JP2016185700A - Manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus of printing plate cylinder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus of a printing plate cylinder in which manual operations required for positioning are greatly reduced, and a fine asperity pattern having little distortion can be formed at a desired position on a surface of the printing plate cylinder.SOLUTION: In a manufacturing method of a printing plate cylinder, a mold laminate 10 with a pattern laminated having an alignment mark 12 in an imprint molding mold 11 is fixed on a transportation stage 22 installed facing the printing plate cylinder 21, action of the plate cylinder 21 and the transportation stage 22 is controlled by alignment cameras 23 and 24 so that the mold laminate 10 is bonded to the plate cylinder in parallel with an axial direction of the plate cylinder 21 and at a prescribed position of the plate cylinder 21, the plate cylinder 21 is lowered while rotating and the stage 22 is transported in synchronization with the rotation speed, and the mold laminated 10 is bonded to the plate cylinder 21 and at the same time the mold 11 is left on the stage 22 to alienate the mold 11 so as to obtain the printing plate cylinder to which a fine pattern is bonded at the prescribed position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing plate cylinder manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus capable of easily forming a fine pattern with small distortion at a desired position on a printing plate cylinder.

  Recently, in the electronics field, “printed electronics technology”, which is manufactured with energy saving, resource saving, and high productivity, has attracted attention. Especially, with the aim of early realization of large area flexible devices such as flexible displays and sensors, Development to form a fine wiring pattern by a printing method using a roll-to-roll method has been earnestly advanced.

  In a roll-to-roll printing method, a cylindrical plate cylinder or sleeve is used as a printing plate, and various uneven patterns are formed on the surface thereof. Wirings with different line widths and thicknesses are transferred.

  However, while the roll-to-roll printing method itself is energy-saving, resource-saving, and excellent in productivity, most of the processes for forming a pattern are still complicated and require manpower. In particular, in the electronics field, extremely high pattern positional accuracy is required along with the miniaturization of the uneven pattern, and there are many cases where it cannot be achieved without great effort.

  As a method of forming an uneven pattern on the surface of a cylindrical plate cylinder (printing plate), a method using chemical corrosion or a method of directly forming a pattern on a plate cylinder by a laser direct drawing method has been common. However, recently, a method that has been studied in the field of flexographic printing, that is, a method in which a sheet-like printing plate on which a pattern is formed is wound around a plate cylinder, or a sheet-like printed matter on which no pattern is formed is used as a plate. Attention has been paid to a method of forming a pattern after the body is wound around the body.

  As a method that has been attracting attention recently, for example, Document 1 proposes a method in which a sheet-like printing original plate on which a pattern is formed in advance is abutted on both ends and attached to a cylindrical support. The purpose of the conventional method is that when a sheet-like printed material is pasted on a plate cylinder, it takes a considerable amount of time to align with high accuracy and there is a gap between the plate cylinder and the sheet-like printed material. Although it was necessary to work carefully so that it could not be done, it provided a solution for that, but if the position of the pasted version was misaligned between the head and buttocks side, etc. There is still no problem, such as forced to peel off and re-paste, and it needs to be studied.

  Reference 2 discloses a method in which a silicon wafer patterned with a lithography method is wound around a plate cylinder with a thin silicon sheet formed by polishing, but molten indium is used to fix the sheet. However, it is difficult to perform high-precision alignment and correction of the pattern, and much labor and time are required from the pattern formation to the production of the thin film silicone sheet and the attachment of the sheet to the plate cylinder.

  Further, in Reference 3, after the double-sided adhesive tape is previously attached to the transfer roll, the adhesive tape attached to the transfer roll is printed by pressing the printing sleeve against the transfer roll and synchronously rotating each other. There is disclosed a method of obtaining a sleeve printing plate in which a printing sleeve and a flexographic printing plate are integrated by transferring to a printing sleeve and attaching a flexographic printing plate to the transferred printing sleeve. In this method, the above-mentioned double-sided tape is pasted on the transfer roll, and then cut into a desired pattern, while removing the unnecessary adhesive tape on the outer peripheral surface of the transfer roll and removing the release paper from the transfer adhesive tape. In addition, it is necessary to carry out such work as checking the adhesive tape application state with the naked eye and correcting any abnormalities. This method is not only forced to be troublesome, but also required in the electronics field. High-precision pattern positioning is difficult.

JP 2014-46623 A JP 2012-208420 A Japanese Patent No. 4499376 JP 51-1065014 A JP 47-37521 A

“Photopolymer Handbook” published by Kogyo Kenkyukai Co., Ltd., June 26, 1989, p. 31-36

  As described above, in the conventional technique, much labor and time are required for alignment, and it is difficult to accurately form a pattern at a desired position on the printing plate cylinder, and there is room for improvement.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems of the background art, and greatly reduces the manual work required for alignment, and is desired on a printing plate cylinder in a short time, simply and with high accuracy. A printing plate cylinder manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus in which a fine pattern with small distortion is formed at a position are provided.

  As a result of intensive studies in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides, as a printing plate cylinder, a mold laminate in which an alignment mark is provided in an imprint molding mold and a pattern transfer layer made of a cured resin is laminated. The mold laminate is fixed on a transfer stage installed so as to face the alignment mark of the mold laminate and an alignment camera installed toward the printing plate cylinder. The printing plate cylinder is rotated and lowered while the printing plate cylinder is controlled to operate in parallel to the direction and bonded to a predetermined position of the printing plate cylinder. The stage is synchronously conveyed to the rotational speed, and the mold laminate is bonded to the printing plate cylinder, and at the same time, the imprint mold is left on the conveyance stage. However, by the method of separating the cured resin layer and the imprint molding mold, a knowledge that a printing plate cylinder in which a fine pattern layer made of the cured resin layer is bonded to a desired position on the printing plate cylinder can be obtained. As a result, the production method and production apparatus of the present invention were completed.

That is, this invention which concerns on Claim 1 is a manufacturing method of the printing plate cylinder which aligns and bonds the fine pattern layer transcribe | transferred by the imprint molding mold to the printing plate cylinder, The following processes: Cylindrical printing plate cylinder provided with elevating means, elevating position detecting means, rotating means, rotation angle and rotation number detecting means of the rotation, and having a long axis serving as a rotation axis, and the printing A transport stage that is disposed so as to face the plate cylinder, includes an in-plane rotation unit, a rotation angle detection unit of the in-plane rotation, and can horizontally transport a conveyance target at a predetermined distance and a predetermined speed; A step of preparing an apparatus including two first alignment cameras installed toward the conveyance object and two second alignment cameras installed toward the printing plate cylinder, The printing plate cylinder and front By controlling the operation of the transport stage, the transport object can be bonded to the printing plate cylinder at a predetermined in-plane rotation angle and position with respect to the axial direction of the printing plate cylinder; An imprint mold having a fine pattern, wherein the mold has a main pattern region and at least two alignment pattern regions on one surface, and each of the two alignment pattern regions has at least one alignment mark for alignment. A laminating step of laminating a resin composition layer composed of a photosensitive or thermosetting resin composition on an imprint mold and then curing the resin composition to form a mold laminate composed of a cured resin layer; The center point of two alignment marks in the mold laminate placed on the transfer stage as the transfer object An in-plane angle control step of controlling an in-plane angle of the transport stage so that a line segment direction and the major axis direction of the printing plate cylinder are parallel; and two alignment marks in the mold laminate A positioning step of pre-positioning the position of the printing plate cylinder and the position of the transport stage so that the position matches a predetermined position of the printing plate cylinder; and rotating the printing plate cylinder at a predetermined number of revolutions In addition, the transport stage is transported horizontally so as to be synchronized with the rotation speed, and the cured resin layer is printed so that two alignment marks in the mold laminate and a predetermined position of the printing plate cylinder are aligned. The cured resin layer and the imprint molding mold are separated from each other while the imprint molding mold is left on the conveyance stage at the same time as being bonded to the printing cylinder. It is the said method including the bonding and separation | spacing process of obtaining the printing plate cylinder by which the fine pattern layer which consists of fats was bonded in the predetermined position.
Moreover, this invention which concerns on Claim 2 is a method of Claim 1 whose viscosity of the resin composition before hardening of the cured resin layer in the said lamination | stacking process is 1-50 Pa.s.
Moreover, this invention which concerns on Claim 3 is the method of Claim 1 or 2 whose thickness of the cured resin layer in the said lamination process is 1-3 mm.
Moreover, this invention which concerns on Claim 4 is a method as described in any one of Claims 1-3 which provides previously the adhesive function to the surface of the printing plate cylinder in the said bonding and separation | spacing process. is there.
The present invention can also provide an apparatus for manufacturing a printing plate cylinder in which an uneven pattern with small distortion is transferred to a desired position of the printing plate cylinder as follows.
That is, a printing plate cylinder manufacturing apparatus in which an uneven pattern having a small distortion is directly transferred to the printing plate cylinder surface. The present invention according to claim 5 includes an elevating means, and an elevating position detecting means. A cylindrical printing plate cylinder having a rotation axis, a rotation angle and a rotation number detection unit of the rotation, and having a long axis serving as a rotation axis, and arranged to face the printing plate cylinder. An in-plane rotation means, a rotation angle detection means for the in-plane rotation, and a transfer stage that can horizontally transfer the transfer object at a predetermined distance and a predetermined speed, and is set toward the transfer object. Two first alignment cameras and two second alignment cameras installed toward the printing plate cylinder, and by controlling the operations of the printing plate cylinder and the transport stage, The conveyance object is used for the printing. For printing used in the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which can be bonded to the printing plate cylinder at a predetermined in-plane rotation angle and position with respect to the major axis direction of the cylinder. It is a plate cylinder manufacturing apparatus.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems of the prior art, and greatly reduces the manual work required for alignment, and is desired on a printing plate cylinder in a short time, simply and with high accuracy. A printing plate cylinder manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus in which a fine pattern with small distortion is formed at a position are provided.

