JP2010266636A - Method for producing color filter substrate, method for producing color filter, and color filter substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a color filter substrate, when various panel regions are formed on one substrate, in which variation in the discharge amounts of a liquid in each panel region is suppressed, and also to provide a method for producing a color filter, and a color filter substrate. <P>SOLUTION: In a bank forming step, two panel regions CA and CB in which pitches P1 and P2 in the longitudinal direction of drawing regions 14A and 14B are different are formed, and in such a manner that the pitch P1' in the sub scanning direction of the drawing region 14A in the panel region CA is made equal to the pitch P2 in the sub scanning direction of the drawing region 14B in the panel region CB, the longitudinal direction of the drawing region 14A in the panel region CA is tilted to the sub scanning direction in the face of a mother substrate 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a color filter substrate manufacturing method, a color filter manufacturing method, and a color filter substrate.

  In recent years, it has been proposed to form a color filter using an ink jet method in which ink is ejected by a droplet ejection head (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this manufacturing method, a liquid material (droplet) containing a coloring material is discharged from a plurality of nozzles constituting a nozzle row provided in a droplet discharge head that moves relative to the substrate, and the liquid material is arranged ( The colored liquid corresponding to the pixels is formed by solidifying the arranged liquid material by drying or the like.

In general, a color filter is formed by forming a plurality of panel regions in a matrix on a large-area mother substrate made of a light-transmitting material such as glass, and then dividing the mother substrate into each panel region. Formed. Here, the droplet discharge head discharges the liquid material to each panel region by being moved relative to the substrate along the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. At this time, when the nozzle is located on the bank, the liquid material is not discharged, and therefore, the liquid material is not discharged simultaneously from all the nozzles.
Accordingly, the plurality of nozzles include a nozzle that discharges the liquid material and a nozzle that does not discharge the liquid material. Therefore, it is necessary to change the distribution (discharge pattern) of the nozzles that discharge the liquid material at the plurality of nozzles according to the state of the substrate that the droplet discharge head faces.

JP 2004-255335 A

However, the following problems remain in the conventional color filter manufacturing method. That is, when various types of panel regions having different pitches of regions partitioned by banks are formed on one substrate, the discharge pattern must be changed greatly for each panel region because the pitches of the partitioned regions are different. When the ejection pattern is changed, the ejection amount of the liquid material varies even if the liquid material is ejected from the corresponding nozzle using the same drive signal regardless of the ejection pattern.
Therefore, there is a problem that the discharge amount of the liquid material varies between the panel regions where the pitches of the partitioned regions are different.

  Since the present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, a method for manufacturing a color filter substrate that suppresses variations in the discharge amount of the liquid material in each panel region when various panel regions are formed on one substrate. Another object of the present invention is to provide a color filter manufacturing method and a color filter substrate.

  The present invention employs the following configuration in order to solve the above problems. That is, the method for manufacturing a color filter substrate according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing a color filter substrate in which a plurality of panel regions having color filter layers are formed on a substrate, and a bank is formed in the panel region on the substrate. And forming a bank from the nozzle to the drawing region while moving the droplet discharge head provided with a plurality of nozzles relative to the substrate in the first and second scanning directions. A color filter forming step of discharging a body and forming the color filter layer, and in the bank forming step, two panel regions having different pitches in the longitudinal direction of the drawing region are formed, and in the longitudinal direction The pitch in the first scanning direction of the drawing area in the one panel area with the long pitch is the other panel area. The longitudinal direction of the drawing region of the one panel region having a long pitch in the longitudinal direction is set to be equal to the pitch of the drawing region in the first scanning direction with respect to the first scanning direction. It is characterized by tilting inside.

  In addition, a color filter manufacturing method according to the present invention includes a step of manufacturing a color filter substrate by the above-described method of manufacturing a color filter substrate, and a step of dividing the color filter substrate into the panel regions. It is characterized by.

