JP2007163632A - Method for manufacturing display device, display device and exposure apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide techniques that can reduce variation in the wiring width of a display panel. <P>SOLUTION: The method for manufacturing a display device includes a step of forming a display panel having a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of drain lines disposed in a matrix, wherein the step of forming the display panel includes steps of forming a photosensitive resist film on a substrate, exposing the resist film, and developing the exposed resist film. The step of exposing the resist film includes a first step of dividing a predetermined region of the resist film into a plurality of small regions and measuring the thickness of each small region, a second step of calculating an exposure amount in each small region according to the measured film thickness, and a third step of determining whether the small region should be exposed or not based on preliminarily prepared drawing data, and exposing only small regions determined to be exposed with the calculated amount. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device manufacturing method, a display device, and an exposure apparatus, and more particularly to a technique that is effective when applied to a liquid crystal display device manufacturing method.

  Conventionally, liquid crystal display devices are widely used, for example, displays for PCs, televisions, PDAs and mobile phones.

  The liquid crystal display device is, for example, a display device including a liquid crystal display panel in which a liquid crystal material is sealed between a TFT substrate having TFT elements arranged in an array and a CF substrate having color filters.

  When manufacturing the TFT substrate of the liquid crystal display panel, for example, a gate line (scanning line) is formed by repeating the steps of forming a conductive film, patterning the formed conductive film, and forming an insulating film. A drain line (signal line), a TFT element, a pixel electrode, and the like are formed.

  In the step of patterning the conductive film, for example, an etching resist is generally formed on the conductive film by a photolithography method, and the conductive film is etched.

  When the etching resist is formed on the conductive film by the photolithography method, a photosensitive resist film is formed on the conductive film, and the resist film is exposed and developed using a mask. The mask used at this time is, for example, a pattern formed on a glass substrate with a chromium (Cr) film or the like. By exposing the resist film through the mask, a photosensitive region having the same pattern as the mask is formed on the resist film. Can do. Therefore, by developing the exposed resist film, an etching resist having the same pattern as the mask is formed on the conductive film.

  However, in recent years, for example, the size of the TFT substrate (liquid crystal display panel) is increasing. In such a large TFT substrate, for example, when a resist film is formed on a conductive film, it has become difficult to form a uniform film thickness. Therefore, for example, there is a problem that variations occur in each region of one gate line or the wiring width of each gate line. Similarly, there is a problem that variations occur in each drain line region or in the wiring width of each drain line.

  The cause of the variation in the wiring width of the gate line and the drain line will be briefly described with reference to the drawings.

  As a mask for exposing the resist film, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, a mask 9 having a transmission region 901 having an opening with a constant width W from x = 0 to x = X is used. It is assumed that the resist film 202 formed on the conductor film 201 is exposed using this mask as shown in FIG. At this time, as shown in FIG. 15, if the film thickness at x = 0 is different from the film thickness at x = X, the film is overexposed near the thin film thickness x = 0, and the film thickness x = X is large. In the vicinity of, exposure becomes insufficient. As a result, in the photosensitive region 202A of the resist film 202, for example, as shown in FIG. 16, the width W1 on the x = 0 side is larger than the width W of the mask, and the width W2 on the x = X side is larger than the width W of the mask. It gets thinner. Therefore, when the conductive film 201 is etched after development, a pattern whose width decreases from x = 0 to x = X is formed.

  The gate lines and drain lines are long wirings that intersect two opposing sides of the display area of the TFT substrate, and the distance between x = 0 and x = X is very large. For this reason, the film thickness of the resist film along the extending direction and the arrangement direction of each wiring is likely to vary. As a result, the wiring width tends to vary.

  Further, when the resist film is formed, the film thickness may locally fluctuate due to, for example, a step due to the base pattern. Such local fluctuations in film thickness occur, for example, when a pixel electrode of a TFT substrate used in a transflective liquid crystal display panel is formed. The pixel electrode of the TFT substrate used in the transflective liquid crystal display panel is formed across two regions having a step between a reflective region and a transmissive region. At this time, the film thickness of the resist film on the reflective region and the film thickness of the resist film on the transmissive region vary by about several μm. For this reason, there is a problem in that the width of the photosensitive region on the reflection region and the width of the photosensitive region on the transmission region are shifted, and the width of the formed pixel electrode is shifted.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of reducing variations in the wiring width of a display panel.

