JP2009301059A - Method of manufacturing electrophoresis display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an easy and short-time method of manufacturing an electrooptical device provided with a partition between substrates, having an improved yield and reduced production cost. <P>SOLUTION: The method of manufacturing the electrooptical device has the steps: of sealing an electrooptical material containing a polymerizable material between the pair of materials; and of partitioning an area sealed with the electrooptical material into a plurality of areas by polymerizing the polymerizable material. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, an electro-optical device, and an electronic apparatus.

  In recent years, with the spread of mobile electronic devices such as mobile phones and notebook personal computers, display devices are required to have higher functionality and are actively researched. In particular, there is an increasing demand for low power consumption and thin display devices, and so far, liquid crystal display devices have satisfied the demand. However, as a thin display device, a display device using a self-luminous material such as organic electroluminescence or inorganic electroluminescence, an electrophoretic display device using a migration phenomenon due to Coulomb force of charged particles, etc. have been proposed. It has unique characteristics that display devices do not have and is expected to be used in various fields.

  The electrophoretic display device has a configuration in which a dispersion medium containing charged particles (electrophoretic particles) that are electro-optic materials is filled between a pair of substrates provided with electrodes. By applying a voltage through the electrode, the charged particles having a charge are attracted to the opposite polarity electrode, and a desired display is performed by comparing the color of the charged particles with the color of the dispersion medium. For example, when both white charged particles of titanium oxide having a positive charge and black charged particles of carbon having a negative charge are used as charged particles, the white charged particles and the black charged particles are attracted to electrodes of opposite polarities. Excellent contrast can be obtained because of confrontation. This electrophoretic display device is characterized by excellent resolution and contrast and wide viewing angle characteristics. Further, once a voltage is applied and the charged particles are attracted to the electrode by an electrophoresis phenomenon, the charged particles can be held even when the power is turned off. Furthermore, a polymer material can be used for the substrate, and it has a feature that it can be made light and inexpensive. Therefore, specifically, it can be used as electronic paper and is expected as a display device that replaces printed matter using paper as a medium.

  In the electrophoretic display device, for example, when two or more kinds of charged particles having different specific gravities are used, the components in the dispersion medium are required to be uniform over the entire surface of the substrate without being separated due to the difference in specific gravities. For this reason, it has been proposed that the electro-optical device has a configuration in which a plurality of partition regions partitioned by partition walls are provided between the substrates, and the partition region is filled with a dispersion medium containing charged particles. In this configuration, the movement of the dispersion medium is allowed only inside the partition region, and the separation of the charged particles due to the specific gravity difference can be eliminated.

  Conventionally, an electrophoretic display device having a configuration in which a plurality of partition regions partitioned by the partition walls described above are provided between the substrates, first, the partition walls are formed on one substrate, and a plurality of partition regions partitioned by the partition walls are provided. Next, the dispersion medium containing charged particles is filled into each partition region from the opening side, the opening is sealed, and the other substrate is bonded.

  However, the partition area has a small size of several μm to several hundred μm, and a number corresponding to the number of display units is provided on the substrate surface, and each of the partition areas includes a dispersion medium containing charged particles. In the manufacturing method for filling the material, there is a problem that the process of filling and sealing the dispersion medium is particularly complicated and takes time. Further, when the amount of the dispersion medium is large, the dispersion medium leaks. On the other hand, when the filling amount is small, voids are generated in the partition region. For this reason, precise control of the filling amount is necessary, and there is a problem in that the yield is poor.

  An electro-optical device using an electro-optical material such as liquid crystal, charged particles (electrophoretic particles), and a self-luminous material is used in a configuration in which an electro-optical material is filled between a pair of opposing substrates. Therefore, as described above, when a plurality of partition regions partitioned by the partition walls are provided between the substrates and the partition region is filled with an electro-optic material, the partition region is manufactured by a method of filling each partition region with an electro-optic material. It was. For this reason, there is a problem that the process of filling and sealing the electro-optic material is complicated and takes time.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems. That is, a manufacturing method of an electro-optical device and an electrophoretic display device that can realize a simple manufacturing process, a reduction in process time, a reduction in yield, and a reduction in manufacturing cost is provided. By this manufacturing method, an electro-optical device having excellent characteristics is provided. The present invention has been made to provide a device, an electrophoretic display device, and an electronic apparatus.

