JP2008170633A - Method for manufacturing barrier rib of electrophoretic display panel and electrophoretic display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an easy method for manufacturing a barrier rib, the barrier rib being capable of keeping the distance between substrates to be constant and forming a space connecting adjacent cells, and to provide an electrophoretic display panel having the barrier rib. <P>SOLUTION: The barrier rib of an electrophoretic display panel is manufactured by the following method. First, in a step of forming a gap material mixture resist layer, a gap material mixture resist layer comprising a mixture of a resist and a gap material to hold the distance between a first substrate and a second substrate to a given value is formed on the first substrate (S10). In an exposure step, the gap material mixture resist layer or a resist is exposed (S30) through a mask having an opening pattern for exposing the pattern of the barrier rib, after the step of forming the gap material mixture resist layer and/or during the step of forming the gap material mixture resist layer. In a developing step after the exposure step, the gap material mixture resist layer is developed (S50). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel and an electrophoretic display panel. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electrophoretic display in which a dispersion liquid containing charged particles is enclosed in a plurality of divided cells partitioned by a partition wall. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a partition wall of a panel and an electrophoretic display panel.

  Conventionally, an electrophoretic display panel is known as a panel for displaying an image. This electrophoretic display panel has a configuration in which a dispersion medium containing charged particles is filled between a pair of substrates including a first substrate that is a transparent or translucent display surface and a second substrate that is paired with the first substrate. Have. The charged particles can be moved to the first substrate side or the second substrate side by the voltage applied to the electrodes provided facing each other across the dispersion medium, and the charged particles have a color different from that of the dispersion medium. When the charged particles are moved to the display substrate side by voltage application, the color of the charged particles can be observed, and when the charged particles are moved to the second substrate side, the color of the dispersion medium can be observed. In this way, an arbitrary image can be displayed by displaying different colors for each pixel.

  When the charged particles are migrated using the entire electrophoretic display panel as one cell, the charged particles cannot be uniformly moved on the substrate due to the movement of the charged particles in the lateral direction, resulting in display unevenness. . Therefore, generally, partition walls are formed on the substrate, the space between the substrates is divided into a plurality of cells, and charged particles are enclosed in these cells to restrict the movement of the particles in the lateral direction. As an electrophoretic display panel having a partition for dividing into a plurality of cells, one in which the partition contacts both the first substrate and the second substrate and is divided into sealed cells has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, various electrophoretic display panels having gaps for communicating adjacent cells have been proposed instead of a structure in which the cells are completely sealed by the partition walls. There are various reasons why an electrophoretic display panel having a gap for communicating adjacent cells is proposed. For example, Patent Document 2 proposes an electrophoretic display panel that is considered to prevent deterioration in appearance due to discoloration of the dispersion medium or particles by moving adjacent cells to the dispersion medium or particles. ing.

As a method for manufacturing such an electrophoretic display panel, there is a method in which a partition is first formed on one substrate, a dispersion medium in which particles are dispersed is dropped on the substrate, and the other substrate is disposed thereon. . In this manufacturing method, there is a risk that bubbles may be mixed between the substrates by mistake. At this time, in the electrophoretic display panel in which the cells are completely sealed, it is difficult to remove bubbles mixed in between the substrates. On the other hand, among the electrophoretic display panels having a gap for communicating adjacent cells, an electrophoretic display panel in which a gap that allows passage of bubbles is formed, the bubbles are removed through the gap. It can be done easily.
JP 59-171930 A Japanese Patent No. 3189958

  However, in the electrophoretic display panel having such a gap that connects adjacent cells, the partition wall is in contact with only one of the first substrate and the second substrate, so that the distance between the substrates is kept constant. It was difficult to do. For example, in the electrophoretic display panel described in Patent Document 2, the distance between the first substrate and the second substrate (hereinafter referred to as “inter-substrate distance”) is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the electrophoretic display panel. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to keep the distance between the substrates constant.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and can be used to maintain a constant distance between substrates and to form a gap that allows adjacent cells to communicate with each other. It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple manufacturing method and an electrophoretic display panel having the partition walls.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a method for manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a first substrate and a second substrate provided to face each other, and the second substrate of the first substrate. And a partition wall partitioning a space sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate into a plurality of cells, and charged particles that are contained in the cells and move by the action of an electric field In the method for manufacturing the partition wall of the electrophoretic display panel comprising: a gap material mixed resist layer in which a gap material and a resist are mixed to maintain a constant distance between the first substrate and the second substrate; In at least one of the gap material mixed resist layer forming step to be formed on the first substrate, after the gap material mixed resist layer forming step, and during the gap material mixed resist layer forming step, the partition wall An exposure process for exposing the gap material mixed resist layer or the resist through a mask having an opening pattern for exposing a pattern, and development for developing the exposed gap material mixed resist layer after the exposure process Process.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel, wherein the gap material is mixed in the gap material mixed resist layer forming step in addition to the configuration of the first aspect. The gap material mixed resist layer is formed by applying a resist to the first substrate.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel. In addition to the structure of the first aspect, the gap material mixed resist layer forming step includes the step of forming the resist on the first substrate. A resist film forming step for forming a resist film including: a gap material disposing step for disposing the gap material on a surface of the resist film after the resist film forming step; and a surface of the resist film after the gap material disposing step A pressing step of pressing the gap material disposed on the resist film side and pressing the gap material into the resist film to form the gap material mixed resist layer.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel. In addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the gap material mixed resist layer forming step includes the step of forming the resist on the first substrate. A resist film forming step for forming a resist film including: a gap material disposing step for disposing the gap material on a surface of the resist film after the resist film forming step; and after the gap material disposing step, the gap material is disposed. The first substrate with the surface on the side directed to a predetermined center point is moved circularly about the center point, and the gap material mixed resist layer is formed by pushing the gap material into the resist film by centrifugal force. And forming a centrifugal process.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a partition of an electrophoretic display panel according to the third aspect of the present invention. A resist film having a thickness less than the length of the gap material in a direction perpendicular to the surface on the opposite side is formed.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a partition of an electrophoretic display panel, wherein the gap material mixed resist layer is etched after the developing step in addition to the structure of the first aspect of the present invention. Then, an etching process is provided for causing a part of the gap material to protrude toward the second substrate.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a partition of an electrophoretic display panel according to the first aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention. The exposure is performed from both sides of the two substrates.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrophoretic display panel comprising the partition wall manufactured by the method for manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel according to any one of the first to seventh aspects.

