JP2007288203A - Thin-film transistor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably form a fine linear pattern accurately. <P>SOLUTION: In this thin film transistor for driving a display device, at least a part of a gate electrode 41 is formed in a region divided by a bank. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a thin film transistor.

  As a method for forming a pattern such as a wiring used in an electronic circuit or an integrated circuit, for example, a photolithography method is used. This photolithography method requires large-scale equipment such as a vacuum apparatus and a complicated process, and the material use efficiency is about several percent, and most of it must be discarded, and the manufacturing cost is high.

On the other hand, a method of forming a pattern on a substrate by using a droplet discharge method in which a liquid material is discharged from a liquid discharge head in the form of droplets, a so-called inkjet method has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent). Reference 2). In this method, a pattern liquid material (functional liquid) is directly arranged on a substrate, and then converted into a pattern by heat treatment or laser irradiation. According to this method, there is an advantage that photolithography is not required, the process is greatly simplified, and the amount of raw materials used can be reduced.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-274671 JP 2000-216330 A

  In recent years, the density of circuits constituting a device has been increased, and for example, further miniaturization and thinning of wiring have been required. In the pattern forming method using the above-described droplet discharge method, the discharged droplet spreads on the substrate after landing, and thus it is difficult to stably form a fine pattern.

  In particular, when the pattern is a conductive film, a liquid bulge is generated due to the spread of the above-described droplets, which may cause problems such as disconnection and short circuit.

  In addition, a technique for forming a wiring having a width narrower than the flying diameter of the functional liquid ejected by the droplet ejection method has been proposed. In such a technique, a part of the functional liquid is discharged onto the upper surface of the bank by discharging the functional liquid toward the wiring forming area in a state where the surface of the bank defining the wiring forming area is liquid-repellent. Even in such a case, all the functional liquid flows into the wiring formation region.

  However, in recent years, it has been confirmed that when a part of the functional liquid touches the upper surface of the bank, a fine residue remains on the upper surface of the bank. For example, if the functional liquid has conductivity, the residue also has conductivity. If the residue remains as described above, the characteristics of the wiring itself and the characteristics of the device using this wiring will change. There is a concern to do.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to form a fine linear pattern stably with high accuracy.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following configuration.
The pattern forming method of the present invention is a method of forming a predetermined pattern by disposing a functional liquid on a substrate, the step of forming a bank on the substrate, and the functional liquid in a region partitioned by the bank The region partitioned by the bank is partially formed to be wide.
In the pattern forming method of the present invention, the functional liquid is disposed in the area partitioned by the bank, and the functional liquid is dried, for example, so that a predetermined pattern is formed on the substrate. In this case, since the shape of the pattern is defined by the bank, the pattern can be miniaturized or thinned by appropriately forming the bank, for example, by narrowing the width between adjacent banks.
Further, in the pattern forming method of the present invention, since the area partitioned by the bank is partially formed to be wide, a part of the functional liquid is retracted to the part having the wide width. The overflow of the functional liquid from the bank when the functional liquid is arranged is prevented. Therefore, the pattern is accurately formed in a desired shape.
Therefore, in the pattern forming method of the present invention, a thin linear pattern can be formed stably with high accuracy.

In the above pattern forming method, it is preferable that the region partitioned by the bank has a width of a part of 110 to 500% of a width of another part.
In the area partitioned by the bank, the width of one part is 110 to 500% of the width of the other part, so that overflow of the functional liquid from the bank when the functional liquid is arranged is surely prevented.

In the pattern forming method described above, the region partitioned by the bank may be formed to be partially wide at a portion that intersects with another pattern.
According to this forming method, it is easy to effectively use the space on the substrate.

In the film pattern forming method described above, the region partitioned by the bank may be partially narrowed at a portion intersecting with another film pattern.
According to this formation method, no capacitance is accumulated at the intersections of the film patterns, and it is easy to improve device characteristics.

In the pattern forming method, the functional liquid may be disposed in the region using a droplet discharge method.
According to this forming method, by using the droplet discharge method, compared with other coating techniques such as a spin coating method, the consumption of the liquid material is less, and the amount and position of the functional liquid disposed on the substrate are reduced. Easy to control.
The width between adjacent banks may be narrower than the diameter of the droplet. In this case, the droplet-like functional liquid enters between the banks by capillary action or the like. As a result, a pattern having a line width narrower than the diameter of the droplet to be discharged is formed.

  Further, when the functional liquid contains conductive fine particles, a conductive pattern is formed. Therefore, this pattern is applied to various devices as wiring.

Next, a second pattern forming method of the present invention is a method for forming a predetermined pattern by discharging a functional liquid onto a substrate using a droplet discharge method, and the functional liquid is formed on the substrate. Forming a bank so that a wide region having a width larger than the flying diameter of the light and a narrow region having a width narrower than the wide region are connected to each other, and disposing the functional liquid in the wide region Then, the functional liquid is flown into the narrow area, and the functional liquid is disposed in the wide area and the narrow area.
In the second pattern formation method of the present invention having such a feature, the functional liquid is discharged and arranged in the wide area of the wide area and the narrow area partitioned by the bank, and the functional liquid is wet and spreads. It flows into a narrow area. For this reason, the functional liquid can be disposed in the wide area and the narrow area by discharging the functional liquid only in the wide area.
In the second pattern formation method of the present invention, since the wide region has a width larger than the flying diameter of the functional liquid, a part of the functional liquid does not touch the upper surface of the bank. For this reason, it can prevent that the residue of a functional liquid remains on the upper surface of a bank.
Therefore, in the second pattern forming method of the present invention, a pattern exhibiting desired characteristics can be stably formed.

Further, in the second pattern forming method, the functional liquid can be discharged and arranged in an intersecting region between the wide region and the narrow region.
According to this forming method, the functional liquid discharged and arranged in the intersecting region easily flows into the narrow region when wetting and spreading, so that the functional liquid can be more smoothly arranged in the narrow region.

In the second pattern forming method, after the functional liquid is discharged and arranged so as to surround an intersection area between the wide area and the narrow area, the functional liquid is discharged and arranged in the intersection area. it can.
According to this formation method, the functional liquid discharged and arranged in the intersection area so as to surround the intersecting area can stop the wetting and spreading of the functional liquid discharged and arranged in the intersection area, and the flow rate of the functional liquid toward the narrow area can be reduced. Can be increased. For this reason, k which arrange | positions a functional liquid to a narrow area | region more smoothly becomes possible.

The device manufacturing method of the present invention is a device manufacturing method in which a pattern is formed on a substrate, wherein the pattern is formed on the substrate by the pattern forming method described above.
In the device manufacturing method of the present invention, the pattern formed on the device can be miniaturized and thinned stably. Therefore, a highly accurate device can be manufactured stably.
In particular, when the pattern forms a part of a switching element such as a TFT (film transistor) provided on the substrate, a highly integrated switching element can be stably obtained.

  The device of the present invention is manufactured using the above-described device manufacturing method, and thus has high accuracy.

An electro-optical device according to the present invention includes the above-described device.
Examples of the electro-optical device include a liquid crystal display device, an organic electroluminescence display device, and a plasma display device.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus including the above electro-optical device.
According to these inventions, since a high-precision device is provided, quality and performance can be improved.

  The active matrix substrate manufacturing method according to the present invention includes a first step of forming a gate wiring on the substrate and a second step of forming a gate insulating film on the gate wiring in the manufacturing method of the active matrix substrate. A third step of stacking a semiconductor layer with the gate insulating film interposed therebetween, a fourth step of forming a source electrode and a drain electrode on the gate insulating layer, and a step of forming the source electrode on the source electrode and the drain electrode. A fifth step of disposing an insulating material, and a sixth step of forming a pixel electrode that is electrically connected to the drain electrode. The first step, the fourth step, and the sixth step The pattern forming method of the present invention is used in at least one of the steps.

