JP2010210853A - Liquid drop discharge device, liquid drop discharge method and method of manufacturing color filter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid drop discharge device, measuring the area of a dot disposed on a medium with good accuracy by discharging liquid drops two or more times, and properly correcting discharge quantity of nozzles, a liquid drop discharge method and a method of manufacturing color filter. <P>SOLUTION: This liquid drop discharge device IJ includes: a liquid drop discharge head 5 having a plurality of nozzles for discharging liquid drops and adapted to discharge liquid drops from each of the plurality of nozzles two or more times to constitute one dot; a dot receiving part, at least the surface of which is provided with a receiving layer, and in which a plurality of dots are arranged from the liquid drop discharge head 5; a measuring part for measuring each area of dots arranged on the dot receiving part; a correction means for correcting variation in discharge quantity of liquid drops among the plurality of nozzles based on the measurement result of the measuring part; and a control part 11 for controlling the discharging timing of the liquid drop discharge head 5 to sequentially discharge the liquid drops from each of the plurality of nozzles at intervals so that the impact diameter of the liquid drop is not varied due to penetration to the receiving layer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a droplet discharge device, a droplet discharge method, and a color filter manufacturing method.

  A droplet discharge head of an ink jet printer (droplet discharge device) can discharge minute ink droplets in the form of dots, and is extremely accurate in terms of ink droplet size and pitch uniformity. This technique has been applied to the manufacturing field of various products such as electro-optical devices. For example, it can be applied when forming a film such as a color filter layer of a liquid crystal device or a light emitting portion of an organic EL display device.

  When the color filter layer is formed by the ink jet method, variations in the ink discharge amount from each nozzle appear as display unevenness. As a solution, there is a technique for measuring and correcting the color density of a colored portion of a medium to be colored drawn on a substrate (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-10-260306

However, with the technique of Patent Document 1, it has been difficult to perform accurate correction due to an absorbance measurement error. Therefore, for example, it is conceivable to measure each dot area drawn on a medium (dot receiving portion) such as ink jet printer paper and correct the ejection amount of each nozzle.
By the way, the dots drawn on the medium are composed of a plurality of ink droplets as in the case of forming the color filter layer. In this case, there is a possibility that a stable dot area cannot be obtained due to variations in the shape of the dots drawn on the medium, and the ejection amount variation correction cannot be accurately performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and by discharging droplets a plurality of times, the area of the dots arranged on the medium can be accurately measured, and the discharge amount of the nozzle is excellent. An object of the present invention is to provide a droplet discharge device, a droplet discharge method, and a method for manufacturing a color filter, which can be corrected.

  As a result of diligent research in order to solve the above problems, the inventor is affected by the penetration of ink droplets that are continuously ejected onto the medium, and the droplets that make up each dot It was found that the dot area can be stabilized by controlling the discharge conditions. And based on this knowledge, this invention was completed. The droplet discharge device of the present invention has a plurality of nozzles that discharge droplets, and a droplet discharge head that forms one dot by discharging the droplets from each of the plurality of nozzles a plurality of times; A receiving layer provided at least on the surface, and a dot receiving part in which the plurality of dots are arranged from the droplet discharge head; a measuring unit for measuring the area of each of the dots arranged in the dot receiving part; A plurality of correction means for correcting variations in the discharge amount of the droplets between the plurality of nozzles based on a measurement result of the measurement unit, and an interval at which the landing diameter of the droplets does not change due to penetration into the receiving layer. And a controller for controlling the discharge timing of the droplet discharge head so as to sequentially discharge the droplets from each of the nozzles.

  According to the droplet discharge device of the present invention, since the droplets are sequentially discharged in a state where the landing diameter is held on the receiving layer, the dots arranged on the receiving layer have a substantially circular shape in plan view. Can do. Therefore, the area of each dot can be accurately measured by the measurement unit, and the variation in the discharge amount of the droplets between the plurality of nozzles can be corrected well by the correction unit. Therefore, for example, a uniform film without unevenness can be formed by the dots arranged on the substrate.

