JP2009282290A - Photomask, color filter, liquid crystal display and method of manufacturing color filter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To optimize a photomask for forming a fixing spacer for cell gap control on a color filter for a liquid crystal display, by using a positive type photoresist, to provide a color filter having small variation depending on manufacturing step conditions, to provide a method of manufacturing the color filter, to provide a high-quality liquid crystal display, to provide a photomask for integrally forming a fixing spacer for controlling the cell gap and a projected part for regulating liquid crystal orientation domain, to provide the color filter and a method of manufacturing the color filter using the photomask, and to provide a high quality liquid crystal display. <P>SOLUTION: The photomask is used which has a half-tone part around a light shield part as a spacer pattern. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a color filter for a liquid crystal display device (LCD), and in particular, a color filter having a fixed spacer for forming a liquid crystal cell, a liquid crystal display device, a method for manufacturing the color filter, and a method for manufacturing the color filter. The present invention relates to a photomask.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, flat display devices have been widely used, and in particular, LCDs (liquid crystal display devices) are multicolor types that perform color display using color filters, especially for display panels such as televisions, monitors, and portable terminals. Use is progressing. In general, a microcell color filter is frequently used for multicolor, and the color filter plays an important role in determining the display quality of the liquid crystal display panel.

  An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) has a cell structure in which liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of substrates having at least one light transmission. In the case of the above-described multicolor display, a light transmission substrate is used. A color filter is formed on the inner surface of the cell. As shown in FIG. 1, the general structure of the color filter is that a light-blocking black matrix pattern 2 (abbreviated as BM pattern; hereinafter the same) and BM pattern are formed on one side of the transparent substrate 1 (the inner surface of the liquid crystal cell). In the case of a TN (twisted nematic) type, for example, in the case of a TN (twisted nematic) type, a repeated arrangement of the colored patterns 30, 31, and 32 that regularly fills the gap of 2 is formed by accurate alignment. , 31, 32 so that the transparent electrode layer 4 is formed so as to cover the repeated arrangement. Conventionally, the color filter used to refer to the components up to this point, but in recent years, especially with the enlargement and narrowing of the liquid crystal cell, it was conventionally sprayed in the cell forming process for cell gap control. In place of the bead spacer, a fixed spacer (abbreviated as a PS portion, hereinafter the same) 5 called a photo spacer or a post spacer, which is selectively formed of a photosensitive resin, is often provided. In addition, the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusions 6 are often formed on the color filter pixels for the purpose of enlarging the viewing angle of the LCD by using vertical alignment division control for the liquid crystal alignment mode. The entire structure including the PS portion 5 and the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion 6 is referred to as a color filter 11.

  FIG. 2 shows a general example in the case where the various protrusions are formed by a photographic method. This is an example of forming the color filter 11 as a whole component in which a new protrusion is added to the conventional color filter 10 having a limited function. The photomask 20 corresponds to a pattern of new protrusions formed on the color filter 10 by the light shielding portion 8 formed on the transparent substrate 21, and the irradiation light irradiated from the opposite side of the transparent substrate 21 from the light shielding portion 8. The positive photoresist 7 applied on the color filter 10 is selectively exposed through a portion where the light-shielding portion 8 is not provided, and development solubility is given. Thereafter, the light shielding part pattern is baked onto the color filter 10 through development, washing, and baking processes.

  The PS portion 5 is formed in a selectively determined arrangement overlapping the BM pattern 2 and has a function of keeping the liquid crystal cell gap constant. For the purpose of securing a sufficient height, the red (R) , Green (G), blue (B) three colored patterns 30, 31, 32 may be superimposed on the BM pattern to compensate for the height (see Patent Document 1).

In addition, as an example of forming the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusions 6 that become the protrusions in parallel with the PS part 5, as described in Patent Document 2, the above-mentioned 2 different heights using positive photoresists of the same material The types of protrusions can be simultaneously formed by selectively performing two exposure steps.

