JP2007289893A - Droplet application device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a droplet application device for simultaneously achieving response to a larger substrate and reduction in cost. <P>SOLUTION: The droplet application device includes a main stage 2a for mounting a substrate, a droplet dispensing unit 3 for dispensing droplets on deficits scattered on the substrate mounted on the main stage 2a, and a sub stage 2b connected to the main stage 2a to protect the droplet dispensing unit 3. The flatness of the surface of the sub stage 2b is larger than that of the main stage 2a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet applying apparatus that discharges droplets to drawing portions (defects) scattered on a substrate placed on a stage.

  In recent years, the inkjet technology is expected to be used not only as a printer device for forming an image on a paper medium but also as a manufacturing device. For example, Patent Document 1 shows a configuration of a manufacturing apparatus equipped with an ink jet type droplet discharge element as a manufacturing apparatus such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, a plasma display, an electron-emitting device, and an electrophoretic display device. . In Patent Document 1, in order to improve the landing position accuracy on the substrate, the apparatus base is used as a stone surface plate, the stage that conveys the substrate in the same direction, and the inkjet head is moved in the direction orthogonal to the stage traveling direction. Each carriage mechanism is directly connected to the stone surface plate.

  In general-purpose printers based on the ink jet system, several ink jet head elements each having a width of 1/2 to 2 inches in which nozzle holes are regularly arranged at intervals of 150 to 300 nozzles / inch as elements for ejecting liquid droplets are provided for each color. An image is formed using one mounted inkjet head unit. As an image forming method, an image is formed on a recording paper by scanning the ink jet head unit a plurality of times in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the recording paper while feeding the recording paper with a paper feed roller.

  Even when this ink jet system is used as a manufacturing apparatus, the ink jet head element is equivalent to that for a general-purpose printer, and the size in the nozzle row direction is only about 1 to 2 inches at most.

  On the other hand, the manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, a plasma display, an electron-emitting device, and an electrophoretic display device tends to reduce cost and tact by increasing the number of samples using a large area substrate, In order to manufacture these by the inkjet method, a manufacturing apparatus that can handle a large-area substrate having a length of several meters has been required.

  As a manufacturing apparatus using an ink jet system capable of processing a large area substrate at a high speed, there is a line head system in which a plurality of ink jet head elements are arranged to have a length longer than the substrate size. In this method, ink jet elements having a width of 1 to 2 inches at most are arranged in a staggered manner up to the length up to the substrate size. When the substrate size is several meters, it is necessary to arrange at least 100 to 200 heads. This production apparatus using the line head method is very effective for a substrate that requires ejection over the entire surface of the substrate, such as a color filter substrate, and has a regular ejection location.

In addition, as a part of the method for manufacturing a color filter substrate, a configuration is known in which when a color defective portion is present on the color filter substrate, the color filter material is discharged only to the defective portion (Patent Document 2).
JP2003-191462 (published July 8, 2003 (2003.7.8)) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-66218 (published March 5, 2003 (2003.3.5))

  However, in the above-described conventional configuration, as the target substrate becomes larger for a large screen having a length of several meters, the stage on which the target substrate on which the color filter material is discharged for defect repair is also placed. There is a problem that it is difficult to ensure the accuracy such as the flatness of the surface on which the target substrate is placed by increasing the area, and the cost for securing such accuracy increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a droplet coating apparatus capable of simultaneously supporting a large substrate and reducing costs.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a droplet applying apparatus according to the present invention discharges droplets to a main stage on which a substrate is placed, and drawing locations scattered on the substrate placed on the main stage. A droplet discharge unit; and a sub-stage connected to the main stage to maintain the droplet discharge unit. The flatness of the surface of the sub-stage is determined by the plane of the surface of the main stage. It is characterized by being rougher than the degree.

  Due to this feature, a substage for maintaining the droplet discharge unit is provided connected to the main stage on which the substrate is placed, and the flatness of the surface of the substage is rougher than the flatness of the surface of the main stage. It has become. For this reason, it is possible to divide a droplet coating apparatus for handling a large substrate into a main stage and a sub stage, and to make the cost for manufacturing the sub stage lower than the cost for manufacturing the main stage. It is possible to provide a droplet coating apparatus that can simultaneously cope with a large substrate and reduce costs.

  The droplet applying apparatus according to the present invention further includes a carry-in / out sub-stage provided to carry the substrate into the main stage and carry out the substrate from the main stage, and the surface of the carry-in / out sub-stage It is preferable that the flatness is rougher than the flatness of the surface of the main stage.

  According to the above configuration, the carry-in / out substage is further divided, and the flatness of the surface of the carry-in / out substage is made rougher than the flatness of the surface of the main stage, so that the manufacturing cost of the carry-in / out substage is reduced. This can further reduce the manufacturing cost of the droplet applying apparatus.

  In the droplet applying apparatus according to the present invention, a gantry on which the droplet discharge unit is mounted, and a guide mechanism provided along the loading / unloading direction of the substrate in order to move the gantry relative to the substrate. It is preferable to further comprise.

  According to the above configuration, since the gantry is moved relative to the substrate by the guide mechanism, it is possible to apply droplets to the entire substrate with high accuracy.

  In the droplet applying apparatus according to the present invention, the droplet discharge unit is configured such that the gantry moves along the loading / unloading direction of the substrate in accordance with data representing the positions of a plurality of drawing locations scattered on the substrate. While moving, it is preferable to move along a direction perpendicular to the loading / unloading direction.

  According to the above configuration, defects scattered on the substrate can be repaired with a simple configuration.

  The droplet coating apparatus according to the present invention further includes a substrate mounting table mounted on the main stage and the carry-in / out sub-stage so as to be movable along the carry-in / out direction of the substrate. It is preferable.

  According to the above configuration, the target substrate can be easily carried in and out with a simple configuration.

  In the droplet applying apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that a maintenance mechanism for maintaining the droplet discharge unit is provided on the substage.

  According to the above configuration, the droplet discharge unit can be maintained with a simple configuration.

  In the droplet applying apparatus according to the present invention, the maintenance mechanism includes a cap member that caps the nozzle hole of the droplet discharge unit, a negative pressure suction member that sucks the nozzle hole at a negative pressure and discharges the droplet. And a non-ejection detector for detecting non-ejection of the droplet from the nozzle hole.

  According to the above configuration, the evaporation of droplets from the droplet discharge unit when not in use can be prevented, and the droplet discharge unit in a non-discharge state can be detected to discharge the droplets It can be restored to the state.

  In the droplet applying apparatus according to the present invention, the main stage is made of a highly accurate material, and the substage is made of a material having a lower accuracy than the material constituting the main stage. preferable.

  According to the above configuration, the substage is configured with a low-accuracy material, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  As described above, the droplet coating apparatus according to the present invention makes the flatness of the surface of the substage rougher than the flatness of the surface of the main stage, so that it can simultaneously cope with a large substrate and reduce costs. There is an effect that it is possible to provide a droplet applying apparatus that can perform the above process.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Embodiment 1)
<Description of overall device configuration>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the defect repairing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the defect repair apparatus 1.

