JP2006206372A - Method of repairing glass substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of repairing a glass substrate by which the glass substrate on which crack occurs is surely repaired. <P>SOLUTION: A metallic film 12 for repairing is previously formed at least on one surface of the glass substrate 11 and the crack caused on the glass substrate 11 is repaired by irradiating the crack formed part with laser light through the metallic film 12 for repairing to melt the crack formed part. Or the crack can be repaired by forming a metallic film on a part where the crack occurs by a laser CVD method and irradiating with laser light. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for repairing a glass substrate in which a crack has occurred, and more particularly, to a method for repairing a glass substrate constituting a liquid crystal panel or the like.

  A liquid crystal display device has advantages that it is thin and lightweight, can be driven at a low voltage and consumes less power, and is widely used in various electronic devices. In particular, an active matrix type liquid crystal display device in which a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) is provided as a switching element for each pixel (sub-pixel) is superior to the CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube) in terms of display quality. Therefore, it is widely used for displays such as televisions and personal computers.

  A general liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel having a structure in which liquid crystal is sealed between two substrates disposed to face each other. A switching element such as a TFT and a pixel electrode are formed on one substrate, and a common electrode is formed on the other substrate. Hereinafter, a substrate on which switching elements such as TFTs and pixel electrodes are formed is referred to as a “TFT substrate”, and a substrate on which common electrodes are formed is referred to as an “opposing substrate”.

  The TFT substrate and the counter substrate are manufactured by using glass substrates and providing respective elements and electrodes through processes such as cleaning, sputtering, patterning, and etching. Moreover, a liquid crystal panel is manufactured by bonding these substrates.

  In such a manufacturing process of each substrate or liquid crystal panel, a glass substrate is often housed in a cassette or fixed using a clamp. However, during such operations, the end of the glass substrate may come into contact with the cassette or the clamp, and a crack may occur at the end of the glass substrate.

  Such a crack may reach a length of several mm, and if the subsequent steps are performed in such a state, the crack may grow and the glass substrate may be damaged.

In order to solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-111497 discloses a glass substrate by preparing a liquid crystal panel and then irradiating the end surface of the glass substrate with laser light to melt the glass at the crack generation portion. It is described to be repaired.
JP 10-1111497 (Claims 1 and 2, paragraph number 0018)

  However, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-111497, the glass surface is irradiated with laser light, so that the energy absorption efficiency with respect to the glass substrate is poor. Therefore, since the glass at the crack generation part cannot be reliably melted, the glass substrate may not be sufficiently repaired, and there is still room for improvement.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for repairing a glass substrate that can more reliably repair a glass substrate having cracks.

  The method for repairing a glass substrate according to the present invention for solving the above-described problem is that the repair metal film is formed on at least one surface of the glass substrate, and the crack is generated in the glass substrate. The crack generation part is irradiated with laser light through a metal film to melt the glass and repair the crack.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the repair metal film is formed on an edge of the glass substrate.

  In the present invention, the glass substrate is a thin film transistor forming substrate, and the repair metal film is preferably formed simultaneously with the gate electrode or the source / drain electrode of the thin film transistor.

  The method for repairing a glass substrate according to the present invention for solving the above-described problem includes a step of forming a repair metal film on a crack generating portion on at least one surface of a cracked glass substrate, and the repair metal film. And the step of irradiating the crack generation part with a laser beam to melt the glass and repair the crack.

  In the present invention, the glass substrate is preferably a thin film transistor forming substrate.

  According to the present invention, by irradiating the crack generating portion of the glass substrate with laser light through the repair metal film, the repair metal film absorbs the laser light and generates heat, so that the glass is easily melted. Therefore, it becomes possible to repair the glass substrate more reliably.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
In the first embodiment, a repair metal film is formed in advance on a glass substrate. FIG. 1A is a plan view illustrating an example of a glass substrate on which a repair metal film is formed, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I in FIG.

  The repair metal film is preferably formed at a location where a crack of the glass substrate is likely to occur. For example, since a glass substrate is liable to crack at the end due to contact, a metal film for repair 12 is formed on the edge of the glass substrate 11 as shown in FIG.

