JP2009101265A - Method of measuring amount of droplet, method of measuring amount of droplet discharged, implement for measurement of amount of droplet, implement for measurement of amount droplet discharged, method of adjusting amount of droplet discharged, apparatus for measuring amount of droplet discharged, drawing device, electro-optical apparatus and electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of measuring the amount of droplets which can prevent variation of the amount of the spread of a liquid under the influence of the atmosphere surrounding the groove and improve the precision of the measurement of the amount of droplets discharged from the nozzle. <P>SOLUTION: The measuring method has a groove covering process of arranging a cover member 40 to cover a groove 32 over the groove 32 capable of storing droplets, with at least a part of the groove 32 exposed so that at least one droplet can impact on the part of the groove 32, a droplet spreading process of allowing droplets to impact on the part of the groove 32 and wet and spread over the part of the groove 32 covered with the cover member 40 and a measuring process of measuring the length of the droplets having wet and spread on the groove 32 and estimates the amount of droplets based on the measured values of the length of droplets. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet amount measuring method, a droplet discharge amount measuring method, a droplet amount measuring jig, a droplet discharge amount measuring jig, a droplet discharge amount adjusting method, a droplet discharge amount measuring apparatus, and a drawing apparatus. The present invention relates to a device, an electro-optical device, and an electronic apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a droplet discharge amount measuring method or the like that can measure the amount of droplets discharged from a droplet discharge head for each nozzle is known. In this technique, a droplet is discharged from a nozzle and filled in a groove provided corresponding to each of the plurality of nozzles, and a measurement process for measuring the length of the liquid material filled in the groove The droplet discharge amount of each nozzle is estimated based on the measured value of the length filled in the groove. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2007-130536 A

However, in the above conventional technique, when a droplet is ejected and landed on a groove, the liquid constituting the droplet comes into contact with the groove and instantaneously spreads along the groove by capillary force. At this time, even a very small amount of liquid spreads over a wide area along the groove. For example, even if the amount of the droplet is as small as about 10 pl, the droplet spreads to a length of about 2 mm or more along the groove.
For this reason, it is very easy to dry when the liquid spreads, and the liquid is wet and spread along the groove under the influence of a slight change in vapor partial pressure, gas flow, etc. There is a problem that the thickness (elongation amount) fluctuates.

FIG. 16 is a graph showing the elongation L1 of the liquid ejected into a plurality of grooves provided in parallel corresponding to a plurality of nozzles (nozzle numbers: 1 to 180). As shown in FIG. 16, the closer the grooves are to the grooves formed at both ends (the grooves corresponding to the nozzle numbers: 1 and 180), the liquid is more easily affected by the surrounding atmosphere, and the elongation L1 is smaller. .
As described above, when the position and arrangement of the grooves are different, the amount of extension of the liquid may be about half, which is a factor of reducing the measurement accuracy of the droplet discharge amount of the nozzle.

  In view of this, the present invention provides a droplet amount measuring method, a droplet discharge method, which can prevent the amount of liquid elongation from fluctuating due to the influence of the atmosphere around the groove and improve the measurement accuracy of the droplet discharge amount of the nozzle. Amount measurement method, droplet amount measurement jig, droplet discharge amount measurement jig, droplet discharge amount adjustment method, droplet discharge amount measurement apparatus, drawing apparatus, device, electro-optical apparatus, and electronic apparatus It is.

  In order to solve the above problems, a droplet amount measuring method of the present invention is a droplet amount measuring method for measuring a droplet amount, and a cover member that covers the groove in a groove capable of storing the droplet A groove covering step in which at least one of the liquid droplets is landed so that a part of the groove is exposed, and the liquid droplet is landed on the part of the groove, so that the cover member of the groove A droplet extending step of wetting and spreading the droplet on the covered portion, and a measuring step of measuring the length of the droplet wetted and spread in the groove, the length of the droplet being The amount of the droplet is estimated based on the measured value.

  By measuring in this way, when the droplet spreads along the groove, the cover member prevents the gas outside the groove from coming into contact with the droplet and prevents the droplet from drying. Can do. That is, by shielding the groove with the cover member, the influence of the atmosphere around the groove on the droplet can be reduced. As a result, fluctuations in the amount of elongation of the droplets can be prevented, and the amount of elongation for a predetermined amount of droplets can be made a constant value. Therefore, the amount of droplets can be measured very accurately.

  The droplet discharge amount measuring method of the present invention is a droplet discharge amount measuring method for measuring a droplet discharge amount of a droplet discharge head that discharges a liquid material as droplets from a plurality of nozzles. A groove covering step of mounting a cover member covering the groove in a state where a part of the groove is exposed so that at least one of the liquid droplets can land on the groove capable of storing the liquid material discharged from the discharge head; A liquid material extending step in which the liquid droplets are ejected and landed from the nozzle to a part of the groove, and the liquid material is wetted and spread on a portion of the groove covered with the cover member; and the groove is wet Measuring the length of the expanded liquid material, and estimating the droplet discharge amount of the nozzle based on the measured value of the length of the liquid material.

By measuring in this way, when the liquid material wets and spreads along the groove, the cover member prevents the gas outside the groove from contacting the liquid material and prevents the liquid material from drying. Can do. That is, the influence of the atmosphere around the groove on the liquid material can be reduced by shielding the groove with the cover member. Thereby, the fluctuation | variation of the elongation amount of a liquid material can be prevented, and the elongation amount with respect to a predetermined amount of liquid materials can be made into a fixed value. Accordingly, the amount of one droplet discharged from the droplet discharge head can be measured very accurately for each nozzle.
In addition, the discharge amount per droplet can be known very accurately as a measurement value of a specific nozzle, not as an average value of all nozzles. Particularly, it is possible to measure the discharge amount for each nozzle very accurately when droplets are discharged from all the nozzles of the droplet discharge head. In general, even when the same nozzle is used, the discharge amount differs between when the droplets are discharged from all the nozzles and when the droplets are discharged only from the nozzles. When drawing on a workpiece, droplets are ejected from almost all nozzles of the droplet ejection head. Therefore, in the present invention, the droplet ejection amount of the nozzle in a state close to the actual drawing state is extremely accurate. Can be measured and is very useful.
In addition, when the groove is provided for each nozzle group constituted by a plurality of nozzles, the amount of liquid droplets ejected from the liquid droplet ejection head can be measured extremely accurately for each nozzle group.

  Further, in the droplet discharge amount measuring method of the present invention, in the liquid material stretching step, after the droplet has landed on a part of the groove, the liquid is discharged while intermittently discharging the droplet from the nozzle. The droplet discharge head is moved, and the droplet is landed on a part of another groove exposed from the cover member.

By measuring in this way, when the droplet discharge head is moved after the droplet has been discharged, the intermittent cycle is shortened compared to the case where the droplet is moved without being discharged. It is possible to prevent a discharge failure from occurring. Accordingly, it is possible to measure the droplet discharge amount of the nozzle closer to the actual drawing.
Further, it is possible to prevent the droplets discharged during the movement that does not require measurement from landing on the groove by receiving the droplets discharged during the movement of the droplet discharge head by the cover member. Therefore, the amount of elongation of the liquid material that has landed on the exposed portion of the groove can be accurately measured.

  Moreover, the droplet discharge amount measuring method of the present invention is characterized in that, in the measuring step, the length of the liquid material is measured after the cover member is removed.

  By measuring in this way, it is possible to measure the length (elongation amount) of the liquid material wetted and spread on the portion of the groove covered by the cover member without being affected by the cover member. Therefore, the amount of elongation of the liquid material can be measured more accurately.

  The droplet discharge amount adjustment method of the present invention is a droplet discharge amount adjustment method for adjusting a droplet discharge amount of a droplet discharge head that discharges a liquid material as droplets from a plurality of nozzles, and is described above. On the basis of the droplet discharge amount of the nozzle measured by the droplet discharge amount measurement method, the number of droplets discharged or the drive waveform is adjusted for each nozzle.

  By adjusting in this way, the discharge amount per droplet of each nozzle of the droplet discharge head can be made uniform. As a result, the film thickness drawn using this droplet discharge head can be controlled with high accuracy, and the quality of the product can be improved. Further, the above effect can be achieved by a very simple method.

The device of the present invention is characterized in that a liquid material is applied on a substrate by the droplet discharge amount adjusting method described above.
With this configuration, it is possible to obtain a device in which the film thickness of the film to be drawn is controlled with high accuracy and the product quality is improved.

In addition, an electro-optical device according to the present invention includes the device described above.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus including the above-described electro-optical device.
With this configuration, it is possible to obtain an electro-optical device and an electronic apparatus that are improved in quality.

