JP2006323252A - Liquid crystal apparatus, method for manufacturing liquid crystal apparatus, and projection display apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid crystal apparatus having both of favorable alignment characteristics and high reliability. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid crystal apparatus has a liquid crystal 50 held between a pair of substrates 10, 20, and is characterized in that: at least one substrate 10 of the pair of substrates has an alignment layer 1 on the surface in the liquid crystal 50 side; the alignment layer 1 essentially comprises an inorganic material component; and a liquid crystal substance is disposed and aligned on at least a part of at least the surface of the alignment layer 1 in the liquid crystal layer 50 side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid crystal device, a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device, and a projection display device.

In general, a liquid crystal device used as a light valve of a liquid crystal projector (projection display device) or a display such as a mobile phone has an alignment film for controlling the alignment of liquid crystal molecules on the outermost surface of a substrate sandwiching the liquid crystal layer. Is formed. As this alignment film, a film obtained by rubbing an organic film such as polyimide (organic alignment film) is widely used (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-100212 A

  However, such an organic alignment film is excellent in the alignment force, but is weak against heat and light, and has a problem that the alignment force gradually decreases with long-term use. For example, when it is mounted on a projector that is irradiated with high-intensity light, the alignment film is gradually modified by light or heat from the light source, and liquid crystal molecules may not be aligned in a desired alignment direction. Further, when such light deterioration occurs, the decomposition product may adversely affect the performance of the liquid crystal.

  As a means for solving this problem, a technique using an alignment film (inorganic alignment film) formed of an inorganic material for the alignment film has been proposed. The inorganic alignment film is generally formed by oblique deposition. However, although the inorganic alignment film is excellent in light resistance and heat resistance as compared with an organic alignment film composed of an organic material, there is a problem that the ability to align liquid crystal molecules is low. Further, since the inorganic alignment film has a weak interaction with the liquid crystal, there is a problem that it is difficult to ensure the alignment stability of the liquid crystal.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a liquid crystal device having both good alignment characteristics and high reliability, and a method for manufacturing the same. It is another object of the present invention to provide a projection type display device having both good display characteristics and high reliability by including such a liquid crystal device.

  In order to solve the above problems, a liquid crystal device according to the present invention is a liquid crystal device in which a liquid crystal is sandwiched between a pair of substrates, and the liquid crystal side surface of at least one of the pair of substrates is disposed on the surface on the liquid crystal side. The alignment film is composed mainly of an inorganic material component, and is at least a surface of the alignment film on the liquid crystal side, and a liquid crystalline substance is disposed on at least a part of the surface and aligned. It is characterized by being. Here, the liquid crystal substance specifically refers to a liquid crystal compound or a polymer having liquid crystallinity, as long as it is aligned by some kind of alignment treatment and can align the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer. It can be anything. In the present invention, these are collectively referred to as liquid crystalline substances. Further, “consisting mainly of an inorganic material component” means that the content of the inorganic material component in the alignment film exceeds 50 wt%.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to provide a liquid crystal device having both good alignment characteristics derived from a liquid crystalline substance and high reliability derived from an inorganic material component. In general, since alignment characteristics and reliability are in a trade-off relationship, both characteristics cannot be realized at the same time with the same alignment film. However, in the present invention, these two characteristics are separated from each other in the alignment film. By realizing this in part, it is possible to satisfy both characteristics simultaneously.

  In terms of alignment characteristics, organic materials other than liquid crystalline substances can be aligned and dispersed on the surface of the alignment film. For example, polyimide can be included in the surface of the alignment film. However, recently, development of liquid crystal materials has progressed, and liquid crystal materials that have higher light resistance than polyimide and can sufficiently withstand the high-intensity light used in projection display devices have been obtained. . For this reason, it can be said that it is more preferable from the viewpoint of reliability to use a liquid crystal material (liquid crystalline substance) whose light resistance is sufficiently ensured than to use polyimide whose light resistance is not yet sufficient. In addition, since such a liquid crystalline substance exhibits a good affinity with the liquid crystal layer, it is expected to exhibit better alignment stability.

In the present invention, the inorganic material component may be a metal oxide.
If the inorganic material component is a metal oxide, the interaction (affinity) with liquid crystal molecules is good, and it can be easily generated from a metal alkoxide described later.