In the droplet discharge device, the control unit preferably drives the droplet discharge head so that the droplet discharge interval is within 200 μsec.
If the droplets are ejected at such intervals, the droplets in a state where the landing diameter is maintained can be stacked on the receiving layer. Therefore, it is possible to reliably stabilize the area of the dots arranged on the dot receiving portion, and it is possible to accurately correct variations in the droplet discharge amount.

  Further, the droplet discharge method of the present invention has a plurality of nozzles for discharging droplets of a functional liquid in which a dispersion medium is dispersed in a dispersion liquid, and the droplets are discharged from each of the plurality of nozzles a plurality of times. A droplet discharge method in which a plurality of dots are arranged on a substrate using a droplet discharge head that discharges to form a single dot, and the plurality of dots are drawn on the substrate from the droplet discharge head Prior to this, an arrangement step of arranging the plurality of dots from the droplet discharge head on at least a dot receiving portion provided with a receiving layer on the surface thereof, and each of the plurality of dots arranged in the dot receiving portion A measuring step for measuring the area of the liquid droplets, and a correcting step for correcting variations in the discharge amount of the droplets among the plurality of nozzles based on the measurement result of the measuring unit. For soaking into layers Ri at intervals landing diameter does not change in the droplet, characterized by sequentially ejecting the droplets from each of the plurality of nozzles.

  According to the droplet discharge method of the present invention, since the droplets are sequentially discharged at intervals at which the dispersion liquid does not permeate into the receiving layer, it is possible to arrange substantially circular dots on the receiving layer. Therefore, the area of each dot can be measured with high accuracy, and variations in the droplet discharge amount among a plurality of nozzles can be corrected well. Therefore, a uniform film without unevenness can be formed on the substrate by each dot.

In the arranging step, it is preferable that the droplets are ejected from each of the plurality of nozzles at intervals of 200 μsec or less.
By discharging the droplets at such intervals, the penetration of the droplet dispersion into the receiving layer is reliably prevented. Therefore, it is possible to further stabilize the dot area arranged on the dot receiving portion.

  The method for producing a color filter of the present invention includes forming the color filter by disposing the functional liquid in a predetermined region provided on a substrate using the droplet discharge device or the droplet discharge method. Features.

  According to the color filter manufacturing method of the present invention, since the dots arranged by the droplet discharge head form a uniform film, it is possible to manufacture a high-quality color filter free from unevenness.

It is a schematic block diagram of a droplet discharge apparatus. It is a schematic block diagram of a droplet discharge head. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of a nozzle test | inspection part. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of a medium. It is a figure which shows the dispersion | variation state of a dot. It is a figure for demonstrating the state of the droplet arrange | positioned on the medium. It is a figure which shows the shape of the dot formed on a medium by this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the process of forming a color filter on a color filter substrate.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the XYZ rectangular coordinate system shown in FIG. 1 is set, and each member will be described with reference to this XYZ rectangular coordinate system. The XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is set so that the X axis and the Y axis are parallel to the work stage 2, and the Z axis is set in a direction orthogonal to the work stage 2. In the XYZ coordinate system in FIG. 1, the XY plane is actually set to a plane parallel to the horizontal plane, and the Z axis is set to the vertically upward direction.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a droplet discharge device IJ according to the present embodiment. The droplet discharge device IJ is a device that forms a color filter layer by discharging droplets of a color filter material onto a predetermined region of a color filter substrate by, for example, an inkjet method, and performs the droplet discharge method of this embodiment. But there is.

  The droplet discharge device IJ includes an apparatus base 1, a work stage 2, a stage moving device 3, a carriage 4, a droplet discharge head 5, a carriage moving device 6, a tube 7, a first tank 8, a second tank 9, and a third tank. 10 and a control device 11.

