JP4016884B2 - Electro-optical panel manufacturing method, electro-optical panel manufacturing program, electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus, and electronic apparatus manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electro-optical panel manufacturing method, and more particularly, an electro-optical panel manufacturing method capable of improving display quality by aligning the characteristics of two substrates constituting the electro-optical panel, and an electro-optical panel manufacturing method. The present invention relates to a program, an electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus, and an electronic device manufacturing method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The electro-optical panel is configured by enclosing liquid crystal between an element substrate on which a driving element for driving each pixel is formed and a counter substrate disposed to face the element substrate. In order to align the liquid crystal molecules in one direction, an alignment film is formed on the surface of the element substrate and the counter substrate, and a rubbing process is performed on the alignment film. In Patent Document 1, an alignment film material is applied onto a substrate by a centrifugal removal method to form an alignment film, and the alignment film material is printed again by flexographic printing on a portion where the alignment film is unnecessary and dissolved. An alignment film forming technique for removing material by washing is disclosed.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-5-307178
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, it is difficult to uniformly apply the alignment film material to the element substrate having unevenness on the substrate surface, and when combined with the counter substrate, it tends to cause a display defect due to the characteristic variation of both. . In addition, since the alignment film is formed in a separate process for the element substrate and the counter substrate, it is difficult to align the characteristics of the element substrate and the counter substrate to be combined due to different environment and other conditions. . Furthermore, the centrifugal removal method increases the amount of alignment film material used, and more than 90% of the material is discarded. For this reason, the use efficiency of material falls significantly. Further, impurities may adhere to the surface of the alignment film by cleaning the back surface of the substrate, which may lead to a reduction in display quality.
[0005]
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above, and improves the display quality by aligning the characteristics of the two substrates constituting the electro-optical panel, and improves the use efficiency of the material of the alignment film. An electro-optical panel manufacturing method, an electro-optical panel manufacturing program, an electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus, and an electronic device that can achieve at least one of suppressing the deterioration of display quality by suppressing the adhesion of impurities in the alignment film forming step It aims at providing the manufacturing method of an apparatus.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object, a method for manufacturing an electro-optical panel according to the present invention includes: a plurality of nozzles for discharging an alignment film material arranged at a predetermined pitch; In forming the alignment film on the first substrate constituting the electro-optic panel and the second substrate facing the first substrate by discharging the material, the same droplet discharge is performed on both the first substrate and the second substrate. An alignment film is formed by means.
[0007]
Further, the following electro-optical panel manufacturing program according to the present invention causes the alignment film material to be discharged from the nozzles of the droplet discharge means in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging the alignment film material are arranged at a predetermined pitch. In forming the alignment film on the first substrate constituting the electro-optic panel and the second substrate facing the first substrate, the alignment film is formed on both the first substrate and the second substrate by the same droplet discharge means. The computer is caused to execute a forming procedure.
[0008]
In this electro-optical panel manufacturing method, alignment films can be formed on the first and second substrates under the same coating conditions, so that the characteristics of both substrates can be made uniform. An electro-optical panel with high display quality can be manufactured by combining the first substrate and the second substrate on which the alignment film is formed in this way. In addition, since the alignment film material is applied by droplet discharge, the use efficiency of the alignment film material can be reduced to about 100% compared to the centrifugal removal method or the spin coating method, and the manufacturing cost of the electro-optical panel can be reduced. be able to. Further, since the process of cleaning the back surfaces of the first and second substrates is not necessary, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of impurities on the alignment film and reduce display defects. In addition, since the backside cleaning of the substrate is unnecessary, the manufacturing time of the electro-optical panel can be shortened accordingly, and the cleaning liquid is also unnecessary.
[0009]
Further, according to the electro-optical panel manufacturing program of the present invention, the computer can execute the electro-optical panel manufacturing method. The computer referred to in the present invention includes a so-called personal computer, workstation or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) as well as hardware including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory and other electronic elements (the same applies hereinafter). .
[0010]
The electro-optical panel manufacturing method according to the present invention includes the electro-optical panel manufacturing method in which the first substrate and the second substrate are arranged in the drawing direction of the droplet discharge means. Features.
