JP2012091120A - Method for manufacturing thin film design layer for panel decoration frame - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing a thin film design layer for a panel decoration frame.SOLUTION: The method for manufacturing the thin film design layer for the panel decoration frame provides a plane type high light transmittance substrate 100. A photoresist liquid 313 is ejected from a capillary 320 by a capillary coating device 300 and applied onto the substrate 100. Relative motion is carried out in turn between the capillary coating device 300 and the substrate 100 on the basis of a prescribed moving locus to form a prescribed photoresist design on the substrate 100. A photoresist is solidified, and a photoresist design thin film layer is formed on the substrate 100. The capillary coating device 300 has a coating liquid pump 310 filled with a photoresist liquid 313, stretches the hollow pipe-shaped capillary 320 downward, installs it, and delivers the photoresist liquid 313 continuously from a liquid outlet 325 in the capillary 320 onto the surface of the substrate 100. The photoresist liquid 313 is a black negative type photoresist having a viscosity of 2-10 cps, and the moving locus is a spiral moving locus.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a panel decorative frame thin film design layer, and more particularly to a method for producing a decorative frame thin film design layer on a panel using a photoresist coating means.

  A typical touch panel structure places touch sensor insulation between the apex plate and the substrate. Next, a signal conducting wire is installed at the peripheral portion of the stack plate, and a signal on the touch sensor is transmitted to the signal processing circuit. Normally, a decorative frame is formed by installing a thin film design layer on the edge of the panel. Thereby, the signal conducting wire at the peripheral portion is shielded, the flat and well-formed appearance of the touch panel is ensured, and the function of protecting the touch panel peripheral wiring is also achieved. Currently, in the industry, a thin coating layer is mainly manufactured by a wet coating process, and a photoresist is uniformly coated on a material by a spin coating method or a slot coating method. A film is used. In the spin coating method, a necessary photoresist solution is dropped on the substrate, and the substrate is rotated at a high speed to generate a centrifugal force, thereby releasing the photoresist solution to the outside of the substrate. As the substrate rotates rapidly, the photoresist solution covers the entire surface of the substrate, and a thin film having a uniform thickness is completed. However, various predisposing factors in the manufacturing process are deeply related to the quality of the finished product. For example, the type of coating liquid and the volatility of the solvent to be formulated determine the final thickness of the coating film. The photoresist liquid volatilizes under the influence of high-speed air current, the composition changes accordingly, and many defects are likely to occur. As the size of the substrate increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain uniformity of coating. Further, the supply amount of the photoresist solution in the manufacturing process is much larger than the actually required amount, but the photoresist solution is usually very expensive, resulting in a serious waste of raw material costs. Even if a photoresist liquid recovery facility is installed, this results in an increase in production costs. On the other hand, in the slot type coating method, when a photoresist solution is sent to a squeeze-type film head by a precision metering pump and the substrate moves downward, the photoresist solution contacts the substrate to form a film. When the substrate leaves the lower part of the film head, the contact between the photoresist liquid and the substrate is broken. This has the advantage that the utilization rate of the photoresist solution is close to 100%, but the demand for precision of the mechanical equipment is high, which raises the production cost of the product. The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional method for producing a panel decorative frame thin film design layer.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that the usage rate of the photoresist can be greatly increased, the processing process is simplified, the material cost and the production cost are reduced, and the design and size of the coating process are not limited at all. The present invention is to provide a method for producing a panel decoration frame thin film design layer that can form a thin film design layer having a uniform thickness and that has a high optical density and is unlikely to cause a color difference.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following method for producing a panel decorative frame thin film design layer.
The method for producing a panel decorative frame thin film design layer includes the following steps:
(1) Provide a planar high light transmittance substrate,
(2) A photoresist coating solution is applied onto the substrate from the capillary solution outlet by a capillary coating device, and a relative motion is sequentially performed between the capillary coating device and the substrate based on a predetermined movement trajectory. To form a predetermined photoresist pattern on the substrate,
(3) solidify the photoresist and form a photoresist design thin film layer on the substrate;
The substrate is a flat thin plate, and can be selected from glass, polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), cycloolefin copolymer (COC), etc. Without being limited to the above, each flexible, hard, or flexible transparent substrate can be employed,
The capillary coating apparatus includes a coating liquid pump that fills with a photoresist liquid, and the coating liquid pump is installed by extending the capillary downward, and between the liquid outlet of the capillary and the substrate is 0. Maintain a vertical distance of 5mm to 5mm,
The coating solution pump pushes the photoresist solution into the capillary tube, whereby the photoresist solution is continuously sent from the liquid outlet of the capillary tube to the substrate surface,
The inner diameter of the capillary tube is 10 μm to 500 μm,
In the method of manufacturing the panel decorative frame thin film design layer, the capillary coating device further includes a plurality of capillaries, and the capillaries are arranged in a straight line or arranged in an array shape so that the coating efficiency and the coating are uniform. Can improve once,
The viscosity value of the photoresist solution is 2 to 10 cps (Centipoise),
The photoresist solution is a black or colored negative photoresist,
The movement trajectory is any one of a spiral movement trajectory, a reciprocating parallel movement trajectory, a non-linear continuous movement trajectory, and a movement trajectory composed of various other geometric lines. In actual application, each movement trajectory described above is optimally set based on parameters, applied with a photoresist pattern that needs to be formed,
The photoresist solidification is achieved by the following steps:
(1) Provide a substrate with a negative photoresist pattern on the surface,
(2) Soft baking is performed on the substrate: The photoresist pattern on the substrate is subjected to a baking process of about 100 to 140 seconds (Sec.) With hot air of 60 ° C. to 90 ° C., and then gradually to room temperature. Lower the temperature,
(3) Perform exposure and lithography on the negative photoresist design: irradiate the negative photoresist design with an ultraviolet light source having an energy amount of 150 to 250 MJ / cm ² , expose the entire area, and reduce the injection pressure to about Spraying 0.5 kg / cm ² of lithographic agent onto the photoresist pattern on the substrate;
(4) Hard baking the substrate: The photoresist pattern on the substrate is subjected to a baking process of 25 to 35 minutes (Min.) With hot air of 210 to 250 ° C. On top of this, the necessary solidified photoresist pattern thin film layer is formed.