  Further, among the two types of protrusions having different heights, the colored PS 30, 31, and 32 are used as BM patterns for the purpose of ensuring a sufficient height in the higher PS portion 5 as in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1. By superimposing the base material of the PS portion on top of each other, the PS portion 5 and the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion 6 can be simultaneously formed in exactly the same process (see Patent Document 3).

  Further, in Patent Document 2, the purpose of using the above-described two exposure steps is to provide the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion 6 with an intermediate exposure amount between a region that provides a sufficient exposure amount and a light-shielding region. It is to make the height of the middle level. Based on the same concept, a method is also known in which an intermediate density pattern is selectively formed on the photomask itself, and the above-mentioned two types of protrusions having different heights are collectively formed by one exposure and development. As a method of forming an intermediate density pattern on a photomask, an average of the entire fine pattern area is semi-translucent by a collection of fine patterns of light shielding films such as dot (halftone dot) arrangement and line and space. There are two types of gray-tone masks: a general gray-tone mask type that corresponds to the part, and a half-tone mask type that forms a uniform semi-transparent part by directly forming a film having semi-transparent film characteristics and patterning means. (Patent Document 4).

  Many proposals have been made to form the protrusion including the PS portion 5 with the positive photoresist by the above-mentioned various methods, but there are many problems, and at present, the negative photoresist is used to form the PS portion. There are many cases. The reason why the positive type photoresist is not always realized despite the advantages of using the same process as the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusions 6 at a lower material cost and in the same process as the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion 6 will be described with reference to FIG. Furthermore, there is a quality abnormality due to the difficulty in controlling the height shown in the PS sections 51 and 52 and the depression of the upper surface shown in the PS section 53. That is, in the PS portions 51 and 52 having a planar size of less than 40 μm, variations in the exposure amount of the thickly applied photoresist film and the exposure gap of the proximity exposure method are sensitive to the development thickness, that is, the height of the PS portion. As a result, the function of giving a certain height which is particularly important for cell gap control is impaired. In addition, in the PS portion 53 having a planar size of 40 μm or more, a dent is generated on the upper surface of the PS portion, which causes a problem of causing quality abnormality when applying the alignment film in the liquid crystal cell manufacturing process.

Further, in FIG. 1, in the method of raising the portion corresponding to the base of the PS portion 5 by overlapping two or more layers among the colored patterns 30, 31, 32 on the BM pattern 2, and consequently forming the PS portion high, Since the thickness of the dedicated layer formed in the process as the PS portion 5 does not necessarily need to be particularly thick, the problems in the case of using the above positive photoresist can be largely avoided. However, when the colored patterns 30, 31, and 32 are laminated to partially bulge the BM pattern 2, both the accuracy of application of the material forming each colored pattern and the accuracy of alignment of the overlap are controlled with extremely high accuracy. It is especially important to do so, and there are difficulties in stabilizing the production process.
Japanese Patent No. 3651874 JP 2001-201750 A Japanese Patent No. 3255107 JP 2007-248988 A

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to optimize a photomask for forming a cell gap control fixed spacer using a positive photoresist in a color filter for a liquid crystal display device, and to reduce color variation due to process conditions And a manufacturing method thereof, and a high-quality liquid crystal display device. In addition, another problem to be solved by the present invention is to form a cell gap control fixed spacer and a liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion at a time using a positive photoresist in a color filter for a liquid crystal display device. And a color filter and a method for manufacturing the same using the photomask, and a high-quality liquid crystal display device.

  The invention described in claim 1 is a photomask for forming a fixed spacer for cell gap control using a positive photoresist in a color filter, wherein a halftone portion is formed around the light shielding portion as a spacer pattern. It is a photomask characterized by having.

  The invention described in claim 2 is a photomask for collectively forming a cell gap controlling fixed spacer and a liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion using a positive type photoresist in a color filter, wherein The photomask is characterized in that it has a halftone portion around the light-shielding portion, and is formed of a graytone portion or a halftone portion as a pattern of the domain regulating projection portion.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the photomask according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the light shielding part of the spacer pattern is 10 μm or more and the width of the surrounding halftone part is 5 μm or more on one side. is there.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color filter using the photomask according to any one of the first to third aspects when the fixed spacer is formed on the color filter.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the color filter according to claim 4, wherein the planar size of the fixed spacer is 20 μm or more.

