JP2009119395A - Coating system and coating method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To uniformize a sectional shape after drying a plurality of lines of fluid material applied on a substrate by discharging the fluid material from a plurality of discharge ports. <P>SOLUTION: In a coating device of a coating system, a plurality of nozzles for continuously discharging an organic EL liquid from each discharge port are main-scanned, and a substrate 9 is sub-scanned for every main-scanning, thereby a plurality of lines of the organic EL liquid are applied on the substrate 9 to be temporarily fixed. In a gas application device 3, a solvent gas is applied to the organic EL material temporary fixed on the substrate 9 to increase the fluidity, and then uniformly dried. As a result, the coating unevenness generated by a relationship between the advancing direction of coating and positions of the plurality of nozzles in the coating device 1, i.e., unevenness in sectional shapes of a plurality of linear elements by the organic EL material temporarily fixed on the substrate 9 is resolved, thereby uniformizing the sectional shape after drying the plurality of lines of the organic EL liquid applied on the substrate 9 by discharging the organic EL liquid from the plurality of discharge ports. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for applying a flowable material to a substrate.

  Conventionally, as an apparatus for applying a fluid material such as a resist solution on a semiconductor substrate, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, by scanning a nozzle that continuously ejects the fluid material on the substrate, A coating apparatus that coats a fluid material in a plurality of parallel lines is known. In the coating apparatus, the fluid material applied in a plurality of parallel lines spreads and comes into contact with each other, whereby the fluid material is applied to the entire main surface of the substrate.

  In Patent Document 1, a semiconductor substrate coated with a coating liquid by a resist coating apparatus is exposed to the solvent atmosphere of the coating liquid in a solvent atmosphere apparatus provided separately from the resist coating apparatus, thereby attaching the solvent to the surface of the coating liquid. To reduce the viscosity of the surface of the coating liquid, and then reduce the pressure in the container in which the substrate is accommodated to form an air flow to flatten the surface of the coating liquid by the air flow (that is, the coating liquid on the substrate). And a technique for drying the coating solution is disclosed.

  By the way, a coating apparatus that applies a fluid material to a substrate by scanning a nozzle that discharges the fluid material also applies a fluid material including a pixel forming material to a glass substrate for a flat display device. Applications are being studied. In a typical example, the fluid material is applied in stripes at a predetermined pitch by repeatedly scanning a nozzle along a partition formed on a substrate.

  At this time, on the substrate, the solvent component evaporates from each line of the flowable material and is dried in the order in which these lines are applied. In each line of flowable material, the pixel forming material is sufficiently dispersed and fixed almost uniformly on the substrate before drying, but if the time from application to the end of drying is short, the pixel forming material is dispersed. Drying of the flowable material ends in a state where the degree is different from that of the other regions.

  Since the amount of the solvent component that evaporates from the surrounding fluid material is smaller in the line on the start end side and the line on the end side of the application on the substrate than in the central part of the application region, the concentration of the solvent component in the atmosphere is small. Lower. For this reason, the drying time of the fluid material is shorter than in other regions, and the dispersion state of the pixel forming material is different from the central portion. Therefore, in Patent Document 2, the flowable material is applied to the non-application area outside the application area (forms a dummy line) on each of the application start end side and end end side on the substrate. A method for suppressing the drying time of the ink from becoming shorter than other regions is disclosed.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 3, by providing a heater on a stage on which a substrate is placed in a coating apparatus, drying and evaporation of the solvent of the processing liquid applied to the substrate is promoted, and the processing liquid is cured to an extent that does not flow. A technique is disclosed.
JP 2003-17402 A JP 2007-144240 A JP 2006-164905 A

  By the way, in order to improve the coating efficiency in the coating apparatus, the flowable material is striped on the glass substrate by repeatedly scanning a plurality of nozzles and stepping the substrate in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction. Since the fluid material is not applied to the rear side of the substrate in the step movement direction, the fluid material applied by the nozzle located at the rearmost side in the step movement direction among the plurality of nozzles. In the vicinity of the line, the concentration of the solvent component in the atmosphere is lower than that around the line of the flowable material applied by other nozzles.

  For this reason, the flowable material line applied by the rearmost nozzle dries faster than the flowable material lines applied by the other nozzles, so that the dispersion state of the pixel forming material is changed to the other lines. It will be different. As a result, the shape after drying of the plurality of lines of the flowable material applied on the substrate becomes non-uniform, resulting in uneven coating, and the display quality of the flat display device after the product is deteriorated. May end up.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problem, and uniformizes the shape after drying of a plurality of lines of fluid material applied on a substrate by discharging fluid material from a plurality of discharge ports. It is aimed.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an application system for applying a flowable material to a substrate, wherein the flowable material including a volatile solvent and a coating material applied on the substrate is added to a sub-surface parallel to the main surface of the substrate. A discharge mechanism that continuously discharges from a plurality of discharge ports arranged at equal intervals in the scanning direction toward the main surface of the substrate, and the discharge mechanism is perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction and parallel to the main surface A moving mechanism that moves relative to the substrate in the main scanning direction and moves the substrate relative to the ejection mechanism in the sub-scanning direction each time the movement in the main scanning direction is performed. A coating apparatus that extends in the main scanning direction on the substrate and forms a plurality of lines of the flowable material arranged at a constant pitch in the sub-scanning direction, and the solvent of the flowable material Or with the solvent A gas supply that increases the fluidity of the flowable material by supplying the gas to the flowable material on the substrate applied by the coating apparatus by supplying a gas of a volatile material such as A mechanism, and a gas application device including a drying mechanism that fixes the coating material of the fluid material on the substrate by drying the fluid material to which the gas is applied.