  According to such an active matrix substrate manufacturing method of the present invention, an active matrix substrate having a thin linear pattern can be formed with high accuracy and stability.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
<Pattern Forming Method (First Embodiment)>
FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing the pattern forming method of the present invention.
The pattern forming method of the present invention includes a bank forming process for forming the bank B on the substrate P, and a material arranging process for arranging the functional liquid L in the linear region A partitioned by the bank B.

  In the pattern forming method of the present invention, the functional liquid L is disposed in the linear region A partitioned by the bank B, and the functional liquid L is dried, for example, so that the linear pattern F is formed on the substrate P. . In this case, since the shape of the pattern F is defined by the bank B, the pattern F can be refined or thinned by appropriately forming the bank B, for example, by narrowing the width between the adjacent banks B, B. Is planned. Note that after the pattern F is formed, the bank B may be removed from the substrate P or may be left on the substrate P as it is.

  In the pattern forming method of the present invention, when the bank B is formed on the substrate P, a part of the linear region A partitioned by the bank B is widened. That is, at a predetermined position in the axial direction of the linear region A, a portion having a width Wp (Wp> W) wider than the width W of the other region (hereinafter referred to as a wide portion As if necessary) Provide one or more.

  Here, as a method of forming the bank B, an arbitrary method such as a lithography method or a printing method can be used. For example, when a lithography method is used, a layer made of a bank forming material is formed on the substrate P by a predetermined method such as spin coating, spray coating, roll coating, die coating, or dip coating, and then etching or ashing is performed. By patterning, a bank B having a predetermined pattern shape is obtained. Note that the bank B may be formed on an object different from the substrate P and disposed on the substrate P.

  Moreover, as a forming material of the bank B, for example, in addition to a polymer material such as an acrylic resin, a polyimide resin, an olefin resin, and a melamine resin, a material containing an inorganic substance such as silica can be given.

  In the pattern forming method of the present invention, since the width of the linear region A partitioned by the bank B is formed to be partially wide (wide portion As), the functional portion L functions when the functional liquid L is disposed. A part of the liquid L is retracted, and overflow of the functional liquid L from the bank B is prevented.

  In general, when a liquid is disposed in a linear region, it may be difficult for the liquid to flow into the region due to the action of the surface tension of the liquid, or the liquid may not easily spread in the region. On the other hand, in the pattern forming method of the present invention, the movement of the liquid in the portion where the line width is different is an incentive, and the inflow of the functional liquid L into the linear area A or the linear area A The spread of the functional liquid L is promoted, and overflow of the functional liquid L from the bank B is prevented. Needless to say, when the functional liquid L is disposed, the amount of the functional liquid disposed with respect to the linear region A is appropriately set.

  As described above, in the pattern forming method of the present invention, the overflow of the functional liquid L from the bank B when the functional liquid L is arranged is prevented, so that the pattern F is accurately formed in a desired shape. Therefore, the thin linear pattern F can be stably formed with high accuracy.

  Here, in the linear region A partitioned by the bank B, the width Wp of the wide portion As is preferably 110 to 500% of the width W of other portions. Thereby, overflow of the functional liquid from the bank at the time of arrangement of the functional liquid is surely prevented. In addition, it is not preferable that the ratio is less than 110% because the functional liquid may not sufficiently retreat to a wide portion. On the other hand, if it exceeds 500%, it is not preferable for effective use of the space on the substrate.

  The shape of the linear region A is not limited to that shown in FIG. The number, size, arrangement position, arrangement pitch, and the like of the wide portions As in the linear region A are appropriately set according to the pattern material and width, or the required accuracy.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show another example of the linear region A. FIG.
In the linear region A shown in FIG. 1, the wide portion As is wider on both sides of the central axis of the linear region A than in other portions, whereas it is shown in FIG. In the linear region A2, the wide portions As1 and As2 extend to one side of the central axis of the linear region A2.
Further, along the axial direction of the linear region A2, a wide portion As1 that spreads on one side of the central axis of the linear region A2 and a wide portion As2 that spreads on the other side are alternately formed. .

  Further, in the linear region A shown in FIG. 1, the edge of the wide portion As is formed in a rectangular shape, whereas in the linear region A3 shown in FIG. 2B, the wide portion As of the wide portion As is formed. The edge is formed in a triangular shape. In addition, the edge part of the wide part As may be formed in circular arc shape.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a position where the wide portion As is formed.
In FIG. 3, the wide portion As is provided at a portion where the patterns (F and F2) intersect. That is, the linear region A is formed to have a partly wide width at a portion intersecting with a region where another pattern F2 is formed. As a result, the space on the substrate can be effectively used. In FIG. 3, the pattern F is used as a gate line in a TFT structure, for example, and the pattern F2 is used as a source line (data line) in a TFT structure, for example.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another example of the position where the wide portion As is formed.
In FIG. 4, the wide portion As is provided at a portion other than the portion where the film patterns (F and F2) intersect. That is, the linear region A is partially narrowed at a portion that intersects with a region where another film pattern F2 is formed. As a result, no capacitance is accumulated at the intersections of the film patterns, and device characteristics can be improved. In FIG. 4, the film pattern F is used as a gate line in a TFT structure, for example, and the film pattern F2 is used as a source line (data line) in a TFT structure, for example.

  Examples of the substrate P in the present invention include various types such as glass, quartz glass, Si wafer, plastic film, and metal plate. Further, it includes those in which a semiconductor film, a metal film, a dielectric film, an organic film or the like is formed as a base layer on the surface of these various material substrates.

In addition, various types of functional liquid L are used in the present invention, and for example, wiring pattern ink containing conductive fine particles is used.
Further, as a method of disposing the functional liquid L in the region partitioned by the bank B, it is preferable to use a droplet discharge method, a so-called ink jet method. Compared to other coating technologies such as spin coating, the use of the droplet discharge method has the advantage that less liquid material is consumed and the amount and position of the functional liquid placed on the substrate can be easily controlled. is there.

The wiring pattern ink is composed of a dispersion in which conductive fine particles are dispersed in a dispersion medium, or a solution in which an organic silver compound or silver oxide nanoparticles are dispersed in a solvent (dispersion medium).
Examples of the conductive fine particles include metal fine particles containing any one of gold, silver, copper, palladium, and nickel, oxides thereof, and fine particles of conductive polymers and superconductors.
These conductive fine particles can be used by coating the surface with an organic substance or the like in order to improve dispersibility. Examples of the coating material that coats the surface of the conductive fine particles include organic solvents such as xylene and toluene, citric acid, and the like.
The particle diameter of the conductive fine particles is preferably 1 nm or more and 0.1 μm or less. If it is larger than 0.1 μm, there is a possibility that clogging may occur in the nozzle of the liquid discharge head described later. On the other hand, if it is smaller than 1 nm, the volume ratio of the coating agent to the conductive fine particles becomes large, and the ratio of organic substances in the obtained film becomes excessive.

  The dispersion medium is not particularly limited as long as it can disperse the conductive fine particles and does not cause aggregation. For example, in addition to water, alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, n-heptane, n-octane, decane, dodecane, tetradecane, toluene, xylene, cymene, durene, indene, dipentene, tetrahydronaphthalene, decahydro Hydrocarbon compounds such as naphthalene and cyclohexylbenzene, ethylene glycol dimethyl ether, ethylene glycol diethyl ether, ethylene glycol methyl ethyl ether, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether, diethylene glycol diethyl ether, diethylene glycol methyl ethyl ether, 1,2-dimethoxyethane, bis (2- Methoxyethyl) ether, ether compounds such as p-dioxane, propylene carbonate, γ- Butyrolactone, N- methyl-2-pyrrolidone, dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, can be exemplified polar compounds such as cyclohexanone. Of these, water, alcohols, hydrocarbon compounds, and ether compounds are preferred from the viewpoints of fine particle dispersibility and dispersion stability, and ease of application to the droplet discharge method (inkjet method). More preferred dispersion media include water and hydrocarbon compounds.