  That is, the method for manufacturing an electro-optical device according to the present invention includes a step of encapsulating an electro-optical material containing a polymerizable material between a pair of substrates, and a region in which the electro-optical material is encapsulated by polymerizing the polymerizable material. And a step of partitioning into a plurality of regions.

  By adopting such a method of manufacturing an electro-optical device of the present invention, after encapsulating the electro-optical material, the polymerizable material is polymerized and partitioned, so that the electro-optical material is not sealed for each partitioned region. There is an advantage that the enclosing operation can be performed in a lump. According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, it is possible to use a so-called vacuum injection method or the like for the reasons described above. That is, an electro-optical material sealing region is provided between a pair of substrates by a sealing member, and a part of the sealing member is opened to serve as an injection port. Then, after the injection port is immersed in a liquid electro-optic material under vacuum or reduced pressure conditions, the electro-optic material is sealed between the substrates by setting the pressure condition higher than the above-described vacuum or reduced pressure conditions. For this reason, a manufacturing process can be simplified and the time which a process requires can be shortened. Furthermore, since there is no work for filling each compartment area with the electro-optic material, it is not necessary to precisely control the filling amount in each compartment area, yield can be greatly reduced, and manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  As the polymerizable substance, it is preferable to use a polymerizable monomer or a polymer precursor, and it is further preferable to employ a polymerizable substance that exhibits photopolymerization, for example, a polymerization reaction by ultraviolet rays. When employing a photopolymerizable polymer material, at least one of the pair of substrates is made light transmissive, and light is irradiated through the substrate. As the polymerizable monomer or polymer precursor, styrene, methyl methacrylate, vinyl acetate, or the like may be used. The partition material formed in these substances is excellent in chemical resistance and stable with respect to the electro-optical material, and can realize excellent heat resistance, environmental resistance, strength, and elasticity.

By adopting a photopolymerizable polymer substance, it becomes easy to partition with high accuracy.
This is because the polymerizable substance can be polymerized by performing exposure through a mask in which the partition portions are selectively opened. Of course, the present invention can be carried out by using thermal polymerization in addition to photopolymerization, but it is preferable to use photopolymerization that allows easy control of the irradiation site when fine compartments are used.

  The electro-optical device according to the aspect of the invention includes the electro-optical device manufactured by any one of the methods described above, and the electro-optical device includes a plurality of display units and is in the partitioned area. At least one display unit is included. In particular, it is preferable that the display unit includes a plurality of display units corresponding to each of a plurality of colors, and the plurality of display units are partitioned for each color.

  According to the present invention, since the division is made for each display unit of different colors, it is possible to prevent color mixture. At that time, if the partition material for partitioning has light absorption, the partition material functions as a black mask, so that a secondary effect of improving contrast can be obtained. For example, in a dot matrix type electro-optical device for full color display, three display units of R (red), G (green), B (blue), C (cyan), Y (yellow), and M (magenta) are used. One pixel is configured as one set. At that time, it is possible to prevent color mixture in the pixel by dividing each display unit. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to, for example, an electro-optical device that performs so-called icon display in which a display unit is provided for each character other than the above-described dot matrix type electro-optical device.

  In addition, a plurality of display units are included in the partitioned area. In the case where all adjacent display units are different color display units, it is desirable to divide each display unit as described above. However, in other cases, for example, when performing black and white display, In the case of the same color, a plurality of display units may be included in one partition area.

  Further, the display device includes a display electrode for driving the electro-optical material and a wiring for supplying a signal to the display electrode, and is partitioned in a region overlapping the wiring in a plane. As described above, the area of the display area can be increased by performing the division on the wiring, that is, outside the display area.

  Further, the semiconductor device further includes a switching element connected to the wiring, and is partitioned in a region overlapping with the switching element in a plane. As the switching element, a TFT (thin film transistor) or a TFD element (thin film diode) can be used. With such a configuration, since the switching element is covered with the partition material, it is possible to prevent malfunction of the element due to the entrance of light.

  In addition, an electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes any one of the above electro-optical devices.

