JP2014115314A - Method for manufacturing alignment layer for liquid crystal, method for manufacturing liquid crystal element, and liquid crystal element - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a novel liquid crystal element using an alignment layer of a novel structure.SOLUTION: A liquid crystal element comprises: a first substrate 11 and a second substrate 12 opposed to each other; conductive films 13 and 14 disposed so as to partially cover one surface side of at least one of the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12; first alignment layers 18 and 19 disposed so as to cover at least a part of the conductive films; and a liquid crystal layer 17 disposed between the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12.

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid crystal element including an alignment film having a novel structure and a manufacturing technique for the alignment film.

  As one of the manufacturing techniques of the alignment film for liquid crystal, one using an electrospray technique has been proposed. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-28216 (Patent Document 1), the material liquid is atomized by discharging the material liquid in a state where a potential difference is relatively generated between the material liquid and the substrate. A technique is disclosed in which an alignment film is formed on one surface of a substrate by spraying it on one surface of the substrate and solidifying it. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-113049 (Patent Document 2) discloses that the first material liquid is discharged in a state where a potential difference is relatively generated between the first material liquid and the substrate. The liquid is sprayed on one surface of the substrate, and the second material liquid is sprayed by discharging the second material liquid in a state in which a potential difference is relatively generated between the second material liquid and the substrate. A technique is disclosed in which an alignment film is formed on one surface of a substrate by spreading the material on one surface of the substrate and solidifying them. According to these techniques, it is possible to freely select a material liquid for various alignment films using an apparatus having a relatively simple configuration and form an alignment film capable of setting a pretilt angle in a wide range.

  By the way, in each of the preceding examples, the mist-like material liquid is uniformly sprayed on the entire substrate surface to obtain an alignment film, but the dispersed material liquid is uniformly deposited on the entire substrate surface. Since it is difficult to achieve this, there is room for improvement in terms of the uniformity of the alignment film. Moreover, since the base | substrate will be hidden when the application amount of the material liquid is increased, there is room for improvement in that it is difficult to obtain a wide range of pretilt angles.

  Further, in each of the above-described prior examples, it is difficult to form an alignment film that exhibits an alignment regulating force that varies depending on the location of the substrate surface. Specifically, for example, an alignment film having a different pretilt angle applied to the liquid crystal molecules depending on the position in the substrate surface, or an alignment film having different alignment directions of the liquid crystal molecules depending on the position in the substrate surface. It was difficult to form.

JP 2010-28216 A JP 2012-113049 A

A specific aspect of the present invention is to provide a novel liquid crystal element using an alignment film having a new structure.
A specific aspect of the present invention is to provide a new alignment film manufacturing technique using an electrospray technique that can solve the above-described problems.
Furthermore, a specific aspect of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal element manufacturing technique using the above-described new alignment film manufacturing technique.

  In one aspect of the liquid crystal element according to the present invention, (a) a first substrate and a second substrate which are arranged to face each other, and (b) at least one surface side of the first substrate and the second substrate are partially covered. (C) a first alignment film provided so as to cover at least part of the conductive film, (d) a liquid crystal layer provided between the first substrate and the second substrate, It is a liquid crystal element containing.

  According to the above configuration, an alignment film is selectively provided corresponding to the position of the conductive film on the substrate, and a liquid crystal element capable of aligning the liquid crystal layer by this alignment film is obtained.

  The liquid crystal element further includes a second alignment film provided so as to cover a region overlapping with the conductive film and a peripheral region thereof, and the first alignment film is provided with the second alignment film sandwiched between the conductive film. It is also preferable.

  Accordingly, the liquid crystal layer can be aligned in a different state in a region overlapping with the conductive film and its peripheral region, so that various alignment controls are possible.

  In the above liquid crystal element, for example, the first alignment film has a structure in which a plurality of fine alignment film pieces are irregularly stacked.

  An alignment film having such a structure can be selectively formed corresponding to the position of the conductive film, for example, by a manufacturing method described later.

  In the above liquid crystal element, the conductive film may be an electrode for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal layer.

  Thereby, the configuration can be simplified.

  An alignment film manufacturing method for a liquid crystal according to an aspect of the present invention is a method for manufacturing an alignment film for a liquid crystal on a substrate, and (a) a surface of the substrate is partially disposed on the substrate. A first step of forming a conductive film having a covering shape; and (b) the material liquid is atomized by discharging the material liquid while applying a relative potential difference between the conductive film of the substrate and the material liquid of the alignment film. A second step of selectively spraying the atomized material liquid over a region overlapping at least part of the conductive film of the substrate, and (c) the first alignment film by solidifying the sprayed material liquid It is the manufacturing method of the orientation film for liquid crystals including the 3rd process to form.