  Further, the drop amount measuring jig of the present invention is a drop amount measuring jig in which a groove capable of storing a drop is formed, and the substrate on which the groove is formed and the drop is dropped. A cover member that covers the groove in a state where a part of the groove is exposed, and the groove has a cross-sectional shape that gradually goes upward from the center in the width direction toward both sides, and the groove The droplet is dripped onto a part of the groove, the droplet is wet spread on the portion of the groove covered with the cover member, the length of the wet spread is measured, and based on the measured value, The present invention is characterized in that it can be used to implement a droplet amount measuring method for estimating a droplet amount.

  With this configuration, when a droplet is dropped onto a portion exposed from the cover member of the groove, the droplet spreads to a portion covered with the cover member of the groove by capillary force. Therefore, by using the jig of the present invention in the above-described method for measuring the amount of liquid droplets, when the liquid droplets are wetted and spread along the groove, the gas outside the groove and the liquid droplets come into contact with the cover member. It is possible to prevent the droplets from drying. That is, by shielding the groove with the cover member, the influence of the atmosphere around the groove on the droplet can be reduced. As a result, fluctuations in the amount of elongation of the droplets can be prevented, and the amount of elongation for a predetermined amount of droplets can be made a constant value. Therefore, the amount of droplets can be measured very accurately.

  Further, the droplet discharge amount measuring jig of the present invention is a droplet discharge amount measuring jig in which a groove capable of storing liquid material discharged as droplets from a plurality of nozzles of a droplet discharge head is formed. A substrate on which the groove is formed, and a cover member that covers the groove in a state where a part of the groove on which the liquid droplets land is exposed, and the groove is formed from a central portion in the width direction. It has a cross-sectional shape that gradually goes upward as it goes to both sides, discharges and drops the droplets from the nozzle to a part of the groove, and wets the liquid material to the part of the groove covered by the cover member It is characterized in that it can be used to implement a droplet discharge amount measuring method for measuring the length of spreading and wetting and spreading, and estimating the droplet discharge amount of the nozzle based on the measured value.

With this configuration, when the liquid material droplets are ejected and landed from the nozzle to the portion exposed from the groove cover member, the liquid material wets the portion covered by the groove cover member by capillary force. spread. Therefore, when the liquid material is wetted and spread along the groove by using the jig of the present invention in the above-described droplet discharge amount measuring method, the gas outside the groove and the liquid material come into contact with each other by the cover member. This can prevent the liquid material from drying. That is, the influence of the atmosphere around the groove on the liquid material can be reduced by shielding the groove with the cover member. Thereby, the fluctuation | variation of the elongation amount of a liquid material can be prevented, and the elongation amount with respect to a predetermined amount of liquid materials can be made into a fixed value. Accordingly, the amount of one droplet discharged from the droplet discharge head can be measured very accurately for each nozzle.
In addition, when the groove is provided for each nozzle group including a plurality of nozzles, the amount of droplets ejected from the droplet ejection head can be measured for each nozzle group.

  Further, the droplet discharge amount measuring jig of the present invention is the droplet discharge amount measuring jig described above, wherein the width of the groove is the width when the droplet has landed on the groove. Approximately equal to the sum of the maximum diameter in the direction and the predetermined allowable error amount in the width direction, and the length of the part of the groove exposed from the cover member in the extending direction of the groove It is substantially equal to the sum of the maximum diameter in the extending direction when landed on the groove and a predetermined allowable error amount in the extending direction.

  With this configuration, if the ejected liquid droplets are subject to flight bends and exceed the allowable amount of flight bends in the groove width direction and groove extension direction, the liquid droplets will land inside the grooves. First, land on the outside of the groove or on the cover member. For this reason, the amount of elongation of the liquid material in the groove corresponding to the nozzle where the flight bend occurs is extremely reduced or becomes zero. Therefore, it is possible to detect a nozzle in which a flight curve occurs by detecting a groove in which the amount of elongation of the liquid material is extremely reduced or zero.

  Further, the droplet discharge amount measuring jig of the present invention is the above-described droplet discharge amount measuring jig, wherein the groove extends from one end side to the other end side in one direction of the substrate. In addition, a plurality of substrates are formed at intervals corresponding to the nozzles from one end side to the other end side in a direction orthogonal to the one direction.

  By comprising in this way, it can respond to various liquid materials from which the amount of elongation differs. In addition, it is possible to increase the volume of the groove and prevent the liquid material from drying. Moreover, the tolerance for the positional deviation between the groove and the cover member can be increased, and the alignment between the groove and the cover member can be facilitated. Furthermore, the jig can be miniaturized by effectively using the entire substrate.

  Further, the droplet discharge amount measuring jig of the present invention is the above-described droplet discharge amount measuring jig, wherein the cover member is formed of a strip-like flexible material, and an adhesive. It is fixed to the substrate via

  With such a configuration, the bonding position of the cover member is adjusted, the cover member is arranged according to the arrangement of the nozzles of the droplet discharge head, the drawing pattern, etc., or the groove exposed at the end of the cover member It is possible to easily adjust the length in the extending direction of a part of. When a plurality of grooves are formed in parallel, the plurality of grooves can be covered at a time by extending the cover member in a direction crossing the extending direction of the grooves and fixing the cover member on the substrate.

  In addition, a droplet discharge amount measuring jig according to the present invention is the above-described droplet discharge amount measuring jig, wherein the cover member is formed of a plate material, and the groove is landed on the droplet. An opening is provided corresponding to the portion.

  With this configuration, the groove can be covered in a state where a part of the groove on which the droplets land is exposed only by positioning and attaching the cover member to the substrate on which the groove is formed. Therefore, compared to the case where the cover member is fixed to the substrate and a part of the groove is exposed at the end of the cover member, the size, arrangement, and the like of the part of the exposed groove can be precisely formed.

  In addition, the droplet discharge amount measuring jig of the present invention is the above-described droplet discharge amount measuring jig, wherein the opening has a pattern shape corresponding to a drawing pattern by the droplet discharge head. It is formed.

  With this configuration, the droplet discharge head is moved in the same manner as when drawing a drawing pattern, and droplets are discharged from the nozzle to a part of the groove exposed to the opening, which is substantially the same as the actual drawing state. It is possible to measure the discharge amount of the nozzle droplets in the same state.

  The droplet discharge amount measurement jig of the present invention is the droplet discharge amount measurement jig described above, wherein the cover member is provided with a substrate alignment means. To do.

  By comprising in this way, a board | substrate and a cover member can be aligned correctly, and the opening part of a cover member can be aligned precisely with respect to the groove | channel of a board | substrate.

  In addition, the droplet discharge amount measuring jig of the present invention is the droplet discharge amount measuring jig described above, and the cover member is provided with a droplet discharge head alignment means. It is characterized by.

  With this configuration, the cover member and the droplet discharge head can be precisely aligned.

  The droplet discharge amount measuring jig according to the present invention is the droplet discharge amount measuring jig described above, wherein the cover member is formed of a light-transmitting material. And

  With this configuration, it is possible to measure the amount of elongation of the liquid material inside the groove without removing the cover member, and it is possible to easily and quickly measure the droplet discharge amount.

  The droplet discharge amount measuring device of the present invention is a droplet discharge amount measuring device that measures the droplet discharge amount of a droplet discharge head that discharges a liquid material as droplets from a plurality of nozzles. A droplet discharge amount measuring jig, and the droplet discharged from the nozzle as a droplet, landed on a part of the groove exposed from the cover member, and wetted and spread on a portion of the groove covered by the cover member. Further, based on the measurement unit that measures the length of the liquid material, and the result of repeating the measurement of the length of the liquid material that has been discharged and wetted to a part of the exposed groove multiple times, And an estimation unit for estimating a droplet discharge amount of the nozzle.

With this configuration, when the liquid material droplets are ejected and landed from the nozzle of the droplet ejection head to the exposed portion of the jig groove cover member, the liquid material is covered by the capillary force by the capillary force. It spreads wet to the part covered by the member. Therefore, when the liquid material is wet-spread along the groove, the cover member can prevent the gas outside the groove from coming into contact with the liquid material, thereby preventing the liquid material from drying. That is, the influence of the atmosphere around the groove on the liquid material can be reduced by shielding the groove with the cover member. Thereby, the fluctuation | variation of the elongation amount of a liquid material can be prevented, and the elongation amount with respect to a predetermined amount of liquid materials can be made into a fixed value. Accordingly, the amount of one droplet discharged from the droplet discharge head can be measured very accurately for each nozzle.
In addition, when the groove is provided for each nozzle group including a plurality of nozzles, the amount of droplets ejected from the droplet ejection head can be measured for each nozzle group.

  Further, the drawing apparatus of the present invention relatively moves a droplet discharge head that discharges a liquid material as droplets from a plurality of nozzles and the workpiece, and discharges droplets from the nozzle to land on the workpiece. A drawing apparatus that performs drawing, and includes the droplet discharge amount measuring device described above and an adjustment unit that adjusts the droplet discharge amount for each nozzle based on the estimation result of the estimation unit It is characterized by that.