  As described above, according to the method for manufacturing an electro-optical device of the present invention, the method includes the step of encapsulating an electro-optical material containing a polymerizable monomer and the step of polymerizing the polymerizable monomer to form a partition wall. Therefore, it is not necessary to inject the electro-optical material into each partition region formed by the partition walls, the process of injecting and sealing the electro-optical material can be simplified, and the time required for the process can be shortened. Furthermore, the yield and manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced. In addition, the partition wall has excellent binding properties to the substrate, the line width of the partition wall can be narrowed, the aperture ratio can be improved, and the partition area can be miniaturized. In addition, the manufacturing method of the present invention can provide an electro-optical device and an electronic apparatus that are inexpensive and have excellent display characteristics.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of an electro-optical device according to a first embodiment of the invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an element substrate showing an example of an electro-optical device according to a first embodiment of the invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows an example of the manufacturing method of the electro-optical apparatus of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows an example of the manufacturing method of the electro-optical apparatus of this invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an element substrate showing an example of an electro-optical device of the invention. It is a figure which shows the arrangement pattern of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) of a color filter, (a) is a mosaic type, (b) is a triangle type, (c) is a stripe type, (d) FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a 4-pixel arrangement type. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of an electro-optical device according to a second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of an element substrate showing an example of an electro-optical device according to a second embodiment of the invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the electronic paper which is an example of the electronic device of this invention. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an electronic notebook which is an example of an electronic apparatus according to the invention. It is a perspective view showing the composition of an electronic book which is an example of the electronic equipment of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
[Electro-optical device]
As an electro-optical device of the present embodiment, an electrophoretic display device described below is an active matrix display device using a TFT (Thin-film Transistor) element as a switching element. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an electrophoretic display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following drawings, in order to make the drawings easy to see, the ratios of the dimensions, film thicknesses, and the like of the respective constituent members are changed and are not consistent with the actual ones. The element substrate 1 on which the display electrode 4 is formed and the counter substrate 2 on which the common electrode 3 is formed face each other so that the electrode formation surfaces face each other at a certain interval. A plurality of partitioned regions are provided, and the partition region is filled with a dispersion medium 5 of charged particles, which is an electro-optic material. Here, the counter substrate 2 and the common electrode 3 are light transmissive, and the observer can observe the display image from the counter substrate side. A color filter 6 having colored layers of different colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) is formed on the counter substrate 2, and a common electrode 3 is formed on the color filter 6. The common electrode 3 is formed of a transparent conductive film such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide).

  The partition wall 8 is formed by polymerizing styrene, methyl methacrylate, and vinyl acetate, which are polymerizable monomers. A dispersion medium in which charged particles are dispersed in an insulating solvent dodecylbenzene is used. As the charged particles, a mixture of white charged particles of titanium oxide having a positive charge and black charged particles of carbon having a negative charge is used. The primary particle diameter of titanium oxide is about 0.2 to 0.4 μm, and the primary particle diameter of carbon is 10 to 80 nm. Carbon exists as secondary particles (about 100 nm to 1.5 μm) in which several primary particles are aggregated. When a voltage is applied to the electrodes, the white charged particles and the black charged particles are attracted to the electrodes of opposite polarities. Therefore, according to the direction of the applied voltage, the black and white color charged particles can be arranged on a substrate provided with electrodes so as to face each other, and can be used as a display device having excellent contrast.

  FIG. 2 shows a plurality of display electrodes 4, TFT elements 7, data lines 20 a, scanning lines 21 a, and the like arranged in a matrix constituting the image display area of the electrophoretic display device of this embodiment. In the display device of the present embodiment, a plurality of display units arranged in a matrix that constitutes an image display area include a display electrode 4 as a transparent conductive layer and a TFT for performing energization control on the display electrode 4. Each element 7 is formed, and a data line 20 a to which an image signal is supplied is electrically connected to the source of the TFT element 7. The image signal to be written to the data line 20a is supplied line-sequentially or is supplied for each group to a plurality of adjacent data lines 20a.

  The scanning lines 21a are electrically connected to the gates of the TFT elements 7, and scanning signals are supplied to the plurality of scanning lines 21a in a pulse-sequential manner at predetermined timings. The display electrode 4 is electrically connected to the drain of the TFT element 7, and the image signal supplied from the data line 20a is written at a predetermined timing by turning on the TFT element 7 for a certain period. An image signal of a predetermined level written on the display electrode 4 is held for a certain period with the common electrode 3 described later. The charged particles having an electric charge are attracted toward the electrode having the opposite polarity to the charged particles among the display electrode 4 and the common electrode 3, and gradation display is made possible by comparing the color of the charged particles with the color of the dispersion medium.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of display electrodes 4 are provided in a matrix on the element substrate, and data lines 20a and scanning lines 21a are provided along the vertical and horizontal boundaries of the display electrodes 4, respectively. In the present embodiment, the display area formed in the area surrounded by the data line 20a and the scanning line 21a is a display unit (dot), and display can be performed for each display unit arranged in a matrix. It has a structure.

