JP2006326379A - Manufacturing method of electro-optical apparatus, droplet ejection apparatus and method of inspecting ejection quantity - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of an electro-optical apparatus capable of controlling the quantity of an ejected liquid appropriately, a droplet ejection apparatus and a method of inspecting the ejection quantity. <P>SOLUTION: A liquid ejection apparatus 20 has an ejection head 32 and ejects fine droplets toward a mother substrate 25 from the head 32. A weighing pan 47 for inspection of the ejection quantity is arranged on the substrate 25, and a carrying robot 41 moving the weighing pan 47 from the substrate 25 and a weighing instrument 42 for measurement of the weight of the liquid discharged from the head 32 to the weighing pan 47 are provided. Based on the weight of the liquid in the weighing pan 47, the weight of droplets ejected from the head 32 is calculated. When the calculated weight of fine droplets is out of a predetermined weight range, the ejection quantity of the head 32 is controlled according to the error of the weight of droplets. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, a droplet discharge device, and a discharge amount inspection method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an inkjet method has been adopted as a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device such as a liquid crystal display device or an organic electroluminescence display device. This ink jet method has advantages such as simplification of the process and reduction of manufacturing costs. By ejecting droplets from the ejection head onto the substrate and fixing the dispersoids / solutes in the liquid to the substrate, A thin film is formed.

  The liquid discharged from the discharge head is adjusted in advance to have a dischargeable viscosity, but the viscosity of the liquid changes depending on the temperature conditions of the manufacturing process. Since the change in the viscosity of the liquid affects the weight (discharge amount) of the droplets discharged from the discharge head, there is a problem in that the thickness of the thin film formed on the substrate varies.

On the other hand, a method of stabilizing the viscosity by providing a temperature adjusting mechanism such as a heater around the discharge head and maintaining the temperature of the liquid in the discharge head within a predetermined range has been proposed. Patent Document 1 describes a manufacturing apparatus that measures the weight of droplets ejected from an ejection head. This manufacturing apparatus includes a moving mechanism that reciprocates the ejection head, a moving mechanism that conveys a table on which the substrate is placed below the ejection head, and a table in which the ejection head is movable, other than the table on which the substrate is placed. Is provided with a weight measuring device provided with a weighing pan. Then, in order to inspect the ejection head, droplets are ejected from the ejection head to the weighing pan, and the weight of the ejected droplets is measured. When the weight of the droplet is out of the predetermined range, the magnitude or waveform of the drive voltage applied to the ejection head is changed to adjust the ejection amount.
JP 2004-4915 A

  However, in the above-described method, the conditions in the inspection process based on the weight measurement may differ from the conditions in the discharge process for actually discharging the liquid onto the substrate. For example, when the head or the like is provided with a temperature adjustment mechanism, heat from the temperature adjustment mechanism is accumulated between the substrate and the head, and the temperature locally increases. For this reason, the difference between the viscosity of the liquid in the inspection process and the viscosity of the liquid in the discharge process for actually discharging droplets onto the substrate increases, and the weight of the liquid, that is, the discharge amount changes. Thus, slight differences in the conditions of the inspection process and the actual discharge process cause errors such as film thickness.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an electro-optical device manufacturing method, a droplet discharge device, and a discharge amount inspection method capable of appropriately controlling a liquid discharge amount. There is.

  The present invention relates to an electro-optical device manufacturing method including a step of discharging droplets from a droplet discharge head toward a substrate, and has the same attribute condition as when the droplet discharge head discharges droplets onto the substrate Set attribute conditions, discharge droplets from the droplet discharge head for discharge amount inspection, calculate the weight of the droplets discharged from the droplet discharge head, and calculate the weight of the droplets Accordingly, the discharge amount of the droplet discharge head is controlled.

According to this, the same attribute condition as the attribute condition when the droplet discharge head discharges the droplet onto the substrate is set, and the droplet is discharged from the droplet discharge head for the discharge amount inspection. Then, the droplet weight is calculated, and the discharge amount of the droplet discharge head is controlled in accordance with the calculated droplet weight. That is, during the ejection amount inspection, the droplets are ejected under the same conditions as in the actual ejection process, so the weight of the droplets calculated in the inspection process and the droplets ejected in the electro-optical device manufacturing process The error from the weight can be reduced. Since the error of the droplet weight is reflected in the discharge amount of the droplet discharge head, the error generated in the manufacturing process of the electro-optical device can be reduced.

  In this manufacturing method, a weighing device is disposed on the substrate, and the droplet discharge head ejects droplets toward the weighing device disposed on the substrate, and is based on the weight of the liquid in the weighing device. Then, the weight of the droplet discharged from the droplet discharge head is calculated.

  According to this, since the droplet discharge head discharges droplets to the weighing device disposed on the substrate, the conditions more closely match the conditions when the droplet discharge head actually discharges the droplets onto the substrate. The discharge amount inspection can be performed below.

  In this method of manufacturing an electro-optical device, a weigher for discharging amount inspection is disposed in a discharging amount inspection region provided within a movable range of the droplet discharging head, and the discharging amount inspection region is disposed in the liquid amount inspection region. The temperature is set to the same temperature as when the droplet discharge head discharges droplets toward the substrate.