  The defect repair apparatus 1 includes a base 2. The droplet discharge device 1 includes a substrate mounting table 6 mounted on a substrate 2 and moved when the substrate is loaded and unloaded, and a head gantry unit 4 that traverses the substrate mounting table 6 without contacting the table. Is provided. The head gantry unit 4 is configured to reciprocate in one direction (a direction parallel to the Y direction in FIG. 1) by a gantry slide mechanism 5 connected to the base 2.

  On the side surface of the head gantry unit 4, the droplet discharge unit 3 is moved in a direction (a direction parallel to the X direction in FIG. 1) different from the moving direction of the head gantry unit 4 (a direction parallel to the Y direction in FIG. 1). The discharge unit slide mechanism 15 that can be moved is mounted, and the droplet discharge unit 3 mounted on the discharge unit slide mechanism 15 is within the range of the movable region on the discharge unit slide mechanism 15 and is a head gantry unit. 4 is movable in a direction different from the moving direction 4 (direction parallel to the X direction in FIG. 1).

  A plurality (9 in FIG. 1) of droplet discharge units 3 are mounted on the side surface of the head gantry unit 4 and each have a separate discharge unit slide mechanism 15. Then, the plurality of droplet discharge units 3 individually move in the direction parallel to the X direction in FIG. 1 on each discharge unit slide mechanism 15 based on a control command from the defect repair device.

  The droplet discharge unit 3 has a head discharge surface. The head ejection surface is substantially parallel to the substrate mounting table 6 and has a hole for ejecting droplets. The droplet discharge unit 3 drops droplets from the head discharge surface onto the target substrate placed on the substrate platform 6 based on a control command from the defect repair device.

  On the apparatus base 2, in addition to the substrate mounting table 6, a mechanism for capping the ejection surface when the liquid droplet ejection unit 3 is not used, a mechanism for detecting a defective ejection port, a mechanism for recovering the defective ejection port, A maintenance mechanism 7 is provided. At the time of maintenance, the head gantry unit 4 is moved immediately above the maintenance mechanism 7 by the gantry slide mechanism 5, and various maintenance operations are performed on the droplet discharge unit 3.

<Description of Device Base 2>
The configuration of the apparatus base 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The apparatus base 2 mechanically connects a main stage 2a located at the center, a substage 2c having a maintenance mechanism 7 and a substage 2b to both sides thereof.

  The main stage 2a is a highly precise stage made of granite, and accurately fixes the substrate mounting table 6 while droplets are discharged from the droplet discharging unit 3 toward the target substrate on the substrate mounting table 6. Is.

  The substage 2c is equipped with the maintenance mechanism 7, and does not need to be manufactured with higher accuracy than the main stage 2a.

  The sub-stage 2b is a stage used when the substrate mounting table 6 is moved to the apparatus end when the substrate is loaded onto the substrate mounting table 6 or unloaded from the substrate mounting table 6.

  As described above, the main stage (base 2) includes the main stage 2a located at the center of the stage, and is configured by mechanically connecting the substage 2b and the substage 2c having the maintenance mechanism 7 to both sides thereof. ing.

  Conventionally, this stage is integrally formed. However, with the increase in size of the substrate, it has become difficult to form a stage with high accuracy. In the stage with a total length of 6 m as in this embodiment, there are several problems such as difficulty in securing granite as a member, and problems due to size restrictions during stage transportation. Will occur. This problem can be solved by dividing the stage.

  The main stage 2a that performs substrate processing is required to have a high accuracy of landing (flatness). For this reason, it is made of granite that has been used in the past, clears the landing accuracy (flatness) of several tens of microns or less, and is about 1/10 of the landing accuracy (flatness) compared to the substage 2c. have.

  On the other hand, the substage 2c is equipped with the maintenance mechanism 7, and does not process the target substrate, but it is necessary to secure a space for receiving the head gantry unit 4. The substage 2c can have an allowable range of several hundreds of microns in terms of landing accuracy (flatness) and about 10 times that of the main stage 2a. Further, stainless steel (SUS) or the like is used as a member used. For this reason, it is possible to produce a stage with reduced costs compared to the main stage 2a.

  The sub-stage 2b is a stage used when the substrate mounting table 6 is moved to the apparatus end when the substrate is loaded onto the substrate mounting table 6 or unloaded from the substrate mounting table 6. Similarly to the substage 2c, the substage 2b does not require high accuracy, and the cost can be reduced by using a stainless steel material (SUS) in terms of members to be used.

  In the configuration of the present embodiment, the substage 2b is used. However, by providing the main stage 2a with the same mechanism as the substage 2b, the substage 2b can be reduced. It is also possible to simplify the stage configuration.

  Each stage is equipped with a main stage gantry guide 11a and substage gantry guides 11b, 11c. The gantry guides 11a, 11b, 11c are heads across different gantry guides 11a, 11b, 11c. The gantry unit 4 is connected with a joint so that the gantry unit 4 can slide freely.

  In FIG. 1, the head gantry unit 4 always floats between the floating slide mechanism 13 and the gantry slide mechanism 5 on the head gantry unit 4 side, and the magnetic linear scale 12 on the gantry slide mechanism 5 and the floating slide. The head gantry unit 4 can be moved by linear motor control with the mechanism 13.

  And the gantry slide mechanism 5 and the linear scale 12 are continuously comprised so that it can move freely across each stage 2a * 2b * 2c. Further, on the ground side of the apparatus base 2, a conventional vibration isolation mechanism (not shown) is provided.

<Description of Substrate Placement Table 6>
The substrate mounting table 6 has a plurality of minute holes (not shown) formed on the upper surface, and all of the holes are connected to a suction / air blowing mechanism (not shown) to perform suction / air blowing control. It is possible to adsorb and fix the target substrate disposed on the substrate or release the substrate from the substrate mounting table 6.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the head gantry unit 4 and the substrate mounting table 6 provided in the defect repairing apparatus 1. The substrate platform 6 can be moved on a slide rail (not shown) provided on the apparatus base 2 by linear motor control. When the substrate is loaded or unloaded, as shown in FIG. Move to the end of the device in the opposite direction to the maintenance mechanism 7.

  Further, the substrate mounting table 6 has a θ rotation mechanism (not shown), and can move in one direction on the slide rail by linear motor control and can freely rotate the mounted substrate in the in-plane direction. It is possible.

  Further, the substrate mounting table 6 has a mechanism that can be finely moved in a direction orthogonal to the slide rail. Further, the upper surface of the substrate mounting table 6 is made of a stone surface plate having good flatness of the upper surface, and is parallel to the discharge surface of the droplet discharge unit 3.

<Description of head gantry unit 4>
FIG. 4A is a plan view of the main part viewed from the Z direction for explaining the configuration of the head gantry unit 4, and FIG. 4B is a front view of the main part viewed from the X direction. The configuration of the head gantry unit 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The head gantry unit 4 has a configuration in which a pair of gantry 14 is connected by a floating slide mechanism 13. One of the gantry 14 has a plurality of droplet discharge units 3 and discharge unit slide mechanisms 15 on the side surface facing the outside of the apparatus (four units in FIG. 1).

  Two alignment cameras 16 for controlling in-plane rotation of the substrate are fixedly installed on the opposite surface and between the two gantry 14. Although only one unit is illustrated in FIG. 4, one equivalent camera 16 is further installed on the upper side in FIG.