  The partition 8 is formed so as to overlap the data line 20a, the scanning line 21a, and the TFT element 7 which are wirings as indicated by the hatched portion in FIG. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the partition wall 8 includes display electrodes so as to partition the display units of the respective colors formed corresponding to the respective colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) of the color filter. 4 is formed.

[Method of manufacturing electro-optical device]
As an embodiment of the electro-optical device manufacturing method of the present invention, FIGS. 3 and 4 show a method for manufacturing an electrophoretic display device using a photopolymerizable monomer. Dispersion medium (electro-optical material) containing charged particles by mixing white charged particles of titanium oxide having positive charge as charged particles, black charged particles of carbon having negative charge, and dodecylbenzene as an insulating solvent. And To the dispersion medium containing the charged particles, styrene, methyl methacrylate, and vinyl acetate are added as a photopolymerizable monomer to obtain an electro-optical material containing the photopolymerizable monomer. As shown in FIG. 3, wiring such as data lines 20 a and display electrodes 4 are formed in advance on the element substrate 1, and a color filter 6 and a common electrode 3 are formed on the counter substrate 2. The element substrate 1 and the counter substrate 2 are opposed to each other with a certain distance therebetween, and are bonded together with a sealing material to form a pair of substrates.

  A vacuum state is established between a pair of substrates bonded through this sealing material, and then the injection port provided in the sealing material is immersed in an electro-optical material containing a photopolymerizable monomer, and photopolymerization is caused by capillary action. An electro-optic material containing the monomer is injected. This injection method is used for liquid crystal injection in a liquid crystal display device, and can be easily injected. Then, the injection port is closed and sealed. As described above, in the present invention, the operation of injecting and sealing the electro-optic material is simple and can be performed in a short time.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, a photomask 9 having selectively opened partitions is provided on the counter substrate 2 side provided with the light-transmitting common electrode 3 serving as a display surface, and ultraviolet rays 10 are irradiated. Then, the section is exposed. Thus, by using a photopolymerizable monomer, the partition walls 8 can be formed by exposure, and thus, the partition walls 8 can be easily polymerized in a predetermined pattern with high dimensional accuracy in a short time. The electro-optical device according to this embodiment is completed through the above steps.

  In this embodiment, there is no need to inject an electro-optical material into each partition region formed by the partition walls, the process of injecting and sealing the electro-optical material can be simplified, the time required for the process can be reduced, and the yield can be reduced. Manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced. In the electro-optical device according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the partition wall 8 is formed at the boundary between the display electrodes 4 which are display regions, and the partition region formed by the partition wall 8 is the display electrode. 4 is configured to correspond one-to-one. As a result, the display area and the partitioned area can be associated with each other, and excellent display quality can be realized. In particular, it is possible to prevent color mixing between colors in full-color display. Further, when the partition wall 8 is formed at the boundary between the display electrodes 4, a decrease in the aperture ratio due to the line width of the partition wall 8 can be minimized. Further, when the background of the display surface is black, the partition wall 8 is made black so that the partition wall 8 and the black matrix 6m can be used together, and the process of forming the black matrix 6m can be simplified or omitted. Similarly, when the background is white, the partition wall 8 can be white so that it can also be used as a white matrix.

  In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the electro-optical device according to the present embodiment functions as a switching element corresponding to the intersection of the data line 20a, the scanning line 21a, and the data line 20a and the scanning line 21a on the element substrate 1. A TFT element 7 and a display electrode 4 connected to the TFT element 7 are provided. Since the electric field is not generated not only at the boundary between the adjacent display electrodes 4, but also at the data line 20a and the scanning line 21a, the arrangement of the electro-optic material is disturbed. For this reason, by providing the partition wall 8 so as to overlap the data line 20a, the scanning line 21a, and the TFT element 7 in a plane, it is possible to eliminate the disorder of the arrangement and realize high-quality image display.