It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the mold laminated body which concerns on this invention. According to the present invention, an installation table, a printing plate cylinder, a printing plate cylinder drive unit, a conveyance stage, a pair of stage conveyance guides, a mold laminate fixed on the stage, and 2 arranged toward the conveyance stage FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the arrangement of each of the first alignment camera of the table, the two second alignment cameras installed toward the printing plate cylinder, the guide rail for the camera, the camera support column, the computer, and the like. is there. By the alignment camera according to the present invention, the step of controlling the angle between the line segment connecting the center points of the two alignment marks in the mold stack and the long axis direction of the printing plate cylinder (FIG. 3A) is before control. FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram showing (after control). It is a side surface schematic diagram which shows the process by which the mold laminated body which concerns on this invention is bonded (FIG. 4 (A)) and spaced apart (FIG. 4 (B)) to the printing plate cylinder. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view illustrating a state in which the printing plate cylinder and the conveyance stage are in contact with each other in order to determine the elevation position of the printing plate cylinder according to the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the process of controlling the angle of the mold laminated body fixed on the conveyance stage with the alignment camera which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the positioning process (FIG. 7 (A) before positioning and FIG. 7 (B) after positioning) of the specific position on the printing cylinder by the alignment camera which concerns on this invention. The specific position of the printing cylinder according to the present invention is controlled to the initial angle of the printing cylinder, rotated to the nip line point, and bonded to the alignment mark in the mold laminate (FIG. 8A). FIG. 8 (B) is a schematic side view showing a state before bonding). The length between the uneven pattern regions formed in the imprint molding mold in the mold laminate before bonding according to the present invention is changed from the state of FIG. 9A to FIG. 9B using the alignment camera. It is explanatory drawing of the method measured by making it transfer. The length between the uneven | corrugated pattern area | regions of the cured resin layer transcribe | transferred to the printing cylinder after the bonding which concerns on this invention is made to transfer to FIG. 10 (B) from the state of FIG. 10 (A) using an alignment camera. It is explanatory drawing which shows the method measured by this.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a printing plate cylinder manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to a manufacturing apparatus that can easily carry out the present invention with reference to the drawings.

  However, although the present invention can be understood from the following description and FIGS. 1 to 10, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

  Hereinafter, the details will be described from the laminating process along the manufacturing process of the present invention.

(Lamination process)
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view for explaining a schematic configuration of a mold laminate 10 of the present invention. The mold laminate 10 includes an imprint mold 11 having a main pattern region 1011 and two alignment pattern regions 1012, and a resin composition layer made of a photosensitive or thermosetting resin composition on the imprint mold 11. Is a mold laminate 10 made of a cured resin layer 13 in which the resin composition is cured. The two alignment pattern regions are located at two adjacent corners of the main surface of the mold in plan view. When viewed in a plan view in the direction of FIG. The main pattern region 1011 is formed by parallel line & space patterns, and one alignment mark 12 is provided in each of the two alignment pattern regions 1012. A line segment connecting the center points of the two alignment marks is parallel to the pattern line 36 of the main pattern region.

  As the imprint mold 11 used in the present invention, a known mold can be applied. For example, the imprint molding mold 11 has a transparent glass plate such as quartz, synthetic quartz, or soda glass as a substrate, and an uneven pattern is formed on one main surface of the substrate by photolithography or electron beam lithography. In addition, with silicon, nickel or a hard resin plate as a substrate, an uneven portion is formed on one main surface of the substrate, one of the main surfaces of these substrates is formed by etching or the like, In addition, those formed with a convex portion by a resist material or the like can be used. Among these, an imprint mold using quartz or synthetic quartz as a substrate is desirable from the viewpoints of thickness distribution, ease of fixing, drawing accuracy, and thermal expansion. The thickness of the substrate is preferably 1 to 5 mm, more preferably 3 to 5 mm. If the thickness is 1 mm or more, the substrate is difficult to bend. Further, if the thickness is 5 mm or less, the light transmittance is excellent.

  The shape of the concavo-convex pattern in the main pattern region 1011 of the imprint mold 11 is not particularly limited, and is appropriately selected according to the imprint application. For example, a typical pattern is a pattern composed of lines and spaces. And the length of the convex part of a line & space, the width | variety of a convex part, the space | interval of convex parts, and the height (the depth of a recessed part) of a convex part from a recessed part bottom face are set suitably.

  As an example, for example, the width of the convex portion is 1 to 50 μm, more preferably 5 to 30 μm, the interval between the convex portions is 5 to 1000 μm, more preferably 5 to 50 μm, and the height of the convex portion is 1 to 1 μm. It is 50 micrometers, More preferably, it is 1-30 micrometers. More preferably, it is 1-15 micrometers. Moreover, the shape of the convex part which comprises an uneven | corrugated pattern may be a shape where the dots which have cross sections, such as a rectangle, a circle | round | yen, and an ellipse, arranged.

  In order to form a pattern precisely by imprinting and to transfer the pattern to the printing plate cylinder 21 with high accuracy, in addition to forming the pattern of the imprint molding mold 11 accurately, The alignment with the printing plate cylinder 21 is important. Therefore, the imprint mold 11 includes, in addition to the main pattern region 1011 (a region on the mold having a pattern that is a target to be transferred in order for the workpiece to exhibit its function). , An alignment pattern region 1012 (a region on the mold having a pattern to be transferred to a workpiece to provide an alignment mark used for alignment) is formed.

  The alignment pattern region means a region occupied by the alignment mark itself when the alignment mark has a shape that does not have a recess when viewed in plan, for example, a circle or a convex polygon. In addition, when the alignment mark has a shape having a recess when viewed in plan, for example, a cross shape or a concave polygon, the alignment mark is complemented by a triangle composed of line segments connecting adjacent end points so that the recess is eliminated. This means a square area.

The alignment mark 12 in the imprint mold 11 has a metal material and an oxide, nitride, oxynitride, silicon, and metal material on the convex or concave portion of the imprint mold 11 in order to improve the contrast at the time of mark detection. It is preferable to include at least one of compounds, carbides and borides (hereinafter referred to as “metal” including the above metal compounds). The Examples of metals, visibility, and aluminum from the viewpoint of film stress, gold, chromium, _{tin, Si0 2, ZrO 2, Al} 2 O 3 and TiO ₂ are preferred. Specifically, the metal-containing film 12 containing the metal is provided on the convex portion or the concave portion. In addition, as long as it can detect with the alignment camera mentioned later, the aspect which does not provide such a metal containing film, and the aspect which provided the metal containing film in the convex part and the recessed part may be sufficient.

  In order to increase the light transmission or reduce the strain due to the film stress, the alignment mark 12 has a metal-containing film only in the alignment pattern area 1012 so that the mark visibility is less affected. The main pattern region 1011 preferably has no metal-containing film. From the viewpoint of obtaining contrast, the thickness of the metal-containing film is preferably 10 nm or more, more preferably 30 nm or more, and particularly preferably 50 nm or more. Further, from the viewpoint of reducing the occurrence of strain due to film stress, it is preferably 1000 nm or less, more preferably 500 nm or less, and particularly preferably 100 nm or less.

In this embodiment, the alignment mark 12 can be provided in the alignment pattern part of a convex part or a recessed part.
As a method of providing the alignment mark on the convex portion, for example, when a chromium film is provided on the convex portion, a glass flat plate is used as the imprint mold 11 and the chromium film is formed on the entire surface of the alignment pattern region 1012 of the mold 11. Then, a resist film is formed. The resist film is subjected to pattern exposure and developed, and the remaining resist pattern is used as a mask to remove the Cr film in the alignment pattern region that later becomes a recess. In addition, by using a reactive etching gas having high etching selectivity for glass with respect to chromium, the glass portion is etched to remove the resist film, whereby the convex / concave structure in which the alignment mark 12 made of the chromium film is provided on the convex portion. The imprint molding mold 11 can be formed.

  As a method for providing the alignment mark in the concave portion, for example, when a chromium film is provided in the concave portion, a glass flat plate is used as the imprint mold 11 and a resist film is formed on one surface of the mold 11. The resist film is subjected to pattern exposure and developed, and the glass portion is etched using a reactive etching gas using the remaining resist pattern as a mask. After the chromium film is formed on the entire surface of the alignment pattern region 1012 of the mold 11, the resist film is removed, thereby forming the concave / convex structure imprint mold 11 in which the alignment mark 12 made of the chromium film is provided in the concave portion. be able to.