[0011]
In this way, if the alignment film material is applied by arranging the first substrate and the second substrate in the drawing direction of the droplet discharge means, the application conditions of the alignment film material can be made more uniform. Can be further aligned. If the first substrate and the second substrate on which the alignment film is formed in this manner are combined, an electro-optical panel with higher display quality can be manufactured.
[0012]
The electro-optical panel manufacturing method according to the present invention is the electro-optical panel manufacturing method in which the first substrate and the second substrate are arranged in a direction perpendicular to a drawing direction of the droplet discharge means. It is characterized by being arranged.
[0013]
As described above, when the first substrate and the second substrate are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the drawing direction of the droplet discharge means and the alignment film material is applied, the drawing of the alignment film between the first substrate and the second substrate is performed. Even when the data is different, it is not necessary to switch the drawing data during one scan, so that drawing control is facilitated. As a result, the productivity of the electro-optical panel can be improved.
[0014]
In addition, an electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention includes a stage on which a base material of a first substrate and a base material of a second substrate constituting the electro-optical panel are mounted, and an alignment film material on the substrate. A droplet discharge head having a plurality of nozzles arranged at a predetermined pitch, and when the droplet discharge head forms an alignment film material on the first substrate, the alignment with respect to the first substrate is performed. When the alignment film material is ejected from the plurality of nozzles based on the first coating pattern of the film and the droplet discharge head forms the alignment film material on the second substrate, the alignment with respect to the second substrate is performed. And a controller that discharges alignment film material from the plurality of nozzles based on a second coating pattern of the film.
[0015]
Since the electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus can form alignment films on the first and second substrates under the same coating conditions, the characteristics of both substrates can be made uniform. If the first substrate and the second substrate on which the alignment film is formed in this way are combined, an electro-optical panel with high display quality can be manufactured. In addition, since the alignment film material is applied by droplet discharge, the use efficiency of the alignment film material can be approximately 100% compared to the spin coating method. Further, since the step of cleaning the back surfaces of the first and second substrates is not necessary, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of impurities and reduce display defects. In addition, since the backside cleaning of the substrate is unnecessary, the manufacturing time of the electro-optical panel can be shortened accordingly, and the cleaning liquid is also unnecessary.
[0016]
In addition, an electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention includes a droplet discharge head in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging an alignment film material are arranged at a predetermined pitch, and a first substrate constituting the electro-optical panel; A stage on which the second substrate is placed in the drawing direction of the droplet discharge means, and the droplet discharge head is aligned with respect to the first substrate during scanning in the drawing direction of the droplet discharge head. When forming the material, the alignment film material is ejected from the plurality of nozzles based on the first application pattern of the alignment film on the first substrate, and the droplet discharge head is directed to the alignment film on the second substrate. And a controller that discharges the alignment film material from the plurality of nozzles based on a second application pattern of the alignment film on the second substrate when forming the material.
[0017]
In this electro-optical panel manufacturing method, the first substrate and the second substrate are arranged on the stage in the drawing direction of the droplet discharge means, and the alignment film material is applied. Can do. As a result, the characteristics of both the substrates can be further aligned, and an electro-optical panel with higher display quality can be manufactured by combining the first substrate and the second substrate on which the alignment film is formed in this way. .
[0018]
In addition, an electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention includes a droplet discharge head in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging an alignment film material are arranged at a predetermined pitch, and a first substrate constituting the electro-optical panel; When the stage on which the second substrate is placed in a direction perpendicular to the drawing direction of the droplet discharge means and the droplet discharge head forms the alignment film material on the first substrate, When the alignment film material is discharged from the plurality of nozzles based on the first application pattern of the alignment film on the first substrate and the droplet discharge head forms the alignment film material on the second substrate, And a controller that discharges the alignment film material from the plurality of nozzles based on a second application pattern of the alignment film on the second substrate.
