JP2009276675A - Liquid crystal device, method of manufacturing liquid crystal device and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently form alignment layers different in alignment regulating force. <P>SOLUTION: This liquid crystal device is a liquid crystal device 1 which includes a plurality of effective pixel regions P and a plurality of non-effective pixel regions D disposed between the effective pixel regions P. The device includes: a first substrate 10 having a first electrode 11 disposed in each of the plurality of the effective pixel regions P; a second substrate 20 having a second electrode 21; a liquid crystal layer 30 held between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20; a first alignment layer 14 formed between the first electrode 11 and the liquid crystal layer 30 in the plurality of effective pixel regions P; and a second alignment layer 15 formed between the first alignment layers 14 in the non-effective pixel region D. The first alignment layer 14 and the second alignment layer 15 are formed different in surface hardness from each other and then collectively subjected to rubbing, whereby the alignment layers are formed different in alignment regulating force for aligning liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid crystal device, a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, and an electronic apparatus.

  Conventionally, liquid crystal devices have been widely used as display units for personal computers, mobile phones, etc., or as light valves for projectors. The liquid crystal device includes, for example, a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between a pixel electrode and a common electrode, an alignment film that controls the alignment of liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer, and the like. When an electric field is applied to the liquid crystal layer, the azimuth angle of the liquid crystal molecules changes, and the polarization state of light passing through the liquid crystal layer changes. As a result, part of the light that has passed through the liquid crystal layer is absorbed by the polarizing plate, becomes light of a predetermined gradation, and is emitted from the liquid crystal device.

  From the viewpoint of improving display quality, liquid crystal devices are expected to ensure a wide viewing angle, improve response speed, increase contrast, increase definition, increase brightness, and the like. In realizing these, a technique for controlling the orientation of liquid crystal molecules is extremely important. For example, in the VA method, liquid crystal molecules are vertically aligned, and higher quality black display or white display is possible than in the TN method. Thereby, high contrast, high brightness, and the like are achieved. In the OCB mode, the liquid crystal molecules are bend-aligned, and the response speed is much faster than that of the TN method. As a result, high-quality display of moving images becomes possible. In such a liquid crystal device, a technique for forming an alignment film having different characteristics between the pixel region and the pixel region has been proposed (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for improving display quality by reducing crosstalk in a dot matrix type liquid crystal device. The alignment film is made thicker in the non-array electrode portion than the array electrode portion in which the first array electrode (segment electrode) and the second array electrode (common electrode) overlap. Thereby, the electrostatic capacitance due to the lateral electric field between the first array electrodes is reduced, so that crosstalk and the like are reduced.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-228561 discloses a technique for achieving high contrast satisfactorily by preventing disclination in a vertical alignment mode (VA mode) liquid crystal device. A vertical alignment film is provided in the picture element (sub-pixel) region, and a horizontal alignment film is provided in the peripheral region of the picture element region. After the vertical alignment film is formed in the picture element region and the peripheral region in a lump, the portion overlapping the peripheral region is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to form a horizontal alignment film. Since the liquid crystal molecules are horizontally aligned in the peripheral region, the direction in which the liquid crystal molecules in the pixel region are tilted when an electric field is applied is restricted, and disclination is prevented.

Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for improving display quality by preventing crosstalk in an OCB mode liquid crystal device. A horizontal alignment film is provided in the pixel region, and an intermediate alignment film that distorts the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules is provided between the pixel regions. The intermediate alignment film can be formed by rubbing the horizontal alignment film and the concave portion recessed with respect to the horizontal alignment film to form the intermediate alignment film in the recess, or by covering the intermediate alignment film with a resist. And a method of rubbing the horizontal alignment film while protecting the film. The intermediate alignment film causes disclination in the liquid crystal molecules between the pixel regions, so that the liquid crystal molecules in the pixel region can be quickly transferred from the splay alignment to the bend alignment.
JP-A-8-43823 JP 2001-343651 A JP 2000-10119 A

As described above, by providing an alignment film having different characteristics between the pixel region and the pixel region, a favorable liquid crystal device can be obtained. However, it is difficult to efficiently form a good alignment film in such a technique for the following reason.
In the technique of Patent Document 2, it is considered that the degree of freedom in selecting a vertical alignment material is lowered in order to make the alignment regulating force different clearly between the vertical alignment film and the horizontal alignment film only by ultraviolet irradiation. If the degree of freedom of material selection is low, there is a risk that both the vertical alignment film and the horizontal alignment film cannot function well.

  If the technique of Patent Document 3 is used to form the horizontal alignment film and the intermediate alignment film by a single rubbing process, a step is required between them. In the vicinity of the step, even if the liquid crystal molecules are bend-aligned, the alignment is disturbed, so that the display quality of this portion may be lowered, or the aperture ratio may be lowered by making this a non-display area. In addition, when the horizontal alignment film is rubbed with the intermediate alignment film protected by the resist, alignment accuracy between the resist and the intermediate alignment film is required, and thus there is a possibility that high definition cannot be achieved. Further, the resist is pressure-bonded to the intermediate alignment film by rubbing treatment, and there is a possibility that the intermediate alignment film is damaged at the time of peeling.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal device including an alignment film having different alignment regulating forces between the pixel region and the pixel region. Another object is to provide a method capable of efficiently manufacturing such a liquid crystal device.

  The liquid crystal device of the present invention is a liquid crystal device having a plurality of effective pixel regions and a non-effective pixel region disposed between the plurality of effective pixel regions, and is disposed in each of the plurality of effective pixel regions. A first substrate having a first electrode; a second substrate having a second electrode; a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate; and the first pixel in the plurality of effective pixel regions. A first alignment film formed between an electrode and the liquid crystal layer; and a second alignment film formed between the first alignment film in the non-effective pixel region; and The second alignment film is formed in a state in which the surface hardness is different from each other and then collectively rubbed, so that the alignment regulating forces for aligning the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer are different from each other. It is characterized by being.

