JP2019191353A - Liquid crystal device, method for manufacturing liquid crystal device, and electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a liquid crystal device having improved adhesiveness of an inorganic alignment film, a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, and an electronic apparatus.SOLUTION: A liquid crystal device 100 includes: an element substrate 10 and a counter substrate 20 disposed facing each other; a pixel electrode 15 of the element substrate 10 and a counter electrode 23 of the counter substrate 20; inorganic alignment films 18, 24 comprising a non-oxide and covering the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23,respectively; and a liquid crystal layer 50 held between the element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20. The element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 have intermediate layers 18a, 24a, respectively, between the inorganic alignment films 18, 24 and the pixel electrode 15/counter electrode 23. The intermediate layers 18a, 24a contain a non-oxide and an oxide of an element included in the inorganic alignment films 18, 24, in which concentrations of the oxide decrease from the pixel electrode 15 side and from the counter electrode 23 side to the corresponding inorganic alignment films 18, 24 sides.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid crystal device, a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, and an electronic apparatus.

  Conventionally, a liquid crystal device using an inorganic alignment film has been known as a liquid crystal light valve of a projection display device. In the application of the projection display device, the incident light to the liquid crystal device is increased as compared with the direct view type liquid crystal device. For this reason, when an oxide such as silicon oxide is used as the inorganic alignment film, the liquid crystal molecules may be deteriorated by the reaction between the liquid crystal molecules and the hydroxyl groups on the oxide surface by incident light. Therefore, a technique using a non-oxide such as magnesium fluoride for the inorganic alignment film has been studied.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an alignment film made of a hydrophobic inorganic material such as magnesium fluoride, and an adsorption layer made of a hydrophilic inorganic material such as silicon dioxide provided between the alignment film and the substrate. And a liquid crystal panel provided with the above.

JP 2005-274640 A

  However, the liquid crystal panel described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is difficult to ensure adhesion between the oxide adsorption layer and the non-oxide inorganic alignment film. Specifically, the interaction is difficult to work at the interface between the silicon dioxide adsorption layer and the magnesium fluoride inorganic alignment film. This is due to the fact that the interface is an interface between an oxide and a non-oxide, and that the oxide is hydrophilic and the non-oxide is hydrophobic. If the adhesion between the adsorption layer and the inorganic alignment film is not ensured, the inorganic alignment film is likely to be peeled off, and the display quality of the liquid crystal panel may be deteriorated. That is, a liquid crystal device with improved adhesion of the inorganic alignment film has been demanded.

  A liquid crystal device according to the present application includes a first substrate and a second substrate which are arranged to face each other, electrodes formed on the first substrate and the second substrate, an inorganic alignment film containing a non-oxide covering the electrodes, and a first substrate And a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the second substrate and an inorganic alignment film, and at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate is intermediate between the inorganic alignment film and the electrode The intermediate layer includes a non-oxide and an oxide of an element contained in the inorganic alignment film, and the oxide concentration decreases from the electrode side toward the inorganic alignment film side.

  A liquid crystal device according to the present application includes a first substrate and a second substrate which are arranged to face each other, electrodes formed on the first substrate and the second substrate, an inorganic alignment film containing a non-oxide covering the electrodes, and a first substrate And a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the second substrate and an inorganic alignment film, and at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate is intermediate between the inorganic alignment film and the electrode The intermediate layer includes a non-oxide and an oxide of an element contained in the inorganic alignment film, and the concentration of the oxide on the inorganic alignment film side is smaller than the concentration of the oxide on the electrode side. And

  In the above liquid crystal device, the thickness of the intermediate layer is preferably smaller than the thickness of the inorganic alignment film.

  In the above liquid crystal device, the element contained in the inorganic alignment film is preferably Mg or Si.

  In the above liquid crystal device, the intermediate layer preferably contains magnesium fluoride as a non-oxide and magnesium oxide as an oxide, and the concentration of magnesium fluoride increases from the electrode side toward the inorganic alignment film side.

  In the above liquid crystal device, the electrode of at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate preferably contains an oxide.

  In the above liquid crystal device, the second substrate preferably includes a counter electrode and a microlens as electrodes, and has an intermediate layer at least between the counter electrode of the second substrate and the inorganic alignment film.

  A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to the present application includes: a first substrate and a second substrate arranged opposite to each other; a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate via an inorganic alignment film containing a non-oxide; A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device comprising: a step of forming an electrode on at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate; and coating the electrode to form a non-oxide and an inorganic alignment A step of forming an intermediate layer including an oxide of an element contained in the film, and the concentration of the oxide decreases from the electrode side toward the inorganic alignment film side; And a step of forming an inorganic alignment film by applying from a direction intersecting with the normal direction.

  In the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, the step of forming the intermediate layer includes a step of forming an oxide film and a step of forming the intermediate layer by reacting the film and a compound containing an element contained in the inorganic alignment film. And preferably.

  In the method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device, the step of forming the intermediate layer includes a step of forming an oxide film, a step of covering the oxide film to form a non-oxide film, And a step of subjecting the coating and the non-oxide coating to a heat treatment to form an intermediate layer.

  In the above method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, the step of forming the intermediate layer is performed using an oxide and a non-oxide deposition source from the direction intersecting the normal direction of the substrate from the direction perpendicular to the substrate. It is preferable to form the intermediate layer by vapor deposition while changing the concentration.

  In the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, the step of forming the intermediate layer is performed by using a non-oxide vapor deposition source and performing vapor deposition while changing the oxygen concentration and the ion acceleration voltage from the direction intersecting the normal direction of the substrate. It is preferable to form an intermediate layer.

  In the method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device, the step of forming the intermediate layer preferably forms an intermediate layer having a film thickness smaller than that of the inorganic alignment film.

  In the above method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, the step of forming the intermediate layer preferably uses magnesium oxide or silicon oxide as the oxide.

  In the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, the step of forming the intermediate layer preferably forms an intermediate layer including magnesium oxide as an oxide and magnesium fluoride as a non-oxide.

  An electronic apparatus according to the present application includes the above-described liquid crystal device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the liquid crystal device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a liquid crystal device along a line H-H ′ in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the liquid crystal device. The schematic cross section which shows the structure of an element substrate. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a structure of a counter substrate along the line I-I ′ in FIG. 1. The schematic cross section which shows the structure of the intermediate | middle layer and inorganic alignment film in the pixel of a liquid crystal panel. The process flowchart which shows manufacturing methods, such as an intermediate | middle layer, among the manufacturing methods of a liquid crystal device. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an intermediate layer and an inorganic alignment film in a pixel of a liquid crystal panel according to Embodiment 2. The process flowchart which shows manufacturing methods, such as an intermediate | middle layer, among the manufacturing methods of a liquid crystal device. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an intermediate layer and an inorganic alignment film in a pixel of a liquid crystal panel according to Embodiment 4. The process flowchart which shows manufacturing methods, such as an intermediate | middle layer, among the manufacturing methods of a liquid crystal device. Schematic which shows the structure of the projection type display apparatus as an electronic device which concerns on Embodiment 5. FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below describes an example of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications that are implemented without departing from the spirit of the present invention are also included in the present invention.

  In the following drawings, the scale of each layer and each member is made different from the actual scale so that each layer and each member can be recognized. Further, in the following description, for example, with respect to the substrate, the description “on the substrate” means that the substrate is disposed on the substrate, the substrate is disposed on another structure, Or it shall represent either the case where a part is arrange | positioned on a board | substrate and a part is arrange | positioned through another structure.

(Embodiment 1)
In this embodiment, an active drive type liquid crystal device including a thin film transistor (hereinafter referred to as “TFT”) as a switching element for each pixel will be described as an example of the liquid crystal device. This liquid crystal device can be suitably used, for example, as a liquid crystal light valve (light modulation element) of a projection type display device (liquid crystal projector) as an electronic device to be described later.

<Configuration of liquid crystal device>
First, the configuration of the liquid crystal device of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating the configuration of the liquid crystal device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of the liquid crystal device taken along line HH ′ of FIG. FIG. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing an electrical configuration of the liquid crystal device.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the liquid crystal device 100 according to the present embodiment includes an element substrate 10 as a first substrate, a counter substrate 20 as a second substrate, a pixel electrode 15 and a counter electrode 23 as electrodes, and inorganic alignment. Films 18 and 24 and a liquid crystal layer 50 are provided. The element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 are disposed to face each other. On the element substrate 10, a pixel electrode 15 and an inorganic alignment film 18 containing a non-oxide that covers the pixel electrode 15 are formed. On the counter substrate 20, a counter electrode 23, an inorganic alignment film 24 containing a non-oxide covering the counter electrode 23, and a microlens described later are formed. A liquid crystal layer 50 is sandwiched between the element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 via inorganic alignment films 18 and 24.

  For the substrate 10s of the element substrate 10, for example, a substrate such as a glass substrate or a quartz substrate is used. As the substrate 20s of the counter substrate 20, for example, a transparent substrate such as a glass substrate or a quartz substrate is used.

  The element substrate 10 is larger than the counter substrate 20. The element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 (hereinafter, also referred to as “a pair of substrates”) are bonded through a sealing material 40. Liquid crystal is sealed in a gap between the pair of substrates to form a liquid crystal layer 50. In the liquid crystal device 100, nematic liquid crystal having negative dielectric anisotropy is used as the liquid crystal. Note that the dielectric anisotropy of the liquid crystal is not limited to negative, and a liquid crystal having positive dielectric anisotropy may be used.

  For the sealing material 40, for example, an adhesive such as a thermosetting or electron beam curable epoxy resin or acrylic resin is employed. A spacer (not shown) is mixed in the sealing material 40 to keep the distance between the pair of substrates constant.

  Inside the sealing material 40, a display area E including a plurality of pixels P arranged in a matrix is provided. Around the display region E, a dummy pixel region (not shown) that does not contribute to display is provided.

  The element substrate 10 is provided with a terminal portion in which a plurality of external connection terminals 104 are arranged. A data line driving circuit 101 is provided between the first side portion along the terminal portion and the sealing material 40. In addition, an inspection circuit 103 is provided between the sealing material 40 and the display area E along the second side facing the first side.

  A scanning line driving circuit 102 is provided between the seal material 40 and the display region E along the third side and the fourth side that are orthogonal to the first side and face each other. A plurality of wirings 105 that connect the two scanning line driving circuits 102 are provided between the sealing material 40 on the second side and the inspection circuit 103.

  Wirings connected to the data line driving circuit 101 and the scanning line driving circuit 102 are connected to a plurality of external connection terminals 104 arranged along the first side. Note that the arrangement of the inspection circuit 103 is not limited to this, and the inspection circuit 103 may be provided between the seal material 40 and the display region E along the data line driving circuit 101.

  Here, in this specification, the direction along the first side is defined as the X direction, and the direction along the third side and the fourth side that are orthogonal to the first side and are opposed to each other is defined as the Y direction. . The normal direction of the element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 orthogonal to the X direction and the Y direction is the Z direction, and viewing from the Z direction is referred to as “plan view” or “planar”. Further, in the normal direction, a direction away from the counter substrate 20 is referred to as an upper direction, and a direction opposite to the upper direction is referred to as a lower direction.