[0019]
In this electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus, a first substrate and a second substrate are arranged on a stage in a direction perpendicular to the drawing direction of the droplet discharge means, and an alignment film material is applied. In this way, even when the drawing data of the alignment films of the first substrate and the second substrate are different, it is not necessary to switch the drawing data during one scan, so that drawing control becomes easy and the load on the control unit is small. it can. As a result, the productivity of the electro-optical panel can be improved.
[0020]
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an electronic device manufacturing method including a step of mounting the electro-optical panel manufactured by the electro-optical panel manufacturing method.
[0021]
In this electronic device manufacturing method, since the liquid crystal panel manufactured by the electro-optical panel manufacturing method is mounted, an electronic device with high image display quality can be manufactured. Further, since the alignment film material is applied by droplet discharge, the use efficiency of the alignment film material can be reduced to approximately 100% compared to the spin coating method, and the manufacturing cost of the electronic device can be reduced. Further, since the step of cleaning the back surfaces of the first and second substrates is not necessary, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of impurities and reduce display defects. In addition, since the backside cleaning of the substrate is unnecessary, the manufacturing time of the electro-optical panel can be shortened accordingly, and the cleaning liquid is also unnecessary.
[0022]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. In addition, constituent elements in the following embodiments include those that can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art or those that are substantially the same. In the following description, a liquid crystal panel will be described as an example of the electro-optical panel.
[0023]
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a schematic structure of an electro-optical panel manufactured by applying the present invention according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The electro-optical panel 100 is used for a three-plate liquid crystal projector. As shown in FIG. 1, the electro-optical panel 100 includes an element substrate 10a, which is a first substrate having a driving element 11 formed on the surface of a chip base 1Ca, and ITO formed on the surface opposed to the element substrate 10a. And the counter substrate 10b as the second substrate. An alignment film 16 such as polyimide is formed on the element substrate 10a and the counter substrate 10b by droplet discharge. The liquid crystal 12 is sealed by a sealing material 17 applied in the vicinity of the outer peripheral ends of both substrates. A spacer 13 is disposed between the element substrate 10a and the counter substrate 10b, and the distance t between the substrates is substantially constant over the entire surface.
[0024]
FIG. 1B shows an electro-optical panel 100 ′ for color display. The electro-optical panel 100 ′ includes a color filter substrate 10a ′, which is a first substrate having a color filter CF formed on the surface of a chip base 1Ca ′, and a counter substrate 10b, which is a second substrate disposed opposite thereto. The liquid crystal 12 is sealed between the two by the sealing material 17 applied in the vicinity of the outer peripheral ends of both substrates. A spacer 13 is disposed between the color filter substrate 10a ′ and the counter substrate 10b ′, and the distance t between the substrates is substantially constant over the entire surface. A color filter protective film 20 is formed of a transparent resin material on the color filter substrate 10a ′ to protect the color filter CF formed on the chip substrate 1Ca ′. On the color filter protective film 20, an alignment film 16 such as ITO 14 and polyimide is formed in this order. An alignment film 16 such as ITO 14 and polyimide is formed in this order on the chip substrate 1Cb ′ constituting the counter substrate 10b ′. All of the alignment films 16 are formed by droplet discharge.
[0025]
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. In the present invention, an alignment film is applied by droplet discharge, and in this embodiment, inkjet is used for droplet discharge. The electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus 50 includes a droplet discharge head 52 that is a droplet discharge unit and a stage 60. The alignment film material is supplied from the tank 56 to the droplet discharge head 52 through the supply tube 58. The alignment film material is obtained by dissolving polyimide resin or the like in glycerin, diethylene glycol, methanol, ethanol or other solvent. After the solvent in the protective film material is volatilized, the resin becomes the color filter protective film 20.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 2B, in the droplet discharge head 52, a plurality of nozzles 54 are arranged at a constant pitch P within an arrangement width H. Each nozzle 54 includes a piezo element (not shown), and discharges an alignment film material from an arbitrary nozzle 54 in accordance with a command from the processing unit 65 c provided in the control unit 65. The control unit 65 includes a storage unit 65m, and stores an alignment film material coating pattern, a control program for the droplet discharge head 52 and the stage 60, and the like. Further, by changing the drive pulse applied to the piezo element, the discharge amount of the alignment film material discharged from the nozzle 54 can be changed. The control unit 65 may use a personal computer or a workstation.