  An electrophoretic display panel according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is erected on a first substrate and a second substrate that are provided to face each other, and a surface of the first substrate that faces the second substrate. In an electrophoretic display panel comprising a partition wall that partitions a space between the first substrate and the second substrate into a plurality of cells, and charged particles that are contained in the cells and move by the action of an electric field. The partition wall is in contact with the first substrate, and has a resist portion provided with a resist facing surface facing the second substrate in a non-contact state, and a state protruding from the resist facing surface toward the second substrate side And a gap material partially embedded in the resist portion, wherein the gap material is in contact with at least the second substrate.

  According to the method for manufacturing the partition wall of the electrophoretic display panel according to claim 1, the gap material mixed resist layer including the gap material is formed on the first substrate, and the opening pattern for exposing the partition pattern is provided. The gap material mixed resist layer exposed through the mask is developed to form partition walls. Producing a partition wall with a part of the gap material protruding toward the second substrate by adjusting the thickness of the gap material mixed resist layer, exposure, and development conditions as appropriate according to the size of the gap material and the material used for the resist. can do. By the manufacturing method of the present invention, the distance between the substrates can be kept constant, and a partition wall having a gap communicating between the cells can be easily manufactured.

  Further, according to the method for manufacturing the partition wall of the electrophoretic display panel according to the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, by applying a resist mixed with a gap material to the first substrate, A gap material mixed resist layer can be formed. Therefore, it is possible to easily form a partition wall that can form a gap for communicating between the cells and that can contact both the first substrate and the second substrate with fewer steps. In addition, the size of the gap communicating between the cells can be easily adjusted by adjusting the amount of gap material added.

  According to the method for manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel according to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, a gap material disposed on the surface of the resist film is disposed on the resist film side. By pressing the gap material into the resist film, the gap material mixed resist layer can be easily formed. In addition, the amount of gap material pushed into the resist film can be adjusted by the amount of pressure (the amount of pressure, the time to apply pressure, and the distance to push in), so the amount of protrusion of the gap material to the second substrate side is It can be easily adjusted.

  In addition, by forming the thickness of the resist film formed in the resist film forming step so as to be thinner than the inter-substrate distance defined by the partition provided with the gap material, the gap material is reliably placed on the second substrate side. Can be protruded. That is, the partition wall manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention can form a gap that communicates between the cells while contacting both the first substrate and the second substrate, and the size of the gap is It can be easily adjusted by adjusting the addition amount of the gap material, the pressing amount, and the thickness of the resist film. Furthermore, when each gap material is pressed, it is possible to adjust the protrusion height of the gap material to be uniform by using equipment having a pressing surface such as a flat plate. For this reason, even when a gap material with low uniformity in size is used, the protruding height of the gap material toward the second substrate can be made uniform.

  According to the method for manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the gap material disposed on the surface of the resist film is removed from the resist film by centrifugal force. The gap material mixed resist layer can be easily formed by pushing it into the gap. The amount by which the gap material is pushed into the resist film can be adjusted by the amount of centrifugal force applied to the gap material and the time for which the centrifugal force is applied, so the amount by which the gap material protrudes toward the second substrate can be easily adjusted. is there.

  In addition, by forming the resist film formed in the resist film forming process so that the film thickness is thinner than the inter-substrate distance defined by the partition including the gap material, the gap material is reliably projected to the second substrate side. Can be made. That is, the partition wall manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention can form a gap that communicates between the cells while contacting both the first substrate and the second substrate, and the size of the gap is It can be easily adjusted by adjusting the addition amount of the gap material, the centrifugal force, and the thickness of the resist film.

  Further, according to the method for manufacturing the partition wall of the electrophoretic display panel according to the invention of claim 5, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 3 or 4, the film thickness of the resist film formed in the resist film forming step is: Since it is formed to be less than the length of the gap material in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the first substrate facing the second substrate, a part of the gap material can be obtained without performing a special treatment such as etching in the subsequent process. Can be reliably projected to the second substrate side.

  According to the method for manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel according to a sixth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the gap material mixed resist layer faces the second substrate. Etching is performed so that a part of the gap material protrudes to the second substrate side from the surface formed by the resist in the surface on the side, so that a gap that communicates between the cells is surely formed can do.

  According to the method for manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel according to a seventh aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, in the exposure step, the first substrate side and the second substrate side Since exposure is performed from both sides, when exposure is performed from either the first substrate side or the second substrate side, the portion of the resist that is not exposed because the light beam is blocked by the presence of the gap material is surely exposed. be able to.

  According to the electrophoretic display panel of the invention according to claim 8, the partition wall provided on the first substrate comes into contact with the second substrate through the gap material provided in the partition wall. The distance between the substrates can be maintained by the partition wall. For this reason, it is possible to avoid the possibility of display unevenness due to the fact that the distance between the substrates is not kept constant.

  According to the electrophoretic display panel of the ninth aspect of the invention, the partition wall provided upright on the first substrate also comes into contact with the second substrate through the gap material included in the partition wall, and therefore includes the gap material. The distance between the substrates can be maintained by the partition wall. For this reason, it is possible to avoid the possibility of display unevenness due to the fact that the distance between the substrates is not kept constant.

  Hereinafter, first and second embodiments of an electrophoretic display panel 1 embodying an electrophoretic display panel according to the present invention will be described in order with reference to the drawings. The electrophoretic display panel 1 exemplified as the first and second embodiments is a small display panel that can be included in the electrophoretic display device 100 such as a portable electronic device. In addition, “average particle diameter” in the present specification means a volume average particle diameter, and was measured by a microtrack 3100 (manufactured by Microtrack) using a laser diffraction scattering method.

  First, the configuration of the electrophoretic display panel 1 common to the first and second embodiments will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an electrophoretic display panel 1 included in the electrophoretic display device 100. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a partial cross-section in the direction of the arrow on the ZZ line of the electrophoretic display panel 1 shown in FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a cross-section in the direction of the arrow in the XX line of the schematic partial cross-sectional view of the electrophoretic display panel 1 shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the electricity shown in FIG. It is the figure which represented typically the arrow direction cross section in the YY line of the typical fragmentary sectional view of the electrophoretic display panel. 2 to 4, in order to schematically describe each configuration included in the electrophoretic display panel 1, a part of each cross-sectional view is illustrated with dimensions different from the dimensions exemplified in this specification. Show.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the electrophoretic display panel 1 included in the electrophoretic display device 100 is held such that a first substrate 11 and a second substrate 12 face each other with a sealing material 14 therebetween. In addition, a partition wall 13 that partitions a space sandwiched between the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 into a plurality of cells 17 is provided on the facing surface that is the surface facing the second substrate 12 of the first substrate 11. It is erected. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a dispersion liquid containing a dispersion medium 16 and a plurality of charged particles 15 is sealed in the cell 17. Hereinafter, each configuration of the electrophoretic display panel 1 will be described in detail.