The solidified photoresist is achieved by the following steps:
(1) Providing a foundation for forming a photoresist pattern on the surface,
(2) Soft baking is performed on the substrate: a photoresist pattern on the substrate is subjected to a baking process of about 100 to 140 seconds (Sec.) With hot air of 60 ° C. to 90 ° C., and then gradually to room temperature. Lower the temperature to
(3) Exposing the photoresist pattern: irradiating with an ultraviolet light source having an energy amount of 150 to 250 MJ / cm ² , and placing a precision-designed photomask between the photoresist pattern and the light source Maintaining a gap of 30 μm to 80 μm with the photoresist design, exposing the photoresist design, thus transferring a predetermined design on the photomask onto the photoresist design,
(4) performs a lithographic against the photoresist design, injection lithographic agent injection pressure of about 0.5 kg / cm ^2, and the injection with respect to the photoresist design, a further injection pressure of about 0.5 kg / cm ² cleaning solution To remove unnecessary photomask material portions of the photoresist pattern,
Hard baking is performed on the substrate: The photoresist pattern on the substrate is subjected to a baking process of 25 to 35 minutes (Min.) With hot air of 210 to 250 ° C. The required solidified photoresist pattern thin film layer is formed.

  The panel decoration frame thin film design layer manufacturing method of the present invention can greatly increase the usage rate of the photoresist, simplify the processing process, reduce the material cost and production cost, and the design and size of the coating process is A thin film design layer having a uniform thickness can be formed without any limitation, and the optical density is high and color difference is unlikely to occur.

It is an installation display figure between the capillary coating device of this invention, and a to-be-processed substrate. It is a display figure which shows a mode that the capillary tube of this invention apply | coats a photoresist to a board | substrate. It is an overhead view which shows a mode that many capillaries arrange in a straight line, and apply | coat a photoresist. It is a bird's-eye view display figure showing signs that many capillaries perform photoresist application by array arrangement. It is a display figure which shows the locus | trajectory of the movement at the time of the capillary tube of this invention apply | coating a photoresist. It is a display figure which shows the locus | trajectory of another kind of movement at the time of the capillary tube of this invention apply | coating a photoresist. It is a display figure which shows the locus | trajectory of another kind of movement at the time of the capillary tube of this invention apply | coating a photoresist. It is a display figure which shows a mode that this invention performs exposure of a photoresist design. It is a cross-sectional display figure of the solidified photoresist design thin film layer on this invention board | substrate. In this invention, it is a display figure which shows a mode that exposure is performed with respect to a photoresist design with a photomask. It is a plane display figure of the measurement sample point of the photoresist design thin film layer completed product of this invention.