  Furthermore, a color filter substrate according to the present invention discharges a liquid material from a bank formed on the substrate and a plurality of nozzles arranged in a line on a droplet discharge head in a plurality of drawing regions partitioned by the bank. And a color filter substrate provided with a plurality of panel regions formed by the color filter layer, wherein the drawing region in one of the two panel regions has the width in the other panel region. It is longer than the width of the drawing area and is tilted in the substrate plane with respect to the one direction so that the pitch in the one direction is equal to the pitch in the one direction in the drawing area of the other panel area. It is a feature.

In the present invention, since it is not necessary to change the discharge pattern greatly in two types of panel regions having different pitches in the longitudinal direction, variations in the discharge amount of the liquid material in each panel region can be suppressed.
That is, when a liquid material is discharged to each drawing area by moving the droplet discharge head relative to the substrate in the first scanning direction (one direction) and the second scanning direction, Since the pitches in the first scanning direction are the same, the ejection pattern by a plurality of nozzles is not significantly changed in each panel region. Thereby, the discharge amount of the liquid discharged from the plurality of nozzles is stabilized, and the film thickness of the color filter layer in each panel region can be made more uniform. Accordingly, a plurality of types of panel regions having different pitches in the longitudinal direction of the drawing region can be formed on the same substrate, and the substrate can be effectively used.

In the method for manufacturing a color filter substrate according to the present invention, in the bank forming step, one whole panel region may be inclined within the substrate plane with respect to the first scanning direction.
In the present invention, it is not necessary to greatly change the configuration of the panel area itself by tilting the entire panel area in which a plurality of drawing areas are arranged.

It is a schematic plan view which shows the color filter substrate in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows arrangement | positioning of a color filter layer. It is a schematic plan view which shows a color filter. It is a perspective view which shows a droplet discharge device. It is a figure which shows the structure of a droplet discharge head. It is a schematic plan view explaining the manufacturing process of a color filter substrate. It is a schematic plan view explaining the manufacturing process of a color filter substrate. It is a schematic plan view which shows the other color filter board | substrate which can apply this invention.

  Hereinafter, a color filter substrate manufacturing method, a color filter manufacturing method, and a color filter substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing used in the following description, the scale is appropriately changed to make each member a recognizable size.

[Color filter substrate]
First, the color filter substrate in the present embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the color filter substrate 1 includes a mother substrate (substrate) 11, banks 12A and 12B and color filter layers 13A and 13B formed on the mother substrate 11. It is equipped with. In the color filter substrate 1, the bank 12A and the color filter layer 13A constitute a plurality of panel areas CA, and the bank 12B and the color filter layer 13B constitute a plurality of panel areas CB.

The mother substrate 11 is made of a light-transmitting material such as glass and has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the panel area CA has a rectangular shape, and a plurality of panel areas CA are arranged along the A direction at both ends of the mother substrate 11. The panel area CA is inclined by an angle θ in the plane of the mother substrate 11 with respect to the B direction. The panel region CB has a rectangular shape, and is arranged in a 2 × 2 matrix, for example, along the A direction and the B direction (one direction) orthogonal to the A direction at the center of the mother substrate 11. In addition, the number which forms each of panel area | region CA and CB is not restricted to this.

The banks 12A and 12B are formed of a light shielding material such as a resin material such as acrylic colored in black or the like. The banks 12A and 12B are formed in the shape of a frame having a substantially rectangular opening on the mother substrate 11, thereby partitioning the drawing areas 14A and 14B, which are recessed areas.
The drawing regions 14A are arranged in a matrix along the A ′ direction and the B ′ direction that are inclined by the angle θ in the plane of the mother substrate 11 with respect to the A direction and the B direction, respectively. The drawing area 14A is arranged at a pitch P1 along the B ′ direction. The pitch P1 ′ along the B direction of the drawing area 14A is P1 × cos θ.
The drawing areas 14B are arranged in a matrix along the A direction and the B direction. The drawing area 14B is arranged at a pitch P2 along the A direction. This pitch P2 is equivalent to the pitch P1 ′ along the B direction of the drawing area 14A.

