JP2008268666A - Element manufacturing method and display device manufacturing method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an element manufacturing method for easily preparing a processing margin when patterning an element on a flexible substrate and patterning the element with high precision, and to provide a display device manufacturing method using the same. <P>SOLUTION: The method for manufacturing elements on flexible substrates includes a step of holding a plurality of flexible substrates 14 on a supporting substrate 10 having less dimensional variation than the flexible substrates in a divided state and a step of patterning elements on respective flexible substrates held on the supporting substrate. For example, when a pixel is patterned on a flexible substrate to manufacture a display device, this method is suitably applicable to pixel patterning. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an element manufacturing method and a display apparatus manufacturing method using the element, and more particularly to an element manufacturing method suitable for manufacturing a display device using an organic electroluminescence element (organic EL element), a liquid crystal element, and the like. .

  In recent years, thin display devices using a liquid crystal element, an organic EL element, and the like are often used. FIG. 10 schematically shows the configuration of the organic EL element 1. An anode 3, an organic EL layer 8 (a hole transport layer 4, a light emitting layer 5, and an electron transport layer 6), a cathode 7, and the like are formed on a substrate 2 such as glass. In FIG. 10, a partition, an insulating film, a sealing member, and the like are omitted. Then, it is connected to an external wiring through a lead wiring (terminal) 9 and an electric field is applied to both electrodes 3 and 7, whereby the light emitting layer 5 in the region sandwiched between the electrodes 3 and 7 is excited to emit light. To do.

  When the organic EL element 1 having such a configuration is formed on the substrate 2, it is formed at a predetermined position by performing patterning by vacuum vapor deposition or exposure using a mask. When manufacturing a display device capable of color display, for example, after an anode is formed in a stripe shape on a substrate, an organic EL layer corresponding to red (R), green (G), and blue (B) is formed on the anode. Patterning is performed with an organic dye material or the like so that appears repeatedly. Next, a cathode is formed on the organic EL layer, and external wirings such as control wirings and signal wirings are connected to terminals (external connection terminals) of the respective electrodes. Thereby, organic EL layer elements corresponding to RGB can be arranged to form a pixel, and color display can be performed.

  In addition, regarding the board | substrate 2, flexible substrates, such as a resin film and a thin metal plate other than a glass substrate, may be used (for example, refer patent documents 1-3). When a display device is manufactured using such a flexible substrate, for example, patterning is performed in a state where the flexible substrate is supported on a support such as glass (see, for example, Patent Document 4).

  When manufacturing the display device as described above, there is a method of dividing the substrate into a predetermined size after forming elements on a large-area glass substrate in order to reduce manufacturing costs. In this manner, the manufacturing cost can be reduced by patterning a large-area glass substrate to increase the number of the substrates.

JP-A-7-78690 JP 2002-15859 A JP 2004-361774 A Japanese Patent No. 3081122

  Even in the case of manufacturing a display device using a flexible substrate such as a resin film, in order to improve productivity and reduce manufacturing cost, for example, as shown in FIG. A method is conceivable in which a resin film 34 having substantially the same size as this is pasted on the substrate 30 and patterned, and then divided into substrates 36 of a predetermined size.

  However, in the case of a flexible substrate such as a resin film, the substrate easily expands and contracts when performing vacuum deposition or photolithography. For example, in the case of a film substrate located at a corner, the anode 38 is designed as shown in FIG. In some cases, it may be formed at a position greatly deviated from the position 37. In particular, when the position in the width direction W of the anode 38 is greatly deviated from the design position 37, defective coating occurs when RGB of the organic EL layer is coated with a vapor deposition mask, resulting in problems such as defective light emission.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a device manufacturing method that can easily provide a processing margin when patterning a device on a flexible substrate and can perform patterning with high accuracy. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a display device using the same.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following device manufacturing method and the like.
<1> A method of manufacturing an element on a flexible substrate, the step of holding a plurality of the flexible substrates in a divided state on a support substrate having a smaller dimensional change rate than the flexible substrate; And patterning the element on each flexible substrate held on the support substrate.