  A parting part 21 is provided between the sealing material 40 and the display area E so as to surround the display area E. The parting part 21 surrounds the display area E and is provided at a position where it overlaps the scanning line driving circuit 102 and the inspection circuit 103 in plan view. As a material for forming the parting portion 21, for example, a light shielding metal or alloy, or a metal compound such as a metal oxide is used.

  Therefore, the parting unit 21 has a function of shielding light incident on a circuit such as the scanning line driver circuit 102 from the counter substrate 20 side, and suppressing malfunction due to light of these circuits. Moreover, the parting part 21 is shielded so that unnecessary stray light does not enter the display area E, and ensures the contrast in the display of the display area E.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the surface of the substrate 10s on the liquid crystal layer 50 side covers the translucent pixel electrode 15 and TFT 30 provided for each pixel P, signal wiring (not shown), and these. An inorganic alignment film 18 is formed. The TFT 30 is a switching element as a transistor related to the control drive of the pixel electrode 15. An intermediate layer 18 a is formed between the inorganic alignment film 18 and the pixel electrode 15. That is, the element substrate 10 has an intermediate layer 18 a between the pixel electrode 15 and the inorganic alignment film 18.

  Further, the element substrate 10 employs a light shielding structure that prevents light from entering the semiconductor layer in the TFT 30 to make the switching operation unstable. The element substrate 10 includes a substrate 10s, a pixel electrode 15, a TFT 30, a signal wiring, an intermediate layer 18a, and an inorganic alignment film 18 formed on the substrate 10s.

  On the surface of the substrate 20 s on the liquid crystal layer 50 side, the parting portion 21, the insulating layer 22 formed so as to cover it, the counter electrode 23 on the insulating layer 22, and the intermediate layer 24 a covering the counter electrode 23. And the inorganic alignment film 24 is formed. In other words, the intermediate layer 24 a is formed between the inorganic alignment film 24 and the counter electrode 23. That is, the counter substrate 20 has the intermediate layer 24a. The counter substrate 20 includes at least a parting part 21, a counter electrode 23, an intermediate layer 24 a, and an inorganic alignment film 24. Further, the substrate 20s includes a microlens described later.

  The insulating layer 22 is provided so as to cover the parting portion 21. Examples of the material for forming the insulating layer 22 include inorganic materials such as silicon oxide having light transmittance. Examples of the method for forming the insulating layer 22 include a method of forming a film using a plasma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method.

  The counter electrode 23 covers the insulating layer 22 and is electrically connected to the vertical conduction portion 106 provided at the corner of the counter substrate 20 as shown in FIG. The vertical conduction part 106 is electrically connected to the wiring on the element substrate 10 side. Examples of the material for forming the counter electrode 23 include a transparent conductive film containing an oxide such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) and IZO (Indium Zinc Oxide). In this embodiment, ITO is used as a material for forming the counter electrode 23.

  The intermediate layer 18 a covering the pixel electrode 15, the inorganic alignment film 18, and the intermediate layer 24 a covering the counter electrode 23 and the inorganic alignment film 24 are selected based on the optical design of the liquid crystal device 100. The inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 of the present embodiment align liquid crystal molecules having negative dielectric anisotropy substantially perpendicularly to the film surface. Details of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 will be described later.

  Such a liquid crystal device 100 is, for example, a transmissive type, and a normally white mode in which the transmittance of the pixel P when no voltage is applied is larger than the transmittance when a voltage is applied, or a pixel when no voltage is applied. A normally black mode optical design is adopted in which the transmittance of P is smaller than the transmittance when a voltage is applied. In the liquid crystal panel 110 including the element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20, polarizing elements are respectively arranged on the light incident side and the light emitting side according to the optical design.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which a normally black mode optical design is applied using inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 and a liquid crystal having negative dielectric anisotropy will be described below.

  In the present embodiment, the intermediate layers 18a and 24a are formed on the element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20, respectively. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Any of the corresponding intermediate layers 18a and 24a may be formed on at least one of the element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20. In particular, at least the counter substrate 20 is preferably provided with an intermediate layer 24a. Since the adhesion of the inorganic alignment film 24 is improved by the intermediate layer 24a, it is not necessary to form the inorganic alignment film 24 at a relatively high temperature of 250 ° C. or higher, and thermal stress applied to the microlens can be reduced. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the liquid crystal device 100 is arranged in parallel along the data lines 6 a with a plurality of scanning lines 3 a and a plurality of data lines 6 a as signal wirings insulated and orthogonal to each other at least in the display region E. Capacitance line 3b. The direction in which the scanning line 3a extends is the X direction, and the direction in which the data line 6a extends is the Y direction.

  A pixel electrode 15, a TFT 30 as a switching element of the pixel electrode 15, and a capacitive element 16 are provided in a region divided by the scanning line 3a, the data line 6a, the capacitive line 3b, and these signal lines. These constitute the pixel circuit of the pixel P.

  The scanning line 3a is electrically connected to the gate of the TFT 30, and the data line 6a is electrically connected to the data line side source / drain region (one source / drain region) of the TFT 30. The pixel electrode 15 is electrically connected to the pixel electrode side source / drain region (the other source / drain region) of the TFT 30.

  The data line 6a is electrically connected to the data line driving circuit 101 (see FIG. 1), and supplies image signals D1, D2,..., Dn supplied from the data line driving circuit 101 to the pixels P. The scanning line 3a is connected to the scanning line driving circuit 102 (see FIG. 1), and supplies the scanning signals SC1, SC2,..., SCm supplied from the scanning line driving circuit 102 to each pixel P.

  The image signal D1 to the image signal Dn supplied from the data line driving circuit 101 to the data line 6a may be supplied line-sequentially in this order, and for each of a plurality of adjacent data lines 6a for each group. You may supply. The scanning line driving circuit 102 supplies the scanning signal SCm from the scanning signal SC1 to the scanning line 3a in a pulse-sequential manner at a predetermined timing.

  In the liquid crystal device 100, the TFT 30 as a switching element is turned on for a certain period by the input of the scanning signal SCm from the scanning signal SC1, so that the image signal Dn from the image signal D1 supplied from the data line 6a is predetermined. The pixel electrode 15 is written at this timing. A predetermined level of the image signal D1 to the image signal Dn written to the liquid crystal layer 50 through the pixel electrode 15 is constant between the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23 arranged to face the liquid crystal layer 50. Hold for a period.

  In order to prevent the image signal Dn from leaking from the held image signal D1, the capacitive element 16 is connected in parallel with the liquid crystal capacitance formed between the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23. The capacitive element 16 is provided between the pixel electrode side source / drain region of the TFT 30 and the capacitive line 3b. The capacitive element 16 has a dielectric layer between two capacitive electrodes.

<Structure of element substrate>
Next, a cross-sectional structure related to the electrical connection between the pixel electrode 15 and the TFT 30 in the element substrate 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of the element substrate. Here, in FIG. 4, the area | region containing the pixel electrode 15 of the element substrate 10 in FIG. 2 is expanded and shown, and the intermediate | middle layer 18a and the inorganic alignment film 18 are abbreviate | omitting illustration. FIG. 4 shows the cross-sectional positional relationship of each component and is expressed on a scale that can be clearly shown.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the scanning line 3 a is formed on the substrate 10 s of the element substrate 10. As a material for forming the scanning line 3a, among light-shielding metals such as Al (aluminum), Ti (titanium), Cr (chromium), W (tungsten), Ta (tantalum), and Mo (molybdenum) A metal simple substance, an alloy, a metal silicide, a polysilicide, a nitride, or a stack of these is included.

  A first insulating film (underlying insulating film) 11a made of, for example, silicon oxide is formed so as to cover the scanning line 3a, and a semiconductor layer 30a is further formed so as to cover the first insulating film 11a. The semiconductor layer 30a is on the first insulating film 11a and arranged in an island shape. The semiconductor layer 30a is made of, for example, a polycrystalline silicon film, and is doped with impurity ions to have a data line side source / drain region, a junction region, a channel region, a junction region, and a pixel electrode side source / drain region. A structure is formed.

  A second insulating film (gate insulating film) 11b is formed so as to cover the semiconductor layer 30a. Further, a gate electrode 30g is formed via a second insulating film 11b at a position facing the channel region of the semiconductor layer 30a.

  A third insulating film 11c is formed covering the gate electrode 30g and the second insulating film 11b. Two contact holes CNT1 and CNT2 penetrating the second insulating film 11b and the third insulating film 11c are formed at positions overlapping the respective end portions of the semiconductor layer 30a.

  A source electrode 31 and a data line 6a that cover a part of the third insulating film 11c are formed via the contact hole CNT1. The source electrode 31 and the data line 6a are electrically connected to the data line side source / drain region. The source electrode 31 and the data line 6a are formed by forming a conductive film using a light-shielding conductive material such as Al (aluminum) or an alloy thereof and then patterning the conductive film. Also, a drain electrode 32 (first relay electrode 6b) connected to the pixel electrode side source / drain region is formed through the contact hole CNT2.

  A first interlayer insulating film 12 is formed so as to cover the data line 6a, the first relay electrode 6b, and the third insulating film 11c. The first interlayer insulating film 12 is made of, for example, silicon oxide or nitride. The first interlayer insulating film 12 is subjected to a flattening process for flattening surface irregularities caused by the lower TFT 30. Examples of the planarization method include chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) and spin coating.

  A contact hole CNT3 penetrating the first interlayer insulating film 12 is formed at a position overlapping the first relay electrode 6b. A wiring 7a and a second relay electrode 7b are formed so as to cover the contact hole CNT3 and a part of the first interlayer insulating film 12. The second relay electrode 7b is electrically connected to the first relay electrode 6b through the contact hole CNT3. The wiring 7a and the second relay electrode 7b are formed, for example, by forming a light-shielding metal conductive film such as Al (aluminum) or an alloy thereof and then patterning the conductive film.

  The wiring 7a is formed so as to overlap the semiconductor layer 30a of the TFT 30 and the data line 6a in plan view. Since a fixed potential is applied to the wiring 7a, it functions as a shield layer.

  A second interlayer insulating film 13a is formed so as to cover the wiring 7a and the second relay electrode 7b. Examples of the material for forming the second interlayer insulating film 13a include Si (silicon) oxide, nitride, and oxynitride. The second interlayer insulating film 13a is subjected to a planarization process such as a CMP process.

  A contact hole CNT4 is formed at a position overlapping the second relay electrode 7b of the second interlayer insulating film 13a. A first capacitor electrode 16a and a third relay electrode 16d are formed so as to cover the contact hole CNT4 and a part of the second interlayer insulating film 13a. The first capacitor electrode 16a and the third relay electrode 16d are formed by, for example, forming a light-shielding metal conductive film such as Al (aluminum) or an alloy thereof and then patterning the conductive film.

  The first capacitor electrode 16a overlaps (opposites) the second capacitor electrode 16c in plan view with a dielectric layer 16b formed later. The insulating film 13b is patterned so as to cover the outer edge of the first capacitive electrode 16a in the overlapping portion. The insulating film 13b is formed by patterning so as to cover the outer edge of the third relay electrode 16d.