  In this case, since the alignment regulating force differs between the first alignment film provided in the effective pixel region and the second alignment film provided between the non-effective pixel regions between the effective pixel regions, the effective pixel region The alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer is different between the non-effective pixel region and the non-effective pixel region. Therefore, the orientation of the liquid crystal layer in the effective pixel region can be controlled by the orientation of the liquid crystal layer in the ineffective pixel region, and a liquid crystal device capable of obtaining a high-quality image can be obtained.

  In general, in the rubbing process, a predetermined alignment regulating force is applied to the alignment film by adjusting the rubbing strength. The rubbing strength changes parameters such as the number of rotations of the rubbing roller, the moving speed of the stage on which the substrate to be processed on which the alignment film is formed is moved relative to the rubbing roller, and the amount of the rubbing roller pushed into the alignment film. Can be adjusted. That is, the rubbing strength increases as the rotational speed, the moving speed, and the pushing amount are increased. In order to apply different alignment regulating force to the alignment film between the effective pixel region and the non-effective pixel region, it is conceivable that the rubbing process is performed a plurality of times with different parameters according to the alignment regulating force. This is because if the alignment film made of the same forming material is subjected to rubbing treatment in an effective pixel region and an ineffective pixel region all at once, a desired alignment regulating force is not obtained in the effective pixel region or the ineffective pixel region.

  In the present invention, since the first alignment film and the second alignment film are collectively rubbed after the surface hardnesses of the first alignment film and the second alignment film are different from each other, The higher the surface hardness, the weaker the alignment regulating force imparted by the rubbing process than the lower one. Thus, since the first alignment film and the second alignment film having different alignment regulating forces can be obtained without performing the rubbing process a plurality of times, a good liquid crystal capable of obtaining a high-quality image and reducing the cost. Become a device.

The first alignment film may be a vertical alignment film, and the first alignment film may be formed by the rubbing treatment after being formed in a state where the surface hardness is higher than that of the second alignment film. .
In this way, the liquid crystal layer in the effective pixel region is vertically aligned, so that high contrast and high brightness can be achieved. In addition, since the surface hardness of the first alignment film is higher than that of the second alignment film, the second alignment film has a stronger alignment regulating force applied by the rubbing process than the first alignment film. The alignment regulating force imparted by the rubbing process is a force that tilts the liquid crystal molecules in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the liquid crystal layer, so that the liquid crystal layer in the ineffective pixel region is horizontally aligned, and the liquid crystal in the ineffective pixel region The direction in which the liquid crystal molecules in the effective display region are tilted when an electric field is applied is regulated by the layer. Therefore, disclination is prevented and contrast reduction due to disclination is prevented, so that the liquid crystal device can obtain a high-quality image.

The OCB mode liquid crystal device in which the first alignment film is a horizontal alignment film, wherein the second alignment film has a higher surface hardness than the first alignment film, and then the rubbing is performed. It may be formed by processing.
The OCB mode liquid crystal device has a much faster response speed than the TN method and the like, and can display a high-quality moving image. In addition, since the surface hardness of the second alignment film is higher than that of the first alignment film, the second alignment film has a weaker alignment regulating force applied by the rubbing process than the first alignment film. Therefore, the liquid crystal layer in the non-effective pixel region is closer to the vertical alignment than the effective pixel region, and the liquid crystal layer in the non-effective pixel region promotes the transition from the splay alignment to the bend alignment of the liquid crystal molecules in the effective display region when an electric field is applied. Is done.

The step height on the liquid crystal layer side between the surface of the first alignment film and the surface of the second alignment film may be 0.1 μm or less.
As described above, in the present invention, since the alignment regulating force is made different between the first alignment film and the second alignment film by utilizing the difference in surface hardness, a step is provided between these alignment films. Thus, it is not necessary to vary the rubbing strength. Accordingly, the alignment regulating force is made different between the first alignment film and the second alignment film, and a step is not required, so that the step height on the liquid crystal layer side between the surface of the first alignment film and the surface of the second alignment film is increased. It can be 0.1 μm or less. Thereby, the orientation of the liquid crystal layer is prevented from being distorted by a step, and a liquid crystal device capable of obtaining a high-quality image is obtained.

  The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device having a plurality of effective pixel regions and a non-effective pixel region disposed between the plurality of effective pixel regions, and the plurality of effective pixel regions. Forming a first substrate having a first electrode disposed on each of the first substrate, forming a second substrate having a second electrode, and forming the first electrode with the first electrode and the second electrode inside. And a step of forming a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the step of forming the first substrate includes the steps of: Forming a first material film covering the first electrode in each of the effective pixel regions, and a second material having a surface hardness different from that of the first material film between the first material films in the non-effective pixel region A material film forming process for forming a film, and the first material film, The second material film is rubbed together to give the first material film an alignment regulating force for aligning the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer to form the first alignment film, and the second material And an alignment treatment for forming a second alignment film by applying an alignment regulating force different from that of the first alignment film to the film.

  In the step of forming the first substrate, since the first material film and the second material film having different surface hardnesses are formed in the material film forming step, the first material film and the second material film are formed by the alignment treatment. When the rubbing treatment is performed at once, the first alignment film and the second alignment film having different alignment regulating forces can be formed in a lump. By making the alignment regulating force different between the first alignment film and the second alignment film, the alignment directions of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer are different between the effective pixel region and the non-effective pixel region, and the high quality as described above. It becomes a liquid crystal device from which a clear image can be obtained. Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently manufacture a good liquid crystal device.

An electronic apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that it includes a light modulation means configured by the liquid crystal device according to the present invention.
Since the liquid crystal device of the present invention can obtain a high-quality image and is low in cost, the provision of the liquid crystal device also improves the electronic apparatus of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, although embodiment of this invention is described, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the following embodiment. In the following description, various structures are illustrated using drawings, but in order to show the characteristic parts of the structures in an easy-to-understand manner, the structures in the drawings are shown in different sizes and scales from the actual structures. There is.

