JP2009198858A - Liquid drop discharge device, liquid body discharge method, and color filter manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid drop discharge device, capable of discharging liquid as a liquid drop efficiently even for a board in which two or more kinds of areas to be discharged different in way of arranging the parts to be discharged are imposed, a liquid discharge method, and a color filter manufacturing method. <P>SOLUTION: This liquid drop discharge device 10 includes: a stage 5 for placing a mother board P; a work moving mechanism 20 for moving the stage 5 in the main scanning direction; a locating mechanism for locating the relative position of the mother board P and a plurality of nozzles; and a control part 40 for controlling the locating mechanism and the work moving mechanism 20 so that when the mother board P is provided with a first area to be discharged in which a plurality of parts to be discharged are arranged in the row direction and in the column direction orthogonal to each other and a second area to be discharged different in the row direction and the column direction from the first area to be discharged, in a plane on the stage 5, the mother board P is located obliquely to the main scanning direction to perform main scanning for discharging liquid drops to the part to be discharged in the first area to be discharged and the part to be discharged in the second area to be discharged. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge device that discharges and draws a liquid containing a functional material as droplets, a liquid discharge method, and a color filter manufacturing method.

A typical example of forming various devices by discharging a liquid as droplets is a color filter used in a flat display. With the increase in the size of the display, a large mother substrate has been adopted in the production of color filters.
The size of the display with the highest production efficiency in terms of area is determined by the size of the mother board. In other words, in the case of an inefficient display size, an empty space is generated on the mother board. It is conceived to use this vacant space to impose displays of different sizes on one mother board.
However, the arrangement of the pixels may not be the same between the differently sized displays, and the arrangement of the filter elements of the corresponding color filter will be different. Therefore, the liquid material is formed as droplets on the surface of the mother substrate. It was necessary to devise a method for forming a filter element by discharging.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a droplet discharge device having posture positioning means capable of setting at least two postures by rotating an object to which liquid material droplets are discharged, and this liquid. A manufacturing method of a color filter using a droplet discharge device is disclosed.

  According to the above-described color filter manufacturing method, the filter element is formed by discharging the liquid material while changing the posture of the mother substrate with respect to the droplet discharge head in accordance with the arrangement state of the filter element on the mother substrate (object to be discharged). Is deposited.

JP 2003-307612 A

  However, in the above-described method for manufacturing a color filter, in a mother board on which color filters of different sizes are imposed, the orientation of the mother board is different when the arrangement direction of the filter elements is different from the case where the arrangement direction of the filter elements is the same. Therefore, the number of scans in which the liquid droplet ejection head and the mother substrate are opposed to each other and moved relatively increases, and there is a problem that productivity in manufacturing the color filter is lowered.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

  Application Example 1 In the liquid droplet ejection apparatus of this application example, the main scanning is performed during the relative movement of the plurality of nozzles arranged in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction and the substrate having the plurality of ejection target portions. A droplet discharge apparatus that discharges a liquid material as a droplet from a plurality of nozzles to the discharge target portion, a stage on which the substrate is placed, a moving mechanism that moves the stage in the main scanning direction, A positioning mechanism for positioning relative positions of the substrate and the plurality of nozzles; a first discharge region in which the plurality of discharge portions are arranged in a row direction and a column direction perpendicular to each other in the substrate; In the case where the second discharged region is different in the row direction and the column direction with respect to the first discharged region, the substrate is positioned obliquely with respect to the main scanning direction in a plane on the stage. The first discharge A controller for controlling the positioning mechanism and the moving mechanism so as to perform the main scanning for discharging the droplets to the discharged portion in the region and the discharged portion in the second discharged region; It is characterized by that.

  According to this configuration, the liquid droplets ejected from the nozzles in the main scanning land on the substrate so as to intersect the row direction or the column direction of the ejected part. Therefore, the sub-scanning direction in the sub-scanning direction can be made narrower compared to the case where the substrate is placed on the stage so that the row direction or the column direction matches the main scanning direction. Can do. Therefore, the ratio of the nozzles that can eject droplets of the plurality of nozzles, that is, the used nozzle ratio, in one of the plurality of nozzles in the first and second target areas is higher than that of the other target part. It can reduce that it falls remarkably. In other words, it is possible to provide a droplet discharge device that can efficiently discharge and land droplets on both discharged portions in one main scan.

Application Example 2 In the liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to the application example, the control unit has a substantial arrangement pitch in the sub-scanning direction of the ejection target part having a smaller arrangement pitch in the row direction or the column direction. It is preferable that the substrate is positioned obliquely in a plane on the stage so as to substantially match the nozzle interval of the plurality of nozzles in the sub-scanning direction.
According to this configuration, it is possible to apply the liquid material to the first and second discharge areas where the arrangement directions of the discharge sections on the substrate are different using a plurality of nozzles without waste.

Application Example 3 In the liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to the application example, the control unit has a substantial arrangement pitch in the sub-scanning direction of the ejection target part having a smaller arrangement pitch in the row direction or the column direction. The substrate may be positioned obliquely in a plane on the stage so as to be larger than the nozzle interval of the plurality of nozzles in the sub-scanning direction.
According to this configuration, the substrate is positioned so that more nozzles are applied to the discharge target portion having the smaller arrangement pitch in the row direction or the column direction during main scanning. Therefore, it is possible to more efficiently apply the liquid material to the first and second discharge regions where the arrangement directions of the discharge portions on the substrate are different.

Application Example 4 In the liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to the application example described above, the positioning mechanism includes a rotation mechanism that rotates the stage in a plane, and the control unit drives and controls the rotation mechanism to rotate the stage. It is preferable to position the substrate obliquely.
According to this configuration, if the rotation angle of the substrate in main scanning according to the arrangement of the discharge target portions on the substrate is determined in advance, the control unit can easily position the substrate according to the rotation angle. it can.

Application Example 5 In the droplet discharge device according to the application example described above, the substrate having the first discharge region and the second discharge region having different arrangements of the discharge portions may be disposed in a plane on the stage. The material may be supplied obliquely in advance.
According to this configuration, the substrate positioning time can be shortened and productivity can be improved as compared with the case where the substrate placed on the stage is rotated and arranged obliquely.

  Application Example 6 The liquid material ejection method of this application example is performed during main scanning in which a plurality of nozzles arranged in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction and a substrate having a plurality of ejection target parts are relatively moved. A liquid discharge method including a discharge step of discharging a liquid material as droplets from the plurality of nozzles to the discharge target portion, wherein the substrate has a row direction and a column direction in which the plurality of discharge target portions are orthogonal to each other. And a second discharge region in which the row direction and the column direction are different from each other with respect to the first discharge region. A positioning step of obliquely positioning the substrate with respect to the sub-scanning direction so that the row direction or the column direction intersects with the main scanning direction, and the first ejection target of the positioned substrate The discharged portion of the region and the second discharged region Characterized by the discharge of the liquid droplets wherein the and the prescribed portions.

  According to this method, the liquid droplets ejected from the nozzles in the main scanning land on the substrate so as to intersect the row direction or the column direction of the ejected portion. Therefore, compared to the case where the substrate is positioned so that the row direction or the column direction coincides with the main scanning direction, the substantial interval in the sub-scanning direction of the discharged portion can be narrowed. Therefore, the ratio of the nozzles that can eject droplets of the plurality of nozzles, that is, the used nozzle ratio, in one of the plurality of nozzles in the first and second target areas is higher than that of the other target part. It can reduce that it falls remarkably. In other words, it is possible to provide a method of discharging a liquid material that can efficiently discharge and land droplets on both discharged portions in one main scan.

Application Example 7 In the liquid material ejection method according to the application example described above, the positioning step includes a substantial arrangement pitch in the sub-scanning direction of the ejection target portion having a smaller arrangement pitch in the row direction or the column direction. However, it is preferable that the substrate is positioned obliquely with respect to the sub-scanning direction so as to substantially match the nozzle spacing of the plurality of nozzles in the sub-scanning direction.
According to this method, a plurality of nozzles can be used without waste, and the liquid material can be applied to the first and second discharge regions where the arrangement directions of the discharge portions on the substrate are different.