  The other of the gantry 9 has a plurality of droplet discharge units 3 and a plurality of discharge unit slide mechanisms 15 on the side surface facing the outside of the apparatus, similarly to one of the gantry 14. (5 units in FIG. 1). The observation camera unit 18 is movable on the opposite surface and between the two gantry 14 via a camera slide mechanism 17 that allows the observation camera unit 18 to move in the longitudinal direction of the gantry 14. Is attached.

<Description of Gantry Slide Mechanism 5>
The gantry slide mechanism 5 floats air between the levitation slide mechanism 13 and the head gantry unit 4 as shown in FIG. 1 according to a control signal from the defect repairing apparatus 1 by linear drive control with the levitation slide mechanism 13. It is possible to move to an arbitrary position along a direction parallel to the Y direction.

<Description of the droplet discharge unit 3>
FIG. 5 is a side view of the main part viewed from the Y direction in FIG. 1 for explaining the configuration of the droplet discharge unit 3. The droplet discharge unit 3 is mounted on a discharge unit slide mechanism 15 installed on the head gantry unit 4 and can move independently in the direction of the arrow r3.

  The droplet discharge unit 3 includes a discharge element 20, a drive control circuit 21, an electrical connection cable 22, an ink tank 23, an ink pipe 24, and a casing 19 for storing them. The housing 19 moves on the discharge unit slide mechanism 15.

  A nozzle plate 25 is bonded to a surface parallel to the upper surface of the substrate mounting table 6 of the ejection element 20, and a plurality of nozzle holes 26 are formed in the nozzle plate 25. The nozzle hole 26 has a diameter of 10 to 20 μm.

  In the ejection element 20, after forming grooves to be a plurality of ink chambers on the piezoelectric substrate, electrodes are formed on a part of the side wall of the partition wall, and an electric field is applied between both side surfaces of the partition wall to shear deform the partition itself. The well-known thing which makes it generate | occur | produce and generate discharge energy was used. The drive control circuit 21 is connected to a drive control system (not shown) via a cable (not shown) to perform discharge control. When the target substrate is mounted on the substrate mounting table 6, the distance between the droplet discharge surface, which is the lowermost surface of the nozzle plate 25, and the upper surface of the target substrate is adjusted in advance to be 0.5 to 1 mm.

<Description of Discharge Unit Slide Mechanism 15>
FIG. 6 is a front view of a main part viewed from the X direction in FIG. 1 for explaining the configuration of the discharge unit slide mechanism 15. The configuration of the discharge unit slide mechanism 15 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The discharge unit slide mechanism 15 includes two rows of LM guides 28 (manufactured by THK) and a gantry linear scale 29 installed between the two rows of LM guides 28, and is attached to the droplet discharge unit 3. By controlling the drive of the linear drive mechanism 27, the droplet discharge unit 3 can be moved to a predetermined position in a direction parallel to the X direction in FIG. 1 (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 6). The linear scale 29 is formed by regularly arranging small N-pole and S-pole permanent magnets.

  The linear drive mechanism 27 can freely generate N pole and S pole by AC control, and the position of the droplet discharge unit 3 on the discharge unit slide mechanism 15 by the magnetic force of the linear scale 29 and the linear drive mechanism 27. Control is possible. The effective movement stroke of the LM guide 28 is 250 mm, and the linear scale 29 is installed in a range that is greater than or equal to this effective stroke. The movement of the droplet discharge unit 3 by the discharge unit slide mechanism 15 is such that the gap between the upper surface of the substrate mounting table 6 and the nozzle plate 25 that is the droplet discharge surface of the droplet discharge unit 3 is always constant. It has been adjusted in advance. Since the discharge unit slide mechanism 15 provided on the side surface of the other gantry 14 has the same configuration, the description is omitted.

<Description of Camera Slide Mechanism 31>
The configuration of the camera slide mechanism 31 will be described with reference to FIG. The observation camera unit 18 uses the information acquisition function in the direction parallel to the Y direction provided in the gantry slide mechanism 5 and the information acquisition function in the direction parallel to the X direction provided in the camera slide mechanism 31 to the alignment mark. It is possible to output address information of the target board. The observation camera unit 18 mainly observes the landing image landed on the substrate by the droplet discharge unit 3, and outputs the discharge state of each droplet discharge unit 3 or the address of the landing position based on the alignment mark. it can.

  Using the landing position coordinates obtained by the observation camera unit 18, for each droplet discharge unit 3, correction of the discharge timing in the Y direction and correction of the movement amount of the discharge unit slide mechanism 15 in the X direction. Thus, it is possible to land the droplet on a desired position on the target substrate.

  The camera slide mechanism 31 is composed of two rows of LM guides 32 (manufactured by THK Co., Ltd.) and a camera linear scale 33 installed between the two rows of LM guides 32, similarly to the discharge unit slide mechanism 15 described above. By controlling the drive of the linear drive mechanism 30 attached to the observation camera unit 18, the observation camera unit 18 can be moved to a predetermined position in the X direction in FIG. 1 (direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 6). Is possible. Note that the effective movement stroke of the LM guide 32 is 2500 mm, and the linear scale 33 is installed within the range of the effective stroke or more.

<Array of nozzle rows>
7A is a bottom view of the main part for explaining the configuration of the droplet discharge unit 3, and FIG. 7B is a bottom view of the main part for explaining the configuration of another droplet discharge unit 3a. FIG. The arrangement of the nozzle holes in the droplet discharge unit will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7A shows an apparatus in which a plurality of droplet discharge units 3 that discharge one type of liquid are mounted. A droplet discharge unit 3 is attached to the head gantry unit 4 via an discharge unit slide mechanism 15 so as to be movable in the direction of arrow X. The nozzle holes 26 formed in the nozzle plate 25 which is a droplet discharge surface are arranged in a line and are inclined several degrees from the direction perpendicular to the arrow B. The same droplet material is discharged from all the nozzle holes 26 arranged.

  FIG. 7B shows an apparatus having a droplet discharge unit 3a on which a plurality of nozzle plates for discharging three types of liquids are mounted. The droplet discharge unit 3a includes a row of nozzle holes 26R that discharge the first droplet material, a row of nozzle holes 26G that discharge the second droplet material, and a nozzle hole 26B that discharges the third droplet material. The nozzle hole rows are inclined by several degrees from the direction perpendicular to the direction B, and the projection areas of the respective rows in the B direction are substantially coincident with each other. Further, each nozzle hole row may be minutely movable in the B direction within the droplet discharge unit 3a.

<Description of substrate loading operation>
FIGS. 8A to 8C are schematic cross-sectional views seen from the X direction of FIG. 1 for explaining the operations of the head gantry unit 4 and the substrate mounting table 6.

  FIG. 8A shows a state after the target substrate 10 is processed. After the substrate processing, as shown in FIG. 8B, the substrate mounting table 6 of the defect repairing apparatus slides to the left side (substage 2b side), and the head gantry unit 4 moves directly above the maintenance mechanism 7. . Then, after releasing the suction of the processed target substrate 10, the substrate mounting table 6 is delivered to a transfer robot (not shown). Thereafter, the transfer robot places the next target substrate 10 a on the substrate mounting table 6. Then, the placed target substrate 10a is immediately air-adsorbed to the substrate mounting table 6, and the substrate mounting table 6 returns to the original position (the position shown in FIG. 8A).