  According to the above method, since the material liquid can be selectively sprayed on the region on the substrate where the conductive film is provided, a highly uniform alignment film can be manufactured in that region. In addition, it is possible to exert different alignment regulating force in the region corresponding to the conductive film and the other region. For example, in the case where a plurality of conductive films separated from each other are provided, it is possible to form different types of alignment films corresponding to the respective conductive films.

  The alignment film manufacturing method preferably further includes, after the first step, a fourth step of forming a second alignment film that covers a region overlapping with the conductive film and a peripheral region thereof.

  Accordingly, different types of alignment films can be easily formed in the substrate plane by a relatively simple process.

  The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element according to one aspect of the present invention includes (a) an alignment film forming step of forming an alignment film on at least one side of the first substrate and the second substrate, and (b) the first substrate and the first substrate. A substrate disposing step of disposing two substrates oppositely, and (c) a liquid crystal layer forming step of forming a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate, and (d) the alignment film forming step described above. This is a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element, which is performed using

  According to the above method, a liquid crystal element having a highly uniform alignment film can be manufactured.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a method for forming an alignment film using an electrospray technique. FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are diagrams for explaining a suitable spray voltage in the electrospray deposition method of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an alignment film manufacturing apparatus using an electrospray deposition method. FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C are schematic cross-sectional views showing an example of a method for manufacturing an alignment film according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a liquid crystal element (liquid crystal display device) according to an embodiment. FIG. 6A is a schematic plan view showing an example of an electrode structure. FIG. 6B is a schematic plan view showing another example of the electrode structure. FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C are diagrams illustrating images observed with a polarizing microscope of the liquid crystal elements of the examples. 8A to 8C are schematic views for explaining application examples in a liquid crystal element having a memory property.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a method for forming an alignment film using an electrospray technique. As shown in FIG. 1, an electrode 102 that is previously patterned into a predetermined shape is provided on one surface of a substrate 101. A distance between such one surface of the substrate 101 and the capillary (capillary) 100 is ensured as appropriate (for example, about several centimeters), and a high voltage (for example, several kV) is used between the capillary 100 and the substrate 101 using the voltage applying device 104. ) Is applied to the tip of the capillary 100 while applying an alignment film material liquid (hereinafter referred to as “alignment film liquid”) 103. Accordingly, the alignment film liquid 103 discharged from the capillary 100 becomes liquid particles having a positive potential. The liquid particles having this potential are finely divided and spread while being electrically repelled to form mist-like microdroplets (mist-like bodies) 105. The micro droplet 105 is attracted to the negatively charged substrate 101 and is mainly attached on the electrode 102 of the substrate 101. Thereafter, the microdroplet 105 reaching the substrate 101 is appropriately heat-treated to form a film (solidify), thereby forming an alignment film including a large number of fine alignment film pieces on the electrode 102. Is done.

  Here, in order to spray droplets cleanly, it is desirable that the viscosity of the alignment film liquid is low. Therefore, it is desirable to prepare an alignment film solution by diluting the alignment material with a solvent such as tetrahydrofuran, acetonitrile, acetone, ethanol, or IPA. As a solvent for dilution, basically a material having a low boiling point and high volatility is desirable. When sprayed by the electrospray deposition method, very fine droplets are formed, but it is considered that an organic solvent such as acetone evaporates while flying toward the substrate. Therefore, it can be considered that the diluting solvent used here does not greatly affect the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules, as long as it has high volatility.

The main advantages of the method for producing an alignment film using such a method (hereinafter referred to as “electrospray deposition method”) are as follows.
(A) Nano-sized fine droplets can be sprayed (b) Room temperature and normal pressure can be deposited (c) Dry process can be deposited (d) Device configuration is relatively simple (simple)
(E) There are many materials that can be deposited (f) Only a small amount of material is required for deposition