In the present invention, the surface of the substrate may be subjected to alignment treatment (rubbing treatment or the like) for aligning the liquid crystalline substance.
According to this configuration, since the surface of the substrate subjected to the alignment treatment does not contact the liquid crystal, the influence of the alignment treatment (such as ravis) does not adversely affect the display characteristics. On the other hand, since the alignment film formed thereon contains a liquid crystalline substance, the film is formed in a state having alignment ability due to the influence of the alignment process of the base, even if the alignment film is simply formed. For this reason, sufficient orientation ability can be exhibited even if the surface is not subjected to orientation treatment again.

The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device in which a liquid crystal is sandwiched between a pair of substrates, and an alignment film is formed on the liquid crystal side surface of at least one of the pair of substrates. An alignment film for preparing an alignment film forming liquid comprising at least one of metal alkoxide or metal oxide fine particles and a liquid crystalline substance for aligning the liquid crystal. It includes a forming liquid preparation step, a coating film forming step of applying the alignment film forming liquid on the substrate to form a coating film, and a curing step of curing the coating film.
This method is generally called a sol-gel method. The sol-gel method is a relatively new method for producing ceramics. In the sol-gel method, a gel, which is a jelly-like solid, is produced by starting from a solution called a sol and undergoing hydrolysis and condensation polymerization. And by performing heat processing, the solvent left inside is removed and further densification is promoted to obtain ceramics. For this reason, the process temperature can be kept low compared to a method in which the raw material is melted and re-solidified, and the manufacturing apparatus is downsized compared to the case where a vapor phase method such as oblique deposition is used. In addition, the process can be simplified. In addition, since it can be manufactured at a low temperature using a chemical reaction, it is possible to combine an organic material and an inorganic material. The organic / inorganic composite material is a novel material that has the characteristics of both organic and inorganic materials. In the present invention, the organic material (liquid crystalline substance) has good orientation and the characteristics of the inorganic material. Therefore, it is possible to easily form a new alignment film having high reliability.

In the present invention, the coating film forming step includes a step of performing an alignment treatment for aligning the liquid crystalline substance on the surface of the substrate in advance before applying the alignment film forming liquid. it can.
According to this method, since the surface of the substrate subjected to the alignment treatment does not come into contact with the liquid crystal, the influence of the alignment treatment (such as ravis) does not adversely affect the display characteristics. On the other hand, since the alignment film formed thereon contains a liquid crystalline substance, the film having the alignment ability can be obtained by simply applying the alignment film forming liquid under the influence of the alignment process of the base. Is formed. For this reason, sufficient orientation ability can be exhibited even if the surface is not subjected to orientation treatment again.

A projection display device according to the present invention includes the above-described liquid crystal device according to the present invention or the liquid crystal device manufactured by the above-described manufacturing method according to the present invention.
According to this configuration, it is possible to provide a projection display device that has both good display characteristics and high reliability.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following embodiments, an active matrix liquid crystal device including a thin film transistor (TFT) as a pixel switching element will be described as an example. This liquid crystal device can be suitably used, for example, as a light valve (light modulation means) of a projection display device. In each drawing used in the following description, the scale is different for each layer and each member so that each layer and each member can be recognized on the drawing.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of the liquid crystal device 100 according to the present embodiment as viewed from the counter substrate side together with each component, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line HH ′ of FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an equivalent circuit of various elements and wirings in a plurality of pixels formed in a matrix in the image display area of the liquid crystal device.

[Overall configuration of liquid crystal display]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the liquid crystal display device 100 of the present embodiment, the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 are bonded together by a sealing material 52, and the liquid crystal is in a region partitioned by the sealing material 52. Layer 50 is encapsulated. A light shielding film (peripheral parting) 53 made of a light shielding material is formed in a region inside the region where the sealing material 52 is formed. A data line driving circuit 201 and an external circuit mounting terminal 202 are formed along one side of the TFT array substrate 10 in a region outside the sealing material 52, and the scanning line driving circuit is formed along two sides adjacent to the one side. 204 is formed. On the remaining side of the TFT array substrate 10, a plurality of wirings 205 are provided for connecting between the scanning line driving circuits 204 provided on both sides of the image display area. In addition, an inter-substrate conductive material 206 for providing electrical continuity between the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 is disposed at a corner portion of the counter substrate 20.