  While the target substrate 10 is unloaded from the substrate mounting table 6, the next target substrate 10a is loaded, and the substrate mounting table 6 returns to its original position, the normal maintenance is performed on the droplet discharge unit 3 in parallel. Operation is performed. In the maintenance operation, the head gantry unit 4 moves onto the maintenance mechanism 7 and performs maintenance work after the movement is completed. Specifically, the nozzle plate surface of the droplet discharge unit 3 is capped with a rubber cap member 8 as shown in FIG. In addition, after being capped, negative pressure is sucked by the negative pressure suction member from the vent at the bottom of the cap member 8, and the liquid and the like are forcibly discharged from the nozzle hole of the nozzle plate to remove dust and the like in the nozzle hole. Thereafter, the nozzle plate surface is wiped with a wipe blade (not shown). Thereafter, the discharge state from the nozzle hole is checked by a non-discharge detection mechanism described later. What is the sequence of these maintenance operations? It may be different from the order described above.

  The substrate mounting table 6 on which the new target substrate 10a is mounted and the head gantry unit 4 in which the maintenance operation of the droplet discharge unit 3 is completed are almost simultaneously performed in the directions of arrows r4 and r5 shown in FIG. It moves and reaches the position shown in FIG.

<Description of maintenance operation>
A maintenance operation is performed on the droplet discharge unit 3 while carrying out and carrying in the substrate, or when the droplet discharge operation to the substrate is not performed for a long period of time. This maintenance operation includes a non-discharge detection operation, a cap operation, an in-cap suction purge operation, and a wiping operation. When the next target substrate is processed immediately after the previous target substrate is processed, the head gantry unit 4 equipped with the droplet discharge unit 3 is maintained at the same time as an instruction to carry out the previous target substrate is given. A command to move right above the mechanism 7 is given.

  FIG. 9A is a front view seen from the X direction of FIG. 1 for explaining the configuration of the non-ejection detector 9, and FIG. 9B is a bottom view seen from the Z direction of FIG. It is. The maintenance mechanism 7 includes a non-ejection detector 9 having a laser light emitting element 34 and a laser light receiving element 35, and the non-ejection detector 9 is installed for each droplet ejection unit 3.

  The laser light-emitting element 34 and a laser light-emitting circuit (not shown) continuously irradiate laser light toward the laser light-receiving element 35 when receiving a non-ejection detection command. The received light amount measuring means connected to the laser light receiving element 35 stores a normal received light amount. As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the laser irradiation direction is substantially parallel to the substrate surface and the surface of the nozzle plate 25 and substantially parallel to the rows of nozzle holes 26R, 26G, and 26B. The laser beam has a diameter of 1 mm, and the droplets ejected from all the nozzle holes 26R, 26G, and 26B of one droplet ejection unit 3a are arranged to pass through the laser optical axis.

  The laser light emitting element 34 and the laser light receiving element 35 have a fine movement mechanism, and the positions are adjusted in the event that a droplet does not pass through the laser optical axis. First, droplets are ejected from the first nozzle hole 26R for a certain period of time, the amount of light from the received light amount measuring means is read, and compared with the normal received light amount, the light shielding amount is measured and the value is set in advance. It is determined whether the value is within the range of values. If it is within the set value range, it is regarded as normal ejection, and otherwise it is regarded as ejection failure.

  Next, the same discharge control and light shielding amount measurement as the second and third are sequentially performed, and whether or not there is a discharge defect is confirmed for all the nozzle holes 26R, 26G, and 26B of the droplet discharge unit 3a. If there is no ejection failure, the droplet ejection unit 3a is moved to the cap position and capping is performed until just before the substrate carry-in operation is completed.

  When there is a discharge failure, the recovery operation performed in the prior art is executed. For example, the droplet discharge unit 3a is moved to the cap position, then capped, and then the cap is pulled to a negative pressure to forcibly eject it from the nozzle hole. Discharge detection is performed.

  This non-ejection detection and recovery operation are executed up to several times until there is no ejection failure. If the ejection failure does not recover, the fact is output to the apparatus. In addition, when the last non-discharge detection result immediately before processing the previous target substrate is compared with the first non-discharge detection result performed while the previous target substrate is being unloaded, a change is recognized in the discharge state, The target substrate can be discarded because it is unsuitable for processing or sent to a repair process.

<Arrangement of droplet discharge units 3>
FIGS. 10A and 10B are plan views for explaining the alignment operation of the defect repair apparatus 1. FIGS. 10A and 10B are views of the defect repairing apparatus 1 as viewed from above. A total of nine droplet discharge units 3 are mounted on the head gantry unit 4.

  Discharge unit slide mechanisms 15 provided for each droplet discharge unit 3 are provided on both side surfaces of the head gantry unit 4 facing both outer sides. Four pairs of droplet discharge units 3 and discharge unit slide mechanisms 15 are attached to the left side surface of the head gantry unit 4 at a predetermined interval. On the right side of the paper surface of the head gantry unit 4, five pairs of droplet discharge units 3 and discharge unit slide mechanisms 15 are attached at regular intervals. The discharge unit slide mechanisms 15 are arranged in a staggered manner with respect to the upper surface of the substrate mounting table 6. That is, the two discharge unit slide mechanisms 15 adjacent to each other in the direction orthogonal to the arrow r3 that is the gantry movement direction are respectively slidable areas along the direction of the arrow r3 that is the slide direction of the discharge unit slide mechanism 15. It is comprised so that the edge part of may overlap partially. The overlapping movable areas are preferably as large as possible, and it is desirable that the overlapping movable areas overlap one third or more of the length of the discharge unit slide mechanism 15 in the longitudinal direction.

<Description of substrate alignment operation>
The alignment operation of the target substrate 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b) and FIGS. 11 (a) and 11 (b). FIGS. 11A and 11B are main part plan views for explaining the configuration of the alignment camera 16 provided in the head gantry unit 4. Two alignment marks 37 for correcting the in-plane rotation direction of the target substrate 10 are provided in the vicinity of the substrate end of the target substrate 10 that is sucked and fixed on the substrate mounting table 6.

  The two alignment cameras 16 fixed to the head gantry unit 4 move from the position shown in FIG. 10A to the position shown in FIG. Then, based on the image information of the alignment camera 16, the displacement in the in-plane rotation direction of the target substrate 10 is calculated, and the above-described θ rotation mechanism of the substrate mounting table 6 and the fine movement mechanism in the direction of the arrow r 3 are used to calculate FIG. The posture of the target substrate 10 is corrected in the direction of the rotation arrow r6 shown in FIG.

  The target substrate 10 is provided with two high-precision alignment marks 37 in advance, and the droplet application position of the target substrate 10 is determined in advance with reference to the alignment mark 37. The alignment mark 37 is a concentric mark, and the pitch deviation between the two alignment marks 37 on the target substrate 10 is within 2 μm. Two alignment cameras 16 are installed on the head gantry unit 4 at the same pitch as the two alignment marks 37. The alignment camera 16 has a wide-field mode portion 16a and a narrow-field mode portion 16b. After the alignment by the θ rotation mechanism and the fine movement mechanism in the wide-field mode portion 16a, the same alignment is again performed in the narrow-field mode portion 16b. Perform the action.

