JP2009162828A - Method for manufacturing substrate device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing a substrate device for stably disposing a spacer while saving a space. <P>SOLUTION: An array substrate 12 (glass substrate 21) is vertically disposed and a fluid adhesive 45 for fixing a spacer 15 is applied to a predetermined position. The spacer 15 is disposed on the glass substrate 21 and the spacer 15 is fixed at a predetermined position by the applied adhesive 45. The array substrate 12 and a counter substrate are disposed facing each other and laminated while keeping a gap by the spacer 15. The process can be operated as disposing the array substrate 12 in a vertical state, and the spacer 15 can be stably disposed on the array substrate 12 while saving a space. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a substrate device including a spacer that holds a gap between a pair of substrates.

  In general, a liquid crystal display element, which is a substrate device used in a liquid crystal display device, which is a display device, has an array substrate having an alignment film and a counter substrate arranged so that the alignment films face each other, and a liquid crystal layer is interposed between these substrates. It is configured. These substrates are bonded together by applying a sealant and a silver paste to the peripheral region, and between these substrates, at positions corresponding to the wiring formed on the array substrate via a transparent electrode or alignment film, A spacer is disposed to maintain a distance between the substrates. At this time, since the spacer is arranged on the wiring, when the backlight is turned on, it is hidden by the shadow of the light shielding portion.

  In recent years, in order to increase productivity, it has been studied to use an ink-jet method when arranging spacers on a color filter film.

  In such an ink-jet method, a spherical spacer having a fixing component applied to the surface is usually ejected together with ink and then fixed in a heat drying process. However, in such a construction method, the spacer may adhere to the inside of the ink jet nozzle of the ink jet apparatus, and the discharge port of the ink jet nozzle may be blocked and the spacer may not be disposed on the substrate. If the spacers are not arranged in this way, a gap between the substrates cannot be secured, and optical characteristics are distorted, or unevenness due to the gap difference is caused.

Therefore, a method of applying an adhesive, which is a fluid-like fixing member, to a predetermined position of the array substrate or the counter substrate and spraying a dry spacer having no fixing layer on the surface to fix the spacer with the adhesive. Is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-83906 A

  However, in the above method, since the spacers are arranged with the substrate in a horizontal state, the installation area of the ink jet device is increased, and there is a problem that it is not easy to incorporate into the line.

  The present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a substrate device that can stably arrange spacers while saving space.

  The present invention is a method of manufacturing a substrate device comprising a pair of substrates disposed opposite to each other and a spacer that is positioned between the substrates and that holds a gap between the substrates. One side is vertically placed, and a coating step is applied to a predetermined position of a fluid-like fixing member for fixing the spacer. After this coating step, the spacer is placed on the vertically placed substrate and applied. A spacer disposing step of fixing the spacer at a predetermined position by the fixing member.

  Then, either one of the pair of substrates opposed to each other is placed vertically and a fluid-like fixing member is applied to a predetermined position, and then a spacer is placed on the vertically placed substrate, and the applied fixing member is placed to a predetermined position. Fix the spacer.

  According to the present invention, a spacer can be stably arranged while saving space.

  The configuration of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  4 to 6, reference numeral 11 denotes a liquid crystal display element which is a display element as a substrate device, that is, a liquid crystal cell. In the liquid crystal cell 11, an array substrate 12 which is a substrate and a counter substrate 13 which is a substrate are arranged to face each other. In addition, a liquid crystal layer 14 serving as a light modulation layer is interposed between the substrates 12 and 13, and the distance between the substrates 12 and 13 is a plurality of spacers 15 that are gap holding members formed of resin, for example. Is held by. The array substrate 12 and the counter substrate 13 are bonded to each other by a seal portion 17 that is an adhesive portion disposed so as to surround the outer periphery excluding the liquid crystal injection port 16 for injecting the liquid crystal material constituting the liquid crystal layer.

  Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the liquid crystal cell 11 will be described as a transmissive display element using a backlight (not shown) that is a planar light source device, for example. Yes.

  The array substrate 12 is a thin film transistor as a switching element on the main surface of the glass substrate 21 cut out from the large-sized glass substrate 20 (FIGS. 1 to 3), which is a transparent substrate having translucency and insulation, on the liquid crystal layer 14 side. (TFT) 22 is formed, and color filter layers 23 having colored layers 23r, 23g, and 23b corresponding to red (R), green (G), and blue (B) are formed thereon, for example, in a stripe shape. Yes. Further, on the colored layers 23r, 23g, and 23b, pixel electrodes 24 that are transparent electrodes formed of a transparent conductive material such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) are formed. The thin film transistors 22 are electrically connected through through holes 25 formed in the colored layers 23r, 23g, and 23b. In addition, an alignment film (not shown) is formed on the colored layers 23r, 23g, and 23b including the pixel electrode 24. With this configuration, a display area 27 for screen display having the pixels 26 in a matrix is formed in a square shape. Has been. Further, a black matrix (BM) layer 28 as a light shielding layer as a non-display area is formed in a rectangular frame shape in the vicinity of the inner edge of the seal portion 17 that is the outer periphery of the display area 27.