  Invention of Claim 2 is a coating system of Claim 1, Comprising: The said gas provision apparatus is further provided with the gas heating part which heats the said gas supplied by the said gas supply mechanism.

  Invention of Claim 3 is the coating system of Claim 1 or 2, Comprising: The said gas provision apparatus is further equipped with the chamber in which the said board | substrate is accommodated in the sealed internal space, The said gas supply mechanism Thus, the gas is supplied to the internal space of the chamber.

  A fourth aspect of the present invention is the coating system according to the third aspect, wherein the drying mechanism has a pressure reducing mechanism that makes the internal space of the chamber a reduced pressure atmosphere.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the coating system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the drying mechanism has a substrate heating mechanism for heating the substrate.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the coating system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the coating material of the fluid material is a pixel forming material for a flat display device.

  The invention according to claim 7 is a coating method for applying a flowable material to a substrate, wherein a) a flowable material containing a volatile solvent and a coating material applied on the substrate is parallel to the main surface of the substrate. While continuously ejecting from the plurality of ejection openings arranged at equal intervals in the sub-scanning direction toward the main surface of the substrate, the plurality of ejection openings are perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction and on the main surface. A step of moving relative to the substrate in a parallel main scanning direction; b) a step of moving the substrate relative to the plurality of ejection ports in the sub-scanning direction; c) the a). Forming a plurality of lines of the flowable material extending in the main scanning direction on the substrate and arranged at a constant pitch in the sub-scanning direction by repeating the step and the step b); d) the solvent or front of the flowable material Providing the gas to the flowable material on the substrate by supplying a gas of a volatile material equivalent to a solvent to the substrate to increase the flowability of the flowable material; e) the gas Drying the flowable material to which the coating material of the flowable material is fixed on the substrate.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the coating method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of heating the gas supplied to the substrate before the step d).

  The invention according to claim 9 is the coating method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the substrate coated with the flowable material is placed in a chamber between the step c) and the step d). The method further includes the step of accommodating in a sealed internal space, and the supply of the gas in the step d) is performed on the substrate in the internal space of the chamber.

  A tenth aspect of the present invention is the coating method according to the ninth aspect, wherein, in the step e), the internal space of the chamber is decompressed.

  The invention according to claim 11 is the coating method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the substrate is heated in the step e).

  In the present invention, the shapes after drying of the plurality of lines of the fluid material applied onto the substrate by discharging the fluid material from the plurality of discharge ports can be made uniform. In the inventions of claims 2 and 8, the fluidity of the fluid material on the substrate can be further improved. In the inventions of claims 3 and 9, gas can be uniformly and efficiently applied to the fluid material on the substrate. In the inventions of claims 4 and 5 and claims 10 and 11, a plurality of lines of the flowable material on the substrate can be dried uniformly and rapidly.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a coating system 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The application system 5 is a system for applying a fluid material onto a substrate. In this embodiment, a pixel for flat display device is formed on a glass substrate for flat display device (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”). A flowable material containing the material as a coating material is applied.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the coating system 5 includes a coating device 1, a transport mechanism 2, and a gas application device 3. In the coating system 5, in the coating apparatus 1, pixel formation is applied to a substrate for an active matrix driving organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device as a volatile solvent and a light emitting material of one color. A fluid material (hereinafter referred to as “organic EL liquid”) including a material (hereinafter referred to as “organic EL material”) is applied. In the present embodiment, description will be made assuming that the remaining one color of the organic EL liquid is applied to the substrate on which the application of the organic EL liquids of the two colors of RGB is completed.

  The substrate coated with the organic EL liquid by the coating apparatus 1 is unloaded from the coating apparatus 1 by the transport mechanism 2 and loaded into the gas application apparatus 3. In the substrate carried out from the coating apparatus 1, the organic EL liquid on the substrate is in a semi-dry state in which the solvent is evaporated to some extent. In the gas application device 3, a solvent gas of the organic EL liquid (hereinafter referred to as "solvent gas") is applied to the semi-dry organic EL liquid on the substrate, and the fluidity of the organic EL liquid is increased. Thereafter, the organic EL liquid contained in the organic EL liquid is fixed on the substrate by drying the organic EL liquid.