  The surface tension of the conductive fine particle dispersion is preferably in the range of 0.02 N / m to 0.07 N / m. When the liquid is discharged by the droplet discharge method, if the surface tension is less than 0.02 N / m, the wettability of the ink composition with respect to the nozzle surface increases, and thus flight bending easily occurs, resulting in 0.07 N / m. If it exceeds the upper limit, the shape of the meniscus at the nozzle tip is unstable, and it becomes difficult to control the discharge amount and the discharge timing. In order to adjust the surface tension, a small amount of a surface tension regulator such as a fluorine-based, silicone-based, or nonionic-based material may be added to the dispersion within a range that does not significantly reduce the contact angle with the substrate. The nonionic surface tension modifier improves the wettability of the liquid to the substrate, improves the leveling property of the film, and helps prevent the occurrence of fine irregularities in the film. The surface tension modifier may contain an organic compound such as alcohol, ether, ester, or ketone, if necessary.

  The viscosity of the dispersion is preferably 1 mPa · s to 50 mPa · s. When the liquid material is ejected as droplets using the droplet ejection method, if the viscosity is less than 1 mPa · s, the nozzle periphery is easily contaminated by the outflow of ink, and if the viscosity is greater than 50 mPa · s, The frequency of clogging in the nozzle holes increases, and it becomes difficult to smoothly discharge droplets.

Examples of the discharge technique of the droplet discharge method include a charge control method, a pressure vibration method, an electromechanical conversion method, an electrothermal conversion method, and an electrostatic suction method. In the charge control method, a charge is applied to a material by a charging electrode, and the flight direction of the material is controlled by a deflection electrode and discharged from a nozzle. In addition, the pressurized vibration method is a method in which an ultra-high pressure of about 30 kg / cm ² is applied to the material and the material is discharged to the nozzle tip side. When no control voltage is applied, the material goes straight and is discharged from the nozzle. When a control voltage is applied, electrostatic repulsion occurs between the materials, and the materials are scattered and are not discharged from the nozzle. The electromechanical conversion method utilizes the property that a piezoelectric element (piezoelectric element) is deformed by receiving a pulse-like electric signal. The piezoelectric element is deformed through a flexible substance in a space where material is stored. Pressure is applied, and the material is extruded from this space and discharged from the nozzle.

  In the electrothermal conversion method, a material is rapidly vaporized by a heater provided in a space in which the material is stored to generate bubbles, and the material in the space is discharged by the pressure of the bubbles. In the electrostatic attraction method, a minute pressure is applied in a space in which the material is stored, a meniscus of the material is formed on the nozzle, and an electrostatic attractive force is applied in this state before the material is drawn out. In addition to this, techniques such as a system that uses a change in the viscosity of a fluid due to an electric field and a system that uses a discharge spark are also applicable. The droplet discharge method has an advantage that the use of the material is less wasteful and a desired amount of the material can be accurately disposed at a desired position. The amount of one drop of the liquid material (fluid) discharged by the droplet discharge method is, for example, 1 to 300 nanograms.

  In the pattern formation method of this invention, the pattern which has electroconductivity can be formed by using the ink for wiring patterns mentioned above. This conductive pattern is applied to various devices as wiring.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a droplet discharge apparatus (inkjet apparatus) IJ that arranges a liquid material on a substrate by a droplet discharge method as an example of an apparatus used in the pattern forming method of the present invention.

The droplet discharge device IJ includes a droplet discharge head 1, an X-axis direction drive shaft 4, a Y-axis direction guide shaft 5, a control device CONT, a stage 7, a cleaning mechanism 8, a base 9, and a heater. 15.
The stage 7 supports the substrate P on which ink (liquid material) is provided by the droplet discharge device IJ, and includes a fixing mechanism (not shown) that fixes the substrate P at a reference position.

  The droplet discharge head 1 is a multi-nozzle type droplet discharge head including a plurality of discharge nozzles, and the longitudinal direction and the Y-axis direction are made to coincide. The plurality of ejection nozzles are provided on the lower surface of the droplet ejection head 1 at regular intervals along the Y-axis direction. From the ejection nozzle of the droplet ejection head 1, the ink containing the conductive fine particles described above is ejected onto the substrate P supported by the stage 7.

An X-axis direction drive motor 2 is connected to the X-axis direction drive shaft 4. The X-axis direction drive motor 2 is a stepping motor or the like, and rotates the X-axis direction drive shaft 4 when a drive signal in the X-axis direction is supplied from the control device CONT. When the X-axis direction drive shaft 4 rotates, the droplet discharge head 1 moves in the X-axis direction.
The Y-axis direction guide shaft 5 is fixed so as not to move with respect to the base 9. The stage 7 includes a Y-axis direction drive motor 3. The Y-axis direction drive motor 3 is a stepping motor or the like, and moves the stage 7 in the Y-axis direction when a drive signal in the Y-axis direction is supplied from the control device CONT.

The control device CONT supplies the droplet discharge head 1 with a voltage for controlling droplet discharge. In addition, a drive pulse signal for controlling the movement of the droplet discharge head 1 in the X-axis direction is supplied to the X-axis direction drive motor 2, and a drive pulse signal for controlling the movement of the stage 7 in the Y-axis direction is sent to the Y-axis direction drive motor 3. Supply.
The cleaning mechanism 8 cleans the droplet discharge head 1. The cleaning mechanism 8 is provided with a Y-axis direction drive motor (not shown). The cleaning mechanism 8 moves along the Y-axis direction guide shaft 5 by driving the Y-axis direction drive motor. The movement of the cleaning mechanism 8 is also controlled by the control device CONT.
Here, the heater 15 is a means for heat-treating the substrate P by lamp annealing, and performs evaporation and drying of the solvent contained in the liquid material applied on the substrate P. The heater 15 is also turned on and off by the control device CONT.

  The droplet discharge device IJ discharges droplets onto the substrate P while relatively scanning the droplet discharge head 1 and the stage 7 that supports the substrate P. Here, in the following description, the X-axis direction is a scanning direction, and the Y-axis direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction is a non-scanning direction. Therefore, the discharge nozzles of the droplet discharge head 1 are provided at regular intervals in the Y-axis direction, which is the non-scanning direction. In FIG. 5, the droplet discharge head 1 is arranged at a right angle to the traveling direction of the substrate P, but the angle of the droplet discharging head 1 is adjusted so as to intersect the traveling direction of the substrate P. It may be. In this way, the pitch between the nozzles can be adjusted by adjusting the angle of the droplet discharge head 1. Further, the distance between the substrate P and the nozzle surface may be arbitrarily adjusted.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the discharge principle of the liquid material by the piezo method.
In FIG. 6, a piezo element 22 is installed adjacent to a liquid chamber 21 for storing a liquid material (wiring pattern ink, functional liquid). The liquid material is supplied to the liquid chamber 21 via a liquid material supply system 23 including a material tank that stores the liquid material.
The piezo element 22 is connected to a drive circuit 24, and a voltage is applied to the piezo element 22 via the drive circuit 24 to deform the piezo element 22, whereby the liquid chamber 21 is deformed and the liquid material is discharged from the nozzle 25. Is discharged. In this case, the amount of distortion of the piezo element 22 is controlled by changing the value of the applied voltage. Further, the strain rate of the piezo element 22 is controlled by changing the frequency of the applied voltage.
Since the droplet discharge by the piezo method does not apply heat to the material, it has an advantage of hardly affecting the composition of the material.

Next, as an example of an embodiment of the pattern forming method of the present invention, a method for forming a conductive film wiring on a substrate will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
The pattern forming method according to the present embodiment is a method of disposing the above-described wiring pattern ink (wiring pattern forming material) on a substrate and forming a conductive pattern for wiring on the substrate. It is roughly composed of a residue treatment process, a liquid repellent treatment process, a material arrangement process, an intermediate drying process, and a firing process.
Hereinafter, each process will be described in detail.