  According to this, the weighing device for the discharge amount inspection is arranged in the discharge amount inspection region provided within the movable range of the droplet discharge head, and the discharge amount inspection region is directed toward the substrate. Then, the temperature is set to the same temperature as that for discharging the droplet. For this reason, when the droplet amount changes depending on the temperature, the discharge amount inspection can be performed under conditions more suitable for the discharge conditions when the droplet discharge head discharges droplets onto the substrate.

  The present invention provides a droplet discharge head for discharging droplets toward a substrate, a weighing unit for discharging amount inspection on the substrate, and a moving means for moving the weighing device from the substrate, Measuring means for measuring the weight of the liquid discharged from the droplet discharge head into the weighing instrument, and the weight of the droplet discharged from the droplet discharge head based on the weight of the liquid in the weighing instrument. A calculating means for calculating and a head control means for controlling the discharge amount of the droplet discharge head in accordance with the calculated weight of the droplet.

  According to this, the droplet discharge device includes a moving unit that disposes and moves a weighing unit for discharging amount inspection on the substrate, and a measuring unit that measures the weight of the liquid in the weighing unit. In addition, calculation means for calculating the weight of the droplet discharged from the droplet discharge head based on the weight of the liquid in the weighing device, and head control for controlling the discharge amount of the droplet discharge head according to the droplet weight Means. For this reason, the ejection amount inspection can be performed under a condition that more closely matches the conditions under which the droplet ejection head actually ejects droplets onto the substrate. Since the actual discharge amount of the droplet discharge head is controlled based on the inspection result, the error from the droplet weight in the actual discharge step can be further reduced.

  The droplet discharge apparatus includes a liquid supply unit that supplies a liquid to the droplet discharge head and a heating unit that heats at least a part of the liquid discharge unit to the droplet discharge head.

According to this, the droplet discharge device includes a liquid supply unit and a heating unit that heats at least a part of the liquid supply unit to the droplet discharge head. For this reason, when using a liquid whose discharge characteristics change due to a temperature change, the discharge conditions can be stabilized. In addition, when the temperature gradient of the atmosphere caused by the heating means is generated and an error is likely to occur between the discharge amount in the inspection and the actual discharge amount, the discharge amount inspection is performed on the substrate, so that it is particularly effective. .

  The present invention includes a droplet discharge head that discharges a droplet toward a substrate, a head moving mechanism that moves the droplet discharge head, a liquid supply unit that supplies a liquid to the droplet discharge head, and the liquid supply The droplet discharge head is disposed on the substrate with a discharge amount inspection region in which a heating unit for heating at least a part of the droplet discharge head and a weighing device for discharge amount inspection are disposed. Temperature adjusting means for setting the same temperature condition as the temperature condition for discharging droplets, measuring means for measuring the weight of the liquid discharged from the droplet discharge head into the weighing instrument, and the weight of the liquid in the weighing instrument. And calculating means for calculating the weight of the droplet discharged from the droplet discharge head, and a head control means for controlling the discharge amount of the droplet discharge head according to the calculated weight of the droplet. Prepared.

  According to this, the weighing device for the discharge amount inspection is arranged in the discharge amount inspection region provided within the movable range of the droplet discharge head, and the discharge amount inspection region is directed toward the substrate. Then, the temperature is set to the same temperature as that for discharging the droplet. For this reason, when the droplet amount changes depending on the temperature, the discharge amount inspection can be performed under conditions more suitable for the discharge conditions when the droplet discharge head discharges droplets onto the substrate.

  The present invention relates to an ejection amount inspection method for inspecting an ejection amount of a droplet ejection head that ejects droplets onto a substrate, and the same attribute condition as an attribute condition when the droplet ejection head ejects droplets onto the substrate Is set to discharge a droplet from the droplet discharge head for discharge amount inspection, and the weight of the droplet discharged from the droplet discharge head is calculated.