  The device mount 1 is a support for the work stage 2 and the stage moving device 3. The work stage 2 is installed on the apparatus base 1 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction by the stage moving device 3, and a color filter substrate (base material) P transported from an upstream transport device (not shown) is placed on the work stage 2. And held on the XY plane by a vacuum suction mechanism. The stage moving device 3 includes a bearing mechanism such as a ball screw or a linear guide, and moves the work stage 2 in the X-axis direction based on a stage position control signal indicating the X coordinate of the work stage 2 input from the control device 11. Let

  The carriage 4 holds the droplet discharge head 5 and is provided so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction by the carriage moving device 6. The droplet discharge head 5 includes a plurality of nozzles (not shown), and discharges droplets of a color filter material based on drawing data and drive control signals input from the control device 11. The droplet discharge heads 5 are provided corresponding to the color filter materials R (red), G (green), and B (blue). Each droplet discharge head 5 is connected to a tube 7 via a carriage 4. It is connected with. The droplet discharge head 5 corresponding to R (red) receives the supply of the color filter material for R (red) from the first tank 8 via the tube 7, and the droplet discharge head corresponding to G (green). 5 is supplied with a color filter material for G (green) from the second tank 9 via the tube 7, and the droplet discharge head 5 corresponding to B (blue) is supplied to the third tank 10 via the tube 7. Is supplied with a color filter material for B (blue).

  The carriage moving device 6 has a bridge structure straddling the device mount 1, and includes a bearing mechanism such as a ball screw or a linear guide in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction, and is input from the control device 11. Based on the carriage position control signal indicating the Y coordinate and the Z coordinate, the carriage 4 is moved in the Y axis direction and the Z axis direction.

  The control device (control unit) 11 outputs a stage position control signal to the stage moving device 3, outputs a carriage position control signal to the carriage moving device 6, and draws drawing data and data on the drive circuit substrate 30 of the droplet discharge head 5. By outputting a drive control signal, synchronous control of the droplet discharge operation by the droplet discharge head 5, the positioning operation of the color filter substrate P by the movement of the work stage 2, and the positioning operation of the droplet discharge head 5 by the movement of the carriage 4 is performed. By doing so, droplets of the color filter material are ejected to a predetermined position on the color filter substrate P.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the droplet discharge head 5. 2A is a plan view of the droplet discharge head 5 viewed from the work stage 2 side, FIG. 2B is a partial perspective view of the droplet discharge head 5, and FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view for 1 nozzle.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the droplet discharge head 5 includes a plurality of (for example, 180) nozzles N _{1 to} N ₁₈₀ arranged in the Y-axis direction. A nozzle row NA is formed by the nozzles N _{1 to} N ₁₈₀ . Although FIG. 2A shows the nozzles for one row, the number of nozzles and the number of nozzle rows provided in the droplet discharge head 5 can be arbitrarily changed, and the nozzles for one row arranged in the Y-axis direction are arranged on the X-axis. A plurality of rows may be provided in the direction. Further, the number of droplet discharge heads 5 arranged in the carriage 4 can be arbitrarily changed. Further, a plurality of carriages 4 may be provided for each sub-carriage.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the droplet discharge head 5 includes a vibration plate 20 provided with a material supply hole 20a connected to the tube 7, and a nozzle plate 21 provided with nozzles N _{1 to} N _180. A liquid reservoir 22 provided between the vibration plate 20 and the nozzle plate 21, a plurality of partition walls 23, and a plurality of cavities (liquid chambers) 24 are provided. On the vibration plate 20, piezoelectric elements (drive elements) PZ _{1 to} PZ ₁₈₀ are arranged corresponding to the nozzles N1 to N180. The piezoelectric elements PZ _{1 to} PZ ₁₈₀ are, for example, piezo elements. Hereinafter, the piezoelectric elements PZ _{1 to} PZ ₁₈₀ are collectively referred to as the piezoelectric element PZ, and the nozzles N _{1 to} N ₁₈₀ are collectively referred to as the nozzle N.

The reservoir 22 is filled with a liquid color filter material (functional liquid) supplied through the material supply hole 20a. Cavity 24, the diaphragm 20, the nozzle plate 21, which is formed so as to be surrounded by a pair of partition walls 23 are provided in one-to-one correspondence to the nozzles _N 1 _{to N 180.} Further, the color filter material is introduced into the cavities 24 from the reservoir 22 through the supply ports 24 a provided between the pair of partition walls 23.

