JP4604661B2 - Polarized light irradiation device for photo-alignment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a polarized light irradiation apparatus that performs optical alignment by irradiating polarized light to a photo-alignment film such as an alignment film of a liquid crystal display element or an alignment layer of a viewing angle compensation film using an ultraviolet curable liquid crystal.

In recent years, a technique called photo-alignment has been adopted in which alignment processing is performed by irradiating polarized light of a predetermined wavelength to the alignment film, for alignment processing of alignment films for liquid crystal panels and alignment layers for viewing angle compensation films. It is becoming.
Hereinafter, a film provided with an alignment film or alignment layer that performs alignment with light is generally referred to as a photo-alignment film. The photo-alignment film has been enlarged along with the enlargement of the liquid crystal panel, and the polarized light irradiation apparatus for irradiating the photo-alignment film with polarized light has also been enlarged.
In the above-mentioned photo-alignment film, for example, the viewing angle compensation film is a strip-like and long work, and is used after being oriented and cut into a desired length. Recently, the size of the panel has increased to match the size of the panel, and some have a width of 1500 mm.

In recent years, in order to perform photo-alignment on such a long strip-shaped photo-alignment film, a polarized light irradiation apparatus in which a rod-shaped lamp and a wire grid polarizing element are combined has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). reference).
FIG. 15 shows a configuration example of a polarized light irradiation apparatus having a polarizing means in which a rod-shaped lamp that is a linear light source and a wire grid polarizing element are combined.
A light irradiation unit 20 including a rod-shaped lamp 21 such as a high-pressure mercury lamp or a metal halide lamp, and a bowl-shaped condensing mirror 22 having an elliptical cross section for reflecting light from the lamp 21, the longitudinal direction of the lamp 21 is a workpiece 40. It arrange | positions so that it may become the width direction (perpendicular to a conveyance direction) of the photo-alignment film | membrane 41 formed on it. The light irradiation unit 20 is provided with a wire grid polarizing element 10. The wire grid polarizing element 10 has a rectangular shape with one side slightly longer than the light emission length of the lamp 21, and is provided such that its longitudinal direction coincides with the longitudinal direction of the lamp 21.

The rod-shaped lamp 21 is arranged so that its longitudinal direction coincides with the longitudinal direction of the bowl-shaped condenser mirror 22, and so that its cross section coincides with the first focal position of the elliptic bowl-shaped condenser mirror 22, The photo-alignment film 41 formed on the workpiece 40 is disposed at the second focal position of the bowl-shaped condenser mirror 22.
The workpiece 40 is, for example, a long continuous workpiece and is wound in a roll shape around the delivery roller R1, drawn out from the delivery roller R1, conveyed, and taken up by the take-up roller R2 under the light irradiation unit 20. It is done.
When the work 40 is conveyed under the light irradiation unit, the light alignment film 41 of the work 40 is irradiated with light from the rod-shaped lamp 21 polarized by the wire grid polarization means 10 to be subjected to a light alignment process.
Note that the wire grid polarizing element 10 is formed using a glass wafer as a substrate using a lithography technique or an etching technique, but there is a limit to the size of the substrate that can be processed by a processing apparatus such as a vapor deposition apparatus, a lithography apparatus, or an etching apparatus. There is also a limit to the size of the wire grid polarizing element cut out from the substrate. Therefore, for example, when a large polarizing element corresponding to a long rod-shaped lamp is required, a plurality of wire grid polarizing elements are arranged in a frame, and a wire grid polarizing element unit having a length corresponding to the lamp is provided. The polarizing element unit may be prepared and used as the wire grid polarizing element 10.