  The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that the photomask according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is used in forming the fixed spacer and the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion on the color filter at once. It is a color filter.

  A seventh aspect of the invention is a liquid crystal display device comprising the color filter according to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects.

  The invention according to claim 8 is a method for producing a color filter, wherein the photomask according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is used in forming the fixed spacer on the color filter.

  The invention according to claim 9 is the method for producing a color filter according to claim 8, wherein the planar size of the fixed spacer is 20 μm or more.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the photomask according to any one of the first to third aspects is used in forming the fixed spacer and the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion on the color filter at once. It is a manufacturing method of a color filter.

When forming fixed spacers for controlling cell gaps in color filters for liquid crystal display devices, variations in exposure gaps and exposure amounts between photomasks and color filters have a significant effect on the spacer height when the spacer planar size is small. In addition, when the planar size of the spacer is large, there is a problem that a portion to be flat on the upper surface is recessed, and there is a difficulty in using the positive type photoresist. With the described photomask, high-quality fixed spacers can be formed on the color filter with a positive photoresist.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the fixing spacer can be formed in the same process as the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion, and can be simultaneously formed at the same time, so that the photomask manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to define the structure of a photomask for realizing a plane size particularly suitable for the fixed spacer constituting the color filter of the present invention stably and with high quality. it can.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 4, a color filter having a high-quality fixed spacer uniformly can be obtained at a low material cost, and the obtained color filter conforms to the liquid crystal cell forming process without any abnormality, This can contribute to the production of high-quality liquid crystal cells.

  In addition, according to the invention described in claim 5, since a plane size particularly suitable for the fixed spacer constituting the color filter of the present invention can be realized stably and with high quality, the obtained color filter is It conforms to the liquid crystal cell formation process without any abnormality and can further contribute to the production of high quality liquid crystal cells.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 6, not only can the fixed spacer be produced in the same process as the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion, but also a color filter formed simultaneously can be obtained. The material cost for producing the filter can be reduced. In addition, the color filters formed in a batch are compatible with the liquid crystal cell forming process without any abnormality, and can further contribute to the production of high quality liquid crystal cells.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a liquid crystal display device including a color filter with stable quality can be provided with high quality.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 8, since a color filter having uniformly high-quality fixed spacers can be obtained with a low material cost and a stable process, productivity can be improved with a high yield. In addition, the color filter specifications can be changed without greatly changing the manufacturing process conditions.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 9, since a product having a plane size particularly suitable for the fixed spacer constituting the color filter of the present invention can be realized with high quality and high yield, productivity is improved. In addition, it is possible to cope with changes in the specifications of the color filter without greatly changing the manufacturing process conditions.

  According to the invention described in claim 10, since the fixed spacer can be manufactured in the same process as the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion, not only can the equipment and the space be saved, but also the color spacer is formed at the same time. The manufacturing process can be greatly shortened.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the conceptual cross-sectional view illustrating the general configuration of the color filter in FIG. 1, the protrusions such as the PS portion 5 or the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion 6 are placed on a conventional color filter having no such protrusion. A general method for forming a new structure will be described with reference to the conceptual cross-sectional view of FIG. After forming the BM pattern 2 and the colored patterns 30, 31, and 32 on the transparent substrate 1, the positive photoresist 7 is applied and formed on the color filter (without the protrusions) 10 on which the transparent electrode layer 4 is formed. The positive-type photoresist 7 is a material for forming a protrusion such as the PS portion 5 or the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion 6, and in particular, as the PS portion 5, the shape quality including the height accuracy and the elastic characteristics are taken into consideration. And select. For example, a commercially available novolac resin-based positive photoresist is applied at a dry height of about 3 to 4 μm, but is not limited thereto. The application method is not particularly limited as long as the use efficiency of the photoresist is good and it can be applied uniformly.