<2> The element manufacturing method according to <1>, wherein the flexible substrate is held on the support substrate via an adhesive layer.

<3> A flexible substrate that holds the flexible substrate having a larger area than the flexible substrate that performs the patterning on the support substrate, and then performs the patterning by cutting the flexible substrate having the large area. <1> or <2> The method for producing an element according to <1>, wherein the element is divided into two.

<4> The method for manufacturing an element according to any one of <1> to <3>, wherein the patterning flexible substrate is arranged in a matrix on the support substrate.

<5> The method for producing an element according to any one of <2> to <4>, wherein the adhesive layer is provided independently for each flexible substrate to be patterned.

<6> Any one of <1> to <5>, wherein an alignment mark is provided on the support substrate, and the element is patterned on the flexible substrate based on the alignment mark of the support substrate. The manufacturing method of the element of description.

<7> A method of manufacturing a display device by patterning pixels on a flexible substrate, wherein the pixels are patterned using the method according to any one of <1> to <6>. A method for manufacturing a display device.

  According to the present invention, when patterning an element on a flexible substrate, it is possible to easily obtain a processing margin and to perform patterning with high accuracy, and a display device using the same. A manufacturing method is provided.

  Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing an element according to the present invention and a case of manufacturing a display device mainly using an organic EL element will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows an example of a method for patterning an element such as an organic EL element on a flexible substrate according to the present invention. On the support substrate 10, a plurality (nine) of flexible substrates 14 are held in a state of being divided via an adhesive layer 12. As the support substrate 10, a substrate having a smaller dimensional change rate than that of the flexible substrate 14 is used when patterning elements. Thus, by holding the plurality of flexible substrates 14 in a state of being divided on the support substrate 10, a processing margin can be easily taken, and with respect to all the flexible substrates 14 on the support substrate 10. Patterning can be performed with high accuracy.

<Flexible substrate>
The flexible substrate 14 may be selected according to the purpose. For example, when manufacturing a display device in which an organic EL element is formed on a flexible substrate 14, the flexible substrate 14 is made of polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene phthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polystyrene, polycarbonate, poly A film substrate such as ether sulfone, polyarylate, polyimide, polycycloolefin, norbornene resin, or poly (chlorotrifluoroethylene) can be used. A film substrate made of such a resin material has high light transmittance and strength, and is suitable as a substrate for a display device.

The flexible substrate 14 made of resin has a gas barrier layer for preventing permeation of moisture and oxygen, a hard coat layer for preventing the organic EL element from being damaged, flatness of the substrate, and adhesion with the anode. It is also possible to appropriately provide an undercoat layer or the like for improving the properties.
In the case of manufacturing a so-called top emission type display device, a metal substrate such as stainless steel can be used as the flexible substrate 14.

  The thickness of the flexible substrate 14 may be determined according to the material and purpose, but in the case of manufacturing a display device using an organic EL element, it is preferable in consideration of strength, light transmittance, flexibility, and the like. Can be about 50 μm to 3 mm, more preferably about 100 μm to 300 μm.

<Support substrate>
The support substrate 10 is for temporarily holding the flexible substrate 14 while the elements are patterned on the flexible substrate 14. In the present invention, the support substrate 10 holds the flexible substrate 14 as described above. In the case of patterning, a substrate having a smaller dimensional change rate than that of the flexible substrate 14 is used. Here, the dimensional change rate of the substrate in the case of patterning means the rate at which the size of the substrate changes from the start to the end of patterning. For example, when patterning is performed on the flexible substrate 14 by mask vapor deposition, the dimensions of the flexible substrate 14 are likely to change due to heat during vapor deposition, and in photolithography patterning, resist application and exposure are performed. Processes such as alkali development and resist removal with a solvent are performed, and the dimensions of the flexible substrate 14 are likely to change. Therefore, as the support substrate 10, a substrate having a smaller dimensional change rate than the dimensional change rate of the flexible substrate 14 in such a patterning process may be selected. Specific examples of such support substrate 10 include a glass substrate, a ceramic substrate, a metal substrate, and the like, and a glass substrate is particularly preferable.