(Bank formation process)
The bank is a member that functions as a partition member, and the bank can be formed by an arbitrary method such as a lithography method or a printing method. For example, when the lithography method is used, a predetermined method such as spin coating, spray coating, roll coating, die coating, dip coating, or the like is performed to match the height of the bank on the substrate P as shown in FIG. A bank forming material 31 is applied, and a resist layer is applied thereon. Then, a mask is applied according to the bank shape (wiring pattern), and the resist is exposed and developed to leave the resist according to the bank shape. Finally, the bank material other than the mask is removed by etching. Alternatively, the bank (convex portion) may be formed of two or more layers in which the lower layer is made of an inorganic or organic material and is lyophilic with respect to the functional liquid, and the upper layer is made of an organic material and exhibits liquid repellency.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 7B, banks B and B with a width of, for example, 15 μm are provided so as to surround the periphery of the region where the wiring pattern is to be formed.
Further, in this example, as shown in FIG. 1 above, a linear region is formed by the bank, and a predetermined position in the axial direction of the linear region has a width wider than that of other regions. A wide part is formed.
The substrate P is subjected to HMDS treatment (a method of applying (CH ₃ ) ₃ SiNHSi (CH ₃ ) ₃ in a vapor state) as a surface modification treatment before applying the organic material. In FIG. 7, the illustration is omitted.

(Residue treatment process (lyophilic treatment process))
Next, in order to remove a resist (organic matter) residue at the time of bank formation between banks, the substrate P is subjected to a residue treatment.
As the residue treatment, an ultraviolet (UV) irradiation treatment for performing a residue treatment by irradiating ultraviolet rays, an O ₂ plasma treatment using oxygen as a treatment gas in the air atmosphere, or the like can be selected. Here, the O ₂ plasma treatment is performed. To do.

Specifically, the substrate P is irradiated with oxygen in a plasma state from a plasma discharge electrode. As conditions for the O ₂ plasma treatment, for example, the plasma power is 50 to 1000 W, the oxygen gas flow rate is 50 to 100 ml / min, the plate conveyance speed of the substrate P with respect to the plasma discharge electrode is 0.5 to 10 mm / sec, and the substrate temperature is 70. ˜90 ° C.
When the substrate P is a glass substrate, its surface is lyophilic with respect to the wiring pattern forming material. However, as in the present embodiment, O ₂ plasma treatment or ultraviolet irradiation treatment is used for residue treatment. By applying the lyophilicity, the lyophilicity of the substrate surface can be enhanced.

(Liquid repellency treatment process)
Subsequently, the bank B is subjected to a liquid repellency treatment to impart liquid repellency to the surface thereof.
As the lyophobic treatment, for example, a plasma treatment method (CF ₄ plasma treatment method) using tetrafluoromethane as a treatment gas in an air atmosphere can be employed. The conditions of the CF ₄ plasma treatment are, for example, a plasma power of 50 to 1000 W, a tetrafluoromethane gas flow rate of 50 to 100 ml / min, a substrate transport speed to the plasma discharge electrode of 0.5 to 1020 mm / sec, and a substrate temperature of 70 to 90. ℃.
The processing gas is not limited to tetrafluoromethane (carbon tetrafluoride), and other fluorocarbon gases can also be used.

By performing such a liquid repellency treatment, the banks B and B are introduced with a fluorine group in the resin constituting the banks B and B, thereby imparting high liquid repellency. Incidentally, the O ₂ plasma treatment as lyophilic process described above may be performed before formation of the bank B, but if pretreatment with O ₂ plasma is made, that the bank B is easily fluorinated (liquid repellent) Because of the nature, it is preferable to perform O ₂ plasma treatment after the bank B is formed.
Although the lyophobic treatment for banks B and B has some influence on the surface of the substrate P previously lyophilicized, the introduction of fluorine groups by the lyophobic treatment is particularly effective when the substrate P is made of glass or the like. Therefore, the lyophilicity, that is, the wettability of the substrate P is not substantially impaired.
In addition, the banks B and B may be formed of a material having liquid repellency (for example, a resin material having a fluorine group) so that the liquid repellency treatment may be omitted.

(Material placement process and intermediate drying process)
Next, using the droplet discharge method by the droplet discharge apparatus IJ shown in FIG. 5, the wiring pattern forming material is divided into the regions partitioned by the banks B and B on the substrate P, that is, between the banks B and B. To place. In this example, as the wiring pattern ink (functional liquid L), a dispersion liquid in which conductive fine particles are dispersed in a solvent (dispersion medium) is discharged. The conductive fine particles used here include fine particles of conductive polymer or superconductor in addition to metal fine particles containing any of gold, silver, copper, palladium, and nickel.

  That is, in the material arrangement step, as shown in FIG. 7C, the functional liquid L is ejected as droplets from the liquid ejection head 1 and the droplets are disposed between the banks B and B on the substrate P. As the droplet discharge conditions, for example, the ink weight is 7 ng / dot and the ink speed (discharge speed) is 5 to 7 m / sec.

  At this time, since the arrangement area of the functional liquid is partitioned by the banks B and B, the functional liquid L is prevented from spreading on the substrate P.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7C, when the width W between adjacent banks B and B is narrower than the diameter D of the droplet (that is, the diameter D of the droplet is larger than the width W between the banks B and B). In this case, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 7D, a part of the liquid droplets is placed on the banks B and B, but the functional liquid L enters between the banks B and B due to capillary action or the like. In this example, since the banks B and B have liquid repellency, the functional liquid is repelled by the bank B and flows more reliably between the banks B and B.
Further, since the surface of the substrate P is given lyophilicity, the functional liquid L flowing between the banks B and B spreads uniformly in the partitioned region. Thereby, a coating film having a line width W narrower than the diameter D of the droplets to be discharged is formed.

  Furthermore, in this example, as shown in FIG. 1 above, since the width of the linear region is partially formed, a part of the functional liquid is placed in the wide portion when the functional liquid is arranged. Retreating, the overflow of the functional liquid from the bank is surely prevented, and the spread in the area is promoted.

(Intermediate drying process)
After disposing the functional liquid on the substrate P, a drying process is performed as necessary to remove the dispersion medium and secure the film thickness. For example, the drying process can be performed by lamp annealing in addition to a process using a normal hot plate or an electric furnace for heating the substrate P.
The light source used for lamp annealing is not particularly limited, but excimer laser such as infrared lamp, xenon lamp, YAG laser, argon laser, carbon dioxide laser, XeF, XeCl, XeBr, KrF, KrCl, ArF, ArCl, etc. Can be used as a light source. In general, these light sources have an output in the range of 10 W to 5000 W, but in the present embodiment, a range of 100 W to 1000 W is sufficient.

(Baking process)
The dried film after the discharging process needs to completely remove the dispersion medium in order to improve the electrical contact between the fine particles. Further, when a coating material such as an organic material is coated on the surface of the conductive fine particles in order to improve dispersibility, it is also necessary to remove this coating material. For this reason, the substrate after the discharge process is subjected to heat treatment and / or light treatment.

The heat treatment and / or light treatment is usually performed in the air, but may be performed in an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen, argon, helium, etc., if necessary. The treatment temperature of heat treatment and / or light treatment depends on the boiling point (vapor pressure) of the dispersion medium, the type and pressure of the atmospheric gas, the thermal behavior such as fine particle dispersibility and oxidation, the presence and amount of coating material, It is determined appropriately in consideration of the heat resistant temperature.
For example, in order to remove the coating material made of organic matter, it is necessary to bake at about 300 ° C. In this case, for example, low melting point glass or the like may be preliminarily applied on the bank B and the functional liquid dry film.
Moreover, when using a board | substrate, such as a plastics, it is preferable to carry out at room temperature or more and 100 degrees C or less.
Through the above steps, the dry film after the discharge process ensures electrical contact between the fine particles and is converted into a conductive film (pattern F) as shown in FIG.