[0027]
Further, the droplet discharge head 52 can rotate around the rotation axis A with the rotation axis A perpendicular to the head center as the rotation center. As shown in FIG. 2D, when the droplet discharge head 52 is rotated around the rotation axis A to give an angle θ between the arrangement direction of the nozzles 54 and the X direction, the pitch of the nozzles 54 appears to be P. '= P × Sinθ. Thereby, the pitch of the nozzles 54 can be changed according to the application region of the alignment film material, the physical property value of the alignment film material, and other application conditions. The element substrate 10a and the like to which the alignment film material is applied are installed on the stage 60. The stage 60 can move in the Y direction (sub-scanning direction), and can rotate around the rotation axis B with the rotation axis B perpendicular to the center of the stage 60 as the rotation center.
[0028]
The droplet discharge head 52 reciprocates in the X direction (main scanning direction) in the drawing, and discharges the alignment film material onto the color filter substrate 10a with the arrangement width H of the nozzles 54 in the meantime. When the alignment film material is applied in one scan, the stage 60 moves by the arrangement width H of the nozzles 54 in the Y direction, and the droplet discharge head 52 discharges the liquid crystal to the next region. Here, when the region of the color filter substrate 10a to which the alignment film material is applied is smaller than the arrangement width H of the nozzles 54, the entire region to which the alignment film material is applied by one scan of the droplet discharge head 52 is applied. It is preferable to apply a liquid crystal. In this way, since the alignment film material can be applied to all areas where the alignment film material is applied without line breaks, display unevenness and quality defects can be reduced.
[0029]
The operation of the droplet discharge head 52, the discharge of the nozzle 54, and the operation of the stage 60 are controlled by the control unit 65. If these operation patterns are programmed in advance, it is easy to change the application pattern in accordance with the application region, the type of alignment film material, and other application conditions. By repeating the above operation, the alignment film material can be applied to the entire area of the color filter substrate 10a. Similarly, the alignment film material is discharged from the droplet discharge head 52 while the stage 60 is moving in the Y direction, and then the droplet discharge head 52 is moved by the array width H in the X direction to obtain the next region. It is also possible to discharge the alignment film material.
[0030]
In droplet discharge, it is necessary to stably discharge droplets of the alignment film material from the nozzle 54. For this reason, the alignment film material according to the present invention is adjusted to a physical property value suitable for droplet discharge. Specifically, the viscosity at 20 ° C. is 1 to 20 mPa · s, and the surface tension at 20 ° C. is 20 to 70 mN / m. The viscosity and the surface tension are adjusted to the above ranges by the mixing ratio of the solvent for dissolving the resin such as polyimide as the alignment film and the resin.
[0031]
Within this range, the alignment film material can be stably supplied to the nozzle 54, and the meniscus of the alignment film material at the outlet of the nozzle 54 is also stable. As a result, a liquid crystal alignment film material can be stably discharged from the nozzle 54, and a high-quality electro-optical panel with extremely reduced display unevenness can be manufactured. In addition, when the viscosity and surface tension are within the above ranges, the energy required for discharging the alignment film material does not increase unnecessarily, so that the discharge capacity of the piezoelectric element is not exceeded.
[0032]
As for the said viscosity and surface tension, the viscosity in 20 degreeC is 4-8 mPa * s, and the range whose surface tension in 20 degreeC is 25-35 mN / m is more preferable. Within this range, the liquid crystal can be supplied to the nozzle 54 more stably, and the meniscus of the liquid crystal at the outlet of the nozzle 54 is also stabilized. Accordingly, the droplets of the alignment film material discharged from the nozzle 54 are further stabilized, and a high-quality electro-optical panel can be manufactured.