  Hereinafter, the manufacturing steps of the method for manufacturing a panel decoration frame thin film design layer provided by the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, the planar substrate 100 is provided. It is a plate material having a high light transmittance with a contact angle of 10 degrees or less, and its surface is preferably cleaned cleanly, and the substrate is fixedly installed on the processing table 200. In this embodiment, glass is selected as the material of the substrate 100, but the substrate material is selected from polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), cycloolefin copolymer (COC), and the like. be able to. Next, the processing table 200 is moved below the capillary applicator 300 to adjust the setting position. Thus, a vertical distance of about 3 mm is maintained between the liquid outlet 325 of the coating apparatus and the substrate 100 on the processing table 200. As shown in FIG. 1, the capillary applicator 300 includes an application liquid pump 310 and a capillary 320. The coating liquid pump 310 is installed by extending a stainless steel capillary 320 downward. Capillaries usually have a tube inner diameter of 100 μm. The coating liquid pump 310 is filled with a specially selected photoresist liquid 313. The photoresist solution used in this example is a black negative photoresist having a viscosity value of 2 to 10 cps such as polyisoprene. As shown in FIG. 2, in the capillary coating device 300, the photoresist liquid 313 passes through the inner tube of the capillary 320, reaches the liquid outlet 325, and is applied to the surface of the substrate 100 when the coating liquid pump 310 pressurizes. The A plurality of capillaries can be installed in the capillary applicator 300 described above, and a plurality of capillaries can be arranged in a straight line (see FIG. 3) or arranged in an array type (see FIG. 4). Thus, the application efficiency and the uniformity of application can be increased.

  Subsequently, photoresist coating is started. The coating liquid pump 310 is continuously pressurized and filled with about 1 Mpa of nitrogen. As a result, the photoresist solution 313 is pushed into the capillary tube 320. Thus, the photoresist liquid 313 is continuously sent out from the liquid outlet 325 of the capillary 320 to the surface of the substrate 100. At the same time, the processing table 200 starts to move based on a predetermined trajectory T. Thus, the photoresist solution 313 discharged from the capillary 320 forms a required photoresist pattern P on the surface of the substrate 100 (see FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the predetermined trajectory T is a spiral movement trajectory inward in the clockwise direction, whereby the photoresist liquid 313 can move in an annular manner along the frame edge portion of the substrate 100 and face the substrate surface. Can be applied gradually inward. As shown in FIG. 5, the predetermined movement trajectory described above is not limited to a spiral movement trajectory, and other types of movement trajectories can be implemented. For example, it may be a reciprocating parallel movement trajectory (see FIG. 6), a non-linear continuous movement trajectory (see FIG. 7), or a movement trajectory composed of various other geometric lines. In an actual application, the above-mentioned movement trajectories are set optimally based on parameters, and a photoresist pattern that needs to be formed is applied.