  With this configuration, the discharge amount per droplet of each nozzle of the droplet discharge head can be made uniform. As a result, the film thickness drawn using this droplet discharge head can be controlled with high accuracy, and the quality of the product can be improved. Further, the above effect can be achieved by a very simple method.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a droplet discharge amount measuring method, a droplet discharge amount measuring jig, a droplet discharge amount adjusting method, a droplet discharge amount measuring apparatus, a drawing apparatus, a device, an electro-optical apparatus, and an electronic apparatus according to the present invention will be described. Will be described with reference to FIGS.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a drawing apparatus (inkjet drawing apparatus) equipped with a droplet discharge amount measuring apparatus of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the drawing apparatus 1 moves a carriage 103 on which one or a plurality of droplet discharge heads 2 are mounted, and the carriage 103 in one horizontal direction (hereinafter referred to as “X-axis direction”). A carriage moving mechanism (moving means) 104, a stage 106 for holding the workpiece 10A, and a stage moving mechanism for moving the stage 106 in a horizontal direction (hereinafter referred to as "Y-axis direction") perpendicular to the X-axis direction. (Moving means) 108 and control means 112 are provided.

A tank 101 that stores a liquid material 111 is installed in the vicinity of the drawing apparatus 1. The tank 101 and the carriage 103 are connected via a tube 110 serving as a flow path for feeding the liquid material 111. The liquid material 111 stored in each tank 101 is fed (supplied) to the droplet discharge head 2 mounted on the carriage 103, for example, by the force of compressed air.
Such a drawing apparatus 1 operates the stage moving mechanism 108 and the carriage moving mechanism 104, and relatively moves the stage 106 and the carriage 103, thereby scanning the droplet discharge head 2 along the workpiece 10A. In this apparatus, a droplet of the liquid material 111 is discharged from the nozzle 25 (see FIG. 2) of the droplet discharge head 2 to draw a predetermined pattern on the workpiece 10A.

  The drawing device 1 is a device that can be used as a manufacturing device for various electro-optical devices. For example, a color filter substrate of a liquid crystal display device, a substrate with color elements such as an organic EL display device, an electron emission device, a PDP (Plasma Display). Panel) device, electrophoretic display device, etc., metal wiring formation, lens formation, resist formation, light diffuser formation, etc. can be used.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the liquid material 111 includes a material for forming a target object such as a color element film of a substrate with color elements and has a viscosity that can be discharged from the nozzle 25 of the droplet discharge head 2. It is what has. In this case, the material can be either aqueous or oily. Further, it is sufficient if it has fluidity (viscosity) that can be discharged from the nozzle 25, and even if a solid substance is dispersed, it may be a fluid as a whole. That is, the liquid material may be a solution in which the constituent material of the color element film is dissolved in a solvent, or a dispersed dispersion (suspension or emulsion).

  Examples of materials that can be contained in the liquid material 111 include filter materials for color filters, fluorescent materials for forming EL light emitting layers in organic EL devices, fluorescent materials for forming phosphors in PDP devices, and electrophoretic display devices. In order to form a micro cell gap between two substrates, a migrating material for forming a migrating body, a bank material for forming a bank on the surface of the substrate, various coating materials, a liquid electrode material for forming an electrode Particle materials constituting the spacers, metal materials for forming metal wiring, lens materials for forming microlenses, resist materials, light diffusing materials for forming light diffusers, and the like.

  The operation of the carriage moving mechanism 104 in the drawing apparatus 1 is controlled by the control unit 112. The detailed configuration and function of the control unit 112 will be described later. The carriage moving mechanism 104 of this embodiment also has a function of adjusting the height by moving the carriage 103 (and the droplet discharge head 2) along the Z-axis direction (vertical direction). Further, the carriage moving mechanism 104 also has a function of rotating the carriage 103 around an axis parallel to the Z axis, thereby reducing the angle of the carriage 103 (and the droplet discharge head 2) around the Z axis. Can be adjusted.

The stage 106 has a plane parallel to both the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. The stage 106 is configured to fix or hold the workpiece 10A on the plane.
The stage moving mechanism 108 moves the stage 106 along the Y-axis direction orthogonal to both the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction, and its operation is controlled by the control means 112. Furthermore, the stage moving mechanism 108 according to the present embodiment also has a function of rotating the stage 106 around an axis parallel to the Z axis, whereby the workpiece 10A placed on the stage 106 is rotated around the Z axis. The inclination can be finely adjusted to make it straight.

  As described above, the carriage 103 is moved in the X-axis direction by the carriage moving mechanism 104. On the other hand, the stage 106 is moved in the Y-axis direction by the stage moving mechanism 108. That is, since the relative position between the workpiece 10A on the stage 106 and the carriage 103 is changed by the operation of the carriage moving mechanism 104 and the stage moving mechanism 108, the droplet discharge head 2 can be scanned relative to the workpiece 10A. it can.

The drawing apparatus 1 operates the stage moving mechanism 108 to move the workpiece 10A held on the stage 106 in the Y-axis direction and pass under the carriage 103, while the nozzles of each droplet discharge head 2 of the carriage 103. The liquid material 111 is operated to be ejected from 25. This operation is called “main scanning”.
When the width of the workpiece 10A in the X-axis direction is smaller than the width in the X-axis direction (hereinafter referred to as “total discharge width”) capable of discharging the liquid material 111 to the workpiece 10A as a whole of the carriage 103. By performing the main scanning of the carriage 103 and the workpiece 10A once, the liquid material 111 can be applied to the entire workpiece 10A, that is, the drawing can be performed.

  On the other hand, when the width of the workpiece 10A in the X-axis direction is larger than the entire discharge width of the carriage 103, the carriage 103 is operated in the X-axis direction by operating the carriage moving mechanism 104. After changing the relative positional relationship between the carriage 103 and the workpiece 10A in the X-axis direction, main scanning is performed again. Changing the relative positional relationship between the carriage 103 and the workpiece 10A in the X-axis direction is called “sub-scanning”. By repeatedly performing main scanning and sub-scanning, even if the width of the workpiece 10A in the X-axis direction is larger than the total discharge width of the carriage 103, the liquid material 111 is applied to the entire surface of the workpiece 10A. Giving, that is, drawing can be performed.

2A and 2B are diagrams showing the droplet discharge head 2 in the drawing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 2A is a perspective view and FIG. 2B is a sectional side view. Hereinafter, the internal configuration of the droplet discharge head 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
A droplet discharge head 2 shown in FIG. 2 is an inkjet head having a nozzle row in which a large number of nozzles 25 for discharging droplets are arranged in a row. The droplet discharge head 2 includes a vibration plate 126 and a nozzle plate 128 in which the nozzles 25 are formed. Between the diaphragm 126 and the nozzle plate 128, a liquid pool 129 in which the liquid material 111 supplied from the tank 101 through the hole 131 is always filled is located.

  In addition, a plurality of partition walls 122 are located between the diaphragm 126 and the nozzle plate 128. A portion surrounded by the diaphragm 126, the nozzle plate 128, and the pair of partition walls 122 is a cavity 120 (liquid chamber). Since the cavities 120 are provided corresponding to the nozzles 25, the number of the cavities 120 and the number of the nozzles 25 are the same. The liquid material 111 is supplied to the cavity 120 from the liquid pool 129 through the supply port 130 positioned between the pair of partition walls 122.

  On the vibration plate 126, corresponding to the respective cavities 120, vibrators 124 are positioned as drive elements that change the pressure of the liquid material 111 filled in the cavities 120. The vibrator 124 includes a piezoelectric element 124C and a pair of electrodes 124A and 124B that sandwich the piezoelectric element 124C. By applying a driving voltage between the pair of electrodes 124A and 124B, the liquid material 111 is discharged from the corresponding nozzle 25. The shape of the nozzle 25 is adjusted so that the liquid material 111 is discharged from the nozzle 25 in the Z-axis direction.

  Specifically, by applying an applied voltage Vh to the piezo element 124C as shown in FIG. 2C, (a) the cavity 120 is enlarged and the liquid material 111 is taken in from the supply port 130. (B) The cavity 120 is contracted to pressurize the liquid material 111, and (c) the cavity 120 is expanded and returned to its original state, and the piezo element 124C is expanded and contracted to pressurize the liquid material 111 to a predetermined amount. The liquid material 111 is discharged from the nozzle 25. The driving of the piezo elements 124C, that is, the droplet discharge from the droplet discharge head 2 is controlled by the control unit 112.

The control means 112 may be configured to give a signal to each of the plurality of vibrators 124 independently of each other. That is, the volume of the liquid material 111 discharged from the nozzle 25 may be controlled for each nozzle 25 in accordance with a signal from the control unit 112.
The droplet discharge head 2 is not limited to a piezoelectric actuator as a driving element as shown in the figure, but uses an electrostatic actuator or an electrothermal conversion element and utilizes the thermal expansion of the liquid material 111. It may be configured to discharge droplets.