  The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

  The outline of the invention disclosed in the present application will be described as follows.

  (1) A plurality of gate lines and a plurality of drain lines are arranged in a matrix, and a TFT element and a pixel electrode are arranged in a pixel region surrounded by two adjacent gate lines and two adjacent drain lines. A method of manufacturing a display device including a step of forming a display panel, wherein the step of forming the display panel includes a step of forming a photosensitive resist film on a substrate, a step of exposing the resist film, and exposure A step of developing the resist film, and the step of exposing the resist film includes dividing a predetermined region of the resist film into a plurality of small regions and measuring a film thickness of each small region. A step, a second step of calculating an exposure amount of each small region according to the measured film thickness, and determining whether or not to expose each small region based on drawing data prepared in advance, Determined to be exposed And a method of manufacturing a display device and a third step of exposing a small area only at an exposure amount which is the calculated.

  (2) In the above (1), the third step further divides the small area into minute areas, determines whether or not to expose each minute area based on the drawing data, and This is a method for manufacturing a display device in which only a minute area determined to be exposed in the area is exposed with the calculated exposure amount.

  (3) The method for manufacturing a display device according to (2), wherein the exposure of the micro area is performed in batches in units of the small area.

  (4) In any one of (1) to (3), the first step, the second step, and the third step are performed in parallel, and in order from the small region where the first step is completed, It is a manufacturing method of the display device which performs the 2nd process and the 3rd process.

  (5) In any one of (1) to (4), in the second step, the manufacturing of a display device that calculates an exposure amount based on a table indicating a correspondence relationship between the film thickness of the resist film and the exposure amount Is the method.

  (6) A display device including a display panel having a conductive layer extending from an upper stage to a lower stage of the step via a step portion on an insulating layer having a step, wherein the conductive layer is formed on the upper stage. This is a display device having the same width as that of the lower row.

  (7) In (6), the display panel includes a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of drain lines arranged in a matrix, and is surrounded by two adjacent gate lines and two adjacent drain lines. In the display device, a TFT element and a pixel electrode are disposed in the pixel region, the step of the insulating layer is provided inside the pixel region, and the conductive layer is a comb-shaped pixel electrode.

  (8) An exposure head that exposes a photosensitive resist film; and an exposure head control unit that controls the exposure head to expose only a predetermined area on the resist film. An exposure apparatus that divides a defined area into a plurality of small areas and sequentially exposes each of the small areas while moving the exposure head, the exposure head including an exposure unit that exposes the resist film; Film thickness measuring means for measuring the film thickness of the resist film for each of the small areas, and the exposure head control means calculates the exposure amount of each small area based on the measurement result of the film thickness measuring means. Based on the exposure amount calculation means and the drawing data prepared in advance, it is determined whether or not the small area whose film thickness has been measured is exposed, and the exposure unit moves over the small area determined to be exposed. Once the is an exposure apparatus having an exposure amount control means for exposing the resist film with the calculated exposure amount in the exposure unit.

  The display device of the present invention measures the film thickness of the resist film as in the means (1), and exposes the resist film while changing the exposure amount based on the measurement result. At this time, for example, a small region with a small film thickness reduces the exposure amount to prevent overexposure, and a small region with a large film thickness increases the exposure amount to prevent underexposure. In this way, even if the film thickness varies, the photosensitive region of the resist film can have the same pattern as the drawing data. Therefore, variations in the wiring width of the gate lines and drain lines can be prevented.

  Moreover, the said 3rd process can also be made like the said means (2), for example. In this way, an area to be exposed and an area not to be exposed can be mixed in one small area. At this time, the exposure of the minute area may be performed individually or for several areas, or may be performed collectively as in the means (3).

  Further, when the exposure is performed by the method such as the means (1) to the means (3), it is preferable to perform the respective steps in parallel as in the means (4).

  At this time, in the second step, it is preferable to calculate the exposure amount based on a table indicating the correspondence relationship between the film thickness of the resist film and the exposure amount as in the means (5).

  Moreover, the manufacturing method of the said means (1) to the means (5) is effective also for the location where the film thickness of a resist film is fluctuating locally, for example. As an example in which the film thickness fluctuates locally, for example, as in the means (6), a conductive layer extending from an upper stage to a lower stage of the step via a step portion on an insulating layer having a step. In the display panel having the display panel, the conductive layer is formed. As a display panel having such a configuration, for example, a display panel having the configuration as the means (7) can be cited. The configuration like the means (7) can be found in, for example, a transflective liquid crystal display panel. Therefore, when a comb-like pixel electrode is formed on an insulating film having a step in a transflective liquid crystal display panel, the resist film is exposed by the method described in the means (1) to the means (5). Thereafter, development is performed to form an etching resist, whereby fluctuations in the width of the comb teeth at the upper and lower steps of the step can be prevented.

