FIG. The voltage amplifying unit 47b may be one stage before the DAC. In this case, since there is only one voltage amplifying unit 47b, a drive waveform is alternately applied to the nozzle block 28.

  In the present embodiment, a droplet discharge device for forming a color filter layer of a liquid crystal display device (LCD) has been described. Needless to say, the inkjet discharge device is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to a droplet discharge device that forms a liquid crystal layer on an LCD, an organic EL discharge device, a metal wiring device, and the like.

[Device manufacturing method, electronic equipment]
The liquid droplet ejection apparatus and method according to the embodiments of the present invention have been described above. This ejection apparatus is a film forming apparatus or microlens array for forming a film, a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL device, a plasma display device, a field emission device. It can be used as a device manufacturing apparatus such as a display (FED: Field Emission Display). FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are explanatory diagrams of a microlens array for an optical interconnection device manufactured using a droplet discharge device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the droplet discharge device, a photosensitive transparent resin (liquid viscous material) is discharged from a droplet discharge head to a predetermined position of the object W1 made of the transparent substrate shown in FIGS. If microlenses L having a predetermined size are formed at predetermined positions on the transparent substrate, microlens arrays 58a and 58b for an optical interconnection device can be manufactured.

  Here, in the microlens array 58a shown in FIG. 8, the microlenses L are arranged in a matrix in the X direction and the Y direction. Further, in the microlens array 58b shown in FIG. 9, the microlenses L are formed to be irregularly dispersed in the X direction and the Y direction. The macro lens array is used in a liquid crystal panel in addition to the optical interconnection device. However, when manufacturing the micro lens for the liquid crystal device, if the ink jet device to which the present invention is applied is used, the photo lens Since it is not necessary to use a lithography technique, the production efficiency of the microlens array can be improved.

  FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a liquid crystal device using a color filter substrate manufactured using a droplet discharge device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement of each color on the color filter substrate. In FIG. 10, in the liquid crystal device 60, for example, a color filter substrate 61 and a TFT array substrate 61 are bonded together with a predetermined gap, and a liquid crystal 63 as an electro-optical material is sealed between these substrates. Yes. In the TFT array substrate 61, pixel switching TFTs (not shown) and pixel electrodes 65 are arranged in a matrix on the inner surface of the transparent substrate 64, and an alignment film 66 is formed on the surface thereof. On the other hand, in the color filter substrate 61, R, G, and B color filter layers 72R, 72G, and 72B are formed on the transparent substrate 67 at positions facing the pixel electrodes 65, and a planarizing film 68 is formed on the surface thereof. A counter electrode 70 and an alignment film 71 are formed.

  In the color filter substrate 61, the color filter layers 72 </ b> R, 72 </ b> G, and 72 </ b> B are surrounded by a single-step or stepped bank 68 and formed inside the bank 68. Here, the color filter layers 72R, 72G, and 72B are arranged in a predetermined layout such as a delta arrangement shown in FIG. 11A or a stripe arrangement shown in FIG.

  In manufacturing the color filter substrate 61 having such a configuration, first, after forming the banks 68 on the surface of the transparent substrate 67, the inside of each bank 68 is formed using the droplet discharge device described in the above-described embodiment. After a predetermined color resin (liquid viscous material) is supplied to the substrate, the color filter layers 72R, 72G, and 72B are formed by ultraviolet curing or heat curing. Accordingly, since the color filter layers 72R, 72G, and 72B can be formed without using a photolithography technique, the productivity of the color filter substrate 61 can be improved.

  FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of the organic EL device. As shown in FIG. 12, the organic EL device 301 includes a substrate 311, a circuit element portion 321, a pixel electrode 331, a bank portion 341, a light emitting element 351, a cathode 361 (counter substrate), and a sealing substrate 371. A wiring of a flexible substrate (not shown) and a driving IC (not shown) are connected to the organic EL element 302. The circuit element portion 321 is formed on the substrate 311, and a plurality of pixel electrodes 331 are aligned on the circuit element portion 321. Bank portions 341 are formed in a lattice shape between the pixel electrodes 331, and light emitting elements 351 are formed in the recess openings 344 generated by the bank portions 341. The cathode 361 is formed on the entire upper surface of the bank portion 341 and the light emitting element 351, and a sealing substrate 371 is laminated on the cathode 361.

  The manufacturing process of the organic EL device 301 including the organic EL element includes a bank part forming step for forming the bank part 341, a plasma processing step for appropriately forming the light emitting element 351, and a light emitting element formation for forming the light emitting element 351. A process, a counter electrode forming process for forming the cathode 361, and a sealing process for stacking and sealing the sealing substrate 371 on the cathode 361.