  Here, as a method of laminating the metal-containing film on the alignment pattern region 1012 of the mold, a PVD method such as a vacuum deposition method or a sputtering method, or a CVD method can be used. In order to prevent the metal-containing film from being formed in the main pattern region 1011, a shielding plate such as a mask may be used during film formation.

  As the resist, it is preferable to select a material that easily ensures the etching selectivity in relation to the chromium film. Specifically, a positive type or negative type photoresist or an electron beam resist can be used. When a positive resist, for example, a composition containing a novolak resin and a photoacid generator is used, the exposed portion is removed by development. In addition, when using a negative resist, for example, a composition containing an acrylate-based ultraviolet curable resin and a photo radical generator, or a composition containing an epoxy resin and a photo acid generator, the unexposed part is Removed by development. A developer corresponding to the photoresist to be used may be used. For example, in the case of a positive resist containing a novolak resin and a photoacid generator, an aqueous solution of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) is exemplified.

  In this embodiment, the chromium film can be removed by a chromium film etching solution (for example, an etching solution containing cerium ammonium nitrate and nitric acid or perchloric acid) using the resist film as a mask. A known removal method according to the metal can be used, and is not necessarily limited to this method.

  Further, wet etching or dry etching can be used for etching the glass part. As an etchant for wet etching, hydrofluoric acid can be used. Gases for dry etching (reactive ion etching) include sulfur hexafluoride, carbon tetrafluoride, and trifluoromethane.

  For removing the resist film, ashing or a known photoresist stripping solution can be used.

  The two alignment marks 12 and the pattern line 36 in the main pattern are parallel to each other, for example, as described above, the shape of the resist mask used when forming the pattern on the mold 11 is 2 in the design stage. This is done by making the line connecting the center points of the two alignment marks parallel to the pattern line of the main pattern.

  The shape of the alignment mark 12 is not particularly limited, but a shape in which the center position of the mark 12 is easy to visually recognize, such as a circular or cross-shaped form, is easy to visually recognize.

  The size of the alignment mark 12 is such that when the mark 12 is circular, the diameter is 10 to 1500 μm, and when it is a cross shape, the vertical and horizontal lengths are 10 to 1000 μm, respectively. Moreover, it is preferable because the alignment accuracy is improved. When the thickness is 30 to 500 μm, the accuracy is further improved. Further, the depth of the concave portion of the mark 12 is preferably 0.1 to 10 μm because accuracy is improved similarly.

  In the mold laminate 10 of FIG. 2, the alignment pattern region 1012 is usually one each at the upper right and upper left corners of the main surface of the imprint mold 11, separately from the main pattern region 1011 corresponding to the main pattern. It is preferable to be provided.

  By the above method, the alignment mark 12 is provided in the alignment region 1012 of the imprint mold 11 so that the line segment connecting the center points of the two alignment marks 12 is parallel to the pattern line of the main pattern region 1011. Can do.

  Next, the photosensitive or thermosetting resin composition will be described.

  First, as the photosensitive resin composition, generally, for example, a polymerizable resin composition such as a radical polymerization system, a photocationic polymerization system, a photoanion polymerization system, and a photodimerization reaction system can be applied. Hereinafter, the radical polymerizable resin composition which is a general-purpose example will be described. Many of radically polymerizable resin compositions can be applied to the present invention, and among them, a composition containing a prepolymer, a monomer, an initiator, and a thermal polymerization inhibitor can be used as a representative one. In this case, the viscosity of the photosensitive resin composition is determined by the blending ratio of the prepolymer and the monomer, the type thereof, the molecular weight of the prepolymer, and the like.

  The prepolymer has at least one polymerizable double bond in the molecule, such as unsaturated polyester, unsaturated polyurethane, unsaturated polyamide, unsaturated polyacrylate resin, unsaturated polymethacrylate resin, silicone rubber and various modifications thereof. The thing using at least 1 type among things etc. can be mentioned.

  The monomer is an ethylenically unsaturated monomer having a polymerizable double bond, such as styrene, chlorostyrene, vinyl toluene, diallyl phthalate, diallyl isophthalate, triallyl cyanurate, N, N′-methylenebisacrylamide, Methacrylamide, N-hydroxyethylacrylamide, N-hydroxymethacrylamide, α-acetamide, acrylamide, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, α-chloroacrylic acid, paracarboxystyrene, 2,5-dihydroxystyrene, triethylene glycol diacrylate, Triethylene glycol dimethacrylate and the materials described in Non-Patent Document 1 can be used.

  As the initiator, a known photopolymerization initiator or thermal polymerization initiator can be used. For example, benzoin, benzoin isobutyl ether, benzoin isopropyl ether, benzophenone, Michler ketone, xanthone, thioxanthone, chloroxanthone, acetophenone, 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone, benzyl, 2,2-dimethyl-2-hydroxyacetophenone, ( 2-acryloyloxyethyl) (4-benzoylbenzyl) dimethylammonium bromide, thiophenol, 2-benzothiazole thiol, 2-benzoxazole thiol, 2-benzimidazole thiol, diphenyl sulfide, decylphenyl sulfide, di-n-butyl Disulfide, dibenzyl sulfide, dibenzoyl disulfide, diacetyl disulfide, dibonyl disulfide, dimethoxyxanthogen Disulfide, 1,3-dioxolane, N- lauryl pyridinium and the like.

  Further, a photopolymerizable rubber composition comprising at least unvulcanized rubber, a monomer having a polymerizable double bond, and a polymerization initiator, so-called photosensitive elastomer (for example, Patent Document 4 and Patent Document 5). Alternatively, dialkyl silicon resin can be used.

  Examples of thermal polymerization inhibitors include hydroquinone, mono-tert-butyl hydroquinone, benzoquinone, 2,5-diphenyl-p-benzoquinone, picric acid, di-p-fluorophenylamine, p-methoxyphenol, 2,6-ditertiary. A butyl-p-cresol etc. can be mentioned.

  When the photosensitive resin composition that can be used in the present invention is used in the lamination process for forming the mold laminate, the cured resin layer in the mold laminate 10 is used in the in-plane angle control process of the transport stage 22 as the next process. In order to detect the two alignment marks 12 provided in the imprint mold 11 in the lower layer by the first alignment camera 23 from above the cured resin layer 13, the cured resin layer 13 needs to transmit visible light. Further, in the pasting / separating step, which is the final step, the cured resin layer 13 is pasted to the cylindrical printing plate cylinder 21, so that it is flexible and excellent in dimensional stability.

  As specific examples of the photosensitive resin composition suitable for this, as specific examples of the photosensitive resin composition suitable for this, APR (registered trademark; manufactured by Asahi Kasei E-Materials Co., Ltd.), AFP (registered) Trademarks: Asahi Kasei E-Materials Co., Ltd., Cyrel (DuPont Co., Ltd.), UV curable liquid silicone rubber (PDMS) (Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.), etc. Those having a high viscosity at room temperature can be heated to adjust the viscosity, or can be used by adjusting the viscosity by adding a monomer component.

  Examples of the thermosetting resin used in the present invention include silicon resins, polyester resins, epoxy resins, phenol resins, urea resins, melamine resins, allyl esters, acrylic resins, polyimides, urethane resins, and norbornene-based cyclic alicyclic rings. Although it is necessary to transmit visible light in the same manner as described above, silicon resin, acrylic resin, norbornene resin, and urethane resin are preferable among these.

  Similar to the photosensitive resin composition, the thermosetting resin composition needs to transmit visible light after curing. Moreover, the thing which is flexible and excellent in dimensional stability is preferable. As a specific example of the thermosetting resin composition suitable for this, polydimethylsiloxane (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) and the like are particularly preferable. If necessary, a known crosslinking agent, thermosetting agent or the aforementioned thermal initiator may be added, or a monomer component may be added to adjust the viscosity.

  The mold laminate 10 in the present invention is preferably laminated by the following method. First, in a state where the imprint mold 11 is fixed substantially horizontally, a resin composition made of a photosensitive or thermosetting resin composition is applied using a slit die or the like. A coating mechanism using a doctor blade or the like may be used separately instead of the slit die, and it is of course possible to install a known coating mechanism such as a curtain coater, a spray coater, a bar coater, or a gravure coater. When the mold is not substantially horizontal, flow of the resin composition and uneven coating occur, and the effects of the present invention cannot be obtained satisfactorily. In the present specification, “substantially horizontal” means that it is horizontal to the extent permitted from the viewpoint of thickness unevenness, and the height difference of the upper surface end of the mold laminate 10 at the time of installation in the lamination process is 10 μm or less. It is preferable. The imprint mold 11 itself is not suitable for use when the thickness unevenness is large or when the horizontal fixing itself is difficult.

  The viscosity of the resin composition is 1 to 50 Pa · s, preferably 2 to 20 Pa · s, and more preferably 3 to 15 Pa · s. When the viscosity is within this range, the flatness after application of the resin layer is maintained, and the thickness of the cured resin layer 13 after curing becomes a desired thickness, which is preferable.

  In the present invention, the imprint molding mold 11 having a release layer on the surface of the cured resin layer 13 on the layer forming side may be used as necessary. That is, it is possible to perform a mold release process on the surface of the imprint mold 11 to facilitate peeling from the cured resin layer 13 and to reduce defects in the main pattern and alignment pattern. Examples of the mold release treatment include coating with a mold release agent represented by a commercially available silicon-based or Teflon (registered trademark) system, and a surface treatment with a silane coupling agent having a perfluoro group.