  Next, the structure of the coating apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the coating apparatus 1, and FIG. 3 is a front view of the coating apparatus 1 (that is, a view looking in the (+ Y) direction from the (−Y) side in FIG. 2).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the coating apparatus 1 includes a substrate holding portion 11 that holds the substrate 9 in contact with the main surface on the (−Z) side of the substrate 9, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, The holding unit 11 is moved horizontally in a predetermined direction parallel to the main surface 90 on the (+ Z) side of the substrate 9 (that is, the Y direction in FIGS. 2 and 3 and hereinafter referred to as “sub-scanning direction”). In addition, a substrate moving mechanism 12 that rotates about an axis that faces the vertical direction (that is, the Z direction) is provided.

  Each of the application regions 91 (indicated by thin line rectangles in FIG. 2) on the (+ Z) side main surface 90 (hereinafter referred to as “upper surface 90”) of the substrate 9 is the X direction in FIG. A plurality of partition walls extending in the Y direction are arranged at a constant pitch (for example, a pitch of 100 to 150 micrometers (μm)) in the Y direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the coating apparatus 1 also includes an alignment mark detection unit 13 that detects and detects an alignment mark (not shown) formed on the substrate 9, and a substrate holding unit 11 (see FIG. 2). The coating head 14, which is a discharge mechanism that continuously discharges a fluid material toward the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 held by the substrate 9, and the coating head 14 in a direction parallel to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 and perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction ( That is, the X direction in FIGS. 2 and 3, and hereinafter referred to as “main scanning direction”). The substrate holding mechanism 15 moves in the horizontal direction and the movement direction of the coating head 14 (that is, the X direction). Two liquid receiving portions 16 that are provided on both sides of the portion 11 and receive the organic EL liquid from the coating head 14 are provided, and as shown in FIG. Part 18, and includes a control unit 19 for controlling each component of the coating apparatus 1.

  In the coating apparatus 1, the head moving mechanism 15 and the substrate moving mechanism 12 move the coating head 14 relative to the substrate 9 in the main scanning direction (that is, perform main scanning) and move the substrate 9 relative to the coating head 14. Thus, the moving mechanism moves relatively in the sub-scanning direction (that is, performs sub-scanning).

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the coating head 14 includes a plurality (four in the present embodiment) of nozzles 17. Discharge ports (only the discharge ports of the two nozzles 17 in FIG. 3 are denoted by reference numeral 171) are formed on the end surface of each nozzle 17 on the (−Z) side. The organic EL liquid is continuously discharged. The four nozzles 17 are arranged substantially linearly in the X direction (that is, the main scanning direction) and are slightly shifted in the Y direction (that is, the sub scanning direction). In the coating apparatus 1, the positions of the plurality of nozzles 17 in the Y direction can be individually adjusted, and the discharge ports 171 of the four nozzles 17 are arranged at equal intervals in the sub-scanning direction. The distance between the centers of the discharge ports 171 of the two nozzles 17 adjacent to each other in the sub-scanning direction is made equal to three times the pitch of the partition walls on the substrate 9 in the Y direction.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a cross section of the substrate 9 perpendicular to the main scanning direction. When the organic EL liquid is applied to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9, between each of the nozzles 17 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) of the application head 14 and between two adjacent partition walls 92 on the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9. The organic EL liquid is discharged to the area 93 (that is, the area extending in the main scanning direction, hereinafter referred to as “linear area 93”), and the linear element 94 of the organic EL liquid (that is, the discharge of one nozzle 17). An organic EL liquid line corresponding to the outlet 171 is formed. In FIG. 4, for easy understanding of the drawing, only the linear element 94 of the organic EL liquid of one color applied by the coating apparatus 1 is illustrated and already applied to the substrate 9 by another coating apparatus. The other two-color organic EL liquids are not shown (the same applies to FIGS. 7.A to 7.C described later).

  In the coating apparatus 1, in the plurality of linear regions 93 arranged at a constant pitch in the sub-scanning direction (a pitch equal to the partition pitch, hereinafter referred to as “region pitch”), two in the sub-scanning direction. The organic EL liquid is applied to the linear regions 93 existing every other. That is, between the two linear regions 93 to which the organic EL liquid is applied by the coating apparatus 1, the two linear regions 93 to which another type of organic EL liquid is applied by another coating apparatus are sandwiched. ing.

  Next, the structure of the gas applicator 3 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of the gas application device 3. As shown in FIG. 5, the gas supply device 3 includes a chamber 31 having a sealed internal space 30, a stage 32 that is disposed in the internal space 30 of the chamber 31 and on which the substrate 9 is placed, and a pipe 331. The gas supply mechanism 33 that supplies the solvent gas of the organic EL liquid to the internal space 30 of 31, the gas heating unit 34 that heats the solvent gas supplied by the gas supply mechanism 33 by heating the pipe 331, and the internal space of the chamber 31 A decompression mechanism 35 that exhausts gas from 30 to make the internal space 30 a decompressed atmosphere, and a substrate heating mechanism 36 that is provided inside the stage 32 and heats the substrate 9 via the stage 32 are provided. In FIG. 5, for convenience of illustration, the chamber 31 is drawn in cross section.