  In FIG. 2, the positive type photo resist 7 is applied and dried to face the color filter 10, and the pattern surface of the photo mask 20 is brought close to it while aligning with the opposing surface, and the resist exposure light from the back side of the photo mask is obtained. 40 for exposure. In the exposure process, a gamma ray (436 nm), h ray (405 nm), i from an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp that easily obtains high-intensity and parallel light by a collective exposure machine for proximity exposure that is generally used for manufacturing color filters. With a line (365 nm) as a main wavelength, exposure is performed according to the photoresist sensitivity with an exposure gap of about 100 μm. Thereafter, a pattern of protrusions corresponding to the light-shielding portion 8 of the photomask is formed of a photoresist through development, washing, and baking processes.

  Here, the situation of the shape defect of the PS portion described above will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4. In the PS portions 51 and 52 having a plane size of less than 40 μm, the exposure amount and proximity to the photoresist film that is applied thickly. Variations in the exposure gap of the exposure method sensitively affect the development thickness, more precisely, the height of the PS portion after baking, resulting in variations d. For this reason, the function which gives the constant height especially important for cell gap control is impaired. Further, in the PS portion 53 having a planar size of 40 μm or more, a dent e is generated on the upper surface of the PS portion, resulting in poor alignment in the liquid crystal cell manufacturing process and causing a quality abnormality.

  As a result of discovering that each of the above-mentioned phenomena is related to the bulge of the pattern end due to baking, and as a result of intensive studies, the present inventors have found a design guideline for the photomask of the present invention. That is, in the example of the regular octagonal light-shielding pattern, a tendency that the bulge of the peripheral edge portion due to baking is particularly large is observed, but in the case of the PS portion having a planar size of less than 40 μm, the depression on the upper surface of the PS portion does not reach Rather, variations in exposure conditions greatly affect the final height variation. On the other hand, in the case of the PS portion having a planar size of 40 μm or more, a dent on the upper surface of the PS portion is generated. Based on the above knowledge, we considered that it is possible to provide a common improvement measure for each of the above-mentioned plane sizes by providing a region for reducing fluctuations in exposure conditions and thermal deformation at the edge of the photomask pattern. Its effectiveness was confirmed.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the PS portion of the present invention and the corresponding photomask. In the color filter (with protrusions formed) 11, a photomask 20 for forming the PS portion 5 is a photomask for forming a cell gap control fixed spacer using a positive photoresist in the color filter. The photomask is characterized by having a halftone portion 9 around the light shielding portion 8 as a spacer pattern. The transparent substrate 21 of the photomask transmits at least light having a wavelength in a region utilizing the photosensitivity of the photoresist 7 used in the PS portion 5 among the irradiation light 40 for resist exposure from the exposure machine. Examples thereof include quartz glass and alkali-free glass. The light-shielding portion 8 is generally patterned by a photo-etching method of a metal chromium film that has been conventionally formed mainly by a sputtering method, or a thin film of a low reflection film in which chromium oxide is laminated on the metal chromium. Etching means may be wet or dry. Further, it is appropriate to use a semi-transparent film of chromium oxide for the halftone portion 9, and the spectral transmittance is preferably as flat as possible near the visible range, and the transmittance is about 20% as a guideline. It is not limited to this. Chromium oxide as a thin film material is generally formed by a sputtering method, and its absorption coefficient varies depending on the degree of oxidation, but it may be optimized from the etching suitability and the required film thickness in later patterning. The halftone part 9 can be patterned by the same means as the patterning of the light shielding part 8.

  FIG. 5 is a conceptual cross-sectional view illustrating a situation where the cross-sectional shape of the PS portion of the present invention is optimally formed. As the fixed spacer (PS portion), for example, a trapezoidal protrusion having a regular octagonal horizontal section is formed on the color filter. When the plane size of the PS portion is represented by regarding the distance between two opposing sides of the lower bottom portion as the diameter of the difference, this plane size becomes an object of each of the above-described two classified plane sizes. In the present invention, a common improvement measure is implemented for both the PS portions 51 and 52 having a planar size of the PS portion of less than 40 μm and the PS portion 53 having a size of 40 μm or more. Of the patterns on the photomask corresponding to the PS portions, the light shielding portions are denoted by 81, 82, 83, respectively, and the halftone portions are denoted by 91, 92, 93, respectively.