Application Example 8 In the liquid material ejection method according to the application example, the positioning step includes a substantial arrangement pitch in the sub-scanning direction of the ejection target portion having a smaller arrangement pitch in the row direction or the column direction. However, the substrate may be positioned obliquely with respect to the sub-scanning direction so as to be larger than the nozzle spacing of the plurality of nozzles in the sub-scanning direction.
According to this method, the substrate is positioned so that more nozzles are applied to the discharge target portion having the smaller arrangement pitch in the row direction or the column direction during main scanning. Therefore, it is possible to more efficiently apply the liquid material to the first and second discharge regions where the arrangement directions of the discharge portions on the substrate are different.

Application Example 9 A color filter manufacturing method according to this application example is a method of manufacturing a color filter having a plurality of colored layers in a plurality of film formation regions on a substrate, and the substrate is formed with the plurality of films. A first application region in which the regions are arranged in a row direction and a column direction orthogonal to each other; and a second application region in which the row direction and the column direction are different from the first application region. A discharge step of discharging a plurality of color liquid materials including a coloring layer forming material to the film formation region of the first application region and the film formation region of the second application region using the liquid discharge method of And a film forming step of solidifying the discharged liquid material to form the colored layers of the plurality of colors.
According to this method, it is possible to efficiently apply the liquid material even if the substrate has the first application region and the second application region in which the arrangement directions of the film formation regions are different. That is, it is possible to efficiently manufacture color filters having different application areas on the substrate.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
<Droplet ejection device>
First, the droplet discharge device of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the droplet discharge device.

As shown in FIG. 1, a droplet discharge device 10 of this embodiment includes a stage 5 on which a mother substrate P is placed, and a workpiece moving mechanism as a moving mechanism that moves the stage 5 in the main scanning direction (Y-axis direction). 20 and a head moving mechanism 30 that moves the head unit 9 in the sub-scanning direction (X-axis direction) orthogonal to the main scanning direction above the workpiece moving mechanism 20.
In addition, a pair of workpiece imaging units 13 provided at positions where the mother substrate P on the stage 5 can be viewed from above are provided. The workpiece imaging unit 13 is a camera including an imaging element such as a CCD, for example.

The workpiece moving mechanism 20 includes a pair of guide rails 21 and a moving table 22 that moves on the pair of guide rails 21, and the stage 5 is provided on the moving table 22.
The moving table 22 is moved in the main scanning direction by an air slider and a linear motor (not shown) provided inside. The moving table 22 is provided with an encoder 12 (see FIG. 4).

  The encoder 12 reads a scale of a linear scale (not shown) provided in parallel with the guide rail 21 as the moving base 22 moves in the main scanning direction, and generates an encoder pulse as a timing signal. The arrangement of the encoder 12 is not limited to this. For example, when the movable table 22 is configured to move in the Y-axis direction along the rotation axis, and a drive unit that rotates the rotation axis is provided, the encoder 12 12 may be provided in the drive unit. Examples of the drive unit include a servo motor.

  In addition, the head imaging unit 15 is attached to the movable base 22 so as to be directed upward, so that the head imaging unit 15 can be moved to a position where the head unit 9 faces from below. The head imaging unit 15 is a camera provided with an imaging element such as a CCD, for example, similarly to the workpiece imaging unit 13.

  The stage 5 can suck and fix the mother substrate P, and includes a rotation mechanism 6 that rotates the mother substrate P in a plane on the stage 5. The rotation mechanism 6 can accurately align the reference axis in the mother substrate P with the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction.

  The head moving mechanism 30 includes a pair of guide rails 31 and a moving table 32 that moves on the pair of guide rails 31 by a driving source such as a linear motor. The carriage 8 is attached to the moving table 32. .

A head unit 9 and a rotation mechanism 7 that rotates the head unit 9 in a plane facing the upper surface of the stage 5 are attached to the carriage 8.
A droplet discharge head 50 (see FIG. 2), which will be described later, is mounted on the head unit 9 facing downward.

  The carriage 8 has a liquid material supply mechanism (not shown) for supplying a liquid material to the mounted droplet discharge heads 50 and an electric drive control for the plurality of droplet discharge heads 50. A head driver 48 (see FIG. 4) is provided.

  The moving table 32 moves the carriage 8 in the sub-scanning direction, and the droplet discharge head 50 mounted on the head unit 9 is disposed to face the mother substrate P. Further, the head unit 9 can be disposed opposite to the head imaging unit 15.

  In the droplet discharge device 10 of this embodiment, as described above, the rotating mechanism 6 that rotates the stage 5, the moving base 32 that moves the carriage 8, the rotating mechanism 7 that rotates the head unit 9, the workpiece imaging unit 13, and the head The imaging unit 15 and the like constitute a positioning mechanism that positions the relative positions of the mother substrate P and the droplet discharge head 50.

In addition to the above-described configuration, the droplet discharge device 10 has a maintenance mechanism (not shown) that performs maintenance such as eliminating nozzle clogging of the droplet discharge head 50 mounted on the carriage 8 and removing foreign matter and dirt on the nozzle surface. Is disposed at a position along the head moving mechanism 30.
Further, a weight measuring mechanism (not shown) having a measuring instrument such as an electronic balance for receiving the liquid material discharged from the droplet discharge head 50 and measuring the weight thereof is provided. Furthermore, the control part 40 which controls these structures collectively is provided.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a droplet discharge head. FIG. 4A is a perspective view, and FIG. 4B is a plan view showing a nozzle arrangement state.

As shown in FIG. 2, the droplet discharge head 50 has a so-called double structure, a liquid material introduction portion 53 having two connection needles 54, a head substrate 55 laminated on the introduction portion 53, A head body 56 disposed on the head substrate 55 and having a liquid-in-head flow path formed therein.
The connection needle 54 is connected to the above-described liquid material supply mechanism (not shown) via a pipe, and supplies the liquid material to the flow path in the head.
The head substrate 55 is provided with two connectors 58 connected to the head driver 48 (see FIG. 4) via a flexible flat cable (not shown).

  The head main body 56 includes a pressurizing unit 57 having a cavity made of a piezoelectric element, and a nozzle plate 51 in which two nozzle rows 52a and 52b are formed in parallel to each other on the nozzle surface 51a.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, in the two nozzle rows 52a and 52b, a plurality (180) of nozzles 52 are arranged at substantially equal intervals with a pitch P1, and the pitch P2 is shifted by half of the pitch P1. In this state, the nozzle plate 51 is disposed. In this case, the pitch P1 is approximately 141 μm. Accordingly, when viewed from the direction orthogonal to the nozzle row 52c, 360 nozzles 52 are arranged at a nozzle pitch of approximately 70.5 μm. In the following description, the interval between the nozzles 52 is the nozzle pitch P2. The diameter of the nozzle 52 is approximately 27 μm.

  In the present embodiment, in consideration of the variation in the discharge amount of the droplets discharged from each nozzle 52, the 20 nozzles 52 at both ends of the nozzle row 52c are not used. Therefore, the effective number of nozzles in the substantial nozzle row 52c is 320. Hereinafter, the nozzle row 52c refers to a nozzle composed of effective nozzles 52.

  In the droplet discharge head 50, when a drive signal as an electric signal is applied from the head driver 48 to the piezoelectric element, the volume of the cavity of the pressurizing unit 57 fluctuates. The liquid material can be discharged as droplets from the nozzle 52 under pressure.

The driving means in the droplet discharge head 50 is not limited to a piezoelectric element. An electromechanical conversion element that displaces a diaphragm as an actuator by electrostatic adsorption, or an electrothermal conversion element (thermal method) that heats a liquid material and discharges it from a nozzle 52 as droplets may be used.
Further, the number of nozzle rows 52c provided in the droplet discharge head 50 is not limited to two, and may be one.

  FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view showing the arrangement of the droplet discharge heads in the head unit. Specifically, it is a view seen from the side facing the mother substrate P. FIG. 3B is a schematic plan view showing a method for arranging a plurality of head units.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the head unit 9 includes three types of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) containing colored layer forming material on a head plate 9a having a parallelogram shape. The three droplet discharge heads 50 for discharging the liquid material are regarded as one group, and the four head groups 50A, 50B, 50C and 50D are arranged in the sub-scanning direction (X-axis direction) and the main scanning direction (Y-axis direction). Two groups each are arranged. Then, two head groups 50C, 50D are provided with an interval in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the two head groups 50A, 50B arranged in the main scanning direction.