  In the gas application device 3, the solvent gas generated by the bubbling method, the vaporizing nozzle, or the like in the gas supply mechanism 33 is heated by the gas heating unit 34 when passing through the pipe 331, and is stored in the internal space 30 of the chamber 31. It is supplied to the substrate 9 that is present. As the gas heating unit 34 and the substrate heating mechanism 36, a flow path through which hot water circulates, an electric heater, or the like is used.

  Next, application of the organic EL liquid by the application system 5 will be described. FIG. A and FIG. B is a diagram showing a flow of application of the organic EL liquid. In the coating apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the substrate 9 is placed and held on the substrate holding unit 11, and the substrate moving mechanism 12 is driven based on the output from the alignment mark detection unit 13 to move the substrate 9. And it rotates and is located in the application | coating start position shown as a continuous line in FIG. 2 (step S11).

  As described above, a plurality of partition walls 92 (see FIG. 4) parallel to each other are arranged on the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9, and a linear region 93 (see FIG. 4) is defined between the partition walls 92 on the upper surface 90. Has been. And by arrange | positioning the board | substrate 9 in the application | coating start position, in the coating device 1, the some linear area | region 93 which each extends in a main scanning direction is a fixed area | region pitch in the subscanning direction perpendicular | vertical to a main scanning direction. The substrate 9 to be processed is prepared in a state of being arranged on the upper surface 90. At this time, the coating head 14 is in the vicinity of the end on the (+ Y) side of the substrate 9 in the sub-scanning direction, and in the main scanning direction, a standby position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2 and FIG. Arranged in advance (above the (-X) side liquid receiving part 16) in FIG.

  Subsequently, the coating head 14 is controlled by the control unit 19 to start discharge of the organic EL liquid from the four nozzles 17 (step S12), and the head moving mechanism 15 is further controlled to perform main scanning of the coating head 14. Directional movement (that is, main scanning from the (−X) side to the (+ X) side in FIG. 2) is started. Accordingly, the coating head 14 (that is, the plurality of discharge ports) is discharged from each of the plurality of discharge ports 171 toward the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 continuously (without interruption) at a constant flow rate. 171) continuously moves in the main scanning direction at a constant speed, and as shown in FIG. 4, the organic EL liquid is applied to the four linear regions 93 of the application region 91 of the substrate 9 in stripes. Four linear elements 94 are formed (step S13).

  Then, the application head 14 moves to a standby position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIGS. 2 and 3 (that is, above the (+ X) side liquid receiving unit 16), thereby forming a stripe-like shape by the organic EL liquid. A pattern is formed. Note that the (+ X) side and (−X) side non-application regions (and the (+ Y) side and (−Y) side non-application regions) as needed) of the application region 91 in FIG. 2 are not shown. Therefore, the organic EL liquid is not applied to the non-application area on the substrate 9.

  When the coating head 14 moves to the standby position, the substrate moving mechanism 12 is driven, and the substrate 9 moves together with the substrate holder 11 by a distance equal to 12 times the area pitch in the (+ Y) direction (that is, the sub-scanning direction) ( Step S14). At this time, in the coating head 14, the organic EL liquid is continuously discharged from the four nozzles 17 toward the liquid receiving unit 16.

  When the step movement of the substrate 9 in the sub-scanning direction is completed, it is confirmed by the control unit 19 whether or not the substrate 9 and the substrate holding unit 11 have moved to the application end position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. S15). If the application head 14 has not moved to the application end position, the process returns to step S13 and the application head 14 discharges the organic EL liquid from the four nozzles 17 while the (+ X) side of the substrate 9 is in the (−X) direction ( That is, the organic EL liquid is applied to the linear region 93 (see FIG. 4) on the substrate 9 by moving in the main scanning direction (step S13). Thereafter, it is confirmed whether or not the substrate 9 has moved stepwise in the sub-scanning direction and moved to the coating end position (steps S14 and S15).

  In the coating apparatus 1, the movement of the coating head 14 in the main scanning direction and the step movement of the substrate 9 toward the (+ Y) side are alternately repeated until the substrate holding unit 11 and the substrate 9 are positioned at the coating end position ( That is, every time the plurality of ejection ports 171 of the coating head 14 are moved in the main scanning direction, the substrate 9 is moved relative to the plurality of ejection ports 171 of the coating head 14 in the sub-scanning direction. (Steps S13 to S15). As a result, a plurality of lines of the organic EL liquid are formed on the substrate 9 that extend in the main scanning direction and are arranged at a constant pitch (that is, a pitch equal to three times the region pitch) in the sub-scanning direction.