  The size of the support substrate 10 is set to a size capable of holding the plurality of flexible substrates 14 for patterning the elements in a divided state. In particular, it is preferable to use the support substrate 10 having a large area and increase the number of flexible substrates 14 to perform patterning because productivity is improved. When a glass substrate is used as the support substrate 10, for example, a glass substrate having a vertical and horizontal dimension of 400 mm × 500 mm or more can be used.

<Holding means>
As a means for holding the flexible substrate 14 on the support substrate 10, the flexible substrate 14 can be fixed and securely held on the support substrate 10 in the patterning step. There is no particular limitation as long as it is a means capable of peeling the flexible substrate 14. Specific examples include an adhesive layer, an adhesive layer, vacuum adsorption, and the like, and the adhesive layer 12 is preferable in terms of ease of work, holding power, and the like.

  The material constituting the adhesive layer 12 is preferably a material that can easily peel off the flexible substrate 14 by water, an organic solvent, ultraviolet irradiation or the like after the patterning step. Mold, paste mold, solution mold, etc.), butyl rubber, acrylic rubber, urethane rubber and the like. A pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, a pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet, a pressure-sensitive adhesive film or the like provided with such a pressure-sensitive adhesive on both surfaces can be suitably used, and the pressure-sensitive adhesive force (adhesive force) may be different on both surfaces. Further, for example, the adhesive layer 12 is provided by uniformly applying a solution containing an adhesive to at least one of the support substrate 10 and the flexible substrate 14 by roll coating, spin coating, knife coating, spray coating, or the like. May be.

  Although the thickness of the adhesion layer 12 depends on the respective materials, thicknesses, patterning conditions, and the like of the flexible substrate 14 and the support substrate 10, for example, the thickness can be 5 to 300 μm.

  Next, a procedure for holding the plurality of film substrates (flexible substrates) 14 in a state of being divided on the glass substrate (support substrate) 10 and patterning the organic EL elements on each film substrate 14 will be specifically described. To do.

<Holding of flexible substrate>
First, the plurality of film substrates 14 are held in a state of being divided on the glass substrate 10. For example, after pasting a large area resin film having substantially the same area as the glass substrate 10 on the glass substrate 10 via the adhesive layer 12, the large area resin film is cut into a predetermined size with a cutter or the like. It can be divided into a plurality of film substrates 14. Alternatively, the resin film having a large area as described above may be divided in advance, and the divided film substrates 14 may be attached to the glass substrate 10 respectively.
The number of film substrates 14 held on the glass substrate 10 is not particularly limited as long as it is two or more, and may be appropriately determined according to the purpose. Moreover, the size of each film substrate 14 hold | maintained on the glass substrate 10 is not specifically limited, What is necessary is just to determine according to the objective.

  The arrangement of the film substrate 14 on the glass substrate 10 is not particularly limited as long as all the film substrates 14 are held in a divided state. However, as shown in FIG. A plurality of film substrates 14 are preferably arranged in a matrix. Thus, if the film substrate 14 is arrange | positioned on the glass substrate 10 in matrix form, the clearance gap between the film substrates 14 is small, and the number of film substrates 14 can be maximized. Moreover, if the film substrate 14 is arrange | positioned on the glass substrate 10 at the matrix form, the patterning of the element with respect to each film substrate 14 can be performed easily.

The film substrate 14 is preferably attached to the glass substrate 10 with an independent adhesive layer 12 provided for each substrate 14. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, each film substrate 14 is attached to the glass substrate 10 via the adhesive layer 12 having almost the same size, and there is almost no adhesive layer 12 between adjacent film substrates 14. And For example, after attaching a resin film having a large area on the glass substrate 10 via an adhesive layer, the adhesive layer is cut together with the resin film when the resin film is divided into a matrix. At this time, the film substrate and the adhesive layer are cut and removed so that a predetermined gap, for example, a gap of about 1 to 10 mm, is formed between the adjacent film substrates 14. By such a method, each film substrate 14 is reliably held via the independent adhesive layer 12, and a gap is also provided in the adhesive layer 12 between adjacent film substrates 14.
In addition, you may affix the some film board | substrate 14 obtained by dividing | segmenting beforehand on the glass substrate 10, providing a clearance gap mutually as shown in FIG. If there is no problem in dimensional accuracy, the film obtained after patterning may be further divided.