  According to this, the same attribute condition as the attribute condition when the droplet discharge head discharges the droplet onto the substrate is set, the droplet is discharged for the discharge amount inspection, and the weight of the droplet is calculated. . For this reason, it is possible to perform a discharge amount inspection under a condition that more closely matches the condition when the droplet discharge head actually discharges the droplet onto the substrate.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which an electro-optical device manufacturing method, a droplet discharge device, and a discharge amount inspection method according to the present invention are embodied in an apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a liquid crystal display device 1 as an electro-optical device, and FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the liquid crystal display device 1 includes a transparent element substrate 2 and a counter substrate 3. As shown in FIG. 1, a signal generation circuit 4a and a voltage control circuit 4b are formed on the element formation surface 2a of the element substrate 2 on the upper side in the drawing. The element substrate 2 has a pair of scanning line drive circuits 4c formed on the left and right sides of the element formation surface 2a, and a signal line drive circuit 4d formed on the lower side. In the element substrate 2, a liquid crystal sealing region 25c (see FIG. 7) is formed in a region surrounded by the circuits 4a to 4d, and the counter substrate 3 is arranged so as to face the liquid crystal sealing region 25c. It is installed. In the liquid crystal sealing region 25c, a plurality of scanning lines (not shown) extending in the left-right direction are formed at predetermined intervals, and each scanning line is connected to the scanning line driving circuit 4c. In the liquid crystal sealing region 25c, a plurality of data lines (not shown) extending in the vertical direction are formed at predetermined intervals and connected to the signal line driving circuit 4d. A plurality of pixel regions arranged in a matrix of n rows × m columns are formed at positions where the scan lines and the data lines intersect with each other, corresponding to the scan lines and the data lines. In each pixel region, a control element (not shown) made of a TFT and a pixel electrode (not shown) made of a transparent conductive film such as ITO are formed. Further, a pair of polarizing plates (not shown) are provided outside the element substrate 2 and the counter substrate 3.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pixel electrode 5 and a pixel transistor (not shown) are formed in the liquid crystal sealing region 25 c of the element substrate 2. An alignment film (not shown) is formed on the pixel electrode 5. A space is formed between the element substrate 2 and the counter substrate 3 by interposing the sealing material 7 so as to surround the liquid crystal sealing region 25c. The sealing material 7 includes a spacer made of spherical conductive particles (not shown) and is formed in a rectangular shape on the element forming surface 2a. Liquid crystal 8 is sealed in the space formed by the sealing material 7. A backlight (not shown) is disposed on the surface of the element substrate 2 opposite to the element formation surface 2a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the counter substrate 3 is provided with a color filter 10 on the surface (counter electrode forming surface 3a) on the element substrate 2 side. The color filter 10 includes a black matrix K formed so as to surround each pixel region of the element substrate 2, and a red filter layer R, a green filter layer G, and a blue filter layer B formed between the black matrices K. Yes. On the lower side of each filter layer R, G, B and black matrix K, a protective film 11 having optical transparency and a counter electrode 12 made of a transparent conductive layer such as ITO are formed. On the lower side of the counter electrode 12, an alignment film (not shown) subjected to an alignment process such as a rubbing process is laminated, and the alignment of the liquid crystal 8 is set to a predetermined alignment.

  Next, the droplet discharge device 20 for manufacturing the liquid crystal display device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the droplet discharge device 20. The droplet discharge device 20 includes a base 21 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. A pair of guide grooves 22 is formed in the base 21. Hereinafter, the direction in which the guide groove 22 extends is defined as the Y arrow direction, and the direction orthogonal to the Y arrow direction in the horizontal plane is defined as the X arrow direction.

  A substrate stage 23 is attached on the base 21. A drive mechanism is provided between the substrate stage 23 and the base 21. This drive mechanism includes a screw shaft extending in the Y-arrow direction and a ball nut screwed to the screw shaft, and the screw shaft is coupled to a Y-axis motor MY (see FIG. 6) formed of a stepping motor. Then, when a drive signal corresponding to a predetermined number of steps is input to the Y-axis motor MY, the Y-axis motor MY rotates forward or reversely, and the substrate stage 23 is equivalent to the input number of steps. The base 21 moves forward or backward along a guide groove 22 extending in the Y arrow direction.

  The upper surface of the substrate stage 23 is a mounting surface 24. The mounting surface 24 is provided with a suction-type substrate chuck mechanism (not shown). A disc-shaped mother substrate 25 as a substrate is disposed on the mounting surface 24. The mother substrate 25 is a glass transparent substrate for forming several tens of liquid crystal display devices 1, and an alignment film and a sealing material 7 are already formed thereon. In addition, the liquid crystal sealing regions 25c of the liquid crystal display devices 1 are partitioned by the sealing materials 7 formed in a square frame shape, and are arranged on the mother substrate 25 in a matrix. Here, on the mother substrate 25, a region other than the liquid crystal sealing region 25c and the sealing material 7 is a peripheral region 25d surrounding the liquid crystal sealing region 25c.

  Furthermore, a first heater H1 is built in the substrate stage 23. The first heater H1 adjusts the temperature of the substrate stage 23 within a predetermined temperature range based on the temperature detected by the first temperature sensor S1 (see FIG. 6) provided on the substrate stage 23, and places the placement surface 24. The mother board 25 placed on the board is heated.

  A substrate position detection device 38 (see FIG. 6) is disposed outside the base 21. The substrate position detection device 38 includes, for example, a light emitting unit that emits a detection beam and a light receiving unit (none of which is shown) that receives the reflected light. The conveyed mother substrate 25 shields the detection beam, thereby detecting the edge of the mother substrate 25.

  A pair of support bases 27 and 28 are erected on both sides of the base 21. A guide member 29 that constitutes a head moving mechanism extending in the direction of the arrow X is installed on the support bases 27 and 28. The guide member 29 is formed longer than the width of the base 21 (the length in the X arrow direction), and one end of the guide member 29 is disposed so as to protrude toward the support base 27.

  On the side surface of the guide member 29, a pair of upper and lower guide rails 30 extending in the direction of the arrow X that constitutes the head moving mechanism are projected. A carriage 31 is attached to the guide rail 30, and a linear motion mechanism is provided between the guide rail 30 and the carriage 31. The linear motion mechanism includes a screw shaft extending in the X arrow direction and a ball nut screwed to the screw shaft, and the screw shaft is connected to an X-axis motor MX (see FIG. 6) constituting the head moving mechanism. . When a drive signal corresponding to a predetermined number of steps is input to the X-axis motor MX, the X-axis motor MX rotates forward or reverse, and the carriage 31 moves forward along the X arrow direction by the amount corresponding to the number of steps. Or return.

