JP2008243611A - Pattern formation device and manufacturing method of masking plate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pattern formation device capable of simplifying a device configuration, of reducing the number of processes for pattern formation, and of rapidly and inexpensively forming a high-positional-accuracy and high-definition pattern comparable to that of a photolithographic technique; and a manufacturing method of a masking plate. <P>SOLUTION: This pattern formation device has a masking plate arranged oppositely to a surface of a glass plate. The masking plate has a substrate 24 having multiple pattern-like through holes 22, and is formed by coating, with annular insulation layers 26a, the inside surfaces of the multiple through holes 22, the back surface 24b of the substrate 24, and the peripheral parts of the through hole 22 within the front surface 24a of the substrate 24. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, a pattern forming apparatus used for manufacturing a flat image display device, a wiring board, an IC tag, and the like, and a method for manufacturing a masking plate used in the pattern forming apparatus.

  Conventionally, a photolithography technique plays a central role as a technique for forming a fine pattern on the surface of a substrate. However, while this photolithography technology is increasing its resolution and performance, it requires huge and expensive manufacturing equipment, and it is difficult to reuse materials other than patterns, and the cost required for pattern formation is kept low. It is difficult.

  On the other hand, for example, the ink jet technology has begun to be put into practical use as a relatively inexpensive patterning technology that makes use of features such as simplicity of the apparatus and non-contact patterning. However, this ink-jet technology is also being exposed to limitations in high resolution and high productivity.

  That is, in these respects, the electrophotographic technology, particularly the electrophotographic technology using liquid toner, has an excellent possibility.

  Conventionally, a pattern forming method for forming a phosphor layer, a black matrix, a color filter and the like on a front substrate for a flat panel display using such an electrophotographic technique has been proposed. For example, as a device for forming a phosphor screen on the front substrate of a flat-type image display device, a patterned electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of a photosensitive drum, and a charged developer is supplied to the electrostatic latent image. A pattern forming apparatus is known in which the developer images of each color developed in this manner are sequentially transferred to a transfer drum, and the developer images of each color superimposed on the transfer drum are collectively transferred to a substrate and fixed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  However, in this type of apparatus using a plurality of drums, a pattern-like developer image formed on the curved peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum is transferred to the curved peripheral surface of the transfer drum, and Since the pattern is transferred onto a flat substrate, it is extremely difficult to maintain the positional accuracy between the photosensitive drum and the transfer drum and the positional accuracy between the transfer drum and the substrate with high precision. It is very difficult to form a pattern on a substrate.

In addition, it is considered that this pattern forming apparatus requires many steps to form a pattern on the substrate, and the processing time becomes long, the processing efficiency is poor, and the cost is high.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-30980 (FIG. 4)

  An object of the present invention is to provide a pattern forming apparatus capable of simplifying the apparatus configuration, reducing the number of pattern forming steps, and forming a high-definition pattern at a low cost in a short time with high positional accuracy comparable to that of photolithography technology, and It is to provide a method for manufacturing a masking plate.

  In order to achieve the above object, a pattern forming apparatus of the present invention has a pattern-shaped through hole corresponding to a print pattern formed on the surface of a printing medium, and at least the through hole on the surface facing the printing medium. A masking plate having an insulating layer covering a peripheral portion of the hole, an inner surface of the through-hole, and a back surface separated from the printing medium, and a charging device for charging the insulating layer of the masking plate with the same polarity as the developer particles And supplying the liquid developer, in which charged developer particles are dispersed in an insulating liquid, to the back side of the masking plate with the masking plate in close proximity to the surface of the printing medium, A developing device for forming an electric field passing through the holes to collect the developer particles in the through-holes and developing the print pattern on the surface of the printing medium. The curvature radius R of the continuous insulating layer between the inner surface of the through hole, when the thickness of the insulating layer is T, and satisfies the R ≦ T / 2.

  According to the above invention, when the radius of curvature R of the insulating layer where the masking plate is continuous between the surface facing the printing medium and the inner surface of the through hole is T, and the thickness of the insulating layer is T, R ≦ T / 2 Since it is set to a value that satisfies the above, it is possible to suppress the phenomenon of developer particles leaking through the edge between the through hole of the masking plate and the surface, and the outline of the print pattern formed on the surface of the printing medium is not blurred. High-definition patterns can be formed with high positional accuracy comparable to that of photolithography technology.

  The masking plate manufacturing method of the present invention has a pattern-shaped through hole corresponding to a print pattern formed on the surface of the printing medium, and at least the periphery of the through hole among the surfaces facing the printing medium. Part, an inner surface of the through-hole, and a masking plate having an insulating layer covering the back surface separated from the printing medium, the step of forming the patterned through-hole in the substrate of the masking plate And laminating the dry film resist on the substrate and applying pressure to the resist material into the through hole, and exposing the dry film resist through a printing plate having a mask area smaller than the through hole. And a step of developing the exposed dry film resist.