  The first substrate 11 is a plate-like substrate having a predetermined thickness, and forms a display surface for displaying an image formed in units of pixels. The thickness of the first substrate 11 can be appropriately set depending on the material, use, etc. of the electrophoretic display panel 1, and has a thickness of 300 μm, for example. The first substrate 11 is formed of a material containing a resin such as transparent or translucent glass, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide resin, polypropylene resin, or polyethylene resin.

  On the other hand, the second substrate 12 is a plate-like substrate having a predetermined thickness, and is a substrate that forms a pair with the first substrate 11 that forms the display surface. Since the second substrate 12 is not a substrate on the display surface side, it is not necessarily transparent. In addition to the transparent material forming the first substrate 11, for example, stainless steel or aluminum having an insulating layer provided on the surface thereof. You may form using the material which is not transparent.

  The sealing material 14 is formed in a rectangular shape so as to surround the partition wall 13, holds the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 at a predetermined interval, and leaks a dispersion medium 16 and charged particles 15 described later to the outside. It plays the role of sealing so that there is no. In the first and second embodiments, the distance between the substrates is held by the sealing material 14 and the partition wall 13 described later so as to be 30 μm. On the other hand, the width of the sealing material 14 can be appropriately set according to the material, use, etc. of the electrophoretic display panel 1, and has a width of 1 mm, for example. For example, an epoxy resin, an acrylic resin, or the like is used as the material of the sealing material 14.

  The dispersion medium 16 is a solvent for dispersing the charged particles 15, and a liquid having high electrical resistance and high transparency is used. For example, aromatic hydrocarbon solvents such as benzene, toluene and xylene, aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents such as hexane and cyclohexane, insulating organic solvents such as polysiloxane and high-purity petroleum are used. In addition, the electrophoretic display panel 1 may use each dispersion medium as described above alone or as a mixture of two or more. Furthermore, the dispersion medium 16 can contain other components as necessary. Other components include, for example, a surfactant such as a surfactant used to assist the dispersion of the charged particles 15, and a charge control such as an alcohol used to adjust the electrophoretic properties of the charged particles in the dispersion medium. And a viscosity adjusting agent such as a polymer resin used for preventing sedimentation of charged particles in the dispersion medium.

  The charged particles 15 are particles that migrate to the first substrate 11 or the second substrate 12 side according to an electric field applied to each pixel and form a display image on the display surface. As the charged particles 15, for example, pigments or dyes made of an organic compound or an inorganic compound, particles obtained by wrapping a pigment or dye with a synthetic resin, particles obtained by coloring particles made of a synthetic resin with a pigment or a dye, or the like can be used. The charged particles 15 may be the above-described charged particles alone or a mixture of two or more. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the charged particles 15 are two of black charged particles 151 that are negatively charged in a state dispersed in the dispersion medium 16 and white charged particles 152 that are positively charged. It has a variety of charged particles.

  The common electrode 26 provided on the first substrate 11 and the drive electrode 27 provided on the second substrate 12 bear a polarity for applying an electric field to the electrophoretic display panel 1, and preferably include a coating agent having a fluorine compound. It is covered with a protective film (not shown) used. The common electrode 26 provided on the first substrate 11 is composed of a light-transmitting conductive thin film such as indium tin oxide (ITO). On the other hand, the drive electrodes 27 arranged in a matrix on the surface of the second substrate 12 facing the first substrate 11 are light-transmitting conductive thin films such as indium tin oxide (ITO) and light. You may be comprised with the thin film of electrically conductive materials, such as gold | metal | money and copper, which do not have permeability. A thin film transistor (not shown) that functions as a switch element is provided at the periphery of the drive electrode 27, and a selection signal is applied to each row of the matrix from a drive circuit (not shown) that controls each drive electrode 27. Further, a control signal and an output from the thin film transistor are applied to each matrix column, and a desired electric field can be applied to the charged particles 15 and the dispersion medium 16 in each cell. The number of drive electrodes 27 corresponding to one pixel is not particularly limited. The planar shape of the drive electrode 27 is not particularly limited, and an arbitrary shape such as a square, a rectangle, or a circle is applicable.

  Here, the structure of the partition wall 13 which is an important component of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown partially in FIG. 3, the partition wall 13 has a predetermined height and thickness in the shape of a lattice in a plan view, and the space between the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 is one side long. Is divided into a plurality of cells 17 having a substantially square planar shape with a length of 500 μm. The partition wall 13 restricts the region in which the charged particles 15 can migrate to the inside of the cell 17, thereby preventing unevenness of the concentration of the charged particles 15 in the dispersion medium 16 and preventing occurrence of display unevenness. be able to. In addition, the thickness, height, shape, interval, and the like of the partition wall 13 can be appropriately changed depending on the material, application, and the like, and are not limited to the above-described dimensions.

  The partition wall 13 includes a spherical gap member 131 having a predetermined diameter corresponding to the distance between the substrates and a resist portion 132 containing a resist. The gap material 131 is a member for keeping the distance between the substrates constant, and is arranged substantially uniformly in the resist portion 132 as schematically shown in FIG. Since the gap material 131 is in contact with the second substrate 12, the partition wall 13 including the gap material 131 and the resist portion 132 is in contact with both the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12. For this reason, the distance between the substrates can be kept constant over the entire display area by the gap member 131. In addition, in order to maintain the distance between substrates uniformly over the entire display area, it is preferable that the interval between the adjacent gap members 131 is constant, but the interval between the gap members 131 may be different. Similarly, the arrangement pattern of the gap member 131 may be regular or irregular. Further, the gap member 131 may not be all in contact with the second substrate 12, but in order to keep the inter-substrate distance constant over the entire display area, the gap in contact with the second substrate 12. It is preferable that the ratio of the material 131 is large.

  As schematically shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a part of the gap member 131 protrudes toward the second substrate 12 on the surface of the partition wall 13 facing the second substrate 12. A protruding portion 134 that is a protruding portion of the gap member 131, a resist facing surface 135 that is a surface of the resist portion 132 that faces the second substrate 12, and a side of the second substrate 12 that faces the first substrate 11. The space surrounded by the surface is a cell communication portion 18 that is a gap for communicating between the cells 17. For this reason, the dispersion medium 16 can move between the cells 17 via the cell communication portion 18. The sizes of the cell communication portion 18 and the partition wall 13 are set to appropriate sizes according to the size of the charged particles 15 and the method for manufacturing the electrophoretic display panel 1.