  For example, even if a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet or tape using PET or the like that is likely to undergo dimensional changes in the patterning step as the support layer 12 is used as the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 12, each of the divided film substrates 14 as shown in FIG. If the adhesive layers 12 are attached to each other via the independent adhesive layers 12, even if the adhesive layer 12 expands or contracts to some extent during patterning, the influence on the patterning accuracy can be reliably prevented.

  In order to further improve the patterning accuracy, the glass substrate 10 is preferably provided with an alignment mark corresponding to each film substrate 14. When patterning is performed, the film substrate 14 expands and contracts due to heating in vacuum deposition, a solvent used in photolithography, or the like, and the size changes. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, when the alignment mark 16 provided on the film substrate 14 is used as a reference, the position of the alignment mark 16a may deviate from the design position 16 corresponding to the contraction of the film substrate 14. In particular, when there are a plurality of patterning steps due to vapor deposition or exposure using a mask, the dimensional change of the film substrate 14 occurs in each step, and it is difficult to align the alignment due to the dimensional change of the film substrate 14. Become. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3B, it becomes difficult to align the alignment mark 16a of the film substrate 14 with the alignment mark 22 of the mask 20, and it is necessary to correct the alignment in consideration of the dimensional change of the film substrate 14. Become.

On the other hand, since the dimensions of the glass substrate 10 hardly change in the patterning process for the film substrate 14, for example, as shown in FIG. 4A, the alignment mark 18 is positioned on the glass substrate 10 at a position corresponding to each film substrate 14. By providing this, alignment between the film substrate 14 and the mask 20 can be performed easily and reliably.
For example, the alignment mark 18 on the glass substrate 10 only needs to be a patterning design in consideration of the expansion / contraction margin of the film substrate 14. If the alignment mark 18 corresponding to the pattern design in consideration of the expansion / contraction margin of the film substrate 14 is provided on the glass substrate 10 as described above, even if the film substrate 14 expands / contracts as shown in FIG. Correction is unnecessary, and patterning on the film substrate 14a after expansion and contraction can be easily performed. The alignment mark 18 on the glass substrate 10 and the alignment mark 22 on the mask 20 are not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG.
Further, for example, an alignment mark may be provided on the film substrate 14 for alignment after the patterning step.

<Patterning>
After holding the plurality of film substrates 14 in a state of being divided on the glass substrate 10 as described above, an organic EL element including a light emitting layer is formed on each film substrate 14.
The layer structure of the organic EL element is not particularly limited, and may be appropriately set depending on the purpose. For example, the following layer configurations may be mentioned, but the present invention is not limited to these configurations.
Anode / light-emitting layer / cathode Anode / hole transport layer / light-emitting layer / electron transport layer / cathode Anode / hole transport layer / light-emitting layer / block layer / electron transport layer / cathode Anode / hole transport layer / Light emitting layer / block layer / electron transport layer / electron injection layer / cathode ・ Anode / hole injection layer / hole transport layer / light emission layer / block layer / electron transport layer / cathode ・ Anode / hole injection layer / hole transport Layer / light emitting layer / block layer / electron transport layer / electron injection layer / cathode

-Anode-
An anode is formed on each film substrate 14 held on the glass substrate 10. Known anode materials can be used, for example, tin oxide doped with antimony or fluorine (ATO, FTO), tin oxide, zinc oxide, indium oxide, indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO). ), Conductive metal oxides such as zinc oxide (AZO, GZO) doped with aluminum or gallium can be preferably used. After the anode material is deposited on the film substrate 14 by, for example, sputter deposition, patterning is performed by photolithography including application of a resist and mask exposure. At this time, in particular, by patterning elements on the film substrate 14 using the alignment mark of the glass substrate 10 as shown in FIG. 4 as a reference, the patterning accuracy can be further improved. Thereby, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the anodes 24 can be formed in stripes on each film substrate 14. In FIG. 5, a part of the anode 24 is omitted.