  According to the above invention, the dry film resist is laminated on the substrate of the masking plate and pressed to push the resist material into the through hole, and the dry film resist is exposed and exposed through the printing plate having a mask area smaller than the through hole. Because it is developed, the edge of the insulating layer between the surface of the substrate and the inner surface of the through hole can be raised, and the developer particles can be prevented from leaking from the edge of the through hole during pattern formation. A masking plate capable of forming a simple pattern.

  Since the pattern forming apparatus of the present invention has the above-described configuration and operation, the apparatus configuration can be simplified, the number of pattern forming steps can be reduced, and the position accuracy can be as high as that of the photolithography technique. A fine pattern can be formed in a short time at a low cost.

  Hereinafter, a pattern forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, as an example of a pattern forming apparatus, a pattern forming apparatus 100 for printing a phosphor screen on the inner surface of a front panel of a flat-type image display apparatus such as a liquid crystal display apparatus or a plasma display apparatus will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a pattern forming apparatus 100 includes a suction plate 12 that sucks and holds a back surface 10b of a front panel 10 (printed medium), and a masking that is disposed in a horizontal posture below the front panel 10 in the figure. The plate 20 and the masking plate 20 have three units (a developing unit 30, a drying unit 40, and a cleaning unit 50) arranged below the masking plate 20 and provided so as to be movable in the left-right direction in the drawing.

  The three units 30, 40, 50 are provided so as to be movable at a variable speed in a direction in which they are separated from and in contact with the masking plate 20 and in a direction parallel to the masking plate 20 as indicated by broken line arrows in the drawing. The developing unit 30 functions as a developing device of the present invention. Further, instead of moving the three units 30, 40 and 50 along the front panel 10, the front panel 10 may be moved in the horizontal direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 200 that controls the operation of the pattern forming apparatus 100 includes four cameras 61, 62, 63, and 64 for positioning, which will be described later, and images taken by these cameras to the operator. A display panel 66 to be displayed, an operation input unit 68 for receiving various operation inputs by an operator, and a position for holding the suction plate 12 and moving it in the surface direction to align the front panel 10 with the masking plate 20 By the elevating mechanism 74 and the suction plate 12 that hold the rectangular frame 21 on which the alignment mechanism 72 and the masking plate 20 are stretched, and move the frame body 21 up and down in a direction to separate the masking plate 20 from the front panel 10. A suction mechanism 14 that generates a suction force to the front panel 10 so as to generate a holding force, and a front The inner surface 10a (surface) and the masking plate 20 of the inner surface 20a electromagnet 16 allowed to rise to magnetic force for adhering the (surface), and the above-mentioned three units 30, 40, 50 of the panel 10 are connected.

  The suction mechanism 14 may be configured such that electrostatic force acts on the back surface 10b of the front panel 10 to attract the panel 10 to the suction plate 12, and negative pressure acts on the back surface 10b of the front panel 10 from the suction plate 12. You may make it adsorb | suck. In addition, the electromagnet 16 is, for example, built in the suction plate 12 and applies a magnetic force to the masking plate 20 having a substrate formed of a magnetic metal through the front panel 10, so that the front surface is interposed between the suction plate 12 and the masking plate 20. By sandwiching the panel 10, the front panel 10 and the masking plate 20 function as an adhesion mechanism of the present invention.

  As shown partially enlarged in FIG. 3, the front panel 10 is configured by forming a transparent electrode layer 11 and a grid-like black matrix 13 on the surface of a rectangular glass plate 1. In other words, on the inner surface 10a of the front panel 10, a large number of substantially rectangular recesses 15 for forming three-color phosphor layers partitioned by the black matrix 13 are formed in a matrix. That is, each recess 15 corresponds to one pixel of the display device, and the electrode layer 11 is provided at the bottom thereof. The electrode layer 11 is grounded as shown in FIG.

  The electrode layer 11 is formed by spray-coating Denatron G-115S manufactured by Nagase ChemteX Corporation on the surface of the glass plate 1 and drying to form a film thickness of 0.2 [μm]. Alternatively, the electrode layer 11 can be formed of an inorganic material such as a sputtered film of antimony oxide.

  As shown in a partially enlarged view in FIG. 4, the masking plate 20 has pattern-shaped through holes 22 corresponding to the printed patterns 15 of the phosphor layers of three colors formed on the front panel 10. In the present embodiment, since the phosphor layers of three colors are printed one color at a time on the inner surface 10a of the front panel 10 using this masking plate 20, the masking plate 20 has the number of recesses 15 formed on the inner surface 10a. The number of through holes 22 is 1/3. However, when another pattern such as a semiconductor substrate is printed at a time, the shape of the through hole of the masking plate is substantially the same as the printed pattern. One through hole 22 has an opening area smaller than the opening area of the recess 15 formed in the surface 10a of the front panel 10.