A dielectric layer 16b is formed to cover the insulating film 13b and the first capacitor electrode 16a. As a material for forming the dielectric layer 16b, a single layer film such as Si (silicon) nitride film, hafnium oxide (HfO ₂ ), alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ), tantalum oxide (Ta ₂ O ₅ ), or a single layer thereof. A multilayer film in which two or more types of single-layer films are laminated is exemplified. The portion of the dielectric layer 16b that overlaps the third relay electrode 16d in plan view is removed by etching or the like.

  A second capacitor electrode 16c is formed so as to partially face the first capacitor electrode 16a via the dielectric layer 16b. The second capacitor electrode 16c is electrically connected to the third relay electrode 16d in a portion where the dielectric layer 16b is removed by an etching process or the like. The second capacitor electrode 16c is formed by, for example, forming a conductive film such as TiN (titanium nitride) and then patterning the conductive film. The capacitive element 16 is configured by the dielectric layer 16b, the first capacitive electrode 16a and the second capacitive electrode 16c which are arranged to face each other with the dielectric layer 16b interposed therebetween.

  A third interlayer insulating film 14 is formed so as to cover the second capacitor electrode 16c and the dielectric layer 16b. Examples of a material for forming the third interlayer insulating film 14 include Si (silicon) oxide and nitride. In the present embodiment, silicon oxide is used as a material for forming the third interlayer insulating film 14. The third interlayer insulating film 14 is subjected to a planarization process such as a CMP process. A contact hole CNT5 is formed through the third interlayer insulating film 14.

  A pixel electrode 15 is formed so as to be electrically connected to the contact hole CNT5 and cover a part of the third interlayer insulating film 14. The pixel electrode 15 is formed by forming a transparent conductive film made of a metal oxide such as ITO or IZO and then patterning the transparent conductive film. Thereby, the pixel electrode 15 is electrically connected to the second capacitor electrode 16c and the third relay electrode 16d through the contact hole CNT5. In the present embodiment, ITO is used as a material for forming the pixel electrode 15.

  Here, in this embodiment, metal oxide (ITO) is adopted as a material for forming the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23, but the present invention is not limited to this. At least one of the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23 may be a transparent conductive film made of a metal oxide, and the other may be a light conductive metal conductive film such as Al (aluminum) or an alloy thereof. Good. Thereby, the liquid crystal device 100 may be a reflective liquid crystal device.

  The second capacitor electrode 16c is electrically connected to the drain electrode 32 of the TFT 30 through the third relay electrode 16d, the contact hole CNT4, the second relay electrode 7b, the contact hole CNT3, and the first relay electrode 6b. The second capacitor electrode 16c is electrically connected to the pixel electrode 15 through the contact hole CNT5.

  The first capacitor electrode 16a is formed so as to straddle a plurality of pixels P, and functions as the capacitor line 3b in the equivalent circuit (see FIG. 3). A fixed potential is applied to the first capacitor electrode 16a. Therefore, the potential applied to the pixel electrode 15 through the drain electrode 32 of the TFT 30 can be held between the first capacitor electrode 16a and the second capacitor electrode 16c.

  As described above, since a plurality of wirings are formed on the substrate 10 s of the element substrate 10, the wiring layers are represented by using the reference numerals of the insulating films and interlayer insulating films that insulate the wirings. That is, the first insulating film 11a, the second insulating film 11b, and the third insulating film 11c are collectively referred to as the wiring layer 11. A typical wiring of the wiring layer 11 is the scanning line 3a.

  The second interlayer insulating film 13a, the insulating film 13b, and the dielectric layer 16b are collectively referred to as the wiring layer 13. Typical wirings of the wiring layer 13 are the wiring 7a and the first capacitor electrode 16a (capacitor line 3b).

<Micro lens>
Next, a cross-sectional structure related to the microlens in the counter substrate 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of the counter substrate along the line II ′ in FIG. In FIG. 5, the detailed configuration of the element substrate 10 described above is not shown. FIG. 5 shows the cross-sectional positional relationship of each component and is represented on a scale that can be clearly shown.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the counter substrate 20 includes a substrate 20 s as a microlens array substrate, a parting portion 21, an insulating layer 22 that is also an optical path length adjusting layer (path layer), a counter electrode 23, an intermediate layer 24 a, and an alignment film 24. Etc. The substrate 20s includes a substrate body 25 and a lens layer 26 including the microlens ML. The microlens ML is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of pixels P, and a microlens array is formed.

  The substrate body 25 has a plurality of recesses 27 on the surface 25a on the liquid crystal layer 50 side opposite to the surface 25b in the Z direction. Each recess 27 is provided corresponding to each pixel P. The concave portion 27 is formed in a curved shape that tapers upward, and forms a convex lens surface in the microlens ML. Therefore, hereinafter, the concave portion 27 is also referred to as a “lens surface 27”. As described above, for example, a transparent substrate such as a glass substrate or a quartz substrate is used for the substrate body 25.

  The lens layer 26 is made of an inorganic lens material that is light transmissive and has a higher refractive index than the substrate body 25. For example, when a quartz substrate (refractive index: about 1.46) is used as a material for forming the substrate body 25, silicon oxynitride (refractive index: 1.55 to 1.64) is used as a material for forming the lens layer 26. And aluminum oxide (refractive index: about 1.76). The refractive index depends on the wavelength of light that passes through the substrate body 25 and the lens layer 26.

  An insulating layer 22 is provided so as to cover the parting portion 21 and the lens layer 26. For the insulating layer 22, for example, an inorganic material having optical transparency and having substantially the same refractive index as that of the substrate body 25 is employed. The insulating layer 22 has a function of flattening the surface of the substrate 20s on the liquid crystal layer 50 side and adjusting the focal length of the microlens ML to a desired value. Therefore, the layer thickness of the insulating layer 22 is appropriately set based on the optical design such as the focal length of the microlens ML according to the wavelength of light.

  In the liquid crystal device 100, light enters from the side of the counter substrate 20 (the surface 25b of the substrate body 25) including the microlens ML, and is collected for each pixel P by the microlens ML. For example, among the light incident on the convex microlens ML from the surface 25b side of the substrate body 25, the incident light L1 incident along the optical axis passing through the average center of the pixel P passes through the microlens ML as it is. The light travels straight in the Z direction, passes through the liquid crystal layer 50, and is emitted toward the element substrate 10.

  Incident light L2 incident on the periphery of the microlens ML outside the incident light L1 is refracted toward the average center of the pixel P due to the difference in refractive index between the substrate body 25 and the lens layer. If the incident light L2 goes straight as it is, it passes through the liquid crystal layer 50 and the element substrate 10 to be slightly refracted to become stray light, or to enter a light-shielding wiring provided on the element substrate 10. May not be used effectively. That is, in the liquid crystal device 100, the amount of light emitted from the element substrate 10 can be increased by effectively using the incident light L2 by the condensing action of the microlens ML. Thereby, the quantity of the light radiate | emitted from the element substrate 10 side can be increased, and the utilization efficiency of light can be improved.

  In the liquid crystal device 100 of the present embodiment, the configuration using the microlens is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. The liquid crystal device may have a configuration in which the microlens is omitted.

<Inorganic alignment film and intermediate layer>
Next, the configuration of the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 and the intermediate layers 18a and 24a in the liquid crystal device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the intermediate layer and the inorganic alignment film in the pixel of the liquid crystal panel. In FIG. 6, the pixel electrode 15, the counter electrode 23, the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24, the intermediate layers 18 a and 24 a, and the substrates 10 s and 20 s are illustrated, and other configurations of the element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 are illustrated. Omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the liquid crystal panel 110 (the liquid crystal device 100) includes a device substrate 10 and a counter substrate 20 that are arranged to face each other, a pixel electrode 15 formed on the device substrate 10, and a counter electrode 23 formed on the counter substrate 20. A liquid crystal layer 50 including liquid crystal (liquid crystal molecules LC) sandwiched between the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24, the element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 via the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24.

  An intermediate layer 18 a and an inorganic alignment film 18 are formed between the pixel electrode 15 of the element substrate 10 and the liquid crystal layer 50. In other words, the intermediate layer 18a is formed covering the pixel electrode 15, and the inorganic alignment film 18 is formed covering the intermediate layer 18a. Similar to the element substrate 10, in the counter substrate 20, the counter electrode 23 is covered to form an intermediate layer 24 a, and the intermediate layer 24 a is further covered to form an inorganic alignment film 24.

  Although not shown, the intermediate layer 18a is formed in contact with the third interlayer insulating film 14 (see FIG. 4) in the region where the pixel electrode 15 is not formed in the element substrate 10. Further, the intermediate layer 24a is formed in contact with the insulating layer 22 (see FIG. 2) in a region where the counter electrode 23 is not formed on the counter substrate 20 (for example, a region overlapping the parting portion 21 in plan view).

  In the present embodiment, the intermediate layers 18a and 24a are formed by an oblique vapor deposition method in which a forming material is vapor-deposited from an oblique direction intersecting with the normal direction (Z direction) of the substrates 10s and 20s, respectively. Therefore, the intermediate layers 18a and 24a are aggregates of columnar bodies (columns) in which vapor deposition molecules of the forming material are obliquely deposited.

  Similarly to the intermediate layers 18a and 24a, the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 are formed by an oblique evaporation method in which a forming material is evaporated from an oblique direction intersecting with the normal direction (Z direction) of the substrates 10s and 20s, respectively. . The inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 are also aggregates of columns (columns) in which vapor deposition molecules of the forming material are obliquely deposited.

The inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 include a non-oxide. Examples of the elements contained in the non-oxide include Mg (magnesium), Si (silicon), and lanthanoid elements. Examples of the non-oxide contained in the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 include magnesium fluoride (MgF ₂ ), silicon nitride (Si ₃ N ₄ ), and a lanthanoid element fluoride. It is preferable to use the same forming material for the inorganic alignment film 18 and the inorganic alignment film 24. In this embodiment, magnesium fluoride is used as the non-oxide contained in the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24.

  The intermediate layers 18 a and 24 a include non-oxides included in the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 and oxides of elements included in the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24. That is, the intermediate layers 18a and 24a are composed of the above-described non-oxides contained in the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 and oxides of magnesium (Mg), silicon (Si), and lanthanoid elements that are elements contained in the non-oxides. One of them. In this embodiment, since magnesium fluoride is used for the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24, the oxide included in the intermediate layers 18a and 24a is magnesium oxide. When silicon nitride is used for the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24, the oxide is silicon oxide.

  In the intermediate layer 18a, the oxide concentration decreases from the pixel electrode 15 side in contact with the pixel electrode 15 or the third interlayer insulating film 14 toward the inorganic alignment film 18 side close to the liquid crystal layer 50. Specifically, the interface of the intermediate layer 18a that is in contact with the pixel electrode 15 or the third interlayer insulating film 14 contains a large amount of magnesium oxide. The concentration of magnesium oxide gradually decreases and the concentration of magnesium fluoride increases from the interface toward the inorganic alignment film 18 side. In the intermediate layer 18a, the magnesium oxide concentration on the inorganic alignment film 18 side is lower than the magnesium oxide concentration on the pixel electrode 15 side. The interface of the intermediate layer 18a that is in contact with the inorganic alignment film 18 contains a large amount of magnesium fluoride.