[First Embodiment]
The first embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a liquid crystal light valve used in a projector or the like. Examples of the projector include an illumination device, a liquid crystal light valve that modulates illumination light emitted from the illumination device, a projection unit that enlarges and projects the modulated light, and the like. Since the projector obtains a projection image by enlarging projection, the light intensity of the illumination light is significantly higher than that of the direct-view image display device. In general, a projector is configured to obtain a full color image without using a color filter made of an organic material. The color filter absorbs a part of the illumination light and colors the light passing therethrough, but the organic material is likely to be chemically unstable due to light absorption and heat. For example, an illumination device that supplies three (red, green, and blue) color lights independently from each other, a liquid crystal light valve provided for each of the three color lights, and three liquid crystal light valves. In addition, color synthesizing means for synthesizing the three kinds of color lights is provided. All of the three liquid crystal light valves have the same configuration, and only one configuration will be described here.

  FIG. 1A is an enlarged plan view showing a pixel of the liquid crystal device 1 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. . As shown in FIG. 1A, the liquid crystal device 1 according to the present embodiment has a plurality of pixels (effective pixel regions) P arranged in a matrix, and a space between the plurality of pixels P is an ineffective pixel. This is a region D. In the present embodiment, each of the plurality of pixels P has a substantially rectangular shape.

  Hereinafter, the XYZ orthogonal coordinate system shown in FIG. 1A is set, and the positional relationship of the members will be described based on this. In the XYZ orthogonal coordinate system, the X direction and the Y direction are along the plane on which the pixel P is arranged, and the short side direction of the pixel P is the X direction and the long side direction is the Y direction. A direction orthogonal to the arrangement plane of the pixels P is defined as a Z direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the liquid crystal device 1 includes an element substrate (first substrate) 10 having a pixel electrode (first electrode) 11, and a common electrode (second electrode) 21 that is disposed to face the element substrate 10. And a liquid crystal layer 30 sandwiched between the substrates.

  The element substrate 10 is of an active matrix type, for example, and has a transparent substrate 10A made of glass, quartz, plastic, or the like as a base. On the liquid crystal layer 30 side (Z positive direction side) of the transparent substrate 10A, an element forming layer 13 having a switching element such as a thin film transistor (TFT) and various wirings such as a data line and a scanning line is provided. The data line is electrically connected to a data line driving circuit that supplies an image signal, and the scanning line is electrically connected to a scanning line driving circuit that supplies a scanning signal. An insulating film is provided to cover the switching element and various wirings. An island-like pixel electrode 11 is formed for each pixel P on the liquid crystal layer 30 side of the insulating film, and each pixel electrode 11 is electrically connected to a switching element. The switching element switches the image signal based on the scanning signal and supplies it to the pixel electrode 11 at a predetermined timing.

  A light shielding portion 13d is formed in the element forming layer 13 that overlaps with these switching elements and various wirings. An area that overlaps the light shielding part 13d in the Z direction is an ineffective pixel area D, and the ineffective pixel area D is defined by the light shielding part 13d. The non-formation region of the light shielding portion 13 is the pixel P, and the illumination light passes through the pixel P. Here, the pixel electrode 11 is formed so as to protrude from the pixel P to the surrounding ineffective pixel region D. A polarizing plate 12 is provided on the opposite side (Z negative direction side) of the liquid crystal layer 30 in the transparent substrate 10A.

  The first alignment film 14 is provided on the pixel electrode 11 side of the pixel electrode 11 in the pixel P. Here, the formation region of the pixel P and the first alignment film 14 substantially coincides with each other. A second alignment film 15 is provided between the first alignment films 14 in the ineffective pixel region D, that is, covering the transparent substrate 10 </ b> A between the pixel electrodes 11 and the peripheral edge of the pixel electrodes 11. The first alignment film 14 only needs to be disposed so as to overlap at least the entire pixel P. Even if the first alignment film 14 is provided so as to extend from the pixel P to the ineffective pixel region D around the pixel P. Good.

  Examples of the material for forming the first alignment film 14 include a polyimide vertical alignment material (for example, RN1719 manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industries), an oxide sol-gel vertical alignment material made of silica sol gel or alumina sol gel, and a long-chain alkylsilane coupling agent. . Examples of the long-chain alkylsilane coupling agent include those having an alkyl group having about 6 to 20 carbon atoms, such as octadecyltriethoxysilane and hexyldimethylethoxysilane. If the first alignment film containing an inorganic component such as an oxide sol-gel vertical alignment material or a long-chain alkylsilane coupling agent is adopted, chemical stability against photodecomposition by light passing through it or thermal decomposition by absorption of light Becomes higher. A known horizontal alignment material can be used as a material for forming the second alignment film 15, and an example thereof is a polyimide horizontal alignment material (for example, SE3140 manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industries).

  In the present invention, the first alignment film 14 and the second alignment film 15 are formed by being rubbed in a lump after each surface hardness is formed in a different state. In the present embodiment, the surface hardness of the first alignment film 14 after firing the forming material is made higher than that of the second alignment film 15 by the material selection as described above, and the first alignment film is formed even after the formation. The surface hardness of 14 is higher than that of the second alignment film 15. As a result, the first alignment film 14 and the second alignment film 15 have different alignment regulating forces for aligning the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 30. The mechanism by which the orientation regulating force is formed will be described in [Fourth Embodiment]. Here, elastic modulus such as Young's modulus and rigidity is used as the definition of surface hardness. In general, since a material having a high elastic modulus has a high hardness, hardness such as Vickers hardness, Brinell hardness, Rockwell hardness, etc. may be used in the hardness definition instead of the elastic modulus. The relative surface hardness of the first alignment film 14 and the second alignment film 15 may be evaluated based on any one of various definitions.

  The liquid crystal layer 30 of the present embodiment is made of a liquid crystal material having negative dielectric anisotropy. The first alignment film 14 has an alignment regulating force for vertically aligning liquid crystal molecules in the portion of the liquid crystal layer 30 overlapping in the positive Z direction. The second alignment film 15 has stronger alignment regulating force for horizontally aligning liquid crystal molecules than the first alignment film 14. In the present invention, the vertical alignment means an alignment state in which a pretilt angle, which is an angle formed between the polar direction of liquid crystal molecules and the normal direction (Z direction) of the transparent substrate 10A, is less than 45 °. The present invention also relates to a multi-domain liquid crystal device. Horizontal alignment means an alignment state having a pretilt angle larger than that of a vertically aligned liquid crystal layer. Here, the pretilt angle of the liquid crystal molecules in the pixel P is set to about 0 to 3 °, and the pretilt angle of the liquid crystal molecules in the ineffective pixel region D is set larger than that on the pixel P side.