  In the present embodiment, after printing of the phosphor layer for one color is completed, the masking plate 20 is washed as necessary, and then the same masking plate 20 is shifted by one color with respect to the front panel 10. The masking plate 20 is operated so that the phosphor layer of the next color is printed while being relatively moved. For this reason, the masking plate 20 has only one-third the number of through holes 22 of the number of recesses 15 formed in the inner surface 10a of the front panel 10. When the cleaning process is omitted, three types of masking plates 20 for each color are prepared.

  In the masking plate 20 of the present embodiment, a Ni—Fe alloy substrate 24 having a thickness of 50 [μm] is drilled by photoetching, and then a dry thickness of 30 μm is formed from the front surface 20a side and the back surface 20b side. Each film resist is laminated and pressed with a rubber roller (not shown), and a necessary portion is exposed and developed through a printing plate having a mask area, which will be described later, so as to cover the insulating layer 26. The manufacturing method of the masking plate 20 will be described in detail later.

  The insulating layer 26 covers the entire back surface 20 b of the masking plate 20, and also covers the inner surface of the through hole 22 and the peripheral portion of the through hole 22 in the surface 20 a of the masking plate 20 in an annular shape. The masking plate 20 only needs to include the above-described magnetic material (the substrate 24 in the present embodiment) that can be magnetically attached by the electromagnet 16 and the surface is covered with a high-resistance material that can be charged. It is not limited to the structure of the form. Alternatively, the masking plate 20 may be formed of a high resistance material that can be charged. Note that a release material may be applied to the surface of the masking plate 20 in order to improve the releasability of the developer particles described later.

Here, the pattern forming operation by the pattern forming apparatus 100 having the above structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9 together with the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, the front panel 10 in which the electrode layer 11 and the black matrix 13 are previously formed on the surface of the glass plate 10 is prepared. Then, the suction plate 12 is attracted to the back surface 10b of the front panel 10, and the suction plate 12 is set in the alignment mechanism 72 (FIG. 5, step 1). At this time, the suction plate 12 is attached to the alignment mechanism 72 so that the inner surface 10a of the front panel 10 faces downward. As a result, the inner surface 10a of the front panel 10 faces the inner surface 20a of the masking plate 20 set downward. At this time, there is a gap between the inner surface 10a of the front panel 10 and the inner surface 20a of the masking plate 20 (for example, the state shown in FIG. 4A).

  In this state, as shown in FIG. 6, images taken via the four cameras 61, 62, 63, 64 are displayed via the display panel 66, and an alignment mechanism is viewed by the operator who sees the displayed images. 72 is operated and the front panel 10 is moved and aligned in the surface direction (step 2). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, alignment marks M are formed in advance on the four corners of the front panel 10, and through holes 12h are formed in corresponding portions of the suction plate 12 (not shown in FIG. 6). (FIG. 1) is formed. Then, by detecting the mark M on the front panel 10 and the corresponding mark M for alignment on the masking plate 20 via the cameras 61, 62, 63, 64 installed on the back side of the suction plate 12. Then, the displacement in the surface direction between the front panel 10 and the masking plate 20 is detected, and the alignment mechanism 72 aligns the front panel 10 and the masking plate 20 in the surface direction.

  That is, in this alignment step, when the front panel 10 and the masking plate 20 are brought into close contact in the contact step described later, the through hole 22 of the masking plate 20 is positioned inside the concave portion 15 of the color to be developed on the front panel 10. As shown in FIG. 7, the front panel 10 is relatively roughly aligned with the masking plate 20.

  After the alignment in step 2, the lifting mechanism 74 is operated to raise the masking plate 20 toward the inner surface 10a of the front panel 10, and the inner surface 10a of the front panel 10 and the inner surface 20a of the masking plate 20 are brought into close contact with each other. At this time, the electromagnet 16 built in the suction plate 12 is turned on, and the masking plate 20 containing the magnetic material is brought into close contact with the inner surface 10a of the front panel 10 by the magnetic force (step 3). When the masking plate 20 is formed of a high resistance material, sufficient magnetic force cannot be generated even if the magnetic material is mixed. Therefore, a frame-like magnetic material is formed outside the pattern formation region on the back surface 20b side of the masking plate 20. You may make it arrange | position the holding tool which consists of a body and clamp the front panel 10 and the masking plate 20 between the electromagnets 16.

  Since the masking plate 20 is formed by coating an insulating layer on the surface of a thin metal plate as described above, the larger the panel size, the greater the amount of bending when placed in a horizontal posture, and the lifting mechanism. If the masking plate 20 is raised only by 74, it does not completely adhere to the front panel 10. For this reason, in this Embodiment, the device which makes the inner surface 20a of the masking plate 20 contact | adhere to the inner surface 10a of the front panel 10 using the magnetic force of the electromagnet 16 was devised. This state is shown partially enlarged in FIG.