  12A and 12B are main part plan views for explaining the alignment operation of the defect repairing apparatus 1. 13 (a) and 13 (b) are enlarged plan views of the main part. 12 (a) and 12 (b) are schematic diagrams showing an image captured by the alignment camera 16 in the wide field mode. FIG. 12 (a) is an image by one of the pair of alignment cameras 16, and FIG. It is an image by the other of a pair of alignment camera 16. FIG.

  The wide-field mode of the alignment camera 16 is designed to have a field of view that is equal to or higher than the substrate placement accuracy on the substrate platform 6 of the transfer robot. In this wide-field mode, first, the deviation between the alignment mark 37 and the reference position is measured using the outer ring portion 37a of the concentric alignment mark 37, and θ is set so that the alignment mark 37 and the reference position coincide with each other. The substrate mounting table 6 is adjusted by the rotation mechanism and the fine adjustment mechanism, and the posture of the target substrate 10 is controlled.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, the alignment camera 16 is switched to the narrow-field mode, and the misalignment between the alignment mark 37 and the reference position is measured using the concentric inner circular portion 37b of the alignment mark 37. The substrate mounting table 6 is adjusted by the θ rotation mechanism and the fine adjustment mechanism so that the alignment mark 37 and the reference position coincide with each other, and the posture of the target substrate 10 is controlled. Further, the observation position by the pair of alignment cameras 16 and the droplet discharge position of the droplet discharge unit 3 are measured in advance in an adjustment process after the droplet discharge unit 3 is attached.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the alignment operation of the defect repair apparatus 1. First, when an alignment start command is issued from a control unit (not shown) provided in the defect repair apparatus 1 (step S1), the target substrate 10 is loaded onto the substrate mounting table 6 moved to the substage 2b side (step S1). S2). Then, the substrate mounting table 6 on which the target substrate 10 is mounted moves to a fixed position on the main stage (step S3).

  At the same time, the head gantry unit 4 located on the maintenance mechanism 7 as shown in FIG. 10A moves to the alignment position shown in FIG. 10B (step S4). Then, the wide field mode portion 16a of the alignment camera 16 is moved to the standard position on the alignment mark 37 (step S5).

  Next, the wide-field mode part 16a of the alignment camera 16 images the outer ring part 37a of the alignment mark 37 (step S6), and calculates the alignment amount (step S7). Thereafter, based on the calculated alignment amount, a rough alignment operation for roughly adjusting the position of the substrate mounting table 6 is executed (step S9).

  Then, the narrow field mode portion 16b of the alignment camera 16 is moved to the standard position on the alignment mark 37 (step S8). Thereafter, the narrow-field mode part 16b of the alignment camera 16 images the inner circular part 37b of the alignment mark 37 (step S10) and calculates the alignment amount (step S11). Then, based on the calculated alignment amount, a main alignment operation for precisely adjusting the position of the substrate mounting table 6 is executed (step S12).

  Thereafter, the narrow-field mode unit 16b of the alignment camera 16 again images the inner circular portion 37b of the alignment mark 37 (step S13), and confirms the positional accuracy of the substrate mounting table 6 (step S14). Then, the alignment operation is completed (step S15).

<Measurement of droplet landing position by observation camera unit 18>
FIGS. 15A and 15B are plan views for explaining the measurement operation of the droplet landing position by the observation camera unit 18 provided in the defect repairing apparatus 1. The observation camera unit 18 replaces the droplet discharge element 20 (FIG. 5) of the droplet discharge unit 3 to acquire information for correcting the landing position, or when reconfirming the landing position in use. Use. The observation camera unit 18 can take an image of an arbitrary position on the upper surface of the defect repairing apparatus 1 by using the gantry slide mechanism 5 and the camera slide mechanism 31, and can determine an arbitrary position on the upper surface of the defect repairing apparatus 1. It is. The position information of the imaging position of the observation camera unit 18 can be output by a scale inherent in the gantry slide mechanism 5 and the camera slide mechanism 31.

  When the droplet landing position is observed, a dummy substrate 39 provided with a predetermined alignment mark 37 similar to that of the normal target substrate 10 is carried into the defect repairing apparatus 1 as a substrate, and the substrate posture control is performed as usual. Next, the observation camera unit 18 images the two alignment marks 37 on the dummy substrate 39, and acquires position information thereof.

  As shown in FIG. 15A, the head gantry unit 4 moves to an arbitrary position on the dummy substrate 39. Then, droplets are discharged from the nozzle holes of the respective droplet discharge units 3 toward the dummy substrate 39. At this time, droplets may be ejected from all nozzle holes. Further, each droplet discharge unit 3 recognizes a virtual landing position (ideal landing position) based on the scales inherent in the gantry slide mechanism 5 and each discharge unit slide mechanism 15.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 15B, the observation camera unit 18 sequentially images the droplet landing positions 40 while moving by the gantry slide mechanism 5 and the camera slide mechanism 31, and actually performs the alignment with respect to the alignment mark 37. Determine the landing position. Then, the difference between the virtual landing position and the actual landing position is stored as correction data for each droplet discharge unit 3. The shift (difference) is decomposed in the X direction and the Y direction. The deviation in the Y direction can be corrected by adjusting the ejection timing because the head gantry unit 4 ejects droplets while moving in the Y direction. Regarding the displacement in the X direction, the movement amount of the discharge unit slide mechanism 15 is offset-corrected. By the operation of the observation camera unit 18, it is possible to detect non-ejection for each nozzle and detect landing deviation for each nozzle.

<Reciprocating head gantry unit 4 / moving operation of droplet discharge unit 3>
FIGS. 16A and 16B are plan views for explaining the reciprocating operation of the head gantry unit 4. A method of dropping droplets at a desired position based on the alignment mark 37 on the target substrate 10 for which the attitude control has been completed will be described below.

  FIG. 16A shows a state in which the head gantry unit 4 has moved to the rightmost in FIG. 16A in the operation of dropping droplets on the target substrate 10. On the other hand, FIG. 16B shows a state in which it has moved to the leftmost. The head gantry unit 4 reciprocates the range indicated by the arrow r7 once to multiple times. The plurality of droplet discharge units 3 mounted on the head gantry unit 4 can move independently in the direction indicated by the arrow r3 in FIG. The head gantry unit 4 itself reciprocates on the target substrate 10 in the left-right direction (the direction of the arrow r7). Each droplet discharge unit 3 moves to a desired address along the direction indicated by the arrow r3 and stops before executing the droplet discharge operation. Then, in the process in which the head gantry unit 4 reciprocates in the direction of the arrow r7, a droplet is ejected when the addresses of desired positions in the directions of the arrows r7 and r3 coincide. The operations of the plurality of droplet discharge units 3 are independently controlled.

  In FIG. 16B, the movement range of the head gantry unit 4 indicated by the arrow r7 is larger than the substrate width in the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the droplet discharge unit 3 moves, and the center line of the substrate width is defined as the head gantry unit 4. The approximate center of the movement range.