  Since it is necessary for the PS portion to exhibit a function as a fixed spacer for constituting the liquid crystal cell, it is desirable that the PS portion has a uniform height, shape, and elastic characteristics. Therefore, it is not preferable that the plane size is too small from the viewpoint of function and production yield. Actually, it is desirable that the size of the fixed spacer is 20 μm or more.

  In the photomask 20 of the present invention, the patterns corresponding to the PS portions 5, 51, 52, and 53 on the color filter cover the patterns of the light shielding portions 8, 81, 82, and 83 as shown in FIGS. Thus, the halftone portions 9, 91, 92, 93 are formed. FIG. 7 illustrates the structure using a conceptual plan view. For example, the half-tone part 9 covers the periphery of the regular octagonal light-shielding part 8 with a constant width c. In order for the photomask pattern to exert its effect on the formation of the PS portion, it is better to limit the sizes of the light shielding portion and the halftone portion. That is, as a result of experimental investigation, it is desirable that the planar size b of the light shielding part 8 is 10 μm or more, and the halftone part 9 is 5 μm or more on one side as the width c around the light shielding part 8. More preferably, the stability quality of the PS portion can be further improved when the width c around the halftone portion 9 is 10 μm or more on one side. The pattern of the photomask 20 corresponding to the PS portion 5 is represented by the total plane size a of the region including the light shielding portion 8 and the halftone portion 9 described above. The planar size at the bottom of the PS portion 5 is approximately equivalent to a.

  Further, according to the present invention, as the protrusion provided on the color filter, a liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion can be collectively formed in addition to the PS portion. FIG. 6 is a conceptual cross-sectional view for explaining the relationship between various protrusions of the present invention and corresponding photomask patterns. Whereas the light-shielding portion 8 and the halftone portion 9 are portions on the photomask for forming the PS portion 5 described above, it is on the photomask for forming the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion 6 on the color filter. The part is a gray tone portion or a half tone portion 95.

  As a method for creating an intermediate density region on a photomask, a semi-transparent portion is obtained as an average of the entire fine pattern region by a collection of fine patterns of a light shielding film such as dot (halftone dot) arrangement and line and space. There are a general gray-tone mask type for forming a semi-transparent film and a half-tone mask type for forming a semi-transparent portion by direct film formation and patterning means. The former gray-tone mask type, in which only one type of light-shielding film needs to be vacuum-deposited, compared to the latter, where vacuum film-forming needs to be carried out separately for the light-shielding film material and the semi-transmissive film material. However, the manufacturing process is simple. Nevertheless, in the photomask used for manufacturing the PS portion 5, the reason why the half-tone mask type is the intermediate density region combined with the light-shielding film is that the gray-tone mask type is due to the diffraction interference effect of light at the pattern peripheral portion. This is because there is a large variation in light intensity, and it is difficult to keep the shape quality of the PS portion having a particularly large film thickness good. On the other hand, in the formation of the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion 6, the film thickness is smaller than that of the PS portion, and a sufficient film thickness can be obtained even using a mask pattern of only the intermediate density region. The type of the density region can be either a gray tone portion or a half tone portion.

  As described above, a new design guideline has been found for a photomask for manufacturing a color filter having a fixed spacer for forming a liquid crystal cell, and a liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion can be formed together with the fixed spacer on the color filter. It became possible. Not only for fixed spacers and liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusions, but also for fine patterns to be newly added on color filters, especially when the film thickness is equal to or greater than that of the PS part, It can be easily assumed that various patterns can be collectively formed by changing the mask design. It is clear that even a thin pattern can be collectively formed with other patterns by the same treatment as the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion.