  The repair metal film may be formed on at least one surface on both sides in the thickness direction of the glass substrate. From the viewpoint of more reliably repairing the glass substrate, as shown in FIG. It is preferable to form a metal film for repair 12 on both surfaces of 11.

  As a material for the metal film for repair, it is preferable to use aluminum, titanium, chromium, or the like from the viewpoint of efficiently melting the glass in the crack generation portion by laser light irradiation.

  The repair metal film is formed by forming a metal film on a glass substrate by sputtering, vapor deposition, electrolytic plating, electroless plating, or the like, and then patterning.

  The thickness of the metal film for repair is preferably 100 nm or more. When the thickness of the metal film for repair is less than 100 nm, the laser beam passes through the metal film for repair, and it is difficult to efficiently melt the glass.

  When the metal film for repair 12 is formed on the peripheral surface of the glass substrate 11 as shown in FIG. 1A, the width of the metal film for repair 12 takes into account the length of cracks generated in the glass substrate 11, It is preferable that it is 1-2 mm.

  In the present embodiment, when a crack occurs in the glass substrate on which the repair metal film is formed, the glass substrate is repaired by irradiating the crack generation portion with laser light through the repair metal film and melting the glass. To do.

  2A and 2B are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating a method for repairing a crack generated in a glass substrate. As shown in FIG. 2A, when the cracked portion of the glass substrate 11 is irradiated with laser light through the repair metal film 12, the repair metal film 12 absorbs the laser light and generates heat. As shown in (B), the glass in the vicinity of the repairing metal film 12 is melted to repair the cracks. In FIG. 2A, an arrow indicates a laser beam, and in FIG. 2B, reference numeral 11a indicates a portion where the glass is melted by the laser beam.

As the laser light, for example, a YAG laser having a wavelength of 1 μm can be used, and the irradiation intensity is about 52 mJ / 100 μm ² . When the repair metal film 12 is formed on both surfaces of the glass substrate 11 as shown in FIG. 1B, it is preferable to irradiate laser light from both surfaces of the glass substrate 11.

  Specifically, the method for repairing a glass substrate of the present embodiment can be used in a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal panel. The liquid crystal panel will be briefly described below.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view showing one pixel of the liquid crystal panel, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the liquid crystal panel includes a TFT substrate 110 and a counter substrate 130 that are arranged to face each other, and a liquid crystal 140 that is sealed between the TFT substrate 110 and the counter substrate 130. Yes.

  3 and 4, the TFT substrate 110 includes a glass substrate 111 serving as a base, a plurality of gate bus lines 112 formed on the glass substrate 111 and extending in the horizontal direction (X direction), and a vertical direction (Y Data bus line 117 extending in the direction), TFT 118, pixel electrode 121, and the like. Further, the TFT substrate 110 is formed with a storage capacitor bus line 113 which is arranged in parallel with the gate bus line 112 and crosses the center of the pixel region. The regions partitioned by the gate bus lines 112 and the data bus lines 117 are pixel regions, and a pixel electrode 121, a TFT 118, and an auxiliary capacitance electrode 119 are formed for each pixel region.

  A first insulating film (gate insulating film) 114 is formed on the gate bus line 112 and the auxiliary capacitor bus line 113. In a predetermined region on the first insulating film 114, a semiconductor film 115 serving as an active layer of the TFT 118 is formed. A channel protective film 116 is formed on the semiconductor film 115, and a data bus line 117 connected to the source electrode 118 a and the drain electrode 118 b of the TFT 118 and an auxiliary capacitance electrode are formed on both sides of the channel protective film 116. 119 is formed. As shown in FIG. 4, the auxiliary capacitance electrode 119 is formed at a position facing the auxiliary capacitance bus line 113 with the first insulating film 114 interposed therebetween, and the auxiliary capacitance bus line 113, the auxiliary capacitance electrode 119, and their capacity An auxiliary capacitor is formed by the first insulating film 114 therebetween.