  Since the droplet discharge unit 3 can move in a range larger than the substrate width in this way, the droplet discharge unit 3 of interest is within the range of the movement stroke of the head gantry unit 4 provided with the droplet discharge unit 3. It is possible to drop liquid droplets on a desired position (band-like region) of the substrate.

<Specific example of discharge operation>
17A and 17B are plan views for explaining the operation of the head gantry unit 4 with respect to the target substrate 10. The head gantry unit 4 is equipped with nine droplet discharge units 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, 3g, 3h, and 3i that can move independently in the X direction. In the discharge units 3a to 3i, the carrying areas 42a, 42b, 42c, 42d, 42e, 42f, 42g, 42h, and 42i on the target substrate 10 are set.

  The target substrate 10 is dotted with a plurality of discharge locations (defects (drawing locations)) 41, and each droplet discharge unit 3a to 3i has a receiving area 42a to 42i extending in a strip shape in the lateral direction of the paper surface. Assigned. The droplet discharge unit 3a is responsible for the region 42a. The droplet discharge unit 3b is responsible for the region 42b. Each of the droplet discharge units 3a to 3i performs a droplet discharge operation on the discharge locations (defects) 41 scattered in the handling areas 42a to 42i.

  In the process of repeatedly reciprocating the head gantry unit 4 in the left-right direction on the paper surface, each droplet discharge unit 3a to 3i is individually moved in the X direction so as to move directly above the discharge point 41 that is responsible for the address in the X direction. The robot stops at the coincidence place and waits until the addresses in the Y direction coincide with the movement of the head gantry unit 4. Then, at the timing when the desired position on the processing substrate 10 comes directly below, the droplet discharge unit is driven to discharge the droplet from the discharge port to the desired position on the processing substrate 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, when the nine droplet discharge units 3a to 3i are arranged in a zigzag pattern in two rows, the target substrate 10 is divided into nine regions 42a to 42a as shown by dotted lines in the figure. It is possible to divide the area into 42i and determine the area to be handled for each droplet discharge unit 3a to 3i.

  FIG. 18A to FIG. 18D are schematic plan views for explaining the ejection operation with respect to the defective portion of the droplet ejection unit 3. A process in which the droplet discharge unit 3 discharges droplets to a plurality of rectangular recesses during the reciprocal movement of the head gantry unit 4 will be described. Such a process corresponds to, for example, a case where a defective part is repaired by using this defect repairing apparatus for a color filter substrate partially having a defect. As an example, a description will be given of a repair device when one color of a pixel on a color filter substrate is lost.

  The missing part here is a part in which a defective part is recessed and corrected by a laser or the like with respect to a part where dust is mixed in a manufacturing process, a part where a blank recess is formed, or the like. The droplet discharge unit 3 discharges the same type of droplet material, and shows a method for repairing a defect of one type of pixel (either red, blue, or yellow). Therefore, in order to repair all color defects, three defect repair devices are provided for each color material and sequentially processed, or, as exemplified in the second embodiment, a plurality of droplet discharge units are arranged. This is possible by configuring so that the liquid droplets can be discharged.

  FIG. 18A to FIG. 18D are included in one droplet discharge unit 3 by focusing on one of the plurality of droplet discharge units 3 mounted on the head gantry unit 4. The operation of discharging from a droplet discharge surface to a plurality of discharge locations is shown in time series.

  Referring to FIG. 18A, the defect portions (defects) 41a, 41b, and 41c on the processing substrate are concave portions having a depth of about 2 μm, and the openings are 200 μm with the moving direction of the head gantry unit 4 as the long side. It has a rectangular shape of about 70 μm. In FIGS. 18A to 18D, the long sides of the defect portions (defects) 41a, 41b, and 41c are drawn so as to be parallel to the moving direction A of the head gantry unit 4. Is inclined several degrees as shown in FIGS. The nozzle discharge surface of the droplet discharge unit 3 is parallel to the opposite conveying stage surface, and a plurality of nozzle holes 26 are formed in the nozzle plate 25. The plurality of nozzle holes 26 are arranged in the horizontal direction of the paper, which is the moving direction of the head gantry unit 4, and each nozzle hole 26 has an individual ink application (not shown) capable of controlling droplet discharge on the back side. It has a pressure chamber and a pressurization control means. Further, the nozzle holes 26 arranged in a row can discharge the same droplet material.

  The head gantry unit 4 always reciprocates at a substantially constant speed in the left-right direction on the paper, regardless of the movement or ejection operation of the droplet ejection unit 3. In order to discharge the droplet to the defect portion 41a and repair it, the droplet discharge unit 3 is moved at high speed using the discharge unit slide mechanism 15, and the nozzle hole 26 is stopped on the center line of the defect portion 41a. The moving time of the droplet discharge unit 3 is a settling time until the residual vibration by the discharge unit slide mechanism 15 is reduced to a level that does not adversely affect the droplet discharge after being stopped in addition to the actual moving time. It is necessary to consider the time including

  The droplet discharge unit 3 that has been moved in advance to the center line of the defect portion 41a on the traveling direction side of the conveyance stage moves relatively in the direction of arrow D due to the constant speed movement of the conveyance stage, and the nozzle on the defect portion 41a. A droplet is discharged from the hole 26. At this time, since the nozzle hole 26 to be used can use a plurality of nozzle holes 26 immediately above the defect portion 41a, the uniform moving speed of the transport stage is increased as compared with the case of using one nozzle hole. And the processing speed of the entire substrate can be improved.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 18B, the droplet discharge unit 3 that has discharged droplets onto the defective portion 41a drives the discharge unit slide mechanism 15 to repair the defective portion 41c, as shown in the arrow E direction. , And stops at a position where the center line of the defect portion 41 c coincides with the nozzle hole 26. At this time, since the head gantry unit 4 is also moving leftward at a constant speed, the droplet discharge unit 3 is relatively moved in the direction of arrow F in FIG. As the head gantry unit 4 moves, the droplet discharge unit 3 discharges a droplet from the nozzle hole 26 directly above the defect portion 41c while moving in the direction of the arrow G, and repairs the defect portion 41c. Do.

  The head gantry unit 4 starts moving in the opposite direction after completing movement in one direction. As shown in FIG. 18D, the droplet discharge unit 3 moves in the direction of arrow K using the discharge unit slide mechanism 15 to repair the defective portion 41b, and the nozzle hole 26 is positioned on the center line of the defective portion 41b. And stop. As the head gantry unit 4 moves, the droplet discharge unit 3 relatively moves in the direction of the arrow L, and discharges droplets through the nozzle holes 26 directly above the defect portion 41b.

  In this way, the reciprocation of the head gantry unit 4 is used to repair the three defective portions 41a, 41b, and 41c in the order of the defective portion 41a, the defective portion 41b, and the defective portion 41c. The advantage of the configuration of the defect repairing apparatus according to the embodiment is maximally utilized. That is, as shown in FIG. 18 (c), when a plurality of nozzle holes 26 are ejected to the defective portion 41a, the nozzle hole 26 at the right end of the paper to be actually ejected is moved until it is separated from immediately above the defective portion 41a. However, at least in the region corresponding to the distance between both ends of the nozzle hole 26 to be used, the droplet discharge unit 3 cannot be moved in the vertical direction on the paper surface to proceed to repair of the next defective portion.