  Similar to the intermediate layer 18a, the intermediate layer 24a has an oxide concentration that decreases from the counter electrode 23 side in contact with the counter electrode 23 or the insulating layer 22 toward the inorganic alignment film 24 side close to the liquid crystal layer 50. Specifically, the concentration of magnesium oxide gradually decreases and the concentration of magnesium fluoride increases as it goes from the counter electrode 23 side to the inorganic alignment film 24 side. In the intermediate layer 24a, the magnesium oxide concentration on the inorganic alignment film 24 side is lower than the magnesium oxide concentration on the counter electrode 23 side. The interface of the intermediate layer 24a that is in contact with the inorganic alignment film 24 contains a large amount of magnesium fluoride.

  In the intermediate layers 18a and 24a, the concentration of the oxide at the interface in contact with each of the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 is preferably 20% or less, more preferably 10% or less, and further 0% or less than the detection limit of measurement. More preferred. By setting the oxide concentration to the above numerical value, the adhesion between the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and the corresponding inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 can be further improved. In the present embodiment, the concentration of the oxide (magnesium oxide) at the interface is set to be equal to or lower than the detection lower limit of the method described below.

  In the intermediate layers 18a and 24a, the concentration of the oxide at the interface in contact with the pixel electrode 15, the third interlayer insulating film 14, the counter electrode 23, and the insulating layer 22 is preferably 80% or more, more preferably 90% or more, and 100 % Is even more preferred. By setting the oxide concentration to the above value, the adhesion between the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and the corresponding pixel electrode 15, counter electrode 23, and the like can be further improved.

  As described above, the intermediate layers 18a, 24a have the concentration change (concentration gradient) in which the concentration of the oxide (magnesium oxide) gradually decreases from the substrate 10s, 20s side toward the corresponding inorganic alignment film 18, 24 side. Corresponding to the concentration change (concentration gradient) in which the concentration of the non-oxide (magnesium fluoride) gradually increases. The direction from the substrate 10s, 20s side toward the corresponding inorganic alignment film 18, 24 side is the thickness direction (Z direction) of the intermediate layers 18a, 24a. Therefore, in other words, the intermediate layers 18a and 24a have the above-described concentration gradient in the thickness direction (Z direction), and the concentration ratio between the oxide and the non-oxide changes.

  Here, the concentration change of the oxide and the non-oxide in the intermediate layers 18a and 24a is not limited to a continuous change. That is, the concentration of the oxide decreases from the substrate 10s, 20s side toward the inorganic alignment film 18, 24 side, and the concentration of the non-oxide increases, and the oxide and non-oxide concentrations change stepwise. You may do it. A method for manufacturing the intermediate layers 18a and 24a will be described later.

  Concentrations of non-oxides and oxides in the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and changes in the concentration can be confirmed by secondary ion depth direction (Z direction) analysis using SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry). Therefore, the concentration (%) of the oxide and non-oxide described above can be obtained by converting the numerical value measured by SIMS analysis or the like into a concentration.

  The film thickness of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a is preferably smaller than the film thickness of the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24. The thickness of the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 is preferably 30 nm or more and 100 nm or less from the viewpoint of causing the liquid crystal molecules LC to exhibit an anchoring effect. On the other hand, the film thickness of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a is preferably smaller as long as the adhesion with the corresponding pixel electrode 15, counter electrode 23, and inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 is secured. The time required for manufacturing 24a can be shortened. Moreover, it is preferable to secure the strength of the electric field applied to the liquid crystal molecules LC by reducing the total film thickness of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24. Although not particularly limited, in this embodiment, the intermediate layers 18a and 24a have a thickness of about 25 nm, and the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 have a thickness of about 55 nm.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 include magnesium fluoride, and the intermediate layers 18a and 24a include magnesium oxide (oxide) and magnesium fluoride (non-oxide). As described above, the intermediate layers 18a and 24a have a concentration gradient of magnesium oxide and magnesium fluoride, and the concentration of magnesium fluoride from the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23 side toward the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 side is increased. growing. Therefore, in the intermediate layers 18a and 24a, the refractive index at the interface between the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23 that are in contact with each other is close to the refractive index (1.7) of magnesium oxide. On the other hand, in the intermediate layers 18a and 24a, the refractive index at the interface with the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 in contact with each other is close to the refractive index (1.3) of magnesium fluoride. Since the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23 are made of ITO, the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23 have a refractive index of about 1.9.

  That is, due to the concentration gradient described above, in the intermediate layers 18a and 24a, the refractive index gradually decreases from the substrate 10s and 20s side toward the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 side. Therefore, when the liquid crystal device 100 is used as a liquid crystal light valve, unnecessary reflection at the interface between the intermediate layer 18a and the pixel electrode 15 and the interface between the intermediate layer 24a and the counter electrode 23 is suppressed in the intermediate layers 18a and 24a. Thus, attenuation of transmitted light can be suppressed. Such a change in refractive index in the intermediate layers 18a and 24a can be known from the forming material and the result of the secondary ion analysis using SIMS described above.

  The liquid crystal layer 50 is filled with liquid crystal containing liquid crystal molecules LC. The liquid crystal molecules LC have negative dielectric anisotropy with respect to the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24. The liquid crystal molecules LC have a substantially vertical alignment (VA) with a pretilt angle θp of 3 ° to 5 ° in the column inclination direction of the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 with respect to the normal direction (Z direction) of the alignment film surface. ; Vertical Alignment). A liquid crystal molecule LC is generated between the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23 by driving the liquid crystal layer 50 by applying an AC voltage (drive signal, AC signal) between the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23. It behaves (vibrates) so as to tilt in the electric field direction. In the present embodiment, nematic liquid crystal having a Tni (nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature) of 110 ° C. is used as the liquid crystal having negative dielectric anisotropy.

<Method for manufacturing liquid crystal device>
Next, a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing an intermediate layer and the like among the methods for manufacturing a liquid crystal device. In the following description using FIG. 7, FIG. 6 is also referred to. In addition, the process flow shown in FIG. 7 is an example, Comprising: It is not limited to this.

  The manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a manufacturing method of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a, and a known technique can be adopted in addition to the manufacturing steps of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and the accompanying steps. Therefore, in the following description, only the manufacturing process of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and the accompanying process will be described.

  The manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device 100 according to the present embodiment includes the element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 arranged to face each other, and the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 containing magnesium fluoride between the element substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device including a sandwiched liquid crystal layer 50, and includes steps S1 to S3 as shown in FIG. In step S <b> 1, the pixel electrode 15 is formed on the element substrate 10, and the counter electrode 23 is formed on the counter substrate 20. In step S2, the pixel electrode 15 is covered to form the intermediate layer 18a, and the counter electrode 23 is covered to form the intermediate layer 24a. In step S3, the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 are formed by covering the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and applying magnesium fluoride from an oblique direction intersecting the normal direction (Z direction) of the substrates 10s and 20s.

  Here, the intermediate layers 18 a and 24 a include magnesium fluoride (non-oxide) and magnesium oxide (oxide) contained in the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24. The intermediate layers 18a and 24a have a concentration gradient of magnesium fluoride and magnesium oxide in the Z direction as described above. Therefore, in the intermediate layer 18a, the concentration of oxide (magnesium oxide) decreases from the pixel electrode 15 side toward the inorganic alignment film 18 side. Similarly to the intermediate layer 18a, the intermediate layer 24a has an oxide concentration that decreases from the counter electrode 23 side toward the inorganic alignment film 24 side.

  In step S1 (electrode formation), the pixel electrode 15 and the TFT 30 are formed on the substrate 10s by using a known technique. In addition, the insulating layer 22, the counter electrode 23, and the like are formed on the substrate 20s using a known technique. Then, the process proceeds to step S2.

  In step S2 (intermediate layer formation), using two vapor deposition sources of oxide and non-oxide, the oxide with respect to the non-oxide is obliquely crossed from the normal direction (Z direction) of the substrates 10s and 20s. Vapor deposition while changing the concentration. Thereby, intermediate layers 18a and 24a containing oxide and non-oxide are formed. Further, as described above, in step S2, the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 are formed to have a thickness smaller than that of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a.

  In step S2, for example, a vapor deposition method of the vapor phase growth method is applied. Specifically, a vacuum deposition apparatus that can be equipped with two or more deposition sources is used. In this embodiment, since magnesium oxide is used as the oxide, magnesium oxide and magnesium fluoride are used as the evaporation source. First, the substrates 10s and 20s (processing objects) that have undergone step S1 are put into the apparatus. Next, the concentration of magnesium oxide with respect to magnesium fluoride in the vapor deposition chamber is changed from infinity (without magnesium fluoride) so as to gradually decrease with respect to the time axis. Operate so that there is only magnesium fluoride. Thus, in the intermediate layers 18a and 24a, the concentration of magnesium oxide decreases and the concentration of magnesium fluoride increases from the substrate 10s and 20s side toward the corresponding inorganic alignment film 18 and 24 side. Moreover, well-known conditions can be applied to the various conditions (for example, elevation angle, ultimate vacuum, vapor deposition rate, substrate temperature, etc.) in the vapor deposition method. In addition, the elevation angle at the time of vapor deposition is not limited to diagonal, and may be 0 degree (substrate normal line direction).

  Thus, intermediate layers 18a and 24a having a concentration gradient of oxide (magnesium oxide) and non-oxide (magnesium fluoride) are formed. In this embodiment, since the oblique vapor deposition method using magnesium fluoride is applied in the subsequent step S3, the oblique vapor deposition method is also used in the step S2. According to this, it becomes possible to perform process S2 and process S3 with the same vacuum evaporation apparatus, and the operation of transfer of a process target becomes unnecessary. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the manufacturing time and prevent the adhesion of contaminants to the surfaces of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a.

  In step S3 (formation of an inorganic alignment film), the intermediate layers 18a and 24a are coated by an oblique vapor deposition method using only the magnesium fluoride as a vapor deposition source by using the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus. Thereby, the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 of magnesium fluoride are formed. At this time, step S2 and step S3 may be performed continuously. That is, in step S2, after the intermediate layers 18a and 24a are formed, a vapor deposition operation using only magnesium fluoride is performed. According to this, a clear interface between the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and the corresponding inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 does not occur, and the adhesion between the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and the corresponding inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 is further improved. To do.

  Further, since the adhesion of the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 is improved by the intermediate layers 18a and 24a, the inorganic alignment film 24 is formed at a relatively high temperature of, for example, 250 ° C. or more in order to ensure the adhesion. You do n’t have to. Thereby, the thermal stress concerning the microlens array ML of the counter substrate 20 can be reduced.

  A publicly known manufacturing method can be adopted for the manufacturing process after process S3 as mentioned above. As described above, the liquid crystal device 100 of the present embodiment is manufactured.

  As described above, according to the liquid crystal device 100 and the method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device 100 according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  The adhesion of the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 in the liquid crystal device 100 can be improved. Specifically, in the intermediate layers 18a and 24a, the magnesium fluoride concentration and the magnesium oxide concentration gradually change in the thickness direction from the substrate 10s or 20s side toward the inorganic alignment film 18 or 24 side. The concentration of magnesium fluoride in the intermediate layers 18a and 24a is higher on the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 side than on the substrate 10s and 20s side. In other words, the intermediate layers 18a and 24a contain a large amount of magnesium fluoride on the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 side. For this reason, the interface interaction between the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 becomes easy to work, and the adhesion between the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and the corresponding inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 is improved. Can be made.