In the present embodiment, a droplet discharge amount measuring device for measuring the droplet discharge amount of each nozzle 25 included in the droplet discharge head 2 is provided.
As shown in FIG. 1, the droplet discharge amount measuring device 50 is discharged to the measurement jig 3 (droplet discharge amount measurement jig) held on the jig stage 51 and the measurement jig 3. A measurement camera 53 (measurement unit) such as a CCD camera that measures the length of the liquid droplets by image processing, and a control unit 112 as an estimation unit that outputs a measurement result of the measurement camera 53 and performs arithmetic processing. .

  The jig stage 51 moves along the Y-axis direction, like the stage 106. In addition, the measurement camera 53 is freely moved in the X-axis direction by the carriage moving mechanism 104 under the control of the control unit 112, similarly to the carriage 103 (droplet discharge head 2). That is, the relative position between the measurement jig 3 on the jig stage 51, the carriage 103, and the measurement camera 53 is changed by the operation of the carriage moving mechanism 104 and the jig stage 51. On the other hand, the droplet discharge head 2 and the measurement camera 53 can be scanned relatively.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the measurement jig 3 includes a flat substrate 30, and a groove 32 capable of storing the liquid material 111 discharged from the nozzle 25 of the droplet discharge head 2 is formed on the upper surface 31 thereof. Is formed. A plurality of grooves 32 are provided in parallel corresponding to the plurality of nozzles 25 of the droplet discharge head 2. That is, the plurality of grooves 32 are arranged at equal intervals, and the intervals are the same as the nozzle pitch of the droplet discharge head 2.

  A band-shaped cover member 40 that covers the groove 32 is fixed on the substrate 30. The cover member 40 is formed of, for example, a light transmissive and flexible material such as polyimide, and is fixed to the upper surface 31 of the substrate 30 via an adhesive. In the cover member 40, when the other end 402 side of the cover member 40 is aligned and fixed to one side of the substrate 30, the one end 401 of the cover member 40 is the other end of the groove 32 than the one end 321 of the groove 32. It is located on the part 322 side and is formed so as to expose a part on the one end part 321 side of the groove 32.

  As shown in the partial detail view in FIG. 3, each groove 32 has a cross-sectional shape that gradually goes upward as it goes from the central part to both sides, specifically, a substantially V-shaped cross-sectional shape. The width W of the open ends of the grooves 32 is preferably equal to or greater than the maximum diameter (landing impact diameter) in the width W direction when the droplet of the liquid material 111 has landed and deformed. Moreover, it is preferable that the length L in the extending direction of a part of the grooves 32 exposed from the cover member 40 is also equal to or larger than the impact impact diameter in the extending direction. Specifically, when the impact impact diameter in the width direction is D1 and the allowable error amount in the width W direction of the groove 32 is α, the width W is expressed by the following equation (1). Similarly, when the impact impact diameter in the extending direction of the groove 32 is D2 and the allowable error amount in the length L direction of the groove 32 is β, the length L is expressed by the following equation (2).

W = D1 + α (1)
L = D2 + β (2)

  The impact impact diameter is the maximum diameter when a droplet is deformed in about several microseconds after landing, and can be measured in advance by simulation, a high-speed camera, or a strobe system.

In the present embodiment, the substrate 30 is formed of a silicon substrate, and the plurality of grooves 32 are formed by partially removing the silicon single crystal substrate that is the base material of the substrate 30 by anisotropic etching. It is. As this single crystal silicon, one having a crystal orientation plane with a tapered cross section and 100 planes can be used.
Specifically, for example, a resist is disposed on the surface of single crystal silicon having a crystal orientation plane of 100, and anisotropic etching is performed using an etching solution such as a KOH solution or an ethylenediamine aqueous solution. Then, after removing the resist, an oxide film is formed.
Thereby, the entire surface including the inner surface of the groove 32 and the periphery of the groove 32 is made lyophilic with respect to the liquid material 111.

Next, the configuration of the control unit 112 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 112 includes an input buffer memory 200, a storage unit 202, a processing unit 204, a scanning drive unit 206, a head drive unit 208, a carriage position detection unit 302, and a stage position detection. Means 303 and camera position detecting means 304.
The input buffer memory 200 and the processing unit 204 are connected so that they can communicate with each other. The processing unit 204 and the storage unit 202 are connected to be communicable with each other. The processing unit 204 and the scan driving unit 206 are connected so as to communicate with each other. The processing unit 204 and the head driving unit 208 are connected so as to communicate with each other. The scanning drive unit 206 is connected to the jig stage 51, the carriage moving mechanism 104, and the stage moving mechanism 108 so as to communicate with each other. Similarly, the head driving unit 208 is connected to the droplet discharge head 2 so as to communicate with each other.

  The input buffer memory 200 receives data related to the position at which the liquid material 111 is ejected, that is, drawing pattern data, image data output from the measurement camera 53, and the like from an external information processing apparatus (not shown). The input buffer memory 200 supplies the drawing pattern data and image data to the processing unit 204, and the processing unit 204 stores the drawing pattern data and image data in the storage unit 202. The storage unit 202 includes a RAM, a magnetic recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, and the like.

The carriage position detection unit 302 detects the position (movement distance) of the carriage 103 in the X-axis direction and inputs the detection signal to the processing unit 204.
The stage position detection unit 303 detects the position (movement distance) in the Y-axis direction of the stage 106 (that is, the workpiece 10A) and the jig stage 51 (that is, the measurement jig 3), and sends the detection signal to the processing unit 204. input.
The camera position detection unit 304 detects the position (movement distance) of the measurement camera 53 in the X-axis direction, and inputs the detection signal to the processing unit 204.
The carriage position detection unit 302, the stage position detection unit 303, and the camera position detection unit 304 are constituted by, for example, a linear encoder, a laser length measuring device, or the like.

The processing unit 204 is connected to the measurement camera 53, the carriage moving mechanism 104, and the stage moving mechanism 108 via the scanning drive unit 206 based on detection signals from the carriage position detecting unit 302, the stage position detecting unit 303, and the camera position detecting unit 304. The operation is controlled (closed loop control), and the position of the carriage 103, the position of the workpiece 10A, the position of the measurement camera 53, and the position of the measurement jig 3 are controlled.
Further, the processing unit 204 controls the moving speed of the stage 106, that is, the workpiece 10 </ b> A by controlling the operation of the stage moving mechanism 108.

  The control means 112 may be a computer including a CPU, ROM, and RAM. In this case, the function of the control unit 112 is realized by a software program executed by a computer. Of course, the control means 112 may be realized by a dedicated circuit (hardware).

  When carrying out the droplet discharge amount measuring method of this embodiment, first, a cover member that covers the groove 32 is fixed to the upper surface 31 of the substrate 30 (groove covering step). At this time, the cover member 40 is fixed to the upper surface 31 of the substrate 30 with an adhesive with a part of the groove 32 exposed so that at least one droplet 113 can land inside the groove 32. To do. In the present embodiment, as described above, the other end portion 402 of the cover member 40 is aligned and fixed to one side of the substrate 30, whereby a part of the groove 32 on the one end portion 321 side can be exposed.

Next, the measurement jig 3 is placed on the jig stage 51. At this time, the measuring jig 3 is set in such a direction that the grooves 32 are perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the nozzles 25 of the droplet discharge head 2.
Next, the measurement camera 53 is retracted from the position facing the measurement jig 3 and the jig stage 51 and the carriage moving mechanism 104 are operated. As shown in FIG. It is positioned above the portion exposed from the cover member 40 on the one end 321 side. Then, the droplet 113 of the liquid material 111 is repeatedly discharged from each nozzle 25 to the exposed portion of the groove 32. At this time, the same number of droplets 113 are ejected from each nozzle 25.

  When the droplet 113 of the liquid material 111 is applied to the portion exposed from the cover member 40 of the one end 321 of the groove 32, the applied liquid material 111 is covered by the cover member 40 of the groove 32 by capillary force. It spreads along the portion and fills in the groove 32 so as to extend toward the other end 322 (liquid material extending step). FIG. 6 is a partial plan view showing a state in which the liquid material 111 is expanded and filled in the groove 32 of the measuring jig 3. As shown in the figure, the length (hereinafter, referred to as “elongation amount”) L1 of the liquid material 111 wetted and expanded along the groove 32 is generally equal to the amount of the liquid material 111 applied to the groove 32. Proportional. Therefore, by measuring the elongation L1 for each groove 32, the droplet discharge amount of the nozzle 25 that has discharged the droplet 113 into the groove 32 can be obtained.

  On the other hand, as for the groove 32E shown in FIG. 6, for the liquid droplet 113 that has landed out of the groove due to the flight bend, the measurement jig 3 has lyophilicity, so that It remains outside the groove without returning. Accordingly, the amount of the droplet 113 landed in the groove 32E is reduced, so that the elongation L1 in the groove 32E is shorter than that of the other grooves.