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a suitable spray voltage in the electrospray deposition method of the present embodiment. FIG. 2A shows the relationship between the voltage between the capillary and the substrate (interelectrode voltage) and the total ion amount. As shown in the figure, a stable voltage is often obtained when the voltage between the electrodes is about 200 V higher than the threshold voltage. As shown in FIG. 2 (B), the dispersion mode of the alignment film liquid changes depending on the voltage between the electrodes. When the voltage between the electrodes is relatively low, a microdropping mode in which the droplet size becomes relatively large appears, and as the voltage between the electrodes increases, a cone jet mode in which the appropriate liquid size becomes uniform and minute appears, and then the droplet size Multi-jet mode with reduced uniformity.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an alignment film manufacturing apparatus using an electrospray deposition method. The alignment film manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 3 has a cylindrical syringe 110 for holding the alignment film liquid inside, a capillary 100 provided at one end of the syringe 110, and an object for forming the alignment film. An insulating substrate holder (substrate fixing means) 111 that holds the substrate 101 and a voltage application device (high-voltage DC power source) 104 for applying a voltage between the capillary 100 and the substrate 101 are provided. The substrate holder 111 is configured to apply a ground potential to the electrodes on the substrate 101. Thereby, a voltage can be applied only between the capillary 100 and the electrode. The substrate holder 111 is configured so that the distance between the capillary 100 and the substrate 101 can be adjusted. Further, the substrate holder 111 may be configured to be able to move the relative position of the substrate 101 with respect to the capillary 100. For example, the uniformity of the film thickness can be improved by applying the alignment film liquid while transporting the substrate 101 in one direction. In this case, the conveyance speed can be about 10 mm / min, for example.

  FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C are schematic cross-sectional views showing an example of a method for manufacturing an alignment film according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4A, an electrode 102 having a predetermined pattern is formed on one surface of a substrate 101 such as a glass substrate. Specifically, for example, a conductive film such as an ITO (indium tin oxide) film is formed on one surface of the substrate 101, or a substrate 101 on which a conductive film such as an ITO film is formed in advance on the entire surface is prepared. Then, this conductive film is patterned into a desired shape by photolithography. Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, an alignment film 106 is formed on one surface of the substrate 101 so as to cover the electrode 102. Specifically, the alignment film 106 is formed by, for example, applying an alignment film liquid on the substrate 101 by a spin coating method or the like and baking under a predetermined condition. The alignment film 106 is, for example, a horizontal alignment film or a vertical alignment film. An alignment process such as a rubbing process may be performed on the formed alignment film 106. Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, the alignment film 107 is formed by electrospray deposition using, for example, the alignment film manufacturing apparatus described above. Each alignment film 107 is selectively formed at a position corresponding to the pattern of the electrode 102 as shown. Each alignment film 107 has a structure in which fine alignment film pieces are aggregated. In the above description, the alignment process such as the rubbing process is performed after the alignment film 106 is formed. However, the alignment process may be performed after the alignment film 107 is formed, or the alignment is performed every time the alignment films 106 and 107 are formed. Processing may be performed.

  Next, a liquid crystal display element to which an alignment film formed by the above-described electrospray deposition method can be applied will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a liquid crystal element (liquid crystal display device) according to an embodiment. The liquid crystal element shown in FIG. 5 has a basic configuration in which a liquid crystal layer 17 is interposed between a first substrate 11 and a second substrate 12. A first polarizing plate 21 is disposed outside the first substrate 11, and a second polarizing plate 22 is disposed outside the second substrate 12. Hereinafter, the structure of the liquid crystal element will be described in more detail. Note that illustration and description of members such as a sealing material for sealing the periphery of the liquid crystal layer 17 are omitted.

  The first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are transparent substrates such as a glass substrate and a plastic substrate, respectively. As shown in the figure, the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are bonded to each other with a predetermined gap (for example, several μm) so that the surfaces of the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 face each other. Although illustration is omitted, a switching element such as a thin film transistor may be formed on any substrate.

  The first electrode 13 is provided on one surface side of the first substrate 11. The second electrode 14 is provided on one surface side of the second substrate 55. Each of the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14 is configured by appropriately patterning a transparent conductive film such as indium tin oxide (ITO), for example.

  The alignment film 15 is provided on one surface side of the first substrate 11 so as to cover the first electrode 13. The alignment film 16 is provided on one surface side of the second substrate 12 so as to cover the second electrode 14. These alignment films 15 and 16 are formed by, for example, applying an alignment film liquid by a spin coat method and baking the liquid. Each alignment film 15 and 16 is a horizontal alignment film, for example.

  The alignment film 18 is provided so as to overlap the alignment film 15 on one surface side of the first substrate 11. The alignment film 18 is provided at a position corresponding to the pattern of the first electrode 13. The alignment film 19 is provided so as to overlap the alignment film 16 on one surface side of the second substrate 12. The alignment film 19 is provided at a position corresponding to the pattern of the second electrode 14. These alignment films 18 and 19 are alignment films formed by the above-described electrospray deposition method, and each is, for example, a vertical alignment film.