The color filter layers 13A and 13B are made of, for example, acrylic and contain color materials corresponding to the display colors of the drawing regions 14A and 14B.
The arrangement of the color filter layer 13A has the same color in the B direction, and is repeated in the order of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) in the A direction. The arrangement of the color filter layers 13B has the same color in the B ′ direction, and is repeated in the order of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) in the A ′ direction. That is, the arrangement of the color filter layers 13A and 13B is such that the color filter layers 13A and 13B of the same color provided linearly in one direction (B direction or B ′ direction) are in the other direction (A direction or A ′ direction). It is a stripe type arranged alternately.
The arrangement of the color filter layers 13A and 13B is not limited to the stripe type as shown in FIG. 2 (a), but a mosaic type as shown in FIG. 2 (b) or a delta type as shown in FIG. 2 (c). Other arrangements may be used.

[Color filter]
As shown in FIG. 3A, the color filter 20 is formed by dividing the color filter substrate 1 having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 into each panel area CA. The color filter 20 includes a substrate 21 having a rectangular shape in plan view formed by dividing the mother substrate 11, and a bank 12A and a color filter layer 13A formed on the substrate 21.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the color filter 25 is formed by dividing the color filter substrate 1 having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 into each panel region CB. The color filter 25 includes a substrate 26 that is rectangular in plan view formed by dividing the mother substrate 11, and a bank 12B and a color filter layer 13B that are formed on the substrate 21.

[Color filter substrate and color filter manufacturing method]
Next, a method for manufacturing the color filter substrate 1 having the above configuration will be described.
The color filter substrate 1 is manufactured using a droplet discharge device 50 as shown in FIG.
The droplet discharge device 50 is a device that forms the color filter layers 13A and 13B by discharging a liquid material to a predetermined region of the mother substrate 11 by, for example, an inkjet method. The droplet discharge device 50 includes an apparatus mount 51, a work stage 52, a stage moving device 53, a carriage 54, a droplet discharge head 55, a carriage moving device 56, a tube 57, and first to first. 3 tanks 58 to 60 and a control device 61 are provided.

The device mount 51 is a support for the work stage 52 and the stage moving device 53. The work stage 52 is installed on the apparatus base 51 so as to be movable in the X direction (second scanning direction), which is the main scanning direction, by the stage moving device 53 and is transported from an upstream transport device (not shown). The mother substrate 11 is held on the XY plane by a vacuum suction mechanism.
The stage moving device 53 includes a linear motion mechanism such as a linear guide and a ball screw. The stage moving device 53 moves the work stage 52 to the X based on a stage position control signal indicating the X coordinate of the movement destination of the work stage 52 input from the control device. Move in the direction.

The carriage 54 holds a droplet discharge head 55 and is provided so as to be movable in the Y direction (first scanning direction) and the Z direction, which are sub-scanning directions, by a carriage moving device 56.
As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the droplet discharge head 55 includes a plurality of nozzles N, and a liquid material is applied based on drawing data and drive signals input from the control device 61. Discharge. As shown in FIG. 4, the droplet discharge head 55 is provided corresponding to R (red), G (green), and B (blue) of the liquid material, and is connected to the tube 57 via the carriage 54. Has been.
The droplet discharge head 55 corresponding to R (red) is supplied with the liquid for R (red) from the first tank 58 via the tube 57, and the droplet discharge head corresponding to G (green). 55, the G (green) liquid material is supplied from the second tank 59 via the tube 57, and the third tank 60 is supplied via the tube 57 to the droplet discharge head 55 corresponding to B (blue). To B (blue) is supplied.

  The carriage moving device 56 has a bridge structure straddling the device mount 51, and includes a linear motion mechanism such as a linear guide and a ball screw along the Y direction and the Z direction, and the movement destination of the carriage 54 input from the control device 61. The carriage 54 is moved in the Y and Z directions based on the carriage position control signal indicating the Y and Z coordinates.