Instead of forming the data line driving circuit 201 and the scanning line driving circuit 204 on the TFT array substrate 10, for example, a TAB (Tape Automated Bonding) substrate on which a driving LSI is mounted and a peripheral portion of the TFT array substrate 10 The terminal group formed in the above may be electrically and mechanically connected via an anisotropic conductive film.
Further, in the liquid crystal display device 100, depending on the type of liquid crystal to be used, that is, depending on the operation mode such as TN (Twisted Nematic) mode, STN (Super Twisted Nematic) mode, and normally white mode / normally black mode. A retardation plate, a polarizing plate and the like are arranged in a predetermined direction, but are not shown here.

  In the image display area of the liquid crystal display device 100 having such a structure, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of dots 100a are arranged in a matrix, and each of these dots 100a has a pixel switching area. TFT 30 is formed, and a data line 6 a for supplying pixel signals S 1, S 2,..., Sn is electrically connected to the source of the TFT 30. Pixel signals S1, S2,..., Sn to be written to the data lines 6a may be supplied line-sequentially in this order, or may be supplied for each group to a plurality of adjacent data lines 6a. . Further, the scanning line 3a is electrically connected to the gate of the TFT 30, and the scanning signals G1, G2,..., Gm are applied to the scanning line 3a in a pulse-sequential manner in this order at a predetermined timing. It is configured. The pixel electrode 9 is electrically connected to the drain of the TFT 30, and the pixel signal S1, S2,..., Sn supplied from the data line 6a is obtained by turning on the TFT 30 as a switching element for a certain period. Write to each pixel at a predetermined timing. The pixel signals S1, S2,..., Sn written in the liquid crystal via the pixel electrode 9 in this way are held for a certain period with the counter electrode 21 of the counter substrate 20 shown in FIG. Further, in order to prevent the held pixel signals S1, S2,..., Sn from leaking, a storage capacitor 60 is added in parallel with the liquid crystal capacitor formed between the pixel electrode 9 and the counter electrode 21. Reference numeral 3 b denotes a capacity line constituting the storage capacity 60.

Next, a cross-sectional structure of the liquid crystal device 100 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the liquid crystal display device 100 according to the present embodiment has a basic structure in which a liquid crystal layer 50 is sandwiched between a TFT array substrate 10 and a counter substrate 20 made of transparent glass or the like that are opposed to each other vertically. It has.

  On the inner surface of the TFT array substrate 10, a pixel electrode 9 made of a transparent conductive film such as TFT 30 and ITO is provided for each pixel 100a arranged in a matrix. Actually, wiring lines such as the data line 6a and the scanning line 3a are formed, but these are not shown in FIG. 4A. An alignment film 1 is provided on the entire inner surface of the TFT array substrate 10 so as to cover the TFTs 30 and the pixel electrodes 9.

  A light shielding film 23 is provided on the inner surface of the counter substrate 20. The light-shielding film 23 is provided in a lattice shape along the edge of each pixel 100a where the TFT 30, wiring, etc. (data line 6a, scanning line 3a, etc.) are formed. A region where the illumination light is blocked by the light shielding film 23 is a non-illumination region, and a region where the illumination light is transmitted through the opening of the light shielding film 23 is an illumination region. Only the illumination area contributes to the display. On the inner surface of the counter substrate 20, a counter electrode 21 made of a transparent conductive film such as ITO is provided on the entire surface so as to cover the light shielding film 23, and further, an alignment film is formed on the entire image display region so as to cover the counter electrode 21. 2 is provided.

  A liquid crystal layer 50 is held between the substrates 10 and 20. As the liquid crystal material constituting the liquid crystal layer 50, any liquid crystal material may be used as long as it can be aligned, such as nematic liquid crystal and smectic liquid crystal. For example, phenylcyclohexane derivative liquid crystal, biphenyl derivative liquid crystal, biphenyl cyclohexane derivative liquid crystal, terphenyl derivative liquid crystal, phenyl ether derivative liquid crystal, phenyl ester derivative liquid crystal, bicyclohexane derivative liquid crystal, azomethine derivative liquid crystal, azoxy derivative liquid crystal, pyrimidine derivative liquid crystal, dioxane Examples include derivative liquid crystals and cubane derivative liquid crystals. Furthermore, liquid crystal molecules in which a fluorine-based substituent such as a monofluoro group, a difluoro group, a trifluoro group, a trifluoromethyl group, a trifluoromethoxy group, or a difluoromethoxy group is introduced into these nematic liquid crystal molecules are also included.