  The liquid crystal layer 17 is provided between the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12. The dielectric anisotropy Δε of the liquid crystal material constituting the liquid crystal layer 17 may be positive (Δε> 0) or negative (Δε <0).

  FIG. 6A is a schematic plan view showing an example of an electrode structure. For example, the first electrode 13 is a striped electrode extending in the horizontal direction in the drawing, and the second electrode 14 is a striped electrode extending in the vertical direction in the drawing. In this case, each region where the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14 intersect becomes the pixel unit 50. That is, the liquid crystal display device of this example is a simple matrix type liquid crystal display device in which a plurality of pixel portions 50 are arranged in a matrix. In the case of having such an electrode structure, for example, the alignment films 15 and 16 (see FIG. 5) are formed as a base, and each of the first electrode 13 and the second electrode 14 is formed by the above-described electrospray deposition method. The alignment films 18 and 19 are formed in the overlapping region.

  At this time, for example, an alignment film (horizontal alignment film or vertical alignment film) having a slightly large pretilt angle given to the liquid crystal molecules is formed as the alignment films 15 and 16, and the pretilt angle given to the liquid crystal molecules is set as the alignment films 18 and 19. A relatively small alignment film (horizontal alignment film or vertical alignment film) can be formed. Accordingly, since the pretilt angle can be set to be different between the pixel unit 50 and the other region, so-called off-seg appearance can be suppressed.

  Specifically, in general, in a simple matrix type liquid crystal display device, an off voltage is applied even in the case of an off pixel, so that a difference in transmittance occurs between an area where no electrode exists (background area) and an off pixel (off segment). There is a problem that off-pixels are visually recognized. On the other hand, as described above, an alignment film having a relatively high pretilt angle is provided in a region where no electrode is present, and an alignment film having a relatively low pretilt angle is provided in a region where an electrode is present. The difference in transmittance between the region and the off pixel can be further reduced, and the off-seg appearance can be suppressed.

  Further, according to this method, the driving voltage can be increased as a whole, so that there is an advantage that the transmittance of the on-pixel can be further increased. In this case, the lead line portion has a relatively low pretilt angle and does not operate even at an off voltage. Such a correspondence is an operation mode (TN, STN, etc.) in which a liquid crystal material having a positive dielectric anisotropy is aligned using a horizontal alignment film, or a liquid crystal having a negative dielectric anisotropy using a vertical alignment film. It can be applied to an operation mode in which the material is oriented.

  FIG. 6B is a schematic plan view showing another example of the electrode structure. The liquid crystal display device of this example includes a plurality of gate lines 60 extending in the left-right direction in the figure, a plurality of source lines 61 extending in the up-down direction in the figure, and a plurality of positions provided at the intersecting positions thereof. This is an active matrix liquid crystal display device having a thin film transistor 62. Each second electrode 14 is connected to one thin film transistor 62 and functions as a pixel electrode. The first electrode 13 (see FIG. 5) is provided on the entire surface of the first substrate 11 so as to face the second electrodes 14. In the case of such an electrode structure, for example, the alignment films 15 and 16 (for example, a horizontal alignment film) are formed as a base, and further aligned in a region overlapping with each second electrode 14 by the above-described electrospray deposition method. A film 19 (for example, a vertical alignment film) is formed. In this case, the alignment film 18 is omitted.

  At this time, since each second electrode 14 can be individually selected and applied with a voltage, different types of alignment films can be provided for each pixel. Further, in the case where one pixel portion is configured to include a plurality of subpixel electrodes each connected to a switching element such as a thin film transistor, a different alignment film is provided for each subpixel electrode in the pixel portion. It is also possible. Further, for example, a vertical alignment film can be provided as each of the alignment films 15 and 16, and a horizontal alignment film can be provided on the second electrode 14 on the vertical alignment film. In that case, if the first polarizing plate 21 and the second polarizing plate 22 are arranged in a crossed Nicol arrangement, the transmitted light between the electrodes can be made black, so that a function equivalent to a so-called black matrix can be realized. In this case, for the convenience of film formation accuracy, the black matrix has been formed so that the edge of the black matrix overlaps with the electrode of the image area. In the case of the mode, in principle, the function of the black matrix can be exhibited only in the region other than the electrode of the pixel portion, and thus the aperture ratio can be improved as compared with the conventional case.