  The intermediate layers 18a and 24a contain a large amount of magnesium oxide on the side of the substrates 10s and 20s. Therefore, when ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) or the like is used as a material for forming the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23, the interface interaction between the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and the corresponding pixel electrode 15 and counter electrode 23 is achieved. Becomes easier to work. Thereby, the adhesiveness of intermediate | middle layer 18a, 24a and the said electrode can be improved. In addition, even when a metal material (formation material) such as Al (aluminum) that tends to generate a natural oxide film on the surface is used for the electrode, the interface interaction is easy to work and the adhesion of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a is improved. Can be made.

  The concentrations of magnesium fluoride and magnesium oxide in the intermediate layers 18a and 24a gradually change in the thickness direction of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a. For this reason, the intermediate layers 18a and 24a are less likely to cause cohesive failure in the adhesive layer due to the rapid change in concentration. Thereby, compared with the case where said density | concentration changes rapidly, the physical strength of intermediate | middle layer 18a, 24a improves. Therefore, the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 and the intermediate layers 18a and 24a are prevented from being peeled from the intermediate layers 18a and 24a, and the adhesion of the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 can be further improved. As described above, it is possible to provide the liquid crystal device 100 in which the adhesion between the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 is improved and the method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device 100.

  Since the film thickness of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a is smaller than the film thickness of the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24, the time required for manufacturing the intermediate layers 18a and 24a can be shortened. Further, the total film thickness of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 can be reduced to ensure the strength of the electric field applied to the liquid crystal molecules LC.

  Inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 are formed using magnesium fluoride as a non-oxide, and magnesium oxide is used for the intermediate layers 18a and 24a. Therefore, the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23 in the intermediate layers 18a and 24a are used. The refractive index of the interface between and the magnesium oxide is close to that of magnesium oxide. On the other hand, the refractive index at the interface between the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 is close to the refractive index of magnesium fluoride. Therefore, when the liquid crystal device 100 is used as a liquid crystal light valve, unnecessary reflection in the intermediate layers 18a and 24a is reduced, and attenuation of transmitted light can be suppressed.

  Since the metal oxide ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) is used as a material for forming the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23, the interface between the intermediate layers 18a and 24a and the ITO is easily worked. Thereby, the adhesiveness with the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23 corresponding to the intermediate | middle layers 18a and 24a can be improved.

  Since the intermediate layer 24a is formed on the counter substrate 20, even when the inorganic alignment film 24 is formed at a relatively high temperature of 250 ° C. or higher, the intermediate layer 24a provides adhesion to the inorganic alignment film 24. Secured. Therefore, thermal stress applied to the microlens array ML in the manufacturing process can be reduced.

  Since two vapor deposition sources are used, step S2 (intermediate layer formation) and step S3 (inorganic alignment film formation) can be performed with the same vacuum vapor deposition apparatus, and the operation of transferring the workpiece is not required. . Therefore, the manufacturing time of the liquid crystal device 100 can be shortened, and contamination can be prevented from adhering to the surfaces of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a. Moreover, since it becomes possible to perform process S2 and process S3 continuously, a clear interface does not arise between the intermediate | middle layers 18a and 24a and the corresponding inorganic alignment films 18 and 24, and the inorganic alignment film 18 , 24 can be further improved. Furthermore, the gradient of the concentration change of magnesium oxide and magnesium fluoride in the thickness direction of the intermediate layers 18a and 24a can be easily changed.

(Embodiment 2)
<Inorganic alignment film and intermediate layer>
The configuration of the inorganic alignment film and the intermediate layer of the liquid crystal device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of the intermediate layer and the inorganic alignment film in the pixel of the liquid crystal panel according to the second embodiment. The liquid crystal device according to the second embodiment is obtained by changing the method for manufacturing the intermediate layer with respect to the liquid crystal device 100 according to the first embodiment. Therefore, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the liquid crystal device 200 (liquid crystal panel 211) of the present embodiment is formed on the element substrate 210 as the first substrate, the counter substrate 220 as the second substrate, and the element substrate 210 that are arranged to face each other. Liquid crystal (liquid crystal molecules) sandwiched between the pixel electrode 15, the counter electrode 23 formed on the counter substrate 220, the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24, the element substrate 210 and the counter substrate 220 via the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24. LC) including LC).

  An intermediate layer 218 a and an inorganic alignment film 18 are formed between the pixel electrode 15 and the liquid crystal layer 50 of the element substrate 210. In other words, the intermediate layer 218a is formed so as to cover the pixel electrode 15, and the inorganic alignment film 18 is further formed so as to cover the intermediate layer 218a. Similar to the element substrate 10, in the counter substrate 220, the counter electrode 23 is covered to form an intermediate layer 224a, and the intermediate layer 224a is further covered to form the inorganic alignment film 24. Here, in FIG. 8, the pixel electrode 15, the counter electrode 23, the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24, the intermediate layers 218 a and 224 a, and the substrates 10 s and 20 s are illustrated, and other configurations of the element substrate 210 and the counter substrate 220 are illustrated. Is omitted.

  Although not shown, the intermediate layer 218a is formed in the region where the pixel electrode 15 is not formed in the element substrate 210, as in the case of the liquid crystal device 100 of Embodiment 1 above, with the interlayer insulating film below the pixel electrode 15 It is formed in contact. In addition, the intermediate layer 224a is formed in contact with the insulating layer below the counter electrode 23 in a region where the counter electrode 23 is not formed in the counter substrate 220.

  The inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 are formed by an oblique deposition method in which a forming material is deposited from an oblique direction intersecting with the normal direction (Z direction) of the substrates 10s and 20s, respectively. On the other hand, the intermediate layers 218a and 224a are formed by a sputtering method. Therefore, the intermediate layers 218a and 224a are not columnar bodies but are formed as coatings microscopically. This point is different from the first embodiment.

  The formation materials described above can be used for the intermediate layers 218a and 224a. The intermediate layers 218 a and 224 a include a non-oxide included in the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 and an oxide of an element included in the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24. In this embodiment, magnesium fluoride is employed as the non-oxide and magnesium oxide is employed as the oxide.

  In the intermediate layer 218 a, the oxide concentration decreases from the pixel electrode 15 side in contact with the pixel electrode 15 or the interlayer insulating film toward the inorganic alignment film 18 side close to the liquid crystal layer 50. In the intermediate layer 218a, the magnesium oxide concentration on the inorganic alignment film 18 side is lower than the magnesium oxide concentration on the pixel electrode 15 side. Specifically, the intermediate layer 18a is formed by mixing magnesium oxide and magnesium fluoride. The interface of the intermediate layer 218a in contact with the pixel electrode 15 or the interlayer insulating film contains a large amount of magnesium oxide. The concentration of magnesium oxide gradually decreases and the concentration of magnesium fluoride increases from the interface toward the inorganic alignment film 18 side. The interface of the intermediate layer 218a that is in contact with the inorganic alignment film 18 contains a large amount of magnesium fluoride. In the present embodiment, the concentration of the interface oxide (magnesium oxide) in contact with the inorganic alignment film 18 is set to be equal to or lower than the SIMS detection lower limit (ppm order).

  Similar to the intermediate layer 218a, the intermediate layer 224a has a lower oxide concentration from the counter electrode 23 side in contact with the counter electrode 23 or the insulating layer toward the inorganic alignment film 24 side close to the liquid crystal layer 50. In the intermediate layer 224a, the magnesium oxide concentration on the inorganic alignment film 24 side is lower than the magnesium oxide concentration on the counter electrode 23 side. Specifically, the concentration of magnesium oxide gradually decreases and the concentration of magnesium fluoride increases as it goes from the counter electrode 23 side to the inorganic alignment film 24 side. The interface of the intermediate layer 224a that is in contact with the inorganic alignment film 24 contains a large amount of magnesium fluoride. In this embodiment, the concentration of the oxide (magnesium oxide) at the interface in contact with the inorganic alignment film 24 is set to be equal to or lower than the SIMS detection lower limit (ppm order).

  As described above, the intermediate layers 218a and 224a have a concentration gradient between the oxide and the non-oxide in the thickness direction (Z direction), and the concentration ratio between the oxide and the non-oxide changes. The concentration gradient (concentration change) of oxide and non-oxide in the intermediate layers 218a and 224a is not limited to a continuous change. In the Z direction, the oxide and non-oxide concentrations may change stepwise.

  The film thickness of the intermediate layers 218a and 224a is smaller than the film thickness of the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24. In the present embodiment, the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 have a thickness of about 55 nm, and the intermediate layers 218a and 224a have a thickness of about 25 nm.

<Method for manufacturing liquid crystal device>
Next, a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device 200 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a process flow diagram showing a method for manufacturing an intermediate layer and the like among the methods for manufacturing a liquid crystal device. In the following description using FIG. 9, FIG. 8 is also referred to. In addition, the process flow shown in FIG. 9 is an example, Comprising: It is not limited to this.

  The manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device 200 according to the present embodiment includes a manufacturing method of the intermediate layers 218a and 224a, and a known technique can be adopted other than the manufacturing process of the intermediate layers 218a and 224a and the accompanying process. Therefore, in the following description, only the manufacturing process of the intermediate layers 218a and 224a and the accompanying process will be described.

  The manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device 200 according to the present embodiment includes the element substrate 210 and the counter substrate 220 arranged opposite to each other and the inorganic alignment films 218 and 224 containing magnesium fluoride between the element substrate 210 and the counter substrate 220. 9. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device including the sandwiched liquid crystal layer 50, which includes steps S21 to S25 as shown in FIG. In step S <b> 21, the pixel electrode 15 is formed on the element substrate 210, and the counter electrode 23 is formed on the counter substrate 220. In step S22, the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23 are covered to form an oxide film. In step S23, an oxide film is coated to form a non-oxide film. In step S24, the intermediate layer 218a and 224a are formed by heat-treating the oxide film and the non-oxide film. In step S25, the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 are formed by covering the intermediate layers 218a and 224a and applying magnesium fluoride from an oblique direction intersecting the normal direction (Z direction) of the substrates 10s and 20s. The above steps S22 to S24 correspond to the steps of forming the intermediate layers 218a and 224a.

  In step S21 (electrode formation), the pixel electrode 15 and the TFT 30 (not shown) are formed on the substrate 10s by using a known technique. Further, a counter electrode 23, an insulating layer 22 (not shown), and the like are formed on the substrate 20s by using a known technique. Then, the process proceeds to step S22.

  In step S22 (oxide film formation), for example, a sputtering method of a vapor phase growth method is applied, and magnesium oxide is used as a target material. Known conditions can be applied to various conditions in the sputtering method, for example, an inert gas species, a reactive gas species such as oxygen, an elevation angle (usually 0 degrees), an ultimate vacuum, a sputtering rate, and a substrate temperature. At this time, the magnesium oxide film is formed to a thickness of about 12 nm. As a result, the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23 of the substrates 10s and 20s are covered to form a magnesium oxide film. Then, the process proceeds to step S23.