  An ejection head 32 as a droplet ejection head is provided on the lower surface of the carriage 31. As shown in FIG. 5, the ejection head 32 includes a nozzle plate 33 on the lower surface thereof. In the nozzle plate 33, for example, 180 nozzles (not shown) are formed in a row in the X arrow direction.

  Further, the ejection head 32 includes a storage chamber (not shown) corresponding to each nozzle, and a piezoelectric element PZ (see FIG. 6). The storage chamber temporarily stores the liquid crystal supplied to the ejection head 32. Then, when the piezoelectric element PZ is deformed according to the applied driving waveform, the liquid crystal as the liquid in the storage chamber is discharged as a fine liquid droplet D1 as a liquid droplet as shown in FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the carriage 31 is provided with a second heater H <b> 2 for heating the ejection head 32 so as to surround the circumference of the ejection head 32. The second heater H2 heats the high-viscosity liquid crystal in the discharge head 32 to reduce the viscosity and improve the discharge property. The second heater H2 is heated and controlled based on the temperature detected by the second temperature sensor S2 (see FIG. 6), and adjusts the temperature of the liquid crystal in the discharge head 32.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a storage tank 35 that constitutes a liquid supply unit is disposed above the guide member 29, and liquid crystal to be supplied to the ejection head 32 is stored in the storage tank 35. . A supply mechanism (not shown) that supplies liquid crystal to the carriage 31 is connected to the storage tank 35.

  The storage tank 35 is provided with a third heater H3 as a heating means. The third heater H3 heats the liquid crystal in the storage tank 35, for example, to a temperature at which the viscosity of the liquid crystal is 2 to 20 cps. Further, the storage tank 35 is provided with a third temperature sensor S3 (see FIG. 6), and the third temperature sensor S3 measures the liquid temperature in the storage tank 35. The first and second heaters H1 and H2 provided on the substrate stage 23 and the ejection head 32 maintain the temperature within a predetermined range so that the temperature of the liquid crystal heated in the storage tank 35 does not decrease. Yes.

As shown in FIG. 3, the droplet discharge device 20 includes an inspection mechanism 40. The inspection mechanism 40 includes a transport robot 41 as a moving unit and a weight measuring device 42 as a measuring unit. The transfer robot 41 includes a base 43, a support part 44 disposed on the base 43, and an arm part 45 attached to the support part 44. The arm part 45 is composed of two arm parts, and is bendable at substantially the center. The first to fourth inspection motors MZ1 to MZ4 (
(See FIG. 6). The first inspection motor MZ1 can rotate the arm portion 45 about 360 degrees around the support portion 44. The second inspection motor MZ2 moves the arm portion 45 up and down by reciprocating the support portion 44 in the Z arrow direction. Further, the third inspection motor MZ3 controls the angle formed by the two arm portions of the arm portion 45. Furthermore, the fourth inspection motor MZ4 drives to open and close the clamp unit 46 that can be opened and closed provided at the tip of the arm unit 45.

  The transfer robot 41 grips a weighing pan 47 as a weighing device accommodated in a housing unit (not shown) by a clamp unit 46, and the mother substrate 25 placed on the substrate stage 23 as shown by a solid line in FIG. The weighing dish 47 is carried on the surface, and the weighing dish 47 is placed on the peripheral region 25d as shown in FIG. The weighing pan 47 is made of a lightweight metal such as aluminum and is formed in a circular shape having a diameter of several centimeters. As shown in FIG. 5, the weighing pan 47 is transported to the lower side of the discharge head 32 as shown in FIG. ing.

  Further, the transfer robot 41 holds the weighing pan 47 containing the liquid crystal discharged from the discharge head 32 by the clamp unit 46 and rotates the arm unit 45 as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 47 is placed on the weight measuring device 42. The weight measuring device 42 is an electronic balance, for example, and measures the weight of the weighing pan 47 containing the liquid. Then, the weight of the liquid that has entered the weighing dish 47 is calculated by subtracting the weight of the empty weighing dish 47 measured in advance.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the droplet discharge device 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The droplet discharge device 20 includes a control device 50. The control device 50 includes a control unit 51 as a head control unit and a calculation unit, and an I / F unit 52 that receives various data. Further, a RAM 53 including DRAM and SRAM, a ROM 54 for storing various control programs, and an I / F unit 55 for outputting various data are provided.

  The control unit 51 includes a CPU or the like, and determines that the mother board 25 has reached the initial position when receiving an edge detection signal from the board position detection device 38 via the I / F unit 52. Then, the control unit 51 drives the Y-axis motor drive circuit 56 via the I / F unit 55 and rotates the Y-axis motor MY to guide the substrate stage 23 to a desired position in the Y arrow direction. Further, the control unit 51 drives the X-axis motor drive circuit 57 constituting the head control means via the I / F unit 55 to rotate the X-axis motor MX, so that the carriage 31 is placed on the mother board 25. To the desired position in the direction of the arrow X. In the case of the discharge amount inspection, the control unit 51 drives the Y-axis motor drive circuit 56 and the X-axis motor drive circuit 57 according to the inspection program stored in the ROM 54 to move the mother board 25 to a predetermined position. .

