JP2006119658A - Manufacturing method of color filter and manufacturing method of liquid crystal element using color filter manufactured by this manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of color filter which does not cause coloration unevenness by accurately correcting coloration conditions in consideration of the influence to the area distribution of apertures of black matrices. <P>SOLUTION: The area of the apertures of a plurality of black matrices on a sheet of substrate is measured or estimated, in accordance with the result, the coloration conditions of each aperture is determined and, in accordance with the coloration conditions, ink is imparted to each aperture from an ink jet head and the coloration is performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a color filter applicable to a color liquid crystal display used for a color television, a personal computer, an automobile navigation system, a small television, and the like, and a liquid crystal element using the color filter produced by the production method It relates to the manufacturing method.

  In recent years, with the development of personal computers, especially portable personal computers, the demand for liquid crystal displays, particularly color liquid crystal displays, has been increasing. However, cost reduction is necessary for further dissemination, and there is an increasing demand for cost reduction of color filters that are particularly heavy in terms of cost.

  Conventionally, various methods have been tried to meet the above requirements while satisfying the required characteristics of the color filter. However, in the color filter manufacturing method, it is first to uniformly color each pixel (colored portion). It was a challenge. That is, it is necessary to make the amount of the coloring material per unit area of each pixel uniform.

  Conventionally, in the pigment dispersion method widely used as a manufacturing method of a color filter, the amount of the coloring material per unit area of the colored portion is made uniform by making the film thickness of the colored portion constant. It was. In recent years, a method for manufacturing a color filter by an ink jet method has been proposed, and various proposals for making the degree of coloring of each pixel represented by Patent Document 1 uniform have been made. Specifically, ink is ejected from the nozzles of the inkjet head to another medium in advance, and the amount of ink ejected from each nozzle is obtained. It is to make it constant.

  On the other hand, the present applicant has previously proposed a method for making the optical effect of each pixel uniform. This method reduces color unevenness that is considered to occur when the color distribution in the pixel differs depending on the position in the colored region. Here, the optical effect means the color density of the pixel. Specifically, the physical quantity has a correlation with the coloring density. As this physical quantity, it is considered reasonable to take the amount of light that passes through each pixel when light is irradiated under the same conditions as the actual use state of the color filter. Actually, the illumination of the color filter is not exactly the same for each pixel, but in many cases, it can be regarded as almost the same. The radiant flux is used.

JP-A-9-281324

  However, when the amount of light transmitted through each pixel is measured in order to make the optical effect uniform, if the area of the opening of the black matrix is different, even if the color density is the same, the light transmitted through the pixel The radiant flux is different and the optical effects are different. Therefore, even if the coloring condition is corrected so that the optical effect is uniform in the measured color filter, the optical effect is different if the area of the black matrix opening is different in the newly colored color filter. End up.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a color filter without uneven coloring by accurately correcting the coloring conditions in consideration of the influence of the area distribution of the openings of the black matrix.

  Furthermore, the objective of this invention is providing the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal element using the color filter manufactured by the said manufacturing method.

A first aspect of the present invention is a method of manufacturing a color filter having pixels with colored openings by applying ink from an inkjet head to the openings of a black matrix on a substrate and coloring the openings. There,
Measuring or estimating areas of a plurality of openings in one substrate;
Determining each coloring condition for coloring each of the plurality of openings based on the result of the measurement or estimation; and
A step of applying ink from the inkjet head to each of the plurality of openings and coloring the openings based on the determined coloring conditions;
It is a manufacturing method of the color filter characterized by having.

A second aspect of the present invention is a method of manufacturing a color filter having pixels with colored openings by applying ink from an inkjet head to the openings of a black matrix on a substrate and coloring the openings. There,
Measuring or estimating the area of the plurality of openings in the first substrate;
Determining each coloring condition for coloring each of the plurality of openings based on the result of the measurement or estimation; and
Applying ink from the inkjet head to each of the plurality of openings in the second substrate based on the determined coloring conditions, and coloring the openings,
It is a manufacturing method of the color filter characterized by having.

A third aspect of the present invention is a method of manufacturing a color filter having pixels with colored openings by applying ink from an inkjet head to the openings of a black matrix on a substrate and coloring the openings. There,
A step of producing a first color filter by applying ink from the inkjet head based on a preset coloring condition to a plurality of openings on the first substrate;
Measuring or estimating areas of a plurality of openings in the first color filter;
Determining each coloring condition for coloring each of the plurality of openings in the second substrate based on the result of the measurement or estimation;
Producing a second color filter by applying ink from the inkjet head to each of a plurality of openings in the second substrate based on the determined coloring conditions;
It is a manufacturing method of the color filter characterized by having.