  As described above, in the pattern forming method of this example, the linear region partitioned by the bank is partially formed to be wide so that overflow of the functional liquid from the bank is reliably prevented. At the same time, spreading in the linear region is promoted. Therefore, a thin linear pattern is formed with high accuracy and stability.

<Pattern Forming Method (Second Embodiment)>
Next, a second embodiment of the wiring pattern forming method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a wiring pattern forming method according to this embodiment. Here, in the following description, the same or equivalent components as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is simplified or omitted.

  In FIG. 8, on the substrate P, a bank B is provided with a first groove part 34A (wide area) having a first width H1, and a second groove part having a second width H2 so as to be connected to the first groove part 34A. 34B (narrow region) is formed. The first width H1 is formed larger than the flying diameter of the functional liquid. The second width H2 is narrower than the first width H1. In other words, the second width H2 is equal to or less than the first width H1. Further, the first groove portion 34A is formed so as to extend in the X-axis direction in FIG. 8, and the second groove portion 34B is formed so as to extend in the Y-axis direction different from the X-axis direction.

  In order to form the pattern F in the grooves 34A and 34B described above, first, as shown in FIG. 9A, droplets of the functional liquid L including the wiring pattern ink for forming the pattern F are ejected as droplets. The head 1 is disposed at a predetermined position of the first groove 34A. When the droplet of the functional liquid L is disposed in the first groove portion 34A, the droplet is ejected from above the first groove portion 34A to the first groove portion 34A using the droplet ejection head 1. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9A, the droplets of the functional liquid L are arranged at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the first groove portion 34A. At this time, the droplet of the functional liquid L is also disposed in the vicinity (intersection region) of the connection portion 37 where the first groove portion 34A and the second groove portion 34B are connected in the first groove portion 34A.

  As shown in FIG. 9B, the functional liquid L arranged in the first groove 34A wets and spreads in the first groove 34A by self-flow. Furthermore, the functional liquid L arranged in the first groove portion 34A wets and spreads in the second groove portion 34B by self-flow. As a result, the functional liquid L can be disposed also in the second groove portion 34B without ejecting droplets directly from the second groove portion 34B to the second groove portion 34B.

  Thus, by disposing the functional liquid L in the first groove 34A, the functional liquid L is disposed in the second groove 34B by the self-flow (capillary phenomenon) of the functional liquid L disposed in the first groove 34A. Can do. Therefore, even if the liquid droplet of the functional liquid L is not discharged from the bank B to the second groove portion 34B having the narrow width H2, the liquid droplet of the functional liquid L is discharged to the first groove portion 34A having the wide width H1. The functional liquid L can be smoothly arranged in the second groove portion 34B. In particular, even when the width H2 of the second groove 34B is narrow and the diameter of the droplet ejected from the droplet ejection head 1 (the diameter of the droplet during flight) is smaller than the width H2, the self-flow of the functional liquid L Thus, the functional liquid L can be smoothly arranged in the second groove portion 34B. And since the width H2 of the 2nd groove part 34B is narrow, the functional liquid L is arrange | positioned smoothly in the 2nd groove part 34B by a capillary phenomenon. Therefore, a pattern having a desired shape can be formed. And since the functional liquid L can be smoothly arrange | positioned in the 2nd groove part 34B of a narrow width | variety, pattern thinning (miniaturization) is realizable. On the other hand, since the width H1 of the first groove 34A is wide, even if a droplet of the functional liquid L is ejected from the bank B to the first groove 34A, a part of the functional liquid L is applied to the upper surface 38 of the bank B. Can avoid the inconvenience of residue. Therefore, the pattern F exhibiting desired characteristics can be stably formed.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the functional liquid L is disposed in the vicinity of the connection portion 37 where the first groove portion 34A and the second groove portion 34B are connected in the first groove portion 34A, when the functional liquid L wets and spreads. It can easily flow into the second groove portion 34B, and the functional liquid L can be more smoothly arranged in the second groove portion 34B.

  After disposing the functional liquid L in the first groove part 34A and the second groove part 34B, the pattern F can be formed by performing an intermediate drying process and a baking process as in the first embodiment described above.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the functional liquid L may be disposed as described above after the functional liquid La made of only the functional liquid solvent is discharged and disposed in the second groove portion 34B. By thus discharging and arranging the functional liquid L in the second groove portion 34B, the functional liquid L can easily flow into the second groove portion 34B, and the functional liquid L can be more smoothly arranged in the second groove portion 34B. . The functional liquid La does not have conductivity because it does not contain conductive fine particles. For this reason, even if the residue of the functional liquid L remains on the bank B, the desired characteristics of the pattern F are not changed.

Further, after the functional liquid L is disposed, a vacuum drying process may be performed. Since the functional liquid L is vacuumed by performing the vacuum drying process, the functional liquid L can be more smoothly arranged in the second groove portion 34B even in this case.
Further, after the functional liquid L is disposed, the gas may be sprayed toward the second groove portion 34B with respect to the functional liquid L. In this way, by blowing the gas toward the second groove 34B against the functional liquid L, it becomes easy to flow into the functional liquid L second groove 34B. Even in this case, the functional liquid L smoothly flows into the second groove 34B. Can be arranged.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the connecting portion 37 between the first groove portion 34A and the second groove portion 34B may be tapered so as to gradually narrow from the first groove portion 34A toward the second groove portion 34B. By doing so, the functional liquid L arranged in the first groove portion 34A can smoothly flow into the second groove portion 34B.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, in the form in which the extending direction of the first groove 34A and the extending direction of the second groove 34B intersect with each other, the width of the region in the vicinity of the second groove 34B in the first groove 34A H1 ′ may be locally narrower than the width H1 of other regions. This also allows the functional liquid L arranged in the first groove portion 34A to smoothly flow into the second groove portion 34B. In this case, the inner surface Bh of the bank B forming the first groove portion 34A is inclined toward the second groove portion 34B, so that the functional liquid L arranged in the first groove portion 34A is more smoothly supplied to the second groove portion 34B. Can flow in.

  In the above-described embodiments, the extending direction of the first groove portion 34A having the wide width H1 and the extending direction of the second groove portion 34B having the narrow width H2 are different from each other, but as shown in FIG. In addition, the extending direction of the first groove portion 34A having the wide width H1 and the extending direction of the second groove portion 34B having the narrow width H2 may be the same. Even in this case, as shown in FIG. 13A, by disposing the functional liquid L in the first groove 34A as shown in FIG. 13A, the functional liquid L self-flows as shown in FIG. L can be arranged in the second groove 34B. Also in this case, the connecting portion 37 between the first groove portion 34A and the second groove portion 34B is tapered so that the first groove portion 34A gradually narrows from the first groove portion 34A toward the second groove portion 34B. The functional liquid L disposed on the second groove portion 34B can smoothly flow into the second groove portion 34B.

  Further, when the functional liquid L arranged in the first groove 34A is arranged in the second groove 34B by self-flow, as shown in FIG. 14, the first groove 34A and the second groove 34B of the first groove 34A are connected. The bank portion 39 may be provided in a region other than the connecting portion 37 to be connected. A bank portion 39 in FIG. 14 is a droplet of the functional liquid L disposed in the first groove portion 34A. That is, the droplet of the functional liquid L used as the bank portion 39 does not flow into the second groove portion 34B, but in the vicinity of the connection portion 37 where the first groove portion 34A and the second groove portion 34B of the first groove portion 34A are connected ( It is the first droplet placed so as to surround the (intersection region). In FIG. 14, “1” is assigned to the first placed droplet that functions as the bank portion 39. And the functional liquid L for arrange | positioning to the 2nd groove part 34B by self-flow is arrange | positioned between the connection part 37 and the bank part 39. FIG. This droplet is marked with “2”. By doing so, the droplet “2” of the functional liquid L arranged between the connection portion 37 and the bank portion 39 (droplet “1”) in the first groove portion 34A is directed in a direction other than the connection portion 37. Is prevented from flowing, and flows to the connection portion 37 side. Therefore, the flow rate of the functional liquid L toward the second groove portion 34B can be increased, and the droplet “2” smoothly flows into the second groove portion 34B via the connection portion 37.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the inner wall surface Bh of the bank B may be used as the bank portion 39.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 16, the first groove 34A is connected to the third groove 34C having a width H3 narrower than the width H1 of the first groove 34A and the width H2 of the second groove 34B. Since the inner wall surface Bh of the bank B functions as the bank portion 39, the functional liquid L arranged in the first groove portion H1 flows smoothly into the second groove portion 34B and the third groove portion 34C.