  In step S23 (non-oxide film formation), sputtering is applied in the same manner as in step S22, and magnesium fluoride is used as the target material. As in step S22, known conditions can be applied as the various conditions in the sputtering method. At this time, the magnesium fluoride film is formed to a thickness of about 13 nm. Thus, the oxide film is coated on each of the substrates 10s and 20s to form a magnesium fluoride film. In addition, it is preferable to perform process S22 and process S23 using the same sputtering device. Moreover, the formation method of each film in process S22 and process S23 is not limited to sputtering method, You may use a vapor deposition method. Then, the process proceeds to step S24.

  In step S24 (heat treatment), heat treatment is performed on the magnesium oxide and magnesium fluoride films formed on the substrates 10s and 20s, respectively. By the heat treatment, thermal diffusion proceeds between the magnesium oxide film and the magnesium fluoride film. When the components of the two coatings thermally diffuse with each other, the interface between the coatings becomes ambiguous. In addition to this, the concentration gradient of magnesium oxide and magnesium fluoride in the Z direction described above occurs. Thereby, the intermediate layers 218a and 224a are formed.

  Although the heating temperature in heat processing is not specifically limited, For example, they are 200 degreeC or more and 240 degrees C or less. By setting the heating temperature within the above range, thermal diffusion can be advanced and thermal stress applied to the microlens ML of the substrate 20s can be suppressed. Although the heating time in heat processing is not specifically limited, For example, they are 1 hour or more and 30 hours or less. By setting the heating temperature within the above range, thermal diffusion can be advanced and thermal stress applied to the microlens ML of the substrate 20s can be suppressed. In this embodiment, the heat treatment is performed at 220 ° C. for 5 hours.

  A heating device in the heat treatment is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to use an electric furnace that can be heated in an atmosphere of an inert gas or the like. Then, the process proceeds to step S25.

  In step S25 (formation of an inorganic alignment film), the intermediate layers 218a and 224a are coated by an oblique vapor deposition method using only magnesium fluoride as a vapor deposition source using a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus. Thereby, the inorganic alignment films 18 and 24 of magnesium fluoride are formed.

  As described above, a known manufacturing method can be adopted for the manufacturing steps after step S25. As described above, the liquid crystal device 200 of the present embodiment is manufactured.

  As described above, according to the liquid crystal device 200 and the method of manufacturing the liquid crystal device 200 according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects of the first embodiment.

  The intermediate layers 218a and 224a are formed by thermal diffusion between the magnesium oxide film and the magnesium fluoride film. Therefore, it is possible to form intermediate layers 218a and 224a in which the concentration changes of magnesium oxide and magnesium fluoride are gentle. Further, since the sputtering method is used in step S22 and step S23, the film thickness of the coating can be easily controlled as compared with the vapor deposition method.

(Embodiment 3)
<Method for manufacturing liquid crystal device>
A method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7 used in the description of the first embodiment. The manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device according to the third embodiment is a modification of the manufacturing method of the intermediate layer with respect to the first embodiment. Therefore, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device of the present embodiment includes steps S1 to S3. Step S2 (intermediate layer formation) in this embodiment is performed by using a non-oxide deposition source while varying the oxygen concentration and the ion acceleration voltage from an oblique direction intersecting the normal direction of the substrates 10s and 20s. Thus, the intermediate layers 18a and 24a are formed. That is, by using a non-oxide alone as a deposition source and performing deposition in an oxygen atmosphere, the intermediate layers 18a and 24a having a concentration gradient of oxide and non-oxide are formed. This is different from the first embodiment using two vapor deposition sources.

  In step S2, magnesium fluoride is used as a non-oxide as a material for forming the intermediate layers 18a and 24a, and oxygen ion-assisted deposition is performed using a vacuum deposition apparatus. Specifically, initially, the oxygen gas concentration and the ion acceleration voltage are kept high, and the operation is performed so that magnesium oxide is deposited. Next, the oxygen gas concentration and the ion acceleration voltage are gradually lowered to reduce the concentration of magnesium oxide deposited, and increase the concentration of magnesium fluoride deposited. Finally, only the magnesium fluoride is deposited by reducing the oxygen gas concentration and the ion acceleration voltage. Known conditions can be applied to various conditions in the above operation (for example, elevation angle, ultimate vacuum, vapor deposition rate, substrate temperature, etc.). Thereby, intermediate layers 18a and 24a having a concentration gradient of magnesium oxide and magnesium fluoride in the Z direction are formed.

  As described above, according to the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device according to the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

(Embodiment 4)
<Inorganic alignment film and intermediate layer>
The configuration of the inorganic alignment film and the intermediate layer of the liquid crystal device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an intermediate layer and an inorganic alignment film in a pixel of a liquid crystal panel according to Embodiment 4. FIG. The liquid crystal device according to the fourth embodiment is obtained by changing the non-oxides and oxides included in the intermediate layer and the method for manufacturing the intermediate layer from the liquid crystal device 100 according to the first embodiment. Therefore, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the liquid crystal device 300 (liquid crystal panel 311) of the present embodiment is formed on the element substrate 310 as the first substrate, the counter substrate 320 as the second substrate, and the element substrate 310 that are arranged to face each other. Liquid crystal (liquid crystal molecules) sandwiched between the pixel electrode 15, the counter electrode 23 formed on the counter substrate 320, the inorganic alignment films 318 and 324, the element substrate 310 and the counter substrate 320 via the inorganic alignment films 318 and 324. LC) including LC).

  An intermediate layer 318 a and an inorganic alignment film 318 are formed between the pixel electrode 15 and the liquid crystal layer 50 of the element substrate 310. In other words, the intermediate layer 318a is formed covering the pixel electrode 15, and the inorganic alignment film 318 is further formed covering the intermediate layer 318a. Similar to the element substrate 310, in the counter substrate 320, the counter electrode 23 is covered to form an intermediate layer 324a, and the intermediate layer 324a is further covered to form an inorganic alignment film 324. Here, in FIG. 10, the pixel electrode 15, the counter electrode 23, the inorganic alignment films 318 and 324, the intermediate layers 318 a and 324 a, the substrates 10 s and 20 s are illustrated, and other configurations of the element substrate 310 and the counter substrate 320 are illustrated. Is omitted.

  Although not shown in the drawing, the intermediate layer 318a is formed in the region where the pixel electrode 15 is not formed in the element substrate 310, as in the case of the liquid crystal device 100 of the first embodiment, It is formed in contact. The intermediate layer 324a is formed in contact with the insulating layer below the counter electrode 23 in a region where the counter electrode 23 is not formed in the counter substrate 320.

  The inorganic alignment films 318 and 324 are formed by an oblique evaporation method in which a forming material is evaporated from an oblique direction intersecting with the normal direction (Z direction) of the substrates 10s and 20s, respectively. On the other hand, the intermediate layers 318a and 324a are formed by a sputtering method. Therefore, the intermediate layers 318a and 324a are not columnar bodies but are formed as coatings microscopically. This point is different from the first embodiment.

  The formation materials described above can be used for the intermediate layers 318a and 324a. The intermediate layers 318a and 324a include non-oxides included in the inorganic alignment films 318 and 324 and oxides of elements included in the inorganic alignment films 318 and 324. In the present embodiment, silicon nitride is employed as the non-oxide, and silicon oxide is employed as the oxide.

  In the intermediate layer 318a, the oxide concentration decreases from the pixel electrode 15 side in contact with the pixel electrode 15 or the interlayer insulating film toward the inorganic alignment film 318 side close to the liquid crystal layer 50. In the intermediate layer 318a, the concentration of silicon oxide on the inorganic alignment film 318 side is lower than the concentration of silicon oxide on the pixel electrode 15 side. Specifically, the intermediate layer 318a is formed by mixing silicon oxide and silicon nitride. The interface of the intermediate layer 318a that is in contact with the pixel electrode 15 or the interlayer insulating film contains a large amount of silicon oxide. From the interface, the concentration of silicon oxide gradually decreases and the concentration of silicon nitride increases as it moves toward the inorganic alignment film 318 side. The interface of the intermediate layer 318a that is in contact with the inorganic alignment film 318 contains a large amount of silicon nitride. In this embodiment, the concentration of the oxide (silicon oxide) at the interface in contact with the inorganic alignment film 318 is set to be equal to or lower than the SIMS detection lower limit (ppm order).

  Similar to the intermediate layer 318a, the intermediate layer 324a has a lower oxide concentration from the counter electrode 23 side in contact with the counter electrode 23 or the insulating layer toward the inorganic alignment film 324 side close to the liquid crystal layer 50. In the intermediate layer 324a, the concentration of silicon oxide on the inorganic alignment film 324 side is lower than the concentration of silicon oxide on the counter electrode 23 side. Specifically, the silicon oxide concentration gradually decreases and the silicon nitride concentration increases from the counter electrode 23 side toward the inorganic alignment film 324 side. The interface of the intermediate layer 324a that is in contact with the inorganic alignment film 324 contains a large amount of silicon nitride. In this embodiment, the concentration of the interface oxide (silicon oxide) in contact with the inorganic alignment film 324 is set to be equal to or lower than the SIMS detection lower limit (ppm order).

  As described above, the intermediate layers 318a and 324a have a concentration gradient between the oxide and the non-oxide in the thickness direction (Z direction), and the concentration ratio between the oxide and the non-oxide changes. The concentration gradient (concentration change) of oxide and non-oxide in the intermediate layers 318a and 324a is not limited to a continuous change. In the Z direction, the oxide and non-oxide concentrations may change stepwise.

  The film thickness of the intermediate layers 318a and 324a is smaller than the film thickness of the inorganic alignment films 318 and 324. In the present embodiment, the inorganic alignment films 318 and 324 have a thickness of about 55 nm, and the intermediate layers 318a and 324a have a thickness of about 25 nm.

<Method for manufacturing liquid crystal device>
Next, a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device 300 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing an intermediate layer and the like among the methods for manufacturing a liquid crystal device. In the following description using FIG. 11, FIG. 10 is also referred to. In addition, the process flow shown in FIG. 11 is an example, Comprising: It is not limited to this.

  The manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device 300 according to the present embodiment includes a manufacturing method of the intermediate layers 318a and 324a, and a known technique can be adopted in addition to the manufacturing process of the intermediate layers 318a and 324a and the accompanying process. Therefore, in the following description, only the manufacturing process of the intermediate layers 318a and 324a and the accompanying process will be described.

  The manufacturing method of the liquid crystal device 300 according to the present embodiment is sandwiched between the element substrate 310 and the counter substrate 320 arranged to face each other and the inorganic alignment films 318 and 324 containing silicon nitride between the element substrate 310 and the counter substrate 320. A liquid crystal device manufacturing method including the liquid crystal layer 50, which includes steps S41 to S44 as shown in FIG. In step S41, the pixel electrode 15 is formed on the element substrate 310, and the counter electrode 23 is formed on the counter substrate 320, respectively. In step S42, silicon oxide is used to coat the pixel electrode 15, the counter electrode 23, and the like to form an oxide (silicon oxide) film. In step S43, the intermediate layer 318a, 324a is formed by reacting the oxide film with a compound containing an element contained in the inorganic alignment film. In step S44, the intermediate layers 318a and 324a are covered, and silicon nitride is deposited from an oblique direction intersecting the normal direction (Z direction) of the substrates 10s and 20s to form the inorganic alignment films 318 and 324. Said process S42 and process S43 correspond to the process of forming intermediate | middle layers 318a and 324a.