  Furthermore, in the electro-optical device according to the present embodiment, the partition area partitioned by the partition wall is 5 mm × 5 mm or less, preferably 1 mm × 1 mm or less. Thus, even when two or more types of electro-optic materials are used, electro-optics based on specific gravity There is no material separation, and a display surface in which the electro-optic material is uniformly dispersed over the entire surface can be realized. Further, the partition wall is 10 area% or less with respect to the partition region, and this can almost eliminate the influence on the display characteristics of the partition wall.

  In the method for manufacturing the electro-optical device according to this embodiment, the partition wall is formed by polymerizing the polymerizable monomer. Therefore, the partition wall having excellent binding property to the substrate can be formed without generating a gap between the substrate and the partition wall. For this reason, a partition wall having a line width of 10 μm or less can be formed, and the aperture ratio can be improved and the partition area can be miniaturized. In addition, since the polymerizable monomer used is smaller than the primary particle diameter of the charged particles that are electro-optical materials, the charged particles are not taken in when the polymerizable monomer is polymerized, and after forming the partition walls by polymerization, the charged particles Concentration does not fluctuate. For this reason, an electro-optical device having a certain display characteristic can be manufactured, and the yield can be reduced.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since a monomer having photopolymerizability is used, it can be polymerized by exposure, and the partition walls can be formed easily and in a short time with high accuracy. In particular, in this embodiment, photopolymerizable monomers styrene, methyl methacrylate, and vinyl acetate are used, which has chemical resistance to a dispersion medium containing charged particles that are electro-optical materials, and reacts with the dispersion medium. There is no deterioration and deterioration is not generated. Moreover, it is excellent in compatibility, and the process of mixing with the dispersion medium containing charged particles and the process of injecting between the substrates can be easily performed.

  The charged particles may be colored and the insulating solvent may be colorless, or the charged particles may be white and the insulating solvent may be colored. In general, white particles and / or black particles are widely used as the charged particles. Examples of the charged particles include zinc white, barium sulfate, titanium oxide, chromium oxide, calcium carbonate, gypsum, lead white, and manganese violet. , Carbon black, iron black, bitumen, ultramarine blue, phthalocyanine blue, chrome yellow, cadmium yellow, lithopone, molybdate orange, first yellow, benzimidazoline yellow, flavans yellow, naphthol yellow, benzimidazolone orange, perinone orange, bengara , Cadmium red, madrake, naphthol red, dioxazine violet, phthalocyanine blue, alkali blue, cerulean blue, emerald green, phthalocyanine green, pigment green, cobalt Green, aniline black, etc. can be used. These materials are appropriately treated and dispersed in an insulating solvent, and used as a dispersion medium containing charged particles. As the insulating solvent, a polar solvent such as an aqueous solvent or an alcohol solvent may be used according to the charged particles, but a benzene nonpolar solution is generally preferable from the viewpoint of compatibility and characteristics. It is. Moreover, the mixed solution of a low boiling point solvent and a high boiling point solvent may be sufficient. When coloring and using, it is sufficient to dissolve a soluble dye or the like.

  A light transmissive substrate is used for at least one (viewing side) of the element substrate 1 and the counter substrate 2. The material, thickness, dimensions, and the like are not particularly limited and can be appropriately determined depending on the purpose and application. For example, by using a flexible polymer material for the substrate, it can be applied to electronic paper or the like. A spherical spacer may be provided between the substrates according to the purpose and application.

  The partition walls 8 may be a pattern such as the circular close packing shown in FIG. 5, a hexagonal honeycomb arrangement, or a triangular close packing. In the case of full color display at this time, as shown in FIG. 6, by matching the pattern of the color filter according to the partition pattern to be provided, the pixel and the partition area can be made to correspond, and excellent display quality is realized. it can. 6A shows a mosaic arrangement, FIG. 6B shows a triangle arrangement, FIG. 6C shows a vertical stripe arrangement, and FIG. 6D shows a four-pixel arrangement arrangement. The color filter pattern according to the partition pattern A desired display quality can be realized by appropriately selecting.

  As the polymerizable monomer or polymer precursor to be the partition wall 8, for example, a compound that performs polymerization such as photopolymerization, thermal polymerization, condensation polymerization, addition polymerization, and alignment polymerization can be used, or a single compound or a combination of two or more types can be used. I do not care. Further, the refractive index, dielectric constant, hue, and the like are also suitably determined according to the characteristics, purpose, and use of the dispersion medium to be used in order to influence the display characteristics of the electrophoretic display device.