Further, the present invention is a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal element having a color filter,
A step of preparing a color filter manufactured by the method for manufacturing a color filter of the present invention;
Preparing a counter substrate facing the color filter;
Encapsulating liquid crystal between the color filter and the counter substrate;
It is a manufacturing method of the liquid crystal element characterized by having.

  In the present invention, the color unevenness due to the area distribution of the black matrix opening can be reduced by adding the area distribution of the black matrix opening to the optical effect of each pixel of the color filter.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, by estimating the area of the opening of the black matrix of the color filter, a means for measuring the area of the opening of the black matrix or a process is not required, and the manufacturing process can be simplified.

  In particular, when the color filter divides a colored region into a plurality of scanning regions and each scanning region is colored under the same conditions, the optical filters of pixels having the same coloring condition in each scanning region are used. Since the difference in the measured value of the effect reflects the difference in the area of the opening, the area of the opening can be estimated by comparing the measured values. Moreover, the area of the opening part of the pixel located between these pixels can be determined from the measured value by linear interpolation. In the case where the coloring region is divided into a plurality of scanning regions and colored, color unevenness is likely to occur at the boundary between adjacent scanning regions. However, according to the present invention, such color unevenness is reduced.

  According to the present invention, color unevenness due to the area distribution of the black matrix opening can be reduced, so that even if the area of the black matrix opening is different for each substrate or within the substrate, the yield is improved. An even color filter can be manufactured. Therefore, a liquid crystal element excellent in color display using the color filter is provided at low cost.

  The color filter manufacturing method of the present invention obtains the optical effect of the color filter and the area distribution of the opening, and removes the influence of the area distribution of the opening from the optical effect, thereby reducing the coloring condition of the color filter with less coloring unevenness. It is something to identify.

  Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the color filter of this invention is demonstrated using the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the standard color filter is extracted from the actually produced color filter. This standard color filter may be shipped as a product thereafter.

  Next, the optical effect of each pixel of the standard color filter is obtained. As described above, as the optical effect of the pixel, it is general to use the transmitted light amount of each pixel with respect to a constant incident light, which is preferably applied in the present invention. The effect may be any physical quantity that has a correlation with the color density of the pixel for the user or the inspector. Therefore, it is not necessary to use the optical measurement method directly. Specifically, in a color filter in which the colored portion is formed in a film shape, a method of measuring the film thickness of the colored portion and calculating the optical effect of the entire pixel based on the measurement result can be considered. .

  Next, the coloring condition of the pixel to be finally corrected is determined. The relationship between the optical effect and the coloring condition is obtained in advance, and the coloring condition to be corrected is determined from the relationship, the design value of the optical effect, and all the coloring conditions of the standard color filter. The coloring conditions include, for example, the amount of ink applied to each colored portion, the ratio of the coloring material in the ink, the arrangement of the ink droplets, and the dropping order in the step of forming the colored portion by applying ink to the colored portion. Say timing, etc.

  Next, the area distribution of the opening of each pixel of the standard color filter is obtained. As a method of obtaining the area distribution of the opening, there are a method of actually measuring the area of the opening and a method of estimating the area of the opening.

  As a method of measuring the area of the opening, there is a method of directly obtaining the opening area without measuring the opening shape itself, in addition to a method of measuring the opening shape by optical means and calculating the opening area therefrom. Can be used. As an example of the latter, light having a certain luminance is irradiated onto a region including an opening, a light beam passing through the opening is captured by a light receiving element, and the area of the opening is obtained from the illuminance of light hitting the light receiving element. There is a way.

  In the present invention, as a method for estimating the area of the opening, when there are pixels that are clearly colored under the same coloring condition in the coloring region, the difference in the optical effect of these pixels is substantially reduced. Therefore, the area of each opening can be estimated from the difference in optical effect.

  Specifically, when a coloring area is divided into a plurality of scanning areas and each scanning area is colored under the same conditions, one pixel is colored in each scanning area under the same coloring conditions. Since the difference in the optical effect between the pixels colored under the same conditions substantially corresponds to the difference in the area of the openings, it is possible to estimate the size relationship between the areas of the openings. Furthermore, the difference in optical effect between pixels that are colored under the same coloring condition in adjacent scanning regions is defined as the difference due to the opening area, and the opening area of the pixels located between the pixels can be estimated by linear interpolation. it can. In such a case, the optical effect of the pixel is appropriately measured in one scanning region to correct the coloring condition, and further, the pixel colored under the same coloring condition in each scanning region is appropriately selected to obtain the optical effect. Estimate the aperture area by measuring, and compensate for the aperture area for the correction of the above coloring conditions. Unevenness can be reduced.

  The greatest feature of the present invention is that it has a step of correcting the coloring condition of the next color filter by removing the influence of the area distribution of the opening on the measured value of the optical effect.

  The design value of the opening area in each pixel is compared with the actually measured or estimated opening area, and the influence of the opening area on the optical effect of each pixel is removed. For this purpose, it is necessary to actually determine or estimate the relationship between the aperture area and the optical effect.