  In step S41 (electrode formation), the pixel electrode 15 and the TFT 30 (not shown) are formed on the substrate 10s using a known technique. Further, a counter electrode 23, an insulating layer 22 (not shown), and the like are formed on the substrate 20s by using a known technique. Then, the process proceeds to step S42.

  In step S42 (oxide film formation), for example, a sputtering method of a vapor phase growth method is applied. Silicon oxide is used as the target material. Known conditions can be applied to various conditions in the sputtering method, for example, an inert gas species, a reactive gas species such as oxygen, an elevation angle (usually 0 degrees), an ultimate vacuum, a sputtering rate, and a substrate temperature. At this time, the silicon oxide film is formed to have a film thickness of about 25 nm. Thereby, the pixel electrode 15 and the counter electrode 23 of the substrates 10s and 20s are covered to form a silicon oxide film. In this embodiment, the sputtering method is used for forming the oxide film, but the present invention is not limited to this. An oxide film may be formed using the evaporation method described above. Then, the process proceeds to step S43.

  In step S43 (reaction between the coating film and the compound), the silicon oxide film and the compound containing the element contained in the inorganic alignment films 318 and 324 are reacted to generate silicon nitride in the silicon oxide film. As the above compound, a nitrogen-containing compound containing N (nitrogen) is used, and specific examples include nitrous oxide and ammonia. In this embodiment, nitrous oxide is used as the compound.

  The treatment method is not particularly limited as long as silicon nitride is generated in the silicon oxide film by nitrous oxide. For example, specifically, using a plasma processing apparatus, the substrates 10 s and 20 s on which the silicon oxide film is formed are irradiated with plasma in a nitrous oxide gas atmosphere. As a result, nitriding of the coating proceeds in the depth direction (Z direction) from the surface of the silicon oxide coating. That is, silicon nitride having a concentration gradient is generated in the depth direction from the surface of the silicon oxide film. Thus, the above-described intermediate layers 318a and 324a having the concentration gradient of silicon oxide and silicon nitride are formed. Note that an existing apparatus can be applied as a plasma processing apparatus used for plasma irradiation. Then, the process proceeds to step S44.

  In step S44 (formation of an inorganic alignment film), the intermediate layers 318a and 324a are covered by an oblique vapor deposition method using silicon nitride as a vapor deposition source using a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus. Thereby, inorganic alignment films 318 and 324 of silicon nitride are formed.

  A publicly known manufacturing method is employable as mentioned above in the manufacturing process after process S44. As described above, the liquid crystal device 300 of this embodiment is manufactured.

  As described above, according to the liquid crystal device 300 and the method of manufacturing the liquid crystal device 300 according to the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

(Embodiment 5)
<Electronic equipment>
A projection display device as an electronic apparatus according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a projection display device as an electronic apparatus according to the fifth embodiment.

  The projection type display device 1000 of this embodiment is equipped with a liquid crystal device as the electro-optical device of the above embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the projection display apparatus 1000 of the present embodiment includes a polarization illumination apparatus 1100 arranged along the system optical axis L, two dichroic mirrors 1104 and 1105 as light separation elements, and three Reflective mirrors 1106, 1107, 1108, five relay lenses 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204, 1205, three transmissive liquid crystal light valves 1210, 1220, 1230 as light modulation means, and a cross dichroic as a light combiner A prism 1206 and a projection lens 1207 are provided.

  The polarized light illumination device 1100 is generally composed of a lamp unit 1101 as a light source composed of a white light source such as an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp or a halogen lamp, an integrator lens 1102, and a polarization conversion element 1103.

  The dichroic mirror 1104 reflects red light (R) and transmits green light (G) and blue light (B) out of the polarized light beam emitted from the polarization illumination device 1100. Another dichroic mirror 1105 reflects the green light (G) transmitted through the dichroic mirror 1104 and transmits the blue light (B).

  The red light (R) reflected by the dichroic mirror 1104 is reflected by the reflection mirror 1106 and then enters the liquid crystal light valve 1210 via the relay lens 1205. Green light (G) reflected by the dichroic mirror 1105 enters the liquid crystal light valve 1220 via the relay lens 1204. The blue light (B) transmitted through the dichroic mirror 1105 enters the liquid crystal light valve 1230 through a light guide system including three relay lenses 1201, 1202, 1203 and two reflection mirrors 1107, 1108.

  The liquid crystal light valves 1210, 1220, and 1230 are disposed to face the incident surfaces of the cross dichroic prism 1206 for each color light. The color light incident on the liquid crystal light valves 1210, 1220, and 1230 is modulated based on video information (video signal) and emitted toward the cross dichroic prism 1206.

  In this prism, four right-angle prisms are bonded together, and a dielectric multilayer film that reflects red light and a dielectric multilayer film that reflects blue light are formed in a cross shape on the inner surface thereof. The three color lights are synthesized by these dielectric multilayer films, and the light representing the color image is synthesized. The synthesized light is projected on the screen 1300 by the projection lens 1207 which is a projection optical system, and the image is enlarged and displayed.

  The liquid crystal light valve 1210 is the one to which the above-described liquid crystal device 100 (see FIG. 1) is applied. The liquid crystal device 100 is arranged with a gap between a pair of polarizing elements arranged in crossed Nicols on the incident side and the outgoing side of colored light. The same applies to the other liquid crystal light valves 1220 and 1230.

  According to such a projection type display device 1000, since the liquid crystal device 100 of the first embodiment is used, in the liquid crystal device 100, the adhesion of the inorganic alignment film is improved. Thereby, it is possible to provide a projection display device 1000 in which display defects due to peeling of the inorganic alignment film and the like are reduced and display quality is improved. It should be noted that the same effect can be obtained even when the liquid crystal devices according to the second to fourth embodiments described above are employed as the liquid crystal light valves 1210, 1220, and 1230 instead of the liquid crystal device 100.

  In addition to the projection display device 1000, the liquid crystal device 100 includes an EVF (Electrical View Finder), a mobile mini projector, a head-up display, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a mobile computer, a digital camera, a digital video camera, a display, and an in-vehicle device. It may be mounted on various electronic devices such as audio devices, exposure apparatuses, and lighting devices.

(Modification 1)
In the liquid crystal device and the method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device according to the present modification, magnesium oxide is used as an oxide and magnesium fluoride is used as a non-oxide included in the inorganic alignment film with respect to the fourth embodiment. In addition, as a compound containing an element contained in the inorganic alignment film, a fluorine-based gas such as chlorofluorocarbons containing F (fluorine) is used. As a result, the magnesium oxide film is fluorinated, and magnesium fluoride is generated in the film, thereby forming an intermediate layer having a concentration gradient of magnesium oxide and magnesium fluoride. According to the liquid crystal device and the method of manufacturing the liquid crystal device of this modification, the same effects as those of the fourth embodiment can be obtained.

(Modification 2)
The liquid crystal device as the electro-optical device used in the electronic apparatus (projection display device) of the present invention is not limited to the transmissive type, and may be a reflective type liquid crystal device. That is, it may be a projection display device using a reflective liquid crystal device. For example, specifically, in the liquid crystal device 100 of the first embodiment (see FIG. 2), the pixel electrode 15 of the element substrate 10 is made of a metal conductive film having light reflectivity such as Al (aluminum) or an alloy thereof. May be used.

  The contents derived from the embodiment will be described below.

  A liquid crystal device according to the present application includes a first substrate and a second substrate which are arranged to face each other, electrodes formed on the first substrate and the second substrate, an inorganic alignment film containing a non-oxide covering the electrodes, and a first substrate And a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the second substrate and an inorganic alignment film, and at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate is intermediate between the inorganic alignment film and the electrode The intermediate layer includes a non-oxide and an oxide of an element contained in the inorganic alignment film, and the oxide concentration decreases from the electrode side toward the inorganic alignment film side.

  According to this configuration, the adhesion of the inorganic alignment film in the liquid crystal device can be improved. Specifically, in the intermediate layer, the non-oxide concentration and the oxide concentration change in the thickness direction from the electrode side to the inorganic alignment film side. And the density | concentration of the non-oxide in an intermediate | middle layer becomes large on the inorganic alignment film side compared with the electrode side. In other words, the intermediate layer contains a large amount of non-oxide contained in the inorganic alignment film on the inorganic alignment film side. Therefore, the interface interaction between the inorganic alignment film side of the intermediate layer and the inorganic alignment film is easy to work, and the adhesion between the intermediate layer and the inorganic alignment film can be improved.

  The intermediate layer contains a large amount of oxide on the electrode side. Therefore, when a metal oxide such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) is used as the electrode forming material, the interface interaction is likely to work between the electrode side of the intermediate layer and the electrode. Thereby, the adhesiveness of an intermediate | middle layer and an electrode can be improved. In addition, even when a metal material (formation material) such as Al (aluminum) that tends to generate a natural oxide film on the surface is used for the electrode, the interaction at the interface becomes easy to work, and the adhesion can be improved. As described above, a liquid crystal device with improved adhesion of the inorganic alignment film can be provided.

  A liquid crystal device according to the present application includes a first substrate and a second substrate which are arranged to face each other, electrodes formed on the first substrate and the second substrate, an inorganic alignment film containing a non-oxide covering the electrodes, and a first substrate And a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the second substrate and an inorganic alignment film, and at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate is intermediate between the inorganic alignment film and the electrode The intermediate layer includes a non-oxide and an oxide of an element contained in the inorganic alignment film, and the concentration of the oxide on the inorganic alignment film side is smaller than the concentration of the oxide on the electrode side. And

  According to this configuration, the adhesion of the inorganic alignment film in the liquid crystal device can be improved. Specifically, the concentration of the non-oxide in the intermediate layer is higher on the inorganic alignment film side than on the electrode side. In other words, the intermediate layer contains a large amount of non-oxide contained in the inorganic alignment film on the inorganic alignment film side. Therefore, the interface interaction between the inorganic alignment film side of the intermediate layer and the inorganic alignment film is easy to work, and the adhesion between the intermediate layer and the inorganic alignment film can be improved.

  The intermediate layer contains a large amount of oxide on the electrode side. Therefore, when a metal oxide such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) is used as the electrode forming material, the interface interaction is likely to work between the electrode side of the intermediate layer and the electrode. Thereby, the adhesiveness of an intermediate | middle layer and an electrode can be improved. In addition, even when a metal material (formation material) such as Al (aluminum) that tends to generate a natural oxide film on the surface is used for the electrode, the interaction at the interface becomes easy to work, and the adhesion can be improved. As described above, a liquid crystal device with improved adhesion of the inorganic alignment film can be provided.

  In the above liquid crystal device, the thickness of the intermediate layer is preferably smaller than the thickness of the inorganic alignment film.

  According to this configuration, the time required for manufacturing the intermediate layer can be shortened. In addition, the total thickness of the intermediate layer and the inorganic alignment film can be reduced to ensure the strength of the electric field applied to the liquid crystal molecules.