Each head group 50A, 50B, 50C, 50D is mounted on the head unit 9 in a state in which the positions of the end portions of the nozzle rows 52c that discharge different types of liquid materials are shifted from each other.
The deviation amount in this case is a value obtained by dividing the total length of the nozzle row 52c (equivalent to 320 effective nozzles) by one nozzle pitch P2 by the number of types of liquids to be ejected. That is, ((P2 × 319) + P2) / 3 = (P2 × 320) / 3.
Accordingly, when viewed from the main scanning direction (Y-axis direction), the nozzles 52 of the head R1 and the head R2 that discharge the same kind of liquid material are arranged in a state where 320 × 2 = 640 nozzles are continuous at the nozzle pitch P2. Yes. The same applies to each droplet discharge head 50 that discharges the same kind of liquid material of the head G1 and the head G2, and the head B1 and the head B2. Further, in the head group 50A, the end portions of the nozzle rows 52c of the head R1, the head G1, and the head B1 that discharge different types of liquid materials are farthest from each other because they are shifted by (P2 × 320) / 3. It is in a state of being arranged at a position. The same applies to the other head groups 50B, 50C, 50D.

  In addition, the interval between the nozzle rows 52c of the droplet discharge heads 50 that discharge the same type of liquid that is located closest to each other when viewed from the main scanning direction is a length obtained by adding one nozzle pitch P2 to the entire length of the nozzle rows 52c. Furthermore, the length is set to a length obtained by adding one nozzle pitch P2 to a natural number multiple of a value obtained by multiplying the number of head groups arranged in the main scanning direction (Y-axis direction). That is, in this case, the interval between the nozzle rows 52c of the head R2 and the head R3 is ((P2 × 319) + P2) × 2 (number of head groups) × 1 (natural number) + P2 = (P2 × 320) × 2 + P2. ing.

  The head plate 9 a is provided with a pair of alignment marks 9 b that define the posture of the head unit 9 and the position of each droplet discharge head 50. In other words, each droplet discharge head 50 is attached to the head plate 9a using the pair of alignment marks 9b as a position reference. The head imaging unit 15 (see FIG. 1) is opposed to the head unit 9 at a position facing the alignment mark 9b, and positional information of the head unit 9 is obtained based on the captured image, and the carriage 8 (FIG. 1). The posture of the head unit 9 is adjusted by rotating the rotating mechanism 7 (see FIG. 1) that supports the head unit 9. Specifically, positioning is performed so that a straight line connecting the pair of alignment marks 9b matches the main scanning direction (Y-axis direction).

  When the head moving mechanism 30 is provided with a plurality of moving bases 32, as shown in FIG. 3B, the interval L2 between the adjacent head units 9 discharges the same type of liquid material arranged mutually. Among the plurality of droplet discharge heads 50, the interval between the nozzle rows 52c of the droplet discharge heads 50 that are closest to each other when viewed from the main scanning direction adds one nozzle pitch P2 to the entire length of the nozzle row 52c. It is set to be a length obtained by adding one nozzle pitch P2 to a natural number times a value obtained by multiplying the length by the number of head groups arranged in the main scanning direction. For example, the interval between the nozzle rows 52c of the head R4 and the head R5 is such that ((P2 × 319) + P2) × 2 (number of head groups) × 1 (natural number) + P2 = (P2 × 320) × 2 + P2. L2 is set.

  If this head unit 9 (in other words, the carriage 8) is used to repeat main scanning in the Y-axis direction and sub-scanning that moves at intervals of (P2 × 320) × 2 + P2 in the X-axis direction, the sub-scanning direction It is possible to discharge three different liquid materials in a continuous drawing range. Details will be described later.

  Next, the control system of the droplet discharge device 10 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system of the droplet discharge device. As shown in FIG. 4, the control system of the droplet discharge apparatus 10 includes a drive unit 46 having various drivers for driving the droplet discharge head 50, the workpiece moving mechanism 20, the head moving mechanism 30, and the like, and the drive unit 46. And a control unit 40 for controlling the droplet discharge device 10.

  The driving unit 46 includes a moving driver 47 that drives and controls the linear motors of the workpiece moving mechanism 20 and the head moving mechanism 30, and a head driver 48 as a head driving unit that controls the droplet discharge head 50. Yes. In addition to this, a weight measurement driver and a maintenance driver are provided, but they are not shown.

  The control unit 40 includes a CPU 41, a ROM 42, a RAM 43, and a P-CON 44, which are connected to each other via a bus 45. The host computer 11 is connected to the P-CON 44. The ROM 42 has a control program area for storing a control program to be processed by the CPU 41, and a control data area for storing control data for performing a drawing operation, a function recovery process, and the like.

  The RAM 43 is a drawing data storage unit that stores drawing data for performing drawing on the mother substrate P, and a position data storage unit that stores position data of the mother substrate P and the droplet discharge head 50 (actually, the nozzle row 52c). Are used as various work areas for control processing. Various drivers and the like of the drive unit 46 are connected to the P-CON 44, and the logic circuit for supplementing the function of the CPU 41 and handling interface signals with peripheral circuits is configured and incorporated. For this reason, the P-CON 44 receives various commands from the host computer 11 as they are or processes them and loads them into the bus 45, and in conjunction with the CPU 41, the data and control signals output from the CPU 41 and the like to the bus 45 are directly received. Or it processes and outputs to the drive part 46. FIG.

  Then, the CPU 41 inputs various detection signals, various commands, various data, etc. via the P-CON 44 according to the control program in the ROM 42, processes various data, etc. in the RAM 43, and then drives via the P-CON 44. The entire droplet discharge device 10 is controlled by outputting various control signals to the unit 46 and the like. For example, the CPU 41 controls the droplet discharge head 50, the workpiece moving mechanism 20, and the head moving mechanism 30 to place the head unit 9 and the mother substrate P so as to face each other. Then, in synchronization with the relative movement between the head unit 9 and the mother substrate P, the liquid material is discharged as droplets from the plurality of nozzles 52 of each droplet discharge head 50 mounted on the head unit 9 to the mother substrate P. A control signal is sent to the head driver 48. In this case, discharging the liquid material in synchronization with the movement of the mother substrate P in the Y-axis direction is called main scanning, and moving the head unit 9 in the X-axis direction is called sub-scanning. The droplet discharge device 10 of this embodiment can discharge and draw a liquid material by combining main scanning and sub-scanning and repeating a plurality of times. The main scanning is not limited to the movement of the mother substrate P in one direction with respect to the droplet discharge head 50, but can be performed by reciprocating the mother substrate P.

  The encoder 12 is electrically connected to the head driver 48, and generates an encoder pulse with main scanning. In the main scanning, the moving table 22 is moved at a predetermined moving speed, so that encoder pulses are periodically generated. By counting the encoder pulses, the droplet discharge timing in the main scanning direction is defined.

  The workpiece imaging unit 13 is electrically connected to the P-CON 44, and can send out the image information of the captured mother board P as the position information of the mother board P converted into bitmap data. The position information of the mother board P is temporarily stored in the RAM 43 and used when the mother board P is positioned.

  The head imaging unit 15 is electrically connected to the P-CON, and can send out the image information of the imaged head unit 9 as position information of the head unit 9 converted into bitmap data. The position information of the head unit 9 is temporarily stored in the RAM 43 and is used at the time of positioning including the posture adjustment of the head unit 9 described above, that is, at the time of positioning of the droplet discharge head 50.