[0033]
Furthermore, the contact angle α (see FIGS. 2B and 2C) between the alignment film material and the nozzle plate 54p which is a plate member is preferably in the range of 30 to 170 degrees. If the contact angle α between the alignment film material and the nozzle plate 54p is too small, the alignment film material is attracted to the nozzle plate 54p when the alignment film material is discharged from the nozzle 54. As a result, the position where the alignment film material droplets adhere to the color filter substrate 10a is shifted, and the alignment film material may adhere to the sealing material. When the contact angle α is within the above range, the alignment film material is not attracted to the nozzle plate 54p, and the alignment film material adheres to a predetermined position on the color filter substrate 10a. In order to adhere the alignment film material to a predetermined position more stably, the contact angle α is preferably 50 degrees or more, and more preferably 80 degrees or more.
[0034]
In order to keep the contact angle α between the alignment film material and the nozzle plate 54p within the above range, for example, the liquid repellent treatment is performed on the nozzle plate 54p. The liquid repellent treatment can be realized by coating the liquid repellent material on the nozzle plate 54p. As such a material, a silane coupling agent containing fluorine can be used. Further, the liquid repellency means that the nozzle plate 54p repels the alignment film material, and the process for reducing the wettability of the both is the liquid repellency process. Next, a method for manufacturing an electro-optical panel according to the present invention and a method for manufacturing an electronic apparatus including the method for manufacturing the electro-optical panel will be described.
[0035]
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing the electro-optical panel according to the first embodiment. This electro-optical panel manufacturing method is characterized in that the same droplet discharge head 52 is used to simultaneously form alignment films on both the element substrate 10a and the counter substrate 10b. On the stage 60, the base material 1a for the element substrate 10a and the base material 1b for the counter substrate 10b are alternately arranged in the drawing direction (X direction) of the droplet discharge head 52. Then, while the droplet discharge head 52 scans in the drawing direction, the alignment film material is discharged from the nozzle 54 of the droplet discharge head 52 to the chip substrates 1Ca and 1Cb on the substrate 1a and the substrate 1b.
[0036]
When applying the alignment film material to the chip substrate 1Ca to be the element substrate 10a (first substrate), the droplet discharge head 52 is arranged so that the alignment film material is applied in the alignment film pattern for the element substrate 10a. The nozzle 54 is controlled. Then, when applying the alignment film material to the chip substrate 1Cb to be the counter substrate 10b (second substrate), the droplet discharge head is applied so that the alignment film material is applied in the alignment film pattern for the counter substrate 10b. 52 nozzles 54 are controlled. This control is performed by the processing unit 65c (see FIG. 2) of the control unit 65, and the data of the alignment film pattern is switched during scanning of the droplet discharge head 52.
[0037]
The nozzles 54 of the droplet discharge heads 52 vary, and the electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus 50 also varies. Furthermore, environmental conditions may differ if the droplet discharge head 52 and the electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus 50 are different. In the manufacturing method according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the same droplet discharge head 52 is used and the alignment film is formed in the same process. That is, since the alignment film can be formed under the same coating conditions, the characteristics of the element substrate 10a and the counter substrate 10b can be made uniform. The electro-optical panel 100 with high display quality can be obtained by combining the element substrate 10a on which the alignment film is formed in this way and the counter substrate 10b. The electro-optical panel 100 manufactured in this way is particularly preferable for an image displayed on the electro-optical panel 100 enlarged on a screen, such as a liquid crystal projector, or a large-sized electro-optical panel. Next, a method for manufacturing the electro-optical panel according to Embodiment 1 and a method for manufacturing an electronic apparatus including the method for manufacturing the electro-optical panel will be described.
[0038]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a method for manufacturing an electro-optical panel and an electronic apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a method for manufacturing an electro-optical panel and an electronic apparatus according to the present invention. First, as shown in FIG. 4A, the driving element 11 is formed on the chip substrate 1Ca for the element substrate and the ITO 14 is formed on the chip substrate 1Cb by sputtering, photolithography, and etching. In addition, the light shielding region 18 is also formed on the chip base 1Ca (Step S101).