As shown in FIG. 2C, the piezoelectric element PZ ₁ is configured such that the piezoelectric material 25 is sandwiched between a pair of electrodes 26, and the piezoelectric material 25 contracts when a drive signal is applied to the pair of electrodes 26. It has been done. The diaphragm 20 on which the piezoelectric element PZ ₁ is arranged is integrated with the piezoelectric element PZ ₁ and bends outward (opposite the cavity 24) at the same time. As a result, the volume of the cavity 24 is increased.

Accordingly, the color filter material corresponding to the increased volume in the cavity 24 flows from the liquid reservoir 22 through the supply port 24a. Further, when stopping the application of the drive signal from this state to the piezoelectric element PZ _1, back to both original shape diaphragm 20 and the piezoelectric element PZ1, since the cavity 24 also returns to its original volume, the cavity The pressure of the color filter material in 24 increases, and droplets L of the color filter material are discharged from the nozzle N1 toward the color filter substrate P. Since the droplet discharge head 5 according to the present embodiment has a very small amount of the droplet L based on one discharge operation, the droplet L is discharged a plurality of times (for example, five times) at each nozzle N. Based on the above, one dot (liquid reservoir) is formed.

  Incidentally, in general, the droplet discharge head 5 has a variation in the discharge amount of the droplet L between the nozzles N. The reason for this is, for example, the structure of the flow path inside the head. Therefore, the droplet discharge device IJ of the present embodiment detects the discharge state of the droplet L at each nozzle N of the droplet discharge head 5 prior to the discharge operation to the color filter substrate P by the droplet discharge head 5, The variation between the nozzles N is adjusted.

  Specifically, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a nozzle inspection unit 50 is provided in an area outside the work stage 2 in the movement area of the carriage 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the nozzle inspection unit 50 includes a medium (dot receiving unit) 51 on which a plurality of dots are arranged from the droplet discharge head 5, and each dot arranged on a medium 51 made of, for example, ink jet printer paper. And a measuring unit 56 for measuring the area of. The media 51 can be taken up by a take-up mechanism (not shown), and after the nozzle inspection is completed, it is possible to continue the other nozzle inspection by winding up the ink jet printer paper after the droplet discharge. ing. The measuring unit 56 is constituted by an imaging means such as a CCD camera.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the medium 51 is composed of a sheet-like substrate 54 in which an ink receiving layer (receiving layer) 53 is provided on a base paper 52, and the surface of the ink receiving layer 53 is suitable for ink jet recording. It has a certain recording surface. The color filter material solvent discharged from each nozzle N soaks into the ink receiving layer 53.

When using the nozzle inspection unit 50, the droplet discharge device IJ moves the carriage 4 by the carriage moving device 6 so that the droplet discharge head 5 and the medium 51 face each other. Then, dots are arranged on the medium 51 from each nozzle N of the droplet discharge head 5.
The measurement unit 56 of the nozzle inspection unit 50 is electrically connected to the control device 11. As a result, data relating to the area of each dot measured by the measurement unit 56 is transmitted into the control device 11.

Further, the control device 11 applies the voltage of the drive signal applied to each piezoelectric element PZ so as to correct, for example, the variation in the discharge amount of the droplet L between the nozzles N based on the measurement area of each dot by the measurement unit 56. It includes a correction circuit unit (correction means) 55 that changes. Based on the measurement result obtained by the measurement unit 56, the correction circuit unit 55 applies a drive signal to the piezoelectric element PZ corresponding to the nozzle N having a relatively large dot area (relatively large discharge amount of the droplet L). Or by increasing the voltage of the drive signal applied to the piezoelectric element PZ corresponding to the nozzle N having a relatively small dot area (relatively small discharge amount of the droplet L). The variation in the discharge amount between N is corrected.
As described above, the droplet discharge device IJ can correct the variation in the discharge amount of the droplet L between the nozzles N based on the data regarding the area of each dot measured by the measurement unit 56.