The alignment films 1 and 2 are mainly composed of the same inorganic material component such as SiO ₂ as the material component of the substrate 10. The alignment films 1 and 2 are formed by a sol-gel method using an alignment film forming liquid described later. The alignment films 1 and 2 contain a liquid crystalline substance, and the liquid crystalline substance is dispersed (aligned and dispersed) in a state having a certain orientation. Specifically, this liquid crystalline substance refers to a liquid crystal compound or a liquid crystalline polymer described later, but it is aligned by some kind of alignment treatment, and the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal 50 can be aligned by the alignment. Anything is acceptable. Since this liquid crystalline substance is dispersed and applied in the alignment film forming liquid, the alignment film contains such a liquid crystalline substance in a uniformly dispersed state. It is not necessarily required to be uniformly dispersed throughout the alignment film, and it is only necessary that the alignment films 1 and 2 are arranged and aligned on the surface in contact with the liquid crystal 50. In this specification, the liquid crystal substance arranged and oriented in this manner is referred to as “alignment dispersion”. In the liquid crystal device 100 of the present embodiment, the orientation dispersion is provided on at least the surfaces of the orientation films 1 and 2 as described above. The alignment state of the liquid crystal 50 when no voltage is applied (initial alignment state) is defined by the liquid crystal substance thus formed.

  Here, the ratio of the inorganic material component and the organic material component contained in the alignment film is set to an appropriate value from the viewpoint of the intensity of light incident on the alignment film, the required alignment characteristics, light resistance, and the like. The For example, when the projection side display device is used as a light valve (light modulation means), the content of the liquid crystal substance in the alignment film is preferably 0.5 wt% to 10 wt%. The reason why it is 0.5 wt% to 10 wt% is that the liquid crystal substance may not be disposed on the surface of the alignment film if it is less than 0.5 wt%, and if it exceeds 10 wt%, the light resistance of the alignment film is not suitable for a light valve. This is because it may be sufficient.

[Method of manufacturing liquid crystal device]
Next, a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device 100 will be described while paying attention to a method for forming an alignment film. FIG. 5 is a process flow showing a method for forming an alignment film.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the alignment film forming method of this embodiment includes an alignment film forming liquid preparation step (step S1) for preparing an alignment film forming liquid, and the obtained alignment film forming liquid is used as a substrate. A coating film forming step (step S2) for forming a coating film, a curing step (step S3) for curing the formed coating film, and an alignment processing step for applying an alignment treatment to the cured coating film (step S3). Step S4).

<Liquid preparation step for alignment film formation (S1)>
First, a sol solution containing a metal alkoxide as a main raw material is prepared, and a liquid crystalline substance is mixed therewith to prepare an alignment film forming liquid.
The metal alkoxide is a material represented by a general formula: M (OR) _n (M: metal, R: alkyl group). As the metal M, various materials such as Si, Al, Ti, In, Zn, Sn, V, Sr, and La can be used. Moreover, as the alkyl group R, a C1-C5 alkyl group can be mentioned as a representative example. In the present embodiment, the metal M is Si, and an organic silicon material is used. The organosilicon material is composed of a composite material of polysiloxane and an organic compound. This organosilicon material has excellent chemical stability, and has excellent light resistance as compared to an alignment film composed only of a conventional organic material.

Further, instead of the metal alkoxide, a sol solution containing metal oxide fine particles as a main material can be prepared, and a liquid crystal substance can be mixed therewith to prepare an alignment film forming liquid. In this case, the mechanical strength of the film is inferior to that of a film mainly composed of a metal alkoxide, but since it does not contain an alkoxide that is an organic substance, an alignment film having better light resistance can be obtained.
Furthermore, by adjusting to a mixed system of metal alkoxide and metal oxide fine particles, an alignment film having both film strength and light resistance can be obtained.

  As the liquid crystal substance, a liquid crystal compound similar to the liquid crystal compound included in the liquid crystal layer 50 can be used. This liquid crystal compound is a compound that has a rigid group AX-B and terminal flexible groups Y and Z and itself exhibits a liquid crystal phase. Examples of such liquid crystal compounds include those shown in the following general formula (1) and Table 1.