  Further, when the resist film is exposed by the manufacturing method of the means (1) to the means (5), for example, an exposure apparatus configured as the means (8) may be used. In the exposure apparatus configured as the means (8), the film thickness measuring means may be an ellipsometer, for example.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail together with embodiments (examples) with reference to the drawings.
In all the drawings for explaining the embodiments, parts having the same function are given the same reference numerals and their repeated explanation is omitted.

  The display device manufacturing method of the present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a display panel, particularly a process for forming wiring of the display panel, among many processes for manufacturing a display device. When forming the wiring of the display panel, an etching resist is formed on the conductor film using a photolithography method, and the conductor film is etched. At this time, the etching resist is formed by exposing and developing a resist film formed on the conductor film. In the manufacturing method of the present invention, when exposing the resist film, for example, a direct drawing exposure machine is used to measure the film thickness of each small region of the resist film, and sequentially expose with an exposure amount corresponding to the film thickness. . In this way, a wiring having a uniform width can be formed even when the film thickness of the resist film varies or varies locally.

  1 to 3 are schematic diagrams for explaining a method of manufacturing a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an exposure apparatus, and FIG. 2 explains an exposure procedure. FIG. 3 and FIG. 3 are graphs showing an example of an exposure amount calculation method.

  When forming the wiring of the display panel, first, a conductor film is formed on a transparent substrate such as a glass substrate. At this time, the conductor film may be formed directly on the transparent substrate, or may be formed on the insulating layer laminated on the transparent substrate.

  Next, a resist film is formed on the conductor film, and exposed and developed to form an etching resist. Then, the conductor film is etched using the etching resist as a mask to form a wiring.

  In the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, when exposing the resist film, for example, an exposure apparatus (direct drawing exposure machine) 1 having a configuration as shown in FIG. 1 is used. That is, an exposure amount calculation that calculates an exposure amount based on the measurement results of the exposure head 101 having the exposure unit 101A and the film thickness measuring device 101B, the exposure head moving means 102A that moves the exposure head 101, and the film thickness measuring device 101B. Means 102B, exposure control means 102C for performing exposure control of the exposure unit 101A and movement control of the exposure head 101A based on the calculation result of the exposure quantity calculation means 102B, and an exposure amount database for holding data used for calculating the exposure amount ( DB) 102D and an exposure apparatus 1 comprising exposure head control means 102 having drawing data holding means 102E for holding drawing data used for exposure control of the exposure unit 101A are used.

  At this time, it is assumed that the exposure head 101 can be moved one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally on the substrate on which the resist film is formed. The moving direction and moving amount of the exposure head 101 are controlled by the exposure head moving means 102A.

  The exposure unit 101A has, for example, a light source and one or more mirrors for controlling the exposure position (irradiation position), and performs exposure to the resist film based on a control signal from the exposure control means 102C. The unit to perform.

  For example, an ellipsometer is used as the film thickness measuring device 101B. The ellipsometer is a measuring device that irradiates light on a film to be measured, measures changes in polarization of incident light and reflected light, and obtains a film thickness from the changes.

  The exposure amount calculation unit 102B is a unit that calculates an exposure amount based on the film thickness of the measurement region based on the measurement result from the film thickness measuring device 101B. At this time, the exposure amount is calculated based on the data indicating the correspondence between the film thickness and the exposure amount held in the exposure amount database 102D.

  Further, for example, the exposure control unit 102C acquires the position of the exposure unit 101A from the exposure head moving unit 102A, determines whether or not to expose the resist film at the position, and in the case of exposure, the exposure amount calculation unit A control signal including the exposure amount calculated in 102B is sent to the exposure unit 101A for exposure. At this time, whether or not to perform exposure is determined based on the acquired position of the exposure unit 101A and data of the drawing data holding unit 102E.