  By the way, in this embodiment, one dot is comprised based on the discharge operation of the droplet L in multiple times (5 times) in each nozzle N as mentioned above. There is a possibility that the shape of the dots configured in this way is unstable because the droplets L that are continuously ejected onto the medium 51 are not stable due to the penetration of the ink receiving layer 53. . Specifically, when the droplet L penetrates the ink receiving layer 53, the landing shape changes. When the droplets L are ejected in such a state, the shape of the dots formed is not stabilized and varies. That is, the area of the dots 60 varies as shown in FIG. When the dots arranged on the ink receiving layer 53 vary as described above, the reliability of the measured value of the dot area measured by the measurement unit 56 is reduced, and each nozzle N performed by the correction circuit unit 55 is reduced. In this case, the reliability in correcting the variation in the discharge amount during the process is lowered.

  In order to solve such a problem, in the present embodiment, the control device 11 controls the timing at which the droplets L are discharged from each of the plurality of nozzles N in the step of arranging dots on the medium 51. . Specifically, the discharge timing of the droplet discharge head 5 is set so that the droplets L are sequentially discharged from each of the plurality of nozzles N at intervals at which the landing diameter of the droplets L does not change due to penetration into the ink receiving layer 53. I have control. In the present embodiment, one dot is configured by sequentially ejecting droplets L from each nozzle N at intervals of 200 μsec.

  Although the droplet L1 that has landed on the ink receiving layer 53 at this timing penetrates the ink receiving layer 53 slightly as shown in FIG. 6, the landing diameter A of the droplet L1 does not change. Therefore, the next droplet L2 is superposed on the droplet L1 that maintains a constant landing diameter A on the ink receiving layer 53, and is ejected. As a result, the droplet L1 ejected first and the droplet L2 ejected later are integrated in a state of maintaining a stable shape, specifically, a substantially circular shape in plan view. Similarly, the dots 60 finally formed by sequentially discharging the remaining droplets have a stable shape as shown in FIG. 7, that is, a substantially circular shape in plan view.

  Therefore, the area of each dot 60 can be accurately measured by the measuring unit 56, and the variation in the discharge amount of the droplets L among the plurality of nozzles N can be corrected favorably by the correction circuit unit 55. Therefore, since each dot 60 arranged on the color filter substrate P from each nozzle N is composed of a uniform amount of liquid droplets, a uniform color filter layer without unevenness can be formed.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a method for forming a color filter on the color filter substrate P using the droplet discharge head 5 of the droplet discharge apparatus IJ. FIG. 8A is a schematic plan view of a color filter substrate P that is a functional liquid discharge target. FIG. 8B is a partially enlarged plan view of the color filter substrate P. FIG.

  In FIG. 8A, a plurality of panel areas CA are set on the surface of a large-area color filter substrate P formed of glass, plastic or the like. Each panel area CA is separated (cut) from each other and provided as an individual color filter substrate. Inside each panel area CA, as shown in FIG. 8B, a plurality of pixels PX (predetermined areas) arranged in a dot shape are provided. The pixels PX are arranged in a matrix in each panel area CA, and a color filter layer (colored layer) CF is formed for each pixel PX.

  In the present embodiment, the vertical direction (indicated by arrows A1 and A2) in FIG. 8B is the main scanning direction, and the direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction (horizontal direction in the drawing) is the sub-scanning direction. The ejection head 5 is disposed on the color filter substrate P. Then, the color filter substrate P is moved from each of the plurality of nozzles N of the droplet discharge head 5 while moving (scanning) the color filter substrate P relative to the droplet discharge head 5 in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. By discharging the liquid droplets L a plurality of times (five times), each dot is arranged on the color filter substrate P, thereby forming a color filter layer CF in each pixel PX.

  The droplet discharge head 5 is scanned a plurality of times for one panel area CA. For example, after the droplet discharge head 5 is scanned in the main scanning direction, the droplet discharge head 5 is moved (scanned) in the sub-scanning direction, and scanning is performed again in the main scanning direction. After moving (sub-scanning) from the left end to the right end of one panel area CA, it returns to the left end of the panel area CA again, and scans in the main scanning direction at a position slightly different from the position where the ejection has already been performed. Then, by performing such scanning a plurality of times, the color filter layer CF having a desired film thickness is formed on all the pixels PX in the panel area CA.