  As a method of actually obtaining, a color filter is manufactured by actually manufacturing various substrates having different opening areas of the black matrix, and coloring the substrate under a certain coloring condition. A method of obtaining from the measured result is desirable. Further, as an estimation method, there is a method in which the relationship between the optical effect and the opening area is linear. Furthermore, as this estimation method, there is a method that considers that the transmitted light amount and the opening area are in a proportional relationship when the light amount transmitted through the aperture of the pixel when a certain illumination is performed is used as an optical effect. is there.

  The calculation to remove the influence of the actual opening area is performed by using the correction coefficient as a value obtained by dividing the measured or estimated opening area by the design value of the opening area, and the correction condition based on the coloring condition corrected from the optical effect value. Correct and offset the effect of the aperture area. Needless to say, any estimation method may be used as long as it has sufficient accuracy for practical use.

  In general, the design value of the area of the opening of the pixel is common to all the pixels. However, if this is different for each pixel, it is desirable to obtain the correction amount of the coloring condition based on the design value of each pixel. However, in practice, this step can be speeded up by applying a representative amount such as an average value of the design values to all pixels or a part thereof. In addition, when only a demand for color unevenness in the colored area is severe and a relatively wide error is allowed in the average coloring density of the entire colored area, instead of the design value, all pixels or some of the pixels ( An average value, a maximum value, a minimum value, etc. of the opening area (including the case of only one pixel) can also be used.

  By removing the influence of the aperture area of the pixel on the measured optical effect by the above process, the coloring condition of each pixel of the standard color filter is corrected, and a new color filter coloring process is performed under the corrected coloring condition. Do. Each corrected coloring condition is corrected so as to be optimal when the area of the opening of each pixel is constant in the colored region, particularly when it is a design value. Therefore, in the color filter newly colored under the corrected coloring condition, if the area of the opening of the black matrix is constant, the color unevenness of the entire color filter is reduced as compared with the standard color filter. In addition, when the area of the opening is constant and substantially the same as the design value, an ideal color filter can be obtained. Here, when the area distribution of the opening of the standard color filter is not removed, the color unevenness of the new color filter further increases the distribution of the opening area of the standard color filter to the distribution of the opening area of the new color filter. In contrast to the occurrence of the distribution, the color unevenness in the colored region in the present invention remains due to the area distribution of the openings of the black matrix of the new color filter.

  In the manufacturing method of the present invention, as a means for coloring the pixel of the color filter, a method of forming a colored portion by applying ink to a colored portion on a transparent substrate by an ink jet method is the amount of ink per unit area or within the pixel. Since various coloring conditions such as the ink amount distribution can be designed, it is preferably used. Specifically, as a method for producing a color filter by an ink jet method, a first method in which an ink is applied to a resin composition layer having ink absorbability to color the resin composition layer to form a colored portion, and There is a second method in which ink is applied to the opening of the black matrix and the ink itself is cured to form a colored portion. Each method will be described below with a preferred example.

(First method)
As a first method, more specifically, a black matrix and a resin composition layer that reduces or increases ink absorbency by light irradiation or light irradiation and heat treatment are formed on a transparent substrate, and the resin composition layer The predetermined region is irradiated with light or irradiated with light and heat-treated to form a colored portion having a high ink absorbability and a non-colored portion having a lower ink absorbability than the colored portion. A method is preferred in which ink is applied to form a colored portion by coloring the colored portion, and the entire resin composition layer is cured by light irradiation or heat treatment.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the steps of this method. FIG. 8 is a process diagram in the case of using a resin composition whose ink absorbability is reduced (or disappears) by light irradiation or light irradiation and heat treatment. Hereinafter, each step will be described. 8A to 8F are schematic sectional views corresponding to the following steps (a) to (f), respectively.

Step (a)
A black matrix 42 is formed on the transparent substrate 41. A glass substrate is generally used as the substrate 41, but the substrate 41 is not limited to a glass substrate as long as it has necessary characteristics such as transparency and mechanical strength as a color filter.

  Further, there is no particular problem even if the black matrix is formed on the resin layer after forming the resin composition layer 43 described later or after coloring the resin composition layer 43. As a forming method thereof, a method of forming a metal thin film by sputtering or vapor deposition and patterning by a photolithography process is general, but is not limited thereto.

Step (b)
A resin composition that cures by light irradiation or light irradiation and heat treatment and lowers the ink absorbency of the light irradiated portion is applied onto the substrate 41, and pre-baked as necessary to form the resin composition layer 43. . As the base resin of such a resin composition, acrylic resin, epoxy resin, amide resin or the like is used, but is not particularly limited thereto. In these resins, a photoinitiator (crosslinking agent) can be used in order to advance the crosslinking reaction by light or a combination of light and heat. As the photoinitiator, dichromate, bisazide compound, radical initiator, cationic initiator, anionic initiator and the like can be used. Moreover, these photoinitiators can be mixed or used in combination with other sensitizers. Furthermore, a photoacid generator such as an onium salt can be used in combination with a crosslinking agent. In order to further advance the crosslinking reaction, heat treatment may be performed after the light irradiation.