  That is, when the electromagnet 16 is turned on in step 3 and the inner surface 10a of the front panel 10 and the inner surface 20a of the masking plate 20 are brought into close contact with each other as shown in FIG. 7, the inner surface 10a of the front panel 10 aligned in step 2 is formed. The recess 15 and the through hole 22 of the masking plate 20 are connected to form one continuous development recess 82. At this time, the annular insulating layer covered with the peripheral portion of the through hole 22 on the inner surface 20a of the masking plate 20 functions as a seal member, and fills the gap between the through hole 22 and the recess 15.

  In this embodiment, when the front panel 10 and the masking plate 20 are brought into close contact with each other as shown in FIG. 7 for the development process described later, the through holes 22 of the masking plate 20 are located inside the corresponding recesses 15 of the front panel 10. However, since the opening of the through hole 22 is made smaller than the opening of the recess 15, the accuracy in the alignment in step 2 can be lowered. In other words, even if the alignment accuracy is lowered to some extent, there is no problem as long as the through hole 22 fits inside the corresponding recess 15.

  Thereafter, the control unit 200 operates the developing unit 30 shown in FIG. 8 to charge the insulating coating layer 26 covering the back surface 20b of the masking plate 20 with the same polarity as the developer particles (step 4). In the present embodiment, the corona charger 32 is used as the charging device. Here, the charging process in step 4 is performed after the contact process in step 3, but the charging process may be performed at any timing before the contact process. Further, in the present embodiment, in the charging process in step 4, the surface potential of the insulating layer 26 is charged to 400 [V].

  As shown in FIG. 8, the developing unit 30 has a case 31 that opens toward the back surface 20 b of the masking plate 20. As shown in FIG. 6, the developing unit 30 has substantially the same width as the masking plate 20. Two pressing rollers 33 extending in the width direction perpendicular to the moving direction (arrow direction in the figure) are rotatably attached to the upper edge of the opening of the case 31. These pressing rollers 33 are pressed against the back surface 20b of the masking plate 20 and are brought into rolling contact with the back surface 20b when the developing unit 30 is moved in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Thereby, the masking plate 20 is brought into close contact with the front panel 10 with a stronger force in the developing region through which the developing unit 30 passes.

  In the case 31 of the developing unit 30, in addition to the corona charger 32 described above, a developing unit 38 that houses a developing roller 34 (supply member) and a squeeze roller 36 (removing member) is disposed. The developing unit 38 also extends in the width direction and covers the entire width of the pattern formation region. In FIG. 9, the developing roller 34 and the squeeze roller 36 of the developing device 38 are partially enlarged. The developing roller 34 and the squeeze roller 36 are opposed to the back surface 20b of the masking plate 20 through a certain gap.

  Subsequent to the charging step in Step 4, the concave portions 15 for one color among all the concave portions 15 of the front panel 10 are developed (Step 5). In the present embodiment, since the developing unit 30 accommodates the corona charger 32 and the developer 38 in the case 31, the charging process and the developing process are performed substantially simultaneously.

  In the developing process of step 5, the liquid developer supplied by a supply system (not shown) is supplied to the back surface 20b side of the masking plate 20 through the peripheral surface of the developing roller 34 that rotates. At this time, a developing bias is applied to the developing roller 34, and a potential difference is formed between the developing roller 34 and the electrode layer 11 of the front panel 10. That is, since the electrode layer 11 of the front panel 10 is grounded as described above, and a positive developing bias is applied to the developing roller 34, the electric field toward the developing recess 82 is applied to the positively charged developer particles. Is acted on. As a result, the developer particles dispersed in the liquid developer are migrated in the insulating liquid and collected in the development recess 82. In the present embodiment, a bias voltage of 300 [V] is applied to the developing roller 34 in the developing process of step 5.

  At this time, since the back surface 20b of the masking plate 20 and the surface of the insulating layer 26 coated on the surface of the through hole 22 are also charged with the same polarity as the developer particles in the above-described charging step, It does not adhere to the surface of the masking plate 20. At this time, by controlling the developing bias, the filling amount of the developer particles collected in the recess 15 can be controlled. In addition to this, the amount of developer particles for developing the recess 15 can also be controlled by controlling the concentration of developer particles in the liquid developer and the moving speed of the developing unit 30.

  At this time, the squeeze roller 36 of the developing device 38 is rotated in the reverse direction, and a part of the insulating liquid is recovered together with the excessive developer particles. A voltage having the same polarity as the developer particles is applied to the squeeze roller 36 at a lower potential than the developing roller 34, and an electric field from the squeeze roller 36 toward the electrode layer 11 of the recess 15 is formed. For this reason, the developer particles collected in the recess 15 are more strongly aggregated, and surplus developer particles floating in the insulating liquid are adsorbed on the surface of the squeeze roller 36. In the present embodiment, a voltage of 200 [V] is applied to the squeeze roller 36 in the developing process of step 5.