  In the coating apparatus 1, in parallel with the application of the organic EL liquid, the solvent component evaporates to some extent from each line (that is, the linear element) of the organic EL liquid on the substrate 9, and in the order in which these linear elements are applied. The organic EL material is assumed to adhere to the substrate 9 after drying (that is, the organic EL liquid is in a semi-dry state). When the substrate 9 moves to the application end position, the discharge of the organic EL liquid from the four nozzles 17 is stopped (step S16), and the application of the organic EL liquid to the substrate 9 by the coating apparatus 1 is completed. In the coating apparatus 1, the direction in which the application of the organic EL liquid proceeds on the substrate 9 with respect to the sub-scanning direction (that is, the relative movement direction of the coating head 14 with respect to the substrate 9) is the movement of the substrate 9 by the substrate moving mechanism 12. The direction is opposite.

  By the way, in the application operation of the organic EL liquid, the organic matter in the atmosphere is surrounded around the linear element of the organic EL liquid applied by the two nozzles 17 in the vicinity of the center among the plural (four) nozzles 17. The concentration of the solvent component of the EL liquid is increased, and the (−Y) side is the most in the main scanning of the coating head 14 immediately before the linear element of the organic EL liquid applied by the (+ Y) side nozzle 17. The concentration of the solvent component of the organic EL liquid in the atmosphere increases due to the influence of the linear elements of the organic EL liquid applied by the nozzle 17.

  However, the nozzle 17 on the (−Y) side (that is, the nozzle on the rear side in the relative movement direction of the substrate in the sub-scanning direction, hereinafter referred to as “rear nozzle”. However, attention is paid to the relative movement direction of the coating head 14. In this case, the linear element of the organic EL liquid applied by the above-mentioned nozzle (hereinafter, the linear element formed by the rear nozzle is referred to as “rear linear element”) on the (−Y) side. The other organic EL liquid linear elements are not formed, and the organic EL liquid linear elements applied in parallel by the other nozzles 17 are arranged only on the (+ Y) side. .

  For this reason, in the periphery of the rear side linear element applied by the (−Y) side rear nozzle, the solvent component of the organic EL liquid is larger than the periphery of the linear element applied by the other three nozzles 17. The concentration is lowered. To be exact, the concentration of the solvent component of the organic EL liquid in the atmosphere on the (−Y) side of the rear linear element is lower than the concentration on the (+ Y) side of the rear linear element around the rear linear element. Become.

  As a result, the (−Y) side portion of the rear linear element dries much faster than the (+ Y) side portion, and FIG. As shown in A, in the (−Y) side rear linear element 94a formed of a semi-dry organic EL material, the (−Y) side portion (a portion including a square protrusion. (+ Y)). The difference D1 (hereinafter referred to as “edge film thickness difference”) between the film thickness of the part on the side and the film thickness on the (+ Y) side is substantially zero. Therefore, the dispersion state of the organic EL material having a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the main scanning direction in the plurality of linear elements 94 is not constant.

  Temporarily, the substrate 9 having coating unevenness in a state in which the rear linear elements 94a of the organic EL material having a deviation in thickness are periodically formed in the coating region (that is, every four pieces) is left as it is. When it is sintered and used in a product in a subsequent process, the display quality in the organic EL display device after the product has been produced may deteriorate. In the rear side linear element, the film thickness of the part on the side of the other linear element formed at the same time is not necessarily smaller than the film thickness of the part on the side opposite to the part, and the organic EL used for coating Depending on the type of liquid, the film thickness of the part on the other linear element side formed simultaneously may be larger than the film thickness of the part opposite to the part.

  In the coating system 5 according to the present embodiment, the substrate 9 that has been coated with the organic EL liquid by the coating device 1 is unloaded from the coating device 1 by the robot arm 21 of the transport mechanism 2 shown in FIG. And is accommodated in the internal space 30 of the chamber 31 shown in FIG. And the internal space 30 of the chamber 31 is sealed (step S17, S18).

  Subsequently, the solvent gas is sent out toward the internal space 30 of the chamber 31 by the gas supply mechanism 33, heated by the gas heating unit 34, and then supplied to the internal space 30 of the chamber 31 (step S19). In the chamber 31, the air in the internal space 30 is discharged to the outside, and the internal space 30 is filled with a solvent gas.

  In the gas application device 3, the solvent gas heated by the gas heating unit 34 is supplied to the substrate 9 in the chamber 31, so that the organic EL material applied on the substrate 9 and presupposed (this embodiment) Then, the linear elements 94 and 94a of the organic EL liquid of one color shown in FIG. 7.A applied by the coating apparatus 1 and in a semi-dry state, and the semi-dry state omitted in FIG. The solvent gas is applied to the other two color organic EL liquid linear elements) to increase the fluidity of the organic EL liquid (step S20). In other words, the reflow process is performed on the organic EL material assumed on the substrate 9 by the solvent gas supplied by the gas supply mechanism 33. As a result, FIG. As shown to B, the some linear element 94 on the board | substrate 9 becomes a similar shape which balances with gravity and surface tension between the adjacent partition walls 92, respectively.