  The counter substrate 20 is based on a transparent substrate 20A made of glass, quartz, plastic, or the like. A solid common electrode 21 is provided on the liquid crystal layer 30 side (Z negative direction side) of the transparent substrate 20A, and a third alignment film 22 is provided on the liquid crystal layer 30 side. The third alignment film 22 of the present embodiment is formed in a solid shape across the pixel P and the ineffective pixel region D, and the alignment regulating force is the same between the pixel P and the ineffective pixel region D. A polarizing plate 23 is provided on the opposite side (Z positive direction side) of the liquid crystal layer 30 in the transparent substrate 20A. Here, the optical axes of the polarizing plate 12 and the polarizing plate 23 are orthogonal to each other.

  When illumination light is supplied from one of the Z directions (for example, the Z negative direction) to the liquid crystal device 1 as described above in a state where no image signal is supplied to the pixel electrode 11, illumination light is emitted from the ineffective pixel region D. Is blocked by the light blocking portion 13d. In addition, polarized light orthogonal to the optical axis of the polarizing plate 12 out of the illumination light incident on the pixel P is absorbed by the polarizing plate 12, and polarized light along the optical axis enters the liquid crystal layer 30 through the polarizing plate 12. Since the liquid crystal molecules are vertically aligned in the liquid crystal layer 30 of the pixel P, the incident light enters the counter substrate 20 with almost no change in the polarization state. Most of the light incident on the counter substrate 20 is absorbed by the polarizing plate 23 because the optical axis of the polarizing plate 23 is substantially orthogonal to the polarizing plate 12. In this way, a high-quality black display can be obtained.

  When illumination light is supplied in a state where an image signal is supplied to the pixel electrode 11, polarized light along the optical axis of the polarizing plate 12 enters the liquid crystal layer 30 in the pixel P. An electric field corresponding to an image signal is applied between the pixel electrode 11 and the common electrode 21, and the azimuth angle of the liquid crystal molecules in the pixel P changes according to this electric field. The direction in which the azimuth angle of the liquid crystal molecules changes (the direction in which the liquid crystal molecules are tilted) is regulated by this orientation because the liquid crystal molecules in the ineffective pixel region D are horizontally aligned. As a result, the occurrence of disclination due to variations in the direction in which the liquid crystal molecules are tilted is prevented, and the reduction in contrast due to disclination is prevented. The light incident on the liquid crystal layer 30 in the pixel P changes its polarization state according to the azimuth angle of the liquid crystal molecules and enters the counter substrate 20. The light incident on the counter substrate 20 absorbs polarized light orthogonal to the optical axis of the polarizing plate 23 according to the change in the polarization state, and is emitted from the counter substrate 20. In this way, light with a gradation corresponding to the image signal can be obtained.

In the first embodiment, the polarizing plate 12 and the polarizing plate 23 employ a configuration in which the optical axes are orthogonal to each other. However, the optical axes may be configured to be parallel to each other. In this case, since the light supplied to the liquid crystal device is emitted without being absorbed in the state where no image signal is supplied, a high-quality white display can be obtained.
In addition, the third alignment film 22 of the counter substrate 20 may have a configuration in which the alignment regulating force for horizontally aligning liquid crystal molecules in the pixel P is weaker than that in the non-effective pixel region D as in the element substrate 10 side. A configuration in which the third alignment film is omitted may be employed. A light shielding member similar to the light shielding portion 13d may be disposed on the counter substrate 20 side in the ineffective pixel region D.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a liquid crystal device having a configuration different from that of the first embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the present invention is applied to a direct-view type full-color liquid crystal display device.

  2A is an enlarged plan view showing a pixel of the liquid crystal device 2 according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 2A. . As shown in FIG. 2A, the liquid crystal device 2 has a plurality of sub-pixels (effective pixel regions) Pr, Pg, and Pb arranged in a matrix, and is between the sub-pixels Pr, Pg, and Pb. Is an ineffective pixel region D.

  In the counter substrate 20 of the present embodiment, a color filter layer 24 is provided between the transparent substrate 20 </ b> A and the common electrode 21. The color filter layer 24 is provided with color material portions 24r, 24g, and 24b corresponding to the sub-pixels Pr, Pg, and Pb, respectively. A light shielding portion 24d is provided between the color material portions 24r, 24g, and 24b, and an area that overlaps the light shielding portion 24d in the Z direction is an ineffective pixel region D. That is, the ineffective pixel region D is defined by the light shielding portion 24d. In addition, although the light shielding part is not provided in the element substrate 10 of this embodiment, the light shielding part may be provided similarly to the first embodiment.

  The color material portions 24r, 24g, and 24b of the present embodiment correspond to red light, green light, and blue light, respectively. For example, as for the light passing through the color material portion 24r, the wavelength band light other than the red light is absorbed by the color material portion 24r, and the red light is emitted from the sub-pixel Pr. In this way, red light, green light, and blue light are emitted from the sub-pixels Pr, Pg, and Pb, respectively, and these are mixed and viewed to form one full-color pixel. Even in the liquid crystal device 2 of the second embodiment, disclination is prevented from occurring in the liquid crystal layer 30 in each of the sub-pixels Pr, Pg, and Pb, and a high-quality image can be obtained.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a liquid crystal device having a configuration different from the first and second embodiments will be described. The third embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments in that the present invention is applied to an OCB mode full-color liquid crystal display device.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views of the main part showing the configuration of the liquid crystal device 3 of the third embodiment. The liquid crystal device 3 has the same pixel configuration as that of the second embodiment, and FIGS. 3A and 3B show portions corresponding to a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. Is shown. 3A shows a state when the liquid crystal device 3 is turned on, and FIG. 3B shows a state when the liquid crystal device 3 is in a display operation.