  As the liquid crystalline substance, a polymer obtained by polymerizing a polymer precursor dispersed in an inorganic material component may be used. As such a polymer precursor, one having a liquid crystal phase itself can be used, and for example, a liquid crystal ultraviolet curable monomer or an oligomer thereof can be used. Specifically, a UV curable liquid crystal manufactured by Dainippon Ink & Chemicals, Inc. described in Table 2 or Table 3 below can be used alone or in combination.

  A solvent or the like can be added to the alignment film forming liquid as necessary. Moreover, you may add a hardening | curing agent (polymerization initiator) as needed. Thereby, hardening of a coating film which is mentioned later can be performed easily. Furthermore, if necessary, the alignment film forming liquid can be subjected to a filtration treatment, whereby impurities contained in the alignment film forming liquid can be removed, and an alignment film having a uniform thickness can be efficiently obtained. Can be formed.

<Coating film formation process (S2)>
Next, the alignment film forming liquid obtained in the above step is applied onto the substrate 10 to form a coating film composed of the alignment film forming liquid.
Examples of the method for applying the alignment film forming liquid include a gravure coating method, a bar coating method, a spray coating method, a spin coating method, a knife coating method, a roll coating method, a die coating method, an ink jet method, and a flexo coating method. It is done. These methods can be selected or used in combination as required.

  The coating film can be subjected to an orientation treatment by an electric field or a magnetic field. By applying an electric field, a magnetic field, or the like with fluidity before curing, the alignment direction of the liquid crystalline substances in the coating film can be aligned in a predetermined direction. If sufficient orientation characteristics are obtained at this stage, the orientation treatment after curing (step S4) can be omitted.

<Curing step (S3)>
Next, the coating film is cured, and the alignment film 1 is formed on the entire surface of the substrate 10.
The coating film can be cured by, for example, heat treatment, energy ray irradiation treatment, or the like. Examples of energy rays include visible light, ultraviolet light, radiation, infrared light, and the like. By performing such a treatment, the curing reactive groups as described above are radically polymerized, cationically polymerized, polycondensed, etc. in the coating film, and the coating film is cured to form an alignment film.

The coating film is particularly preferably cured after removing moisture, solvent, and the like contained in the alignment film forming liquid constituting the coating film (after drying the coating film). Thereby, an alignment film having a stable film thickness can be efficiently formed.
Moreover, you may perform hardening of a coating film, for example, after irradiating an energy beam and pre-hardening a coating film, and carrying out the main hardening by heat processing. That is, the coating film may be cured by temporarily curing the coating film with a relatively low energy once and then completely curing it. Thereby, an alignment film having a stable film thickness can be formed more efficiently.

<Orientation treatment step (S4)>
Next, an alignment treatment such as rubbing is performed on the cured alignment film 1.
As the alignment treatment, in addition to rubbing, ion milling for applying a pretilt, irradiation with polarized light, or the like may be performed. By these treatments, the liquid crystalline substance in the alignment film is aligned and exhibits a certain alignment force with respect to the liquid crystal 50.
Thus, the TFT array substrate 10 including the alignment film 1 is formed.

Next, the alignment film 2 having the same structure is formed on the surface of the counter substrate 20 using the same method. Then, these substrates 10 and 20 are bonded together via a sealing material 52 provided in a frame shape, and liquid crystal is filled in the frame of the sealing material 52. Thereafter, a polarizing plate or the like is attached to the outer surface side of the substrates 10 and 20 as necessary.
Thus, the liquid crystal device 100 is completed.

  As described above, in the liquid crystal device 100 of the present embodiment, since the alignment films 1 and 2 are made of a mixed material of an inorganic material and a liquid crystalline substance, the alignment characteristics derived from the liquid crystalline substance are excellent. A liquid crystal device having high reliability derived from an inorganic material component can be provided. In general, since alignment characteristics and reliability are in a trade-off relationship, both characteristics cannot be realized simultaneously with the same alignment film. However, in the present embodiment, these two characteristics are separated in the alignment film. By realizing in this part, it is possible to satisfy both characteristics simultaneously. Further, since the alignment films 1 and 2 are mainly composed of inorganic material components, the adhesion between the alignment films 1 and 2 and the substrates 10 and 20 is also good.