  In addition, the control unit 51 acquires measurement data indicating the weight of the liquid crystal in the weighing pan 47 from the weight measurement device 42 via the I / F unit 52. The control unit 51 divides the liquid crystal weight by the number of ejected droplets based on the inspection program. The number of ejected droplets indicates the number of droplets ejected from the ejection head 32 at the time of inspection, and is determined in advance, for example, 5000 droplets, and stored in the ROM 54. When calculating the weight per droplet, the control unit 51 determines whether or not the weight falls within a predetermined weight range centered on the reference value. When the weight of the liquid droplet (liquid crystal) falls within the predetermined weight range, the driving voltage applied to the piezoelectric element PZ of the ejection head 32 at that time is maintained. When the weight of the liquid droplet (liquid crystal) is out of the predetermined range, the magnitude and waveform of the drive voltage applied to the piezoelectric element PZ of the ejection head 32 are changed. At this time, the control unit 51 generates waveform data of the drive voltage applied to the piezoelectric element PZ according to the calculated weight of the droplet, and outputs the waveform data to the drive voltage generation circuit 63.

  The drive voltage generation circuit 63 performs digital / analog conversion on the input waveform data, amplifies the waveform signal of the analog signal, and generates a drive voltage. The generated drive voltage is output to the head drive circuit 58 constituting the head control means in synchronization with the clock signal generated from the oscillation circuit 61. That is, when the weight of the droplet is smaller than the predetermined range, the control unit 51 generates waveform data that increases the ejection amount (volume of the minute droplet D1) from the ejection head 32. On the other hand, when the weight of the droplet is larger than the predetermined range, waveform data for reducing the ejection amount (volume of the minute droplet D1) from the ejection head 32 is generated.

  Furthermore, the control device 50 has a temperature control unit 60. The temperature control unit 60 inputs temperature detection data from the temperature sensors S1 to S3 disposed on the storage tank 35, the carriage 31, and the substrate stage 23 via the I / F unit 52. Then, it is determined whether or not those temperatures are within a predetermined temperature range. When each temperature is outside the predetermined temperature range, the first to third heaters H1 to H3 are driven and controlled so that the respective temperatures are within the predetermined temperature range, and the liquid crystal is set to an appropriate temperature determined in advance. It is supposed to keep on.

  The control unit 51 drives the inspection motor drive circuit 62 in accordance with the inspection program. The inspection motor drive circuit 62 appropriately drives and controls the first to fourth inspection motors MZ1 to MZ4 that drive the transport robot 41. That is, the control unit 51 controls the transport robot 41 to grip the weighing pan 47 via the inspection motor drive circuit 62, and in the gripped state, the predetermined amount of the mother substrate 25 placed on the substrate stage 23 is controlled. The weighing pan 47 is controlled to be placed at the position. When the minute droplet D1 (liquid crystal) is discharged from the discharge head 32 to the weighing pan 47, the control unit 51 controls the transport robot 41 to hold the weighing pan 47 containing the liquid crystal by the clamp unit 46. To do. Further, the arm unit 45 is rotated until the clamp unit 46 is positioned at the measuring unit of the weight measuring device 42 while holding the weighing pan 47. Then, the clamp unit 46 is driven to place the weighing pan 47 on the weight measuring device 42. This inspection is performed once for each mother substrate 25.

  Next, the inspection process of the ejection head 32 and the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device 1 will be described. First, when the mother substrate 25 is placed on the substrate stage 23 in the inspection process, the control unit 51 calculates the position of the mother substrate 25 based on the edge detection signal acquired from the substrate position detection device 38. . And the control part 51 drives the Y-axis motor drive circuit 56, and as shown in FIG. 3, it conveys the mother board | substrate 25 to the position where the conveyance robot 41 can arrange | position the weighing pan 47 in the peripheral region 25d. At this time, the temperature control unit 60 obtains detection data from each temperature sensor S and adjusts the liquid temperature and the like of the substrate stage 23, the discharge head 32, and the storage tank 35 within a predetermined temperature range.

  When the position adjustment of the substrate stage 23 is finished, the control unit 51 controls the transport robot 41 via the inspection motor drive circuit 62. First, the clamp part 46 of the transport robot 41 is controlled to grip an empty weighing dish 47 accommodated in an accommodating part (not shown). Then, the arm portion 45 is rotated around the support portion 44, and the clamp portion 46 is disposed, for example, at the upper left position in the peripheral region 25d of the mother substrate 25. And while moving the support part 44 up and down, the clamp part 46 is controlled, and as shown in FIG. 3, the weighing dish 47 is mounted in the peripheral region 25d.