  If necessary, a substrate can be laminated on the layer made of the resin composition coated on the imprint mold 11. As in the case of the cured resin layer 13, the base material needs to be a material that transmits ultraviolet light and visible light, and a material having high dimensional stability before and after resin curing is preferably used. For example, a polyolefin sheet such as a polyethylene sheet or a polypropylene sheet is preferably used. Also, polyester (for example, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PBT (polybutylene terephthalate), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN)), plastic resin such as PAN (polyacrylonitrile) and polyvinyl chloride, synthetic rubber such as styrene-butadiene rubber, glass A sheet made of plastic resin (epoxy resin, phenol resin, or the like) reinforced with fiber can be used. Among these, a PEN sheet that is a transparent support and excellent in dimensional stability before and after curing is more preferable.

  As a base material, you may use a base material with an adhesive on the back surface on the side to be laminated.

  In this case, for the purpose of ensuring the desired thickness of the cured resin layer 13, it is also preferable to sandwich the spacer between the imprint mold 11 and the substrate. As a suitable spacer, there can be mentioned a thickness gauge. Further, in order to further enhance the adhesion between the cured resin layer 13 and the base material or to improve the flatness, it is also preferable to laminate a glass plate on the base material.

Subsequently, the resin composition is cured by light irradiation or heating from the resin composition side of the mold laminate 10 thus laminated (the substrate surface side when a substrate is used). In the case of the photosensitive resin composition, the illuminance of ultraviolet rays is not particularly limited, and may be appropriately determined from the photosensitive characteristics and thickness of the photosensitive resin composition. Generally, it is performed under the condition of 500 to 3000 mJ / cm ² using a metal halide lamp or a high-pressure mercury lamp having a wavelength of 365 nm. In particular, when a higher resolution pattern resolution is required, it is preferable to expose with parallel ultraviolet rays. Further, the base material may have a surface provided with an antihalation layer (ultraviolet absorption layer).

  Curing of the thermosetting resin is usually performed under heating at 100 to 150 ° C. for 10 to 200 minutes.

  When a base material or a glass plate is laminated on the upper part, the spacer provided between the base material and the mold is appropriately removed after the resin composition is cured, and the pattern formed on the imprint mold 11 is formed. A mold laminate 10 is obtained that is transferred to the cured resin layer 13.

  The thickness of the cured resin layer 13 in the obtained mold laminate 10 is preferably 0.1 to 3 mm. When it is thicker than 3 mm, it is difficult to bond to the printing plate cylinder 21, and although it depends on the material of the cured resin layer 13, it is not preferable because it easily cracks or breaks during bonding. Moreover, when it becomes thinner than 0.1 mm, handling becomes difficult and it becomes difficult to bond, and is unpreferable. The thickness of the cured resin layer 13 is obtained by dividing the thickness of the convex portion of the imprint mold 11 from the thickness of the mold laminate 10. The thickness measurement of the convex part and the recessed part of the imprint mold 11 was measured with a fine shape measuring machine (Surfcoder ET400L manufactured by Kosaka Laboratory Ltd.) and obtained as an average value of 10 locations. The thickness of the mold laminated body 10 was measured with a digital sequence gauge (DES-3010 manufactured by MISUMI Corporation).

  As an example below, a PEN sheet is laminated as a thermosetting resin dimethylsiloxane resin and a base material on the imprint molding mold 11 used in the present invention, the base material is peeled after the resin is cured, The example from which the mold laminated body 10 is obtained is shown.

Example 1
A soda-lime glass plate (210 mm × 297 mm) having a thickness of 3.0 mm was prepared as a substrate, and an imprint molding mold 11 provided with a main pattern region 1011 having line-and-space convex and concave portions on the surface by the method described above. Got. The difference in height between the convex part and the concave part measured with a fine shape measuring instrument was 3 μm, and the line and space width was a minimum of 10 μm / 10 μm.

  A line segment connecting the center positions of the two alignment marks 12 was provided on the imprint mold so as to be parallel to the pattern lines in the main pattern region 1011.

  As described above, after a chromium film is formed on the entire surface of the substrate to which the alignment mark 12 is to be formed, a resist film is formed, and after pattern exposure and development, the remaining resist film is used as a mask to become a recess later. The chromium film of the location was removed. After that, the glass portion is etched with a reactive etching gas having high etching selectivity for glass with respect to chromium, and the remaining resist film is removed, so that the main pattern region 1011 has no chromium film and the alignment pattern region 1012. An imprint molding mold 11 having a concavo-convex structure in which a chrome film is provided on the convex portion is formed. The formed alignment mark 12 was circular with a diameter of 150 μm. The center position of the alignment mark 12 was 23.5 mm and 23.5 mm away from the corner when the two alignment marks 12 were placed in the upper right corner and the upper left corner in FIG.

  On the glass plate, a polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) sheet (trade name: Q65HA, manufactured by Teijin Limited) larger than the imprint molding mold 11 used as a substrate is fixed, and at positions corresponding to the four corners of the mold on the film. A thickness gauge (gap gauge) having a thickness of 1.0 mm is installed.

  A thermosetting dimethylsiloxane resin solution (trade name: X-32-3279A / B, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) is dropped on the PEN sheet, and the imprint molding mold 11 provided with the alignment mark 12 is formed with irregularities from above. The pressed surface was faced down so that no air bubbles entered. An appropriate load was applied to the entire mold 11 so that the resin flowed so that the thickness of the resin was uniform throughout. In-plane thickness uniformity was evaluated by the difference between the maximum film thickness and the minimum film thickness at the measurement location using a digital thickness gauge, and the whole was made uniform until the difference at 10 locations was 0.1 mm or less. . After that, the resin solution is heated and cured at 150 ° C. for 1 hour, and then the thickness gauge (gap gauge) is removed, and the PEN sheet is cut so as to be the same size as the imprint molding mold. The mold laminated body 10 by which the PEN sheet was laminated | stacked as a base material was obtained.

  The PEN sheet was peeled off, and the thickness of the mold laminate 10 was measured. As a result, it was 4.0 mm, and the thickness of the imprint mold was 3.0 mm. Therefore, the thickness of the cured resin layer 13 was 1.0 mm. The difference between the maximum film thickness and the minimum film thickness was as excellent as 0.1 mm.

  As described above, the lamination process of the mold laminate 10 of the present invention has been described. Next, the in-plane angle control process of the transfer stage 22 will be described.

  (Print plate cylinder manufacturing equipment)

  FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of an apparatus for manufacturing a printing plate cylinder 21 according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention has an installation table 20, a printing plate cylinder 21, a printing plate cylinder driving unit 211, a conveyance stage 22, a pair of stage conveyance guides 27, and a conveyance stage 22. The mold stack 10 to be fixed, two first alignment cameras 23 and two second alignment cameras 24, camera guide rails 28 and 281, camera support columns 29 and 291 and a computer 25 are included. Hereinafter, these will be described in detail.

  A pair of guides 27 supported by the installation table 20 are extended along the longitudinal direction on the upper surface of the installation table 20, and the pair of guides 27 are transported flat and hard, such as a stone surface plate, for example. A stage 22 is slidably provided. The transfer stage 22 is arranged so that its longitudinal direction is in the extending direction of the guide 27, and is supported by the guide 27 so as to be able to reciprocate on the installation table 20, and is driven by a driving device (not shown) along the guide 27. To reciprocate (parallel to the guide 27 in the direction of arrow X in FIG. 2). An in-plane rotation shaft 38 is provided at the center of the transfer stage 22 and is driven by a driving device (not shown) to rotate the transfer stage 22 itself in the plane.

  The transport stage 22 is equipped with a control device, an in-plane angle control device, and respective detection devices (the control device and the detection device are shown in the figure) that can move the transport stage 22 along the guide 27 with an accuracy of ± 1 μm together with the driving device. Not). Further, a function of synchronizing and conveying the rotational speed of the printing plate cylinder 21 described later is provided, and the operation is controlled by a controller (not shown) of the computer 25.

  Further, the transport stage 22 is provided with a suction mechanism (not shown) for fixing the mold laminate 10 to be transported. Specifically, a suction slit (not shown) is provided at the center of the transfer stage 22, and the stage 22 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown). The mold laminate 10 is arranged so that the slit is filled, and the mold laminate 10 is vacuum-sucked through the slit and fixed to the transfer stage 22 by operating a vacuum pump.

  The mold laminate 10 is vacuum-adsorbed and fixed to the upper surface of the transfer stage 22 so that the mold laminate 10 enters the field of view of the two first alignment cameras 23. A specific fixing method will be described later.