  As described above, the rear linear elements formed by the rear nozzles among the four nozzles 17 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) are formed by the other three nozzles 17 by the reflow using the solvent gas. When the cross-sectional shape is the same as that of the linear element, the supply of the solvent gas by the gas supply mechanism 33 shown in FIG. 5 is stopped, and the solvent gas is discharged from the internal space 30 of the chamber 31 by the decompression mechanism 35. In the internal space 30, the solvent gas concentration around the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 is uniformly reduced to form a reduced-pressure atmosphere, so that FIG. The solvent gas uniformly evaporates from the plurality of linear elements 94 shown in B, and the plurality of linear elements 94 are uniformly dried (step S21).

  When the internal space 30 of the chamber 31 shown in FIG. 5 is depressurized to a predetermined pressure, the substrate 9 is heated via the stage 32 by the substrate heating mechanism 36 while the pressure of the internal space 30 is kept constant. As a result, the solvent gas further evaporates from the linear element 94 on the substrate 9, and FIG. As shown in C, the plurality of linear elements 94 are dried and the organic EL material is uniformly fixed on the substrate 9 (step S22). In other words, the decompression mechanism 35 and the substrate heating mechanism 36 shown in FIG. 5 act as a drying mechanism for drying the linear element 94 to which the solvent gas is applied, so that in the plurality of linear elements 94 on the substrate 9, The dispersion state of the organic EL material having a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the main scanning direction is approximately equal.

  Thereafter, air is introduced into the internal space 30 of the chamber 31 to obtain a normal pressure, the substrate 9 is unloaded from the gas application device 3, and the organic EL material on the substrate 9 is sintered in another device. Is called. In the coating system 5, the organic EL liquid is applied to another substrate in the coating device 1 in parallel with the supply and drying of the solvent gas to the substrate 9 by the gas applying device 3.

  As described above, in the coating system 5, in the coating apparatus 1, the main scanning of the plurality of nozzles 17 and the sub-scanning of the substrate 9 are performed while continuously discharging the organic EL liquid from the discharge ports 171 of the plurality of nozzles 17. By alternately repeating the above, it is possible to rapidly apply the organic EL liquid to the substrate 9.

  Further, in the gas applicator 3, by applying a solvent gas to the organic EL material supposedly deposited on the substrate 9 to increase the fluidity and drying it uniformly, the direction of application in the applicator 1 is advanced. Application unevenness (that is, non-uniformity in cross-sectional shape of the plurality of linear elements due to the organic EL material assumed on the substrate 9) caused by the relationship between the movement direction of the substrate 9 and the positions of the plurality of nozzles 17 is obtained. Eliminating and uniformizing the shape of the plurality of lines of the organic EL liquid applied on the substrate 9 by discharging the organic EL liquid from the plurality of discharge ports 171 (that is, the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the main scanning direction) can do.

  By the way, in the application | coating with respect to the board | substrate of the fluid material containing the pixel formation material for flat panel displays, when a coating nonuniformity generate | occur | produces, there exists a possibility that the display quality of the flat panel display after becoming a product may fall. In the coating system 5 according to the present embodiment, as described above, the coating unevenness can be eliminated and the shapes of the plurality of lines of the fluid material after drying can be made uniform. It can be said that it is particularly suitable for application of a fluid material including a pixel forming material for an apparatus.

  In the gas application device 3, by supplying the solvent gas heated by the gas heating unit 34 to the substrate 9, the temperature of the organic EL liquid after application of the solvent gas can be increased on the substrate 9 to reduce the viscosity. . As a result, the fluidity of the organic EL liquid on the substrate 9 to which the solvent gas is applied is further increased, and the uniformity of the shape after drying of the plurality of lines of the organic EL liquid is improved.

  Further, since the supply of the solvent gas to the substrate 9 (that is, the application of the solvent gas to the organic EL liquid) is performed on the substrate 9 accommodated in the internal space 30 of the sealed chamber 31, A solvent gas can be uniformly and efficiently applied to the organic EL liquid. As a result, the uniformity of the shape of the plurality of lines of the organic EL liquid after drying is further improved and the shape of the lines of the organic EL liquid is rapidly made uniform.

  In the gas application device 3, the internal space 30 of the chamber 31 is brought into a reduced pressure atmosphere by the pressure reducing mechanism 35, whereby the plurality of lines of the organic EL liquid on the substrate 9 that has been subjected to the reflow process are uniformly and rapidly dried. Thereby, the uniformity of the shape of the plurality of lines of the organic EL liquid after drying is further improved, and the shape of the line of the organic EL liquid is more rapidly uniformed. In addition to drying under reduced pressure by the decompression mechanism 35, the substrate 9 is heated by the substrate heating mechanism 36, whereby the organic EL liquid line on the substrate 9 can be dried more quickly.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention has been described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible.

  For example, in the coating system 5 according to the above-described embodiment, the gas supplied to the substrate 9 in the gas application device 3 is not necessarily the solvent gas of the organic EL liquid applied in the coating device 1. Any gas of a volatile material equivalent to the solvent of the liquid may be used. In this case as well, the shape of the plurality of lines of the organic EL liquid applied on the substrate 9 after drying can be made uniform as in the above embodiment.