  For example, apart from the PS portion, a sub-PS portion that is about 0.5 μm lower than the PS portion and has a function of supporting the PS portion in the liquid crystal cell forming process may be formed. Compared to the fact that the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion is lower than half the height of the PS part, the sub PS part is an intermediate height between the PS part and the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion. . In such a case, the transmittance of the photomask pattern corresponding to the sub PS portion is higher than that of the light shielding portion used for the PS portion corresponding pattern, but the photomask corresponding to the liquid crystal alignment domain restricting projection portion It can be optimized if the design is lower than the transmittance of the pattern. The design guidelines for photomasks that can be manufactured in a simple process and that can be easily controlled in the production of color filters vary depending on the individual case. Alternatively, various types such as a mixed type are possible. As a special method, like the PS portion, the sub-PS portion also forms a photomask pattern composed of a light shielding portion and a halftone portion, and the planar size is designed smaller than the PS portion on the photomask and the finish of the color filter. Thus, even if the coating thickness of the positive photoresist on the color filter is uniform, the height of the sub-PS portion is made higher than that of the PS portion due to the general effects in the manufacturing process of the color filter from exposure to development. A manufacturing method aiming at a smaller finish is also possible.

  A liquid crystal display device can be manufactured using the color filter of the present invention described so far. A color filter having a configuration similar to that of the present invention is manufactured in the same manner as a liquid crystal display device manufactured by providing a conventional method. However, in the present invention, a liquid crystal display device having a stable color filter is manufactured with high quality. Can be provided. For example, the quality of the PS portion of the color filter has no variation in height, and there is no dent on the top surface of the PS portion when the planar size is large. Does not cause quality abnormalities.

It is a section conceptual diagram explaining the general composition of a color filter. It is a cross-sectional conceptual diagram explaining the general method of forming a projection part in a color filter. It is a cross-sectional conceptual diagram explaining the relationship between the PS part of this invention and a corresponding photomask. It is a cross-sectional conceptual diagram explaining the situation which the cross-sectional shape of the conventional PS part produces a malfunction. It is a section conceptual diagram explaining the situation where the section shape of PS part of the present invention is formed optimally. It is a cross-sectional conceptual diagram explaining the relationship between the various projection parts of this invention, and a corresponding photomask pattern. It is a plane conceptual diagram explaining the structure of the photomask pattern corresponding to PS part of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Transparent substrate 2 ... BM pattern 4 ... Transparent electrode layer 5, 51, 52, 53 ... PS part 6 ... Liquid crystal alignment domain control projection part 7 ... ..Positive type photoresists 8, 81, 82, 83... Shading portions 9, 91, 92, 93... Halftone portion 10.
11 ... Color filter (with protrusions)
20... Photomask 21... Transparent substrate 30, 31, 32... Colored pattern 40. Irradiation light 95 for resist exposure. Gray tone part or halftone part a. Total plane size b of the pattern of the part b ... Plane size of the light shielding part of the pattern of the PS part c ... Plane size of the halftone part on one side of the pattern of the PS part

Claims (10)

  A photomask for forming a fixed spacer for cell gap control using a positive photoresist for a color filter, wherein the photomask has a halftone portion around a light shielding portion as a spacer pattern .   A photomask for forming a fixed cell gap control spacer and a liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion using a positive type photoresist in a color filter, and a halftone pattern around the light shielding portion as a spacer pattern And a gray-tone part or a half-tone part as a pattern of the domain regulating protrusion.   3. The photomask according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding part of the spacer pattern is 10 μm or more and the width of the surrounding halftone part is 5 μm or more on one side.   A color filter using the photomask according to claim 1 in forming the fixed spacer on the color filter.   The color filter according to claim 4, wherein the planar size of the fixed spacer is 20 μm or more.   A color filter using the photomask according to any one of claims 1 to 3 in forming a fixed spacer and a liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion on the color filter.   A liquid crystal display device comprising the color filter according to claim 4.   A method for producing a color filter, wherein the photomask according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is used in forming the fixed spacer on the color filter.   The method for producing a color filter according to claim 8, wherein the planar size of the fixed spacer is 20 μm or more.   A method for producing a color filter, wherein the photomask according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is used to collectively form the fixed spacer and the liquid crystal alignment domain regulating protrusion on the color filter.