Here, since the cross section of the groove 32 is substantially V-shaped and the inner surface 32a (see FIG. 3) of the groove 32 is lyophilic, the droplet 113 discharged into the groove 32 is caused by its own weight. Gather at the center and touch both sides forming the V-shape. Therefore, the contact angle between the droplet 113 and the inner surface 32a is such that the liquid material 111 quickly wets and spreads, and the elongation L1 can be measured in a short time.
Further, even if the landing position of the droplet 113 slightly deviates from the central portion, it gathers in the central portion due to its own weight, so that it is easy to detect the end portion of the liquid material 111 at the time of measurement, and the elongation L1 is measured at high speed. Can do.

Further, when the liquid material 111 is spread and spread along the groove 32, the cover member 40 prevents the gas outside the groove 32 from coming into contact with the liquid material 111 and prevents the liquid material 111 from drying. Can do. That is, by shielding the groove 32 with the cover member 40, the influence of the atmosphere around the groove 32 on the liquid material 111 can be reduced. Accordingly, the elongation amount L1 of the liquid material 111 can be prevented from fluctuating due to the influence of the atmosphere around the groove 32, and the elongation amount L1 with respect to the predetermined amount of the liquid material 111 can be set to a constant value. .
Accordingly, the amount of one droplet 113 ejected from the nozzle 25 of the droplet ejection head 2 can be measured very accurately for each nozzle 25.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the measurement result of the extension amount L1 for each of the plurality of nozzles 25 (nozzle numbers 1 to 147). Here, for example, Ag ink having a viscosity of about 5 mPa · s is used as the liquid material 111, and droplets 113 of the liquid material 111 are discharged one by one into the grooves 32 provided corresponding to the nozzles 25. The width W of the groove 32 is about 80 μm, for example, and the depth Dp of the groove 32 is about 56 μm, for example. Under this condition, no. 1-No. Samples of five measuring jigs 3 up to 5 were prepared.

  No. 1-No. In the samples of the five measuring jigs 3 up to 5, the elongation L1 of the liquid material 111 ejected from the nozzles 25 in the vicinity of both ends (nozzle numbers 1 and 147) of the droplet ejection head 2 is the central portion ( The nozzle number is slightly larger than the extension amount L1 of the liquid material 111 discharged from the nozzle 25 in the vicinity.

  That is, by covering the groove 32 with the cover member 40, the liquid material 111 discharged into the groove 32 located outside the substrate 30 that has been conventionally most susceptible to the influence of the external atmosphere and easy to dry is the groove 32. It can be seen that it has spread sufficiently without being affected by the external atmosphere. Each sample No. 1-No. The reproducibility of the elongation L1 with respect to the nozzle number N between 5 is also extremely high. That is, the elongation L1 with respect to the predetermined amount of the liquid material 111 is a substantially constant value.

FIG. 1-No. 4 is a graph showing a ratio of an extension amount L1 for each nozzle number N between four. In the figure, the data indicated by “1/2” is sample No. 1 and No. It is shown that the ratio is 2.
As shown in FIG. 8, the variation between the samples is almost 1% or less (including the variation in the discharge amount in each shot), which confirms the reliability of the measurement.

Any method may be used to measure the elongation L1, but in this embodiment, in order to facilitate the work, the measurement camera 53 is moved to a position facing the measurement jig 3, and the measurement camera is moved. Based on the image captured at 53, the control means 112 measures the elongation L1 in each groove 32 (measurement step).
Here, in the present embodiment, since the cover member 40 is formed of a light-transmitting material, the extension amount L1 of the liquid material 111 inside the groove 32 can be measured without removing the cover member 40. In addition, it is possible to easily and quickly measure the droplet discharge amount.

When the elongation amount L1 is measured, the droplets ejected from the nozzle 25 based on the measured value, information on the volume per unit length of the groove 32, and the number of droplets 113 ejected to the groove 32. The amount of 113 per droplet can be calculated (estimated). That is, by multiplying the elongation amount L1 by the volume per unit length of the groove 32 and dividing this by the number of ejected droplets, the volume and weight per droplet of the droplet 113 ejected from the nozzle 25. Can be calculated.
For the nozzle that ejects the droplet to the groove 32E in which the flight bend occurs, the elongation L1 becomes extremely short compared to other lengths, and therefore some error (in this case, the flight bend exceeding the allowable error amount). ) May be excluded from the measurement of the droplet discharge amount, and the nozzle may be cleaned.

FIG. 1-No. 4 is a graph showing a discharge weight Iw of a droplet 113 for every four nozzles 25. In FIG. 9, correction is performed so that the average weight of the droplets 113 is 10 ng.
As shown in FIG. 9, the tendency of the discharge weight Iw of each nozzle number N indicates the sample No. 1-No. This is a result that confirms the reliability of the measurement.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, by performing the above calculation for each groove 32, the weight per droplet of the ejected droplet 113 can be obtained for each nozzle 25 of the droplet ejection head 2. In particular, when the liquid material 111 is wetted and spread along the groove 32, the cover member 40 prevents the gas outside the groove 32 from contacting the liquid material 111 and prevents the liquid material 111 from drying. Can do. That is, by shielding the groove 32 with the cover member 40, the influence of the atmosphere around the groove 32 on the liquid material 111 can be reduced. Thereby, the fluctuation | variation of the elongation amount L1 of the liquid material 111 can be prevented, and the elongation amount L1 with respect to the predetermined amount of liquid material 111 can be made into a fixed value. Therefore, the amount of one droplet 113 ejected from the droplet ejection head 2 can be measured very accurately for each nozzle 25.

  Further, in the present embodiment, it is possible to measure the ejection amount of each nozzle 25 when the droplet 113 is ejected from all the nozzles 25 of the droplet ejection head 2. Generally, even when the same nozzle 25 is used, the discharge amount is different between the case where the droplet 113 is discharged from all the nozzles 25 and the case where the droplet 113 is discharged only from the nozzle 25. When drawing on the workpiece 10A, since the droplets 113 are discharged from almost all the nozzles 25 of the droplet discharge head 2, in this embodiment, the droplet discharge amount in a state close to the actual drawing state is set. It can be measured for each nozzle 25 and is extremely useful.

  In the present embodiment, since the groove 32 has a substantially V-shaped cross section and the inner surface 32a is lyophilic, the landed droplet 113 spreads wet immediately after landing. When the droplet 113 that has spread out reaches the bottom of the groove (the apex of the V shape), at that moment, the droplet 113 is stretched in the extending direction of the groove 32 by the capillary force. In FIG. 6, the liquid material 111 is displayed as being gathered at the landing position for easy understanding of the drawing, but in reality, only the liquid material 111 at the landing position does not increase, and the extension of the groove 32 is not performed. It spreads evenly along the direction. Therefore, only the liquid material 111 that has landed on the upper surface 31 of the substrate 30 or the cover member 40 is left behind without landing on the inner surface 32 of the groove 32. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine the nozzle 25 in which the flight curve has occurred.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, since the groove 32 is formed by performing anisotropic etching on the silicon substrate, the inner surface 32a of the groove 32 is smoothed at a substantially atomic level, and the liquid material smoothly spreads out. This can further contribute to the improvement of measurement accuracy. In addition, the entire surface lyophilic measuring jig 3 can be reused by removing the liquid material 111 by washing, thereby contributing to cost reduction and environmental protection. For example, lyophilicity can be maintained by performing UV cleaning or plasma cleaning.

  In this embodiment, the measurement jig 3 is lyophilic, and the width W of the opening end of the groove 32 is set to be larger than the impact impact diameter D. Due to this deformation, it is possible to prevent the droplet 113 from jumping out of the groove 32 and hindering accurate measurement of the droplet discharge amount.

  Further, by setting the width W of the groove 32 and the length L in the extending direction of the portion exposed from the cover member 40 so as to satisfy the above formulas (1) and (2), the discharged liquid droplets When the flight curve occurs in 113 and exceeds the allowable error amounts α and β of the flight curve in the width W direction of the groove 32 and the extending direction of the groove 32, the droplet 113 does not land inside the groove 32, and the groove It lands on the outside of 32 and on the cover member 40. For this reason, the extension amount L1 of the liquid material 111 in the groove 32 corresponding to the nozzle 25 in which the flight bend occurs is extremely reduced or becomes zero. Therefore, it is possible to detect the nozzle 25 in which the flight curve has occurred.