<Thin film transistor>
The wiring pattern forming method of the present invention is applicable when forming a thin film transistor (TFT) as a switching element and wiring connected thereto as shown in FIG. In FIG. 17, on a TFT substrate P having TFTs, a gate wiring 40, a gate electrode 41 electrically connected to the gate wiring 40, a source wiring 42, and a source electrically connected to the source wiring 42 are shown. An electrode 43, a drain electrode 44, and a pixel electrode 45 electrically connected to the drain electrode 44 are provided. The gate wiring 40 is formed so as to extend in the X-axis direction, and the gate electrode 41 is formed so as to extend in the Y-axis direction. Further, the width H2 of the gate electrode 41 is narrower than the width H1 of the gate wiring 40. The gate wiring 40 and the gate electrode 41 can be formed by the wiring pattern forming method according to the present invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, the gate wiring of the TFT (thin film transistor) is formed by using the pattern forming method according to the present invention, but other components such as a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a pixel electrode are manufactured. It is also possible to do. Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing a TFT will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 18A, first, a first layer bank 611 for providing a groove 611a having a pitch of 1/20 to 1/10 of one pixel pitch on the upper surface of a cleaned glass substrate 610 is formed by photolithography. Formed based on law. The bank 611 needs to have light transmittance and liquid repellency after formation, and a polymer material such as an acrylic resin, a polyimide resin, an olefin resin, or a melamine resin is preferably used as the material.

In order to impart liquid repellency to the formed bank 611, it is necessary to perform CF ₄ plasma treatment or the like (plasma treatment using a gas having a fluorine component). A liquid repellent component (fluorine group or the like) may be filled. In this case, CF ₄ plasma treatment or the like can be omitted.

  The contact angle of the bank 611 made liquid-repellent as described above with respect to the ejected ink is preferably 40 ° or more, and the contact angle of the glass surface is preferably 10 ° or less. That is, as a result of confirmation by the inventors through tests, for example, the contact angle after the treatment with respect to the conductive fine particles (tetradecane solvent) is about 54.0 ° when the acrylic resin system is adopted as the material of the bank 611 (not yet). In the case of processing, 10 ° or less) can be secured. These contact angles were obtained under the processing conditions of supplying tetrafluoromethane gas at 0.1 L / min under a plasma power of 550 W.

  In the gate scan electrode formation step subsequent to the first layer bank formation step, droplets containing a conductive material are ejected by ink jet so as to fill the groove 611a which is a drawing region partitioned by the bank 611. Thus, the gate scanning electrode 612 is formed. Then, when forming the gate scanning electrode 612, the pattern forming method according to the present invention is applied.

  As the conductive material at this time, Ag, Al, Au, Cu, palladium, Ni, W-si, a conductive polymer, or the like can be suitably used. Since the gate scan electrode 612 formed in this manner is given sufficient liquid repellency to the bank 611 in advance, it is possible to form a fine wiring pattern without protruding from the groove 611a.

  Through the above steps, the first conductive layer A1 having a flat upper surface including the bank 611 and the gate scanning electrode 612 is formed on the substrate 610.

  In order to obtain a good discharge result in the groove 611a, as shown in FIG. 18A, a quasi-taper (taper shape that opens toward the discharge source) is adopted as the shape of the groove 611a. Is preferred. As a result, the discharged droplets can be made to enter sufficiently deeply.

Next, as shown in FIG. 18B, a gate insulating film 613, an active layer 610, and a contact layer 609 are continuously formed by plasma CVD. A silicon nitride film is formed as the gate insulating film 613, an amorphous silicon film is formed as the active layer 610, and an n ⁺ -type silicon film is formed as the contact layer 609 by changing the source gas and plasma conditions. When the film is formed by the CVD method, a heat history of 300 ° C. to 350 ° C. is required. However, problems related to transparency and heat resistance can be avoided by using an inorganic material for the bank.

  In the second bank forming step subsequent to the semiconductor layer forming step, as shown in FIG. 18C, the groove is formed on the upper surface of the gate insulating film 613 at 1/20 to 1/10 of one pixel pitch and the groove. A second-layer bank 614 for providing a groove 614a intersecting with 611a is formed based on a photolithography method. The bank 614 needs to have optical transparency and liquid repellency after formation, and a polymer material such as an acrylic resin, a polyimide resin, an olefin resin, or a melamine resin is preferably used as the material.

In order to impart liquid repellency to the formed bank 614, it is necessary to perform CF ₄ plasma treatment or the like (plasma treatment using a gas having a fluorine component). Instead, the material of the bank 614 itself is repelled beforehand. It is good also as what is filled with liquid components (fluorine group etc.). In this case, CF ₄ plasma treatment or the like can be omitted.

  The contact angle of the bank 614 made liquid-repellent as described above with respect to the ejected ink is preferably 40 ° or more.

  In the source / drain electrode formation step subsequent to the second-layer bank formation step, droplets containing a conductive material are ejected by ink jet so as to fill the groove 614a which is a drawing region partitioned by the bank 614. As a result, as shown in FIG. 18D, the source electrode 615 and the source electrode 616 intersecting with the gate scanning electrode 612 are formed. Then, when forming the source electrode 615 and the drain electrode 616, the pattern forming method according to the present invention is applied.

  As the conductive material at this time, Ag, Al, Au, Cu, palladium, Ni, W-si, a conductive polymer, or the like can be suitably used. Since the source electrode 615 and the drain electrode 616 thus formed are provided with sufficient liquid repellency in the bank 614 in advance, it is possible to form a fine wiring pattern without protruding from the groove 614a. ing.

  In addition, an insulating material 617 is disposed so as to fill the groove 614a in which the source electrode 615 and the drain electrode 616 are disposed. Through the above steps, a flat upper surface 620 including the bank 614 and the insulating material 617 is formed on the substrate 610.

  Then, a contact hole 619 is formed in the insulating material 617, a patterned pixel electrode (ITO) 618 is formed on the upper surface 620, and the drain electrode 616 and the pixel electrode 618 are connected through the contact hole 619. TFT is formed.

<Electro-optical device>
Next, a liquid crystal display device which is an example of the electro-optical device of the invention will be described.
FIG. 19 is a plan view of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention as seen from the counter substrate side shown together with each component, and FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line HH ′ of FIG. FIG. 21 is an equivalent circuit diagram of various elements and wirings in a plurality of pixels formed in a matrix in the image display region of the liquid crystal display device, and FIG. 22 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal display device. In each drawing used in the following description, the scale is different for each layer and each member so that each layer and each member can be recognized on the drawing.

  19 and 20, in the liquid crystal display device (electro-optical device) 100 according to the present embodiment, the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 that form a pair are attached by a sealing material 52 that is a photo-curable sealing material. The liquid crystal 50 is sealed and held in the region partitioned by the sealing material 52. The sealing material 52 is formed in a frame shape that is closed in a region within the substrate surface, does not include a liquid crystal injection port, and does not have a trace sealed with the sealing material.