[0039]
Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, a substrate substrate 1a for forming a plurality of chip substrates 1Ca and a substrate 1b for a counter substrate for forming a plurality of chip substrates 1Cb are dropped into droplets. The discharge heads 52 are alternately arranged in the drawing direction and arranged on the stage 60, and an alignment film material is applied from the droplet discharge head (step S102). At this time, in order to improve the wettability between the drive element 11 and the ITO 14 and the liquid alignment film material, it is preferable to improve the wettability with respect to the alignment film material by performing a surface modification process on the drive element 11 and the like. This is because if the wettability is poor, the alignment film material tends to form droplets, and the alignment film material is not uniformly applied onto the drive element 11 or the like. In addition, the alignment film material does not easily penetrate between the drive elements 11, and bubbles may be generated in this portion, which may deteriorate the display image quality of the electro-optical panel. As the surface modification treatment, ultraviolet light irradiation by a UV lamp or oxygen plasma treatment can be applied. In particular, oxygen plasma treatment is preferable because the residue on the driving element 11 can be removed, and the quality of the alignment film is improved.
[0040]
After the alignment film material is applied, the solvent component is dried (step S103). In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4C, the element substrate base material 1a and the counter substrate base material 1b coated with droplets of the alignment film material are placed on the hot plate 67, The solvent in the alignment film material is volatilized. The drying is not limited to the hot plate 67, and drying may be performed by heating with an infrared heater or drying in an oven. In this manner, the solvent in the alignment film material is volatilized, and the alignment film 16 is formed on each of the chip substrates 1Ca and 1Cb on the element substrate base 1a and the counter substrate base 1b.
[0041]
Next, a rubbing process is performed on the formed alignment film 16 (step S104), and the electro-optical panel 100 is completed through a bonding process between the element substrate 10a and the counter substrate 10b and a liquid crystal injection process (step S105). As shown in FIG. 4E, a harness, an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) 7 or a driver IC 5 is mounted on the completed electro-optical panel 100 (step S106). Then, as shown in FIG. 5 (f), the electronic device is attached to an electronic device 9 such as a mobile phone or a PDA, thereby completing these electronic devices (step S107).
[0042]
As described above, according to the present invention, since the alignment film 16 can be formed on the element substrate 10a as the first substrate and the counter substrate 10b as the second substrate under the same coating conditions, the characteristics of both substrates can be made uniform. Then, by combining the two substrates on which the alignment film 16 is formed in this manner, the electro-optical panel 100 with high display quality can be manufactured. Further, since the alignment film material is applied by droplet discharge, the use efficiency of the alignment film material can be reduced to about 100% compared to the centrifugal removal method or the spin coating method, and the manufacturing cost of the electro-optical panel 100 is reduced. can do. Further, since the process of cleaning the back surfaces of the element substrate 10a and the counter substrate 10b as the second substrate is not necessary, adhesion of impurities onto the alignment film 16 can be suppressed and display defects can be reduced. Further, since the backside cleaning of the element substrate 10a and the like is not necessary, the manufacturing time of the electro-optical panel can be shortened accordingly, and the cleaning liquid is also unnecessary.
[0043]
(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing the electro-optical panel according to the second embodiment. The method of manufacturing the electro-optical panel has substantially the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, but the base material 1a for the element substrate 10a and the base material 1b for the counter substrate 10b are connected in the line feed direction of the droplet discharge head 52 ( A difference is that the alignment films are alternately formed in the Y direction and the alignment films are formed on both substrates by the same droplet discharge head 52. Since the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted, and the same component is denoted by the same reference numeral.
[0044]
On the stage 60, the substrate 1a for the element substrate 10a and the substrate 1b for the counter substrate are alternately arranged in the line feed direction (Y direction) of the droplet discharge head 52. Then, while the droplet discharge head 52 scans in the drawing direction, the alignment film material is discharged from the nozzle 54 of the droplet discharge head 52 to the chip substrates 1Ca and 1Cb on the substrate 1a and the substrate 1b.