  Also in this embodiment, as in the first and second embodiments, the first alignment film 14 and the second alignment film 15 are rubbed in a lump after the surface hardnesses are formed in different states. Is formed. In the present embodiment, the surface hardness of the first alignment film 14 is lower than that of the second alignment film 15, and the alignment regulating force applied by the rubbing process, that is, the alignment regulating force for horizontally aligning the liquid crystal molecules is the first. The alignment film 14 is stronger than the second alignment film 15.

  The first alignment film 14 is made of, for example, a polyimide horizontal alignment material, and has an alignment regulating force for horizontally aligning liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer 30 of the pixel P. The first alignment film 14 and the third alignment film 22 of the counter substrate 20 are both rubbed in the same direction (here, the X positive direction). Thereby, in each of the sub-pixels Pr, Pg, and Pb, the liquid crystal molecules have a splay alignment that opens in a fan shape toward the X positive direction side. The second alignment film 15 is made of, for example, a polyimide vertical alignment material, and has a weaker alignment regulating force for horizontally aligning liquid crystal molecules than the first alignment film 14. Thereby, in the ineffective pixel region D, the alignment state of the liquid crystal molecules is closer to the vertical alignment than the sub-pixels Pr, Pg, and Pb.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, during the display operation of the liquid crystal device 3, the liquid crystal molecules are bent in a bow shape between the substrates and are aligned (bend alignment). In the bend orientation, the degree of bending changes according to the electric field between the pixel electrode 11 and the common electrode 21. As a result, the polarization state of the light passing through the liquid crystal layer 30 in each of the sub-pixels Pr, Pg, and Pb changes according to the image signal, and light of a gradation corresponding to the image signal is emitted from the liquid crystal device 3. It has become.

  In order to cause the OCB mode liquid crystal device 3 to perform a display operation, it is necessary to initially change the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules from the splay alignment to the bend alignment in the liquid crystal layer 30 after the power is turned on. Usually, in this initial transition, the splay alignment is changed to the vertical alignment with the disclination or the like as a nucleus, and further, the vertical alignment is changed to the bent alignment. In the liquid crystal device 3, since the liquid crystal molecules in the ineffective pixel region D are aligned in a vertical alignment or a state closer to the vertical alignment than the pixel P, the liquid crystal molecules are perpendicular to the splay alignment of the liquid crystal molecules in the subpixels Pr, Pg, and Pb. The transition to the orientation is promoted, and the initial transition can be satisfactorily performed.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, an embodiment of a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to the present invention will be described based on the configuration of the liquid crystal device 1 of the first embodiment. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device of the present invention includes a step of forming an element substrate (first substrate) 10, a step of forming a counter substrate (second substrate) 20, and the element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20. And a step of sealing the liquid crystal layer 30 between these substrates. For the step of forming the counter substrate 20 and the step of sealing the liquid crystal layer 30, known forming materials and known forming methods can be used. Hereinafter, the process of forming the element substrate 10 will be mainly described.

FIGS. 4A to 4D and FIGS. 5A to 5D are cross-sectional process diagrams schematically showing a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device of the fourth embodiment.
First, as shown in FIG. 4A, the element forming layer 13 having the light shielding portion 13d is formed on the transparent substrate 10A, and the island-shaped pixel electrode 11 is formed on the element forming layer 13. Specifically, various wirings such as scanning lines and data lines (not shown), switching elements, and the like are formed on a transparent substrate 10A having translucency such as glass, quartz, and plastic. These are appropriately disposed through an interlayer insulating film or the like, and a light shielding portion 13d is formed in a portion overlapping with various wirings and switching elements. Then, island-shaped pixel electrodes 11 electrically connected to the switching elements are formed. The pixel electrode 11 is formed so as to protrude from the region to be the pixel P to the periphery thereof. Hereinafter, an area that later becomes the pixel P may be simply referred to as a pixel P, and an area that will later become an ineffective pixel area D may be simply referred to as an ineffective pixel area D.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, a first material film 14 a is formed so as to cover the transparent substrate 10 </ b> A and the pixel electrode 11. The first material film 14a is a film that will later become the first alignment film 14, and the surface hardness of the first material film 14a is different from that of the second material film 15a, which will be described later, by selection of the forming material. In the present embodiment, the surface hardness of the first material film 14a is made higher than that of the second material film 15a. Here, a polyimide vertical alignment material (for example, RN1719 manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd.) is used as a forming material, and this is formed in a solid form on the transparent substrate 10A and the pixel electrode 11 by a coating method. Then, this film is baked to form a first material film 14a that is insoluble in a positive photoresist described later.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 4C, a resist pattern R is formed so as to cover the first material film 14 a in the pixel P. Here, a positive photoresist (for example, PFM12 manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.) is formed in a solid shape so as to cover the first material film 14a, and this photoresist film is baked at a substrate temperature of 150 ° C. or lower. Then, for example, a photomask having a light-shielding part that shields g-line (wavelength 436 nm) and i-line (wavelength 365 nm) is arranged so that the whole light-shielding part overlaps the entire pixel P. Then, the resist film R is obtained by irradiating the photoresist film with g-line or i-line through a photomask to expose the film, and developing the film with an alkali developer or the like.

  The setting of the substrate temperature is based on the following reason. The present inventor investigated the conditions under which the resist pattern R can be satisfactorily peeled from the first material film 14a in a process performed later. As a result, the photoresist generally contains a component such as a coupling agent that enhances the adhesion to the base (here, the first material film 14a). If the substrate temperature is set to 150 ° C. or lower, the chemical reaction of this component is achieved. Was found to be suppressed. By adjusting the substrate temperature, the adhesion between the resist pattern R and the first material film 14a can be controlled. In particular, if the substrate temperature is set to 150 ° C. or lower, the resist does not cause surface roughness on the first material film 14a. The pattern R can be peeled off.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4D, using the resist pattern R as a mask, the first material film 14a in the ineffective pixel region D is removed by etching or the like and patterned. For the etching, either a dry etching method or a wet etching method may be used. For example, if ashing using oxygen plasma is used as a dry etching method, patterning becomes easy.

  Next, the resist pattern R is removed as shown in FIG. Since the resist pattern R is formed by baking at a substrate temperature of 150 ° C. or lower, the resist pattern R can be peeled and removed satisfactorily. The following process can be performed without removing the resist pattern R, and this technique will be described in [Fifth Embodiment].