  A printing plate cylinder 21 is provided at the center of the setting table 20, and its machine axis direction (MD; the direction of a line 31 perpendicular to the long axis direction (TD) of the plate cylinder 21 and passing through the center of the plate cylinder) is conveyed. It is arranged so as to be parallel to the moving direction of the stage 22 (arrow X direction), and is arranged so that the in-plane rotation shaft 38 of the transport stage 22 overlaps the extension line of the MD line 31 of the printing plate cylinder 21. . The printing plate cylinder 21 is connected to a driving device 211 by a driving shaft 212, and the driving device 211 is fixed to the installation table 20. Further, the printing plate cylinder 21 can be moved up and down in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the transport stage 22 (perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2 or in the direction of arrow Z in FIG. 4A). The driving device 211 has a function capable of rotating the printing cylinder 21 with an accuracy of ± 1 μm with respect to the outer circumference of the printing cylinder 21 and a function capable of moving up and down with an accuracy of ± 1 μm in the ascending / descending direction. A rotation angle and elevation position detection device is also provided, and the operation is controlled by a controller (not shown) of the computer 25 described later.

  The drive control devices for the first alignment camera 23 and the second alignment camera 24, the transport stage 22 and the printing plate cylinder 21 are connected to a controller (not shown) in the computer 25. The computer 25 is configured by a so-called personal computer, and includes a memory, an input unit, and an output unit with a CPU as a control main body, and an image input unit and an image memory corresponding to the alignment cameras 23 and 24. 24 is provided with a function for image processing of the captured image taken at 24.

  Two first alignment cameras 23 (cameras using a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor) are arranged to face the alignment mark 12 in the mold stack 10. Each camera 23 is movably guided by a guide rail 28 provided along the long axis direction (TD) of the printing plate cylinder 21. Both ends of the guide rail 28 are supported by two support columns 29, and are fixed to the installation base 20 so as to be integrated with the guide rail 28 and straddle the transfer stage 22.

  Each first alignment camera 23 is previously provided with a cross-shaped camera mark 33 in the field of view of the camera. When the camera 23 is moved along the guide rail 28, the camera mark 33 is also moved to the guide rail 28. Along the TD of the printing plate cylinder 21. The camera 23 is fixed after being moved in parallel until the alignment mark 12 enters the field of view of the camera. When the strobe light source of the camera 23 is caused to emit light and the reflected light of the strobe light applied to the mold laminate 10 is input to the camera 23 body, the camera mark 33 is also photographed together with the alignment mark 12 in the mold laminate 10. The captured image information is sent to a computer 25 described later.

  Also, one alignment mark 12 is photographed for each first alignment camera. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the mold laminate 10 is fixed to the conveyance stage 22. For example, when the mark 12 is arranged near the upper left corner of the mold laminate 10, Of the two first alignment cameras, the image is taken by the left camera, and the second mark placed near the upper right corner is taken by the right camera.

  Two images taken separately by the two first alignment cameras 23 are image-processed, and a single combined image in which a total of four marks including two alignment marks 12 and two camera marks 33 are simultaneously photographed. Obtained as an imaging diagram. The relative positional relationship between the four marks in this captured image is kept the same as the actual relative positional relationship. Such a composite image is obtained by the following operation, for example.

  First, one alignment mark 12 and one camera mark 33 are photographed by the first alignment camera 23, the obtained captured image is subjected to image processing, the distance between the alignment mark 12 and the camera mark 33, and the printing plate. The angle with respect to TD of the trunk is calculated. The distance between the former alignment mark 12 and the camera mark 33 is determined by providing a scale bar in the camera field of view and imaging the image taken together with the object to be photographed by image processing to the center point of the alignment mark 12 and the camera mark 33. It is obtained by converting the distance from the center point to the actual length.

  The relative angle with respect to the TD of the latter printing plate cylinder 21 is also a line parallel to the TD of the printing plate cylinder 21 starting from the camera mark 33 in the imaging drawing as one of image processing operations. Is obtained by drawing a line segment connecting the center point of the alignment mark 12 and the center point of the camera mark 33 and obtaining an angle formed by both lines.

  The other first alignment camera 23 calculates the distance between the other alignment mark 12 and the other camera mark 33 and the angle of the printing plate cylinder with respect to TD, as described above.

  The distance between the two first cameras 23 can be measured because each camera is fixed on the guide rail 28, and from this, the distance between the center points of the camera marks 33 in the two cameras is obtained. Can do. From the distance between the camera marks, the distance between the center point of each alignment mark 12 calculated by the above operation and the center point of the alignment camera 33, and the angle with respect to the TD of the printing plate cylinder, the same actual position It can be obtained as one imaged image in which the two alignment marks 12 and the two camera marks 33 having a relationship are photographed.

  The image processing method of the captured image is processed by a known method. For example, the captured image obtained above is sent to the controller of the computer 25, and as a pre-process, it is decomposed as a minute pixel in each of the X direction and the Y direction as shown in FIG. Quantization, filter processing, gray processing, and the like are performed. Further, as measurement processing, dimensions and the like are measured from image data by pattern matching, and the processing results are sent as signals to the control device via the controller.

  A typical imaging figure obtained by the above operation is shown in FIG. From this captured image, after calculating in the computer 25 a directional angle 37 (Θ) between a line segment 35 connecting the center points of the two alignment marks 12 and a line segment 34 connecting the center points of the two camera marks 33. And stored in the memory in the computer 25. More details will be described in the angle control step of the transfer stage 22 described later.

  Two second alignment cameras (cameras using a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor) 24 are arranged so as to face two alignment marks 71 (FIG. 7) provided on the printing plate cylinder 21. (FIG. 2). These two alignment marks are provided on a line parallel to the TD of the printing plate cylinder at a specific position 26 of the printing plate cylinder 21.

  Unlike the mark formed on the imprint mold 11, the mark 71 is easily recognized by the alignment camera 24 because there is nothing on the top that impairs the visibility of a resin, a base material, or the like. Therefore, it is not particularly limited as long as it can be visually recognized as a mark. For example, a cross-shaped or circular shape of a colored film such as the alignment mark 12 may be used as the mark 71.

  A cross-shaped camera mark 72 is provided in the field of view of each second alignment camera 24 (FIG. 7), and guide rails 281 are provided along the TD of the printing plate cylinder 21, respectively. The camera 24 is guided by the guide rail 281 so as to be movable (FIG. 2). The second alignment camera 24 is fixed after being translated along the guide rail 281 until the alignment mark 71 enters the visual field. Both ends of the guide rail 281 are supported by two support columns 291 and are fixed to the installation table 20 so as to be integrated with the guide rail 281 and straddle the transfer stage 22 (FIG. 2). Similarly to the case of the first alignment camera 23 described above, the obtained image drawing information is also sent to the second alignment camera 24 to the computer 25 described later.

  Also in the case of the second alignment camera 24, one alignment mark 71 is photographed for each camera. FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the printing plate cylinder 21 and the alignment camera 24. For example, when the first alignment mark 71 is arranged near the right corner of the printing plate cylinder 21, Of the two alignment cameras, the image is taken by the right camera, and the second mark arranged near the left corner is taken by the left camera.

  In addition, two composite images captured separately by the second alignment camera 24 are subjected to image processing, and a single composite image in which a total of four marks including two alignment marks 71 and two camera marks 72 are simultaneously captured. Obtained as a figure. The relative positional relationship between the four marks in this captured image is kept the same as the actual relative positional relationship. The operation method for obtaining such a composite image is the same as in the case of the composite image obtained by the first alignment camera 23.

  A controller (not shown) built in the computer 25 controls the elevation position, rotation angle, and rotation speed of the printing plate cylinder 21 based on the obtained information after image processing, and the conveyance stage 22 has a predetermined in-plane angle. And is further controlled to move to the printing plate cylinder 21 side by a predetermined amount and a predetermined speed.

  The outline and function of the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention have been described above. Next, the in-plane angle control process of the conveyance stage 22 will be described.

(In-plane angle control process)
In this step, first, the mold laminated body 10 is fixed on the conveyance stage 22 so that each of the two alignment marks 12 in the laminated body 10 enters the field of view of the two first alignment cameras 23. . Here, before the mold laminate 10 is fixed, the mold laminate 10 is first transferred to the transport stage 22 so that the first alignment mark 12 in the mold laminate is within the field of view of the first camera 23. After the temporary placement, the position of the mold laminate 10 is adjusted while moving the camera 23 on the guide rail 28 so that the second mark 12 is within the field of view of the second camera 23. While confirming that it enters the field of view.

  And while fixing the camera 23, the mold laminated body 10 is adsorbed and fixed to the arrangement position after adjustment using the adsorption mechanism provided in the conveyance stage 22. FIG. Adjustment of the arrangement position of the mold laminated body 10 is adjusted by carrying the conveyance stage 22 back and forth along the guide 27. Similarly, FIG. 2 shows a schematic plan view of the mold laminate 10 fixed on the transfer stage 22.

The method of fixing the mold stack 10 on the transport stage 22 is not limited to the method of the present embodiment. For example, after determining the approximate fixing position of the mold stack 10 as an example, the mold stack 10 is adhered on the transport stage 22. A method of sticking a sheet and fixing the mold laminate 10 thereon may be used.

  In the case of performing an adhesive treatment or attaching an adhesive sheet, it is preferable to fix the adhesive layer or the adhesive sheet so as to be as thin as possible. A preferable thickness is 100 μm or less.