  In the illustrated liquid crystal panel, a part of the gate bus line 112 serves as the gate electrode of the TFT 118, and the source electrode 118 a and the drain electrode 118 b of the TFT 118 are disposed on both sides in the width direction of the channel protective film 116, respectively. . The source electrode 118a is electrically connected to the pixel electrode 121 through a contact hole 120a formed in the second insulating film 120, and the drain electrode 118b is electrically connected to the data bus line 117. The pixel electrode 121 is electrically connected to the auxiliary capacitance electrode 119 through a contact hole 120 b provided in the second insulating film 120. Furthermore, an alignment film (not shown) that determines the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules when no electric field is applied is formed on the pixel electrode 121.

  On the other hand, the counter substrate 130 includes a glass substrate 131 serving as a base, and a black matrix 132, an insulating film 133, and a common electrode 134 formed on one surface side (lower side in FIG. 4) of the glass substrate 131. ing. The black matrix 132 is formed so as to cover the area between the pixels and the TFT formation area. The insulating film 133 is formed on the lower side of the glass substrate 131 so as to cover the black matrix 132. A common electrode 134 is formed under the insulating film 133, and an alignment film (not shown) is formed under the common electrode.

  When the method for repairing a glass substrate according to this embodiment is used for repairing the glass substrate 111 constituting the TFT substrate 110 as described above, it is preferable to form a repair metal film simultaneously with the gate bus line 112. When the repair metal film is formed at the same time as the gate bus line 112, the repair metal film can be formed without increasing new processes. If a crack occurs in the glass substrate 111 after the repair metal film and the gate bus line 112 are formed, the crack can be repaired by irradiating the crack generation portion with a laser beam through the repair metal film. It is possible to suppress the progress of cracks during the process after the formation of the repair metal film or the like.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a TFT substrate manufactured by forming a repair metal film and a gate bus line at the same time. 5 that are the same as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing the TFT substrate 210 will be described. First, a first metal film is formed on the glass substrate 111, and this metal film is patterned by photolithography to form a repair metal film 122, a gate bus line 112, and an auxiliary capacitance bus line 113. Thereafter, a first insulating film (gate insulating film) 114 is formed on the entire upper surface of the glass substrate 111 by, for example, SiO ₂ or SiN, and a first semiconductor film serving as an operation layer of a thin film transistor (TFT) is formed thereon. (Amorphous silicon film or polysilicon film) 115 and a SiN film to be the channel protective film 116 are formed. Thereafter, the channel protection film 116 is formed by patterning the SiN film by photolithography.

  Next, a second semiconductor film in which an impurity serving as an ohmic contact layer is introduced at a high concentration is formed on the entire upper surface of the glass substrate 111, and then a second metal film is formed on the second semiconductor film. . Then, the second metal film, the second semiconductor film, and the first semiconductor film are patterned by a photolithography method to determine the shape of the operation layer (semiconductor film 115) of the TFT 118, the data bus line 117, the source An electrode 118a, a drain electrode 118b, and an auxiliary capacitance electrode 119 are formed.

  Next, an insulating film 120 is formed on the entire upper surface of the glass substrate 111, and contact holes 120 a and 120 b are formed at predetermined positions of the insulating film 120. Thereafter, a film made of a transparent conductor such as ITO (Indium-Tin Oxide) is formed on the entire upper surface of the glass substrate 111. Then, the pixel electrode 121 electrically connected to the source electrode 118a of the TFT 118 through the contact hole 120a is formed by patterning this transparent conductor film. Thereafter, an alignment film made of polyimide is formed on the entire upper surface of the glass substrate 111, whereby the TFT substrate 210 is obtained.

  From the viewpoint of forming the repair metal film without increasing new processes, it is also preferable to form the repair metal film simultaneously with the source electrode 118a and the drain electrode 118b. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the TFT substrate manufactured as described above. 6 that are the same as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The TFT substrate 310 is obtained by forming the repair metal film 123 simultaneously with the data bus line 117, the source electrode 118a, the drain electrode 118b, and the auxiliary capacitance electrode 119 in the manufacturing method of the TFT substrate 210 described above.

  Further, when the method for repairing a glass substrate according to the present embodiment is used for repairing the glass substrate 131 serving as the base of the counter substrate 130, it is preferable to form a metal film for repair simultaneously with the black matrix 132. Even in such a case, the repair metal film can be formed without increasing the number of new steps.

  FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a counter substrate manufactured by simultaneously forming a repair metal film and a black matrix. 7 that are the same as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals. Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing the counter substrate 410 will be described.

  First, a metal film such as Cr is formed on the glass substrate 131, and the metal film is patterned to form a repair metal film 135 and a black matrix 132. Thereafter, an insulating film 133 is formed on the glass substrate 131. In the case of manufacturing a color liquid crystal display panel, the insulating film 133 is formed of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) resins, and any one of red, green, and blue is used for each pixel. A color insulating film 133 is provided.

  Next, the common electrode 134 is formed on the insulating film 133 with a transparent conductor such as ITO, and then an alignment film made of polyimide is formed on the common electrode 134, whereby the counter substrate 410 is obtained.

  According to the method for repairing a glass substrate of the present embodiment, if a crack occurs in the glass substrate during the manufacture of the TFT substrate or the counter substrate or during the production of the liquid crystal panel, the crack can be repaired each time. Can be prevented from growing and damaging the glass substrate.

  In addition, dust may be generated due to breakage of the glass substrate. When dust is generated, an error is likely to occur in a manufacturing facility such as a liquid crystal panel, and the production capacity may be reduced. However, according to the method for repairing a glass substrate of the present embodiment, the glass substrate can be prevented from being damaged, so that a reduction in production capacity can be suppressed.

  Note that the glass substrate repairing method of the present embodiment can be used for repairing various glass substrates. In addition to repairing the glass substrate constituting the liquid crystal panel as described above, for example, a plasma display panel or an organic It can also be used for repairing a glass substrate constituting a display panel such as a luminescence (organic EL) panel.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. 8A to 8C are plan process diagrams illustrating an example of the glass substrate repair method according to the present embodiment.

  In the method for repairing a glass substrate according to the present embodiment, when a crack occurs in the glass substrate 21 (FIG. 8A), the repairing metal film 22 is formed on a crack generating portion on at least one surface of the glass substrate 21. (FIG. 8 (B)), the crack is repaired by melting the glass by irradiating the crack generating portion with laser light through the repair metal film 22 (FIG. 8 (C)). In addition, the code | symbol 21a shows the part which the glass substrate 21 fuse | melted with the laser beam.

  In the method for repairing a glass substrate according to this embodiment, the glass substrate can be easily repaired by forming a metal film for repair using a laser CVD method.

  The laser CVD method is a method in which a desired metal is deposited to form a film by irradiating a portion to be formed with a laser beam while supplying an organic metal gas of a desired metal and a carrier gas.

In the laser CVD method, tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr), or the like can be selected as a metal for forming the repair metal film. Further, metal carbonyl is used as the organometallic gas of these metals. For example, when the metal is chromium, Cr (Co) ₆ is used.

  For example, a repair metal film made of tungsten supplies a film gas in which a tungsten carbonyl gas is included in a carrier gas (for example, argon gas) at a flow rate of 90 ml / min to a glass substrate and is irradiated with a YAG laser beam having a wavelength of 355 nm. The intensity is 0.2-0.4 in terms of attenuator value, and it is obtained by one-way irradiation at a scanning speed of 3.0 μm / sec. The thickness of the repair metal film (tungsten film) is about 400 to 600 nm.

  The preferred thickness of the repair metal film, the type of laser light for melting the glass at the crack generation portion, and the irradiation conditions are the same as in the first embodiment.

  Further, the glass substrate repair method of the present embodiment can also be used for repair of various glass substrates as in the first embodiment. For example, a display panel such as a liquid crystal panel, a plasma display panel, an organic EL panel, or the like. It can be used for repairing the glass substrate that constitutes.

  According to the method for repairing a glass substrate of the present embodiment, as in the case of the first embodiment, when a crack occurs in the glass substrate during the production of a liquid crystal panel or the like, the crack can be repaired each time. It is possible to prevent cracks from growing and damaging the glass substrate. Also, the glass substrate repair method of the present embodiment can prevent the generation of dust due to the breakage of the glass substrate, as in the first embodiment, and thus has an effect of suppressing a decrease in production capacity.