  For example, as a method for manufacturing the electrophoretic display panel 1, a dispersion medium in which charged particles 15 having an average particle diameter of 5 μm are dispersed from the side surface of the electrophoretic display panel 1 after the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are overlaid. 16 is injected, the average particle diameter of the particulate gap material 131 in contact with both the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 is 30 μm, the height of the resist portion 132 is 20 μm, and the width of the resist portion 132 is 50 μm. And the distance between the resist facing surface 135 and the second substrate 12 is 10 μm. In this case, the width of the narrowest portion (the protruding height of the protruding portion 134 of the gap member 131 indicated by the arrow 30 in FIG. 4) of the width of each cell communication portion 18 is larger than the average particle diameter of the charged particles 15. Is also big. For this reason, the charged particles 15 can move between the cells 17 via the cell communication portion 18, and the dispersion liquid is uniformly dispersed in each cell 17.

  On the other hand, before the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are overlapped, only the charged particles 15 having an average particle diameter of 5 μm are dispersed on the first substrate 11 on which the partition wall 13 is formed, and then the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are overlapped. When overlapping with the substrate 12 and subsequently injecting only the dispersion medium from the side surface of the electrophoretic display panel 1, the average particle diameter of the particulate gap material 131 that contacts both the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 is set. 30 μm, the height of the resist portion 132 is 26 μm, the width of the resist portion 132 is 50 μm, and the distance between the resist facing surface 135 and the second substrate 12 is 4 μm. In this case, the width of the narrowest portion (the protruding height of the protruding portion 134 of the gap member 131 indicated by the arrow 30 in FIG. 4) of the width of each cell communication portion 18 is larger than the average particle diameter of the charged particles 15. Is also small. For this reason, the dispersion medium 16 can move through the cell 17 via the cell communication portion 18, and the dispersion medium 16 can be uniformly injected into each cell 17. On the other hand, since the charged particles 15 do not move freely between the cells 17, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of display unevenness due to the charged particles 15 being biased. Note that the size of the cell communication portion 18 depends on the size and shape of the gap member 131 and the amount of addition and the protruding height of the protruding portion 134 of the gap member 131 (in FIG. It can be adjusted by adjusting (shown at 30).

  As the gap material 131 provided in the partition wall 13, inorganic particles, resin particles, glass fibers, and the like can be used. Each gap material as described above may be used alone or as a mixture of two or more. In addition to the spherical shape shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the gap member 131 may have any shape such as a cubic shape, a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a cylindrical shape. Furthermore, the size of the gap material can be arbitrarily determined according to the distance between the substrates and the manufacturing method of the partition wall 13. Moreover, it is also possible to color a gap material with a pigment or dye as needed.

  In addition, when the gap material 131 is visually recognized from the display surface side, it is preferable that the color of the gap material 131 be any one of the following colors in consideration of the influence of the gap material 131 on the display. First, the color of the gap material 131 is preferably the same color as the resist used as the material of the partition wall 13. In this case, no contrast is generated between the resist portion 132 forming the partition wall 13 and the gap material 131, so that the influence of the gap material 131 on the display can be reduced. In addition, the color of the gap member 131 is the same color as the charged particles 15 of any color or the same color as the intermediate color of the charged particles 15 of any two colors when using particles of a plurality of colors as the charged particles 15. It is preferable. In this case, since the contrast between the charged particles 15 and the gap material 131 can be reduced, the influence of the gap material 131 on the display can be reduced. The color of the gap member 131 is preferably the same color as the color of the dispersion medium 16. In this case, since the contrast between the dispersion medium 16 and the gap material 131 can be reduced, the influence of the gap material 131 on the display can be reduced. The color of the gap member 131 is preferably an intermediate color between the dispersion medium 16 and the charged particles 15. In this case, since the contrast between the dispersion medium 16 and the charged particles 15 and the gap material 131 can be reduced, the influence of the gap material 131 on the display can be reduced.

  On the other hand, the material of the resist portion 132 included in the partition wall 13 can be set as appropriate according to the manufacturing method, and either a negative resist or a positive resist may be used. Further, the thickness of the resist portion 132 is determined in consideration of the distance between the substrates, the protruding height of the gap member 131 toward the second substrate 12, and the like.

  The “first substrate” of the present invention is intended to include not only the substrate but also various electrodes and various films on the surface of the substrate. Therefore, in the first and second embodiments, the “first substrate” of the present invention includes the first substrate 11, the common electrode 26 provided on the surface facing the second substrate 12, and And various films such as a protective film. In the first and second embodiments, the common electrode 26 is provided with a predetermined thickness on the surface of the first substrate 11 facing the second substrate 12, and the partition wall 13 is strictly speaking the common electrode 26. Of the second substrate 12 side. However, for the purpose described above, even when the partition wall 13 is erected on the surface of various films such as the common electrode 26 and the protective film provided on the surface of the first substrate 11 facing the second substrate 12, It is assumed that the partition wall 13 is erected on the first substrate 11.

  Next, the display switching operation in the electrophoretic display panel 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which black is displayed over the entire display area of the display surface of the first substrate 11, and FIG. 6 illustrates white display over the entire display area of the display surface of the first substrate 11. It is explanatory drawing showing a state.

  In FIG. 5, a voltage of 0 V is applied to the common electrode 26 provided in the first substrate 11, −50 V is applied to all the drive electrodes 27 provided on the second substrate 12, and the black charged particles 151 having negative charges are applied. Has moved to the first substrate 11 side, and white charged particles 152 having a positive charge have moved to the second substrate 12 side. Then, the black charged particles 151 adhere to the first substrate 11 and black is displayed on the display surface of the first substrate 11.

  In addition, although the voltage was applied to the common electrode 26 and the drive electrode 27 in order to move the charged particles 15, even if this voltage was dropped and both voltages became 0V, the charged particles 15 adhered to each substrate. State is maintained.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 6, a voltage of 0 V is applied to the common electrode 26, a voltage of 50 V is applied to the drive electrode 27, and the black charged particles 151 having negative charges move to the second substrate 12 side, and positive charges are transferred. The white charged particles 152 having moved to the first substrate 11 side. Then, the white charged particles 152 adhere to the first substrate 11 and white is displayed on the display surface of the first substrate 11. The voltage applied to each electrode can be variously changed according to the distance between the electrodes, the chargeability of the charged particles 15, and the like.

  Next, a method for manufacturing the partition wall 13 of the electrophoretic display panel 1 of the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a manufacturing process of the partition wall 13 of the electrophoretic display panel 1 of the first embodiment, and FIG. 8 explains a gap material mixed resist layer forming process of the first embodiment. It is a flowchart for. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the gap material mixed resist layer 50 formed in the gap material mixed resist layer forming step, and FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the exposure step. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the gap material 131 and the resist portion 132 remaining after the development process. In addition, in order to explain each process typically, each structure shown in FIGS. 9-11 has typically shown a part of cross section of the electrophoretic display panel 1. FIG.