  The resin composition layer 43 can be formed by any coating method such as spin coating, roll coating, bar coating, spray coating, and dip coating, and is not particularly limited.

Step (c)
By using the photomask 44, pattern exposure is performed on the resin composition layer in the region shielded from light by the black matrix 42 to cure and reduce the ink absorbency, thereby forming the non-colored portion 45. The unexposed area has a high ink absorbability and becomes a colored portion 46. Although the non-colored portion 45 is not always necessary, the color mixing between the adjacent colored portions can be prevented by interposing the non-colored portion 45 having low ink absorbability between the adjacent colored portions 46. As the photomask 44 used here, a photomask having an opening for curing a light-shielding portion by the black matrix 42 is used. In order to prevent color loss at a portion in contact with the black matrix 42, the light-shielding width of the black matrix is used. It is preferable to use a mask having a narrower opening.

Step (d)
From the inkjet head 47, the ink 48 of each color of R, G, and B is applied to the colored part 46 according to a predetermined coloring pattern to form a colored part 49.

  As the ink used for coloring, both pigment-based and pigment-based inks can be used, and both liquid inks and solid inks can be used. When water-based inks are used, the resin composition layer 43 is water-absorbing. It is preferable to form with a high resin composition. In addition, the ink is not limited to liquid at room temperature, but is ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower, and is softened at room temperature, or is liquid, or in a normal inkjet system, the ink itself is 30 ° C to 70 ° C. Since the viscosity of the ink is controlled within a stable range by adjusting the temperature within the range, a liquid in which the ink is in a liquid state at the time of ink ejection is suitably used.

  Furthermore, as an ink jet method, a bubble jet (registered trademark) type using an electrothermal transducer as an energy generating element or a piezo jet type using a piezoelectric element can be used, and the coloring area and coloring pattern can be arbitrarily set. Can be set. In the present invention, the ink jet system using the electrothermal transducer can freely change the size of the ink droplets ejected from the ink jet head, the number of ink droplets per unit area of the colored portion, the position where the ink droplets are dropped, and the like. This is particularly preferable.

Step (e)
After drying the ink as necessary, the colored portion 49 is cured by irradiating the entire surface of the substrate with light. You may heat-process instead of light irradiation.

Step (f)
A protective layer 50 is formed as necessary. As the protective layer 50, a photo-curing type, thermo-curing type or photo-heat combined type resin layer, an inorganic film formed by vapor deposition, sputtering, or the like can be used, and has transparency when used as a color filter. Any material that can withstand the subsequent ITO formation process, alignment film formation process, and the like can be used.

  In addition, when a resin composition whose ink absorbability is increased (or developed) by light irradiation or light irradiation and heat treatment is used as the resin composition, specifically, such a resin composition may be reacted by chemical amplification. The system to be used is preferable, and as the base resin, those obtained by esterifying a hydroxyl group of a cellulose derivative such as hydroxypropyl cellulose or hydroxyethyl cellulose or blocked by an acetyl group (eg, cellulose acetate type compound); polyvinyl alcohol Those obtained by esterifying the hydroxyl groups of polymer alcohols and derivatives thereof, or those blocked with acetyl groups (eg, polyvinyl acetate compounds); novolak resins such as cresol novolac, polyparahydroxystyrenes and their The hydroxyl group of the derivative Those that have been blocked, or the like is used in Rushiriru group, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

  In the present invention, in order to cause a substantial difference in ink absorbency by exposure, it is generally preferable that the conversion ratio of a functional group that can be converted into a hydrophilic group to a hydrophilic group is 30% or more. In this case, spectral analysis such as IR and NMR is effective as the hydrophilic group determination method.

  As the photoinitiator, onium salts such as triphenylsulfonium hexafluoroantimonate, halogenated organic compounds such as trichloromethyltriazine, or naphthoquinone diazide or derivatives thereof are preferably used, but are not limited thereto. As a result, any material may be used as long as it has a composition that increases the ink absorbency of the light irradiated portion by light irradiation or light irradiation and heat treatment.

  In addition, when such a resin composition is used, the black matrix formed on the transparent substrate can be used as a mask, and the area other than the area shielded by the black matrix can be exposed by exposing from the back surface.

(Second method)
FIG. 9 is a process diagram of the second method, and the same members as those in FIG. Moreover, (a)-(d) of FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram corresponding to following process (a)-(d).