[0045]
When applying the alignment film material to the chip substrate 1Ca to be the element substrate 10a (first substrate), the droplet discharge head 52 is arranged so that the alignment film material is applied in the alignment film pattern for the element substrate 10a. The nozzle 54 is controlled. Then, when applying the alignment film material to the chip substrate 1Cb to be the counter substrate 10b (second substrate), the droplet discharge head is applied so that the alignment film material is applied in the alignment film pattern for the counter substrate 10b. 52 nozzles 54 are controlled. This control is performed by the processing unit 65c (see FIG. 2) of the control unit 65. Since the substrates 1a and 1b are alternately arranged with respect to the line feed direction of the droplet discharge head 52, the processing unit 65c switches the data of the alignment film pattern for each scan of the droplet discharge head 52.
[0046]
Even with this configuration, since the alignment film can be formed under the same droplet discharge head 52 and the same environmental conditions, the element substrate 10a and the counter substrate 10b with uniform characteristics can be obtained. Then, by combining the element substrate 10a on which the alignment film is formed in this way and the counter substrate 10b, the electro-optical panel 100 with high display quality can be obtained. Further, even when the drawing data of the alignment films of the element substrate 10a and the counter substrate 10b are different, it is not necessary to switch the drawing data during one scan, so that drawing control becomes easy and productivity can be improved.
[0047]
In addition, the manufacturing method of the electro-optical panel and the electronic apparatus according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention can be realized by loading a program prepared in advance into the processing unit 65c of the control unit 65 and executing the program. it can. This program can also be distributed via a network such as the Internet. This program can also be executed by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium and loaded into the processing unit 65c of the control unit 65 via a predetermined interface. Here, the computer-readable recording medium refers to a portable medium such as a flexible disk (FD), CD-ROM, MO, or DVD, or a recording device such as a hard disk built in the computer system.
[0048]
(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a liquid crystal projector to which the electro-optical panel according to the present invention is applied. The liquid crystal projector 53 is a three-plate type, and the white light emitted from the light source 56 is converted into a dichroic mirror 52 for color separation. ₁ , 52 ₂ To separate the three colors R, G and B. Each separated light is reflected by a mirror 54. ₁ , 54 ₂ Then, the image is reflected on the electro-optical panel 100 in charge of each color and an image of each color is created. Each electro-optical panel 100 receives a drive signal from the driver 51 and turns on / off predetermined pixels to display an image. The driver 51 receives an image signal from the computer 62 and generates a drive signal for each electro-optical panel.
[0049]
R, G, B images created by each electro-optical panel 100 are dichroic mirrors 52 for color synthesis. _Three , 52 _Four Are sequentially overlapped to form a color image and projected onto the screen 61 by the projection lens 59. Since the electro-optical panel 100 included in the liquid crystal projector 53 is manufactured by the method for manufacturing an electro-optical panel according to the present invention, it has an alignment film formed under the same coating conditions. For this reason, since the element substrate 10a and the counter substrate 10b having uniform characteristics are combined, the display quality of the electro-optical panel 100 can be improved. For this reason, even when an image displayed on the electro-optical panel 100 is enlarged and projected on the screen 61, an image with high quality can be displayed.
(Application target of the present invention)
[0050]
As an electronic device to which the electro-optical panel according to the present invention can be applied, in addition to a mobile phone, for example, a portable information device called PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), a portable personal computer, a personal computer, a digital still camera, an in-vehicle device Uses electro-optical panels such as monitors, digital video cameras, LCD TVs, viewfinder type, monitor direct-view type video tape recorders, car navigation systems, pagers, electronic notebooks, calculators, word processors, workstations, video phones, POS terminals, etc. Equipment. Therefore, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied even to an electrical connection structure in these electronic devices.
[0051]
The electro-optical panel is a transmissive or reflective electro-optical panel, and an illumination device (not shown) is used as a backlight. The same applies to an active matrix color electro-optical panel. For example, in each of the embodiments described above, a passive matrix type electro-optical panel has been exemplified. However, as the electro-optical panel of the present invention, an active matrix type electro-optical panel (for example, a TFT (thin film transistor), The present invention can be similarly applied to an electro-optical panel including a TFD (thin film diode) as a switching element.