  If the anode 24 is patterned as described above for each of the film substrates 14 that are individually divided on the glass substrate 10, the influence due to the dimensional change of the film substrate 14 can be effectively suppressed. For example, even in the film substrate 14 located at the corner of the glass substrate 10, the deviation from the design position 23 of the anode 24 is extremely small as shown in FIG. 6, and can be patterned with high accuracy. As described above, since the deviation of the anode 24 from the design position 23 is suppressed and the patterning accuracy is improved, a light emitting layer corresponding to, for example, RGB can be applied on the anode 24 with high accuracy in a later process.

-Organic EL layer-
After forming the anode 24, an insulating film and a partition are formed, and an organic EL layer including a light emitting layer is further formed. The organic EL layer includes at least a light emitting layer, and the layer configuration, thickness, material, and the like are not particularly limited as long as a predetermined emission color can be exhibited by application of voltage, and a known layer configuration, material, or the like is adopted. be able to.

After forming a hole transport layer or the like on the anode 24 as necessary, a light emitting layer corresponding to RGB, for example, is separately formed at a position corresponding to the anode 24.
The light-emitting layer receives holes from the anode, the hole injection layer, or the hole transport layer when an electric field is applied, receives electrons from the cathode, the electron injection layer, or the electron transport layer, and recombines holes and electrons. It is a layer which has the function to provide and to emit light. The light emitting layer may be composed of only a light emitting material, or may be a mixed layer of a host material and a light emitting material. Further, the light emitting layer may include a material that does not have charge transporting properties and does not emit light. Further, the light emitting layer may be a single layer or two or more layers, and each layer may emit light in different emission colors.

The light emitting material may be a fluorescent light emitting material or a phosphorescent light emitting material, and the dopant may be one type or two or more types.
Examples of fluorescent light emitting materials include, for example, benzoxazole derivatives, benzimidazole derivatives, benzothiazole derivatives, styrylbenzene derivatives, polyphenyl derivatives, diphenylbutadiene derivatives, tetraphenylbutadiene derivatives, naphthalimide derivatives, coumarin derivatives, condensed aromatic compounds. , Perinone derivatives, oxadiazole derivatives, oxazine derivatives, aldazine derivatives, pyridine derivatives, cyclopentadiene derivatives, bisstyrylanthracene derivatives, quinacridone derivatives, pyrrolopyridine derivatives, thiadiazolopyridine derivatives, cyclopentadiene derivatives, styrylamine derivatives, diketo Typical examples include pyrrolopyrrole derivatives, aromatic dimethylidin compounds, metal complexes of 8-quinolinol derivatives and metal complexes of pyrroletene derivatives. Seed metal complexes, polythiophene, polyphenylene, polyphenylene vinylene polymer compounds include compounds such as organic silane derivatives.

Examples of the phosphorescent material include a complex containing a transition metal atom or a lanthanoid atom.
Although it does not specifically limit as a transition metal atom, Preferably, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, tungsten, rhenium, osmium, iridium, and platinum are mentioned, More preferably, they are rhenium, iridium, and platinum.
Examples of lanthanoid atoms include lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium. Among these lanthanoid atoms, neodymium, europium, and gadolinium are preferable.