Step (a)
First, the black matrix 51 is formed on the transparent substrate 41. The black matrix 51 also functions as a partition member for avoiding color mixing with adjacent different color inks when ink described later is applied. As the black matrix 51, a black pigment-containing resist is preferably used and patterned by a general photolithography method. The black matrix 51 is preferably provided with ink repellency in order to prevent adjacent inks from being mixed with each other when ink described later is applied. In the present invention, the thickness of the black matrix 51 is preferably 0.5 μm or more in consideration of the partition wall effect and the light shielding effect. The opening of the black matrix 51 is a portion to be colored.

Step (b)
From the inkjet head 47, inks 52 of R, G, and B are applied according to a predetermined coloring pattern so as to fill the openings of the black matrix 51.

  The ink used in the present invention is a resin composition that is cured by applying energy and usually contains a colorant. As the colorant, general dyes and pigments can be used. For example, anthraquinone dye, azo dye, triphenylmethane dye, polymethine dye, and the like can be used as the dye.

  As the resin used for the ink, a resin that is cured by applying energy such as heat treatment or light irradiation is used. Specifically, a combination of a known resin and a crosslinking agent can be used as the thermosetting resin. For example, acrylic resin, melamine resin, hydroxyl group or carboxyl group-containing polymer and melamine, hydroxyl group or carboxyl group-containing polymer and polyfunctional epoxy compound, hydroxyl group or carboxyl group-containing polymer and fibrin reactive compound, epoxy resin and resol type resin, epoxy Examples thereof include resins and amines, epoxy resins and carboxylic acids or acid anhydrides, and epoxy compounds. Moreover, as a photocurable resin, a well-known thing, for example, a commercially available negative resist, is used suitably.

  Various solvents can be added to the ink. In particular, a mixed solvent of water and a water-soluble organic solvent is preferably used from the viewpoint of dischargeability in the ink jet system.

  In addition to the above components, surfactants, antifoaming agents, preservatives, and the like can be added to give desired properties as necessary, and commercially available water-soluble dyes can also be added. Can do.

  In addition, among the light or thermosetting resins described above, solvents other than water or water-soluble organic solvents may be used as long as they can be stably discharged even if they are not dissolved in water or water-soluble organic solvents. In particular, when a monomer that is polymerized by light is used, a solventless type in which a dye is dissolved in the monomer may be used.

Step (c)
The colored portion 53 is formed by curing the ink 52 applied to the opening of the resin black matrix 51 by heat treatment or light irradiation, or both.

Step (d)
A protective layer 50 is formed as necessary.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 12, the optical effect in each pixel is equal regardless of the aperture area of the newly manufactured color filter by considering the influence of the aperture area of the newly manufactured color filter. A color filter is obtained.

  As shown in FIG. 13, an embodiment in which the influence of the opening area of the standard color filter is not removed in consideration of the influence of the opening area of the newly produced color filter is also conceivable.

  Next, a liquid crystal element formed using the color filter of the present invention will be described. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an active matrix liquid crystal element incorporating the color filter formed in the process of FIG. 8 and FIG. 11 is the process of FIG. 10 and 11, reference numeral 62 denotes a common electrode, 63 denotes an alignment film, 65 denotes a substrate, 66 denotes a pixel electrode, 67 denotes an alignment film, and 68 denotes a liquid crystal compound. The same members as those in FIGS. Was attached.

  A liquid crystal element for color display is generally formed by combining a color filter side substrate (41) and a TFT substrate (65) and enclosing a liquid crystal compound 68 therein. TFTs (not shown) and transparent pixel electrodes 66 are formed in a matrix inside one substrate of the liquid crystal element. In addition, a color filter layer is disposed inside the other substrate 11 so that the R, G, and B coloring portions 49 and 53 are arranged at positions facing the pixel electrode 66, and a transparent common layer is disposed thereon. The electrode 62 is formed on one side. Further, alignment films 63 and 67 are formed in the planes of both substrates, and liquid crystal molecules can be aligned in a certain direction by rubbing them.

  Polarizing plates (not shown) are bonded to the outside of the substrates 41 and 65, respectively, and a combination of a fluorescent lamp (not shown) and a scattering plate (not shown) is generally used as a backlight, and a liquid crystal compound is used as a backlight. Display is performed by functioning as an optical shutter that changes the transmittance.

  The liquid crystal element of the present invention only needs to be configured using the color filter of the present invention, and the conventional liquid crystal element technology such as the material and manufacturing method can be applied to the other constituent members. .

Example 1
In this example, an R, G, B stripe arrangement in which an ink jet head using an electrothermal transducer is used and 600 pixels long and 800 pixels wide (each color) is formed in a colored region of diagonal 12.1 inches (307 mm). The color filter was manufactured. One standard color filter was extracted from a previously produced color filter and used.