When the weighing pan 47 is placed on the mother substrate 25 as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 51 moves the arm unit 45 upward and moves to the retracted position. Then, the Y-axis motor MY and the X-axis motor MX are rotated by a predetermined amount via the Y-axis motor drive circuit 56 and the X-axis motor drive circuit 57, and the weighing pan 47 is moved to the discharge head 32 as shown in FIG. The substrate stage 23 and the carriage 31 are driven to a position facing the substrate. Then, the control unit 51 transmits waveform data similar to the waveform data for actually ejecting the micro droplet D1 to the mother substrate 25 to the drive voltage generation circuit 63, and the drive voltage generation circuit 63 responds to the waveform data. The drive voltage is transmitted to the head drive circuit 58. At this time, a drive voltage for 5000 shots is generated only for the nozzles that can discharge the minute droplets D1 into the weighing pan 47 among the nozzles of the discharge head 32. The head drive circuit 58 applies the drive voltage to the piezoelectric element PZ to deform the piezoelectric element PZ. As a result, for example, 5000 microdroplets D1 are ejected from the ejection head 32 toward the weighing dish 47. Thus, the heat generated from the first to third heaters H1 to H3 disposed on the ejection head 32, the substrate stage 23, and the like is accumulated between the ejection head 32 and the mother substrate 25, and the temperature is locally increased. Even in the case where a high area is generated, since the weighing dish 47 is placed on the mother substrate 25, the inspection is performed under the same atmosphere as the actual droplet discharge process. As a result, the temperature condition (attribute condition) in the inspection process becomes equal to the temperature condition (attribute condition) in the actual manufacturing process. And an error from the minute droplet D1 ejected in the actual ejection process is less likely to occur.

  When the ejection of the minute droplets D1 from the ejection head 32 is completed, the control unit 51 rotates the arm unit 45 around the support unit 44 so that the clamp unit 46 grips the weighing dish 47 containing the liquid crystal. To control. Then, the control unit 51 controls the arm unit 45 to rotate and place the grasped weighing pan 47 on the weight measuring device 42 as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. When the weighing pan 47 containing the liquid crystal is placed on the weight measuring device 42, the control unit 51 rotates the arm unit 45 to a position at which the empty new weighing pan 47 can be gripped by the clamp unit 46 for the next inspection. To do.

  When the weighing pan 47 containing the liquid crystal is placed on the weight measuring device 42, the weight measuring device 42 subtracts the weight of the empty weighing pan 47 measured in advance from the total weight to obtain the weight of the liquid crystal. Calculate the measured data shown. Then, the measurement data is transmitted to the control device 50 (control unit 51).

  When acquiring the measurement data, the control unit 51 divides the weight of the liquid crystal based on the measurement data by the number of droplets ejected from the ejection head 32 (for example, 5000 droplets) according to the inspection program. Thereby, the average value of the weight of the micro droplet D1 is calculated.

  Further, it is determined whether or not the calculated weight of the fine droplet D1 is within a predetermined weight range. This weight range is determined based on an allowable range of an error in the amount of liquid crystal sealed in the liquid crystal display device 1. When the weight of the minute droplet D1 is outside the predetermined weight range, the flag indicating the inspection result stored in the RAM 53 is out of the predetermined weight range, that is, the discharge head 32 has a discharge failure. Update to a state that indicates Further, an error with respect to the reference value of the micro droplet D1 is also temporarily stored in the RAM 53.

  Subsequently, a liquid discharge process for manufacturing the liquid crystal display device 1 is performed. The control unit 51 includes a Y-axis motor drive circuit 56 and an X-axis motor drive circuit 57 so that the leftmost liquid crystal sealed area 25c of the mother board 25 faces the discharge head 32 in the liquid crystal sealed area 25c on the Y axis direction side. Drive.

  At the same time, the control unit 51 generates waveform data according to the flag indicating the inspection result and the data indicating the error of the droplet weight in the inspection process, which are stored in the RAM 53. That is, when the control unit 51 determines that the flag stored in the RAM 53 indicates that the inspection result is out of the predetermined weight range and the droplet weight is smaller than the predetermined weight range, the control unit 51 responds to the magnitude of the error. Thus, waveform data for increasing the volume (discharge amount) of the micro droplet D1 discharged from the discharge head 32 is generated. That is, even when the droplet weight is outside the weight range, if the difference from the reference value is large, the waveform data increases the size of the minute droplet D1 in accordance with the difference. Is generated.

When the droplet weight is larger than the predetermined weight range, the control unit 51 reduces the volume (discharge amount) of the minute droplet D1 discharged from the discharge head 32 according to the difference from the reference value. Waveform data is generated.

  The control unit 51 outputs waveform data generated based on the inspection result to the drive voltage generation circuit 63. The drive voltage generation circuit 63 generates a drive voltage based on the waveform data, and supplies the drive voltage to the head drive circuit 58 in synchronization with the clock signal. The head drive circuit 58 applies a drive voltage to the piezoelectric element PZ. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the micro droplet D <b> 1 is ejected from the ejection head 32 toward the liquid crystal sealing region 25 c surrounded by the sealing material 7. As shown in FIG. 8, the micro droplet D1 discharged to the liquid crystal sealing region 25c adheres to the mother substrate 25 and becomes a hemispherical droplet D2. Since the volume (discharge amount) of the micro droplet D1 at this time reflects the inspection result, its weight is within a predetermined weight range.

  When the fine liquid droplets D1 are completely discharged into one liquid crystal sealing region 25c, the control unit 51 controls the Y-axis motor drive circuit 56 to convey the substrate stage 23 by a predetermined amount in the Y-axis direction. Then, the fine liquid droplets D1 are discharged in the same manner toward the liquid crystal sealing region 25c adjacent to the liquid crystal sealing region 25c that has been discharged and in the Y-axis direction (column direction).