  By the way, as described above, when the liquid developer is supplied to the back surface 20 b side of the masking plate 20, the liquid developer is supplied evenly in the recess 15 of the front panel 10 that is continuous with the through hole 22, that is, the development recess 82. The developer particles can be supplied to the corners of the recesses 15 by electrophoresis. For this reason, when the pattern forming method of the present embodiment is employed, it is possible to form a printed pattern having a shape that almost matches the shape of the recess 15. That is, for example, it can be said that the present invention is effective when phosphor particles are attached to the inner surface of the rib structure formed on the front panel of the plasma display.

  In this development process, it is important that the masking plate 20 is brought into close contact with the front panel 10. That is, if there is a gap between the surface 20a of the masking plate 20 and the surface 10a of the front panel 10, the liquid developer flows through the gap and the outline of the print pattern formed on the front panel 10 is blurred. . For this reason, in the present invention, the annular insulating layer 26 is covered to the peripheral portion of the through hole 22 of the surface 20a of the masking plate 20, and the front panel 10 and the masking plate 20 are brought into close contact by magnetic force using the electromagnet 16. At the same time, the pressing roller 33 of the developing unit 30 is pressed against the back surface 20b of the masking plate 20 so that the front panel 10 and the masking plate 20 are firmly adhered at least in the developing region.

  After the developing process in step 5, the control unit 200 operates the drying unit 40 shown in FIG. 10 to dry the insulating liquid in the liquid developer supplied to the back surface 20b side of the masking plate 20 in step 5 ( Step 6). At this time, first, the sponge 42 is brought into sliding contact with the back surface 20 b of the masking plate 20, and most of the insulating liquid is absorbed by the sponge 42. Then, air is blown onto the back surface 20b of the masking plate 20 through the dryer 44 to dry the remaining insulating liquid. Instead of the sponge 42, a suction device having a suction nozzle may be used to suck most of the insulating liquid with air. Further, the insulating liquid may be dried to a desired state only by blowing air with the dryer 44 without using the sponge 42 or the suction nozzle.

  Then, after drying the insulating liquid in Step 6, the control unit 200 operates the lifting mechanism 74 to lower the masking plate 20 (frame body 21) in the direction away from the front panel 10. The masking plate 20 is peeled off (step 7). At this time, it is desirable that the masking plate 20 is gradually peeled off at a slow speed with respect to the front panel 10, and it is desirable that the masking plate 20 be gradually peeled off from one end side of the masking plate 20. In addition, since the insulating liquid that has wetted the structure of the masking plate 20 and the front panel 10 in the drying process of Step 6 is dried to some extent, in the peeling process of Step 7, developer particles are generated by the liquid flow of the insulating liquid. Does not diffuse, and there is no fear that the developer particles after development are destroyed.

  Finally, the control unit 200 operates the cleaning unit 50 to clean the liquid developer remaining on the masking plate 20 peeled from the front panel 10 (step 8). At this time, for example, the cleaning liquid is sprayed on the masking plate 20 from both the front surface 20a and the back surface 20b of the masking plate 20 through a nozzle (not shown). In addition, the cleaning process of this step 8 should just be implemented as needed, and is not necessarily a required process. For example, in the case of pattern printing that does not require multicolor printing, it is not always necessary to wash the plate every time. In this cleaning step, for example, the cleaning liquid can be applied like a shower, the masking plate 20 can be cleaned using a brush, or the masking plate 20 can be cleaned using ultrasonic waves.

  The masking plate 20 cleaned in the cleaning process of Step 8 is used when forming the phosphor layer of the next color on the surface 10a of the front panel 10. At this time, the mark M photographed by the cameras 61, 62, 63, and 64 is observed through the display panel 66, the alignment mechanism 72 is operated, and the front panel 10 is moved slightly in the surface direction, thereby masking plate. The position of the front panel 10 is shifted by one pixel with respect to 20. Then, a next color pattern is formed using a liquid developer containing developer particles of the next color.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the pattern is directly formed on the front panel 10 by the liquid developer via the masking plate 20 having the pattern-like through-holes 22. Therefore, the number of steps required for pattern formation is reduced. Therefore, the apparatus configuration can be simplified, the amount of developer used can be minimized, and the cost required for pattern formation can be extremely low. Further, since the configuration of the pattern forming apparatus can be simplified, the installation space can be reduced. In addition, by reducing the number of pattern formation steps, the processing time required for pattern formation can be extremely shortened, the processing efficiency can be increased, and the cost can be reduced.