<Second embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B with reference to FIGS. The measurement jig 3A of the present embodiment is the measurement described in the above first embodiment in that the groove 32A is extended and the plurality of cover members 40 are fixed in parallel on the substrate 30A at intervals. Different from the jig 3. Since the other points are the same as in the first embodiment, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 10, the measurement jig 3A has a groove 32A extending from the one end 311A side in the length direction of the substrate 30A to the other end 312A side on the upper surface 31A of the substrate 30A and one end in the width direction of the substrate. A plurality of nozzles 25 are formed at intervals corresponding to the nozzles 25 from the 313A side to the other end 314A side.
A plurality of cover members 40 extending in a direction substantially orthogonal to the extending direction of the grooves 32A are fixed to the upper surface 31A of the substrate 30A via an adhesive. A gap is formed between the cover members 40, and a part of the groove 32A is exposed by a length L in the extending direction, as in the first embodiment. The width W of the groove 32A is formed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

  When carrying out the droplet discharge amount measuring method of the present embodiment, first, after fixing the plurality of cover members 40 on the substrate 30A as described above, the measuring jig 3A is placed on the jig stage 51. Each nozzle 25 is placed above each groove 32A exposed from between the cover member 40 on the one end 311A side of the substrate 30A and the cover member 40 adjacent thereto by the same procedure as in the first embodiment. To be located.

  Similarly to the first embodiment, the droplets 113 of the liquid material 111 are repeatedly ejected and landed on the grooves 32A exposed between the cover members 40 from the nozzles 25. As a result, the liquid material 111 that has landed as the droplet 113 on the exposed portion of the groove 32A extends uniformly along the groove 32A in both directions covered by the cover member 40 from the exposed portion of the groove 32A. And spreads in the groove 32A (liquid material stretching step).

Next, the jig stage 51 and the carriage moving mechanism 104 are operated to move the droplet discharge head 2 to the other end 312A side in the length direction of the substrate 30A, and each nozzle 25 is adjacent to the next cover member 40 adjacent thereto. It is located above each of the grooves 32A exposed from between.
At this time, the nozzle 25 passes so as to cross over the cover member 40, but in the present embodiment, when the nozzle 25 passes over the cover member 40, the droplets 113 are intermittently ejected from the nozzle 25. Then, the droplet discharge head 2 is moved. The droplets 113 ejected over the cover member 40 land on the cover member 40.

When each nozzle 25 reaches the space above each groove 32A exposed between the adjacent next cover member 40, the liquid material 111 is similarly transferred to the groove 32A exposed between each nozzle 25 and the cover member 40. The droplets 113 are repeatedly ejected and landed.
By repeating the above procedure, droplets 113 are sequentially ejected and landed in the grooves 32A exposed between the cover members 40 from one end 311A side in the length direction of the substrate 30A to the other end 312A side, and land in the grooves 32A. Stretch along.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the substrate 30A is formed larger than the first embodiment, and the grooves 32A are extended in the extending direction (the length direction of the substrate 30A) to receive the droplets 113 at a plurality of locations. Thus, the liquid material 111 is formed to be receivable. Therefore, by adjusting the dimensions of the cover member 40 and widening or narrowing the portion of the groove 32A covered with the cover member 40, it is possible to cope with various liquid materials 111 having different elongation amounts L1. Further, since the volume of the groove 32A is increased, the solvent can be previously received in the groove 32A, and the liquid material 111 can be prevented from drying. In addition, it is possible to increase the tolerance for the positional deviation between the groove 32A and the cover member 40, and to facilitate the alignment between the groove 32A and the cover member 40. Furthermore, it is possible to reduce the size of the measuring jig 3A by effectively using the entire substrate 30A.

  Further, after the droplet 113 is discharged to the exposed portion of the first groove 32A, the droplet 113 is intermittently discharged from the nozzle 25 when the droplet discharge head 2 is moved to the exposed portion of the next groove 32A. While moving. Therefore, compared to the case where the droplet 113 is moved without being ejected from the nozzle 25, the intermittent cycle can be shortened and the occurrence of ejection failure in the nozzle 25 can be prevented. Accordingly, it is possible to measure the droplet discharge amount of the nozzle 25 closer to the actual drawing.

  Further, the droplet 113 ejected while the droplet ejection head 2 is moving can be received by the cover member 40 to prevent the droplet 113 ejected during the movement that does not require measurement from landing on the groove 32A. it can. Therefore, it is possible to accurately measure the elongation L1 of the liquid material 111 that has landed on the exposed portion of the groove 32A.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, not only the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained, but also various liquid materials 111 having different elongation amounts L1 can be handled. Further, it is possible to measure the droplet discharge amount of the nozzle 25 closer to the actual drawing.

<Third embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 11A and 11B with reference to FIGS. In the measurement jig 3B of this embodiment, the groove 32B extends from one end 311B to the other end 312B of the substrate 30B, and a plate-like cover member 40B having a plurality of openings 41B covers the entire substrate 30B. The measurement jig 3A differs from the measurement jig 3A described in the second embodiment in that it is fixed to the substrate 30B. Since the other points are the same as those of the second embodiment, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 (A) and 11 (B), the measuring jig 3B includes a part of the groove 32B in which the cover member 40B is formed of a plate material such as stainless steel and the droplet 113 is landed. An opening 41B is provided corresponding to the above. Here, in the present embodiment, the opening 41 </ b> B is formed in a pattern shape corresponding to a drawing pattern by the droplet discharge head 2. Specifically, for example, a measurement drawing pattern taking into account the amount of elongation L1 of the liquid material 111 is generated from the actual drawing pattern, and an opening corresponding to the discharge position of the droplet 113 with respect to the measurement drawing pattern is generated. A portion 41B is formed.

The length L of the opening 41B in the extending direction of the groove 32B is formed in the same manner as the length L of the exposed portion of the grooves 32 and 32A in the first embodiment and the second embodiment. The width W of the groove 32B is also formed in the same manner as the width W of the grooves 32 and 32A in the first embodiment and the second embodiment.
The grooves 32B are continuously formed from one end 311B in the length direction of the substrate 30B to the other end 312B, and a plurality of the grooves 32B are arranged in parallel at intervals corresponding to the nozzles 25 from the one end 313B side to the other end 314B side in the width direction. Is provided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11B, the cover member 40B is formed with a recess 42B (substrate alignment means) for accommodating the upper surface 31B side of the substrate 30B. The inner side surface 43B of the recess 42B is formed along the outer shape of the substrate 30B, and the width W2 and the length L2 of the recess 42B are formed to be equal to or slightly larger than the width W3 and the length L3 of the substrate 30B.
An alignment mark 45B (droplet discharge head alignment means) is formed on the upper surface 44B of the cover member 40B.

When carrying out the droplet discharge amount measuring method of the present embodiment, first, a cover member 40B that covers the groove 32B is mounted on the substrate 30B (groove covering step). At this time, the substrate 30B is accommodated in the recess 42B of the cover member 40B so that the side surface of the substrate 30B is along the inner side surface 43B of the recess 42B of the cover member 40B.
Next, the measurement jig 3B is placed on the jig stage 51, and the nozzle 25 is positioned above the opening 41B of the substrate 30B by the same procedure as in the first embodiment. At this time, the alignment of the cover member 40B and the droplet discharge head 2 can be performed by the alignment mark 45B on the upper surface 44B of the cover member 40B.

  Then, similarly to the first embodiment, the droplet 113 of the liquid material 111 is repeatedly ejected and landed from the nozzle 25 to the groove 32B exposed in the opening 41B of the cover member 40B. As a result, the liquid material 111 that has landed as the droplet 113 on the exposed portion of the groove 32B extends uniformly in both directions covered by the cover member 40B from the exposed portion of the groove 32B along the groove 32B. And spreads into the groove 32B (liquid material stretching step).

Next, the jig stage 51 and the carriage moving mechanism 104 are operated to move the droplet discharge head 2 along the measurement drawing pattern, so that the nozzle 25 is over the groove 32B exposed from the next opening 41B. To be located.
Here, as in the second embodiment, when the nozzle 25 passes over the cover member 40B, the droplet ejection head 2 is moved while intermittently ejecting the droplet 113 from the nozzle 25.

When the nozzle 25 reaches the upper surface of the groove 32B exposed from the next opening 41B, similarly, the droplets 113 of the liquid material 111 are repeatedly discharged from the nozzle 25 to the groove 32B exposed to the opening 41B and landed. Let
By repeating the above procedure, the droplets 113 are sequentially ejected and landed in the groove 32B exposed in the opening 41B, and the liquid material 111 is stretched along the groove 32B.

  After the droplet 113 is landed on all the openings 41B and the liquid material 111 is sufficiently expanded along the groove 32B, the cover member 40B is removed. Then, as in the first embodiment, the amount of extension L1 of the liquid material 111 extended along the groove 32B is measured (measurement step), and the volume and weight per droplet of the droplet 113 ejected from the nozzle 25 are measured. calculate.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the width W2 and the length L2 of the recess 42B are formed to be equal to or slightly larger than the width W2 and the length L3 of the substrate 30B, and are formed along the outer shape of the substrate 30B. Has been. Therefore, by accommodating the substrate 30B in the recess 42B of the cover member 40B, the substrate 30B and the cover member 40B are accurately aligned, and the opening 41B of the cover member 40B is precisely positioned with respect to the groove 32B of the substrate 30B. Can be combined.