Finally, a photoresist design thin film layer is formed on the substrate 100 using a photoresist solidifying means. In this embodiment, a negative photoresist pattern is applied to the surface of the substrate 100. Therefore, the photoresist solidifying means includes the following three steps.
(1) Perform soft baking: The substrate 100 is placed in a hot air oven, and a baking process of about 120 seconds (Sec.) Is performed on the photoresist pattern on the substrate with hot air of about 80 ° C. Next, the temperature is gradually lowered to room temperature (about 25 ° C.) to improve the adhesion of the negative photoresist pattern on the substrate surface.
(2) Perform exposure and lithography: put the substrate after soft baking into the exposure machine and irradiate the negative photoresist pattern P on the substrate with an ultraviolet light source L with an energy amount of about 200 MJ / cm ^{2 to} cover the entire area. Exposure is performed (see FIG. 8). This causes the photoresist design to undergo a polymerization reaction and form an inhibitor effect. After the exposure process, a lithographic agent (such as xylene) having an injection pressure of about 0.5 kg / cm ² is sprayed onto the photoresist pattern on the substrate to form a necessary solidified photoresist pattern PF on the substrate (see FIG. 9). ). As is apparent from the above description, the exposure and lithographic process directly exposes and lithographs the entire area of the photoresist design without any modification to the already applied photoresist design. Thus, the entire applied photoresist design is solidified to form a photoresist design thin film layer. Thus, not only 100% of the photoresist is used, but the process of cleaning an extra photoresist design layer can be omitted, and the production cost can be greatly reduced. The photoresist design thin film layer formed by the above-described means can be sufficiently applied as a decorative frame thin film design layer of a general touch panel. However, in a special situation where a special design is required or a more complicated and more precise photoresist design is required, a quartz glass photomask 600 with a precise design is added during the above exposure process. be able to. Thereby, the quartz glass photomask 600 is installed between the light source L and the photoresist design P, and a gap of about 50 μm is maintained between the photoresist design and the photoresist design P. In this way, it is possible to precisely expose photoresist designs having various special needs. After the above-described photomask process, the above lithographic agent is sprayed onto the photoresist pattern on the substrate, and further, a cleaning solution (small fatty acid or fresh water) with an injection pressure of about 0.5 kg / cm ² is applied to the photoresist pattern. Wash. Using the lithographic process described above, the unexposed negative photoresist material is removed, thus forming a solidified precision thin film design layer on the substrate.
(3) Hard baking: The substrate after the exposure and lithographic process is placed in a hot air oven, and the baking process is performed for about 30 minutes (Min.) On the photoresist pattern on the substrate with hot air of about 230 ° C. To do. This removes the residual solvent and increases the strength of the thin film design layer formed by the photoresist.

本発明の方法により、基板１００表面の周縁枠範囲には、薄膜図案層が形成され、タッチパネルの装飾フレームとされ、これによりその周縁部位の信号導線を遮蔽することができ、タッチパネルの平坦で整った外観を確保することができる。 By completing each processing step described above, a solidified photoresist pattern thin film layer PF is formed in the peripheral frame range of the substrate 100. When actual measurement of the thin film layer PF finished product was performed (refer to FIG. 11 for measurement sample points), the average film thickness was 1.45 ± 0.01 μm, and the average optical density value (Dynamic Range) was 4. .5 ± 0.1 (see Table 1).

According to the method of the present invention, a thin film design layer is formed in the peripheral frame area on the surface of the substrate 100 to form a decorative frame for the touch panel, whereby the signal conductors in the peripheral area can be shielded, and the touch panel is flat and arranged. The appearance can be secured.

As described above, the present invention is suitable for application to the touch panel industry, and has the following advantages as compared with the current related technology.
(1) The present invention can increase the usage rate of the photoresist to 100%, greatly reduce the material cost of the photoresist, and further remove the photomask exposure and unnecessary design layer portions. The clean process can be omitted, the machining process can be simplified, and the production cost can be reduced.
(2) There are no restrictions on the size of the processed substrate and the shape (design) of the coating process.
(3) The thickness of the formed thin film design layer is uniform, and its optical density is high, and color difference is unlikely to occur.
(4) By simplifying the manufacturing process, the present invention can not only reduce the production cost but also increase the product yield.

  The above-mentioned names and contents of the present invention are only used for explaining the technical contents of the present invention, and do not limit the present invention. All equivalent applications or parts (structures) conversion, replacement and increase / decrease in quantity based on the spirit of the present invention shall be included in the protection scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiments, a negative type photoresist material is used, but a positive type photoresist material can also be used. In this case, the corresponding photomask design and the exposure position material during the manufacturing process are left or removed, but this does not affect the implementation of the present invention.