  When the liquid is discharged to the liquid crystal sealed area 25c in one row, the control unit 51 controls the X-axis motor drive circuit 57 to move the carriage so that each liquid crystal sealed area 25c in the adjacent row and the discharge head 32 face each other. Move 31. Then, the liquid crystal is discharged from the discharge head 32 to the liquid crystal sealing region 25c of each column.

  When the liquid crystal is completely discharged into the liquid crystal sealing region 25c, the mother substrate 25 for forming the counter substrate 3 is bonded to the mother substrate 25 for forming the element substrate 2 under vacuum. Further, each liquid crystal display device 1 is formed by molding into a predetermined size.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In the embodiment described above, the droplet discharge device 20 includes the discharge head 32 that discharges the micro droplet D1 and the substrate stage 23 that transports the mother substrate 25. Further, a weighing dish 47 for discharging amount inspection is arranged on the mother substrate 25, and a transport robot 41 for moving the weighing dish 47 containing liquid to the weight measuring device 42 is provided. Further, the weight of each micro droplet D1 is calculated based on the weight of the liquid discharged from the discharge head 32 into the weighing pan 47, and the discharge amount of the discharge head 32 is controlled according to the calculated droplet weight. The control unit 51 and the drive voltage generation circuit 63 are provided. That is, in the inspection process, since the minute liquid droplets D1 are discharged under the same conditions as the actual liquid discharge process, the viscosity of the liquid crystal is made constant, the liquid drop weight in the inspection process, This difference can be almost eliminated. Since the error from the reference value of the droplet weight calculated in the inspection process is reflected in the discharge amount of the discharge head 32, the error of the liquid crystal material sealed in the liquid crystal display device 1 can be reduced.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the droplet discharge device 20 is configured to dispose the third heater H3 in the storage tank 35 in order to make the viscosity of the liquid crystal appropriate. Further, the first and second heaters H1 and H2 are disposed on the substrate stage 23 and the ejection head 32, respectively. For this reason, the temperature of the liquid in the ejection head 32 can be maintained in an appropriate range. In the apparatus in which heat is likely to be accumulated between the ejection head 32 and the mother substrate 25 and the temperature gradient is likely to occur in the atmosphere, the weighing pan 47 is placed on the mother substrate 25 for inspection. Since the error of the weight of the fine droplet D1 discharged from the nozzle can be reduced, the effect can be exhibited particularly.

  (3) In the above embodiment, since the liquid droplet ejection device 20 ejects liquid crystal from the ejection head 32 in order to form the liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display device 1, an error in the amount of the encapsulated liquid crystal material is small. Thus, display defects of the liquid crystal display device 1 can be prevented.

In addition, you may change this embodiment as follows.
In the above embodiment, the flag indicating the inspection result is stored in the RAM 53, but only an error from the reference value may be stored. In the actual ejection process, the control unit 51 may determine whether or not the micro droplet D1 is within a predetermined weight range based on the error stored in the RAM 53.

  In the above embodiment, the weighing pan 47 is placed on the mother substrate 25, but the weighing pan 47 may be disposed within the movable range of the carriage 31. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a weight measuring device 42 incorporating a temperature adjustment unit 71 constituting a temperature adjustment means may be arranged in the discharge amount inspection region 70 arranged within the movable range of the carriage 31. . The temperature adjustment unit 71 can generate the same atmosphere as the atmosphere between the mother substrate 25 and the ejection head 32. That is, the temperature adjustment unit 71 places the weighing dish 47 so that the temperature between the mother substrate 25 and the ejection head 32 and the temperature between the weighing dish 47 and the ejection head 32 are at least the same. Keep the mounting surface warm. Then, the weighing pan 47 is placed on the weight measuring device 42 so that the ejection head 32 and the weighing pan 47 can be opposed to each other by the movement of the carriage 31. A fine droplet D1 is discharged toward the weighing dish 47. At this time, the carriage 31 may be provided with a temperature sensor (not shown) for measuring the temperature in the vicinity of the ejection head 32 when ejecting the micro droplet D1 onto the mother substrate 25. Then, the temperature of the atmosphere between the ejection head 32 and the mother substrate 25 in the actual ejection process is measured in advance by the temperature sensor, and in the inspection process, the temperature control unit 60 The control unit 51 may control the temperature adjustment unit 71 so that the atmosphere between the weighing pan 47 and the temperature measured in advance is set. In this way, it is possible to perform an inspection in accordance with the conditions of the actual discharge process at a place other than the mother substrate 25.

  In the above embodiment, the weighing pan 47 may be arranged at any position in the peripheral region 25 d of the mother substrate 25. Further, when the temperature between the substrate stage 23 and the ejection head 32 and the temperature between the mother substrate 25 and the ejection head 32 are substantially the same, the weighing pan 47 is placed on the substrate stage 23. May be.

The temperature control unit 60 provided in the control device 50 may be separate from the control device 50.
The first heater H1 disposed on the substrate stage 23 and the third heater H3 disposed on the storage tank 35 may be omitted. Further, the third heater H3 may be provided at another position in the liquid supply mechanism from the storage tank 35 to the ejection head 32.