  The pattern forming method of the present embodiment is suitable for forming a relatively thick pattern such as a phosphor layer because the developer particles are developed in the recess 15 of the front panel 10 through the masking plate 20. It can fully cope with higher definition. Further, when forming the recess 15 on the inner surface of the front panel 10, a photolithography technique can be used. Therefore, according to the method of the present embodiment, a pattern depending on the position and shape of the recess 15 is defined as the photolithography technique. It can be formed with the same high accuracy.

  By the way, when the pattern formation method using the masking plate 20 described above is adopted, the above-described adhesion process has been described. The plate 20 needs to be firmly attached to the periphery of the through hole 22. For this reason, in the present embodiment, an adhesion mechanism using magnets is provided, and an annular insulating layer 26 that functions as a seal member is also provided on the peripheral portion of the through hole 22. It has been found that it also depends on the shape of 26.

  That is, ideally, as shown in a partially enlarged cross-sectional view in FIG. 11, it continuously extends between the inner surface of the through hole 22 of the masking plate 20 and the surface 20 a of the masking plate 20 facing the glass plate 10. It is desirable that the edge 91 of the insulating layer 26 is a right angle. In this case, in the state where the portion of the annular insulating layer 26a formed on the surface 20a side of the masking plate 20 is in close contact with the black matrix 13 at the peripheral edge of the recess 15 of the glass plate 10 as shown in FIG. No gap is formed between the two. For this reason, if the edge 91 of the annular insulating layer 26a is substantially perpendicular, the outline of the pattern formed on the glass plate 10 side can be made clear.

  However, it is extremely difficult to make the edge 91 of the annular insulating layer 26a covering the peripheral portion of the fine through hole 22 having a diameter of several tens of microns in a right angle. Repeated trial and error to get closer to. As a result, a certain relationship has been found between the radius of curvature R of the edge 91 of the insulating layer 26a and the thickness T of the insulating layer 26, which can permit “blurring” of the contour of the pattern. That is, as a conclusion, it has been found that when the edge 91 of the annular insulating layer 26a has a curvature radius satisfying R ≦ 1 / 2T, the “blurring” of the pattern falls within an allowable range.

  The charging characteristics vary depending on the material used for the insulating layer 26, but the difference can be made uniform by adjusting the thickness of the insulating layer. In other words, in order to satisfactorily charge the back surface 20b of the masking plate 20 and the inner surface of the through hole 22 to a desired potential, the thickness of the insulating layer 26 has an appropriate thickness that matches the material. That is, in order to obtain good charging characteristics, the thickness of the insulating layer 26 needs to be a certain thickness or more. If there is a thin part in the insulating layer 26, the developer particles will adhere to that part.

  FIG. 12 shows a result of evaluating the contour of the pattern when the masking plate 20 in which the curvature radius of the edge 91 of the annular insulating layer 26a is variously changed and the pattern is formed on the glass plate 10 is shown. Here, the “blurring” of the pattern when the radius of curvature R of the edge 91 was changed from T / 5 to 4T was evaluated.

  According to this, when the radius of curvature R of the edge 91 is 3/4 or more times the thickness T of the insulating layer, the amount of developer particles adhering to the edge 91 exceeds the allowable value, and the glass plate An unacceptable “blurring” was observed also in the contour of the pattern formed in FIG. In addition, when the radius of curvature R of the edge 91 was further increased to 2T or more, a lot of developer particles were scattered to a region exceeding the allowable range. That is, according to this evaluation, when the radius of curvature R of the edge 91 of the annular insulating layer 26a is half the thickness of the insulating layer 26, that is, T / 2 or less, a good pattern without “blurring” in the outline is obtained. It was found that it can be formed.

  However, when the thickness of the insulating layer 26 is set to 30 [μm] as in this embodiment, the curvature radius R of the insulating layer edge 91 that does not cause “blurring” in the pattern outline is 15 [μm] or less. Thus, when the insulating layer 26 is coated by spray coating or dipping as in the prior art, this degree of curvature radius cannot be achieved. For this reason, in the present embodiment, a coating method of the insulating layer 26 is adopted, in which a dry film resist is laminated on both surfaces of the substrate 24 and exposed and developed.

  That is, when the masking plate 20 is manufactured, as shown in FIG. 13, dry film resists 92 and 94 are laminated on the front surface 24a and the back surface 24b of the substrate 24 on which a large number of through-holes 22 are formed, and both surfaces are formed by rubber rollers (not shown). Then, the resist material is pushed into the through holes 22. Then, the dry film resist 92 is exposed through the printing plate 96 arranged on the front surface 24a side, and the dry film resist 94 is exposed through the printing plate 98 arranged on the back surface 24b side, and masked by the printing plates 96 and 98. The insulating layer 26 is developed by removing the exposed non-exposed portion by etching. This state is shown in FIG. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 15, after exposure / development through a printing plate 98 disposed on the back surface side, a printing plate 96 may be disposed on the front surface side for exposure / development.