[0052]
The present invention can be applied not only to a liquid crystal display device as such an electro-optical panel, but also to an organic electroluminescence device, an inorganic electroluminescence device, a plasma display device, an electrophoretic display device, a field emission display device, and an LED (light emitting). The present invention can be similarly applied to various electro-optical devices capable of controlling the display state for each of a plurality of pixels, such as a diode display device. In particular, in an electroluminescence device (organic or inorganic), a full color display can be performed by setting the emission color to white and arranging a color filter in front of the device.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a schematic structure of an electro-optical panel manufactured by applying the present invention according to Embodiment 1. FIG.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.
3 is an explanatory view showing a method for manufacturing an electro-optical panel according to Embodiment 1. FIG.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a method for manufacturing an electro-optical panel and an electronic apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a method for manufacturing an electro-optical panel and an electronic apparatus according to the present invention.
6 is an explanatory view showing a method for manufacturing an electro-optical panel according to Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a liquid crystal projector to which the electro-optical panel according to the invention is applied.
[Explanation of symbols]
1a, 1b substrate; 1Ca, 1Cb chip substrate; 9 electronic device; 10a element substrate; 10a ′ color filter substrate; 10b counter substrate; 11 driving element; 12 liquid crystal; 16 alignment film; 100 electro-optic panel

Claims (8)

The alignment film material is discharged from the nozzles of the droplet discharge means in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging the alignment film material are arranged at a predetermined pitch, and the first substrate that constitutes the electro-optical panel and the first substrate that faces the first substrate In forming an alignment film on two substrates,
An electro-optical panel manufacturing method, wherein an alignment film is formed on both the first substrate and the second substrate by the same droplet discharge means. 2. The method of manufacturing an electro-optical panel according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate and the second substrate are arranged in a drawing direction of the droplet discharge means. 2. The method of manufacturing an electro-optical panel according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate and the second substrate are arranged in a direction perpendicular to a drawing direction of the droplet discharge means. The alignment film material is discharged from the nozzles of the droplet discharge means in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging the alignment film material are arranged at a predetermined pitch, and the first substrate that constitutes the electro-optical panel and the first substrate that faces the first substrate In forming an alignment film on two substrates,
An electro-optical panel manufacturing program that causes a computer to execute a procedure for forming an alignment film on both the first substrate and the second substrate by the same droplet discharge means. A stage on which the base material of the first substrate and the base material of the second substrate constituting the electro-optic panel are placed;
A droplet discharge head in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging alignment film material on the substrate are arranged at a predetermined pitch;
When the droplet discharge head forms the alignment film material on the first substrate, the alignment film material is discharged from the plurality of nozzles based on the first application pattern of the alignment film on the first substrate, When the droplet discharge head forms the alignment film material on the second substrate, control is performed to discharge the alignment film material from the plurality of nozzles based on the second coating pattern of the alignment film on the second substrate. And
An electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus comprising: A droplet discharge head in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging an alignment film material are arranged at a predetermined pitch;
A stage for placing the first substrate and the second substrate constituting the electro-optical panel toward the drawing direction of the droplet discharge means;
When the droplet discharge head forms the alignment film material on the first substrate during the scanning in the drawing direction of the droplet discharge head, it is based on the first coating pattern of the alignment film on the first substrate. When the alignment film material is discharged from the plurality of nozzles and the droplet discharge head forms the alignment film material on the second substrate, the alignment film material is applied to the second substrate based on the second coating pattern of the alignment film. A controller for discharging the alignment film material from the plurality of nozzles;
An electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus comprising: A droplet discharge head in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging an alignment film material are arranged at a predetermined pitch;
A stage for placing a first substrate and a second substrate constituting an electro-optic panel in a direction perpendicular to a drawing direction of the droplet discharge means;
When the droplet discharge head forms the alignment film material on the first substrate, the alignment film material is discharged from the plurality of nozzles based on the first application pattern of the alignment film on the first substrate, When the droplet discharge head forms the alignment film material on the second substrate, control is performed to discharge the alignment film material from the plurality of nozzles based on the second coating pattern of the alignment film on the second substrate. And
An electro-optical panel manufacturing apparatus comprising: An electronic device manufacturing method comprising a step of mounting the electro-optical panel manufactured by the electro-optical panel manufacturing method according to claim 1.

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