  When the resist film is exposed using the exposure apparatus 1 configured as shown in FIG. 1, for example, as shown in the upper side of FIG. 2, a small region having the resist film 202 formed on the conductor film 201 is used. Is exposed by the exposure unit 101A, the film thickness measuring device 101B measures the film thickness of a small area separated by Δx from the exposed small area. In FIG. 2, the exposure head 101 moves from left to right, and the small area where the film thickness measuring device 101B measures the film thickness is an area where the exposure unit 101A has not yet passed. is there.

  When the film thickness is measured and exposed, the exposure head 101 is moved by Δx as shown on the lower side of FIG. 2, and the exposure unit 101A is moved onto the small area where the film thickness is measured. At this time, if it is necessary to expose a small region of the resist film 202 where the exposed exposure unit 101A is located, exposure is performed with an exposure amount corresponding to the measured film thickness. At this time, while the resist film 202 is being exposed, the film thickness of a small region to be exposed next is measured. By repeating this over the entire area of the resist film 202, an exposure pattern can be drawn on the entire resist film 202.

Further, when calculating the exposure amount based on the measured film thickness, for example, data as shown in FIG. 3 is used. In the example shown in FIG. 3, for example, the exposure time T _n is set for each of five film thicknesses RD _n (n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) μm. At this time, for example, if the measured film thickness is RD ₃ μm, the exposure time of the region is T ₃ sec. When the measured film thickness is other than the set film thickness, the exposure time is calculated based on the relationship between the set film thickness and the exposure time. For example, film thickness measured is, if the value between the film thickness RD ₂ and RD ₃ set, the exposure time from the exposure time T ₃ when the exposure time when the film thickness RD ₂ T ₂ and RD ₃ An estimate should be made. FIG. 3 is an example of data used for calculating the exposure time, and is not limited to this, and other types of data may be used.

  4 and 5 are schematic views for explaining the effects of the exposure method of the present embodiment, FIG. 4 is a side view for explaining the exposure method, and FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of the photosensitive region. .

  As an example of exposure of the resist film 202 using the exposure apparatus 1 as described above, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the exposure unit 101 </ b> A has x = of the resist film 202 formed on the conductor film 201. An example will be given in which exposure is performed sequentially while moving an area from a position of 0 to a position of x = X. At this time, it is assumed that the film thickness of the resist film 202 gradually increases from the position x = 0 to the position x = X as shown in FIG. 4, for example. Further, at this time, it is assumed that the drawing data is data that is exposed with a certain width EW from the position of x = 0 to the position of x = X.

  In the exposure apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, as described above, the film thickness of the resist film 202 is measured, and exposure is performed with an exposure amount suitable for the film thickness. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the exposure time is shortened at the position of x = 0 and in the vicinity thereof, and the exposure time is gradually increased toward the position of x = X. In this way, it is possible to prevent overexposure at the position where x = 0 is thin and in the vicinity thereof, and underexposure at the position where x = X is thick and in the vicinity thereof. Therefore, a photosensitive region 202A having a constant width EW is obtained from the position x = 0 to the position x = X in the resist film 202 after the exposure, for example, as shown in FIG.

  6 to 9 are schematic views showing an example of a display device to which the manufacturing method of this embodiment is applied, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the display device, and FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration of a TFT substrate. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a configuration example of one pixel of the TFT substrate, and FIG. 9 is a configuration example of the TFT substrate viewed along the line AA ′ in FIG. 8 and a configuration example of the counter substrate overlapping the TFT substrate. It is sectional drawing shown.

  As a display device to which the manufacturing method (exposure method) of this embodiment is preferably applied, a liquid crystal display device can be mentioned. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the liquid crystal display device includes a TFT substrate 3 on which gate lines, drain lines, TFT elements, pixel electrodes and the like are formed, a counter substrate 4 on which color filters and the like are formed, and a TFT substrate. 3 and a pair of polarizing plates 5A and 5B arranged so as to sandwich the counter substrate 4 and the backlight unit 6, the TFT substrate 3, the counter substrate 4, the polarizing plates 5A and 5B, and the backlight unit 6 are integrally formed. And holding the frame member 7. Although omitted in FIG. 6, a liquid crystal material is sandwiched between the TFT substrate 3 and the counter substrate 4. In addition to the components shown in FIG. 6, the liquid crystal display device has circuit components such as a TCP and a timing controller on which a driver IC that outputs a signal applied to the gate line and drain line of the TFT substrate is mounted. .