  In addition, since the alignment films 1 and 2 are formed by a sol-gel method that is a liquid phase method, the process can be simplified as compared with a conventional method using a vapor phase method such as oblique deposition. it can. In addition, since it can be produced at a low temperature using a chemical reaction, it is possible to combine an organic material and an inorganic material. An organic / inorganic composite material is a novel material having both characteristics of an organic material and an inorganic material. In this embodiment, the organic material (liquid crystalline substance) has a good orientation and an inorganic material. It becomes possible to easily form novel alignment films 1 and 2 having high reliability that is a characteristic.

  In terms of alignment characteristics, organic materials other than liquid crystalline substances can be aligned and dispersed on the surfaces of the alignment films 1 and 2. For example, polyimide can be included in the surfaces of the alignment films 1 and 2. However, recently, development of liquid crystal materials has progressed, and liquid crystal materials that have higher light resistance than polyimide and can sufficiently withstand the high-intensity light used in projection display devices have been obtained. . For this reason, it can be said that it is more preferable from the viewpoint of reliability to use a liquid crystal material (liquid crystalline substance) whose light resistance is sufficiently ensured than to use polyimide whose light resistance is not yet sufficient. In addition, since such a liquid crystalline substance exhibits good affinity with the liquid crystal 50, it is expected to exhibit better alignment stability.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 6 is a process flow showing the manufacturing process, and corresponds to FIG. 5 of the first embodiment. The manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device of the present embodiment is basically the same as the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device of the first embodiment. The difference is that the treatment for imparting orientation is performed before forming the coating film. It is only a point. For this reason, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the component which is common in 1st Embodiment, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the present embodiment, first, before the coating film is formed, the surface of the substrate 10 is subjected to an alignment process (step S5). In this alignment treatment, the surface of the substrate 10 may be simply rubbed, or a film such as polyimide may be formed on the substrate 10 in advance and the alignment may be imparted by rubbing the film. In order to make the surface streaks due to rubbing inconspicuous, it is also effective to remove unnecessary substances by performing plasma treatment thereafter.

  When the alignment process is completed, the alignment film forming liquid is applied onto the substrate 10 by the same method as in the first embodiment (step S2). Since the surface of the substrate has the alignment ability by the above-described alignment treatment, when the alignment film forming liquid is applied thereon, the liquid crystalline substance contained in the liquid is subjected to the alignment treatment of the substrate 10. A film is formed in a state where it is oriented in one direction under the influence and has orientation ability. At this time, if necessary, an orientation treatment by an external field such as an electric field or a magnetic field can be performed. In the state of having fluidity before curing, it is possible to promote the alignment of the liquid crystalline substance by the influence of the external field, and as a result, a film with good alignment characteristics can be formed compared to the case where a coating film is simply formed. Can be formed.

Next, the coating film is cured to form the alignment film 1 (step S3).
In curing, it is necessary to prevent the alignment state of the liquid crystal substance in the coating film from being lost as much as possible. When the liquid crystalline substance is composed of a photopolymerizable polymer precursor, in order to fix the alignment state of the liquid crystalline substance, the coating film is temporarily cured by irradiation with ultraviolet rays, and then main curing is performed by heating and baking. Is desirable.
The cured alignment film may be subjected to an alignment treatment such as rubbing, ion milling or polarized light irradiation as necessary. In this embodiment, since the orientation process (step S5) is performed before the coating film is formed, the orientation process after the coating film is cured is auxiliary and can be omitted.

Next, the alignment film 2 is formed on the surface of the counter substrate 20 using the same method. Then, these substrates 10 and 20 are bonded together via a sealing material 52 provided in a frame shape, and liquid crystal is filled in the frame of the sealing material 52. Thereafter, a polarizing plate or the like is attached to the outer surface side of the substrates 10 and 20 as necessary.
Thus, the liquid crystal device is completed.

  In the present embodiment, since the alignment-treated surface does not contact the liquid crystal 50, the influence of the alignment treatment (such as ravis) does not adversely affect the display characteristics. On the other hand, since the alignment films 1 and 2 formed thereon contain a liquid crystalline material, the alignment films 1 and 2 are in a state having alignment ability even if the alignment film forming liquid is simply applied. A film is formed. For this reason, sufficient orientation ability can be exhibited even if the surface is not subjected to orientation treatment again.

[Projection type display device]
Next, a projection type display device which is a specific example of the electronic apparatus of the invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a main part of the projection display device. This projection type display device includes the liquid crystal device according to each of the above-described embodiments as light modulation means.