The tube 57 is a liquid supply tube that connects the first to third tanks 58 to 60 and the carriage 54.
The first tank 58 stores the liquid material for R (red) and supplies the liquid material to the droplet discharge head 55 corresponding to R (red) via the tube 57. The second tank 59 stores the liquid material for G (green) and supplies the liquid material to the droplet discharge head 55 corresponding to G (green) via the tube 57. The third tank 60 stores the liquid material for B (blue) and supplies the liquid material to the droplet discharge head 55 corresponding to B (blue) via the tube 57.

  The controller 61 positions the mother substrate 11 by moving the work stage 52, positions the droplet discharge head 55 by moving the carriage 54, and sets the liquid material at a predetermined position on the mother substrate 11 by the droplet discharge head 55. Is a device for controlling the droplet discharge operation for discharging the liquid. The control device 61 outputs a stage position control signal to the stage moving device 53, outputs a carriage position control signal to the carriage moving device 56, and outputs drawing data and a driving signal to the droplet discharge head 55.

Next, the configuration of the droplet discharge head 55 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5A, the droplet discharge head 55 includes a plurality of (for example, 180) nozzles N _{1 to} N ₁₈₀ (hereinafter, collectively referred to as nozzles N) arranged in the Y direction. I have. The plurality of nozzles N are arranged at equal intervals. The nozzle array NA is formed by the nozzles N _{1 to} N ₁₈₀ .

The droplet discharge head 55 includes only one nozzle row NA, but may include a plurality of rows, and the number of nozzles N constituting the nozzle row NA is not limited to 180. Further, the number of droplet discharge heads 55 arranged in the carriage 54 can be arbitrarily changed. Furthermore, a plurality of carriages 54 may be provided for each sub-carriage.
Here, for the nozzles at both ends (for example, nozzles N _{1 to} N ₉ and nozzles N _{171 to} N ₁₈₀ ) among the plurality of nozzles N _{1 to} N ₁₈₀ , the variation in the discharge amount of the liquid material is large. You may not use for discharge.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the droplet discharge head 55 includes a vibration plate 71 provided with a material supply hole 71a connected to a tube 57, a nozzle plate 72 provided with nozzles N _{1 to} N _180, and A reservoir 73 provided between the vibration plate 71 and the nozzle plate 72, a plurality of partition walls 74, and a plurality of liquid reservoirs 75 are provided.
On the vibration plate 71, drive elements PZ _{1 to} PZ _N (hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as drive elements PZ) are arranged corresponding to the nozzles N _{1 to} N ₁₈₀ . The drive element PZ is, for example, a piezo element.

The reservoir 73 is filled with a liquid material supplied through the material supply hole 71a.
The liquid reservoir 75 is formed by being surrounded by a diaphragm 71, a nozzle plate 72, and a pair of partition walls 74. The liquid reservoir 75 is formed to correspond to the nozzles N _{1 to} N ₁₈₀ on a one-to-one basis. Furthermore, a liquid material is introduced into each liquid reservoir 75 from a reservoir 73 through a supply port 75 a provided between the pair of partition walls 74.

As shown in FIG. 5C, the drive element PZ includes a piezoelectric material 76 and a pair of electrodes 77 that sandwich the piezoelectric material. The drive element PZ contracts the piezoelectric material 76 by applying a drive signal between the pair of electrodes 77, and the piezoelectric material 76 contracts the diaphragm 71 together with the drive element PZ at the same time (opposite of the liquid reservoir 75). And the volume of the liquid reservoir 75 is increased.
Therefore, the liquid corresponding to the increased volume in the liquid reservoir 75 flows from the reservoir 73 through the supply port 75a. Further, when the application of the drive signal to the drive element PZ is stopped from such a state, the drive element PZ and the diaphragm 71 return to the original shape, and the liquid reservoir 75 also returns to the original volume. As a result, the pressure of the liquid in the liquid reservoir 75 rises, and a liquid droplet L is ejected from the nozzle N1 toward the mother substrate 11.