  In the liquid crystal display device, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the TFT substrate 3 includes a plurality of gate lines (GL) 304 extending in the x direction and a drain line extending in the y direction ( DL) 306 are arranged in the x direction. A region surrounded by two adjacent gate lines and two adjacent drain lines is one pixel region, and a TFT element and a pixel electrode are arranged in each pixel region.

  The configuration of one pixel region of the TFT substrate 3 is, for example, as shown in FIGS. In the example shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the semiconductor layer 302 is provided on the glass substrate 301. The semiconductor layer 302 is made of, for example, polysilicon (p-Si). In addition, a gate line 304 is provided over the semiconductor layer 302 with a first insulating layer 303 interposed therebetween.

  A drain line 306 and a source electrode 307 are provided over the gate line 304 with the second insulating layer 305 interposed therebetween. At this time, the drain line 306 and the source electrode 307 are connected to the semiconductor layer 302 through the through hole TH. A TFT element is formed by the semiconductor layer 302, the gate line 304, the drain line 306, and the source electrode 307.

  A third insulating layer 308 and a fourth insulating layer 309 are provided over the drain line 306 and the source electrode 307. At this time, the third insulating layer 308 is provided over the entire pixel region, and the fourth insulating layer 309 is provided only in a part of the pixel region. That is, in the pixel region, there are a region including only the third insulating layer 308 and a region where the third insulating layer 308 and the fourth insulating layer 309 are stacked.

  At this time, a common electrode 310 is provided in the pixel region so as to extend from the region of only the third insulating layer 308 to the region where the fourth insulating layer 309 is stacked. A reflective layer 311 is provided on the common electrode 310 on the fourth insulating layer 309. A pixel electrode 313 is provided on the common electrode 310 and the reflective layer 311 with a fifth insulating layer 312 interposed therebetween. The pixel electrode 313 is electrically connected to the source electrode 307 through the through hole TH. The pixel electrode 313 is a comb-shaped electrode as shown in FIG. 8, and the comb-shaped portion extends from the region where the fourth insulating layer 309 is stacked to the region where only the third insulating layer 308 is formed. Exist. An alignment film 314 is provided over the pixel electrode 313.

  At this time, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the counter substrate 4 faces the surface of the TFT substrate 3 on which the pixel electrodes 313 and the like are formed, and the glass substrate 401 faces the surface facing the TFT substrate 3. A black matrix 402, a color filter 403, an overcoat layer 404, and an alignment film 405 are provided. A liquid crystal material 8 is sandwiched (enclosed) between the TFT substrate 3 and the counter substrate 4.

A display panel in which a pixel region has a TFT substrate having a configuration as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is called a transflective IPS (In Plane Switching) display panel. In this display panel, as shown in FIG. 9, in the region where the reflective layer 311 is provided in the pixel region, the light LA reaching the TFT substrate 3 from the outside of the display device through the counter substrate 4 is reflected by the reflective layer 311. it is not a reflection region AR _R emit to the outside of the display device. A region reflective layer 311 is not present in the pixel region, a transmissive region AR _T to emit light LB from the backlight unit 6 on the external display device through the TFT substrate 3 and the counter substrate 4.

  When the TFT substrate 3 having such a configuration is formed, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, a large number of gate lines 304 and drain lines 306 extending in one direction are formed. Therefore, when a resist film is formed by a conventional exposure method, for example, when the resist film is formed on the conductor film in the step of forming the gate line 304, the resist film is affected by variations in the thickness of the resist film. Variations are likely to occur in each region of one gate line 304 or in the wiring width of each gate line 304. Similarly, each region of one drain line 306 or the wiring width of each drain line 306 is likely to vary. As described above, when the wiring width of the gate line 304 or the wiring width of the drain line 306 is varied, the operating characteristics of the TFT elements arranged in the respective pixel regions are varied. Therefore, there is a problem that image quality unevenness or the like occurs and display quality deteriorates.

  On the other hand, when the resist film is exposed by the exposure method using the exposure apparatus 1 as described above, for example, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. The width can be Therefore, variation in the wiring width of the gate line 304 and the wiring width of the drain line 306 can be prevented. As a result, it is possible to prevent display quality from being deteriorated due to variations in the wiring width.

  Note that the deterioration in display quality due to variations in the wiring width of the gate line 304 or the drain line 306 is not limited to the TFT substrate 3 having the pixel configuration as shown in FIGS. It is a problem that occurs. Therefore, not only the TFT substrate 3 having the pixel configuration shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 but also the TFT substrate 3 having various pixel configurations is manufactured, the manufacturing method of this embodiment is applied to the gate line 304. The display quality can be prevented from deteriorating due to variations in the wiring width and the drain width of the drain line 306.