  The moving means for disposing the weighing pan 47 on the mother substrate 25 and moving the weighing pan 47 containing the liquid crystal from the mother substrate 25 may be an apparatus other than the transport robot 41. For example, other devices such as a device that transports the table with the weighing pan 47 onto the mother substrate 25 may be used.

The liquid crystal display device 1 is configured as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but the liquid crystal display device 1 may have other configurations.
In the above embodiment, the liquid droplet ejection device 20 ejects the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal display device 1, but may be embodied in a device that ejects other liquids. For example, the liquid crystal display device 1 may be a device that manufactures other members such as wiring and filter layers. Or the apparatus which manufactures the electro-optical apparatus of an organic electroluminescent display apparatus may be sufficient. Alternatively, it may be an apparatus that includes a planar electron-emitting device and manufactures an electro-optical device such as a field effect device (FED, SED, or the like) that utilizes light emission of a fluorescent material by electrons emitted from the device.

Schematic of a liquid crystal display device. The principal part sectional drawing of a liquid crystal display device. The perspective view of a droplet discharge device. The principal part top view of the droplet discharge apparatus. The principal part side view of the droplet discharge apparatus. The block diagram explaining the structure of the droplet discharge apparatus. The principal part side view of the droplet discharge apparatus. Sectional drawing of the board | substrate with which the droplet adhered. The perspective view of the droplet discharge device of another example.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Liquid crystal display device as an electro-optical device, 20 ... Droplet discharge device, 25 ... Mother board as a substrate, 29 ... Guide member which comprises a head moving mechanism, 30 ... Guide rail which comprises a head moving mechanism, 32 ... Discharge head as a droplet discharge head, 35... Storage tank constituting liquid supply means, 40... Transport robot as moving means, 42... Weight measuring device as measurement means, 47. Control unit constituting head control means and calculation means, 58... Head drive circuit constituting head control means, 63... Drive voltage generation circuit constituting head control means, 70... Discharge amount inspection region, 71. Constituting temperature control unit, D1 ... micro droplet as a droplet, D2 ... droplet, MX ... X-axis motor constituting head moving mechanism, UT ... as heating means Thermal unit.

Claims (7)

In a method of manufacturing an electro-optical device having a step of discharging droplets from a droplet discharge head toward a substrate,
Set the same attribute condition as the attribute condition when the droplet discharge head discharges the droplet onto the substrate, and discharge the droplet from the droplet discharge head for discharge amount inspection,
Calculate the weight of the droplets ejected from the droplet ejection head,
A method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, wherein the ejection amount of the droplet ejection head is controlled according to the calculated weight of the droplet. The method of manufacturing the electro-optical device according to claim 1,
Placing a weigher on the substrate;
The droplet discharge head discharges droplets toward the weighing instrument disposed on the substrate;
A method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, comprising: calculating a weight of a droplet discharged from the droplet discharge head based on a weight of a liquid in the weighing instrument. The method of manufacturing the electro-optical device according to claim 1,
A weighing device for discharging amount inspection is disposed in a discharging amount inspection region provided within a movable range of the droplet discharging head,
The method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, wherein the discharge amount inspection region is set to a temperature that is the same as a temperature at which the droplet discharge head discharges droplets toward the substrate. A droplet discharge head for discharging droplets toward the substrate;
A moving unit for disposing a weigher for the discharge amount inspection on the substrate and moving the weigher from the substrate;
Measuring means for measuring the weight of the liquid discharged from the droplet discharge head into the weighing device;
Calculation means for calculating the weight of the droplets ejected from the droplet ejection head based on the weight of the liquid in the weigher;
A droplet discharge apparatus comprising: a head control unit that controls a discharge amount of the droplet discharge head according to the calculated weight of the droplet. The droplet discharge device according to claim 4,
Liquid supply means for supplying liquid to the droplet discharge head;
A droplet discharge apparatus comprising: a heating unit that heats at least part of the liquid supply unit to the droplet discharge head. A droplet discharge head for discharging droplets toward the substrate;
A head moving mechanism for moving the droplet discharge head;
Liquid supply means for supplying liquid to the droplet discharge head;
Heating means for heating at least a part of the liquid supply means to the droplet discharge head;
A temperature adjusting means for setting a discharge amount inspection region in which a weigher for discharge amount inspection is disposed to the same temperature condition as a temperature condition for the droplet discharge head to discharge a droplet onto the substrate;
Measuring means for measuring the weight of the liquid discharged from the droplet discharge head into the weighing device;
Calculation means for calculating the weight of the droplets ejected from the droplet ejection head based on the weight of the liquid in the weigher;
A droplet discharge apparatus comprising: a head control unit that controls a discharge amount of the droplet discharge head according to the calculated weight of the droplet. In a discharge amount inspection method for inspecting a discharge amount of a droplet discharge head that discharges droplets onto a substrate,
Set the same attribute condition as the attribute condition when the droplet discharge head discharges the droplet onto the substrate, and discharge the droplet from the droplet discharge head for discharge amount inspection,
A discharge amount inspection method, wherein the weight of a droplet discharged from the droplet discharge head is calculated.

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