  The thin film transistor 22 has a gate electrode connected to the scanning line 31, a source electrode connected to the signal line 32, and a drain electrode connected to the pixel electrode 24. Switching is controlled by applying a signal to the gate electrode via the scanning line 31, and a voltage is applied to the pixel electrode 24 corresponding to the signal input from the source driver 37, which is a signal line driving circuit, via the signal line 32. By applying the voltage, each pixel 26 is turned on / off independently.

  The scanning line 31 and the signal line 32 are light-shielding portions formed of a predetermined conductive material such as metal, and are formed between the pixels 26.

  The counter substrate 13 is formed of a transparent conductive material such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) on one main surface of a glass substrate 41 cut out from a large-sized glass substrate 40 that is a transparent substrate having translucency and insulation. A counter electrode 42 which is a common electrode (transparent electrode) is formed, and an alignment film (not shown) is formed to cover the counter electrode 42.

  The liquid crystal layer 14 is a light modulation layer formed of a predetermined liquid crystal material, and is interposed between the alignment film on the array substrate 12 side and the alignment film on the counter substrate 13 side.

  The spacer 15 is formed in a substantially spherical shape using, for example, a non-conductive transparent resin, and is jetted from the jet nozzle N of the jet ejection device J and discharged from the ink head H that is the inkjet nozzle of the inkjet device I. By the adhesive layer 46 formed by the glue or adhesive 45 that is a fluid fixing member, either one of the array substrate 12 and the counter substrate 13, in this embodiment, a predetermined position on the array substrate 12, for example, It is fixed at a position in the vicinity of the signal line 32, that is, a position between the pixels 26 which are light shielding portions where light from the backlight is shielded.

  Further, the liquid crystal injection port 16 has an edge portion defined by a seal portion 17, and is sealed with a sealing material 50 formed of, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin.

  Next, the manufacturing method of the one embodiment will be described.

First, in manufacturing the array substrate 12, the scanning lines 31, the signal lines 32, the thin film transistors 22 and the like are formed on the large-sized glass substrate 20 (conductive portion forming step), and a red resist solution is applied thereon with a spinner, for example, about Prebaking is performed at 90 ° C. for about 5 minutes, and exposure is performed with ultraviolet rays having an intensity of 150 mJ / cm ² using a predetermined mask pattern. Next, for example, development is performed for about 40 seconds using an aqueous solution of about 0.1% by weight of TMAH (tetramethylammonium hydride), followed by washing with water, followed by post-baking at about 200 ° C. for about 1 hour to form a colored layer 23r. To do. Thereafter, using the green resist solution and the blue resist solution, the colored layers 23g and 23b are also formed in the same process (color filter layer forming process).

  Further, ITO is deposited on each of the colored layers 23r, 23g, and 23b by a sputtering method, and each pixel electrode 24 is formed by patterning (pixel electrode forming step).

  Further, the black matrix layer 28 is formed using a black resin by the same process as the formation of the colored layers 23r, 23g, and 23b (black matrix layer forming process).

  Further, an alignment film material made of polyimide is applied in a range that covers a portion corresponding to the display region 27 of the large-sized glass substrate 20, and an alignment process is performed to form an alignment film (array substrate alignment film forming step).

  Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), the large-sized glass substrate 20 is placed vertically, that is, the large-sized glass substrate 20 is erected so that the thickness direction is on both sides. The fluid adhesive 45 is applied onto the alignment film at a position corresponding to the scanning line 31 between the pixels 26 by the ink head H (application process). At this time, the fluid-like adhesive 45 flows vertically downward due to its own weight due to the large-sized glass substrate 20 being placed vertically, so that it is vertically long, that is, a substantially elliptical shape having a major axis direction along the surface direction of the large-sized glass substrate 20. The viscosity is adjusted so as to obtain a shape.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), using a jet nozzle N of a jet injection device J, a dry spacer 15 having no fixed layer on its surface is formed on an alignment film of a large-sized glass substrate 20. When jetting upward, the spacer 15 is fixed only at the target position where the adhesive 45 is adhered (spacer arranging step).

  Further, by cleaning the large-sized glass substrate 20 with water flow or air pressure, the foreign matter D in the display area 27, the excess spacer 15a, etc. are removed. As shown in FIG. Stays on the large glass substrate 20 side (cleaning process).

  Then, the adhesive 45 is dried at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time (drying process), and is baked at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time, whereby the spacer 15 is formed on the large-sized glass substrate 20 by the adhesive layer 46 formed by melting the adhesive 45. (Array substrate side firing step).

  On the other hand, in manufacturing the counter substrate 13, after depositing ITO on the large format glass substrate 40 by sputtering and forming the counter electrode 42 (counter electrode forming step), the alignment film material made of polyimide is used for the large format glass substrate 40. Coating is performed so as to cover a range corresponding to the display region 27 on the array substrate 12 side, and an alignment process is performed to form an alignment film (opposing substrate alignment film forming step).