  7, 810 is a light source, 813 and 814 are dichroic mirrors, 815, 816 and 817 are reflection mirrors, 818 is an incident lens, 819 is a relay lens, 820 is an exit lens, and 822, 823 and 824 are liquid crystal devices of the present invention. 825 is a cross dichroic prism, and 826 is a projection lens. The light source 810 includes a lamp 811 such as a metal halide and a reflector 812 that reflects the light of the lamp.

  The dichroic mirror 813 transmits red light contained in white light from the light source 810 and reflects blue light and green light. The transmitted red light is reflected by the reflection mirror 817 and is incident on the light modulation means 822 for red light. The green light reflected by the dichroic mirror 813 is reflected by the dichroic mirror 814 and is incident on the light modulating means 823 for green light. Further, the blue light reflected by the dichroic mirror 813 passes through the dichroic mirror 814. For blue light, in order to prevent light loss due to a long optical path, a light guide means 821 comprising a relay lens system including an incident lens 818, a relay lens 819, and an exit lens 820 is provided. Blue light is incident on the light modulating means 824 for blue light through the light guiding means 821. Note that the liquid crystal devices of the above-described embodiments are employed for the respective light modulation means 822, 823, and 824.

  The three color lights modulated by the respective light modulation means are incident on the cross dichroic prism 825. The cross dichroic prism 825 is formed by bonding four right-angle prisms. A dielectric multilayer film that reflects red light and a dielectric multilayer film that reflects blue light are formed in an X shape at the interface. Yes. These dielectric multilayer films combine the three color lights to form light representing a color image. The synthesized light is projected onto the screen 827 by the projection lens 826 which is a projection optical system, and the image is enlarged and displayed.

  Since the projection type display device employs the liquid crystal device of each of the above-described embodiments, even when high-intensity light irradiation is performed, the photodegradation of the alignment film does not progress as much as in the past. Therefore, stable display can be performed over a long period of time.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples. Various shapes, combinations, and the like of the constituent members shown in the above-described examples are examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention.
The liquid crystal device of the present invention is not limited to the light modulation means of the projection display device, but is an electronic book, a personal computer, a digital still camera, a liquid crystal television, a viewfinder type or a monitor direct view type video tape recorder, a car navigation device, Electronic devices that can be suitably used as image display means for devices such as pagers, electronic notebooks, calculators, word processors, workstations, videophones, POS terminals, touch panels, etc., all of which are highly reliable and excellent in display quality Can be provided.

It is a top view which shows the liquid crystal device of 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which follows the H-H 'line | wire of FIG. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram of various elements, wirings, and the like in a plurality of pixels formed in a matrix in the image display region of the liquid crystal device. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a cross-sectional structure of the liquid crystal device. 4 is a process flow illustrating a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device. It is a process flow which shows the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the projection type display apparatus which is an example of an electronic device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, ... Alignment film, 10 ... TFT array substrate, 20 ... Opposite substrate, 50 ... Liquid crystal, 100 ... Liquid crystal device

Claims (6)

A liquid crystal device having a liquid crystal sandwiched between a pair of substrates,
Of the pair of substrates, at least one substrate has an alignment film on the liquid crystal side surface,
The alignment film is mainly composed of an inorganic material component, and is at least a surface of the alignment film on the liquid crystal side, and a liquid crystalline substance is disposed and aligned on at least a part of the surface. Liquid crystal device.   The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the inorganic material component is a metal oxide.   The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein an alignment process for aligning the liquid crystalline substance is performed on a surface of the substrate. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device in which a liquid crystal is sandwiched between a pair of substrates,
A step of forming an alignment film on the liquid crystal side surface of at least one of the pair of substrates;
The step of forming the alignment film includes
An alignment film forming liquid preparation step of preparing an alignment film forming liquid comprising at least one of metal alkoxide or metal oxide fine particles and a liquid crystalline material for aligning the liquid crystal;
A coating film forming step of applying the alignment film forming liquid on the substrate and forming a coating film;
And a curing process for curing the coating film.   5. The coating film forming step includes a step of performing an alignment process for aligning the liquid crystalline substance on the surface of the substrate in advance before applying the alignment film forming liquid. A manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device according to the description. A projection display device comprising the liquid crystal device according to claim 1 or the liquid crystal device manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 4 or 5.

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