  In the first embodiment, the gap material 131 and the resist are mixed at a predetermined ratio to prepare a gap material mixed resist, and the gap material mixed resist is applied to the first substrate 11 to form the gap material mixed resist layer 50. Try to form. Hereinafter, each process of the manufacturing method of the partition 13 of the electrophoretic display panel 1 will be described in detail.

  First, in the gap material mixed resist layer forming step, a resist material including a gap material and a resist is applied to a surface of the first substrate 11 facing the second substrate 12 with a predetermined thickness, and a gap material mixed resist layer is formed. Is formed (S10). In the first embodiment, in the gap material mixed resist layer forming step, as shown in FIG. 8, first, a gap material mixing step of adding and mixing the gap material 131 to the resist 51 is performed (S101). The resist 51 may be a positive type resist or a negative type resist as long as it is a resist to be applied. In the first embodiment, as an example, a negative resist is used as the resist 51.

  On the other hand, it is preferable to use a material having a uniform size for the gap material 131, and a material having an arbitrary shape can be used. The shape of the gap material 131 is spherical as in the first embodiment. In this case, the distance between the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 secured by the gap material 131 is constant regardless of the direction in which the gap material 131 is disposed. For this reason, the gap material mixed resist can be easily applied so as to have a uniform thickness in the gap material mixed resist coating step, which is a subsequent step. Moreover, you may use the plate-shaped material formed in the thickness which fits the clearance gap between the 1st board | substrate 11 and the 2nd board | substrate 12. FIG. When such a gap material 131 is used, the gap material 131 is in contact with the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 on their surfaces. For this reason, the 1st board | substrate 11 and the 2nd board | substrate 12 can be supported reliably, and the distance between board | substrates can be ensured reliably. The amount of the gap material 131 added is appropriately determined in consideration of the type of the gap material 131, the size of the cell communication portion 18, and the like. For example, Micropearl SP-230 (resin particles having an average particle diameter of 30 μm) Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.) is mixed at a ratio of 0.1 to 5.0% by weight with respect to the resist. The gap material 131 is preferably added at a ratio of 0.5 to 2.0% by weight. When the added amount of the gap material 131 is less than 0.5% by weight, the uniformity of the distance between the substrates is difficult to be obtained. When the added amount is more than 2.0% by weight, the aggregation ratio of the gap material 131 becomes high, and the gap It becomes difficult to arrange the material 131 uniformly.

  In the subsequent gap material mixed resist coating step, the gap material mixed resist in which the gap material 131 is mixed almost uniformly in the resist 51 in the gap material mixing step is applied to the first substrate 11 with a predetermined thickness to apply the gap material mixed resist. The layer 50 is formed (S102). At this time, when the gap material mixed resist is applied by a spin coating method, the gap material 131 is unevenly distributed on the first substrate 11 by centrifugal force, which is not preferable. Therefore, for example, the gap material mixed resist layer 50 is formed using a coating apparatus such as a die coater or a bar coater. The thickness of the gap material mixed resist layer 50 is such that the gap material 131 is in contact with both the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12, that is, as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. In the case of a spherical shape, the thickness is preferably the average particle diameter. This is to facilitate the subsequent process for causing the gap member 131 to protrude toward the second substrate 12. In the gap material mixed resist layer forming step described above, a gap material mixed resist layer 50 is formed on the first substrate 11 as shown in FIG.

  After the gap material mixed resist layer forming step shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8, preferably, a pre-baking step of heat-treating the gap material mixed resist layer is performed to adjust the residual solvent amount (S20). In this pre-baking step, the gap material mixed resist layer 50 is heat-treated at 95 ° C. for 10 minutes, for example. This pre-baking step may be omitted as necessary, or the time may be extended at a lower temperature.

  In the subsequent exposure step, when a negative resist is used as the resist 51, as shown in FIG. 10, a gap material mixed resist is provided via a mask 61 that covers a region other than the upper portion of the region where the partition wall 13 is erected. The layer 50 is irradiated with a light beam having a predetermined wavelength such as ultraviolet rays or a predetermined energy (shown by an arrow 71) (S30). The exposure conditions are determined according to the photosensitive wavelength of the resist. For example, a wavelength of 365 nm (i-line) is irradiated for a predetermined time. In the first embodiment, since a negative resist is used as the resist 51, the resist 51 in the region where the partition wall 13 is formed becomes insoluble in the developer described later by performing the exposure process. In the case where the resist 51 is made of a positive resist, a light beam is irradiated to a region other than the region where the partition wall 13 is formed in the gap material mixed resist layer 50.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the first embodiment, since the gap material 131 has a spherical shape, the light beam is blocked by the presence of the gap material 131 when exposure is performed only from the second substrate 12 side. There is a possibility that an unexposed part may be generated. In such a case, it is preferable to expose from the first substrate 11 side. In the first embodiment, the first substrate 11 is a substrate on the side on which the display surface is formed. As described above, the first substrate 11 is formed of a transparent or translucent material and allows light rays to pass from the first substrate 11 side. The resist 51 can be exposed. As described above, when the exposure is performed from both the first substrate 11 side and the second substrate 12 side, the portion of the resist 51 that is not exposed because the light beam is blocked by the presence of the gap material can be surely exposed. In addition, when exposing from both the 1st board | substrate 11 side and the 2nd board | substrate 12 side, you may make it expose from both simultaneously, and you may make it expose one side each in any order.

  In the subsequent PEB process, post-exposure heat treatment PEB (Post Exposure Bake) is performed on the gap material mixed resist layer 50 in order to smooth the side surface of the portion hardened by exposure (S40). By performing this step, the solvent is evaporated, the latent image becomes smooth, and the side surfaces of the partition walls obtained after development have the effect of flattening. In this PEB process, the gap material mixed resist layer 50 is heated at 95 ° C. for 4 minutes, for example. This PEB step may be omitted as necessary, or the time may be longer at a lower temperature.

  Subsequently, in the developing step, a process of dissolving the resist in the region excluding the region where the partition wall 13 is formed with a developing solution is performed (S50). As the developer used in this step, an organic alkali solution such as tetramethylammonium hydride (TMAH) or an inorganic alkali solution such as sodium carbonate is used. Development methods include paddle processing that develops with a developer pool formed on the surface of a resist placed horizontally, dip processing that develops by immersing the resist in the developer, and development by spraying the developer onto the resist. A spray process or the like is used. In the resist 51 of the gap material mixed resist layer 50 after the development process, only the resist portion 132 in the region to be the partition wall 13 remains as shown in FIG.