  In the light emitting element forming step, the light emitting element 351 is formed by forming the hole injection / transport layer 352 and the light emitting layer 353 on the concave opening 344, that is, the pixel electrode 331. A light emitting layer forming step. The hole injection / transport layer forming step includes a first droplet discharge step of discharging a first composition (functional liquid) for forming the hole injection / transport layer 352 onto each pixel electrode 331, a discharge A first drying step of forming the hole injection / transport layer 352 by drying the first composition, and the light emitting layer forming step includes a second composition (functional liquid for forming the light emitting layer 353). ) On the hole injection / transport layer 352 and a second drying step of forming the light emitting layer 353 by drying the discharged second composition. In the light emitting element formation step, the light emitting element is formed using a droplet discharge device.

  FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the configuration of the plasma display device. As shown in FIG. 13, the plasma display device 400 includes substrates 401 and 402 disposed opposite to each other and a discharge display unit 410 formed between the substrates 401 and 402. The discharge display unit 410 is a collection of a plurality of discharge chambers 416. Among the plurality of discharge chambers 416, the three discharge chambers 416 of the red discharge chamber 416 (R), the green discharge chamber 416 (G), and the blue discharge chamber 416 (B) are arranged to form one pixel. Has been.

  Address electrodes 411 are formed in stripes at predetermined intervals on the upper surface of the substrate 401, and a dielectric layer 419 is formed so as to cover the address electrodes 411 and the upper surface of the substrate 401. A partition wall 415 is formed on the dielectric layer 419 so as to be positioned between the address electrodes 411 and 411 and along the address electrodes 411. The barrier ribs 415 include barrier ribs adjacent to both the left and right sides of the address electrode 411 in the width direction, and barrier ribs extending in a direction orthogonal to the address electrodes 411. A discharge chamber 416 is formed corresponding to a rectangular region partitioned by the partition 415. In addition, a phosphor 417 is disposed inside a rectangular region defined by the partition 415. The phosphor 417 emits red, green, or blue fluorescence. The red phosphor 417 (R) is located at the bottom of the red discharge chamber 416 (R) and the green discharge chamber 416 (G). A green phosphor 417 (G) is disposed at the bottom, and a blue phosphor 417 (B) is disposed at the bottom of the blue discharge chamber 416 (B).

  On the other hand, on the substrate 402, a plurality of display electrodes 412 are formed in stripes at predetermined intervals in a direction orthogonal to the previous address electrodes 411. Further, a dielectric layer 413 and a protective film 414 made of MgO or the like are formed so as to cover them. The substrate 401 and the substrate 402 are bonded to each other with the address electrode 411 and the display electrode 412 facing each other so as to be orthogonal to each other. The address electrode 411 and the display electrode 412 are connected to an AC power supply (not shown). When each electrode is energized, the phosphor 417 is excited and emits light in the discharge display unit 410 to enable color display. The droplet discharge device according to the embodiment of the present invention is used to arrange the phosphor 417 inside a rectangular region partitioned by the partition 415.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a configuration of a field emission display (FED) including a field emission device, in which (a) is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a positional relationship between a cathode substrate and an anode substrate constituting the FED. FIG. 4B is a circuit diagram showing a schematic configuration of a drive circuit provided on the cathode substrate of the FED, and FIG. 4C is a perspective view showing a main part of the cathode substrate. As shown in FIG. 14A, the FED 500 has a configuration in which a cathode substrate 500a and an anode substrate 500b are arranged to face each other.

As shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the cathode substrate 500 a is a so-called simple matrix drive comprising a gate line 501, an emitter line 502, and a field emission element 503 connected to the gate line 501 and the emitter line 502. It has a circuit. Gate signal _V 1 was in the gate line _{501, V 2, ..., V} m is supplied to the emitter line 502, the emitter signal _{W 1, W 2, ...,} W n is supplied. The anode substrate 500b includes a phosphor that emits light when hit by electrons, and a phosphor that emits red, green, or blue fluorescence is provided as the phosphor.

  As shown in FIG. 14C, the field emission device 503 includes an emitter electrode 503a connected to the emitter line 502 and a gate electrode 503b connected to the gate line 501. The emitter electrode 503a includes a protrusion called an emitter tip 505 that decreases in diameter from the emitter electrode 503a toward the gate electrode 503b. A hole 504 is formed in the gate electrode 503b at a position corresponding to the emitter tip 505. The tip of the emitter tip 505 is disposed in the hole 504.