  In the above liquid crystal device, the element contained in the inorganic alignment film is preferably Mg or Si.

  According to this configuration, the inorganic alignment film is formed using, for example, magnesium fluoride or silicon nitride as the non-oxide, and for example, magnesium oxide or silicon oxide is used for the intermediate layer in correspondence with the non-oxide. Can do.

  In the above liquid crystal device, the intermediate layer preferably contains magnesium fluoride as a non-oxide and magnesium oxide as an oxide, and the concentration of magnesium fluoride increases from the electrode side toward the inorganic alignment film side.

  According to this configuration, the refractive index of the interface with the electrode in the intermediate layer is close to the refractive index of magnesium oxide. On the other hand, the refractive index at the interface with the inorganic alignment film in the intermediate layer is close to the refractive index of magnesium fluoride. Therefore, when the liquid crystal device is used as, for example, a liquid crystal light valve, unnecessary reflection at the interface between the intermediate layer and the inorganic alignment film and the interface between the intermediate layer and the electrode is reduced, thereby suppressing the attenuation of transmitted light. Can do.

  In the above liquid crystal device, the electrode of at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate preferably contains an oxide.

  According to this configuration, the adhesion between the intermediate layer and the electrode can be improved by using a metal oxide such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) as the electrode forming material.

  In the above liquid crystal device, the second substrate preferably includes a counter electrode and a microlens as electrodes, and has an intermediate layer at least between the counter electrode of the second substrate and the inorganic alignment film.

  According to this configuration, when the inorganic alignment film is formed on the second substrate, the adhesion of the inorganic alignment film is ensured by the intermediate layer without forming the film at a relatively high temperature of 250 ° C. or higher. Therefore, when attaching the microlens to the second substrate, thermal stress applied to the microlens during the manufacturing process can be reduced.

  A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device includes: a first substrate and a second substrate which are arranged opposite to each other; and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate via an inorganic alignment film containing a non-oxide. A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, comprising: forming an electrode on at least one of a first substrate and a second substrate; and coating the electrode to form a non-oxide and an inorganic alignment film A step of forming an intermediate layer that includes an oxide of the contained element, and the concentration of the oxide decreases from the electrode side toward the inorganic alignment film side; And a step of forming an inorganic alignment film by applying from a direction crossing the direction.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to manufacture a liquid crystal device in which the adhesion of the inorganic alignment film is improved. Specifically, in the step of forming the intermediate layer, the intermediate layer is formed so that the non-oxide concentration and the oxide concentration gradually change in the thickness direction from the electrode side to the inorganic alignment film side. The And the density | concentration of the non-oxide in an intermediate | middle layer becomes large on the inorganic alignment film side compared with the electrode side. In other words, the intermediate layer contains a large amount of non-oxide contained in the inorganic alignment film on the inorganic alignment film side. Therefore, the interface interaction between the inorganic alignment film side of the intermediate layer and the inorganic alignment film is easy to work, and the adhesion between the intermediate layer and the inorganic alignment film can be improved.

  The intermediate layer contains a large amount of oxide on the electrode side. Therefore, when a metal oxide such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) is used as the electrode forming material, the interface interaction is likely to work between the electrode side of the intermediate layer and the electrode. Thereby, the adhesiveness of an intermediate | middle layer and an electrode can be improved. In addition, even when a metal material (formation material) that easily generates a natural oxide film on the surface, such as Al (aluminum), is used for the electrode, the interface interaction is easy to work, and the adhesion can be improved. From the above, it is possible to provide a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device that improves the adhesion of the inorganic alignment film.

  In the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, the step of forming the intermediate layer includes a step of forming an oxide film and a step of forming the intermediate layer by reacting the film and a compound containing an element contained in the inorganic alignment film. And preferably.

  According to this configuration, the oxide concentration change, that is, the concentration gradient can be easily formed in the thickness direction of the intermediate layer.

  In the method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device, the step of forming the intermediate layer includes a step of forming an oxide film, a step of covering the oxide film to form a non-oxide film, And a step of subjecting the coating and the non-oxide coating to a heat treatment to form an intermediate layer.

  According to this configuration, the intermediate layer is formed by thermally diffusing the oxide and the non-oxide between the oxide film and the non-oxide film. Therefore, an intermediate layer in which the oxide and non-oxide concentration changes gradually can be formed.

  In the above method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, the step of forming the intermediate layer is performed using an oxide and a non-oxide deposition source from the direction intersecting the normal direction of the substrate from the direction perpendicular to the substrate. It is preferable to form the intermediate layer by vapor deposition while changing the concentration.

  According to this configuration, the step of forming the intermediate layer and the step of forming the inorganic alignment film can be performed with the same apparatus, and an operation for transferring the processing target is not necessary. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the manufacturing time and prevent the adhesion of contaminants to the intermediate layer surface. In addition, since the intermediate layer and the inorganic alignment film can be formed continuously, a clear interface does not occur between the intermediate layer and the inorganic alignment film. Adhesion can be further improved. Furthermore, the gradient of the concentration change of the oxide and non-oxide in the thickness direction of the intermediate layer can be easily changed.

  In the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, the step of forming the intermediate layer is performed by using a non-oxide vapor deposition source and performing vapor deposition while changing the oxygen concentration and the ion acceleration voltage from the direction intersecting the normal direction of the substrate. It is preferable to form an intermediate layer.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to easily change the slope of the concentration change of the oxide and the non-oxide in the thickness direction of the intermediate layer.

  In the method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device, the step of forming the intermediate layer preferably forms an intermediate layer having a film thickness smaller than that of the inorganic alignment film.

  According to this configuration, the anchoring effect can be expressed in the liquid crystal molecules contained in the liquid crystal layer, and the time required for the step of forming the intermediate layer can be shortened. In addition, the total thickness of the intermediate layer and the inorganic alignment film can be reduced to ensure the strength of the electric field applied to the liquid crystal molecules.

  In the above method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, the step of forming the intermediate layer preferably uses magnesium oxide or silicon oxide as the oxide.

  According to this configuration, in the step of forming the inorganic alignment film using magnesium fluoride or silicon nitride as the non-oxide and forming the intermediate layer, magnesium oxide or silicon oxide is used corresponding to the non-oxide. Can do.

  In the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, the step of forming the intermediate layer preferably forms an intermediate layer including magnesium oxide as an oxide and magnesium fluoride as a non-oxide.

  According to this configuration, the refractive index of the interface with the electrode in the intermediate layer is close to the refractive index of magnesium oxide. On the other hand, the refractive index at the interface with the inorganic alignment film in the intermediate layer is close to the refractive index of magnesium fluoride. Therefore, when the liquid crystal device is used as a liquid crystal light valve, unnecessary reflection in the intermediate layer and at the interface between the intermediate layer and the inorganic alignment film is reduced. Accordingly, a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device that suppresses attenuation of transmitted light can be provided.

  An electronic apparatus includes the liquid crystal device described above.

  According to this configuration, the adhesion of the inorganic alignment film is improved in the liquid crystal device. Thereby, display defects due to peeling of the inorganic alignment film and the like can be reduced, and an electronic device with improved display quality can be provided.

  10, 210, 310 ... Element substrate as first substrate, 10s, 20s ... substrate, 15 ... Pixel electrode as electrode, 18, 24, 218, 224, 318, 324 ... Inorganic alignment film, 18a, 24a, 218a, 224a, 318a, 324a ... intermediate layer, 20, 220, 320 ... counter substrate as second substrate, 23 ... counter electrode as electrode, 30 ... TFT as transistor, 50 ... liquid crystal layer, 100, 200, 300 ... liquid crystal 110, 211, 311 ... liquid crystal panel, 1000 ... projection type display device as an electronic device, ML ... microlens.

Claims (16)

A first substrate and a second substrate disposed opposite to each other;
Electrodes formed on the first substrate and the second substrate;
An inorganic alignment film containing a non-oxide covering the electrode;
A liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate via the inorganic alignment film,
At least one of the first substrate and the second substrate has an intermediate layer between the inorganic alignment film and the electrode,
The intermediate layer includes the non-oxide and an oxide of an element contained in the inorganic alignment film, and the concentration of the oxide decreases from the electrode side toward the inorganic alignment film side. Liquid crystal device. A first substrate and a second substrate disposed opposite to each other;
Electrodes formed on the first substrate and the second substrate;
An inorganic alignment film containing a non-oxide covering the electrode;
A liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate via the inorganic alignment film,
At least one of the first substrate and the second substrate has an intermediate layer between the inorganic alignment film and the electrode,
The intermediate layer includes the non-oxide and an oxide of an element contained in the inorganic alignment film, and the concentration of the oxide on the inorganic alignment film side is smaller than the concentration of the oxide on the electrode side. A liquid crystal device characterized by the above.   The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the intermediate layer is smaller than a thickness of the inorganic alignment film.   4. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the element contained in the inorganic alignment film is Mg or Si. 5.   The intermediate layer includes magnesium fluoride as the non-oxide and magnesium oxide as the oxide, and the concentration of magnesium fluoride increases from the electrode side toward the inorganic alignment film side. The liquid crystal device according to claim 4.   6. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the electrode of at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate contains an oxide. 6. The second substrate includes a counter electrode and a microlens as the electrodes,
The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate layer is provided at least between the counter electrode of the second substrate and the inorganic alignment film. A liquid crystal device comprising: a first substrate and a second substrate arranged to face each other; and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate via an inorganic alignment film containing a non-oxide. A manufacturing method comprising:
For at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate,
Forming an electrode;
Covering the electrode, forming an intermediate layer containing the non-oxide and the oxide of the element contained in the inorganic alignment film, and the oxide concentration decreases from the electrode side toward the inorganic alignment film side And a process of
And a step of forming the inorganic alignment film by covering the intermediate layer and applying the non-oxide from a direction intersecting a normal direction of the substrate. The step of forming the intermediate layer includes
Forming a film of the oxide;
The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 8, further comprising: reacting the film and a compound containing an element contained in the inorganic alignment film to form the intermediate layer. The step of forming the intermediate layer includes
Forming a film of the oxide;
Coating the oxide film to form the non-oxide film;
The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 8, further comprising: heat-treating the oxide film and the non-oxide film to form the intermediate layer.   In the step of forming the intermediate layer, the concentration of the oxide with respect to the non-oxide is changed from the direction intersecting the normal direction of the substrate by using two deposition sources of the oxide and the non-oxide. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 8, wherein the intermediate layer is formed by vapor deposition.   In the step of forming the intermediate layer, the intermediate layer is formed by vapor deposition while changing the oxygen concentration and the ion acceleration voltage from the direction intersecting the normal direction of the substrate, using the non-oxide vapor deposition source. The method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 8.   The liquid crystal according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein in the step of forming the intermediate layer, the intermediate layer having a film thickness smaller than a film thickness of the inorganic alignment film is formed. Device manufacturing method.   The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 8, wherein in the step of forming the intermediate layer, magnesium oxide or silicon oxide is used as the oxide.   The liquid crystal device manufacturing method according to claim 14, wherein the step of forming the intermediate layer forms the intermediate layer including magnesium oxide as the oxide and magnesium fluoride as the non-oxide. Method.   An electronic apparatus comprising the liquid crystal device according to claim 1.

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