  Furthermore, a polymer binder, a polymerization initiator, a plasticizer, a stabilizer, a colorant, an adhesion promoter, a polymerization inhibitor, etc. may be added and used depending on the purpose and application. It is preferable to use a compound that has chemical resistance to the electro-optical material to be used and has excellent compatibility. Further, the refractive index, dielectric constant, hue, and the like are also suitably determined according to the characteristics, purpose, and use of the electro-optic material to be used in order to influence the display characteristics of the electro-optic device.

  In the method of manufacturing the electro-optical device according to the present embodiment, in the exposure step of exposing and forming the partition wall, ultraviolet rays, X-rays, and the like can be used for light, and the wavelength, intensity, irradiation time, and the like of the polymerizable monomer to be used. It can be determined appropriately according to the characteristics. Irradiation of light in the exposure step can be performed by irradiating light on a local portion with, for example, a laser without using a photomask. The light irradiation is not limited to the display surface side. For example, if a transparent substrate is used as the substrate, exposure can be performed even from the substrate side provided with data lines and scanning lines.

  In the present embodiment, the polymerization step may be performed twice or more. For example, after the first polymerization, the entire surface or a predetermined pattern is exposed, the remaining unreacted polymerizable monomer is polymerized on the surfaces of the element substrate 1, the counter substrate 2, and the partition wall 8, and fixed. Unreacted components in the electro-optic material can be removed. The remaining unreacted component accompanies an increase in the viscosity of the electro-optic material and causes characteristic deterioration such as a decrease in responsiveness of the electro-optic material. For this reason, by performing the polymerization step twice or more and removing the remaining unreacted component, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of characteristics of the electro-optical material.

  Furthermore, the polymerizable monomer is not limited to photopolymerization, and for example, a compound that performs polymerization such as thermal polymerization, condensation polymerization, addition polymerization, and alignment polymerization can be used, and these may be used alone or in combination of two or more. When using thermopolymerizable monomers, for example, irradiate the target position with microwaves, far infrared rays, lasers, etc., apply ultrasonic waves to give frictional heat, or directly apply heat. Thus, the polymerizable monomer can be polymerized to form a predetermined partition wall.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the electrophoretic display device of this embodiment. The electrophoretic display device of this embodiment is different from the electrophoretic display device of the first embodiment in two points. One is a data line 20c and a TFT that overlap with the partition wall 8 as shown in FIG. The element 7c, the data line 20u and the TFT element 7u which do not overlap with the partition walls are alternately arranged in the longitudinal direction of the scanning line 21a. For this reason, the partition region partitioned by the partition 8 includes two display electrodes 4 (display units) adjacent in the longitudinal direction of the scanning line 21a. Another difference is that there is no color filter and the display is black and white.

  The manufacturing method of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, there is no need to inject the electro-optical material into each partition region formed by the partition walls, the process of injecting and sealing the electro-optical material can be simplified, the time required for the process can be shortened, and the yield can be reduced. An effect similar to that of the first embodiment in which the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced can be obtained. Furthermore, this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that there is no color filter, the structure is simple, and the manufacturing process can be simplified. Moreover, the dimension of the partition area partitioned by the partition can be increased, and thereby the aperture ratio can be increased. Furthermore, since the size of the partition region can be increased, it is not necessary to form a fine partition wall precisely when forming the partition wall by polymerization, and the work of forming the partition wall is simplified. However, in this embodiment, TFT elements that do not overlap with the partition walls in a planar manner cannot be shielded from light by the partition walls. Therefore, it is desirable to provide light shielding by providing a separate light shielding film or the like above the TFT elements.

  Next, an example of the electronic apparatus according to the invention including the electro-optical device according to the invention will be described.

[Electronic paper]
An example in which the electro-optical device according to the above-described embodiment is applied to a display unit of electronic paper will be described. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the electronic paper. In FIG. 9, the electronic paper 30 includes a main body 32 made of a rewritable sheet having the same texture and flexibility as paper, and a display unit including the electro-optical device 31 described above. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the electronic notebook. In FIG. 10, an electronic notebook 33 is obtained by bundling a plurality of electronic papers 30 shown in FIG. 9 and sandwiching them between covers 34. Moreover, the electronic notebook 33 can change the display content of the electronic paper 30 in a bundled state by providing the display data input means on the cover 34.