  10 to 13 are schematic views for explaining another effect of the TFT substrate to which the manufacturing method of this embodiment is applied. FIG. 10 shows the configuration of the pixel region immediately after the etching resist is formed on the pixel electrode. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB ′ of FIG. 10, and FIGS. 12 and 13 are planes showing the shape of an etching resist formed by a conventional exposure method for comparison with the present embodiment. FIG.

  When the manufacturing method (exposure method) of this embodiment is applied to, for example, the manufacturing of the TFT substrate 3 having the pixel configuration shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the wiring width of the gate line 304 and the wiring width of the drain line 306 For example, it is possible to prevent fluctuations in the width of the comb-teeth portion of the pixel electrode 313.

Of the steps of manufacturing the TFT substrate 3 having the pixel configuration shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, in the step of forming the pixel electrode 313, for example, it is necessary to form the resist film 202 having a pattern as shown in FIG. . At this time, portions of the comb teeth of the resist film 202, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, having different thicknesses on the reflection regions AR _R on the transmission area AR _T. At this time, the thickness of the resist film 202, at the boundary of the reflective region AR _R and the transmissive region AR _T, for example, varying the order of 2 [mu] m. Therefore, for example, using a positive resist, to form a resist pattern with an exposure method using the conventional kind of exposure mask, as shown in FIG. 12, the width of the resist film 202 on the transmissive region AR _T reflective region it becomes thicker than the width of the AR _R. Further, for example, when using a negative resist, as shown in FIG. 13, the width of the resist film 202 on the transmissive region AR _T becomes narrower than the width of the reflective area AR _R.

Thus, when the width of the comb teeth of the pixel electrode 313 in the reflective region AR _R and the transmissive region AR _T are different, the electric field generated on the reflective region AR _R, an electric field is generated in the transmission region AR _T fluctuates The orientation of the liquid crystal molecules on each region changes.

Therefore, to form a resist film 202 by applying the exposure method of this embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, it is possible to match the width of the transmission area AR _T of the reflection area AR _R. Therefore, the width of the comb-tooth region of the pixel electrode 313 can be made constant, and fluctuations in the electric field generated in each region can be prevented.

  As described above, according to the manufacturing method of the display device of the present embodiment, the variation in the wiring width of the display panel can be reduced. Therefore, for example, it is possible to prevent display quality from being deteriorated due to variations in the wiring width of the gate line 304 and the drain line 306.

  Further, for example, by applying the comb-teeth-shaped pixel electrode 313 arranged across two regions having a step as in the transflective display panel shown in FIGS. Variation in width in each region of the pixel electrode 313 can be prevented.

  The present invention has been specifically described above based on the above-described embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. is there.

  For example, in the above embodiment, a display device having a liquid crystal display panel is given as an example of a display device to which the manufacturing method of the present invention is applied. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a display device such as an organic EL display or a PDP It can also be applied to manufacturing.