Further, the groove 32B can be covered in a state where a part of the groove 32B on which the droplet 113 is landed is exposed only by positioning and attaching the cover member 40B to the substrate 30B on which the groove 32B is formed. Therefore, compared to the case where the belt-like cover member 40 is fixed to the substrate 30 and a part of the groove 32 is exposed at the end of the cover member 40 as in the first embodiment, the length of the exposed groove 32B is longer. The length L and the arrangement can be precisely formed.
Further, the cover member 40B and the droplet discharge head 2 are aligned by the alignment mark 45B on the upper surface 44B of the cover member 40B, so that the cover member 40 and the droplet discharge head 2 can be precisely aligned. it can.

  Further, since the opening 41B of the cover member 40B is formed corresponding to the drawing pattern, the droplet discharge head 2 is moved in the same manner as when actually drawing the drawing pattern, and exposed from the nozzle 25 to the opening 41B. The droplet 113 is ejected to a part of the groove 32B, and the ejection amount of the droplet 113 of the nozzle 25 in a state substantially equal to the actual drawing state can be measured.

  Further, in the measurement step, the elongation amount of the liquid material 111 that has spread and wetted to the portion covered with the cover member 40B of the groove 32B by removing the cover member 40B from the substrate 30B before measuring the elongation amount L1 of the liquid material 111. L1 can be measured without being affected by the cover member 40B. Therefore, even when the cover member 40B does not transmit light, the extension amount L1 of the liquid material 111 can be accurately measured.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, not only the same effects as those of the first and second embodiments can be obtained, but also the opening 41B of the cover member 40B is precisely positioned with respect to the groove 32B of the substrate 30B. The cover member 40 and the droplet discharge head 2 can be accurately positioned, and the elongation L1 of the liquid material 111 is accurately measured even when the cover member 40B does not transmit light. can do.

(Droplet discharge amount adjustment method)
Next, an embodiment of a droplet discharge amount adjustment method will be described.
When manufacturing an electro-optical device using the drawing device 1, it is important to make the discharge amount per droplet of all the nozzles 25 of the droplet discharge head 2 as uniform as possible in order to obtain a high-quality product. . For example, when a color element film such as a filter film or a light emitting film is formed on a color element (pixel) of a color element substrate such as a color filter substrate of a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL display device, color unevenness is prevented. Therefore, in order to make the film thickness of the color element film uniform over all the color elements, it is necessary to make the discharge amount per droplet of all the nozzles 25 as uniform as possible.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 112 adjusts a bitmap corresponding to each of the plurality of nozzles 25 as an adjustment unit based on the measured value (droplet discharge amount) of the elongation amount L1 of each of the plurality of grooves 32. .
Specifically, the application amount of the liquid material can be made uniform among the nozzles by adjusting (increasing or decreasing) the number of droplets discharged (number of shots) for each nozzle.

For example, when the droplet discharge amount of a certain nozzle is about 10% smaller than that of another nozzle, 11 droplets of liquid material are discharged to a location where the other nozzle discharges 10 droplets of liquid material. On the other hand, when the droplet discharge amount of a certain nozzle is about 10% larger than that of the other nozzles, 9 droplets of liquid material are discharged to the location where the other nozzle discharges 10 droplets of liquid material .
If further fine adjustment is required, a drive waveform of a minute dot waveform for discharging a minute amount of liquid material is set for the drive waveform shown in FIG. The discharge amount can be adjusted.
By performing such adjustment, the total discharge amount of all the nozzles 25 of the droplet discharge head 2 can be made uniform, and as a result, the film thickness of the film formed using the drawing apparatus 1 can be increased with high accuracy. It can be controlled and the product quality can be improved.

(device)
Next, a color filter substrate will be described as a device manufactured using the drawing apparatus 1.
As shown in FIG. 12, the color filter substrate (device) CF has a plurality of color filter regions 105 formed in a matrix on a rectangular glass 48 from the viewpoint of improving productivity. These color filter regions 105 can be used as color filters suitable for a liquid crystal display device by cutting the glass 48 later.

  In the color filter region 105, R ink, G ink, and B ink are arranged in a predetermined pattern. As the formation pattern, there are a mosaic type, a delta type, a square type and the like in addition to a conventionally known stripe type as shown in the figure. In particular, when the nozzle interval is made to correspond to the arrangement pitch of the pixel portions by tilting the droplet discharge head 2, the stripe type is effective because the number of nozzles that can be discharged at one time is large.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a correspondence relationship between nozzle numbers and pixels in the color filter region 105. In this embodiment, the pixel arrangement pitch and the nozzle pitch are different, and there is a non-ejection area between the pixels to prevent overflow of the liquid material. Discharge.
For example, when a discharge frequency capable of discharging at 70 kHz is used, 10 ng / time can be discharged 10 times (or more) by one scan. When discharging 90 times per pixel, droplets are discharged to each pixel by three nozzles, so that the liquid material can be filled into the pixel by three scans.
Here, in the measurement of the droplet discharge amount described above, for example, when the discharge amount of the 9th nozzle is small (the elongation amount L1 is short), the number of discharges from the 8th and 10th nozzles is increased, When the discharge amount of the nozzle No. is remarkably small, the nozzle No. 11 may be used without using this nozzle.
In addition, when it is impossible to change the nozzle to be used for reasons such as the nozzle pitch, it is preferable to take a sequence in which the droplet discharge amount is measured after the head cleaning.

Further, in the case of ejecting droplets with three nozzles for each pixel as in the color filter region 105 shown in FIG. 13, in addition to the droplet ejection amount for each nozzle, 3 is ejected to each pixel. It is also possible to measure the droplet discharge amount for each nozzle group composed of two nozzles and adjust the droplet discharge amount of each nozzle based on the measurement result.
In such a case, as shown in FIG. 14, a measurement jig 3 in which grooves 32 are provided for each nozzle group (here, three nozzles) may be used.
In this case, the droplet discharge amount can be measured for each nozzle group by discharging the droplet to the groove 32 corresponding to each nozzle group and measuring the filling length.
Therefore, by adjusting the droplet discharge amount of each nozzle based on the measured droplet discharge amount, it is possible to easily suppress variations in the droplet filling amount that occur between pixels.

The drawing apparatus 1 according to the present invention is not only applied to the manufacture of the liquid crystal panel having the color filter substrate CF described above. For example, an organic EL that uses an organic functional layer that emits light by passing a current as a pixel. The present invention can also be applied to the manufacture of other electro-optical devices such as devices. When the present invention is applied to the organic EL device, the organic functional layer is formed by the drawing device according to the present invention.
Furthermore, in addition to a liquid crystal panel and an organic EL device, the present invention can also be applied to metal wiring, organic thin film transistors, resists, microlens arrays, and the bio field.

(Electronics)
15A to 15C show an embodiment of an electronic device of the present invention.
The electronic apparatus of this example includes a liquid crystal panel having the above color filter substrate as a display means.
FIG. 15A is a perspective view illustrating an example of a mobile phone. In FIG. 15A, reference numeral 1000 denotes a mobile phone body, and reference numeral 1001 denotes a display portion using the color filter substrate.
FIG. 15B is a perspective view illustrating an example of a wristwatch-type electronic device. In FIG. 15B, reference numeral 1100 denotes a watch body, and reference numeral 1101 denotes a display portion using the color filter substrate.
FIG. 15C is a perspective view illustrating an example of a portable information processing device such as a word processor or a personal computer. In FIG. 15C, reference numeral 1200 denotes an information processing apparatus, reference numeral 1202 denotes an input unit such as a keyboard, reference numeral 1204 denotes an information processing apparatus body, and reference numeral 1206 denotes a display unit using the color filter substrate.
Each of the electronic devices illustrated in FIGS. 15A to 15C includes the color filter substrate as a display unit, and thus an electronic device having excellent display quality can be obtained.

As described above, the preferred embodiments according to the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the examples. Various shapes, combinations, and the like of the constituent members shown in the above-described examples are examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention.
In the above-described embodiment, the description has focused on the droplet discharge amount measuring method of the droplet discharge head. However, the above-described droplet discharge amount measuring method and the droplet discharge amount measuring jig include the droplet amount measuring method and the liquid discharge amount measuring method. Needless to say, the drop amount measuring jig can be applied to various fields for measuring the amount of a very small amount of liquid, such as biotechnology, various calibrations, and viscosity measurement.
In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the cover member is provided with the concave portion as the substrate alignment means has been described. However, if the width of the groove is adjusted in advance, one side of the substrate abuts against one side of the cover member. May be. In this case, by adjusting the width of the groove, the abutting accuracy error can be absorbed, and the accuracy required for the alignment can be relaxed. For example, the groove width can be the sum of the impact impact diameter of a droplet in the groove width direction, a predetermined amount of allowable error in the groove width direction, and an abutment error.
In the droplet discharge amount adjusting method of the present invention, not only by adjusting the number of droplets described in the above embodiment, but also by adjusting the drive waveform and increasing / decreasing the discharge amount of one droplet. The droplet discharge amount may be adjusted.