  After fixing the mold laminated body 10 in this way, the alignment mark 12 provided in the mold laminated body 10 is detected by the first alignment camera 23 installed toward the alignment mark 12, and two alignment marks are detected. The in-plane angle of the transport stage 22 is set so that the direction of the line segment 35 (shown in FIG. 3) connecting the 12 center points is parallel to the direction of the TD (axial direction) line 32 of the printing plate cylinder 21. Control.

  By making the line connecting the two alignment marks 12 parallel to the TD of the plate cylinder 21, the pattern line 36 formed on the imprint mold 11 in the mold laminate 10 and the TD of the plate cylinder 21 are parallel. A pattern line parallel to the TD of the plate cylinder 21 is transferred onto the plate cylinder 21 in the bonding / separating step of the mold laminate 10 described later.

  FIG. 3A shows an image of two alignment marks 12 taken by the first alignment camera 23 together with two camera marks 33 as a typical example. In the upper part of this figure, in order to easily understand this process, the machine axis direction (MD) line 31 and the long axis direction line (TD line) 32 of the printing plate cylinder 21 are also shown. The angle relationship between the direction of the line segments (31 and 32) and the line segment 35 connecting the center points of the two alignment marks 12 is made clear. Moreover, the mold laminated body 10 and the conveyance stage 22 are also shown together so that the whole aspect can be easily understood.

  In FIG. 3A, the fixing position of the mold laminate 10 on the transfer stage is adjusted so that the two alignment marks 12 are within the field of view of the two first cameras 23. The direction of the line segment 35 connecting the center points of the two alignment marks 12 is deviated from the direction of the line segment 34 connecting the center points of the two camera marks 33, that is, the direction of the TD line 32 of the printing plate cylinder 21. It has been shown. This deviation angle is defined as a direction angle 37 (Θ).

  FIG. 3B shows an imaging diagram when the transport stage 22 is rotated about the rotation axis 38 in the clockwise direction so that the two line segments 34 and 35 are rotated so that the deviation is corrected. . Thus, by rotating the transfer stage 22 in a plane by a predetermined angle (in this case, the direction angle 37 (Θ)), a line segment 35 connecting the center points of the two alignment marks 12 in the mold laminate 10 is changed to 2 Control can be performed in parallel to a line segment 34 connecting the center points of two camera marks, that is, in parallel to the TD line 32 of the printing plate cylinder 21. The degree of parallelism varies depending on the target imprint target, but it is preferable to rotate so that the direction angle 37 is 0.1 ° or less, more preferably 0.01 ° or less, and further preferably 0.005 ° or less. .

  Although the pattern lines 36 parallel to the two alignment marks 12 are also shown in the drawing, the direction of the pattern lines 36 provided in the target mold laminate 10 and the printing plate cylinder are controlled by the above angle control. The TD of 21 can be made parallel.

(Elevating position positioning process)
Next, the positioning process of the raising / lowering position of the printing plate cylinder 21 will be described.
In this step, first, the elevation position of the printing plate cylinder 21 is moved horizontally to the printing plate cylinder 21 side (along the direction in which the guide 27 extends), and the two are bonded together. To control.

  In order to make it easier to understand the method for controlling the raising / lowering position of the printing plate cylinder 21, an outline of the bonding / separating step of the mold laminate 10 as the next step will be described.

  FIG. 4A shows a bonding state between the mold laminate 10 and the printing plate cylinder 21 that is performed in the next bonding / separating step. In this figure, the specific position 26 provided on the printing plate cylinder 21 and the two alignment marks 12 (one not shown) provided in the mold laminate 10 are the printing plate cylinder 21. The state of being overlapped and pasted at the lowest point 41 is shown. 8A and 8B, two alignment marks 71 (not shown) provided at the specific position 26 are arranged at the lowest point of the printing plate cylinder 21 in the major axis direction ( (TD), and overlap and bond on the nip line. FIG. 4B also shows a state where the process further proceeds and the imprint mold 10 is separated.

  Thus, as can be understood from the outline of the bonding / separation process of the mold laminate 10, in order to bond the printing plate cylinder 21 and the mold laminate 10, the raising / lowering position of the printing plate cylinder 21 is set. The mold laminated body 10 needs to be controlled to a position where it is horizontally moved to the printing plate cylinder 21 side by the conveying stage 22 and bonded on the nip line of the printing plate cylinder 21.

  This is achieved by controlling the ascending / descending position of the lowest point 41 of the printing plate cylinder 21 to the ascending / descending position obtained by adding the thickness 43 of the mold laminate 10 to the height 42 (FIG. 5) of the transport stage 22. Made.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the height 42 of the transport stage 22 is set so that the left end of the transport stage 22 is moved to a position immediately below the printing plate cylinder 21 and the printing plate cylinder 21 is lowered while the transport stage 22 is lowered. This represents the height of the stage 22 in the case of contact. This value is obtained by actually measuring the height of the transfer stage 22 placed on the installation table 20 via the guard 27 using, for example, a high-precision height measuring instrument. As for the height, the elevation position of the printing plate cylinder 21 at this time is stored in the memory of the computer once as the height 42 of the transport stage 22, and the value obtained by adding the thickness of the mold laminated body 10 to the memory is again stored in the memory. Input.

  Actually, when the printing plate cylinder 21 is bonded to the mold laminated body 10, the printing plate cylinder 21 is bonded so as to be pressed in the depth direction of the mold laminated body 10. The degree of pressure contact is preferably 0.1 to 10% with respect to the thickness of the cured resin layer 13 in the mold laminate 10. The degree of pressure contact varies depending on the thickness and material of the cured resin layer 13, and is more preferably 0.5 to 5%.

  Since the thickness of the cured resin layer 13 obtained in the example in the lamination process of the mold laminate 10 described above was 1.0 mm, the degree of pressure contact is preferably 1 to 200 μm, and more preferably 5 to 100 μm.

  The ascending / descending position of the printing plate cylinder 21 is determined by reflecting the pressure contact portion of the mold laminate 10 thus obtained in the ascending / descending position stored in the memory.

  Note that, as described above, an adhesive or the like may be used to fix the mold laminate 10 to the transport stage 22, but it may not be considered when it is thin enough not to be affected by the lift position.

(Specific position positioning process)
Next, for printing, a specific position 26 provided on the printing plate cylinder 21 and a line segment 35 connecting the center points of the two alignment marks 12 in the mold laminate 10 are overlapped and bonded. A process for aligning the plate cylinder 21 and the transport stage 22 will be described.

  FIG. 4A is also a schematic side view showing a bonding / separating process of the mold laminate 10 fixed on the conveyance stage 22. As described above, this figure shows a specific position 26 (line segment in the TD direction) provided on the printing plate cylinder 21 and a line segment connecting the center points of the two alignment marks 12 in the mold laminate 10. It is the aspect which is overlapped and bonded. In order to achieve this aspect, in addition to the adjustment of the elevation position of the printing plate cylinder 21 as described above, the two alignment marks 12 in the mold laminate 10 and the specific position 26 on the printing plate cylinder 21 are provided. It is necessary to control so as to be bonded on the nip line of the printing plate cylinder 21.

  First, an initial position before bonding of the transfer stage 22 is determined, and a necessary movement amount of the transfer stage 22 from the position until bonding is obtained. Next, in the same manner, an initial angle of the specific position 26 of the printing plate cylinder 21 is determined, and a necessary rotation angle until bonding is obtained from the angle. After the required amount of movement of the transport stage 22 and the required rotation angle of the printing plate cylinder 21 are stored in the memory of the computer 25, the printing plate cylinder 21 is rotated by the controller at the time of bonding and separation. Then, the conveying stage 22 is moved by a predetermined amount while being moved synchronously with the rotational speed of the printing plate cylinder 21, and a line segment connecting the center points of the two alignment marks 12 of the mold laminate 10 and a specific position 26 of the printing plate cylinder. And paste.

  The initial position before the transfer stage 22 is bonded is obtained by superimposing the line segment 35 connecting the center points of the two alignment marks 12 in the mold laminate 10 with the line segment 34 connecting the center points of the two camera marks 33. I can decide. This will be described using the case of the in-plane angle control process of the transfer stage 22 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3B, a line segment 34 connecting the center points of the two camera marks 33, and a line segment 35 connecting the center points of the two alignment marks 12 provided in the mold laminate 10; However, the in-plane angle of the transfer stage 22 has already been controlled so that they are parallel to each other, but the two line segments do not overlap, that is, the X direction of the transfer stage 22 (FIGS. 2 and 3 ( It is suggested that the position of B) in the vertical direction is shifted (positional shift 39 (α)).

  As in the case of the in-plane angle control step, the positional deviation 39 (α) of the two line segments (34 and 35) can be calculated as a positional deviation amount in the computer. Then, the transport stage 22 is transported so as to correct the positional deviation amount (in this case, it is transported in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3B). FIG. 6 shows a state where the above two line segments overlap and the transfer stage is arranged at the initial position. The position of the transfer stage 22 when it overlaps is input as an initial position in the memory of the computer.