  The host computer 11 sends control information such as a control program and control data to the droplet discharge device 10. In addition, it has a function of an arrangement information generation unit that generates arrangement information as discharge control data for arranging a required amount of liquid as droplets for each target portion on the mother substrate P. The arrangement information includes the droplet ejection position (in other words, the relative position between the mother substrate P and the nozzle 52), the number of droplets disposed (in other words, the number of ejections for each nozzle 52), and a plurality of main scanning information. The information such as ON / OFF of the nozzle 52 and the discharge timing is represented as a bitmap, for example. The host computer 11 can not only generate the arrangement information but also modify the arrangement information once stored in the RAM 43.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the discharge drawing operation of the droplet discharge device. Specifically, FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of head units in the first main scanning, and FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of head units in the second main scanning. The square width in the sub-scanning direction indicating the droplet discharge head 50 indicates the drawing width L1 at which droplets can be discharged by one nozzle row 52c.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the control unit 40 drives the linear motor of the head moving mechanism 30 to move the carriage 8 and position the head unit 9 with respect to the mother substrate P. In the first main scan, the head B4 (droplet discharge head 50) of the head group 50D positions the end in the X-axis direction of the entire drawing area of the mother substrate P at a position where drawing can be performed. Further, the interval L2 between the adjacent head units 9 can discharge the same type of liquid material arranged mutually as described above, and is an effective nozzle row 52c of the head B1 and the head B8 located closest to each other. The head movement is performed so that the interval is equal to a length obtained by adding one nozzle pitch P2 to a value obtained by adding one nozzle pitch P2 to the entire length of the nozzle row 52c, that is, (P2 × 320) × 2 + P2. It is adjusted by the mechanism 30.

The control unit 40 drives the linear motor of the workpiece moving mechanism 20 to move the mother substrate P placed on the stage 5 in the Y-axis direction (main scanning direction). Different types of liquid materials are ejected from 50 and drawn. Thus, the head B3 and the head B4 is possible drawing width and drawing the width Eb ₁ for the first time, of all the drawing area of the mother substrate P, at a distance in the sub-scanning direction (P2 × 320) × 2 + P2 In the divided drawing area having the drawn width Eb ₁ , the blue (B) liquid is discharged. The same applies to the droplet discharge head 50 that discharges other different types of liquid materials.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, the control unit 40 performs a line feed operation for moving each head unit 9 by a distance (P2 × 320) × 2 + P2 in the sub-scanning direction. Then, the drawing operation by the second main scanning is performed. When the head B3 and the head B4 is the width Eb ₂ drawable drawing width a second time, since the width Eb ₁ = width _{Eb 2 = (P2 × 319)} × 2 + P2, at the time of the second drawing operation is completed Different liquid materials can be discharged and drawn in the entire drawing region of the mother substrate P. At the end of the entire drawing area of the mother substrate P in the X-axis direction, an area that cannot be drawn by the head G4 and the head R4 is generated. Therefore, the control unit 40 drives the head moving mechanism 30 to draw each of the head units 9 according to the amount of deviation of the end of the nozzle row 52c of each droplet discharge head 50 and drawing by main scanning. Repeat the operation. Accordingly, different types of liquid materials can be discharged to the entire drawing region without unevenness by making maximum use of the nozzle rows 52c of the plurality of droplet discharge heads 50. Needless to say, the number of head units 9 (carriages 8) supported by the head moving mechanism 30 so as to be independently movable depends on the size of the mother substrate P.

  The amount of the liquid material applied to the mother substrate P varies depending on the planar and three-dimensional sizes of the discharged portion, the thickness of the thin film formed on the discharged portion, and the like. Based on the discharge amount, the number of main scanning and line feed operations may be set so that the necessary amount of liquid can be secured.

  In the droplet discharge device 10 of the present embodiment, the control unit 40 performs a stage based on the positional information of the mother substrate P obtained by the workpiece imaging unit 13 and the positional information of the head unit 9 obtained by the head imaging unit 15. The rotation mechanism 6 provided in 5 is driven and controlled. As a result, the mother substrate in the plane on the stage 5 is suitable so that the relative arrangement of the droplet discharge head 50 and the mother substrate P in the main scanning is suitable according to the arrangement of the discharge target portions on the mother substrate P. Positioning operation for positioning P is performed. In detail, it demonstrates in the manufacturing method of the color filter mentioned later.

<Color filter manufacturing method>
Next, a method for manufacturing a color filter using the droplet discharge device 10 and the liquid material discharge method of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6A is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the color filter, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ in FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method for manufacturing a color filter. 8A to 8D are schematic cross-sectional views showing a method for manufacturing a color filter. 9 to 11 are schematic plan views showing a liquid material discharge method.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the color filter 2 is a colored layer that is a filter element of three colors red (R), green (G), and blue (B) on a substrate 1 such as transparent glass. 3. Each colored layer 3 is partitioned in a matrix by partition walls 4. The color filter 2 of the present embodiment is a so-called stripe type color filter in which colored layers 3 of the same color are arranged linearly.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, the partition 4 has a two-layer structure including a first partition 4a and a second partition 4b. The first partition 4a is made of, for example, a metal thin film such as Cr or Al and has a light shielding property. The 2nd partition part 4b consists of resin materials, for example. In addition, it is not limited to a two-layer structure, The single layer structure which comprises the partition part 4 with the resin material containing the member which has light-shielding property may be sufficient.

  The colored layer 3 is made of a translucent resin material containing a coloring material. In the present embodiment, such a color filter 2 is manufactured using a droplet discharge method (inkjet method).

  As shown in FIG. 7, the manufacturing method of the color filter 2 includes a partition wall forming step for forming the partition wall portion 4 (step S1) and a surface treatment process for surface-treating the surface of the substrate 1 on which the partition wall portion 4 is formed (step S1). Step S2), a liquid discharge step (Step S3) for discharging the liquid containing the colored layer forming material, and a drying step (Step S4) for drying the discharged liquid to form the colored layer 3 It is basically provided.

In step S <b> 1 of FIG. 7, first, a metal thin film such as Cr or Al is formed on the surface of the substrate 1. Examples of the film forming method include a vacuum deposition method and a sputtering method. The film thickness is, for example, about 0.1 μm so as to obtain a light shielding property. This is patterned by a photolithography method to form a first partition 4a having an opening.
Next, a photosensitive resin is applied to a thickness of about 2 μm so as to cover the first partition wall portion 4a, and patterned by the same photolithography method to form the second partition wall portion 4b on the first partition wall portion 4a. As a result, rectangular film formation regions 3r, 3g, and 3b serving as discharged portions opened on the substrate 1 are formed as shown in FIG. Then, the process proceeds to step S2.

  In step S2 of FIG. 7, the surface of the substrate 1 is subjected to a lyophilic process so that the discharged liquid material lands on the film formation regions 3r, 3g, and 3b and spreads in the subsequent liquid material discharge process. In addition, at least the top of the second partition wall portion 4b is subjected to a liquid repellent treatment so that even if a part of the discharged liquid material lands on the second partition wall portion 4b, the liquid material is accommodated in the film forming regions 3r, 3g, 3b.

As the surface treatment method, a plasma treatment using O ₂ as a treatment gas and a plasma treatment using a fluorine-based gas as a treatment gas are performed on the substrate 1 on which the partition walls 4 are formed. That is, the film formation regions 3r, 3g, and 3b are subjected to lyophilic treatment, and then the surface (including the wall surface) of the second partition wall portion 4b made of a photosensitive resin is subjected to lyophobic treatment. In addition, if the material itself which forms the 2nd partition part 4b has liquid repellency, the latter process can also be skipped. Then, the process proceeds to step S3.

In step S <b> 3 of FIG. 7, the surface-treated substrate 1 is placed on the stage 5 of the droplet discharge device 10. Three color liquids containing different colored layer forming materials are respectively discharged. Therefore, the configuration of the head unit 9 shown in FIG. 3 is adopted.
Then, as shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, in synchronization with the relative movement of the substrate 1 and the droplet discharge head 50 in the main scanning direction, three colors from the nozzle 52 of the droplet discharge head 50 are obtained. Each of the liquid materials is discharged as droplets D to the desired film formation regions 3r, 3g, 3b. The amount of liquid applied to the film forming regions 3r, 3g, 3b is determined by the selection pattern of the nozzles 52 selected in advance for each of the film forming regions 3r, 3g, 3b and the number of droplets D discharged for each main scan. On the basis of the ejection data set to, an appropriate control signal is sent from the CPU 41 of the control unit 40 to the head driver 48 and controlled. As a result, a substantially constant amount of liquid is applied to each of the film forming regions 3r, 3g, 3b. Then, the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S4 of FIG. 7, as shown in FIG. 8D, the solvent component is evaporated from the liquid material discharged to the substrate 1 to form the colored layer 3 made of the colored layer forming material. In the present embodiment, the substrate 1 is set in a reduced pressure drying apparatus capable of drying with a constant vapor pressure of the solvent and dried under reduced pressure to form the colored layers 3 of R, G, B, three colors. The process of discharging and drying one color liquid may be repeated three times.