A peripheral parting 53 made of a light shielding material is formed in a region inside the region where the sealing material 52 is formed. A data line driving circuit 201 and a mounting terminal 202 are formed along one side of the TFT array substrate 10 in a region outside the sealing material 52, and the scanning line driving circuit 204 is formed along two sides adjacent to the one side. Is formed. On the remaining side of the TFT array substrate 10, a plurality of wirings 205 are provided for connecting between the scanning line driving circuits 204 provided on both sides of the image display area. Further, at least one corner of the counter substrate 20 is provided with an inter-substrate conductive material 206 for establishing electrical continuity between the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20.
Instead of forming the data line driving circuit 201 and the scanning line driving circuit 204 on the TFT array substrate 10, for example, a TAB (Tape Automated Bonding) substrate on which a driving LSI is mounted and a peripheral portion of the TFT array substrate 10 The terminal group formed in the above may be electrically and mechanically connected via an anisotropic conductive film. In the liquid crystal display device 100, the type of liquid crystal 50 to be used, that is, an operation mode such as a TN (Twisted Nematic) mode, a C-TN method, a VA method, an IPS method mode, normally white mode / normally black, etc. Depending on the mode, a retardation plate, a polarizing plate, and the like are arranged in a predetermined direction, but the illustration is omitted here.
Further, when the liquid crystal display device 100 is configured for color display, in the counter substrate 20, for example, red (R), green (G), A blue (B) color filter is formed together with the protective film.

  In the image display region of the liquid crystal display device 100 having such a structure, as shown in FIG. 21, a plurality of pixels 100a are configured in a matrix, and each of these pixels 100a has a pixel switching region. TFT (switching element) 30 is formed, and a data line 6 a for supplying pixel signals S 1, S 2,..., Sn is electrically connected to the source of the TFT 30. Pixel signals S1, S2,..., Sn to be written to the data lines 6a may be supplied line-sequentially in this order, or may be supplied for each group to a plurality of adjacent data lines 6a. . Further, the scanning line 3a is electrically connected to the gate of the TFT 30, and the scanning signals G1, G2,..., Gm are applied to the scanning line 3a in a pulse-sequential manner in this order at a predetermined timing. It is configured.

  The pixel electrode 19 is electrically connected to the drain of the TFT 30, and the pixel signal S1, S2,..., Sn supplied from the data line 6a is obtained by turning on the TFT 30 as a switching element for a certain period. Write to each pixel at a predetermined timing. The pixel signals S1, S2,..., Sn written in the liquid crystal through the pixel electrode 19 in this way are held for a certain period with the counter electrode 121 of the counter substrate 20 shown in FIG. In order to prevent the held pixel signals S1, S2,..., Sn from leaking, a storage capacitor 60 is added in parallel with the liquid crystal capacitor formed between the pixel electrode 19 and the counter electrode 121. For example, the voltage of the pixel electrode 19 is held by the storage capacitor 60 for a time that is three orders of magnitude longer than the time when the source voltage is applied. Thereby, the charge retention characteristics are improved, and the liquid crystal display device 100 with a high contrast ratio can be realized.

  FIG. 22 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal display device 100 having the bottom gate type TFT 30. The gate wiring 61 as a conductive film is formed on the glass substrate P constituting the TFT array substrate 10 by the pattern forming method. Is formed.

A semiconductor layer 63 made of an amorphous silicon (a-Si) layer is stacked on the gate wiring 61 with a gate insulating film 62 made of SiNx interposed therebetween. A portion of the semiconductor layer 63 facing the gate wiring portion is a channel region. On the semiconductor layer 63, junction layers 64a and 64b made of, for example, an n ⁺ type a-Si layer for obtaining an ohmic junction are stacked, and the channel is protected on the semiconductor layer 63 in the central portion of the channel region. An insulating etch stop film 65 made of SiNx is formed. The gate insulating film 62, the semiconductor layer 63, and the etch stop film 65 are patterned as shown in the figure by performing resist coating, photosensitive / developing, and photoetching after vapor deposition (CVD).

  Further, the bonding layers 64a and 64b and the pixel electrode 19 made of ITO are formed in the same manner, and are patterned as shown in the figure by performing photoetching. Banks 66 are provided on the pixel electrode 19, the gate insulating film 62, and the etch stop film 65, and silver droplets are discharged between the banks 66 using the above-described droplet discharge device IJ. Thus, a source line and a drain line can be formed.

  In the liquid crystal display device of this embodiment, the conductive film which is miniaturized and thinned by the pattern formation method is formed with high accuracy and stability, so that high quality and performance can be obtained.

  In the above embodiment, the TFT 30 is used as a switching element for driving the liquid crystal display device 100. However, the present invention can be applied to, for example, an organic EL (electroluminescence) display device in addition to the liquid crystal display device. An organic EL display device has a configuration in which a thin film containing fluorescent inorganic and organic compounds is sandwiched between a cathode and an anode, and excitons are obtained by injecting and exciting electrons and holes into the thin film. It is an element that generates (exciton) and emits light by utilizing light emission (fluorescence / phosphorescence) when the exciton recombines. Then, on the substrate having the TFT 30 described above, among the fluorescent materials used for the organic EL display element, a material exhibiting each emission color of red, green and blue, that is, a light emitting layer forming material and a hole injection / electron transport layer are provided. A self-luminous full-color EL device can be manufactured by using ink as a material to be formed and patterning each. The range of the device (electro-optical device) in the present invention includes such an organic EL device.

FIG. 23 is a side sectional view of an organic EL device in which some components are manufactured by the droplet discharge device IJ. A schematic configuration of the organic EL device will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 23, an organic EL device 401 includes an organic EL element 402 including a substrate 411, a circuit element portion 421, a pixel electrode 431, a bank portion 441, a light emitting element 451, a cathode 461 (counter electrode), and a sealing substrate 471. In addition, wiring of a flexible substrate (not shown) and a driving IC (not shown) are connected. The circuit element portion 421 is configured by forming TFTs 60 as active elements on a substrate 411 and arranging a plurality of pixel electrodes 431 on the circuit element portion 421. And the gate wiring 61 which comprises TFT60 is formed with the formation method of the wiring pattern of embodiment mentioned above.

  Bank portions 441 are formed in a lattice shape between the pixel electrodes 431, and light emitting elements 451 are formed in the recess openings 444 generated by the bank portions 441. Note that the light emitting element 451 includes an element that emits red light, an element that emits green light, and an element that emits blue light. Accordingly, the organic EL device 401 realizes full color display. Yes. The cathode 461 is formed on the entire upper surface of the bank portion 441 and the light emitting element 451, and a sealing substrate 471 is laminated on the cathode 461.

  The manufacturing process of the organic EL device 401 including the organic EL element includes a bank part forming step for forming the bank part 441, a plasma processing step for appropriately forming the light emitting element 451, and a light emitting element formation for forming the light emitting element 451. A process, a counter electrode forming process for forming the cathode 461, and a sealing process for stacking and sealing the sealing substrate 471 on the cathode 461.

  The light emitting element forming step is to form the light emitting element 451 by forming the hole injection layer 452 and the light emitting layer 453 on the concave opening 444, that is, the pixel electrode 431. The hole injection layer forming step and the light emitting layer forming step It is equipped with. In the hole injection layer forming step, a liquid material for forming the hole injection layer 452 is discharged onto each pixel electrode 431, and the discharged liquid material is dried to form holes. A first drying step for forming the injection layer 452. The light emitting layer forming step includes a second discharge step of discharging a liquid material for forming the light emitting layer 453 onto the hole injection layer 452, and drying the discharged liquid material to form the light emitting layer 453. And a second drying step to be formed. As described above, the light emitting layer 453 is formed of three types of materials corresponding to the three colors of red, green, and blue. Therefore, the second discharge process includes three types of light emitting layers. There are three steps for discharging the material to each.

  In the light emitting element forming step, the droplet discharge device IJ can be used in the first discharging step in the hole injection layer forming step and the second discharging step in the light emitting layer forming step.