  The optical effect of each pixel and the measurement of the aperture area were performed using the apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes an image processing apparatus which takes in an image signal from a CCD camera and substantially measures an optical effect of a pixel and an aperture area. A personal computer 2 controls the entire measuring apparatus and derives a new color filter coloring condition from the measured optical effect, pixel aperture area, and standard color filter coloring condition. Further, a coloring condition for a coloring apparatus to be described later is performed by communication between computers as a drawing image. An optical microscope 3 determines the image of the standard color filter illuminated by the opposing transmission illumination (not shown) on a CCD camera, which will be described later. Reference numeral 4 denotes an XY stage, which allows any pixel of the standard color filter to enter the field of view of the optical microscope 3. Reference numeral 5 denotes a monochrome CCD camera, which converts an image formed by the optical microscope 3 into an electric signal and transmits it to an image processing apparatus. The CCD camera 5 may be a color camera. Further, an autofocus device may be attached in order to obtain a sharp image. Reference numeral 6 denotes a standard color filter.

  The coloring process of the color filter was performed with the drawing apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 11 denotes a drawing image, which represents the coloring condition transmitted from the measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 2 by communication. Reference numeral 13 denotes a drawing data generation device that generates respective signals for moving an inkjet head and a feeding device, which will be described later, in cooperation with each other based on coloring conditions given as a drawing image. Reference numerals 15a to 15c denote R (red), G (green), and B (blue) inkjet heads, which are members that apply ink in which dyes of respective colors are dissolved in a solvent. Reference numerals 16 and 17 denote feeding devices that change the relative positions of the substrate and the inkjet head by driving a stage described later while cooperating with the inkjet heads 15a to 15c. Thereby, the to-be-colored part on a board | substrate can be colored on the coloring conditions determined beforehand. 18 is a stage, 19 is a drawing pattern, and 20 is a substrate.

  The coloring conditions of this example will be described. In this example, the number of ink droplets per unit area was changed as the coloring condition. This is shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows a state where ink is applied to the substrate as viewed from above the substrate. In FIG. 4, 21 is a black matrix formed in close contact with the substrate, and 22 is an opening of the black matrix 21. Reference numeral 23 denotes a colored portion (corresponding to 46 in FIG. 8), and 24 denotes a non-colored portion (corresponding to 45 in FIG. 8) having ink repellency. 25 to 27 are ink droplets. The ink droplets were applied by one or more scans, and in this example, the ink droplets were applied in three scans. That is, the ink droplet 25 is intermittently dropped in the first scan, the ink droplet 26 is dropped in a position adjacent to the ink droplet 25 in the second scan, and the ink droplets 26 and 25 are connected in the third scan. An ink droplet 27 was dropped on the surface. The ink droplets 25 to 27 may have different volumes. In this example, the interval between the ink droplets 25 to 27 is the coloring condition to be corrected.

  The correction of the coloring condition will be described. First, as the optical effect of each pixel of the standard color filter, the amount of light transmitted through the opening of the pixel is measured by the measuring device of FIG. On the other hand, the relationship between the change rate of the amount of light transmitted through the opening of the pixel and the change rate of the interval between the ink droplets when the illumination with the constant luminous flux is irradiated is obtained in advance. This was obtained by preparing various samples with different intervals between ink droplets and measuring them with the measuring device of FIG. It has the same black matrix as the standard color filter from the relationship between the obtained change rate, the transmitted light amount of each pixel measured with the standard color filter, the interval between ink droplets of the standard color filter, and the design value of the transmitted light amount of each pixel. The interval between the ink droplets that achieves coloring without unevenness on the substrate was determined.

  Subsequently, the opening area of each pixel of the standard color filter was measured by the measuring apparatus of FIG. In the measurement, the boundary between the black matrix opening and the black matrix in each pixel was obtained from the luminance signal of the pixel image. Specifically, a method of determining which point each point belongs to using a certain threshold value and specifying the point belonging to the opening was adopted. From this result, the boundary was specified, and the opening area surrounded by the boundary was obtained.

  Next, based on the measurement result of the opening area, the influence of the opening area on the optical effect in each pixel was removed as follows.

  By dividing the opening area of the black matrix in each pixel by the design value, a correction coefficient for removing the influence of the opening area was obtained. Then, the correction coefficient is multiplied by the ink droplet interval calculated from the transmitted light amount of each pixel of the standard color filter described above. The ink droplet interval directly calculated from the measured transmitted light amount of each pixel directly reflects the difference in the opening area of the standard color filter. Therefore, by multiplying the correction coefficient, transmission by the opening area is performed. The amount of change in the amount of light is canceled out, and the ink droplet interval is corrected so that the optical effect as designed can be obtained when the opening area is the design value.

(Example 2)
In this example, the colored area is divided into a plurality of scanning areas, and the difference in the black matrix opening area between the two pixels is estimated by comparing the optical effects of pixels with the same coloring condition in the adjacent scanning areas. The color unevenness due to the influence of the opening area was reduced by correcting the coloring conditions and linearly complementing the coloring conditions of the pixels existing between the pixels.