Next, a method for manufacturing the color filter substrate 1 and the color filters 20 and 25 will be described.
First, a bank forming process for forming the banks 12A and 12B on the mother substrate 11 is performed. Here, the banks 12A and 12B are formed on the mother substrate 11 using a photolithography technique or the like. At this time, the mother substrate 11 with respect to the A direction and the B direction of the mother substrate 11 so that the drawing regions 14A partitioned by the banks 12A are arranged in a matrix along the A ′ direction and the B ′ direction of the mother substrate 11. Inclined by an angle θ in the plane. Therefore, the pitch P1 ′ in the B direction of the drawing area 14A is equal to the pitch P2 in the B direction of the drawing area 14B.

Then, a color filter layer forming step for forming the color filter layers 13A and 13B in the drawing regions 14A and 14B is performed. Here, the color filter layer 13A using the droplet discharge device 50 described above for the drawing area 14A partitioned by the bank 12A in each panel area CA and the drawing area 14B partitioned by the bank 12B in each panel area CB. , 13B.
First, the mother substrate 11 is placed on the work stage 52, and the upper surface of the mother substrate 11 and the droplet discharge head 55 are made to face each other. At this time, the A direction of the mother substrate 11 is matched with the X direction of the droplet discharge device 50, and the B direction of the mother substrate 11 is matched with the Y direction of the droplet discharge device 50. As a result, the panel area CA of the mother substrate 11 is arranged along the main scanning direction in a state where both ends of the mother substrate 11 are inclined by an angle θ within the surface of the mother substrate 11 with respect to the sub-scanning direction. The panel area CB of the mother substrate 11 is arranged in a matrix along the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction at the center of the mother substrate 11.

Then, the liquid material is discharged from the plurality of nozzles N of the droplet discharge head 55 toward the drawing regions 14A and 14B while the stage moving device 53 and the carriage moving device 56 are moved (scanned) relative to the mother substrate 11. Let
At this time, the droplet discharge head 55 moves relative to the mother substrate 11 along the arrow A1 that is the main scanning direction shown in FIG. And a relative distance is again moved along the arrow A2 which is the main scanning direction. By repeating this, when the droplet discharge head 55 moves (sub-scan) 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 is slightly different from the position where the discharge has already been performed. Then, scanning is performed along the Y direction which is the main scanning direction. Then, the color filter layer 13A having a desired film thickness is formed in all the drawing areas 14A in the panel area CA by performing such scanning a plurality of times and drying the discharged liquid material.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, the liquid droplet ejection head 55 similarly moves to the panel area CB while moving (scanning) the mother substrate 11 in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. A color filter layer 13B having a desired film thickness is formed in all the drawing regions 14B in the CB.

  Here, since each of the drawing regions 14A and 14B is arranged in a matrix on the mother substrate 11, the liquid material is not discharged simultaneously from all the nozzles N in the droplet discharge head 55. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 7, the plurality of nozzles N are arranged on the drawing area 14A or the drawing area 14B so as to discharge the liquid material and on the drawing area 14A or the drawing area 14B. There are nozzles N (non-discharge nozzles) that do not discharge the liquid material because they are not positioned.

  In the present embodiment, the pitch P1 'of the drawing area 14A and the pitch P2 of the drawing area 14B are equal in the sub-scanning direction. Therefore, the nozzle array NA is an ejection pattern that is an array of ejection nozzles and non-ejection nozzles when ejecting the liquid material to the drawing area 14A of the panel area CA and when ejecting the liquid material to the drawing area 14B of the panel area CB. Is not changed. Therefore, the discharge amount of the liquid material from each nozzle N is stabilized, and the layer thicknesses of the color filter layers 13A and 13B become uniform.