[E-book]
Next, an example in which the electro-optical device according to the above-described embodiment is applied to an electronic book will be described. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the electronic book. In FIG. 11, the code | symbol 35 has shown the electronic book. The electronic book 35 includes a book-shaped frame 36 and a cover 37 that can be opened and closed on the frame 36. The frame 36 is provided with a display device 38 composed of the above-described electro-optical device with the display surface exposed on the surface thereof, and is further provided with an operation unit 39.

  The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, as an electro-optic material, a self-luminous material such as a phosphor, organic electroluminescence, and inorganic electroluminescence, liquid crystal, and the like can be used. As an electro-optical device in which an electro-optical material is filled between a pair of substrates, a display device using a self-luminous material, a liquid crystal display device, and the like can be given.

  In addition to the electronic paper in FIG. 9, the electronic notebook in FIG. 10, and the electronic book in FIG. 11, electronic devices include personal computers, mobile phones, digital still cameras, liquid crystal televisions, viewfinder types, and monitor direct view types. Examples include a video tape recorder, a car navigation device, a pager, an electronic notebook, a calculator, a word processor, a workstation, a videophone, a POS terminal, and a device equipped with a touch panel. And it cannot be overemphasized that the electro-optical apparatus mentioned above is applicable as a display part of these various electronic devices.

  1. . . Element substrate . . 2. Counter substrate . . 3. Light transmissive common electrode . . 4. Display electrode . . 5. Dispersion medium containing charged particles . . Color filters 6r, 6g, 6b. . . Each dye layer of the color filter 6 m. . . 6. Black matrix . . TFT element 7c. . . TFT element overlapped with partition wall 7u. . . TFT elements that do not overlap with the barrier ribs 8. . . Septum 9. . . Photomask 10. . . Ultraviolet light 20a. . . Data line 20b. . . Source line 20c. . . Data line overlapping the partition 20u. . . Data line not overlapping with partition wall 21a. . . Scan line 22. . . Semiconductor film 23. . . Gate insulating film 24. . . Base protective film 30. . . Electronic paper 31. . . Electro-optical device 32. . . Main body made of rewritable sheet 33. . . Electronic notebook 34. . . Cover 35. . . Electronic book 36. . . Frame 37. . . Cover that can be opened and closed 38. . . Display device comprising electro-optical device 39. . . Operation part

Claims (12)

In the method of manufacturing the electro-optical device,
Encapsulating an electro-optic material containing a polymerizable material between a pair of substrates;
And a step of dividing the region encapsulating the electro-optical material into a plurality of regions by polymerizing the polymerizable material. The method of manufacturing the electro-optical device according to claim 1,
The method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, wherein the polymerizable substance is selected from a polymerizable monomer and a polymer precursor. The method of manufacturing the electro-optical device according to claim 1 or 2,
The polymerizable substance is a photopolymerizable substance,
At least one of the pair of substrates has light transmittance,
The method for producing an electro-optical device is characterized in that the step of polymerizing the polymerizable substance irradiates light through at least one of the substrates. The method of manufacturing an electro-optical device according to claim 3,
A method of manufacturing an electro-optical device, wherein light is selectively applied to the section to be partitioned. The electro-optical device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The electro-optical device includes a dispersion medium and electrophoretic particles. The electro-optical device according to claim 5.
The method of manufacturing an electro-optical device, wherein the electrophoretic particles are larger than the polymerizable monomer and the polymer precursor. An electro-optical device manufactured by the method according to claim 1,
The electro-optical device has a plurality of display units, and at least one display unit is included in the partitioned area. The electro-optical device according to claim 7.
An electro-optical device comprising the plurality of display units corresponding to each of a plurality of colors, wherein the plurality of display units are partitioned for each color. The electro-optical device according to claim 7.
An electro-optical device comprising a plurality of display units in the partitioned area. The electro-optical device according to any one of claims 7 to 9,
A display electrode for driving the electro-optical material;
Wiring for supplying a signal to the display electrode,
An electro-optical device characterized in that the electro-optical device is partitioned in a region overlapping the wiring in a plan view. The electro-optical device according to claim 10.
A switching element connected to the wiring;
An electro-optical device characterized in that it is partitioned in a region overlapping with the switching element in a planar manner. In an electronic device equipped with a display unit,
An electronic apparatus comprising the electro-optical device according to claim 7 as the display unit.

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