  Hereinafter, various aspects of the present invention will be collectively described as supplementary notes.

(Appendix 1) A metal film for repair is formed on at least one surface of the glass substrate,
A method for repairing a glass substrate, comprising: when a crack is generated in the glass substrate, irradiating the crack generation portion with a laser beam through the repair metal film to melt the glass to repair the crack.

  (Supplementary note 2) The method for repairing a glass substrate according to supplementary note 1, wherein the metal film for restoration is formed on an edge of the glass substrate.

  (Additional remark 3) The said metal film for a repair is formed by sputtering method, a vapor deposition method, or the plating method, The repair method of the glass substrate of Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned.

  (Additional remark 4) The said glass substrate is a substrate for thin-film transistor formation, The said metal film for a repair is formed simultaneously with the gate electrode or source / drain electrode of a thin-film transistor, The any one of additional remark 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Glass substrate repair method.

  (Additional remark 5) The said glass substrate is a substrate for liquid crystal panels, The said metal film for a repair is formed simultaneously with a black matrix, The repair method of the glass substrate of any one of Additional remark 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned.

  (Supplementary note 6) The method for repairing a glass substrate according to supplementary note 1, wherein the metal film for repair is formed on both surfaces of the glass substrate.

(Appendix 7) A step of forming a repair metal film on a crack generating portion on at least one surface of a glass substrate in which a crack has occurred;
A method of repairing a glass substrate, comprising: irradiating the crack generating portion with a laser beam through the repair metal film to melt the glass to repair the crack.

  (Supplementary note 8) The method for repairing a glass substrate according to supplementary note 7, wherein the metal film for repair is formed by a laser CVD method.

  (Additional remark 9) The said glass substrate is a substrate for thin-film transistor formation, The repair method of the glass substrate of Additional remark 7 or 8 characterized by the above-mentioned.

  (Additional remark 10) The said glass substrate is a substrate for liquid crystal panels, The repair method of the glass substrate of Additional remark 7 or 8 characterized by the above-mentioned.

FIG. 1A is a plan view illustrating an example of a glass substrate on which a repair metal film is formed, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I in FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of the glass substrate repair method according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing one pixel of the liquid crystal panel. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a TFT substrate manufactured by forming a repair metal film and a gate bus line at the same time. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a TFT substrate manufactured by simultaneously forming a repair metal film and a source electrode and a drain electrode. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a counter substrate manufactured by simultaneously forming a repair metal film and a black matrix. 8A to 8C are plan process diagrams illustrating an example of a glass substrate repair method according to the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

11, 21, 111, 131 Glass substrate 12, 22, 122, 123, 135 Repair metal film 110, 210, 310 TFT substrate 112 Gate bus line 113 Auxiliary capacitance bus line 114 First insulating film 115 Semiconductor film 116 Channel protection Membrane 117 Data bus line 118 TFT
118a source electrode 118b drain electrode 119 auxiliary capacitance electrode 120 second insulating film 120a, 120b contact hole 121 pixel electrode 130, 410 counter substrate 132 black matrix 133 insulating film 134 common electrode 140 liquid crystal

Claims (5)

Form a repair metal film on at least one surface of the glass substrate,
A method for repairing a glass substrate, comprising: when a crack is generated in the glass substrate, irradiating the crack generation portion with a laser beam through the repair metal film to melt the glass to repair the crack.   The method for repairing a glass substrate according to claim 1, wherein the metal film for repair is formed on an edge of the glass substrate.   3. The method of repairing a glass substrate according to claim 1, wherein the glass substrate is a thin film transistor forming substrate, and the repair metal film is formed simultaneously with a gate electrode or a source / drain electrode of the thin film transistor. Forming a repair metal film on a crack generating portion of at least one surface of the glass substrate where the crack has occurred;
And a step of irradiating the crack generating portion with a laser beam through the repair metal film to melt the glass and repairing the crack.   The method for repairing a glass substrate according to claim 4, wherein the glass substrate is a substrate for forming a thin film transistor.

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