Details of the wire grid polarization element are disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4.
A schematic structure of the wire grid polarizing element 1 is shown in FIG.
16A is a perspective view, and FIG. 16B is a side view. As shown in FIG. 16A, a plurality of linear electric conductors 10a (for example, metal such as chromium or aluminum) whose length is much longer than the width. Lines, hereinafter referred to as grids) are arranged in parallel on a substrate 10b such as quartz glass. The pitch P of the electric conductor 10a is not more than the wavelength of incident light, preferably not more than 1/3.
When the polarizing element is inserted into the electromagnetic wave, the polarization (polarization) component parallel to the longitudinal direction of the grid 10a is mostly reflected and the orthogonal polarization (polarization) component passes.
As a feature of the wire grid polarization element, the dependency of the extinction ratio of the polarized light on the incident angle (the angle of light incident on the polarization element) is small, and even if it is diffused light such as light emitted from a rod-shaped lamp, the incident angle is If it is in the range of ± 45 °, polarized light having a good extinction ratio can be obtained.
Therefore, if the length of the rod-shaped lamp is provided corresponding to the width of the photo-alignment film and the photo-alignment film is moved relative to the polarized light irradiation device, in principle, one lamp is The photo-alignment treatment of a long photo-alignment film can be performed. Further, an optical element that makes the light from the lamp parallel light is not necessary, and the apparatus can be miniaturized.
JP 2004-163881 A JP 2004-144484 A JP 2002-328234 A Japanese translation of PCT publication No. 2003-508813

The alignment direction of the photo-alignment film depends on the direction of the polarization axis of the polarized light applied to the alignment film. Basically, it may be considered that the alignment occurs along the polarization axis method. On the other hand, the alignment direction generated in the photo-alignment film varies depending on the use and type of the alignment film, the type of the liquid crystal panel as a product, or the design rule of the liquid crystal panel manufacturer.
For example, in FIG. 15, (a) an orientation direction parallel to the workpiece conveyance direction, (b) an orientation direction perpendicular to the workpiece conveyance direction, and (c) an orientation direction of 45 ° oblique direction. Is required. Therefore, the polarized light irradiation device needs to be configured so that the direction of the polarization axis of the emitted polarized light can be rotated 360 °.
As means for changing the direction of the polarization axis, the above-mentioned Patent Document 2 proposes to change the direction (angle) in which the grids of the wire grid polarization elements are arranged with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lamp.

However, when the direction of the grid of the wire grid polarization element is actually changed with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lamp and the characteristics of the emitted polarized light are measured, when the direction of the grid is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lamp, It was found that the variation in the polarization axis is worse (the variation becomes larger) than when the grid is parallel or orthogonal to the lamp longitudinal direction.
When the variation of the polarization axis becomes large, for example, the contrast of the liquid crystal display element (liquid crystal panel) varies depending on the location, and there is a problem that it appears as unevenness. For this reason, the variation of the polarization axis on the light irradiation surface may be required to be ± 0.1 °.
17-19 show the relationship between the grid direction of the wire grid polarization element with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lamp and the variation of the polarization axis in the light irradiation region.
FIGS. 17 to 19 show the light irradiation surface when the light from the rod-shaped lamp is condensed by the bowl-shaped condenser mirror as shown in FIG. 15 and is irradiated onto the light irradiation surface through the wire grid polarizing element. Shows variations in the polarization axis in the lamp longitudinal direction and lamp cross-sectional direction. The white arrow in the figure indicates the direction of the polarization axis. The white area has a polarization axis variation of ± 0.5 ° or less, and the hatched region has a polarization axis variation of more than ± 0.5 °. It shows that.

FIG. 17 shows a case where the grid direction of the wire grid polarizing element is 0 ° (parallel) with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lamp and the polarized light in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lamp is irradiated.
FIG. 18 shows a case where the grid direction of the wire grid polarization element is 90 ° (orthogonal) with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lamp, and polarized light in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lamp is irradiated.
In either case, except for the peripheral portions at the four corners of the light irradiation region, there are a wide range of regions (outlined regions) where the variation of the polarization axis is ± 0.5 ° or less.
However, when the grid direction of the wire grid polarization element is provided so as to be orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lamp as shown in FIG. However, in both cases, when looking directly under the lamp, the region where the variation of the polarization axis is less than ± 0.5 ° extends to the full length of the lamp. An alignment treatment can be performed.
FIG. 19 shows a case where the grid direction of the wire grid polarization element is 45 ° with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lamp. 17 and 18 are compared with FIG. 19, it can be seen that the distribution of the variation of the polarization axis in the irradiation region is different.