  Examples of the ligand of the complex include, for example, G. Wilkinson et al., Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry, PergamonPress 1987, H. Yersin, “Photochemistry and Photophysics of Coordination Compounds” Springer-Verlag 1987, Akio Yamamoto Examples of the ligand include those described in “Organic Metal Chemistry-Fundamentals and Applications-” published in 1982. Specific ligands are preferably halogen ligands (preferably chlorine ligands), nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ligands (eg, phenylpyridine, benzoquinoline, quinolinol, bipyridyl, phenanthroline, etc.), diketones Ligand (for example, acetylacetone), carboxylic acid ligand (for example, acetic acid ligand), carbon monoxide ligand, isonitrile ligand, cyano ligand, more preferably nitrogen-containing Heterocyclic ligand. The complex may have one transition metal atom in the compound, or may be a so-called binuclear complex having two or more. Different metal atoms may be contained at the same time.

  The phosphorescent material is preferably contained in the light emitting layer in an amount of 0.1 to 40% by mass, and more preferably 0.5 to 20% by mass.

The host material contained in the light emitting layer is preferably a charge transport material. The host material may be one type or two or more types, and examples thereof include a configuration in which an electron transporting host material and a hole transporting host material are mixed.
Specific examples of the host material include those having a carbazole skeleton, those having a diarylamine skeleton, those having a pyridine skeleton, those having a pyrazine skeleton, those having a triazine skeleton, those having an arylsilane skeleton, The materials exemplified in the sections of the hole injection layer, the hole transport layer, the electron injection layer, and the electron transport layer are given.

  Although the thickness of a light emitting layer is not specifically limited, Usually, it is preferable that they are 1 nm-500 nm, it is more preferable that they are 5 nm-200 nm, and it is still more preferable that they are 10 nm-100 nm.

A position corresponding to the anode 24 on each film substrate 14 by using a mask (shadow mask) having holes (openings) in accordance with the sizes of RGB pixels, using the materials constituting the light emitting layer as described above. Vapor deposition. When the light emitting layer is formed by such mask vapor deposition, the anode 24 is formed on each film substrate 14 at a position where the deviation from the design position is extremely small. It can be patterned. In addition, when the light emitting layer is patterned by mask vapor deposition, the light emitting layer can be patterned with higher accuracy by performing alignment with the mask using the alignment mark 18 provided on the glass substrate 10 as a reference.
In addition, the formation method of each light emitting layer is not limited to the above mask vapor deposition, For example, you may employ | adopt the inkjet method, the printing method, type | mold transfer, etc.

-Cathode-
After forming the light emitting layer, an electron transport layer or the like is formed as necessary. Then, after forming the organic EL layer including the light emitting layer, a striped cathode is formed in a direction orthogonal to the anode 24, for example. The material constituting the cathode is not particularly limited, and can be formed by vapor deposition using a known material such as Al, MgAg, AlLi or the like. By using such a cathode material and performing patterning by mask vapor deposition on a region where the cathode is to be formed, a striped cathode can be formed in a direction perpendicular to the anode 24. Also in this case, it is possible to perform patterning with high accuracy on all the film substrates 14 held on the glass substrate 10.

  By forming a cathode or the like as described above, an organic EL element including a light emitting layer sandwiched between both electrodes constitutes a pixel. Thereby, for example, a large number of pixels including RGB sub-pixels are arranged vertically and horizontally on each film substrate 14.

-Sealing-
After the cathode is formed, it is covered and sealed with a sealing member (protective layer) in order to suppress deterioration of the organic EL element due to moisture and oxygen. As the sealing member, glass, metal, plastic, or the like can be used. Each film substrate 14 held on the glass substrate 10 may be peeled off from the adhesive layer 12 before or after sealing after forming the organic EL element, or peeled off after being connected to an external circuit. May be.
Furthermore, external wiring such as control wiring and signal wiring is connected to each electrode. Thereby, the display apparatus by an organic EL element can be manufactured.
A display device manufactured by patterning pixels (organic EL elements) by the above-described method has a very small deviation from the design position of the organic EL elements and becomes a high-quality display device.

  Examples of the present invention and comparative examples will be described below, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

<Example>
As shown in FIG. 9, after a polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) film is pasted on a glass substrate 10 having a size of X = 500 mm and Y = 400 mm, the PEN film is 8 × 8 substrates in length and width. It was divided into 14. Each divided PEN substrate 14 had an edge size of 45 mm × 60 mm (display area 37.3 mm × 50.1 mm).