  The volatile material equivalent to the solvent of the organic EL liquid is a volatile material that can increase the fluidity of the organic EL liquid by being applied to the semi-dry organic EL liquid, and preferably the organic EL liquid It means a component that is common to or similar to the liquid solvent. For example, when mesitylene is used as the solvent of the organic EL liquid, an aromatic organic solvent such as anisole (methoxybenzene), toluene, xylene is used as a volatile material equivalent to the solvent of the organic EL liquid. The

  In the gas supply device 3, the substrate 9 is not necessarily accommodated in the sealed chamber 31, and solvent gas is blown onto the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 placed in the open space, so that the substrate 9 The solvent gas may be applied to the organic EL liquid.

  In the above embodiment, the organic EL liquid subjected to the reflow process in the gas application device 3 is first dried under reduced pressure, and then dried by substrate heating in parallel with the reduced pressure drying. In the apparatus 3, for example, the drying under reduced pressure of the organic EL liquid and the drying by heating the substrate may be started almost simultaneously. Moreover, drying by substrate heating may be started first, and then drying under reduced pressure may be performed, or drying of the organic EL liquid after reflow may be performed only by drying under reduced pressure or only by heating the substrate. Further, although the time required for drying may be somewhat longer, the atmosphere in the internal space 30 of the chamber 31 is gradually and uniformly heated, or the solvent gas in the internal space 30 is gradually changed to air. The organic EL liquid after reflow may be dried by various other methods such as replacement.

  In the coating apparatus 1 according to the above-described embodiment, for example, three nozzles 17 are provided in the coating head 14, and the colors from the nozzles 17 are different from red (R), green (G), and blue (B). Three types of organic EL liquids each containing three types of organic EL materials may be simultaneously ejected and applied to the substrate 9. Further, in the coating head 14, as long as there are two or more nozzles 17 for discharging the fluid material, other numbers may be used.

  Further, the organic EL liquid ejected from these nozzles 17 may be applied in a stripe pattern to the application region 91 where no partition is provided. In this case, a plurality of linear regions extending in the main scanning direction are virtually arranged on the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 at a constant region pitch in the sub-scanning direction according to the pixel spacing of the display device as the final product. The flowable material is applied by the application device.

  In the coating apparatus 1, a fluid material containing a hole transport material as a coating material and water or the like as a volatile solvent may be applied to the substrate 9. Here, the “hole transport material” is a material that forms a hole transport layer of an organic EL display device, and the “hole transport layer” is a positive electrode that is formed into an organic EL layer formed of an organic EL material. It means not only a narrowly defined hole transport layer that transports holes, but also includes a hole injection layer that injects holes.

  Further, in the coating apparatus 1, instead of the movement of the substrate 9 and the substrate holding unit 11 by the substrate moving mechanism 12, the coating head 14 moves in the sub-scanning direction, so that the substrate 9 relative to the coating head 14 in the sub-scanning direction. Movement may be performed. Further, instead of the movement of the coating head 14 by the head moving mechanism 15, the substrate 9 and the substrate holder 11 move in the main scanning direction, so that the coating head 14 moves relative to the substrate 9 in the main scanning direction. Also good.

  In the coating system 5 according to the above-described embodiment, the coating device 1, the transport mechanism 2, and the gas application device 3 are arranged linearly in a plan view as shown in FIG. It may be changed as appropriate. FIG. A and FIG. B is a plan view showing another arrangement example of the coating apparatus 1, the transport mechanism 2, and the gas application apparatus 3 in the coating system, and FIG. C is a front view showing another arrangement example of the coating apparatus 1, the transport mechanism 2, and the gas application apparatus 3. FIG. In the coating system 5a shown to A, the coating device 1, the conveyance mechanism 2, and the gas provision apparatus 3 are arrange | positioned at L shape. FIG. In the coating system 5b shown in B, the transport mechanism 2a is disposed at a position facing the coating device 1 and the gas application device 3 disposed adjacent to each other. In the transport mechanism 2a, the transport robot 22 is positioned between the position facing the coating apparatus 1 and the position facing the gas applying apparatus 3 (that is, the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 8.B and the two-dot chain line). It moves horizontally along the guide rail 23 (between the positions shown). FIG. In the coating system 5c shown in C, the coating device 1 is disposed above the gas application device 3. In the transport mechanism 2b of the coating system 5c, the transport robot 22 is located between a position facing the coating apparatus 1 and a position facing the gas applying apparatus 3 (that is, a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 8.C). It moves up and down along the guide rail 23 (between the positions indicated by the chain line).

  In the coating system 5, the flowable material is applied to the substrate 9 in the coating apparatus 1, and the reflow treatment and drying of the flowable material on the substrate 9 are performed in the gas application apparatus 3 different from the coating apparatus 1. This makes it possible to perform two different processes on two substrates in parallel, improving the processing efficiency for the substrates, but drying a plurality of lines of organic EL liquid applied on the substrate 9 From the viewpoint of uniformizing the shape later, the application of the flowable material, and the reflow treatment and drying of the flowable material may be sequentially performed in one apparatus.