When a voltage is supplied between the emitter electrode 503 a and the gate electrode 503 b provided in the field emission element 503, the electrons 510 move from the emitter tip 505 toward the hole 504 due to the action of the electric field, and from the tip of the emitter tip 505. Electrons 510 are emitted. The emitted electrons 510 strike the phosphor of the anode substrate 500b disposed to face the cathode substrate 500a, so that the phosphor emits light. Therefore, the gate signal _{V 1,} V 2 of the gate lines 501, ..., _{V m,} and the emitter signals _{W 1,} W 2 of the emitter line 502, ..., a desired color by driving the FED500 by controlling the _{W n} It can be displayed. The droplet discharge device according to the embodiment of the present invention is used to place a phosphor on the anode substrate 500b.

  Devices such as the above-described liquid crystal device, organic EL device, plasma display device, and FED are provided in electronic devices such as notebook computers and mobile phones. However, the electronic device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described notebook computer and mobile phone, and can be applied to various electronic devices. For example, LCD projectors, multimedia-compatible personal computers (PCs) and engineering workstations (EWS), pagers, word processors, TVs, viewfinder type or monitor direct view type video tape recorders, electronic notebooks, electronic desk calculators, car navigation systems The present invention can be applied to electronic devices such as a device, a POS terminal, and a device provided with a touch panel.

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which a signal for driving a nozzle is sent to a nozzle block in the droplet discharge device shown as an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the same droplet discharge apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows arrangement | positioning of the nozzle unit and nozzle in a nozzle block. It is the figure shown about the example of rank division of a nozzle unit. It is explanatory drawing which shows the internal structure of the control apparatus of a droplet discharge apparatus. It is explanatory drawing explaining the relationship between the profile of the drive waveform applied to a piezoelectric element, and the ink droplet discharged from a nozzle. It is the figure shown about the modification of the drive waveform generation circuit. It is explanatory drawing of the micro lens array for optical interconnection apparatuses manufactured using the droplet discharge apparatus by embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the micro lens array for optical interconnection apparatuses manufactured using the droplet discharge apparatus by embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the structure of the liquid crystal device using the color filter substrate manufactured using the droplet discharge apparatus by embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows arrangement | positioning of each color in a color filter board | substrate. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of a structure of an organic electroluminescent apparatus. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows a part of structure of a plasma type display apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structure of the field emission display (FED) provided with the field emission element.

Explanation of symbols

22 …… Droplet discharge device 28 …… Nozzle block 29 …… Nozzle unit 40 …… Control device 41 …… CPU
42 …… Programmable ROM (PROM)
43 …… RAM
44 …… Interface 45 …… Peripheral input / output unit (PIO)
46 …… Timer 47 …… Drive waveform generation circuit 48 …… Bus 49 …… Interface 50 …… Oscillator 51 …… Head drive circuit

Claims (8)

A droplet discharge device comprising a plurality of nozzle blocks each including a plurality of nozzle units for discharging droplets, and applying droplets onto a medium by the nozzle blocks,
The nozzle unit is provided with a drive waveform generation circuit that drives the nozzle unit by giving a common drive waveform to the nozzle units so that the discharge characteristic ranks of the nozzle units are substantially the same. Drop ejection device.   The droplet discharge apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive waveform generation circuit outputs a drive waveform corresponding to a rank of each nozzle unit.   3. The liquid according to claim 2, further comprising detection means for detecting a rank of the mounted nozzle unit, wherein the drive waveform generation circuit switches the drive waveform in accordance with the rank detected by the detection means. Drop ejection device.   4. The drive waveform generation circuit includes a plurality of current amplification drive circuits corresponding to each nozzle block, which amplify the current of the drive waveform and apply the current to the nozzle blocks. A droplet discharge device according to claim 1. A droplet discharge method for applying droplets onto a medium using a plurality of nozzle blocks each including a plurality of nozzle units that discharge droplets,
A droplet discharge method, wherein the nozzle units are applied by driving the nozzle unit by providing a drive waveform in common to the nozzle units and arranging the discharge characteristic ranks of the nozzle units substantially the same.   The droplet discharge method according to claim 5, wherein the drive waveform is switched according to a rank of a mounted nozzle unit.   A device is formed by ejecting droplets onto a substrate using the droplet ejection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 or the droplet ejection method according to claim 5 or 6. A device manufacturing method. A device manufactured using the device manufacturing method according to claim 7.

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