  In any case, by laminating dry film resists 92 and 94 on both surfaces of the substrate 24 and exposing and developing through the printing plates 96 and 98, the edge 91 of the annular insulating layer 26a on the surface side is brought close to a right angle. It was possible to clarify the outline of the pattern. When the radius of curvature R of the edge 91 of the annular insulating layer 26a of the masking plate 20 produced by this method was examined, it was a value satisfying R ≦ T / 2 with respect to the thickness T of the insulating layer 26. Needless to say.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the edge 91 between the annular portion 26a on the surface 20a side facing the glass plate 10 of the insulating layer 26 covering the masking plate 20 and the inner surface of the through hole 22 is substantially perpendicular. Thus, when the glass plate 10 and the masking plate 20 are brought into close contact with each other, a gap between the two can be almost eliminated, and the contour of the pattern formed on the glass plate 10 can be made clear. At this time, since the annular insulating layer 26a that is in close contact with the glass plate 10 functions as a sealing member, the adhesion between the glass plate 10 and the masking plate 20 can be further enhanced. Furthermore, on the surface 20a side of the masking plate 20 facing the glass plate 10, the insulating layer 26 is not provided in a portion other than the annular insulating layer 26a, so that only the annular portion 26a is in contact with the glass plate 10. Thus, the contact pressure is applied only to the annular portion 26a, and the sealing performance can be further improved.

  Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the masking plate 20 of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 17 to 21 together with the flowchart of FIG. Here, the case where the insulating layer 26 is covered on the entire exposed surface including the through hole 22 of the masking plate 20 will be described. Even if the entire surface is covered with the insulating layer 26 instead of forming the annular insulating layer 26a on the surface side of the masking plate 20, the effect of the present invention can be obtained.

  When manufacturing the masking plate 20, first, a rectangular magnetic metal plate having a thickness of 50 [μm] is prepared, and a large number of patterned through holes 22 are formed in the metal plate, that is, the substrate 24 (FIG. 16, Step 1). In the present embodiment, a Ni—Fe alloy is used as the substrate 24, and a large number of through holes 22 are formed by photoetching.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 17, a dry film resist 92 having a thickness of 30 [μm] is laminated on one surface of the substrate 24, and the dry film resist 92 is pressed by a rubber roller (not shown) (step 2). Then, the resist material is pushed into the numerous through holes 22 of the substrate 24. Further, the other surface of the substrate 24 is laminated with a dry film resist 94 and pressed (step 2), and as shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 19, a printing plate 96 is disposed on one surface side of the substrate 24, and the insulating layer is exposed from one side (step 3). At this time, the insulating layer is exposed using a printing plate 96 having a mask region 96a smaller than the diameter of the through hole 22 by 50 [μm]. Thereby, an insulating layer can also be formed on the inner surface of the through hole 22. After that, as shown in FIG. 20, the same printing plate 96 is also arranged on the other side of the substrate 24 to expose the insulating layer.

  Further, the insulating layer (dry film resist) exposed on both sides is developed (step 4) to form a masking plate 20 having a large number of through holes 22 connected on both sides of the substrate 24 as shown in FIG.

Alternatively, the masking plate 20 may be manufactured by the method described below with reference to FIGS.
That is, as shown in FIG. 22, a dry film resist 92 is laminated on one surface of the substrate 24 and pressed, and the resist material is exposed through a printing plate 96 disposed on one surface as shown in FIG. To do. Then, as shown in FIG. 24, the exposed resist material is developed by etching.

  Thereafter, similarly, as shown in FIGS. 25 to 27, a dry film resist 94 is laminated and pressed on the other surface of the substrate 24, exposed through a printing plate 96 and developed. Thereby, the masking plate 20 in which both surfaces of the substrate 24 and the inner surfaces of the numerous through holes 22 are covered with the insulating material can be obtained.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, you may delete some components from all the components shown by embodiment mentioned above.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the phosphor layer is patterned on the front panel 10 of the flat-type image display device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is also applied when patterning a black matrix or a color filter. Applicable. The pattern forming apparatus and the pattern forming method of the present invention can also be used for patterning a semiconductor substrate and manufacturing an IC tag.

  In the above-described embodiment, the masking plate having a pattern-shaped through hole corresponding to the print pattern to be printed on the print medium (front panel 10) is used. This includes cases where the patterns of the through holes match. That is, when the pattern-like recess 15 is not formed on the surface of the printing medium, the shape of the through hole 22 of the masking plate 20 becomes the shape of the printing pattern as it is.

  On the contrary, this “corresponding” corresponds to the through-hole 22 having an opening smaller than the outline of the printed pattern (that is, the recess 15) as in the above-described embodiment. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, when the front panel 10 and the masking plate 20 are brought into close contact with each other, the pattern can be formed normally if the opening of the through hole 22 is accommodated inside the recess 15. Furthermore, the opening shape of the through hole 22 does not need to be rectangular according to the shape of the recess 15, and may be, for example, circular.