  The present invention has the novelty that is a requirement of patents, has sufficiently advanced as compared with conventional similar products, has high practicality, meets the needs of society, and has a great industrial utility value.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Substrate 200 Processing stand 300 Capillary coating device 310 Coating liquid pump 313 Photoresist liquid 320 Capillary 325 Liquid outlet 600 Quartz glass photomask

Claims (10)

The method for producing a panel decorative frame thin film design layer includes the following steps:
Providing a planar substrate,
A photoresist coating solution is ejected from the capillary tube by the capillary coating device and applied onto the substrate, and the capillary coating device and the substrate sequentially move based on a predetermined movement trajectory, and thereby the substrate. A predetermined photoresist pattern is formed on the top,
A method for producing a panel decoration frame thin film design layer, comprising solidifying a photoresist and forming a photoresist design thin film layer on the substrate.   The substrate is a planar thin plate, and the material thereof is a flexible, hard, or flexible transparent thin plate selected from polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), or cycloolefin copolymer (COC). 2. The method for producing a panel decoration frame thin film design layer according to claim 1, wherein the material is a material. The capillary coating apparatus includes a coating liquid pump that fills with a photoresist liquid, and the coating liquid pump is installed by extending the capillary downward, and a gap between the capillary outlet and the substrate is 0. Maintain a vertical distance of 5mm to 5mm,
The said coating liquid pump pushes a photoresist liquid in the said capillary, and, thereby, a photoresist liquid is continuously sent out from the liquid outlet of the said capillary to the said substrate surface. Method for producing a panel decoration frame thin film design layer.   4. The method of manufacturing a panel decoration frame thin film pattern layer according to claim 3, wherein the capillary has an inner diameter of 10 [mu] m to 500 [mu] m.   The method for manufacturing the panel decoration frame thin film design layer further includes the capillary coating device including a plurality of capillaries, and the capillaries are arranged in a straight line or arranged in an array shape. 4. A method for producing a panel decorative frame thin film design layer according to 3.   2. The method of manufacturing a panel decoration frame thin film pattern layer according to claim 1, wherein the photoresist solution has a viscosity value of 2 to 10 cps.   2. The method of manufacturing a panel decoration frame thin film pattern layer according to claim 1, wherein the photoresist solution is a black or colored negative photoresist.   The movement trajectory is any one of a spiral movement trajectory, a reciprocating parallel movement trajectory, a non-linear continuous movement trajectory, and a movement trajectory composed of other various geometric lines. 2. A method for producing a panel decorative frame thin film design layer according to 1. The photoresist solidification is achieved by the following steps:
Providing a substrate with a negative photoresist pattern on the surface,
Soft baking is performed on the substrate: The photoresist pattern on the substrate is subjected to a baking process of about 100 to 140 seconds (Sec.) With hot air of 60 ° C. to 90 ° C., and then the temperature is gradually increased to room temperature. Lower,
The negative photoresist pattern is exposed and lithographed: an ultraviolet light source having an energy amount of 150 to 250 MJ / cm ² is applied to the negative photoresist pattern to expose the entire area, and an injection pressure of about 0.5 kg is applied. / cm ² of lithographic agent is sprayed onto the photoresist pattern on the substrate,
Hard baking the substrate: The photoresist pattern on the substrate is subjected to a baking process of 25 to 35 minutes (Min.) With hot air of 210 to 250 ° C. 2. The method for producing a panel decoration frame thin film design layer according to claim 1, wherein a necessary solidified photoresist design thin film layer is formed. In the method of manufacturing the panel decoration frame thin film design layer, the solidified photoresist is achieved by the following steps:
Providing a foundation for forming a photoresist pattern on the surface,
Soft baking is performed on the substrate: The photoresist pattern on the substrate is subjected to a baking process of about 100 to 140 seconds (Sec.) With hot air of 60 ° C. to 90 ° C., and then the temperature is gradually increased to room temperature. Lower,
The photoresist pattern is exposed: an ultraviolet light source having an energy amount of 150 to 250 MJ / cm ² is irradiated, and a precisely designed photomask is placed between the photoresist pattern and the light source, Holding a gap of 30 μm to 80 μm with the photoresist design, exposing the photoresist design, thus transferring the predetermined design on the photomask onto the photoresist design,
It performs lithographic against the photoresist design, lithographic agent injection pressure of about 0.5 kg / cm ^2, and the injection with respect to the photoresist design, washed and further injecting a cleaning liquid ejection pressure of about 0.5 kg / cm ² And removing the unnecessary photomask material portion of the photoresist pattern,
Hard baking the substrate: The photoresist pattern on the substrate is subjected to a baking process of 25 to 35 minutes (Min.) With hot air of 210 to 250 ° C. 2. The method for producing a panel decoration frame thin film design layer according to claim 1, wherein a necessary solidified photoresist design thin film layer is formed.

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