  The color filter of this example is an R, G, B stripe array color filter in which 600 pixels in the vertical direction and 800 pixels in the horizontal direction (each color) are formed in the colored region of 12.1 inches (307 mm) diagonal as in the first embodiment. is there.

  FIG. 5 shows how the coloring region of the color filter in this example is divided into a plurality of scanning regions for coloring. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 31 denotes a substrate constituting the color filter. Reference numeral 32 denotes a colored region, which is a portion where colored pixels are arranged. The colored region 32 is divided into scanning regions 34a to 34d. Reference numerals 33a to 33c denote inkjet heads each having 207 nozzles for each color. The inkjet heads 33a to 33c apply ink while scanning each scanning region in the scanning direction. In FIG. 5, A to D are pixels to which ink is applied from the same nozzle.

  Since the pixels A to D are colored under the same coloring condition, the amount of light transmitted through the opening should be the same when illuminated with a constant light flux. However, in reality, the same value is not obtained due to the difference in the opening area of the black matrix. Accordingly, the amount of transmitted light of only one scanning region is measured, and the coloring conditions of all the scanning regions are corrected from only this measured value, and coloring is performed without removing the influence of the opening area. The optical effect in the pixel is as shown in FIG. In this example, the amount of transmitted light of each pixel was measured only in the scanning region of pixel numbers 208 to 414. The horizontal axis represents the number of each pixel, and the vertical axis represents the value obtained by dividing the radiant flux transmitted through the opening when each pixel is illuminated with a constant light flux by the amount of incident light. The horizontal axis in FIG. 6 corresponds to the position in the horizontal direction of the color filter in FIG.

  As is apparent from FIG. 6, in such a method, the optical effect is uniform in the region of the pixel numbers 208 to 414 to be measured, but the boundary of the scanning region (between the pixel numbers 207 and 208, (Between 414 and 415, between 621 and 622), the optical effect of each pixel becomes discontinuous, and it is recognized as significant color unevenness by the user and the examiner. The occurrence of color unevenness due to the scanning region does not compensate for the area distribution of the opening portion of the black matrix in the region of the pixel numbers 208 to 414 to be measured, and is therefore affected by the area distribution of the opening portions of 208 to 414. This is because the optical effect of the new color filter has been reached.

  Therefore, in FIG. 5, the light quantity was measured for each of 30 pixels with pixel numbers 208 to 237 and pixel numbers 415 to 444. Regarding the obtained light amount, the difference in transmitted light amount of each pixel of the corresponding former number separated by 207 pixels from the transmitted light amount of each pixel of the latter number (that is, the transmitted light amount of the pixel to which ink is applied from the same nozzle). Difference), and the difference in the radiant flux of light transmitted through a total of 30 pixels was averaged. A value obtained by dividing the average value by 207 is defined as A. Next, a corrected light amount value obtained by multiplying the above A by the pixel position is added to the transmitted light amount of each pixel of pixel numbers 208 to 414 as follows, and the light transmitted through each pixel with the pixel 311 in the center of the region as a reference is added. Linearly complement the radiant flux.

Correction light quantity value = A × (pixel number−311)
As a result, the influence of the aperture area distribution is removed from the transmitted light amount of the pixels with the pixel numbers 208 to 414. Therefore, if the coloring condition of each pixel in the region is corrected based on the corrected transmitted light amount, the color unevenness in each scanning region and the color unevenness at the boundary between adjacent scanning regions are reduced. In the above correction, the pixel number 311 is used as a reference, but any pixel from 208 to 414 may be used as a reference. Furthermore, an average value of some or all of these pixels may be used. Further, a design value of the transmitted light amount of the pixel may be used.

  As described above, a new color filter was colored after correction for removing the influence of the area distribution of the opening. The optical effect in each pixel of the obtained color filter is shown in FIG. As is apparent from FIG. 7, the color unevenness at the boundary of each region and the color unevenness in each scanning region having pixel numbers 1 to 207, 415 to 621, and 622 are reduced in FIG. I understand.

  Actually, a plurality of color filters were manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, and sensory evaluation was performed by a skilled inspector. In all cases, color unevenness was not recognized at all, or even if recognized, there was no practical problem. .

  Furthermore, the present inventors have a correlation between “whether color unevenness is not recognized at all or is practically acceptable even if it is recognized” and “deviation from the estimated value of the area of the opening” and We found a critical point where color unevenness is not recognized at all. This will be described below.

  By producing a color filter according to the procedure of this embodiment using a substrate having an area distribution of various openings, a color filter in which the deviation from the estimated value of the area of the opening has various values has been made. Comparison with sensory test results by inspectors was performed. The results are shown in the table below.