In addition, when the shape of the recess 15 is not a dot shape as in the present embodiment, but is a more complicated shape such as a wiring pattern, for example, a plurality of through holes are provided at positions of jumping along the pattern. The liquid developer may be supplied after being arranged. By using the liquid developer, the shape of the through hole has a relatively high degree of freedom because it flows through the recess and reaches every corner. In other words, when positioning the opening of the through hole inside the pattern recess, as described above, high alignment accuracy is not necessary.

The block diagram which shows the pattern formation apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the control system of the pattern formation apparatus of FIG. The partial expanded sectional view (a) of the front panel set to the pattern formation apparatus of FIG. 1, and the top view (b) which looked at this panel from the masking plate side. The partial expanded sectional view (a) of the state which made the masking plate of the pattern formation apparatus of FIG. 1 oppose the front panel, and the bottom view (b) which looked at the masking plate from the back surface side. The flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the pattern formation apparatus of FIG. The perspective view for demonstrating the alignment method of a masking plate and a front panel. The partial expanded sectional view which shows the state which made the front panel and the masking plate contact | adhere. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation | movement by a developing unit. FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view for explaining a developing operation by a developing device. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation | movement by a washing | cleaning mechanism. The partial expanded sectional view which expands and shows one through-hole of a masking plate partially. The table | surface which shows the result of having evaluated the outline of the pattern based on the relationship between the curvature radius of the edge of the insulating layer of a masking plate, and the thickness of an insulating layer. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing process of a masking plate. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing process of a masking plate. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing process of a masking plate. The flowchart for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a masking plate. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating an example of the manufacturing method of a masking plate. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating an example of the manufacturing method of a masking plate. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating an example of the manufacturing method of a masking plate. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating an example of the manufacturing method of a masking plate. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating an example of the manufacturing method of a masking plate. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating another example of the manufacturing method of a masking plate. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating another example of the manufacturing method of a masking plate. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating another example of the manufacturing method of a masking plate. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating another example of the manufacturing method of a masking plate. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating another example of the manufacturing method of a masking plate. Operation | movement explanatory drawing for demonstrating another example of the manufacturing method of a masking plate.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Glass plate, 10 ... Front panel, 11 ... Electrode layer, 12 ... Adsorption board, 13 ... Black matrix, 15 ... Recessed part, 16 ... Electromagnet, 20 ... Masking plate, 22 ... Through-hole, 24 ... Substrate, 26 ... Insulation Coating layer, 26a ... annular portion, 30 ... developing unit, 40 ... drying unit, 91 ... edge, 92, 94 ... dry film resist, 96, 98 ... printing plate, 100 ... pattern forming device, 200 ... control unit.

Claims (6)

A through-hole having a pattern corresponding to a print pattern formed on the surface of the printing medium, and at least a peripheral portion of the through-hole, an inner surface of the through-hole, and the printing target, of the surface facing the printing medium A masking plate having an insulating layer covering the back surface away from the medium;
A charging device for charging the insulating layer of the masking plate to the same polarity as the developer particles;
With the masking plate in close proximity to the surface of the printing medium, a liquid developer in which charged developer particles are dispersed in an insulating liquid is supplied to the back side of the masking plate, and the through holes are formed. A developing device that forms an electric field passing therethrough and collects the developer particles in the through-holes to develop the printed pattern on the surface of the printing medium;
The radius of curvature R of the insulating layer continuous between the surface of the masking plate and the inner surface of the through hole is, when the thickness of the insulating layer is T,
R ≦ T / 2
The pattern formation apparatus characterized by satisfy | filling.   The pattern forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an adhesion mechanism that closely contacts the printing medium and the masking plate. The masking plate is formed by coating the insulating layer on a magnetic metal plate,
The pattern forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the adhesion mechanism includes a magnet that adheres the printing medium and the masking plate by magnetic force.   The pattern forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a release material for improving the release property of the developer particles is applied to the surface of the insulating layer of the masking plate.   The surface of the printing medium has a pattern-shaped recess that substantially matches a desired print pattern, and the pattern-shaped through hole of the masking plate has an opening smaller than the opening of the recess. The pattern forming apparatus according to claim 1. A through-hole having a pattern corresponding to a print pattern formed on the surface of the printing medium, and at least a peripheral portion of the through-hole, an inner surface of the through-hole, and the printing target, of the surface facing the printing medium A method for producing a masking plate having an insulating layer covering a back surface separated from a medium,
Forming the pattern-shaped through-hole in the masking plate substrate;
Pressing the resist material into the through hole by laminating and pressurizing a dry film resist on the substrate; and
Exposing the dry film resist through a printing plate having a mask area smaller than the through hole;
Developing the exposed dry film resist;
A method for producing a masking plate, comprising:

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