  In the previous liquid discharge step (step S3), a substantially constant amount of liquid is applied without waste to each of the film forming regions 3r, 3g, 3b, so that the colored layer 3 having a substantially constant film thickness is formed. can do. In addition, what is necessary is just to set the film thickness of the colored layer 3 for every color, and three colors do not necessarily need to be the same. Based on the setting of the required film thickness, a required amount of liquid may be discharged to the corresponding film forming regions 3r, 3g, 3b.

  When unevenness occurs on the surface of the substrate 1 on which the colored layer 3 is formed, a planarizing layer made of a translucent acrylic resin material, for example, covering the partition wall 4 and each colored layer 3 may be formed. Good.

  The size of the substrate 1 on which the color filter 2 is formed depends on the size of a display device using the substrate. Further, even if the display devices have the same size, when the pixels are arranged at high density, the arrangement of the colored layers 3 of the corresponding color filter 2 is also required to be arranged at high density.

  As a method for more efficiently producing the substrate 1 having the color filter 2, generally, a method of taking a multi-surface pattern on the mother substrate P having a larger planar size than the substrate 1 is employed. However, depending on the size of the mother substrate P, the efficiency size of the substrate 1 that can be efficiently multi-planar in area is limited. When multiple substrates 1 other than the efficiency size are formed on the mother substrate P, a useless area is generated. In order to avoid this, there is a method in which a plurality of types of color filters 2 having different planar sizes are combined and multi-sided from the mother substrate P.

  In the manufacturing method of the color filter 2 using the droplet discharge device 10 and the liquid discharge method of the present embodiment, the color filter 2 can be manufactured with high productivity when performing the above-described multi-cavity. Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining a liquid material discharge method, showing the arrangement of color filters on the mother substrate and the relative arrangement of the mother substrate and the head unit.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the mother substrate P has a plurality of color filters E1 and a color filter E2 having a size smaller than that of the color filter E1. Here, since the liquids of three colors are not yet discharged, the partition walls 4 are formed in each of them. Therefore, the color filter E1 is treated as the first application area (or first discharge area), and the color filter E2 is handled as the second application area (or second discharge area).

  A total of four first application regions E1 are arranged in a matrix at two predetermined intervals along the outer shape of the square mother substrate P. Seven areas of the mother substrate P that are left over by imposing the first application area E1 are imprinted with seven second application areas E2 at predetermined intervals along the long side of the mother substrate P.

  In the arrangement of the film formation regions 3r, 3g, 3b in the first application region E1, the long side of the rectangular shape is parallel to the short side of the mother substrate P. In other words, the stripe direction of the colored layer 3 is a direction along the short side of the mother substrate P.

  On the other hand, in the arrangement of the film formation regions 3r ′, 3g ′, 3b ′ in the second application region E2, the long side of the rectangular shape is parallel to the long side of the mother substrate P. That is, the stripe directions of both colored layers 3 are arranged to be orthogonal to each other. Hereinafter, the stripe direction is referred to as a column direction, and the direction orthogonal to the stripe direction is referred to as a row direction.

A pair of cross-shaped alignment marks AL1 and AL2 are formed on the surface of the mother substrate P along the short side. Further, an alignment mark serving as the rotation center P ₀ is formed at substantially the center of the mother substrate P. Therefore, this is sometimes called an alignment mark P ₀ .

  In each head unit 9 (head units u1 to u6), the posture of each head unit 9 and the interval between the head units u1 to u6 in the X-axis direction are adjusted based on image information captured in advance by the head imaging unit 15. Is positioned.

In the liquid discharge process in step S3 in FIG. 7, first, the mother substrate P is placed on the stage 5. The mother substrate P is placed on the stage 5 so that the pair of alignment marks AL1 and AL2 are along the head moving mechanism 30. Further, the alignment mark P ₀ of the mother substrate P and the rotation center C ₀ of the rotation mechanism 6 provided on the stage 5 are placed so as to substantially coincide with each other.
Thus, the workpiece imaging unit 13 provided along the head moving mechanism 30 can image the pair of alignment marks AL1 and AL2.
The control unit 40 drives and controls the rotation mechanism 6 based on the captured image information, slightly rotates the stage 5 so that the reference axis of the mother substrate P coincides with the X axis and the Y axis, and once the mother substrate P Positioning.

  10A and 10B are schematic plan views showing the relative arrangement of the film formation region and the plurality of nozzles. In the initial positioning of the mother substrate P, the relative arrangement of the film formation regions 3r, 3g, 3b in the first application region E1 is such that film formation is performed with respect to the nozzle row 52c, as shown in FIG. The column directions of the regions 3r, 3g, 3b are in a parallel state. From the relationship with the nozzle pitch P2, if the main scanning is performed as it is, three nozzles 52 are applied to one film formation region 3r. In other words, at least three droplets D can be landed on one film formation region 3r.

  On the other hand, the relative arrangement of the film formation regions 3r ′, 3g ′, 3b ′ in the second application region E2 is as shown in FIG. 10B with respect to the nozzle row 52c. The row directions of “, 3b” are in a state of being orthogonal. In this case, the arrangement pitch GPx in the sub-scanning direction (X-axis direction) of the film formation regions 3r ′, 3g ′, 3b ′ is smaller than the film formation regions 3r, 3g, 3b and is an integer with respect to the nozzle pitch P2. Since the relationship is not doubled, if the main scanning is performed as it is, one nozzle 52 is not necessarily applied to one film forming region 3r ′. In other words, in one main scan, the droplet D cannot be landed on all of the film formation regions 3r 'where it is desired to discharge the same type of liquid.

FIG. 11A is a schematic plan view showing a rotation state of the mother substrate, and FIGS. 11B and 11C are schematic views showing a relative arrangement of the film formation region after rotation and a plurality of nozzles.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11A, the control unit 40 drives and controls the rotation mechanism 6, rotates the stage 5, and positions the mother substrate P obliquely. The rotation angle with respect to the main scanning direction is given by θ.

  As shown in FIG. 11C, the control unit 40 makes the arrangement pitch GPx in the sub-scanning direction of the rotated film formation regions 3r ′, 3g ′, 3b ′ substantially match the nozzle pitch P2. The mother substrate P is rotated. The rotation angle θ is calculated in advance from design information for imposition of the first application region E1 and the second application region E2 on the mother substrate P. Alternatively, the arrangement information of the film formation regions 3r, 3g, 3b, 3r ′, 3g ′, 3b ′ may be obtained from the image information captured by the workpiece imaging unit 13, and the rotation angle θ may be calculated by the CPU 41.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 11B, in the first application region E1, the number of nozzles 52 applied to the film forming regions 3r, 3g, 3b does not change in the main scanning, and is shown in FIG. 11C. As described above, in the second application region E2, one nozzle 52 is applied to the film formation region 3r ′ where the same kind of liquid material is to be discharged as the droplet D. That is, at least one droplet D can be landed on the same kind of film formation region 3r ′. The same applies to the other film forming regions 3g ′ and 3b ′.

In order to increase the number of nozzles that can eject droplets D in the main scanning according to the design dimensions of the film formation regions 3r, 3g, 3b and the film formation regions 3r ′, 3g ′, 3b ′, the film formation regions after rotation The rotation angle θ may be set so that the arrangement pitch GPx of 3r ′, 3g ′, and 3b ′ in the substantial sub-scanning direction is larger than the nozzle pitch P2.
As a result, more nozzles 52 are applied to the film forming regions 3r ′, 3g ′, 3b ′ having a substantially small arrangement pitch in the sub-scanning direction in the main scanning. That is, the use nozzle rate is improved.

The shape and arrangement of the film forming areas 3r, 3g, 3b, 3r ′, 3g ′, 3b ′, the arrangement of the first application area E1 and the second application area E2 on the mother substrate P (in other words, filter elements having different arrangements are arranged. The arrangement of the plurality of types of color filters 2 is a design matter. Therefore, changing the rotation angle θ for obliquely positioning the mother substrate P every time the imposition state on the mother substrate P is different complicates the manufacturing process. Therefore, the most common rotation angle θ may be calculated from various assumed imposition states of the color filter 2 to always position the mother substrate P obliquely at a constant angle.
By doing so, it is possible to create data on the arrangement information of the droplets D in the film formation regions 3r, 3g, 3b, 3r ′, 3g ′, 3b ′ under the same conditions. That is, the arrangement information generation work can be reduced.