In the case of FIG. 19, the region where the variation of the polarization axis is ± 0.5 ° or less is narrower than that of FIG. 17 or FIG. 18, and particularly in the longitudinal direction of the lamp, The region of about 1/3 at both ends with respect to the length cannot be used due to large variations. Therefore, the length of the lamp cannot be used effectively, and the photo-alignment process with a wide width cannot be performed.
This is another problem. When the direction of the grid of the polarizing element is oblique to the longitudinal direction of the lamp (if the grid is not perpendicular or parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lamp), the obtained polarized light is obtained. There is also a phenomenon in which the direction of the polarization axis is deviated from the grid angle. For example, in FIG. 19, the angle of the grid is 45 ° with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lamp, but the direction of the polarization axis in the region where the variation of the polarization axis is ± 0.5 ° or less is 51.5 ° to 52.5 °. Yes, it shifts by about 5 ° or more with respect to 45 °.
Therefore, when irradiating polarized light having an oblique polarization axis, the grid direction for obtaining the desired polarization axis direction must be obtained by preliminary experiments and calculations, and the procedure is very complicated. Become.
Therefore, the method of changing the grid direction of the wire grid polarizing element with respect to the lamp longitudinal direction can be used to cause the alignment film to generate an alignment direction parallel to or perpendicular to the transport direction. Other than that, it is difficult to use to cause oblique orientation.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and is a polarized light that combines a linear light source and a wire grid polarization element to irradiate a wide light alignment film with polarized light. In the irradiation apparatus, the alignment film can be oriented in a desired direction, and in particular, even if the orientation in the oblique direction is caused with respect to the longitudinal direction of the linear light source, the variation in the polarization axis An object of the present invention is to provide a polarized light irradiation apparatus for photo-alignment that can irradiate a small amount of polarized light.

In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, a light irradiation unit that emits light from a linear light source that is polarized by a wire grid polarizing element is emitted, and polarized light from the light irradiation unit is converted into the light irradiation unit. In the polarized light irradiation apparatus for photo-alignment that irradiates the alignment film that moves relative to the light irradiation unit, the light irradiation unit is arranged so that the relationship between the longitudinal direction of the linear rays and the grid direction of the wire grid polarization element does not change. The whole is rotatable with respect to the transport direction of the strip-shaped alignment film.
Here, the grid direction of the wire grid polarization element is fixed in a direction parallel to or perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the linear light source, which has a wide area with little variation in the polarization axis and does not cause a deviation in the polarization axis direction. deep. And when producing the orientation of a diagonal direction with respect to the conveyance direction of an orientation film, the light irradiation part which radiate | emits polarized light is rotated according to a desired orientation direction for every wire grid polarizing element.
Further, by using a linear light source having a length of at least √ (2) times (1.4 times) or more with respect to the width of the alignment film, even if the light irradiation part is rotated 45 °, the light The irradiation region can cover the entire width of the alignment film.
Furthermore, a bowl-shaped condensing mirror is built in the light irradiating unit, and the light irradiating unit is rotatably attached to a rotating shaft provided substantially in alignment with the surface of the alignment film. As a result, the light irradiation unit 20 rotates about the rotation axis 26a, so that the distance between the light irradiation unit 20 and the photo-alignment film 41 does not change no matter what angle the light irradiation unit 20 is tilted.