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, the second material film 15 a is formed on the transparent substrate 10 </ b> A in the ineffective pixel region D using the droplet discharge head 200 with the pixel electrode 11 and the first material film 14 a as a partition. The liquid forming material is arranged. The second material film 15a is a film that will later become the second alignment film 15. Here, a solution containing a polyimide vertical alignment material is used as a liquid forming material.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the arranged liquid material is solidified by drying, baking, or the like to form the second material film 15a. Here, the film thickness of the second material film 15a is controlled by adjusting the volume of the liquid material to be arranged, that is, the discharge amount from the droplet discharge head 200, and the upper surface of the second material film 15a and the first material film 14a. And the step height of the upper surface is set to 0.1 μm or less.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5D, the first material film 14a and the second material film 15a are collectively rubbed. Specifically, the transparent substrate 10A on which the first material film 14a and the second material film 15a are formed is detachably fixed to the processing stage. Then, the rubbing roller 300 having the rubbing cloth disposed on the surface is brought into contact with the surface of the first material film 14a and the surface of the second material film 15a. Then, the rubbing roller 300 is further pushed into the processing stage by a predetermined height (pushing amount) from the contacted state, whereby the rubbing roller 300 presses the first material film 14a and the second material film 15a. Then, the processing stage is moved at a predetermined relative speed with respect to the rubbing roller 300, and the rubbing roller 300 is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed. The rubbing strength is defined by the pushing amount, the relative speed, and the rotational speed, and an alignment regulating force for horizontally aligning liquid crystal molecules according to the rubbing strength is applied to each of the first material film 14a and the second material film 15a.

  The following is considered as a mechanism for imparting alignment regulating force to the alignment film. A shear stress corresponding to the rubbing strength is applied to the surface of the alignment film by the fibers of the rubbing cloth, and the alignment film surface layer is stretched in the rubbing direction according to the stress and the surface hardness of the alignment film. When this fiber moves to another position, the stretched alignment film surface layer is deformed and relaxed, but is not completely restored to the original state, and strain along the rubbing direction remains. This residual strain causes an electrical bias and a surface shape bias in the alignment film, and the liquid crystal molecules are aligned by this bias. If the surface hardness of the alignment film is increased, the amount of deformation due to shear stress is reduced, so that the alignment regulating force is weakened.

The rubbing strength may be determined by the following method.
One method is a method of setting the rubbing strength to give a desired alignment regulating force to the first alignment film 14. When the surface hardness of the first material film 14a is higher than that of the second material film 15a, the rubbing strength is excessive with respect to the second material film 15a, which may cause scratches or streaks. However, since the second alignment film 15 is provided in the ineffective pixel region D, scratches and the like are not visually recognized, so that the quality of the image does not deteriorate. In addition, even if scratches or the like are generated in the second alignment film 15, the alignment regulating force hardly decreases. Therefore, the second alignment film 15 has an alignment regulating force for horizontally aligning liquid crystal molecules, and the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules of the pixel P is achieved. The function of regulating the direction is not impaired.

  The other method is a method of setting the rubbing strength to give a desired alignment regulating force to the second alignment film 15. When the liquid crystal molecules of the pixel P are vertically aligned with respect to the transparent substrates 10A and 20A, there is a large margin on the side where the pretilt angle of the liquid crystal molecules is reduced. That is, if the pretilt angle is larger than 0 °, the effect of easily aligning the liquid crystal molecules is obtained, so that it is not necessary to increase the alignment regulating force for horizontally aligning the liquid crystal molecules in the first alignment film 14. Therefore, if the rubbing process is performed with a rubbing strength suitable for the second material film 15a, the first material film 14a can be imparted with an alignment regulating force to some extent, and both the first alignment film 14 and the second alignment film 15 are provided. An orientation regulating force is imparted to such an extent that it functions well.

  By performing the rubbing process in this way, a good first alignment film 14 and second alignment film 15 can be obtained. Then, the element substrate 10 is obtained by forming the polarizing plate 12 shown in FIG. 1B on the opposite side of the pixel electrode 11 in the transparent substrate 10A. Further, the counter substrate 20 is formed independently of the element substrate 10 or by sharing some processes. Then, the element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 are disposed to face each other with the pixel electrode 11 side and the common electrode 21 side inward, and the liquid crystal layer 30 is sealed between the substrates, whereby the liquid crystal device 1 is obtained. .

  In the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device of the present invention as described above, after forming the first material film 14a and the second material film 15a having different surface hardness, the first material film 14a and the second material film are formed. Since the rubbing process is collectively performed on the first alignment film 15a, the first alignment film 14 and the second alignment film 15 having different alignment control forces can be formed efficiently. Since it is not necessary to perform the rubbing process a plurality of times under different rubbing conditions, a good liquid crystal device can be manufactured at low cost.

  In the liquid crystal device of the present invention thus obtained, since the alignment regulating force differs between the first alignment film 14 and the second alignment film 15, the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal layer 30 is different between the pixel P and the ineffective pixel region D. The molecules are in different orientations. Therefore, the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules of the pixel P can be controlled by the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules in the non-effective pixel region D, and the liquid crystal device can obtain a high-quality image. In addition, since it can be efficiently manufactured, a liquid crystal device capable of reducing costs can be obtained.

In addition, although demonstrated based on the liquid crystal device 1 of 1st Embodiment, the liquid crystal device 2 of 2nd Embodiment can also be manufactured similarly. Moreover, while using the said horizontal alignment material as a formation material of a 1st alignment film, and using the said vertical alignment material as a 2nd alignment film material, the liquid crystal device 3 of 3rd Embodiment can also be manufactured.
In the fourth embodiment, the first material film 14a is patterned using the resist pattern R as a mask. However, a photosensitive resin, for example, an ultraviolet photosensitive positive polyimide resin or the like is formed to form the first material film. 14a, which may be patterned by exposure and development. If patterning is performed by exposure and development, the process is simplified. On the other hand, when patterning is performed using the resist pattern R as in the fourth embodiment, the positional accuracy of the first alignment film 14 is increased, and accordingly, the positional accuracy of the second alignment film 15 is also increased.