  In both the simple matrix type and the active matrix type described above, a liquid crystal display device having different viewing angle characteristics for each pixel can be obtained at a low cost by separately applying an alignment film in which the alignment direction of liquid crystal molecules is different from the alignment process direction. Can be manufactured. Thereby, it is possible to realize multi-view angle display that displays different information depending on the viewing direction of the observer.

(Example)
Next, examples of the liquid crystal element to which the present invention is applied will be described.

  A pair of glass substrates on which an ITO (indium tin oxide) film is formed is prepared. The thickness of the ITO film is 1500 mm, the thickness of the glass substrate is 0.7 mm, and the material is non-alkali glass. These glass substrates are washed, and the ITO film is patterned by a general photolithography process and an etching process. Here, wet etching using ferric chloride was used as an etching method. On one of the pair of glass substrates, an ITO film was patterned to form an electrode corresponding to later formation of an alignment film by electrospray deposition.

  Next, of the pair of glass substrates, a glass substrate having an electrode corresponding to formation of an alignment film by electrospray deposition is applied by spin coating with a material liquid for a horizontal alignment film, and temporarily applied at 100 ° C. for 10 minutes. Firing was then performed at 250 ° C. for 60 minutes. Similarly, a material solution for a vertical alignment film was applied to the other glass substrate by spin coating, pre-baked under conditions of 100 ° C. and 10 minutes, and then main-fired under conditions of 220 ° C. and 60 minutes. Then, the rubbing process was performed with respect to each alignment film of both glass substrates.

  Next, a vertical alignment film was formed on a glass substrate provided with a horizontal alignment film by an electrospray deposition method. Specifically, a liquid mixture of a material liquid and a solvent (tetrahydrofuran and acetonitrile mixed at 6: 4) for the vertical alignment film was applied by an alignment film manufacturing apparatus (see FIG. 3) suitable for the electrospray deposition method. The sprayed mixed solution (alignment film solution) was pre-baked under conditions of 100 ° C. and 10 minutes, and then main-fired under conditions of 220 ° C. and 60 minutes.

  In carrying out the electrospray deposition method, the distance between the capillary and the glass substrate (distance between the electrodes) is 4 to 8 cm, a voltage of 3.0 to 4.2 kV is applied between them, and the spraying time is 15 to Set to 30 minutes. The capillary has an outer diameter of 150 μm and an inner diameter of 50 μm. In addition, the liquid mixture of the material liquid and the solvent for the vertical alignment film could be more uniformly dispersed by shifting the relative position of both slightly (˜several centimeters) without making the tip of the capillary relative to the center of the glass substrate. In addition, the liquid mixture could be dispersed more uniformly when the distance between the capillary and the glass substrate was set larger.

  Next, a pair of glass substrates was bonded. In order to keep the distance between the substrates constant, a gap control material was sprayed on one glass substrate by a dry spraying method. Although a true sphere having a particle diameter of 6 μm is used as the gap control material, a plastic ball or the like may be used. Further, a main seal (and a conductive material) was formed on the other glass substrate. Although the screen printing method is used for forming the main seal here, a dispenser or the like may be used. As the sealant, a thermosetting material is used. However, a photocurable material or a combination of light and heat may be used. Further, glass fiber having a particle diameter of 6 μm was mixed in the sealant. In addition, a conductive material including Au balls was printed at a predetermined position. Here, the above-described sealing material mixed with Au balls having a particle size larger by about 1 μm than the particle size of the glass fiber was screen-printed as a conductive material. The conductive material may be printed on the other glass substrate. Thereafter, a pair of glass substrates were superposed at predetermined positions to form cells, and the sealing agent was cured by heat treatment in a pressed state. Here, thermosetting was performed by a hot press method (fired at 150 ° C.).

  Next, a liquid crystal material was injected into a gap between a pair of glass substrates formed by a cell by a vacuum injection method, and the injection port was sealed with an end sealant. Thereby, a liquid crystal layer was formed between the pair of glass substrates. Thereafter, in order to adjust the alignment of the liquid crystal layer, the cell was heated to a temperature higher than the phase transition temperature of the liquid crystal material. Here, heat treatment was performed in an oven at 120 ° C. for 30 minutes.

  Next, the cell was washed with a detergent or an organic solvent, and a polarizing plate was bonded to each outside of the pair of glass substrates. Thus, a liquid crystal element was completed.

  FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C are diagrams illustrating images observed with a polarizing microscope of the liquid crystal elements of the examples. FIG. 7A is an observation image when the width of the electrode used for the electrospray deposition method is 50 μm, and FIG. 7B is an observation image when the width of the electrode used for the electrospray deposition method is 200 μm. FIG. 7C is an observation image when the width of the electrode used in the electrospray deposition method is 250 μm. In any of the drawings, “A, P” indicates the transmission axis direction of the polarizing plate, and “R” indicates the rubbing direction. Moreover, in each figure, the part which is visible in the figure is an area | region where the electrode was provided. As shown in each figure, it can be seen that the vertical alignment film can be selectively formed in the region where the electrodes exist, and the underlying horizontal alignment film is exposed in the other regions. In addition, although the typical observation image was shown here, when forming the liquid crystal element which changed the arrangement pitch of an electrode besides these and observing them, in the range of the arrangement pitch of at least 25 micrometers-400 micrometers, it is an electrode. It was confirmed that the vertical alignment film can be selectively formed in the region where the film exists.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the contents of the above-described embodiment and the like, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, the structure and manufacturing method of the liquid crystal element (or liquid crystal display device) according to the above-described embodiment is a novel twist that utilizes a transition between two alignment states disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-107376. The present invention can also be applied to a liquid crystal element (or a liquid crystal display device) having a memory property such as a nematic liquid crystal element.

  8A to 8C are schematic views for explaining application examples in a liquid crystal element having a memory property. In the liquid crystal element having the above memory property, there is a case where a polymer stabilization treatment is performed in order to extend the holding time after transition between alignment states, but a polymer network is formed in the liquid crystal layer. There is an inconvenience that the number of ultraviolet irradiation steps for the increase is increased. Another disadvantage is that the characteristics are affected by the presence of other alignment states in the electrode. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8A, an alignment film is selectively formed by a method as described above in a region overlapping with the electrode 203 of the upper substrate 201 and the electrode 204 of the lower substrate 202. The alignment state of the liquid crystal layer 207 can be changed between the region where the liquid crystal exists and the other region. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8B, a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer 207 via the electrodes 203 and 204 to change the alignment state of the region sandwiched between the electrodes 203 and 204 of the liquid crystal layer 207. Thereafter, when the voltage application is released, as shown in FIG. 8C, the alignment state is maintained only in the region where the alignment state is changed. By forming an alignment film corresponding to the alignment state to be held in advance in a region other than the region where the electrodes 203 and 204 are formed, the characteristics are not affected.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11: 1st board | substrate 12: 2nd board | substrate 13: 1st electrode 14: 2nd electrode 15, 16, 18, 19: Orientation film 17: Liquid crystal layer 21: 1st polarizing plate 22: 2nd polarizing plate 100: Capillary 101 : Substrate 102: Electrode 103: Alignment film liquid 104: Voltage application device 105: Fine droplet (mist)
106, 107: Alignment film 110: Syringe 111: Substrate holder

Claims (7)

A first substrate and a second substrate disposed opposite to each other;
A conductive film provided so as to partially cover at least one side of the first substrate and the second substrate;
A first alignment film provided so as to cover at least a part of the conductive film;
A liquid crystal layer provided between the first substrate and the second substrate;
Including liquid crystal element A second alignment film provided so as to cover a region overlapping with the conductive film and a peripheral region thereof,
Further including
The first alignment film is provided with the second alignment film sandwiched between the conductive film,
The liquid crystal device according to claim 1. The first alignment film has a structure in which a plurality of fine alignment film pieces are stacked irregularly,
The liquid crystal device according to claim 1. The conductive film is an electrode for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal layer;
The liquid crystal element according to claim 1. A method for producing an alignment film for liquid crystal on a substrate,
A first step of forming a conductive film having a shape partially covering one surface side of the substrate on the substrate;
The material liquid is atomized by discharging the material liquid while applying a relative potential difference between the conductive film of the substrate and the material liquid of the alignment film. A second step of selectively spreading over a region overlapping at least part of the conductive film;
A third step of forming the first alignment film by solidifying the dispersed material liquid;
A method for producing an alignment film for liquid crystal, comprising: After the first step, further includes a fourth step of forming a second alignment film covering a region overlapping with the conductive film and a peripheral region thereof.
The method for producing an alignment film for liquid crystal according to claim 4. An alignment film forming step of forming an alignment film on at least one surface side of the first substrate and the second substrate;
A substrate placement step of placing the first substrate and the second substrate facing each other;
A liquid crystal layer forming step of forming a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate;
Including
The alignment film forming step is performed using the manufacturing method according to claim 5 or 6.
A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element.