In this invention, since it comprised so that the whole light irradiation part might be rotated including a wire grid polarizing element, the direction of the grid of a wire grid polarizing element does not change with respect to the longitudinal direction of a linear light source. Therefore, even if the light irradiation unit is rotated, the variation in the polarization axis of the emitted polarized light does not change.
For this reason, it is possible to irradiate polarized light with little variation in the polarization axis even in an oblique direction with respect to the transport direction of the alignment film.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a polarized light irradiation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the light irradiation unit 20 has a rod-like lamp 21 such as a high-pressure mercury lamp or a metal halide lamp, which is a linear light source as in FIG. 15, and a bowl-like shape that reflects light from the lamp 21. A condenser mirror 22 is incorporated. A wire grid polarizing element 10 is provided on the light emitting side.
In the following, a rod-shaped lamp will be described as an example of a linear light source. However, in recent years, LEDs and LDs that emit ultraviolet light have been put into practical use, and such LEDs or LDs are arranged in a straight line. A linear light source may be used. In that case, the direction in which the LEDs or LDs are arranged corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the lamp.
Further, as materials for photo-alignment films, there are known materials that are aligned with light having a wavelength of 260 nm ± 20 nm, materials that are aligned with light of 280 nm to 330 nm, and materials that are aligned with light of 365 nm. The type is appropriately selected according to the required wavelength.
The direction of the grid 10a of the wire grid polarizing element 10 is arranged in a direction parallel to or perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the lamp with little variation in the polarization axis. In FIG. 1, the grid 10 a is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lamp 21.

Blocks 23 are attached to both sides of the light irradiation unit 20 in the longitudinal direction of the lamp 21, and support columns 24 are attached via the blocks 23. The column 24 is attached to a moving block 25 that moves on an arc-shaped rail 26. As the moving block 25 moves on the rail 26, the entire light irradiation unit 20 rotates.
The workpiece 40 on which the photo-alignment film 41 is formed is conveyed between the two struts 24. The rail 26 is provided on a plane parallel to the surface of the photo-alignment film 41, and the light irradiation unit 20 rotates around an axis orthogonal to the photo-alignment film to be conveyed.
The workpiece 40 may be a long strip-shaped workpiece wound around the roll shown in FIG. 15, or a rectangular shape shaped to the size of, for example, a liquid crystal panel on which the photo-alignment film 41 is formed. It may be a work.

When the workpiece is rectangular, the workpiece 40 is placed on the workpiece stage 42 as shown in FIG. 2, and the workpiece stage 42 is moved in the direction of the arrow while irradiating polarized light from the light irradiation unit 20, The photo-alignment process is performed on the photo-alignment film.
In FIGS. 15 and 2, when the light alignment film 41 of the work 40 is irradiated with polarized light and the light alignment process is performed, the work 40 may be continuously moved while irradiating the polarized light. You may irradiate polarized light, moving a work intermittently.
In the case of moving the workpiece intermittently, for example, after moving the workpiece 40 by a certain amount, the workpiece 40 is stopped and irradiated with polarized light, and then the irradiation of polarized light is stopped and the workpiece is moved by a certain amount. After that, the operation of stopping the work and irradiating the polarized light is repeated.
Further, instead of moving the work stage 42, the light irradiation unit 20 may be moved on the work 40 to perform the light alignment process of the work 40.

With reference to FIG. 3, the operation in the case where the optical alignment process is performed using the apparatus of this embodiment will be described.
In the case of FIG. 3A, the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped lamp 21 is orthogonal to the transport direction of the photo-alignment film 41.
As described above, the wire grid polarization element 10 emits polarized light having a component orthogonal to the grid direction. In the case of the figure, since the direction of the grid is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lamp, polarized light having a polarization axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lamp is emitted from the light emitting portion. Therefore, the alignment direction of the alignment film is orthogonal to the transport direction.
FIG. 3B shows a case where the light irradiation unit 20 is rotated by θ ° from the position of FIG. Since the whole light irradiation part is rotated, the relationship between the longitudinal direction of the lamp 21 and the direction of the grid 10a of the wire grid polarizing element 10 does not change. Therefore, the variation of the polarization axis does not change.
3B, similarly to FIG. 3A, polarized light having a polarization axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lamp 21 is emitted from the light emitting unit 20. Therefore, the orientation direction of the orientation film is obtained by tilting the orientation direction by θ ° with respect to FIG.