[Fifth Embodiment]
Next, a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device having a mode different from that of the fourth embodiment will be described. This embodiment is different from the fourth embodiment in that the second material film is formed before the first material film, and that a liquid forming material is arranged using a resist pattern as a partition wall.

6A to 6D are cross-sectional process diagrams schematically showing a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device of the fifth embodiment.
First, as shown in FIG. 6A, the element forming layer 13 and the pixel electrode 11 having the light shielding portion 13d are formed on the transparent substrate 10A, and the solid second film covering the transparent substrate 10A and the pixel electrode 11 is formed. After forming the material film 15a, a resist pattern R is formed on the second material film 15a in the ineffective pixel region D. These can be formed using the same forming method and forming material as in the fourth embodiment.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, the second material film 15a of the pixel P is removed and patterned using the resist pattern R as a mask. In this embodiment, the resist pattern R is held without being peeled from the second material film 15a after patterning.
Next, as shown in FIG. 6C, a liquid material for forming the first material film 14 a is dropped on the pixel electrode 11 in the pixel P using a step portion between the upper surface of the pixel electrode 11 and the resist pattern R as a partition. Arranged by the ejection head 200. Since the inner volume of the partition increases by the film thickness of the resist pattern R, it becomes easy to adjust the amount of the liquid forming material disposed here, and the film thickness control of the first material film 14a is facilitated. In addition, since the liquid forming material does not easily overflow from the inside of the partition wall, the positional accuracy of arranging the liquid forming material is increased.

  And the 1st material film | membrane 14a is formed by drying and baking the arrange | positioned liquid. By baking at a substrate temperature of 150 ° C. or lower, the chemical reaction between the second material film 15a and the resist pattern R can be suppressed. Then, similarly to the fourth embodiment, the resist pattern R is peeled off from the second material film 15a, and a rinse treatment or the like is appropriately performed. Since the first material film 14a is formed by baking at a substrate temperature of 150 ° C. or less, the resist pattern R can be peeled off satisfactorily. In addition, the adhesion between the first material film 14a and the base (here, the pixel electrode 11) is stronger than when dried without heating, and the first material film 14a is prevented from being peeled off by rinsing or the like. Is done.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6 (d), the first material film 14a and the second material film 15a are collectively rubbed in the same manner as in the fourth embodiment to perform the first alignment film 14 and the second alignment film 15 as shown in FIG. After forming, the liquid crystal device 1 is obtained by performing subsequent steps. Although this embodiment has been described based on the liquid crystal device 1 of the first embodiment, it can also be applied to the second embodiment and the third embodiment as in the fourth embodiment.

[Sixth Embodiment]
Next, a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device having a different aspect from the fourth and fifth embodiments will be described. The present embodiment is different from the fourth embodiment in that the first material film is formed by the CVD method after the second material film is formed before the first material film.

7A to 7C are cross-sectional process diagrams schematically showing a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device of the sixth embodiment.
First, as shown in FIG. 7A, as in the fifth embodiment, the element formation layer 13, the pixel electrode 11, and the second material film 15a are formed on the transparent substrate 10A. Then, the resist pattern R is removed after the patterning of the second material film 15a.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 7B, a first material film 14 a is formed on the pixel electrode 11 in the pixel P using a CVD method. Specifically, the container 410 containing the forming material 420 of the first material film 14a and the transparent substrate 10A on which the second material film 15a is formed are left in the sealed container 400. Here, a silane coupling agent having a long-chain alkyl group having about 6 to 20 carbon atoms is used as the forming material 420 of the first material film 14a. Further, the container 410 is heated at a temperature of, for example, 150 ° C. or more for about 1 hour, thereby bringing the silane coupling agent vapor into contact with the surface of the pixel electrode 11. Since the silane coupling agent has an inorganic reactive group, it is selectively bonded to the pixel electrode 11 made of an inorganic material without being bonded to the second material film 15a made of an organic material.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7C, the first material film 14a and the second material film 15a are collectively rubbed in the same manner as in the fourth embodiment to perform the first alignment film 14 and the second alignment film 15. After forming, the liquid crystal device 1 is obtained by performing subsequent steps.
In addition, although this embodiment was also demonstrated based on the liquid crystal device 1 of 1st Embodiment, it applies to 2nd Embodiment and 3rd Embodiment by using a silane coupling agent for the formation material of 1st alignment film. It is also possible.

[Electronics]
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a projector 500 that is an embodiment of the electronic apparatus of the invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the projector 500 includes an illumination device 510, light modulation means (liquid crystal light valve) 550r, 550g, 550b, color composition means (dichroic prism) 560, projection means (projection lens) 570, and the like. .

  The illuminating device 510 includes a white lamp 511 such as a high-pressure mercury lamp or a metal halide lamp, and a reflector 512 that reflects the light of the white lamp 511 and emits it forward. Light emitted from the illumination device 510 is supplied to the liquid crystal light valves 550r, 550g, and 550b via the fly-eye lens array 520, the polarization conversion element 530, and the color separation unit 540.

The fly-eye lens array 520 makes the light intensity distribution of the light emitted from the illumination device 510 uniform. As a result, the illuminance distribution is made uniform in the liquid crystal light valves 550r, 550g, and 550b, which are illuminated areas.
The polarization conversion element 530 includes a polarization beam splitter array, a half-wave plate array, and the like, and aligns the polarization direction of the light source light in one direction without impairing the amount of illumination light.

  The color separation means 540 includes dichroic mirrors 541a and 541b, reflection mirrors 542a to 542c, parallel lenses 543a to 543e, and the like. The dichroic mirrors 541a and 541b selectively reflect colored light in a predetermined wavelength band and transmit colored light in other wavelength bands. For example, among the illumination light emitted from the illumination device 510, the red light Lr passes through the dichroic mirror 541a, and the green light Lg and the blue light Lb are reflected by the dichroic mirror 541a. Of the green light Lg and the blue light Lb reflected by the dichroic mirror 541a, the blue light Lb is transmitted through the dichroic mirror 541b, and the green light Lg is reflected by the dichroic mirror 541b.