According to the droplet discharge device 10 and the color filter manufacturing method of the above embodiment, even if a plurality of types of color filters 2 having differently arranged filter elements are multifaceted on the mother substrate P, mutual film formation is performed. With respect to the regions 3r, 3g, 3b, 3r ′, 3g ′, and 3b ′, a suitable arrangement of the nozzles 52 in the main scanning can be realized, and the droplets D can be efficiently discharged.
That is, the number of times of main scanning is reduced because it is not necessary to change the posture of the mother substrate P during main scanning as compared with the case of performing main scanning with the posture of the mother substrate P changed according to the arrangement of the filter elements. Thus, a multifaceted color filter can be manufactured with high productivity.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a method for manufacturing an organic EL element to which the droplet discharge device 10 and the liquid discharge method of the first embodiment are applied will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main structure of the organic EL device, and FIGS. 13A to 13F are schematic cross-sectional views showing a method for manufacturing an organic EL element.

<Organic EL device>
As shown in FIG. 12, the organic EL device 600 of this embodiment includes an element substrate 601 having a light emitting element portion 603 as an organic EL element, and a sealing substrate 620 sealed with a space 622 from the element substrate 601. And. The element substrate 601 includes a circuit element portion 602 on the element substrate 601, and the light emitting element portion 603 is formed so as to overlap the circuit element portion 602 and is driven by the circuit element portion 602. In the light-emitting element portion 603, three-color light-emitting layers 617R, 617G, and 617B made of an organic light-emitting material are formed in the light-emitting layer forming region A as each film forming region, and are in a stripe shape. The element substrate 601 includes three light emitting layer forming regions A corresponding to the three color light emitting layers 617R, 617G, and 617B as a set of picture elements, and the picture elements are arranged in a matrix on the circuit element portion 602 of the element substrate 601. It is arranged. That is, the light emitting layer forming regions A of different colors are arranged in the row direction, and the light emitting layer forming regions A of the same color are arranged in the column direction. The organic EL device 600 emits light from the light emitting element portion 603 to the element substrate 601 side.

  The sealing substrate 620 is made of glass or metal, and is bonded to the element substrate 601 via a sealing resin. A getter agent 621 is attached to the sealed inner surface. The getter agent 621 absorbs water or oxygen that has entered the space 622 between the element substrate 601 and the sealing substrate 620 and prevents the light emitting element portion 603 from being deteriorated by the water or oxygen that has entered. The getter agent 621 may be omitted.

  The element substrate 601 has a plurality of light emitting layer forming regions A on the circuit element unit 602, and is formed in the banks 618 partitioning the plurality of light emitting layer forming regions A and the plurality of light emitting layer forming regions A. An electrode 613 and a hole injection / transport layer 617a stacked on the electrode 613 are provided. In addition, a light emitting element portion 603 having light emitting layers 617R, 617G, and 617B formed by applying three kinds of liquid materials including a light emitting layer forming material in a plurality of light emitting layer forming regions A is provided. The bank 618 is formed using an insulating material and covers the periphery of the electrode 613 so that the light emitting layers 617R, 617G, and 617B stacked on the hole injection / transport layer 617a and the electrode 613 are not electrically short-circuited. ing.

  The element substrate 601 is made of a transparent substrate such as glass, for example. A base protective film 606 made of a silicon oxide film is formed on the element substrate 601, and an island-like semiconductor film made of polycrystalline silicon is formed on the base protective film 606. 607 is formed. Note that a source region 607a and a drain region 607b are formed in the semiconductor film 607 by high concentration P ion implantation. A portion where P ions are not introduced is a channel region 607c. Further, a transparent gate insulating film 608 covering the base protective film 606 and the semiconductor film 607 is formed, and a gate electrode 609 made of Al, Mo, Ta, Ti, W, or the like is formed on the gate insulating film 608, and the gate electrode 609 is formed. A transparent first interlayer insulating film 611a and a second interlayer insulating film 611b are formed on the gate insulating film 608. The gate electrode 609 is provided at a position corresponding to the channel region 607 c of the semiconductor film 607. Further, contact holes 612a and 612b are formed through the first interlayer insulating film 611a and the second interlayer insulating film 611b and connected to the source region 607a and the drain region 607b of the semiconductor film 607, respectively. A transparent electrode 613 made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) or the like is patterned and arranged in a predetermined shape on the second interlayer insulating film 611b, and one contact hole 612a is connected to the electrode 613. The other contact hole 612 b is connected to the power supply line 614. In this manner, the driving thin film transistor 615 connected to each electrode 613 is formed in the circuit element portion 602. Note that a storage capacitor and a switching thin film transistor are also formed in the circuit element portion 602, but these are not shown in FIG.

  The light-emitting element portion 603 includes an electrode 613 serving as an anode, a hole injection / transport layer 617a sequentially stacked on the electrode 613, light-emitting layers 617R, 617G, and 617B (collectively, light-emitting layer Lu), a bank 618, A cathode 604 is provided so as to cover the light emitting layer Lu. The hole injection / transport layer 617a and the light emitting layer Lu constitute a functional layer 617 in which light emission is excited. Note that if the cathode 604, the sealing substrate 620, and the getter agent 621 are formed of a transparent material, light emitted from the sealing substrate 620 side can be emitted.

  The organic EL device 600 has a scanning line (not shown) connected to the gate electrode 609 and a signal line (not shown) connected to the source region 607a, and a switching thin film transistor by a scanning signal transmitted to the scanning line. When (not shown) is turned on, the potential of the signal line at that time is held in the storage capacitor, and the on / off state of the driving thin film transistor 615 is determined according to the state of the storage capacitor. Then, current flows from the power supply line 614 to the electrode 613 through the channel region 607c of the driving thin film transistor 615, and further current flows to the cathode 604 through the hole injection / transport layer 617a and the light emitting layer Lu. The light emitting layer Lu emits light according to the amount of current flowing through it. The organic EL device 600 can display desired characters, images, and the like by such a light emission mechanism of the light emitting element portion 603. In the organic EL device 600, since the light emitting layer Lu uses the droplet discharge device 10 of the first embodiment and is formed by using the liquid material discharge method of the first embodiment, a substantially constant amount of light is emitted. The liquid material is applied to each light emitting layer forming region A, and has high display quality with few display defects such as light emission unevenness and luminance unevenness and enables high-definition display.

<Method for producing organic EL element>
Next, the manufacturing method of the light emitting element part 603 as an organic EL element of this embodiment is demonstrated with reference to FIG. In FIGS. 13A to 13F, the circuit element portion 602 formed on the element substrate 601 is not shown.

  In the manufacturing method of the light emitting element portion 603 of this embodiment, the step of forming the electrode 613 at a position corresponding to the plurality of light emitting layer forming regions A of the element substrate 601 and the bank 618 are formed so as to partially cover the electrode 613. And a bank forming process. Further, the surface treatment of the light emitting layer forming region A partitioned by the bank 618, and the surface treatment of the light emitting layer forming region A with a liquid containing a hole injecting / transporting layer forming material are performed. A step of discharging and drawing the transport layer 617a and a step of forming a hole injection / transport layer 617a by drying the discharged liquid material are provided. Further, a discharge step of discharging three types of liquid materials including the light emitting layer forming material into the light emitting layer forming region A, and a film forming step of forming the light emitting layer Lu by drying the three types of discharged liquid materials. I have. Further, a step of forming a cathode 604 so as to cover the bank 618 and the light emitting layer Lu is provided. The application of each liquid material to the light emitting layer forming region A is performed using the liquid droplet ejection apparatus 100 of the first embodiment and the liquid material ejection method of the first embodiment. Therefore, the arrangement of the droplet discharge heads 50 in the head unit 9 shown in FIG. 3 is applied.

  In the electrode (anode) forming step, an electrode 613 is formed at a position corresponding to the light emitting layer forming region A of the element substrate 601 as shown in FIG. As a forming method, for example, a transparent electrode film is formed on the surface of the element substrate 601 by a sputtering method or a vapor deposition method in vacuum using a transparent electrode material such as ITO. Thereafter, a method of forming the electrode 613 by etching while leaving only a necessary portion by a photolithography method can be given. Then, the process proceeds to the bank formation process.