Further, as described above, the wire grid polarizing element 10 should be used without any problem since the region with little variation of the polarization axis is wide if the direction of the grid 10a is parallel or orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lamp 21. Can do.
Therefore, the wire grid polarizing element 10 is set so that the direction of the grid 10a can be switched to a parallel or orthogonal direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lamp 21, and the light irradiating unit 20 is provided as shown in FIGS. If the rotation can be at least ± 45 °, the alignment direction generated in the photo-alignment film can be set to any direction from 0 to 180 °.
However, in this case, the rod-shaped lamp is at least √ (2) times the width of the alignment film so that the light irradiation region can cover the entire width of the alignment film even if the light irradiation unit is rotated 45 °. It is necessary to use one having a length of 1.4 times or more.
In order to switch the direction of the grid of the wire grid polarization element, two types of wire grid polarization elements 10 having a grid direction different by 90 ° are prepared and exchanged. Further, as described above, when a polarizing element unit in which a plurality of wire grid polarizing elements are arranged in a frame is used, each polarizing element 10 is formed in a square shape, as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b). Thus, the polarizing element 10 may be rotated by 90 ° in the frame 11.

Next, another configuration example in which the light irradiation unit 20 is rotationally moved around an axis orthogonal to the photo-alignment film will be described.
FIG. 7 is a modification of the configuration shown in FIG. In the configuration of FIG. 1, the rail 26 and the block 25 that moves along the rail 26 are provided below the optical alignment film to be transported. However, in FIG. 7, the rail 26 is fixed by the support column 24. A moving block 25 that moves is attached to the light irradiation unit 20.
FIG. 8 shows another configuration example, and shows a configuration in which the light irradiation unit 20 is attached to a support via a rotary bearing and is rotatable. 4A is a view of the light irradiation unit 20 viewed from a direction perpendicular to the photo-alignment film 41, and FIG. 4B is a view of the light irradiation unit 20 viewed from a direction parallel to the photo-alignment film.
In this example, a rotary bearing 27 is provided in the upper center of the light irradiation unit 20, and the light irradiation unit 20 is suspended from above by the support 24 via the rotary bearing 27.
The light irradiation unit 20 rotates around an axis orthogonal to the photo-alignment film 41 by the rotary bearing 27. The light irradiation unit 20 is fixed at a desired position after rotation. A mechanism for fixing the light irradiation unit 20 is not shown in the figure, but is provided as appropriate.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration in which one end of the light irradiation unit can be rotated about a rotation axis. 4A is a view of the light irradiation unit 20 viewed from a direction perpendicular to the photo-alignment film 41, and FIG. 4B is a view of the light irradiation unit 20 viewed from a direction parallel to the photo-alignment film.
Both ends of the light irradiation unit 20 are supported by the support columns 24. At one end, the light irradiation unit 20 is attached via a rotary bearing 28a to be rotatable.
The other end is also attached to the support column 24 via a rotary bearing 28b, and a cylinder 30 that can be expanded and contracted is attached between the rotary bearing 28b and the light irradiation unit 20. The support 24 is attached to the straight rail 31 via the movable element 29.
When the moving element 29 moves on the straight rail 31, the light irradiation unit 20 rotates around the column 24 at the opposite end as the rotation axis. Although the position of the light irradiation unit 20 with respect to the column 24 changes due to the rotation, the change is absorbed by the expansion and contraction of the cylinder 30.