  In FIG. 8B, the reason why the droplet discharge head 5 is inclined with respect to the sub-scanning direction is to match the pitch of the nozzles N of the droplet discharge head 5 with the pitch of the pixels PX. If the pitch of the nozzles N and the pitch of the pixels PX are set so as to satisfy a predetermined correspondence relationship, it is not necessary to tilt the droplet discharge head 5 obliquely.

  The color filter layer CF is formed by arranging R (red), G (green), and B (blue) colors in an appropriate arrangement form such as a so-called stripe arrangement, delta arrangement, mosaic arrangement, or the like. Therefore, in the functional liquid ejection step shown in FIG. 8B, the droplet ejection heads 5 for ejecting R, G, and B color filter materials are prepared in advance for the three colors R, G, and B. Then, an array of three color filter layers CF of R, G, and B is formed on one color filter substrate P using these droplet discharge heads 5 in order.

  According to the present embodiment, as described above, each dot arranged on the color filter substrate P by the droplet discharge head 5 is composed of a uniform amount of droplets. A high quality color filter layer CF can be produced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the droplet discharge device IJ using the droplet discharge device IJ in which the variation in the discharge amount between the nozzles is adjusted is used in the method of manufacturing the color filter has been described. The present invention can be applied not only to the manufacture of a filter but also to a film forming process in which a uniform film thickness is required and the formation of uneven stripes is a problem.

IJ: Liquid droplet ejection device, N: Nozzle, P: Color filter substrate, PX: Pixel (predetermined area), 5: Liquid droplet ejection head, 11: Control device (control unit), 51: Media (dot receiving unit), 53 ... Ink receiving layer, 55 ... Correction circuit (correction means), 56 ... Measuring unit, 60 ... Dot

Claims (5)

A plurality of nozzles that discharge droplets, and a droplet discharge head that forms one dot by discharging the droplets from each of the plurality of nozzles a plurality of times;
A dot receiving portion provided with at least a receiving layer on the surface and arranged with the plurality of dots from the droplet discharge head;
A measuring unit for measuring the area of each of the dots arranged in the dot receiving unit;
Correction means for correcting variations in the discharge amount of the droplets among the plurality of nozzles based on the measurement result of the measurement unit;
A controller that controls the discharge timing of the droplet discharge head so as to sequentially discharge the droplets from each of the plurality of nozzles at intervals at which the droplet landing diameter does not change due to penetration into the receiving layer; A droplet discharge apparatus comprising:   2. The droplet discharge apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit drives the droplet discharge head so that a discharge interval of the droplets is within 200 μsec. A droplet having a plurality of nozzles for discharging droplets of a functional liquid in which a dispersion medium is dispersed in a dispersion, and forming a single dot by discharging the droplets from each of the plurality of nozzles a plurality of times A droplet discharge method for arranging a plurality of the dots on a substrate using a discharge head,
Prior to drawing the plurality of dots on the substrate from the droplet discharge head,
An arrangement step of arranging the plurality of dots from the droplet discharge head on a dot receiving portion provided with a receiving layer on at least a surface;
A measuring step of measuring the area of each of the plurality of dots arranged in the dot receiver;
A correction step of correcting variations in the discharge amount of the droplets between the plurality of nozzles based on the measurement result of the measurement unit,
In the disposing step, the droplets are ejected sequentially from each of the plurality of nozzles at intervals at which the droplet landing diameter does not change due to penetration into the receiving layer.   4. The droplet discharge method according to claim 3, wherein in the arranging step, the droplets are discharged from each of the plurality of nozzles at intervals of 200 μsec or less.   Using the droplet discharge device according to claim 1 or 2, or the droplet discharge method according to claim 3 or 4, the functional liquid is disposed in a predetermined region provided on a base material, and a color filter is formed. A method for producing a color filter, comprising: forming a color filter.

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