It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the display apparatus of one Example by this invention, and is a block diagram which shows the structural example of exposure apparatus. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the display apparatus of one Example by this invention, and is a figure explaining an exposure procedure. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the display apparatus of one Example by this invention, and is a graph which shows an example of the calculation method of exposure amount. It is a schematic diagram explaining the effect of the exposure method of a present Example, and is a side view for demonstrating the exposure method. It is a schematic diagram explaining the effect of the exposure method of a present Example, and is a top view which shows an example of a photosensitive area | region. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the display apparatus with which the manufacturing method of a present Example is applied, and is a disassembled perspective view which shows schematic structure of a display apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the display apparatus with which the manufacturing method of a present Example is applied, and is a top view which shows schematic structure of a TFT substrate. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the display apparatus with which the manufacturing method of a present Example is applied, and is a top view which shows the structural example of 1 pixel of a TFT substrate. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the display apparatus with which the manufacturing method of a present Example is applied, and sectional drawing which shows the structural example of the opposing substrate which overlaps with the structure of the TFT substrate seen by the AA 'line of FIG. It is. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the other effect of the TFT substrate to which the manufacturing method of a present Example is applied, and is a top view which shows the structure of the pixel area immediately after forming an etching resist on a pixel electrode. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the other effect of the TFT substrate to which the manufacturing method of a present Example is applied, It is sectional drawing seen by the B-B 'line | wire of FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the other effect of the TFT substrate to which the manufacturing method of a present Example is applied, It is a top view which shows the shape of the etching resist formed with the conventional exposure method for comparing with a present Example . It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the other effect of the TFT substrate to which the manufacturing method of a present Example is applied, The top view which shows the other shape of the etching resist formed with the conventional exposure method for comparing with a present Example It is. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the conventional exposure mask. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the conventional exposure method. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the problem of the conventional exposure method.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Exposure apparatus 101 ... Exposure head 101A ... Exposure unit 101B ... Film thickness measuring device 102 ... Exposure head control means 102A ... Exposure head moving means 102B ... Exposure amount calculation means 102C ... Exposure control means 102D ... Exposure amount database (DB)
102E ... Drawing data holding means 201 ... Conductive film 202 ... Resist film 202A ... Photosensitive region 3 ... TFT substrate 301, 401 ... Glass substrate 302 ... Semiconductor layer 303 ... First insulating layer 304 ... Gate line 305 ... Second insulating layer 306 ... Drain line 307 ... Source electrode 308 ... Third insulating layer 309 ... Fourth insulating layer 310 ... Common electrode 311 ... Reflective layer 312 ... Fifth insulating layer 313 ... Pixel electrode 314,405 ... Alignment film 4 ... Counter substrate 402 ... Black Matrix 403 ... Color filter 404 ... Overcoat layer 5A, 5B ... Polarizing plate 6 ... Backlight unit 7 ... Frame member 8 ... Liquid crystal material 9 ... Exposure mask 901 ... Transmission region

Claims (8)

A display in which a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of drain lines are arranged in a matrix, and a TFT element and a pixel electrode are arranged in a pixel region surrounded by two adjacent gate lines and two adjacent drain lines A method of manufacturing a display device including a step of forming a panel,
The step of forming the display panel includes a step of forming a photosensitive resist film on a substrate, a step of exposing the resist film, a step of developing the exposed resist film,
The step of exposing the resist film includes a first step of dividing a predetermined region of the resist film into a plurality of small regions and measuring a film thickness of each small region, and the step according to the measured film thickness Based on the second step of calculating the exposure amount of each small area and whether or not to expose each small area based on drawing data prepared in advance, only the small areas determined to be exposed are calculated. And a third step of exposing with an exposure amount.   The third step further divides the small area into minute areas, determines whether to expose each minute area based on the drawing data, and determines the minute area determined to be exposed within the small area. The method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 1, wherein only the exposure is performed with the calculated exposure amount.   The method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 2, wherein the exposure of the micro area is performed in batches in units of the small area. The first step, the second step and the third step are performed in parallel,
The method for manufacturing a display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second step and the third step are performed in order from a small region where the first step is completed. .   5. The exposure amount according to claim 1, wherein in the second step, the exposure amount is calculated based on a table indicating a correspondence relationship between the film thickness of the resist film and the exposure amount. Manufacturing method of display device. A display device including a display panel having a conductive layer extending from an upper stage to a lower stage of the step via a step portion on an insulating layer having a step,
The display device characterized in that the conductive layer has the same width in the upper stage and in the lower stage. In the display panel, a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of drain lines are arranged in a matrix, and a TFT element and a pixel electrode are formed in a pixel region surrounded by two adjacent gate lines and two adjacent drain lines. Is placed,
The display device according to claim 6, wherein the pixel region has a step of the insulating layer, and the conductive layer is a comb-shaped pixel electrode. An exposure head that exposes a photosensitive resist film; and an exposure head control unit that controls the exposure head to expose only a predetermined area on the resist film. An exposure apparatus that divides an area into a plurality of small areas and sequentially exposes the small areas while moving the exposure head,
The exposure head includes an exposure unit that exposes the resist film, and a film thickness measuring unit that measures the thickness of the resist film for each of the small regions,
The exposure head control unit includes an exposure amount calculation unit that calculates an exposure amount of each small area based on the measurement result of the film thickness measurement unit, and a small unit that measures the film thickness based on drawing data prepared in advance. Determining whether or not to expose the region, and having an exposure amount control means for exposing the resist film to the exposure unit with the calculated exposure amount when the exposure unit moves over the small region determined to be exposed. An exposure apparatus characterized by the above.

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