  After the development process, a post-bake process is preferably performed (S60). This process is a process for removing the remaining developing solution and rinsing solution and improving the adhesion between the resist portion 132 and the first substrate 11 and the etching resistance in the next step. In this post-bake process, for example, a process of heating at 150 ° C. for 30 minutes is performed. This post-baking step may be omitted as necessary, or the time may be extended at a lower temperature.

    Subsequently, an etching process for removing the surface portion of the resist 51 is performed as necessary so that the gap material 131 protrudes toward the second substrate 12 by etching (S70). Various solutions for the etching are determined depending on the materials of the resist 51 and the gap member 131 used for the resist portion 132, and the etching is performed by dipping in the etching solution or spraying the etching solution. By this processing, a part of the gap material 131 can be reliably projected on the second substrate 12. Depending on the type of the resist 51, the film may be reduced in any one of the exposure process, the development process, the heat treatment after the development process, or in each process. After these steps, when the gap material 131 protrudes by a desired amount on the second substrate 12 side, this etching step may be omitted. For example, a gap material mixed resist layer in which a gap material mixed resist obtained by mixing a spherical gap material with an average particle diameter of 30 μm and “SU-8 3000” manufactured by Kayaku Microchem Co., Ltd. as a resist is applied at a thickness of 30 μm. When the barrier rib is manufactured by the manufacturing method of the first embodiment, the resist is reduced in film thickness by about 2 μm by a series of heat treatment (pre-bake process, PEB process, post-bake process). When the protrusion height of the gap material may be 2 μm, the etching process can be omitted.

  The partition wall 13 is manufactured by the manufacturing method of the partition wall 13 of the electrophoretic display panel 1 having the above manufacturing process. According to the manufacturing method of the partition wall 13 of the electrophoretic display panel 1 described above in detail, the gap material mixed resist layer 50 including the gap material 131 is formed on the first substrate 11 and the opening for exposing the pattern of the partition wall 13 is exposed. The gap material mixed resist layer 50 exposed through the mask 61 having a pattern is developed to form the partition wall 13. The gap material mixed resist layer 50 can be easily formed with fewer steps by applying a resist mixed with the gap material 131 to the first substrate 11. A part of the gap material 131 protrudes toward the second substrate 12 by appropriately adjusting the thickness, exposure, and development conditions of the gap material mixed resist layer 50 according to the size of the gap material 131 and the material used for the resist. The partition wall 13 can be manufactured. According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, the distance between the substrates can be kept constant, and the partition wall 13 having the cell communication portion 18 that communicates between the cells 17 can be easily manufactured.

  Further, the gap material 131 is etched so that a part of the gap material 131 protrudes to the second substrate side of the surface of the gap material mixed resist layer 50 facing the second substrate 12 from the surface formed by the resist. Therefore, it is possible to reliably form a gap that allows the cells to communicate with each other. Furthermore, in the exposure step, when exposure is performed from both the first substrate 11 side and the second substrate 12 side, when exposure is performed from either the first substrate 11 side or the second substrate 12 side. Due to the presence of the gap material 131, the resist can be reliably exposed at a portion where the light beam is blocked and not exposed.

  In addition, the electrophoretic display panel 1 including the partition wall 13 manufactured by the manufacturing method according to the first embodiment also contacts the second substrate 12 via the gap member 131 provided in the partition wall 13 erected on the first substrate 11. Therefore, the distance between the substrates can be kept constant by the partition wall 13 including the gap member 131. For this reason, it is possible to avoid the possibility of display unevenness due to the fact that the distance between the substrates is not kept constant.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described in detail above, and various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. First, the first embodiment has been described as a small panel that can be provided in a portable electronic device. However, the size, application, and the like of the electrophoretic display panel 1 can be variously selected and are not limited thereto.

  In the first embodiment, the common electrode 26 is provided on the surface of the first substrate 11 facing the second substrate 12, and the second substrate 12 is driven on the surface facing the first substrate 11. Although the electrode 27 was provided, it is not limited to this. Therefore, for example, the common electrode 26 may be provided on the display surface side of the first substrate 11, and the drive electrode 27 may be provided on the surface of the second substrate 12 that is not on the side facing the first substrate 11. . When electrodes are supplied from the outside, the common electrode 26 may not be provided on the first substrate 11, and the drive electrode 27 may not be provided on the second substrate 12.

  In the first embodiment, the case where the first substrate 11 forms the display surface has been described. However, the second substrate 12 may form the display surface. In that case, the second substrate 12 may be formed of a transparent or translucent material, and the first substrate 11 and the common electrode 26 may be formed using a material that is not transparent or translucent. However, even when the second substrate 12 forms a display surface, when the partition wall 13 affects the display, the gap material 131 and the resist portion 132 constituting the partition wall 13 are formed in a color with low visibility. It is desirable that

  In the first embodiment, the partition wall 13 has a lattice shape. However, the partition wall 13 is not limited thereto, and various partitions that divide the space between the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are used. The shape can be adopted. For example, the shape of the partition wall 13 may be partitioned into a rectangular shape, a circular shape, or an elliptical shape in plan view. In the first embodiment, the partition wall 13 is provided so as to form a cell corresponding to each drive electrode 27. However, the partition wall is provided so as to form a cell corresponding to a plurality of drive electrodes 27. Also good.

  In the first embodiment, the drive electrode 27 corresponds to one cell 17, but a plurality of sets of drive electrodes may correspond to one cell. A set of cells may correspond to the cells.

  In the first embodiment, the gap material 131 and the resist are mixed at a predetermined ratio to prepare a gap material mixed resist, and the gap material mixed resist is applied to the first substrate 11 to apply the gap material mixed resist layer 50. However, the gap material mixed resist layer may be formed by another method. For example, a gap material mixed resist layer is formed by pressing a resist film formed with a predetermined thickness on the surface of the first substrate 11 facing the second substrate 12 on a flat plate on which the gap material is dispersed almost uniformly. You may make it do. Further, for example, a gap material mixed resist layer forming step of a second embodiment described later may be used.

  Next, a method for manufacturing the partition wall 13 of the electrophoretic display panel 1 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a manufacturing process of the partition wall 13 of the electrophoretic display panel 1 of the second embodiment, and FIG. 13 explains a gap material mixed resist layer forming process of the second embodiment. It is a flowchart for. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the resist film 154 formed on the surface of the first substrate 11 facing the second substrate 12 in the resist film forming step included in the gap material mixed resist layer forming step. is there. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a state in which the gap material 131 is disposed on the resist film 154 in the gap material arranging step included in the gap material mixed resist layer forming step. Moreover, FIG. 16 is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the exposure process with which a gap material mixing resist layer formation process is equipped. FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the gap material mixed resist layer 150 formed in the pressing step included in the gap material mixed resist layer forming step. In addition, in order to demonstrate each process typically, each structure shown in FIGS. 12-17 has shown a part of cross section of the electrophoretic display panel 1 typically.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 12 and 13, the first is that the pre-baking process and the exposure process are not performed after the gap material mixed resist layer forming step and the gap material mixed resist layer forming step. Different from the embodiment. Description of the steps similar to those of the first embodiment will be omitted, and hereinafter, a gap material mixed resist layer forming step different from that of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the gap material mixed resist layer forming step of the second embodiment, after the gap material 131 is spread almost uniformly on the surface of the resist film 154, the gap material 131 is pressed into the resist film 154 to mix the gap material. A resist layer 150 is formed.