It is a perspective view which shows embodiment of the drawing apparatus carrying the droplet discharge amount measuring apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the droplet discharge head in the drawing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows 1st embodiment of the jig for droplet discharge amount measurement of this invention, and a droplet discharge head. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control means in the drawing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a side view which shows embodiment of the jig | tool for a measurement, and a droplet discharge head. It is the figure by which the liquid material was filled in the groove | channel of the jig | tool for a measurement. It is a graph which shows an example of the measurement result of the elongation amount of the liquid material discharged to the groove | channel. It is a graph which shows an example of ratio of the amount of elongation between a plurality of samples. It is a graph which shows an example of the discharge weight for every nozzle calculated from the amount of elongation. (A) is a top view which shows 2nd embodiment of the jig for droplet discharge amount measurement of this invention, (B) is sectional drawing which follows an A-A 'line. (A) is a top view which shows 3rd embodiment of the jig for droplet discharge amount measurement of this invention, (B) is sectional drawing which follows a B-B 'line. It is a figure which shows a part of color filter area | region on a board | substrate and a board | substrate. It is a schematic diagram which shows the correspondence of the nozzle number and pixel in a color filter area | region. It is a figure which shows other embodiment of the jig for droplet discharge amount measurement. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the electronic device of this invention. It is a graph which shows an example of the measurement result of the elongation amount of the liquid material discharged to the groove | channel of the conventional jig for measuring the droplet discharge amount.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Drawing apparatus, 2 droplet discharge head, 3,3A, 3B measuring jig, 10A work, 25 nozzle, 3,30A, 30B substrate, 32,32A, 32B, 32E groove, 40,40B cover member, 41B opening Part, 42B recess (positioning means), 45B alignment mark (positioning means), 50 droplet discharge amount measuring device, 53 measuring camera (measuring part), 111 liquid material, 112 control means (estimating part, adjusting part), 113 droplet, 311A, 311B one end, 312A, 312B other end, 313A, 313B one end, 314A, 314B other end, 1000 mobile phone body (electronic device), 1001 display unit (electro-optical device), 1100 watch body (electronic device) ) 1101 Display unit (electro-optical device), 1200 Information processing device (electronic device), 1206 Display unit (electro-optical device) ), Α, β tolerance, CF color filter substrate (device), D impact impact diameter (maximum diameter), L length, L1 elongation (length), L3 length (one direction), W width, W3 Width (direction perpendicular to one direction)

Claims (20)

A droplet amount measuring method for measuring a droplet amount,
A groove covering step of mounting a cover member covering the groove on the groove capable of storing the droplet in a state where a part of the groove is exposed so that at least one droplet can be dropped; and
A droplet stretching step for dripping the droplet onto a part of the groove, and spreading the droplet onto a portion of the groove covered with the cover member;
Measuring the length of the droplet wetted and spread in the groove,
A droplet amount measuring method, wherein the droplet amount is estimated based on a measured value of the length of the droplet. A droplet discharge amount measuring method for measuring a droplet discharge amount of a droplet discharge head for discharging a liquid material as droplets from a plurality of nozzles,
A groove in which a liquid material discharged from the droplet discharge head can be stored, and a cover member covering the groove is mounted in a state where at least one of the grooves is exposed so that the droplet can land A coating process;
A liquid material extending step of discharging the liquid droplets from the nozzle to a part of the groove to land, and spreading the liquid material on a portion of the groove covered with the cover member;
Measuring the length of the liquid material wet spread in the groove, and
A droplet discharge amount measuring method, wherein the droplet discharge amount of the nozzle is estimated based on a measured value of the length of the liquid material.   In the liquid material stretching step, after the liquid droplets have landed on a part of the groove, the liquid droplet ejection head is moved while intermittently ejecting the liquid droplets from the nozzle, and is exposed from the cover member. 3. The droplet discharge amount measuring method according to claim 2, wherein the droplet is landed on a part of another groove.   4. The droplet discharge amount measuring method according to claim 2, wherein, in the measuring step, the length of the liquid material is measured after the cover member is removed. A droplet discharge amount adjusting method for adjusting a droplet discharge amount of a droplet discharge head for discharging a liquid material as droplets from a plurality of nozzles,
5. Adjusting the number of droplets discharged or the drive waveform for each nozzle based on the droplet discharge amount of the nozzle measured by the droplet discharge amount measuring method according to claim 2. A method for adjusting a droplet discharge amount.   6. A device in which a liquid material is applied onto a substrate by the droplet discharge amount adjusting method according to claim 5.   An electro-optical device comprising the device according to claim 6.   An electronic apparatus comprising the electro-optical device according to claim 7. A droplet amount measuring jig in which a groove capable of storing droplets is formed,
A substrate on which the groove is formed, and a cover member that covers the groove in a state where a part of the groove where the droplet is dropped is exposed,
The groove has a cross-sectional shape gradually going upward as it goes to both sides from the center in the width direction,
The droplet is dropped onto a part of the groove, the droplet is wet spread on the portion of the groove covered with the cover member, the length of the wet spread is measured, and based on the measured value A jig for measuring the amount of droplets, which can be used in the implementation of a method for measuring the amount of droplets for estimating the amount of droplets. A droplet discharge amount measurement jig in which a groove capable of storing a liquid material discharged as droplets from a plurality of nozzles of a droplet discharge head is formed,
A substrate on which the groove is formed, and a cover member that covers the groove in a state where a part of the groove on which the droplets land is exposed,
The groove has a cross-sectional shape gradually going upward as it goes to both sides from the center in the width direction,
The droplets are ejected and landed on a part of the groove from the nozzle, the liquid material is wet spread on the portion covered with the cover member of the groove, and the wet spread length is measured, A droplet discharge amount measuring jig that can be used to implement a droplet discharge amount measuring method for estimating a droplet discharge amount of the nozzle based on the measured value. A jig for measuring a droplet discharge amount according to claim 10,
The width of the groove is substantially equal to the sum of the maximum diameter in the width direction when the droplet landed on the groove and a predetermined allowable error amount in the width direction,
The length of the groove in the extending direction of a part of the groove exposed from the cover member is a maximum diameter in the extending direction when the liquid droplets land on the groove, and a predetermined length in the extending direction. A droplet discharge amount measuring jig characterized by being substantially equal to the total allowable error amount. A droplet discharge amount measuring jig according to claim 10 or 11,
The groove extends from one end side to the other end side in one direction of the substrate, and a plurality of grooves are provided at intervals corresponding to the nozzles from one end side to the other end side in a direction orthogonal to the one direction of the substrate. A jig for measuring a droplet discharge amount, which is formed. A jig for measuring a droplet discharge amount according to any one of claims 10 to 12,
The droplet discharge amount measuring jig, wherein the cover member is formed of a belt-like flexible material and is fixed to the substrate via an adhesive. A jig for measuring a droplet discharge amount according to any one of claims 10 to 12,
The droplet discharge amount measuring jig, wherein the cover member is formed of a plate material and has an opening corresponding to a part of the groove on which the droplets land. A droplet discharge amount measuring jig according to claim 14,
The jig for measuring a droplet discharge amount, wherein the opening is formed in a pattern shape corresponding to a drawing pattern by the droplet discharge head. A jig for measuring a droplet discharge amount according to any one of claims 10 to 15,
A substrate for measuring a droplet discharge amount, wherein the cover member is provided with a substrate alignment means. A jig for measuring a droplet discharge amount according to any one of claims 10 to 16,
A droplet discharge amount measuring jig, wherein the cover member is provided with a droplet discharge head alignment means. A jig for measuring a droplet discharge amount according to any one of claims 10 to 17,
The cover member is made of a light-transmitting material, and a droplet discharge amount measuring jig. A droplet discharge amount measuring device that measures a droplet discharge amount of a droplet discharge head that discharges liquid material as droplets from a plurality of nozzles,
A droplet discharge amount measuring jig according to any one of claims 10 to 18,
Measurement that measures the length of the liquid material discharged from the nozzle as the droplets, landing on a part of the groove exposed from the cover member, and wetted and spread on a part of the groove covered by the cover member And
An estimation unit that estimates the droplet discharge amount of the nozzle based on the result of repeating the measurement of the length of the liquid material that has been discharged and wetted and spread to a part of the exposed groove a plurality of times; A droplet discharge amount measuring apparatus characterized by comprising: A drawing apparatus that performs drawing by relatively moving a droplet discharge head that discharges liquid material as droplets from a plurality of nozzles, and discharging the droplets from the nozzles to land on the workpiece. And
20. A drawing apparatus comprising: the droplet discharge amount measuring device according to claim 19; and an adjustment unit that adjusts the droplet discharge amount for each nozzle based on an estimation result of the estimation unit.

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