In any of the above-described embodiments, the polarized light from the light irradiating unit is basically perpendicularly incident on the photo-alignment film. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, it may be required to make polarized light incident obliquely on the photo-alignment film. This is performed, for example, in order to raise the liquid crystal to a predetermined angle (referred to as a pretilt angle) with respect to the photo-alignment film.
FIG. 11 shows a polarized light irradiation apparatus that can rotate the direction of the polarization axis with respect to the photo-alignment film and can be incident obliquely.
In the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the light irradiation unit 20 is rotatably attached to a block 23 that connects the light irradiation unit 20 and the support column 24 by a rotary bearing 32. The shaft 32a of the rotary bearing substantially coincides with the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the lamp provided in the light irradiation unit 20, and the light irradiation unit 20 rotates around the shaft 32a in the arrow direction in the figure.
Thereby, the light irradiation unit 20 can be rotated (oscillated) around an axis parallel to the surface of the photo-alignment film 41. Moreover, a fixing means for holding the light irradiation unit 20 in an inclined state is appropriately provided.
If it is desired to irradiate the polarized light obliquely, the light irradiating unit 20 is swung around the axis parallel to the photo-alignment film 41 by the rotary bearing 32 provided in the block 23 so that the optical axis is at a desired angle. Adjust so that

Here, as shown in FIG. 11, in the case where the light irradiation unit is inclined and incident obliquely, if the position of the rotary bearing does not move, the polarized light is incident perpendicularly to the photo-alignment film 41, and obliquely The distance from the lamp to the photo-alignment film 41 changes when the light is incident on the light. That is, the distance from the light irradiation part to the photo-alignment film 41 is longer when the light is incident obliquely than when the polarized light is incident vertically.
Therefore, it is conceivable to adopt the following configuration so that the distance does not change even when the light irradiation unit is inclined and light is incident obliquely.
(A) As shown to Fig.12 (a), the light irradiation part 20 is inclined like a pendulum, and the center of the lamp | ramp 21 of a light irradiation part is comprised so that it may move on the circular arc centering on a light irradiation surface.
(B) As shown in FIG. 12B, when the light irradiation unit 20 is tilted, the transport surface of the photo-alignment film 41 is brought closer to the light irradiation unit 20 so that the distance between the lamp 21 and the light irradiation surface becomes equal. .
(C) As shown in FIG. 12C, when the light irradiation unit 20 is tilted, the light irradiation unit 20 is brought closer to the photo-alignment film 41 so that the distance between the lamp 21 and the light irradiation surface becomes equal.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an apparatus in which the light irradiation unit can be brought close to the photo-alignment film when the light irradiation unit described with reference to FIG. 12C is tilted.
In FIG. 11, the two struts 24 that support the light irradiation unit 20 are formed in a cylindrical shape that expands and contracts, and the light irradiation unit 20 can be moved in the vertical direction in the figure.
Thus, when the light irradiation unit 20 is tilted, the support 24 is shortened so that the light irradiation unit 20 is brought closer to the photo-alignment film 41 and the distance between the light irradiation unit 20 and the photo-alignment film 41 is adjusted to be constant. be able to. Further, when the moving block 25 moves on the rail 26, the light irradiation unit 20 can be rotated (oscillated) around an axis parallel to the surface of the photo-alignment film 41.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an apparatus when the light irradiation unit 20 described with reference to FIG. 12A is tilted like a pendulum.
The light irradiation unit 20 is supported by two struts 24 having joint portions 33. The rotation axis 33a of the joint portion 33 substantially coincides with the surface of the photo-alignment film 41, and the light irradiation unit 20 swings on an arc centered on the rotation axis 33a.
As shown in FIG. 14A, the polarized light can be made to enter the photo-alignment film 41 vertically by making the light irradiation unit 20 upright. Further, as shown in FIG. 14B, the light irradiating unit 20 is tilted, so that the light alignment film 41 can be irradiated with polarized light from an oblique direction.