  The conveyance stage 22 is horizontally conveyed from the initial position of the conveyance stage 22 to the printing plate cylinder side 21, and the alignment mark 12 of the mold laminated body 10 is positioned at the specific position 26 of the printing plate cylinder 21 and the uppermost position of the printing plate cylinder 21. The amount of movement of the conveyance stage until it overlaps on the lower point, that is, the nip line, is the necessary amount of movement of the conveyance stage 22. Here, the necessary movement amount from the initial position to the nip line of the printing plate cylinder 21 is calculated in the computer.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, this movement amount is the movement amount when the stage 22 is conveyed from the initial position to the position where the plate cylinder 21 and the mold laminate 10 overlap, and the stage 22 after conveyance. Is detected as the position on the guard 27 in the same manner as the initial position is determined, and the position on the guard 27 can be obtained from the difference from the initial position of the stage 22 obtained previously. This amount of movement is stored in the computer. The position on the guard 27 of the stage 22 after the conveyance can be obtained as the position on the guard 27 immediately below the lowest point 41 of the printing plate cylinder (the direction opposite to the Z direction in FIG. 4A). .

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7A, as in the case of the angle control step described above, a line segment connecting the center point to the specific position 26 on the printing plate cylinder 21 is the TD of the printing plate cylinder. Two alignment marks 71 are provided so as to be parallel to the line 32.

  Unlike the mark formed on the imprint molding mold described above, the mark 71 is easily recognized by the second alignment camera 24 because there is nothing on the top that impairs the visibility of the resin, the base material, or the like. Since it can do, if it can visually recognize as a mark, it will not specifically limit. For example, a cross-shaped or circular shape such as the alignment mark 12 made of a colored film may be used as the mark 71.

  The initial angle of the alignment mark 71 on the printing plate cylinder 21 is obtained as follows. As shown in FIG. 7, the alignment camera 24 connects the line segment 73 connecting the center points of the two alignment marks 71 and the center point of the camera mark 72 as in the case of the in-plane angle control process of the transfer stage 22. A positional deviation 75 (β) between the line segment 74 and the two line segments is calculated as the rotation angle of the printing plate cylinder 21 in the computer.

  Then, the printing plate cylinder 21 is rotated so as to correct the deviation angle, and as shown in FIG. 7B, the two line segments (73 and 74) are overlapped. The position of the alignment mark 71 in this case was obtained as the initial angle 81 (ω) (FIG. 8A). Here, the initial angle 81 (ω) is the angle of the alignment mark 71 at the position of the initial angle from the lowest point 41 of the printing plate cylinder 21 (FIG. 8A shows the initial angle of the printing plate cylinder 21). A schematic side view showing the position is shown).

  That is, this initial angle 81 (ω) is a rotation angle necessary for bonding. 8A shows the case where the angle until the bonding is ω, but the initial position of the printing plate cylinder 21 is higher than this case, and when one or more rotations are required until the bonding. Is the initial angle obtained by adding an angle corresponding to the rotation speed (360 ° × rotation speed) to ω.

(Bonding / separation process)
The positioning of the printing plate cylinder 21 and the conveyance stage 22 has been described above. As described above, the printing plate cylinder 21 and the conveyance stage 22 are rotated and rotated by the controller of the computer 25. The transfer stage 22 can be moved horizontally by a predetermined amount at a predetermined speed in synchronization with the number.

  Therefore, the information on the transport amount that is transported until the transport stage 22 overlaps the alignment mark 12 of the mold laminate 10 and the specific position 26 of the printing plate cylinder 21 calculated in the above-described process, and the printing plate Information on the rotation angle 81 (ω) until the alignment mark 12 of the mold laminate 10 is overlapped on the nip line of the cylinder 21 is input to the memory of the computer 25, and the printing plate cylinder 21 is rotated by the controller while The alignment mark 12 of the mold laminate 10 and the specific position 26 of the printing plate cylinder can be bonded together by moving the transfer stage 22 by a predetermined amount while synchronizing the moving speed of the transfer stage 22 with the rotation speed of the printing plate cylinder 21. Yes (FIG. 4A).

  The method for bonding the mold laminate 10 to the printing plate cylinder 21 is not particularly limited, but the cylindrical surface of the printing plate cylinder 21 is previously bonded with a silane coupling agent (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.). It may be processed, or an adhesive sheet may be pasted in advance and the mold laminate 10 may be pasted thereon.

  In the case of the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, it is not suitable for use when the thickness of the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape itself is excessively thick or uneven.

  The adhesive force when the mold laminate 10 is bonded to the printing plate cylinder 21 by the above method is such that the cured resin layer 13 and the imprint mold 11 are transferred from the mold laminate 10 in the bonding / separating step. It is adjusted to be larger than the so-called peeling force that is separated.

  Subsequently, by horizontally transporting the transport stage 22 while rotating the printing plate cylinder 21, the pattern-transferred cured resin layer 13 is bonded onto the printing plate cylinder 21, and at the same time, the imprint molding mold 11 The mold is separated from the mold stack 10 while being fixed on the transfer stage 22 (FIG. 4B). That is, the cured resin layer 13 is bonded to the cylindrical surface of the plate cylinder 21 at the same time as being peeled from the imprint molding mold 11. For this reason, it has the characteristic that there is little generation | occurrence | production of a deformation | transformation and distortion in a cured resin layer compared with the method of peeling the thin cured resin layer 13 from an imprint molding mold, and bonding this cured resin layer to the printing plate cylinder. .

  The operation speeds of the printing plate cylinder 21 and the conveyance stage 22 are appropriately adjusted depending on the peeling force between the mold laminate 10 and the mold 11 and the properties of the cured resin layer 13 described above.

  As described above, according to the printing plate cylinder manufacturing method and the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the manual operation is greatly reduced, in a short time, simply and with high accuracy, at a desired position of the printing plate cylinder, A fine transfer pattern can be pasted.

  In this invention, it is possible to measure the pattern distortion before and behind bonding of the transfer pattern formed on the printing cylinder 21 by using the function of said manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus. Here, the pattern distortion is bonded to the cylindrical surface of the printing plate cylinder to a length 1 in the conveyance direction of the conveyance stage 22 between two points in the main pattern region 1011 or the alignment pattern region 1012 of the imprint mold 11. The length 2 to which the correction for the extension of the pattern is added, and the length 3 in the transport direction of the transport stage 22 between the two points after transfer in the cured resin layer 13 bonded to the printing plate cylinder 21 Means the difference.

<Example 2>
The measurement method will be described below.
<Example of pattern distortion measurement before bonding and separation>
As shown in FIG. 9A, the four alignment mark regions are arranged so as to be the upper right corner, the upper left corner, the lower right corner, and the lower left corner, and the centers of the two alignment marks 12 at the upper left corner and the upper right corner. A line segment 35 connecting the positions and a line segment 935 connecting the center positions of the two alignment marks 12 at the lower right corner and the lower left corner are parallel to the pattern line of the main pattern region 1011 on the imprint mold. An imprint mold was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that it was provided. Here, the length (distance) between the line segment 35 and the line segment 935 is referred to as the length between the uneven pattern regions.

  Each formed alignment mark was a circle having a diameter of 150 μm. The center positions of the four alignment marks were 23.5 mm and 23.5 mm away from the corners.

  The method of providing the alignment mark was to obtain a mold laminate 10 according to Example 1 of the lamination process of the mold laminate 10 described above.

  As in the case where the mold laminate 10 obtained here is subjected to the above-described angle control step, as shown in FIG. 9A, the mold laminate is within the field of view of the first alignment camera 23. The mold laminated body 10 is fixed on the conveyance stage 22 so that the two alignment marks 12 provided on the imprint mold 11 in 10 can be observed.

  In FIG. 9A, two alignment marks 912 provided in the adjacent uneven pattern region are also photographed. However, in the same manner as in the case where the above-described four points are formed as one image drawing, Image processing was performed so that points (two alignment marks 12 and two marks 912 and two camera marks 33) were obtained as a single image.

  Next, in the same manner as in the case of the in-plane angle control step and the positioning step described above, angle control and positioning control in the in-plane direction of the transfer stage 22 were performed. FIG. 9A shows an imaging diagram after both steps. First, in the angle control process, as shown in FIG. 9A, the direction of the line segment 35 of the alignment mark 12 provided in the pattern and the camera mark line segment 34 is adjusted, and the mark 12 It is shown that the line segment 35 and the direction of the TD line 32 of the printing plate cylinder 21 are parallel (that is, parallel to the camera mark line segment 34).

  Similarly, FIG. 9A also shows a case where positioning is performed by superimposing two line segments. The position of the transfer stage 22 when the alignment mark line segment 35 and the camera mark line segment 34 overlap each other is set as the initial position. Then, within the field of view of the first alignment camera 23, the transport stage 22 is transported upward until the camera mark line segment 34 and the line segment 935 of the alignment mark 912 provided in the adjacent uneven pattern region overlap each other (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 9A), the horizontal movement amount from the initial position of the transfer stage 22 is obtained. FIG. 9B shows an imaging diagram in a state in which the camera mark line segment 34 and the line segment 935 of the mark 912 provided in the adjacent uneven pattern region overlap each other. The horizontal distance movement amount of the transfer stage 22 thus determined is the length between the uneven pattern regions of the imprint mold.

  The length 1 between the uneven pattern regions of the imprint mold measured through the above steps was 250.00 mm.

(Measurement of strain after bonding and separation)
Next, the pattern distortion after bonding and separation is measured.