An ITO transparent electrode was formed in a stripe shape on each divided PEN substrate 14, and the deviation from the design position of the ITO electrode after patterning with a resist was examined.
As a result, the deviation in the length direction L of the ITO electrode was 7 to 11 μm, and the deviation in the width direction W was 9 to 15 μm.

<Comparative example>
A PEN film having the same size as that of the example was stuck on a glass substrate and held. The ITO transparent electrode was formed in a stripe shape on the PEN film without dividing it, and the deviation from the design position of the ITO electrode after patterning with a resist was examined.
As a result, the deviation in the length direction L of the ITO electrode was 60 to 100 μm, and the deviation in the width direction W was 75 to 100 μm.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment.
For example, the size of each flexible substrate held on the supporting substrate is not necessarily the same, and flexible substrates having different sizes may be held.
Further, the driving method of the display device to be manufactured is not limited, and the present invention can be applied to any manufacturing of a passive matrix display device and an active matrix display device. The display is not limited to full color display, and the present invention can be applied to, for example, manufacturing a display device for area color display.

  The element manufacturing method of the present invention is not limited to the patterning of an organic EL element, and can be suitably applied to the manufacture of a display device using electronic elements such as inorganic EL elements, plasma elements, and electrophoretic elements. Can do. Furthermore, the element manufacturing method of the present invention can be applied not only to display devices but also to patterning of circuit elements and the like in the manufacture of electronic equipment using a flexible substrate.

It is the schematic which shows an example of the method of hold | maintaining a some flexible substrate on a support substrate in this invention. It is the schematic which shows the other example of the method of hold | maintaining a some flexible substrate on a support substrate in this invention. It is the schematic which shows the shift | offset | difference of the position of the alignment mark accompanying the shrinkage | contraction of a film substrate. (A) The figure which shows gap | deviation of the alignment mark of a film board | substrate (B) The figure which shows gap | deviation of the alignment mark of a film board | substrate, and the alignment mark of a mask It is the schematic which shows an example of the alignment mark provided in a support substrate. (A) The figure which shows the alignment mark of a support substrate (B) The figure which shows alignment with the alignment mark of a support substrate, and the alignment mark of a mask It is the schematic of an example of the anode patterned on the film substrate by this invention. It is the schematic which shows the shift | offset | difference from the design position of the anode patterned on the film substrate by this invention. It is the schematic explaining the method of cutting, after patterning an anode on a film substrate. It is the schematic which shows the deviation from the design position of the anode patterned by the method of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the film substrate divided | segmented and hold | maintained on the glass substrate in the Example. It is the schematic which shows an example of a structure of an organic EL element.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Glass substrate (support substrate)
12 ... Adhesive layer (holding means)
14 ... Film substrate (flexible substrate)
18 ... Alignment mark on support substrate 20 ... Mask 22 ... Alignment mark on mask 24 ... Anode

Claims (7)

  A method of manufacturing an element on a flexible substrate, the step of holding a plurality of the flexible substrates in a divided state on a support substrate having a smaller dimensional change rate than the flexible substrate, and the support And patterning the element on each flexible substrate held on the substrate.   The element manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate is held on the support substrate through an adhesive layer.   After holding a flexible substrate having a larger area than the flexible substrate to be patterned on the support substrate, the large-area flexible substrate is cut and divided into flexible substrates to be patterned. The device manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the device is a device.   4. The element manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the patterning flexible substrate is arranged in a matrix on the support substrate. 5.   5. The element manufacturing method according to claim 2, wherein the adhesive layer is provided independently for each flexible substrate on which the patterning is performed. 6.   6. The device according to claim 1, wherein an alignment mark is provided on the support substrate, and the element is patterned on the flexible substrate using the alignment mark of the support substrate as a reference. Method for manufacturing the element.   A method of manufacturing a display device by patterning pixels on a flexible substrate, wherein the pixels are patterned using the method according to claim 1. A method for manufacturing a display device.

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