Since the light irradiation unit 20 rotates about the rotation axis 26a, the distance between the light irradiation unit 20 and the photo-alignment film 41 does not change regardless of the angle of the light irradiation unit 20. Further, when the moving block 25 moves on the rail 26, the light irradiation unit 20 can be rotated (oscillated) around an axis parallel to the surface of the photo-alignment film 41.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the polarized light irradiation apparatus of the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the polarized light irradiation apparatus in the case of irradiating polarized light to the workpiece | work which is not long strip | belt shape. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement in the case of performing a photo-alignment process using the polarized light irradiation apparatus shown in the Example of FIG. It is a figure (1) explaining that the alignment direction of a photo-alignment film can be set to arbitrary directions by inclining a light irradiation part +/- 45 degrees at the maximum. It is a figure (2) explaining that the alignment direction of a photo-alignment film can be set to arbitrary directions by inclining a light irradiation part +/- 45 degrees at the maximum. It is a figure explaining the change of the direction of a grid in the polarizing element unit which has arranged the polarizing element in the frame. It is a figure which shows the other structural example (1) which rotates and moves a light irradiation part. It is a figure which shows the other structural example (2) which rotates and moves a light irradiation part. It is a figure which shows the other structural example (3) which rotates and moves a light irradiation part. It is a figure which shows the case where a light irradiation part is inclined with respect to a photo-alignment film, and a polarized light enters diagonally. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the polarized light irradiation apparatus which can rotate the direction of a polarizing axis with respect to a photo-alignment film, and can make it incline. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the apparatus which kept the change of the distance of a lamp | ramp and a photo-alignment film even if it inclines a light irradiation part and injects light diagonally. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the apparatus which varied the distance of a light irradiation part and a photo-alignment film. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the apparatus which inclines a light irradiation part like a pendulum. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the polarized light irradiation apparatus which has a polarizing means which combined the rod-shaped lamp | ramp which is a linear light source, and a wire grid polarizing element. It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of a wire grid polarizing element. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the direction of the polarization axis with respect to the longitudinal direction of a lamp, and the dispersion | variation in the polarization axis in a light irradiation area | region (when the direction of a grid is parallel with the longitudinal direction of a lamp). It is a figure which shows the relationship between the direction of the polarization axis with respect to the longitudinal direction of a lamp, and the dispersion | variation in the polarization axis in a light irradiation area | region (when the direction of a grid is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of a lamp). It is a figure which shows the relationship between the direction of the polarization axis with respect to the longitudinal direction of a lamp, and the dispersion | variation in the polarization axis in a light irradiation area | region (when the direction of a grid is 45 degrees with respect to the longitudinal direction of a lamp).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Wire grid polarizing element 20 Light irradiation part 21 Bar-shaped lamp 22 A bowl-shaped condensing mirror 23 Block 24 Support | pillar 25 Moving block 26 Rail 27 Rotating bearing 28a, 28b Rotating bearing 29 Moving element 30 Cylinder 31 Rail 32 Rotating bearing 33 Indirect part 40 Workpiece 41 photo-alignment film 42 work stage

Claims (3)

A light irradiating unit that polarizes and emits light from a linear light source by a wire grid polarizing element, and irradiates polarized light from the light irradiating unit to an alignment film that moves relative to the light irradiating unit. A polarized light irradiation device for photo-alignment,
The direction of the grid of the wire grid polarization element of the light irradiation unit is fixed in a direction parallel to or orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the linear light source,
A mechanism for rotating the entire light irradiation unit around an axis orthogonal to the alignment film is provided ,
The rotating mechanism rotates the light irradiation unit together with the wire grid polarizing element without changing the relationship between the longitudinal direction of the linear light source and the grid direction of the wire grid polarizing element. Polarized light irradiation device for photo-alignment. 2. The polarized light for photo-alignment according to claim 1, wherein the linear light source has a length of at least √ (2) times (1.4 times) or more with respect to the width of the alignment film. Irradiation device. The light irradiation unit has a built-in bowl-shaped condenser mirror,
  The said light irradiation part is rotatably attached to the rotating shaft provided substantially coinciding with the surface of the alignment film, and can rock | fluctuate centering on this rotating shaft. Polarized light irradiation device for photo-alignment.

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