  Using the mold laminate 10 having the above two uneven pattern regions, a printing plate cylinder 40 to which a transfer pattern layer composed of the cured resin layer 13 was bonded was obtained in accordance with the bonding / separating step of the present invention.

  Similar to the positioning step of the printing plate cylinder 21, the first uneven pattern region is formed in the field of view of the alignment camera 24 using the second alignment camera 24 installed toward the printing plate cylinder 21. The printing plate cylinder 21 was rotated by a considerable amount so that the two alignment marks 1012 provided in the inside could enter.

  Here, the two alignment marks 1012 are the two alignment marks 12 provided on the imprint molding mold 11 in the mold laminate 10 before bonding and separation, together with the main pattern, the printing plate cylinder 21. The alignment mark 12 is transferred to the upper cured resin layer 13, whereas the alignment mark 1012 is transferred into a concave circle. Since there is no resin or base material on the mark after bonding, the mark can be visually recognized by the second alignment camera 24 without the metal-containing film 120 having good visibility as before bonding. The shape of the alignment mark 10912 was similar to the mark 1012 and was a concave circle.

  FIG. 10A shows an image captured by the second alignment camera 24 in that case. In the figure, an alignment mark 1012, a line segment 103 connecting these mark 1012 center points, an alignment mark 10912 in the adjacent uneven pattern region, a line segment 104 connecting these mark 10912 center points, two camera marks 72, and A camera mark line segment 74 is shown.

  Similarly, as in the positioning step of the printing plate cylinder 21, a camera mark line segment 74 provided on the second alignment camera 24 and parallel to the TD line 32 of the printing plate cylinder 21 is placed on the printing plate cylinder 21. The angle of the plate cylinder 21 was controlled so that the alignment mark line segments 103 overlapped. FIG. 10A shows an imaging diagram after the angle control of the plate cylinder 21. The angle of the plate cylinder 21 in this case was set as the initial angle. The initial angle was an angle from the lowest point 41 of the plate cylinder 21 to the alignment mark line segment 103.

  Similarly, the plate cylinder 21 is rotated so that the two alignment marks 10912 provided in the adjacent pattern are within the field of view of the second alignment camera 24, and a line segment 104 connecting the center points of the two alignment marks is obtained. The plate cylinder 21 was rotated so that the camera mark line segment 74 and the camera mark line segment 74 overlapped. The angle after rotation was taken as the second angle. The second angle is also an angle from the lowest point of the printing plate cylinder 21 to the alignment mark line segment 104. FIG. 10B shows an imaging diagram when two line segments overlap. The difference between the initial angle and the second angle obtained in this way is converted into the outer peripheral length of the printing plate cylinder 21, and each uneven pattern area transferred onto the printing plate cylinder 21. Sought as the length between.

  The length 3 (105) between the concavo-convex pattern regions of the pattern transferred onto the printing plate cylinder 21 determined by the measurement method as described above was 250.89 mm.

  The length 1 between the uneven pattern regions of the imprint mold before bonding was 250.00 mm, but the thickness of the cured resin layer 13 and the printing plate cylinder 21 were bonded by bonding to the printing plate cylinder 21. Depending on the curvature, the resin layer bends and the pattern extends slightly. Since the length 2 between the uneven pattern areas to which correction calculated from the thickness of the cured resin layer 13 and the radius of the plate cylinder 21 is added is 250.94 mm, the length between the uneven pattern areas on the printing cylinder 21 is 3 (250.89 mm), the pattern distortion was only 0.05 mm (50 μm), which was extremely excellent.

In addition, the length 2 between said uneven patterns was corrected and calculated by the following calculation formula.
The radius of the printing plate cylinder 21 is r, the thickness of the cured resin layer 13 (the total with the thickness when an adhesive sheet is used to bond the cured resin layer 13 to the printing plate cylinder), t, Further, in the cross-sectional view of the printing plate cylinder 21, the angle between the both ends of the cured resin layer 13 bonded onto the printing plate cylinder 21 and the center of the printing plate cylinder 21 is Θ, and the length between the uneven patterns. The length (L ′) is corrected by the following equation.
L ′ = 2 × π × (r + t) × Θ / 360
In Example 2, since r = 175 mm, t = 2.505 mm, and θ = 81 °, L ′ = 250.94 mm.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the manual work required for alignment is greatly reduced, and a fine pattern with small distortion is formed in a desired position on the printing plate cylinder in a short time with high accuracy. be able to.

  The production method and production apparatus of the present invention can be applied to the production of large area flexible devices such as flexible displays and sensors.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Mold laminated body 1011 Main pattern area | region 1012 Alignment pattern area | region 11 Imprint molding mold 12 Alignment mark 13 Hardened resin layer 20 Installation stand 21 Printing plate cylinder 22 Conveyance stage 23 First alignment camera 24 Second alignment camera 25 Computer 26 Specific points on the printing plate cylinder 27 Guide 28 Guide rail 281 Guide rail 29 Support pillar 291 Support pillar 31 MD line 32 TD line 33 Camera mark 34 Camera mark line segment 35 Alignment mark line segment 36 Pattern line segment 37 Camera mark line segment Direction angle Θ between alignment mark line segment
38 In-plane rotation center axis of transfer stage 39 Misalignment α
40 Printing plate cylinder to which a transfer pattern layer made of a cured resin layer is bonded 41 Bottom point of printing plate cylinder 42 Transport stage height 43 Mold laminate thickness 71 Alignment mark 72 at a specific position on the printing plate cylinder 72 Camera mark 73 Alignment mark line segment at specific position 74 Camera mark line segment 75 Misalignment β
81 Initial angle ω
912 Alignment mark provided in the next uneven pattern area 935 Alignment mark line segment provided in the next uneven pattern area 1012 Alignment mark in the transfer pattern 10912 Next alignment mark in the transfer pattern 103 Alignment in the transfer pattern Mark line segment 104 Next alignment mark line segment in the transfer pattern 105 Length between uneven pattern areas

Claims (5)

A method for producing a printing plate cylinder in which a fine pattern layer transferred by an imprint molding mold is aligned and bonded to a printing plate cylinder, and includes the following steps:
Cylindrical printing plate cylinder provided with elevating means, elevating position detecting means, rotating means, rotation angle and rotation number detecting means of the rotation, and having a long axis serving as a rotation axis, and the printing A transport stage that is disposed so as to face the plate cylinder, includes an in-plane rotation unit, a rotation angle detection unit of the in-plane rotation, and can horizontally transport a conveyance target at a predetermined distance and a predetermined speed; A step of preparing an apparatus including two first alignment cameras installed toward the conveyance object and two second alignment cameras installed toward the printing plate cylinder, By controlling the operations of the printing plate cylinder and the transport stage, the printing object is moved at a predetermined in-plane rotation angle and position with respect to the major axis direction of the printing plate cylinder. Can be pasted on;
An imprint molding mold having a fine pattern, having a main pattern region and at least two alignment pattern regions on one surface, each of the two alignment pattern regions having at least one alignment mark for alignment, A laminating step of forming a mold laminate composed of a cured resin layer obtained by laminating a resin composition layer composed of a photosensitive or thermosetting resin composition on the imprint molding mold and then curing the resin composition. ;
The line segment direction connecting the center points of two alignment marks in the mold laminate placed on the transport stage as the transport object is parallel to the major axis direction of the printing plate cylinder, An in-plane angle control step of controlling an in-plane angle of the transfer stage;
A positioning step of pre-positioning the position of the printing plate cylinder and the position of the transport stage so that the position of the two alignment marks in the mold laminate matches a predetermined position of the printing plate cylinder; The printing plate cylinder is rotated at a predetermined number of revolutions, and the conveyance stage is horizontally conveyed so as to synchronize with the rotation speed, so that two alignment marks in the mold laminate and a predetermined position of the printing plate cylinder are At the same time, the cured resin layer is bonded to the printing plate cylinder, and the imprint molding mold is left on the transport stage, and the cured resin layer and the imprint molding mold are separated, A pasting / separating step for obtaining a printing plate cylinder in which a fine pattern layer made of a cured resin is pasted at a predetermined position;
Including said method.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the viscosity of the resin composition before curing of the cured resin layer in the laminating step is 1 to 50 Pa · s.   The method of Claim 1 or 2 whose thickness of the cured resin layer in the said lamination process is 0.1-3 mm.   The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an adhesion function is previously imparted to the surface of the printing plate cylinder in the bonding / separating step.   Cylindrical printing plate cylinder provided with elevating means, elevating position detecting means, rotating means, rotation angle and rotation number detecting means of the rotation, and having a long axis serving as a rotation axis, and the printing A transport stage that is disposed so as to face the plate cylinder, includes an in-plane rotation unit, a rotation angle detection unit of the in-plane rotation, and can horizontally transport a conveyance target at a predetermined distance and a predetermined speed; Including two first alignment cameras installed toward the object to be conveyed and two second alignment cameras installed toward the printing plate cylinder, the printing plate cylinder and the conveyance By controlling the operation of the stage, the conveyance object can be bonded to the printing plate cylinder at a predetermined in-plane rotation angle and position with respect to the major axis direction of the printing plate cylinder. , Described in any one of claims 1 to 4. Printing plate cylinder manufacturing apparatus used in the method.

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