  The red light Lr that has passed through the dichroic mirror 541a is reflected by the reflection mirror 542a and enters the liquid crystal light valve 550r for red light through the collimating lens 543a. The green light Lg reflected by the dichroic mirror 541a enters the liquid crystal light valve 550g for green light through the collimating lens 543b. The blue light Lb transmitted through the dichroic mirror 541b enters the liquid crystal light valve 550b for blue light through the collimating lens 543c, the reflecting mirror 542b, the collimating lens 543d, the reflecting mirror 542c, and the collimating lens 543e.

  The liquid crystal light valves 550r, 550g, and 550b are all configured by the liquid crystal device of the present invention. Each of the liquid crystal light valves 550r, 550g, and 550b is configured to modulate and emit light based on the image signal. The red light Lr, green light Lg, and blue light Lb modulated by the liquid crystal light valves 550r, 550g, and 550b are incident on the cross dichroic prism 560.

The cross dichroic prism 560 has a structure in which a triangular prism is bonded, a mirror surface through which red light Lr is reflected and green light Lg is transmitted, and a mirror through which blue light Lb is reflected and green light Lg is transmitted. The surfaces are formed orthogonal to each other. The red light Lr, green light Lg, and blue light Lb are selectively reflected or transmitted by these mirror surfaces and emitted to the same side. As a result, the three color lights are superposed to become combined light. This combined light is enlarged and projected onto the screen 580 by the projection lens 570.
In the projector 500 as described above, since the light modulation means (liquid crystal light valve) 550r, 550g, and 550b are constituted by the liquid crystal device of the present invention, a high-quality projection image can be obtained and the cost can be reduced. It has become.

  Next, an embodiment of an electronic apparatus provided with a display unit using the liquid crystal device of the present invention as a light modulation means will be described.

FIG. 9A is a perspective view showing an example of a mobile phone. The cellular phone 600 includes a display unit 610, and the display unit 610 is configured by the liquid crystal device of the present invention.
FIG. 9B is a perspective view illustrating an example of a portable information processing apparatus such as a word processor or a personal computer. The information processing apparatus 700 includes an input unit 710 such as a keyboard, a display unit 720, a housing 730, and the like. The display unit 720 is configured by the liquid crystal device of the present invention.
FIG. 9C is a perspective view showing an example of a wristwatch type electronic device. The watch 800 includes a display unit 810. The display unit 810 is constituted by the liquid crystal device of the present invention.

  In any of the electronic devices shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, the display unit is constituted by the liquid crystal device of the present invention, so that good display is possible and the cost is low.

  The electronic device is not limited to the electronic device, and can be applied to various electronic devices. For example, a desktop computer, multimedia personal computer (PC) and engineering workstation (EWS), pager, word processor, television, viewfinder type or monitor direct view type video tape recorder, electronic notebook, electronic desk calculator, The present invention can be applied to an electronic device such as a car navigation device, a POS terminal, or a device provided with a touch panel.

(A) is a pixel top view of 1st Embodiment, (b) is sectional drawing of (a). (A) is a pixel top view of 2nd Embodiment, (b) is sectional drawing of (a). (A), (b) is principal part sectional drawing which shows 3rd Embodiment. (A)-(d) is sectional process drawing which shows 4th Embodiment schematically. (A)-(d) is sectional process drawing which continues from FIG.4 (d). (A)-(d) is sectional process drawing which shows 5th Embodiment schematically. (A)-(c) is sectional process drawing which shows 6th Embodiment schematically. It is a schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of the projector which is embodiment of an electronic device. (A)-(c) is a perspective view which shows embodiment of another electronic device, respectively.

Explanation of symbols

1, 2, 3 ... Liquid crystal device, 10 ... Element substrate (first substrate), 11 ... Pixel electrode (first electrode), 14 ... First alignment film, 14a ... First Material film, 15 ... second alignment film, 15a ... second material film, 20 ... counter substrate (second substrate), 21 ... common electrode (second electrode), 30 ... liquid crystal Layer, P ... pixel (effective pixel area), D ... non-effective pixel area

Claims (6)

A liquid crystal device having a plurality of effective pixel regions and a non-effective pixel region disposed between the plurality of effective pixel regions,
A first substrate having a first electrode disposed in each of the plurality of effective pixel regions;
A second substrate having a second electrode;
A liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate;
A first alignment film formed between the first electrode and the liquid crystal layer in the plurality of effective pixel regions;
A second alignment film formed between the first alignment films in the non-effective pixel region,
The first alignment film and the second alignment film are rubbed together after being formed in a state in which the surface hardness of the first alignment film and the second alignment film are different from each other, so that the alignment regulating force for aligning the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer is increased. A liquid crystal device characterized by being formed differently from each other.   The first alignment film is a vertical alignment film, and the first alignment film is formed by the rubbing treatment after being formed in a state in which the surface hardness is higher than that of the second alignment film. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1.   An OCB mode liquid crystal device in which the first alignment film is a horizontal alignment film, wherein the second alignment film is subjected to the rubbing process after being formed to have a surface hardness higher than that of the first alignment film. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal device is formed.   4. The step height on the liquid crystal layer side between the surface of the first alignment film and the surface of the second alignment film is 0.1 μm or less. 5. Liquid crystal device. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device having a plurality of effective pixel regions and a non-effective pixel region disposed between the plurality of effective pixel regions,
Forming a first substrate having a first electrode disposed in each of the plurality of effective pixel regions;
Forming a second substrate having a second electrode;
Forming the liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate, with the first substrate and the second substrate facing each other with the first electrode and the second electrode inside, and Have
The step of forming the first substrate includes:
A first material film that covers the first electrode is formed in each of the plurality of effective pixel regions, and the surface hardness of the first material film is different between the first material films in the non-effective pixel region. A material film forming process for forming two material films;
The first material film and the second material film are collectively rubbed, and an alignment regulating force for aligning liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer is applied to the first material film to form a first alignment film. And an alignment treatment for forming a second alignment film by applying an alignment regulating force different from that of the first alignment film to the second material film.   An electronic apparatus comprising: a light modulation unit configured by the liquid crystal device according to claim 1.

Images