  Moreover, as a device (electro-optical device) according to the present invention, in addition to the above, a current is passed in parallel to the film surface through a PDP (plasma display panel) or a small-area thin film formed on a substrate, The present invention can also be applied to a surface conduction electron-emitting device that utilizes a phenomenon in which electron emission occurs.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the liquid crystal display device.
A liquid crystal display device (electro-optical device) 901 illustrated in FIG. 24 includes a color liquid crystal panel (electro-optical panel) 902 and a circuit board 903 connected to the liquid crystal panel 902. Further, an illumination device such as a backlight and other incidental devices are attached to the liquid crystal panel 902 as necessary.

  The liquid crystal panel 902 includes a pair of substrates 905a and 905b bonded by a sealant 904, and liquid crystal is sealed in a gap formed between the substrates 905b and 905b, a so-called cell gap. . These substrates 905a and 905b are generally formed of a light-transmitting material such as glass or synthetic resin. A polarizing plate 906a and a polarizing plate 906b are attached to the outer surfaces of the substrate 905a and the substrate 905b. In FIG. 24, the polarizing plate 906b is not shown.

  An electrode 907a is formed on the inner surface of the substrate 905a, and an electrode 907b is formed on the inner surface of the substrate 905b. These electrodes 907a and 907b are formed in stripes or letters, numbers, or other appropriate patterns. The electrodes 907a and 907b are made of a light-transmitting material such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide). The substrate 905a has a protruding portion that protrudes from the substrate 905b, and a plurality of terminals 908 are formed on the protruding portion. These terminals 908 are formed simultaneously with the electrode 907a when the electrode 907a is formed over the substrate 905a. Therefore, these terminals 908 are made of, for example, ITO. These terminals 908 include one that extends integrally from the electrode 907a and one that is connected to the electrode 907b via a conductive material (not shown).

  On the circuit board 903, a semiconductor element 900 as a liquid crystal driving IC is mounted at a predetermined position on the wiring board 909. Although not shown, a resistor, a capacitor, and other chip components may be mounted at predetermined positions other than the portion where the semiconductor element 900 is mounted. The wiring substrate 909 is manufactured by forming a wiring pattern 912 by patterning a metal film such as Cu formed on a flexible base substrate 911 such as polyimide.

In this embodiment, the electrodes 907a and 907b in the liquid crystal panel 902 and the wiring pattern 912 in the circuit board 903 are formed by the device manufacturing method.
According to the liquid crystal display device of the present embodiment, it is possible to obtain a high-quality liquid crystal display device in which nonuniformity in electrical characteristics is eliminated.

  Note that the above-described example is a passive liquid crystal panel, but an active matrix liquid crystal panel may be used. That is, a thin film transistor (TFT) is formed on one substrate, and a pixel electrode is formed for each TFT. In addition, wirings (gate wirings and source wirings) that are electrically connected to the TFTs can be formed using the ink jet technique as described above. On the other hand, a counter electrode or the like is formed on the opposing substrate. The present invention can also be applied to such an active matrix liquid crystal panel.

  Moreover, as a device (electro-optical device) according to the present invention, in addition to the above, a current is passed in parallel to the film surface through a PDP (plasma display panel) or a small-area thin film formed on a substrate, The present invention can also be applied to a surface conduction electron-emitting device that utilizes a phenomenon in which electron emission occurs.

<Electronic equipment>
Next, specific examples of the electronic device of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 25A is a perspective view showing an example of a mobile phone. In FIG. 25A, reference numeral 600 denotes a mobile phone body, and reference numeral 601 denotes a liquid crystal display unit including the liquid crystal display device of the above embodiment.
FIG. 25B is a perspective view showing an example of a portable information processing apparatus such as a word processor or a personal computer. In FIG. 25B, reference numeral 700 denotes an information processing device, 701 denotes an input unit such as a keyboard, 703 denotes an information processing body, and 702 denotes a liquid crystal display unit including the liquid crystal display device of the above embodiment.
FIG. 25C is a perspective view showing an example of a wristwatch type electronic device. In FIG. 25C, reference numeral 800 denotes a watch body, and reference numeral 801 denotes a liquid crystal display unit including the liquid crystal display device of the above embodiment.
Since the electronic apparatus shown in FIGS. 25A to 25C includes the liquid crystal display device of the above-described embodiment, high quality and performance can be obtained.
In addition, although the electronic device of this embodiment shall be provided with a liquid crystal device, it can also be set as the electronic device provided with other electro-optical devices, such as an organic electroluminescent display apparatus and a plasma type display apparatus.

Next, an example in which a pattern formed by the pattern forming method of the present invention is applied to an antenna circuit will be described.
FIG. 26 shows a non-contact type card medium according to the present embodiment. The non-contact type card medium 400 includes a semiconductor integrated circuit chip 408 and an antenna circuit 412 in a casing made up of a card base 402 and a card cover 418. And at least one of power supply and data transmission / reception by at least one of electromagnetic waves or capacitive coupling with an external transceiver (not shown).

  In the present embodiment, the antenna circuit 412 is formed based on the pattern forming method of the present invention. Therefore, the antenna circuit 412 is miniaturized and thinned, and high quality and performance can be obtained.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples. Various shapes, combinations, and the like of the constituent members shown in the above-described examples are examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows notionally the pattern formation method of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of a linear area | region. It is a figure which shows the example of the position in which the wide part in a linear area | region is formed. It is a figure which shows the other example of the position where the wide part in a linear area | region is formed. It is a schematic perspective view of a droplet discharge device. It is a figure for demonstrating the discharge principle of the liquid material by a piezo method. It is a figure which shows the procedure which forms a wiring pattern. It is a figure which shows another form of the wiring pattern formation method. It is a figure which shows another form of the wiring pattern formation method. It is a figure which shows another form of the wiring pattern formation method. It is a figure which shows another form of the wiring pattern formation method. It is a figure which shows another form of the wiring pattern formation method. It is a figure which shows another form of the wiring pattern formation method. It is a figure which shows another form of the wiring pattern formation method. It is a figure which shows another form of the wiring pattern formation method. It is a figure which shows another form of the wiring pattern formation method. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the board | substrate which has a thin-film transistor. It is a figure for demonstrating the process of manufacturing a thin-film transistor. It is the top view which looked at the liquid crystal display device from the counter substrate side. It is sectional drawing which follows the H-H 'line | wire of FIG. It is an equivalent circuit diagram of a liquid crystal display device. It is a partial expanded sectional view of a liquid crystal display device same as the above. It is a partial expanded sectional view of an organic EL device. It is a figure which shows another form of a liquid crystal display device. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the electronic device of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of a non-contact type card medium.

Explanation of symbols

B ... bank, P ... substrate (glass substrate), A ... linear region, As ... wide part, W, Wp ... width, F ... pattern (conductive film), 30 ... TFT (switching element), 100 ... liquid crystal display Device (electro-optical device), 400... Non-contact type card medium (electronic device).

Claims (9)

A thin film transistor for driving a display device,
A thin film transistor, wherein at least part of a gate electrode is formed in a region partitioned by a bank. A thin film transistor for driving a display device,
A thin film transistor, wherein at least part of a source electrode is formed in a region partitioned by a bank. A thin film transistor for driving a display device,
A thin film transistor, wherein at least part of a drain electrode is formed in a region partitioned by a bank.   2. The thin film transistor according to claim 1, wherein the area partitioned by the bank has a narrower width than the gate wiring.   3. The thin film transistor according to claim 2, wherein the area partitioned by the bank has a narrower width than the source wiring.   The thin film transistor according to claim 1, wherein the bank has a tapered shape.   The thin film transistor according to claim 1, wherein the bank is made of a polymer material.   The thin film transistor according to claim 7, wherein the polymer material includes at least one of acrylic resin, polyimide resin, olefin resin, and melamine resin.   The thin film transistor according to claim 1, wherein the bank has light permeability and liquid repellency.

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