  In the table below, the difference between the estimated value of the opening area and the actual value is the percentage of the difference between the estimated value of the actual opening area for each pixel and the maximum value divided by the opening area. It is represented by. In the following table, the larger the experiment number, the larger the difference from the estimated value of the opening area.

  From the table below, it can be seen that when the difference between the estimated value of the opening area and the actual value is 0.51% or less, “unevenness is not recognized” is obtained. Further, when the content is 0.40% or less, all are “unevenness is not recognized”. From this result, in the method for estimating the area distribution of the opening of the pixel, the difference between the estimated value of the opening and the actual value is desirably 0.51% or less, and is 0.40% or less. It is even more desirable.

It is an example of the flowchart of the manufacturing method of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the measuring device of the optical effect and opening part area which are used with the manufacturing method of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the drawing apparatus used with the manufacturing method of this invention. It is a top view which shows an example of the state which provided the ink to the board | substrate in the manufacturing method of this invention. It is a top view which shows an example of the coloring area | region of the color filter manufactured with the manufacturing method of this invention. It is a figure which shows the optical effect of the color filter colored on the coloring conditions correct | amended without performing compensation of an opening part area in Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the optical effect of the color filter colored on the coloring conditions which compensated and compensated the opening part area in Example 2 of this invention. It is process drawing of an example of the manufacturing method of the color filter using an inkjet system. It is process drawing of the other example of the manufacturing method of the color filter using an inkjet system. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an example of the liquid crystal element of this invention. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the other example of the liquid crystal element of this invention. It is another example of the flowchart of the manufacturing method of this invention. It is another example of the flowchart of the manufacturing method of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing apparatus 2 Personal computer 3 Optical microscope 4 XY stage 5 CCD camera 6 Standard color filter 11 Drawing image 13 Drawing data generation apparatus 14 Driver 15a-15c Inkjet head 16, 17 Feeder 18 Stage 19 Drawing pattern 20 Substrate 21 Black matrix DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 22 Opening part 23 Colored part 24 Non-colored part 31 Substrate 32 Colored area 33a-33c Inkjet head 34a-34d Scanning area 41 Transparent substrate 42 Black matrix 43 Resin composition layer 44 Photomask 45 Uncolored part 46 Colored part 47 Inkjet Head 48 Ink 49 Colored part 50 Protective layer 51 Black matrix 52 Ink 53 Colored part 62 Common electrode 63 Alignment film 65 Substrate 66 Pixel electrode 67 Alignment film 68 Liquid Compound

Claims (10)

A method for producing a color filter having pixels in which the openings are colored by applying ink from an inkjet head to the openings of a black matrix on a substrate and coloring the openings,
Measuring or estimating areas of a plurality of openings in one substrate;
Determining each coloring condition for coloring each of the plurality of openings based on the result of the measurement or estimation; and
A step of applying ink from the inkjet head to each of the plurality of openings and coloring the openings based on the determined coloring conditions;
A method for producing a color filter, comprising: A method for producing a color filter having pixels in which the openings are colored by applying ink from an inkjet head to the openings of a black matrix on a substrate and coloring the openings,
Measuring or estimating the area of the plurality of openings in the first substrate;
Determining each coloring condition for coloring each of the plurality of openings based on the result of the measurement or estimation; and
Applying ink from the inkjet head to each of the plurality of openings in the second substrate based on the determined coloring conditions, and coloring the openings,
A method for producing a color filter, comprising: A method for producing a color filter having pixels in which the openings are colored by applying ink from an inkjet head to the openings of a black matrix on a substrate and coloring the openings,
A step of producing a first color filter by applying ink from the inkjet head based on a preset coloring condition to a plurality of openings on the first substrate;
Measuring or estimating areas of a plurality of openings in the first color filter;
Determining each coloring condition for coloring each of the plurality of openings in the second substrate based on the result of the measurement or estimation;
Producing a second color filter by applying ink from the inkjet head to each of a plurality of openings in the second substrate based on the determined coloring conditions;
A method for producing a color filter, comprising:   The color filter manufacturing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, in the determining step, different coloring conditions are defined for openings having different areas among the plurality of openings.   The color filter manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the coloring condition includes a condition related to an amount of ink applied to the opening.   The method for producing a color filter according to claim 1, wherein the ink contains a resin component that is cured by at least one of heat treatment and light treatment.   The method for producing a color filter according to claim 1, further comprising a step of curing the ink applied to the opening.   The method for producing a color filter according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has a resin composition layer.   The method for producing a color filter according to claim 8, wherein ink is applied to the resin composition layer corresponding to the opening. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal element having a color filter,
Preparing a color filter manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 1;
Preparing a counter substrate facing the color filter;
Encapsulating liquid crystal between the front color filter and the counter substrate;
A method for producing a liquid crystal element, comprising:

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