  This impossible range H is in addition to the band-shaped range corresponding to the distance between both ends of the nozzle hole 26 used from the end of the defective portion immediately after the processing, in addition to the moving speed of the transfer stage and the direction of the arrow E (FIG. 18B). A region obtained by multiplying the time required for movement and the sum of the time required for stabilization of the residual vibration after movement is also included.

  As shown in FIG. 18 (c), since the defect portion 41b is located at a place where the defect portion 41a falls within the impossible range H, the defect portion 41b is not processed immediately after the defect portion 41a is repaired. The defect 41c not belonging to H is repaired. Then, along with the return movement of the head gantry unit 4, after the defect 41c is repaired, the defect 41b that does not belong to the impossible range H is repaired.

  The moving operation of one droplet discharge unit 3 has been described above, but the defect repairing apparatus has a plurality of droplet discharge units 3, and each operates independently. The defect repair apparatus according to the present embodiment is not limited to the color filter substrate defect repair apparatus, and can discharge droplets to desired locations scattered on the substrate.

  19A to 19C show a droplet discharge unit in the case where the moving direction of the droplet discharge unit 3a for dropping three types of droplet materials is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the pixels 43R, 43G, and 43B. FIG. 20 (a) to 20 (c) show a droplet discharge unit when the moving direction of the droplet discharge unit 3a for dropping three types of droplet materials is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the pixels 43R, 43G, and 43B. FIG. When a color mixture occurs between the R and G pixels during the manufacturing due to dust or the like, and a pixel that does not show the desired color is formed, the portion is removed with a laser in a rectangular shape, and this defect repairing apparatus A droplet is dropped on the rectangular portion using.

  19 (a) to 19 (c) and 20 (a) to 20 (c) show the droplet discharge unit 3a and the pixels 43R, 43G, and 43B that the droplet discharge unit 3a should repair. Since the pixel 43R and the pixel 43G have mixed color leakage, the color-mixed portion is previously removed by a laser to form a dent.

  FIG. 19A shows a state before the repair, and the droplet discharge unit 3a moves toward the pixels 43R, 43G, and 43B along the arrow direction in the drawing. FIG. 19B is a diagram immediately after the droplet is dropped on the pixel 43R. Next, as shown in FIG. 19C, the droplet is dropped on the pixel 43G.

  Similarly, in the case where the longitudinal direction of the pixels 43R, 43G, and 43B is the moving direction of the head gantry unit (droplet discharge unit 3a), FIG. 20A shows a state before the repair, and FIG. In the order shown in FIG. 20C, the pixel 43R and the pixel 43G are restored.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 21A is a plan view showing the configuration of the head gantry unit of the defect repairing apparatus according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 21B is a plan view for explaining the operation thereof.

  The defect repairing apparatus according to the second embodiment has two head gantry units 4 provided at a predetermined interval. Each head gantry unit 4 is provided with four droplet discharge units 3. Accordingly, a total of eight droplet discharge units 3 are mounted on the droplet applying device.

  The movable regions of the discharge unit slide mechanism 15 that slides the four droplet discharge units 3 mounted on the first head gantry unit 4 overlap each other. For this reason, any of the four droplet discharge units 3 can be moved to an arbitrary position on the substrate. Similarly, four droplet discharge units 3 are mounted on the second head gantry unit 4.

  One droplet discharge unit 3 can move by a movement range P of the discharge unit slide mechanism 15, and the movement range of the discharge unit slide mechanisms 15 adjacent in a staggered pattern is along the direction in which the droplet discharge unit 3 moves. , Some overlap. Therefore, any of the four droplet discharge units 3 on one gantry can surely move to a position along the longitudinal direction of the head gantry unit 4. Assuming that a group of droplet discharge units 3 that can cover all the movements of the head gantry unit 4 along all directions perpendicular to each other while complementing each other is a unit row, in this embodiment, two unit rows are provided. Will exist. One unit row is composed of four droplet discharge units 3.

  The target substrate 10 is dotted with a plurality of missing portions 41 indicated by black dots in the drawing. The area of the target substrate 10 is equally divided by using the number of unit columns as the number of columns and the number of droplet discharge units 3 per unit column as the number of rows. Specifically, the area of the target substrate 10 is divided into 4 rows × 2 columns. , It becomes a charge area of each droplet discharge unit 3. For example, the upper left droplet discharge unit 3 provided in the left head gantry unit 4 repairs only the defective portions 41 scattered in the handling area 42 indicated by hatching in the drawing. In the unit array described above with reference to FIG. 17, the number of unit columns is 1, so that the unit array is divided into 9 rows × 1 column as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 21B is a diagram illustrating a half state of the forward path of the reciprocating operation of the target substrate 10 due to the movement of the head gantry unit 4, and the head gantry unit 4 moves to the direction of the white arrow in the drawing to finish the forward path. . Thereafter, the head gantry unit 4 switches to the return path and returns to the state shown in FIG. The reciprocating operation is set as one reciprocation, and the defective portion 41 of the entire target substrate 10 is repaired by repeating one to several reciprocations according to the amount of the defective portion 41. Here, there is a difference between completed and incomplete for each droplet discharge unit 3 due to a slight difference of the defective portion 41 in the area of each droplet discharge unit 3 in total of eight regions. The head gantry unit 4 repeats reciprocation until the unit 3 repairs the defect portion 41.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 21 (b), the aforementioned unit row is four droplet discharge units 3 mounted on one head gantry unit 4, and the center line of this unit row is Y2-. Y2 and Y3-Y3. In the present embodiment, the distance between the center line Y2-Y2 and the center line Y3-Y3 of the two unit rows (head gantry unit 4) is approximately half of the length along the transport direction of the target substrate 10. It is 1 of. Then, as shown in FIG. 21B, the distance between the center line Y2-Y2 and the center line Y3-Y3 of the two head gantry units 4 is approximately half the width of the target substrate 10. The two amplitudes are moved by a movement amount that is substantially half the width of the substrate with the arrangement position as the center.

  In this way, the substrate width is divided for each number of unit rows (head gantry units 4), and each unit row is scanned within the divided area, thereby enabling efficient repair work. When the number of unit rows is one as shown in FIG. 17, the substrate middle line is the center of the unit row, and both amplitudes are the substrate width.

  FIG. 22 is a plan view showing another configuration of the head gantry unit of the defect repairing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 22 shows an example of a configuration having three unit rows (head gantry unit 4). In this case, four droplet discharge units 3 are mounted per unit, forming a total of three unit rows. Therefore, the target substrate 10 is divided into 4 rows × 3 columns.

  In a defect repairing apparatus having n unit rows, the target substrate is divided into n, and each unit row is scanned a plurality of times with both amplitudes of 1 / n of the substrate width, centering on the intermediate line of the n divided region Good. By doing so, it is possible to minimize the total movement distance of the head gantry unit 4 by the reciprocating operation, and the processing time of the substrate can be shortened most. Even if this ratio is not strictly applied, if it is within an error of about ± 20%, the effect of time reduction is great.