  In the bank forming step, as shown in FIG. 13B, a bank 618 is formed so as to cover the periphery of the plurality of electrodes 613 of the element substrate 601. As a material of the bank 618, it is desirable that the material has durability against a solvent of three kinds of liquids 100R, 100G, and 100B including a light emitting layer forming material, which will be described later. An organic material having an insulating property such as an acrylic resin, an epoxy resin, a photosensitive polyimide, or the like is preferable. As a method for forming the bank 618, for example, the photosensitive organic material is applied to the surface of the element substrate 601 on which the electrode 613 is formed by a roll coating method or a spin coating method, and dried to have a thickness of about 2 to 3 μm. A photosensitive resin layer is formed. Then, a method of forming the bank 618 by exposing and developing a mask having an opening corresponding to the size of the light emitting layer formation region A and facing the element substrate 601 at a predetermined position can be mentioned. And it progresses to a surface treatment process.

In the step of surface-treating the light emitting layer forming region A, the surface of the element substrate 601 on which the bank 618 is formed is first plasma-treated using O ₂ gas as a processing gas. As a result, the surface of the electrode 613 and the surface of the bank 618 (including the wall surface) are activated to perform lyophilic treatment. Next, plasma processing is performed using a fluorine-based gas such as CF ₄ as a processing gas. As a result, the fluorine-based gas reacts only on the surface of the bank 618 made of a photosensitive resin, which is an organic material, and the liquid repellent treatment is performed. Then, the process proceeds to the hole injection / transport layer forming step.

  In the hole injection / transport layer formation step, as shown in FIG. 13C, a liquid 90 containing a hole injection / transport layer formation material is applied to the light emitting layer formation region A. As a method for applying the liquid material 90, the droplet discharge device 10 including the head unit 9 of FIG. 3 and the liquid material discharge method of the first embodiment are used. The liquid 90 discharged from the droplet discharge head 50 lands on the electrode 613 of the element substrate 601 as the droplet D and spreads wet. A substantially constant amount of the liquid 90 is ejected as droplets D in accordance with the area of the light emitting layer formation region A. Then, the process proceeds to the drying / film formation process.

  In the drying / film formation process, the element substrate 601 is heated by a method such as lamp annealing to dry and remove the solvent component of the liquid 90 and inject holes into a region partitioned by the bank 618 of the electrode 613. / Transport layer 617a is formed. In this embodiment, 3,4-polyethylenedioxythiophene / polystyrene sulfonic acid (PEDOT / PSS) was used as the hole injection / transport layer forming material. In this embodiment, the hole injection / transport layer 617a made of the same material is formed in each light emitting layer forming region A. However, the material of the hole injection / transport layer 617a corresponding to the light emitting layer Lu formed later. May be changed for each light emitting layer forming region A. Then, the process proceeds to the next liquid discharge process.

  In the liquid discharge process, as shown in FIG. 13D, three types of light emitting layer forming materials containing a light emitting layer forming material A from a plurality of liquid droplet discharging heads 50 to a plurality of light emitting layer forming regions A are used. Liquids 100R, 100G, and 100B are applied. The liquid body 100R includes a material for forming the light emitting layer 617R (red), the liquid body 100G includes a material for forming the light emitting layer 617G (green), and the liquid body 100B includes a material for forming the light emitting layer 617B (blue). It is out. Each of the landed liquids 100R, 100G, and 100B wets and spreads in the light emitting layer forming region A and the cross-sectional shape rises in an arc shape. As a method for applying these liquids 100R, 100G, and 100B, the liquid discharge method of the first embodiment was used. The drive waveform (voltage pulse) is preferably set for each of the liquid materials 100R, 100G, and 100B. That is, the drive waveform is set for each droplet discharge head 50 filled with the liquids 100R, 100G, and 100B. Then, the process proceeds to the drying / film formation process.

  In the drying / film formation step, as shown in FIG. 13E, the solvent components of the discharged liquid materials 100R, 100G, and 100B are dried and removed, and hole injection / transport in each light emitting layer forming region A is performed. The light emitting layers 617R, 617G, and 617B are deposited on the layer 617a. As a drying method of the element substrate 601 on which each of the liquid materials 100R, 100G, and 100B is discharged, it is preferable to dry under reduced pressure so that the evaporation rate of the solvent can be made substantially constant. And it progresses to a cathode formation process.

In the cathode forming step, as shown in FIG. 13F, the cathode 604 is formed so as to cover the light emitting layers 617R, 617G, and 617B of the element substrate 601 and the surface of the bank 618. As a material of the cathode 604, it is preferable to use a combination of metals such as Ca, Ba, and Al and fluorides such as LiF. In particular, it is preferable to form a film of Ca, Ba, or LiF having a small work function on the side close to the light emitting layers 617R, 617G, and 617B and a film of Al or the like having a large work function on the far side. Further, a protective layer such as SiO ₂ or SiN may be laminated on the cathode 604. In this way, oxidation of the cathode 604 can be prevented. Examples of the method for forming the cathode 604 include vapor deposition, sputtering, and CVD. In particular, the vapor deposition method is preferable in that the light emitting layers 617R, 617G, and 617B can be prevented from being damaged by heat.

  The element substrate 601 thus completed is provided with a substantially constant amount of each of the liquid materials 100R, 100G, and 100B as droplets D on the light emitting layer formation region A, and the film thickness after drying and film formation is different from each other. In the light emitting layer forming region A, the light emitting layers 617R, 617G, and 617B that are substantially constant are provided.

  According to the method for manufacturing the light emitting element portion 603 of the second embodiment, the liquid material 100R, 100G, 100B is ejected using the liquid droplet ejection device 10 of the first embodiment and the liquid material of the first embodiment. A droplet is discharged using the discharge method. Therefore, even if the mother substrate P (element substrate 601) has the first coating region and the second coating region in which the row direction or the column direction of the plurality of light emitting layer forming regions A are different, the respective light emitting layer forming regions. A substantially constant amount of each liquid material 100R, 100G, 100B is stably applied to A. Therefore, the respective light emitting layers 617R, 617G, and 617B in which the film thickness after drying and film formation is substantially constant in each light emitting layer forming region A are obtained.

  Further, if the organic EL device 600 is manufactured using the method for manufacturing the light emitting element portion 603 of the second embodiment, the thickness of each of the light emitting layers 617R, 617G, and 617B is substantially constant. The resistance for each of 617G and 617B is substantially constant. Therefore, when the circuit element unit 602 applies a driving voltage to the light emitting element unit 603 to emit light, unevenness in light emission and luminance due to resistance unevenness in each of the light emitting layers 617R, 617G, and 617B are reduced. That is, it is possible to efficiently manufacture the organic EL device 600 having less unevenness in light emission, unevenness in luminance, etc., and different planar sizes.

  Various modifications other than the above embodiment are conceivable. Hereinafter, a modification will be described.

(Modification 1) In the method of manufacturing the droplet discharge device 10 and the color filter of the first embodiment, the method of obliquely positioning the mother substrate P in the plane on the stage 5 is not limited to the method of rotating the stage 5. . FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view showing a mother board positioning method according to a modification.
As shown in FIG. 14, a method may be used in which a mother substrate P rotated in advance in the main scanning direction is supplied to the stage 5. As described above, when the most common rotation angle θ is found, guide pins 5a, 5b, and 5c are provided on the stage 5 side. The guide pins 5a are preferably provided so as to guide the short side of the mother substrate P, and the two guide pins 5b and 5c are provided so as to guide the long side of the mother substrate P. Then, the mother substrate P that has been rotated in advance by the rotation angle θ is fed onto the stage 5 and is guided and fixed by the guide pins 5a, 5b, and 5c.
According to this, the time required for the positioning operation can be shortened as compared with the case where the mother substrate P is positioned obliquely by rotating the stage 5. Therefore, the tact time in the droplet discharge device 10 is shortened, and the productivity in manufacturing the color filter can be improved.