  Therefore, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 13, first, in the resist film forming step, a resist film 154 (see FIG. 14) having a predetermined thickness is formed on the surface of the first substrate 11 facing the second substrate 12. (S111). As a resist for forming the resist film 154, either a negative resist or a positive resist may be used, and a film type resist may be used in addition to a coating type resist. Unlike the first embodiment, when the resist of the type to be applied is used as the material of the resist film 154, the gap material 131 is not mixed in the resist forming the resist film 154. The resist film 154 may be formed by spin coating a resist. When a film-type resist is used as the material of the resist film 154, a resist film 154 is formed by attaching a laminator to a surface of the first substrate 11 facing the second substrate 12. At this time, a desired resist film 154 is obtained by adjusting the affixing pressure, roller temperature, and roller rotation speed. The film thickness of the resist film 154 formed in the resist film forming step is the length of the gap material in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the first substrate 11 facing the second substrate 12 (hereinafter referred to as “gap material length”). It is preferably formed so as to be less than “. When the gap material is spherical, the average particle diameter is the gap material length. In addition, when the gap material is not spherical but has a rectangular parallelepiped shape of, for example, 25 μm × 25 μm × 35 μm and is arranged so that the contact area between the second substrate 12 and the gap material 131 is large, the gap material length Is 25 μm. By forming the resist film 154 having such a film thickness, a part of the gap material 131 can be reliably projected to the second substrate 12 side without performing a special process such as etching in a subsequent process. it can.

  In the subsequent gap material arranging step, the gap material 131 is arranged on the surface of the resist film 154 formed in the resist film forming step on the side facing the second substrate 12 (S112). For example, the gap material 131 is disposed on the resist film 154 as shown in FIG. 15 by being uniformly distributed on the surface of the resist film 154 facing the second substrate 12 by a gap material distribution device. . As described above, it is preferable that the gap between adjacent gap members 131 arranged on the resist film 154 is constant in order to keep the distance between the substrates uniformly over the entire display area, but the gap between the gap members 131 is preferable. May be different. Similarly, the arrangement pattern of the gap member 131 may be regular or irregular.

  After the gap material arranging step, preferably, a pre-baking step (S113) of heat-treating the gap material mixed resist layer is performed to adjust the residual solvent amount. In this pre-baking step, the resist film 154 is heat-treated at, for example, 95 ° C. for 10 minutes. This pre-baking step may be omitted as necessary, or the time may be extended at a lower temperature.

  In the subsequent exposure step, when a negative resist is used as the material of the resist film 154, as shown in FIG. 16, the gap material is interposed through a mask 161 that covers a region other than the upper portion of the region where the partition wall 13 is erected. The resist film 154 on which 131 is disposed is irradiated with a light beam having a predetermined wavelength or energy (shown by an arrow 171) (S114). The exposure conditions are determined according to the photosensitive wavelength of the resist. For example, a wavelength of 365 nm (i-line) is irradiated for a predetermined time. By this exposure process, the resist film 154 in the region where the light beam is not blocked by the gap member 131 in the region where the partition wall 13 is formed becomes insoluble in the developer described later. FIG. 16 shows the case where the resist film 154 is made of a negative resist. However, when the resist 51 is made of a positive resist, the resist film 154 is a region other than the region where the partition wall 13 is formed. A light beam is irradiated to the area of. When a negative resist is used as the material for the resist film 154 as in the second embodiment, the subsequent pressing step (S115) is taken into consideration, and the exposure process in S114 is the exposure of the first embodiment. As in the process, exposure is not performed from both the first substrate 11 side and the second substrate 12 side.

  In the subsequent pressing step, the gap material 131 disposed on the resist film 154 is pressed, the gap material 131 is pressed into the resist film 154, and the gap material mixed resist layer 150 in which the gap material 131 is mixed in the resist film 154 is formed. (S115). The amount by which the gap material 131 is pushed in, that is, the protruding height of the gap material 131 toward the second substrate 12 is adjusted by adjusting the pressing amount (the magnitude of pressure, the time during which the pressure is applied, and the pushing distance). Further, when the gap member 131 is pressed using a device having a pressing surface such as a flat plate or the like, it is easy to make the protruding height of the gap member 131 toward the second substrate 12 uniform. Can be adjusted. For this reason, even when the gap material 131 whose size is not uniform is used, the protruding height of the gap material 131 toward the second substrate 12 can be made uniform.

  The gap material mixed resist layer 150 of the second embodiment is formed by the above manufacturing method. According to the manufacturing method of the partition wall 13 of the electrophoretic display panel 1 described in detail above, the gap material 131 disposed on the surface of the resist film 154 is pressed toward the resist film 154 side, and the gap material 131 is applied to the resist film 154. By pressing, the gap material mixed resist layer 150 can be easily formed. Further, the amount of the gap material 131 pushed into the resist film 154 can be adjusted by the amount of pressure (the magnitude of pressure, the time during which the pressure is applied, and the distance pushed in), and therefore the gap material 131 toward the second substrate 12 side. The amount of protrusion can be easily adjusted.

  Further, the resist film 154 formed in the resist film forming step (S111 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 13) is formed so as to be thinner than the inter-substrate distance defined by the partition wall 13 including the gap material 131. Thus, the gap member 131 can be reliably projected toward the second substrate side. Therefore, the partition wall 13 manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention can form the cell communication portion 18 that allows the cell 17 and the cell 17 to communicate with each other while being in contact with both the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12. The size of the cell communication portion 18 can be easily adjusted by adjusting the added amount of the gap material 131, the pressing amount, and the thickness of the resist film 154. Furthermore, when pressing each gap member 131 in the pressing step (S115 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 13), by using a device having a pressing surface such as a flat plate or the like, the protruding height of the gap member 131 can be increased. It can be adjusted to be uniform. For this reason, even when the gap material 131 having a low size uniformity is used, the protruding height of the gap material 131 toward the second substrate 12 can be made uniform. Even when a positive resist is used as the material of the resist film 154, a second exposure step may be provided as necessary.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described in detail above, and various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the manufacturing method of the partition wall 13 of the electrophoretic display panel 1 according to the second embodiment, it is determined that the negative resist in the region where the light beam is blocked by the gap material 131 in the exposure process is not sufficiently cured. In this case, a second exposure step of exposing from the first substrate 11 side or the second substrate 12 again may be provided as a step between S11 and S40 in the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12, the etching process is not performed after the post-baking process (S60). However, after the post-baking process is performed, the gap material 131 is moved to the second substrate 12 side. If it does not protrude, the same etching process as in the first embodiment may be performed.