The droplet discharge head 55 is arranged along the Y direction which is the sub-scanning direction. However, the pitch of the nozzles N and the pitches P1 ′ and P2 of the drawing regions 14A and 14B in the Y direction have a predetermined correspondence relationship. Therefore, it may be tilted obliquely with respect to the Y direction.
The color filter substrate 1 is manufactured as described above. Thereafter, the mother substrate 11 is divided for each of the panel areas CA and CB, and the individual color filters 20 and 25 are manufactured.

As described above, in the manufacturing method of the color filter substrate 1, the manufacturing method of the color filters 20 and 25, and the color filter substrate 1 in the present embodiment, the panel areas CA and CB having the drawing areas 14A and 14B having different pitches in the longitudinal direction. Since there is no need to greatly change the discharge pattern composed of the plurality of nozzles N, the discharge amount of the liquid material in each panel area CA, CB is stabilized. Therefore, the panel areas CA and CB having the drawing areas 14A and 14B having different pitches in the longitudinal direction can be formed on the same mother substrate 11, and the mother substrate 11 can be effectively used.
Further, since the pitch P1 ′ in the B direction of the drawing area 14A is made equal to the pitch P2 in the B direction of the drawing area 14B by tilting the entire panel area CA, it is not necessary to greatly change the configuration of the panel area CA itself. .

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change can be added in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.
For example, the pitch of the drawing areas in the sub-scanning direction in all panel areas is made equal by tilting one panel area in the substrate plane, but both panel areas may be tilted in the substrate plane.
Further, by tilting the entire panel area, the pitch of the drawing area in the sub-scanning direction is made equal in the entire panel area. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, only the drawing area 14C is tilted by the angle θ within the surface of the mother substrate 11. Accordingly, the pitch P3 ′ in the B direction of the drawing area 14C may be made equal to the pitch P2 in the B direction of the drawing area 14B.
The panel region is not limited to two types as long as a plurality of types of panel regions having different drawing region pitches in the longitudinal direction are formed on the mother substrate, and may not be arranged in a matrix.

1 color filter substrate, 11 mother substrate (substrate), 12A to 12C bank, 13A to 13C color filter layer, 14A to 14C drawing area, CA to CC panel area, N, N, N _{1 to} N ₁₈₀ nozzles

Claims (4)

A method of manufacturing a color filter substrate in which a plurality of panel regions having a color filter layer are formed on a substrate,
Forming a bank in the panel region on the substrate to partition a drawing region;
A liquid material is ejected from the nozzles to the drawing region while moving a droplet ejection head provided with a plurality of nozzles in the first and second scanning directions relative to the substrate to form the color filter layer. A color filter forming step,
In the bank formation step, the two panel regions having different pitches in the longitudinal direction of the drawing region are formed,
The longitudinal direction is such that the pitch in the first scanning direction of the drawing area in one of the panel areas having a long pitch in the longitudinal direction is equal to the pitch in the first scanning direction of the drawing area in the other panel area. A method of manufacturing a color filter substrate, wherein the longitudinal direction of the drawing region of one of the panel regions having a long pitch in the direction is inclined with respect to the first scanning direction within the substrate surface.   2. The method of manufacturing a color filter substrate according to claim 1, wherein, in the bank forming step, one whole panel region is inclined in the substrate plane with respect to the first scanning direction. A step of producing a color filter substrate by the method of producing a color filter substrate according to claim 1 or 2,
And a step of dividing the color filter substrate into each panel region. A bank formed on the substrate, and a color filter layer formed by discharging a liquid material from a plurality of nozzles arranged in a line in a droplet discharge head to a plurality of drawing regions partitioned by the bank, A color filter substrate provided with a plurality of configured panel regions,
The drawing area in one of the two panel areas has a width longer than the width of the drawing area in the other panel area, and the pitch in the one direction is the one direction in the drawing area in the other panel area. A color filter substrate, wherein the substrate is tilted in the substrate plane with respect to the one direction so as to be equal to a pitch.

Images