(Modification 2) In the color filter manufacturing method of the first embodiment, the method of relative arrangement of the mother substrate P and the plurality of nozzles 52 in the main scanning is not limited to this. Actually, it is difficult to completely match the rotation center P ₀ of the mother substrate P with the rotation center C ₀ of the rotation mechanism 6 that rotates the stage 5. Therefore, it is conceivable that the relative arrangement of the rotated film forming regions 3r, 3g, 3b, 3r ′, 3g ′, 3b ′ and the plurality of nozzles 52 slightly deviates from the preferred state. In that case, the relative position may be adjusted by finely adjusting the rotation angle or driving the rotation mechanism 7 provided on the carriage 8 side to slightly rotate the head unit 9.

  (Modification 3) In the first embodiment, the method of imposing the color filter on the mother substrate P is not limited to this. For example, the film formation regions 3r, 3g, 3b in the first application region E1 and the film formation regions 3r ′, 3g ′, 3b ′ in the second application region E2 may have the same size.

(Modification 4) In the first embodiment, the arrangement of the colored layer 3 in the color filter 2 is not limited to the stripe method. For example, the color filter manufacturing method of the present embodiment can be applied to a mosaic method in which the colored layers 3 of the same color are arranged obliquely.
Further, the colored layer 3 is not limited to the three colors R, G, and B, and can be applied to a case of multiple colors including colors other than R, G, and B.

  (Modification 5) In the droplet discharge device 10 of the first embodiment, the arrangement of the droplet discharge heads 50 in the head unit 9 is not limited to this. For example, the droplet discharge heads 50 that discharge different types of liquid materials may be arranged in parallel within the same drawing width L1. According to this, since it is sufficient to perform sub-scanning with the drawing width L1, the line feed operation is simplified.

(Modification 6) In the organic EL device 600 of the second embodiment, the configuration of the light emitting element portion 603 serving as an organic EL element is not limited to this. For example, in the light emitting layer forming region A, a light emitting layer 617 that can emit monochromatic light such as red or white may be formed. According to this, the organic EL device 600 can also be used as a lighting device.
When white light is emitted, the top emission type organic EL device 600 capable of full color display can be provided by disposing the color filter 2 on the sealing substrate 620 side.

The schematic perspective view which shows the structure of a droplet discharge apparatus. (A) is a perspective view which shows a droplet discharge head, (b) is a top view which shows the arrangement | positioning state of a nozzle. (A) is a schematic plan view which shows arrangement | positioning of the droplet discharge head in a head unit, (b) is a schematic plan view which shows the arrangement method of several head units. The block diagram which shows the control system of a droplet discharge apparatus. FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of head units in a first main scan showing an example of a discharge drawing operation of a droplet discharge device, and FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of head units in a second main scan. (A) is a schematic plan view which shows the structure of a color filter, (b) is sectional drawing cut | disconnected by the AA 'line of the same figure (a). The flowchart which shows the manufacturing method of a color filter. (A)-(d) is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing method of a color filter. The schematic diagram which shows the relative arrangement | positioning of a mother board | substrate and a head unit while showing the arrangement | positioning of the color filter in a mother board | substrate explaining the discharge method of a liquid body. (A) And (b) is a schematic plan view which shows the relative arrangement | positioning of a film formation area and a some nozzle. (A) is a schematic top view which shows the rotation state of a mother board | substrate, (b) and (c) is the schematic which shows the relative arrangement | positioning of the film formation area and several nozzles after rotation. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main structure of the organic EL device. (A)-(f) is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing method of an organic EL element. The schematic plan view which shows the mother board positioning method of a modification.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Board | substrate, 2 ... Color filter, 3 ... Colored layer, 3r, 3g, 3b ... Film formation area as a to-be-discharged part, 5 ... Stage, 6 ... Rotation mechanism, 10 ... Droplet discharge apparatus, 20 ... As movement mechanism 40 ... control part, 52 ... nozzle, D ... droplet, GPx ... substantial arrangement pitch in the sub-scanning direction of the discharged part, E1 ... first application area, E2 ... second application area, P2 ... Nozzle pitch as nozzle spacing.

Claims (10)

During the main scan in which the plurality of nozzles arranged in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction and the substrate having the plurality of discharged portions are relatively moved, liquid material is dropped from the plurality of nozzles as droplets to the discharged portions. A droplet discharge device for discharging,
A stage on which the substrate is placed;
A moving mechanism for moving the stage in the main scanning direction;
A positioning mechanism for positioning relative positions of the substrate and the plurality of nozzles;
In the substrate, a first discharged region in which the plurality of discharged portions are arranged in a row direction and a column direction orthogonal to each other, and the row direction and the column direction are different from each other with respect to the first discharged region. When having two discharge areas,
In the plane on the stage, the substrate is positioned obliquely with respect to the main scanning direction, and the discharged portion of the first discharged region and the discharged portion of the second discharged region are A droplet discharge apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the positioning mechanism and the moving mechanism so as to perform the main scanning for discharging a droplet.   The control unit has a substantial arrangement pitch in the sub-scanning direction of the discharge target part having a smaller arrangement pitch in the row direction or the column direction substantially equal to a nozzle interval of the plurality of nozzles in the sub-scanning direction. The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is positioned obliquely in a plane on the stage so as to match.   In the control unit, a substantial arrangement pitch in the sub-scanning direction of the discharge target part having a smaller arrangement pitch in the row direction or the column direction is larger than a nozzle interval of the plurality of nozzles in the sub-scanning direction. The droplet discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is positioned obliquely in a plane on the stage so as to increase. The positioning mechanism includes a rotation mechanism that rotates the stage in a plane,
4. The liquid droplet ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit drives and controls the rotation mechanism to rotate the stage and position the substrate obliquely. 5.   The substrate having the first discharge area and the second discharge area having different arrangements of the discharge sections is supplied in an oblique manner in advance within a plane on the stage. Item 4. The droplet discharge device according to any one of Items 1 to 3. During the main scan in which the plurality of nozzles arranged in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction and the substrate having the plurality of discharged portions are relatively moved, liquid material is dropped from the plurality of nozzles as droplets to the discharged portions. A liquid discharge method having a discharge step of discharging,
The substrate includes a first discharged region in which the plurality of discharged portions are arranged in a row direction and a column direction orthogonal to each other, and the row direction and the column direction differ from the first discharged region. 2 discharge areas,
The discharging step includes a positioning step of positioning the substrate obliquely with respect to the sub-scanning direction so that the row direction or the column direction of the discharged portion intersects with the main scanning direction,
A method of discharging a liquid material, wherein the liquid droplets are discharged to the discharge target portion of the first discharge target region and the discharge target portion of the second discharge target region of the positioned substrate.   In the positioning step, a substantial arrangement pitch in the sub-scanning direction of the discharged portion having a smaller arrangement pitch in the row direction or the column direction is substantially equal to a nozzle interval of the plurality of nozzles in the sub-scanning direction. The method of discharging a liquid material according to claim 6, wherein the substrate is positioned obliquely with respect to the sub-scanning direction so as to match.   In the positioning step, a substantial arrangement pitch in the sub-scanning direction of the discharged portion having a smaller arrangement pitch in the row direction or the column direction is larger than a nozzle interval of the plurality of nozzles in the sub-scanning direction. The liquid material discharge method according to claim 6, wherein the substrate is positioned obliquely with respect to the sub-scanning direction so as to increase. A method for producing a color filter having a plurality of colored layers in a plurality of film forming regions on a substrate,
The substrate includes a first application region in which the plurality of film forming regions are arranged in a row direction and a column direction perpendicular to each other, and a second application in which the row direction and the column direction are different from the first application region. And having an area
Using the liquid material discharge method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, a plurality of color liquid materials including a coloring layer forming material are applied to the film forming region in the first application region and the second application region. A discharge step of discharging to the film forming region of
And a film forming step of solidifying the discharged liquid material to form the colored layers of the plurality of colors. A method for producing an organic EL element having a functional layer including at least a light emitting layer in a plurality of film formation regions on a substrate,
The substrate includes a first application region in which the plurality of film forming regions are arranged in a row direction and a column direction perpendicular to each other, and a second application in which the row direction and the column direction are different from the first application region. And having an area
The liquid material discharge method according to claim 6, wherein the liquid material containing a light emitting layer forming material is applied to the film forming region in the first application region and the film in the second application region. A discharge step of discharging into the formation region;
And a film forming step of solidifying the discharged liquid material to form the light emitting layer. A method for manufacturing an organic EL element, comprising:

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