  The coating system 5 can also be used when a plurality of organic EL display devices are manufactured from a single substrate (so-called multi-cavity is performed). Further, the coating system 5 is not necessarily used only for coating a fluid material containing an organic EL material or a hole transport material for an organic EL display device. For example, the coating system 5 may be a liquid crystal display device or a plasma display device. It may be used when a fluid material containing other types of pixel forming materials such as a coloring material and a fluorescent material is applied to the flat display device substrate. Furthermore, the coating system 5 may be used for coating various types of flowable materials on various substrates such as a semiconductor substrate in addition to the substrate for a flat display device.

It is a figure which shows the structure of a coating system. It is a top view which shows a coating device. It is a front view which shows a coating device. It is a figure which shows the cross section of a board | substrate. It is a figure which shows the structure of a gas provision apparatus. It is a figure which shows the flow of application | coating of organic electroluminescent liquid. It is a figure which shows the flow of application | coating of organic electroluminescent liquid. It is a figure which shows the cross section of a board | substrate. It is a figure which shows the cross section of a board | substrate. It is a figure which shows the cross section of a board | substrate. It is a figure which shows the other example of a coating system. It is a figure which shows the other example of a coating system. It is a figure which shows the other example of a coating system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Application | coating apparatus 3 Gas provision apparatus 5,5a-5c Application | coating system 9 Substrate 12 Substrate movement mechanism 14 Coating head 15 Head movement mechanism 30 Internal space 31 Chamber 33 Gas supply mechanism 34 Gas heating part 35 Decompression mechanism 36 Substrate heating mechanism 90 Upper surface 171 Discharge port S11-S22 Step

Claims (11)

An application system for applying a flowable material to a substrate,
A flowable material containing a volatile solvent and a coating material applied on the substrate is directed from the plurality of ejection openings arranged at equal intervals in the sub-scanning direction parallel to the main surface of the substrate toward the main surface of the substrate. And a discharge mechanism that continuously discharges, and moves the discharge mechanism relative to the substrate in a main scanning direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction and parallel to the main surface, and in the main scanning direction A moving mechanism that moves the substrate relative to the discharge mechanism in the sub-scanning direction each time the movement is performed, and extends on the substrate in the main scanning direction and has a constant pitch in the sub-scanning direction; A coating apparatus for forming a plurality of lines of the flowable material arranged in
By supplying a gas of a volatile material equivalent to the solvent or the solvent of the flowable material to the substrate, the gas is applied to the flowable material on the substrate applied by the coating apparatus to A gas comprising a gas supply mechanism that increases the fluidity of the fluid material, and a drying mechanism that fixes the coating material of the fluid material on the substrate by drying the fluid material to which the gas is applied. A granting device;
An application system comprising: The coating system according to claim 1,
The coating system, wherein the gas application device further includes a gas heating unit that heats the gas supplied by the gas supply mechanism. The coating system according to claim 1 or 2,
The gas application device further includes a chamber in which the substrate is accommodated in a sealed internal space,
The coating system, wherein the gas is supplied to the internal space of the chamber by the gas supply mechanism. The coating system according to claim 3,
The coating system, wherein the drying mechanism includes a pressure reducing mechanism that makes the internal space of the chamber a reduced pressure atmosphere. The coating system according to claim 3 or 4,
The coating system, wherein the drying mechanism includes a substrate heating mechanism for heating the substrate. The coating system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The coating system, wherein the coating material of the fluid material is a pixel forming material for a flat display device. An application method for applying a flowable material to a substrate,
a) The main surface of the substrate from a plurality of discharge ports in which a flowable material including a volatile solvent and a coating material applied on the substrate is arranged at equal intervals in the sub-scanning direction parallel to the main surface of the substrate Moving the plurality of discharge ports relative to the substrate in a main scanning direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction and parallel to the main surface, while continuously discharging toward the substrate,
b) moving the substrate relative to the plurality of ejection openings in the sub-scanning direction;
c) By repeating the step a) and the step b), a plurality of lines of the flowable material extending on the substrate in the main scanning direction and arranged at a constant pitch in the sub-scanning direction are formed. Forming, and
d) Supplying the gas to the flowable material on the substrate by supplying a gas of the solvent of the flowable material or a volatile material equivalent to the solvent to the substrate to flow the flowable material Increasing the performance,
e) fixing the coating material of the flowable material on the substrate by drying the flowable material provided with the gas;
A coating method comprising: It is the application | coating method of Claim 7, Comprising:
The coating method further comprising a step of heating the gas supplied to the substrate before the step d). The coating method according to claim 7 or 8,
A step of accommodating the substrate coated with the flowable material in a sealed internal space of the chamber between the step c) and the step d);
The coating method, wherein the gas is supplied to the substrate in the internal space of the chamber in the step d). It is the application | coating method of Claim 9, Comprising:
In the step e), the inner space of the chamber is depressurized. It is the application | coating method of Claim 9 or 10, Comprising:
In the step e), the substrate is heated.

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