  Next, a seal portion 17 is applied to the peripheral portion of the outer periphery of the large-sized glass substrate 20 in a vertically placed state except for the liquid crystal injection port 16 (FIG. 5) for liquid crystal injection, and then the large-format glass substrates 20 and 40 are sealed. After bonding (bonding step), for example, after putting in a single-wafer type sealing jig and exhausting, firing at a predetermined curing temperature (for example, about 170 ° C.) for a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) (baking step) Then, the bonded large-sized glass substrates 20 and 40 are divided at predetermined positions to complete the empty liquid crystal cell 11 (firing process).

  Further, after the liquid crystal material to which the chiral material is added is vacuum-injected from the liquid crystal injection port 16 into the empty liquid crystal cell 11 (injection process), the liquid crystal injection port 16 is sealed using the ultraviolet curable resin as the sealing material 50. (Sealing step) completes the liquid crystal cell 11, and attaches polarizing plates (not shown) to both main surfaces of the liquid crystal cell 11 (polarizing plate attachment step) to complete the liquid crystal panel.

  Thus, according to the above-described embodiment, after applying the fluid adhesive 45 to the array substrate 12 (glass substrate 21) at a predetermined position, the spacer 15 is arranged and the applied adhesive 45 is used. By fixing the spacer 15 at a predetermined position, it is possible to prevent the spacer 15 from dropping from the array substrate 12 due to gravity or the like together with the adhesive 45 even when the array substrate 12 is placed vertically.

  That is, for example, in the conventional case where a spacer having a fixing layer on the surface is arranged together with ink by ink jet, if the array substrate is placed vertically, the spacer moves together with the ink from the light shielding portion into the pixel 26, and light leakage occurs. In the present embodiment, the adhesive 45 and the spacer 15 are separately sprayed onto the array substrate 12 to dispose the spacer 15 and the array substrate 12 and the counter substrate 13 (glass substrate). 41) The substrates 12, 13 can be placed vertically when pasting together, and space can be saved compared to the case where the substrates are placed horizontally, increasing the number of devices in the entire line. It is also possible to improve the processing capacity.

  Further, since the adhesive 45 is applied to the array substrate 12 (glass substrate 21) separately from the spacer 15, the dry spacer 15 can be used, and for example, using the jet nozzle N of the jet injection device J in the spacer arrangement step. It is also possible to dispose the spacer 15, and for example, when using a wet spacer having a fixed layer on the surface, the spacer does not adhere to the inside of the jet nozzle, and the spacer cannot be discharged. The spacer 15 can be stably and reliably arranged on the substrate 21 (large format glass substrate 20). As a result, a sufficient number of spacers 15 can be secured between the substrates 12 and 13, so that a predetermined interval between the substrates 12 and 13 cannot be obtained, so that sufficient optical characteristics cannot be obtained, or between the substrates 12 and 13 It is possible to prevent display unevenness from occurring due to the variation in the interval.

  Further, when the array substrate 12 (glass substrate 21) is placed vertically and the adhesive 45 is applied to a predetermined position, the applied adhesive 45 is applied by its own weight, for example, within the width of the scanning line 31 in the light shielding portion. By setting the viscosity of the adhesive 45 so that it flows moderately downward, it is possible to secure a wide bonding area of the spacer 15 even with a relatively small amount of application, and the spacer 15 can be securely fixed.

  In the above embodiment, the spacer 15 is bonded and fixed to the array substrate 12 side. However, depending on the structure of the liquid crystal cell 11, the spacer 15 may be bonded and fixed to the counter substrate 13 side.

  As the light modulation layer, any layer other than the liquid crystal layer 14 can be used.

  Further, the above-described configuration can be applied to any substrate device as long as a pair of substrates are arranged to face each other and a distance between the substrates is held by a spacer.

It is a perspective view which shows the washing | cleaning process of the manufacturing method of the board | substrate apparatus of one embodiment of this invention. (a) is a perspective view which shows the application | coating process of the manufacturing method of a board | substrate apparatus same as the above, (b) is a side view which shows the application | coating process of the manufacturing method of a board | substrate apparatus same as the above. (a) is a perspective view which shows the spacer arrangement | positioning process of the manufacturing method of the same board | substrate apparatus, (b) is a side view which shows the spacer arrangement | positioning process of the manufacturing method of the same board | substrate apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the principal part of a board | substrate apparatus same as the above. It is a top view which shows a substrate apparatus same as the above. It is a circuit diagram which shows a board | substrate apparatus same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

11 Liquid crystal cell as a substrate device
12 Substrate array substrate
13 Opposite substrate
15 Spacer
45 Adhesive as a fixing member J Jet injection device

Claims (2)

A substrate device manufacturing method comprising a pair of substrates disposed opposite to each other and a spacer that is positioned between the substrates and holds a gap between the substrates,
One of the pair of substrates is placed vertically, and an application step for applying a fluid fixing member for fixing the spacer to a predetermined position;
And a spacer arrangement step of arranging the spacer on the vertically placed substrate after the coating step and fixing the spacer at a predetermined position by the applied fixing member. Manufacturing method. The method of manufacturing a substrate device according to claim 1, wherein in the spacer arranging step, the spacer is applied to a predetermined position by a jet spray device.

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