  In the second embodiment, the gap material 131 is pressed into the resist film 154 in S115 of the flowchart shown in FIG. Instead of this pressing step, a centrifugal step of pressing the gap material 131 into the resist film 154 by centrifugal force to form the gap material mixed resist layer 150 may be performed. This centrifugation step is performed by circularly moving the first substrate 11 with the gap material disposed side directed to a predetermined center point around the center point. When performing the centrifugation step instead of the pressing step, the amount of the gap material pushed into the resist film can be adjusted by the magnitude of the centrifugal force applied to the gap material and the time during which the centrifugal force is applied. The amount of protrusion toward the two substrates can be easily adjusted.

  This pressing step or centrifugal step may be performed in the gap material mixed resist layer forming step of the first embodiment shown in the flowchart of FIG. This case will be described as a first modification with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. FIG. 18 is a flowchart for explaining the gap material mixed resist layer forming step of the first modification. In the gap material mixed resist layer forming step of the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, after the resist film forming step (S111) and the gap material arranging step (S112) as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 18, the pressing step or the centrifugal step (S125). ). Since these steps are the same as the steps of the second embodiment shown in FIG.

  According to the manufacturing method of the partition wall 13 of the electrophoretic display panel 1 of the first modification, the same effect as in the second embodiment can be obtained.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an electrophoretic display panel 1 included in an electrophoretic display device 100. FIG. It is the figure which represented typically the arrow direction partial cross section in the ZZ line | wire of the electrophoretic display panel 1 shown in FIG. It is the figure which represented typically the arrow direction cross section in the XX line of the typical fragmentary sectional view of the electrophoretic display panel 1 shown in FIG. It is the figure which represented typically the arrow direction cross section in the YY line of the typical fragmentary sectional view of the electrophoretic display panel 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which black is displayed in the entire display area of the display surface of the first substrate 11. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which white is displayed over the entire display area of the display surface of the first substrate 11. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a manufacturing process of the partition wall 13 of the electrophoretic display panel 1 of the first embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the gap material mixing resist layer formation process of 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the gap material mixed resist layer 50 formed in the gap material mixed resist layer formation process. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating an exposure process. It is explanatory drawing showing the gap material 131 and the resist part 132 which remain through the image development process. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the manufacturing process of the partition 13 of the electrophoretic display panel 1 of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the gap material mixing resist layer formation process of 2nd Embodiment. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a resist film 154 formed on a surface of the first substrate 11 on the side facing the second substrate 12 in the resist film forming step included in the gap material mixed resist layer forming step. FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the state by which the gap material 131 was arrange | positioned on the resist film 154 in the gap material arrangement | positioning process with which a gap material mixed resist layer formation process is equipped. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the exposure process with which a gap material mixing resist layer formation process is provided. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the gap material mixed resist layer 150 formed in the press process with which a gap material mixed resist layer formation process is equipped. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a gap material mixed resist layer forming step of Modification 1;

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrophoretic display panel 11 1st board | substrate 12 2nd board | substrate 13 Partition 15 Charged particle 16 Dispersion medium 17 Cell 26 Common electrode 50,150 Gap material mixed resist layer 51 Resist 131 Gap material 151 Black charged particle 152 White charged particle 154 Resist film

Claims (9)

The first substrate and the second substrate provided opposite to each other, and the first substrate is erected on the surface of the first substrate facing the second substrate, and is sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate In the method of manufacturing the partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel, comprising: a partition wall that divides a space into a plurality of cells; and charged particles that are contained in the cell and move by the action of an electric field.
A gap material mixed resist layer forming step of forming on the first substrate a gap material mixed resist layer in which a gap material and a resist for maintaining a constant distance between the first substrate and the second substrate are mixed; and
After at least one of the gap material mixed resist layer forming step and the gap material mixed resist layer forming step, the gap material mixed resist layer is passed through a mask having an opening pattern for exposing the pattern of the partition wall. Or an exposure step of exposing the resist;
A method of manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel, comprising: a developing step of developing the exposed gap material mixed resist layer after the exposing step.   The gap material mixed resist layer is formed in the gap material mixed resist layer forming step by applying the resist mixed with the gap material to the first substrate. Manufacturing method of partition wall of electrophoretic display panel. The gap material mixed resist layer forming step,
A resist film forming step of forming a resist film containing the resist on the first substrate;
After the resist film forming step, a gap material arranging step of arranging the gap material on the surface of the resist film;
After the gap material arranging step, the gap material arranged on the surface of the resist film is pressed to the resist film side, and the gap material is pushed into the resist film to form the gap material mixed resist layer. A method for manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel according to claim 1. The gap material mixed resist layer forming step,
A resist film forming step of forming a resist film containing the resist on the first substrate;
After the resist film forming step, a gap material arranging step of arranging the gap material on the surface of the resist film;
After the gap material arranging step, the first substrate with the surface on which the gap material is arranged facing a predetermined center point is circularly moved around the center point, and the gap material is moved by centrifugal force. The method for manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel according to claim 1, further comprising a centrifuge step of forming the gap material mixed resist layer by being pushed into a resist film.   The resist film forming step includes forming a resist film having a thickness less than a length of the gap material in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the first substrate facing the second substrate. 5. A method for producing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel according to 3 or 4.   6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an etching step of etching the gap material mixed resist layer after the developing step to project a part of the gap material to the second substrate side. Manufacturing method for partition walls of electrophoretic display panel.   The method for manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel according to claim 1, wherein in the exposure step, exposure is performed from both the first substrate side and the second substrate side.   An electrophoretic display panel comprising the partition wall manufactured by the method for manufacturing a partition wall of an electrophoretic display panel according to claim 1. The first substrate and the second substrate provided opposite to each other, and the first substrate is erected on the surface of the first substrate facing the second substrate, and is sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate In an electrophoretic display panel comprising partition walls that divide a space into a plurality of cells, and charged particles that are contained in the cells and move by the action of an electric field,
The partition wall is in contact with the first substrate, and has a resist portion provided with a resist facing surface facing the second substrate in a non-contact state, and a state protruding from the resist facing surface toward the second substrate side An electrophoretic display panel comprising: a gap material partially embedded in the resist portion, wherein the gap material is in contact with at least the second substrate.

Images