Here, when the width in the transport direction of the target substrate 10 is D, the scanning width of the unit row is d, and the number of unit rows is n,
0.8d ≦ D / n ≦ 1.2d,
If it is within the range, the processing time of the substrate can be shortened.

  The treated substrate that has been repaired is taken out by a transfer robot (not shown). In the case of a color filter substrate, the substrate is placed in a baking furnace, and the droplet material is solidified and completed. Since the defect repair apparatus having two unit rows and three unit rows has been described in the second embodiment, in the case of having n unit rows, the substrate is smaller than the substrate size D in the substrate introduction direction. It is understood that it is preferable to perform reciprocal scanning with an amplitude of D / 2n of the substrate around the middle line of each region obtained by dividing the unit row by n. In addition, it is possible to minimize the size of the device by making d substantially equal to D / n. However, if the difference is about ± 10%, the size of the device will not increase significantly. Occupied area can be reduced. Moreover, it is desirable that d and D / n match, but if the difference is ± 20%, the processing time required for each substrate does not increase significantly, and the tact time can be shortened. Can do.

  23A and 23B are plan views showing still another configuration of the head gantry unit of the defect repairing apparatus according to the second embodiment. A discharge unit slide mechanism 15 having the droplet discharge unit 3 mounted thereon is provided on one side surface of the gantry 14, and a discharge unit slide mechanism 15 having the droplet discharge unit 3 mounted also on the other side surface of the gantry 9. Is provided. One side surface of the gantry 14 is perpendicular to the substrate platform 6, and the other side surface of the gantry 9 is inclined with respect to the substrate platform 6.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The present invention can be applied to a droplet applying apparatus that discharges droplets to defects scattered on a substrate placed on a stage.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the defect repair apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is typical sectional drawing of the said defect repair apparatus. It is typical sectional drawing for demonstrating operation | movement of the head gantry unit provided in the said defect repair apparatus, and a substrate mounting base. (A) is a principal part top view for demonstrating the structure of the head gantry unit provided in the said defect repair apparatus, (b) is a principal part front view. It is a principal part side view for demonstrating the structure of the droplet discharge unit provided in the said head gantry unit. It is a principal part front view for demonstrating the structure of the discharge unit slide mechanism provided in the said head gantry unit. (A) is a principal part bottom view for demonstrating the structure of the said droplet discharge unit, (b) is a principal part bottom view for demonstrating the other structure of the said droplet discharge unit. (A)-(c) is typical sectional drawing for demonstrating operation | movement of the said head gantry unit and the said substrate mounting base. (A) is a front view for demonstrating the structure of the non-ejection detector of the maintenance mechanism provided in the said defect repair apparatus, (b) is the bottom view. (A) and (b) are top views for demonstrating the alignment operation | movement of the said defect repair apparatus. (A) (b) is a principal part top view for demonstrating the structure of the alignment camera provided in the said head gantry unit. (A) and (b) are principal part top views for demonstrating the alignment operation | movement of the said defect repair apparatus. (A) and (b) are the principal part enlarged plan views for demonstrating the alignment operation | movement of the said defect repair apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the alignment operation | movement of the said defect repair apparatus. (A) (b) is a top view for demonstrating the measurement operation | movement of the droplet landing position by the observation camera unit provided in the said defect repair apparatus. (A) (b) is a top view for demonstrating the reciprocating operation | movement of the head gantry unit provided in the said defect repair apparatus. (A) (b) is a top view for demonstrating the operation | movement with respect to the target board | substrate of the said head gantry unit. (A)-(d) is a schematic plan view for demonstrating the discharge operation | movement with respect to the defect | deletion part of the said droplet discharge unit. (A)-(c) is a schematic top view which shows the discharge operation of a droplet discharge unit when the moving direction of the droplet discharge unit which drops three types of droplet materials is orthogonal to a pixel longitudinal direction. (A)-(c) is a schematic top view which shows the discharge operation of a droplet discharge unit when the moving direction of the droplet discharge unit which drops three types of droplet materials is parallel to a pixel longitudinal direction. (A) is a top view which shows the structure of the head gantry unit of the defect repair apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2, (b) is a top view for demonstrating the operation | movement. It is a top view which shows the other structure of the head gantry unit of the defect repair apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. (A) (b) is a top view which shows other structure of the head gantry unit of the defect repair apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Defect repair device (droplet coating device)
2 Substrate 2a Main stage 2b, 2c Substage (carrying in / out substage, substage)
3, 3R, 3G, 3B Droplet discharge unit 3a-3i Droplet discharge unit 4 Head gantry unit (gantry)
5 Gantry slide mechanism (guide mechanism)
6 substrate mounting table 7 maintenance mechanism 8 cap member 9 non-discharge detector 10 target substrate 11a, 11b, 11c gantry guide 12 linear scale 13 floating slide mechanism 14 gantry 15 discharge unit slide mechanism 16 alignment camera 17 camera slide mechanism 18 observation camera unit DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 19 Case 20 Discharge element 21 Drive control circuit 22 Cable 23 Ink tank 24 Ink piping 25 Nozzle plate 26 Nozzle hole 27 Linear drive mechanism 28 LM guide 29 Gantry linear scale 30 Linear drive mechanism 31 Camera slide mechanism 32 LM guide 33 Linear for camera Scale 34 Laser light emitting element 35 Laser light receiving element 37 Alignment mark 38a Outer ring part 38b Inner circle part 39 Dummy substrate 40 Droplet landing position 41 Defects (defects)
42 area (repair area)
43R, 43G, 43B pixels

Claims (8)

A main stage on which the substrate is placed;
A liquid droplet ejection unit that ejects liquid droplets onto drawing locations scattered on the substrate placed on the main stage;
In order to maintain the droplet discharge unit, comprising a sub-stage connected to the main stage,
The droplet coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flatness of the surface of the substage is rougher than the flatness of the surface of the main stage. A loading / unloading sub-stage provided for loading the substrate into the main stage and unloading the substrate from the main stage;
The droplet coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flatness of the surface of the carry-in / out sub-stage is rougher than the flatness of the surface of the main stage. A gantry equipped with the droplet discharge unit;
The droplet coating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a guide mechanism provided along a loading / unloading direction of the substrate for moving the gantry relative to the substrate.   The droplet discharge unit is configured to carry out the loading / unloading operation while the gantry is moving along the loading / unloading direction of the substrate according to data representing the positions of a plurality of drawing locations scattered on the substrate. The droplet applying device according to claim 3, which moves along a direction perpendicular to the direction.   The droplet coating apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a substrate mounting table mounted on the main stage and the carry-in / out sub-stage so as to be movable along the carrying-in / out direction of the substrate.   The droplet applying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a maintenance mechanism for maintaining the droplet discharge unit is provided on the substage. The maintenance mechanism includes a cap member that caps the nozzle hole of the droplet discharge unit;
A negative pressure suction member that sucks the nozzle hole under negative pressure to discharge the droplet;
The liquid droplet application device according to claim 6, further comprising a non-discharge detector that detects non-discharge of the liquid droplets from the nozzle holes.   The droplet applying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main stage is made of a high-precision material, and the sub-stage is made of a material having a lower accuracy than a material constituting the main stage.

Images