JP5019395B2 - Image forming method and image pattern - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention generally relates to an image forming method, an image forming apparatus, and an image pattern, and more specifically, patterning an interlayer insulating film for liquid crystal or a transparent conductive oxide film using a printing method. The present invention relates to an image forming method, an image forming apparatus for performing the image forming method, and an image pattern manufactured by the image forming method.

  Regarding the image forming method, the following Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-249696) discloses an image forming method that eliminates the ink stringing phenomenon in the printing method and obtains a high-quality printed material close to the photolithography method. The law is disclosed.

  In recent lithographic offset printing, a printing method using a waterless lithographic plate in which ink is selectively attached only to an image area without using dampening water has become mainstream. In this printing method, the non-image area of the printing plate is formed from a material having liquid repellency with respect to ink such as silicone rubber and fluorine compound.

  In general, a lithographic offset printing press includes a plurality of kneading rollers and an application roller for applying ink to the printing plate surface. The ink is uniformly spread by kneading between kneading rollers, and is applied to the printing plate surface via the application roller. The ink is further transferred from the printing plate to the transfer plate and from the transfer plate to the printing substrate, whereby a desired image pattern is formed on the printing substrate.

  At this time, since the ink is torn on both sides and transferred by cohesive failure, a stringing phenomenon occurs between the inks. When such a stringing phenomenon occurs, film thickness unevenness and volume unevenness occur in the image pattern after transfer, and therefore the stringing phenomenon causes deterioration in resolution and flatness of the image pattern.

  As a method for solving the deterioration in resolution and flatness due to the stringing phenomenon, an image forming method in which ink is divided / transferred using lyophilicity and liquid repellency to the ink can be considered. 9 to 12 are cross-sectional views showing the steps of the image forming method for preventing the ink stringing phenomenon.

  Referring to FIG. 9, in this image forming method, first, a cap coater, a die coater, a doctor blade, or the like is used on the surface of printing plate 100 on which ink lyophilic part 102 and ink lyophobic part 103 are formed. Thus, the ink layer 101 is formed.

  Next, referring to FIG. 10, an image transfer sheet 104 having a surface imparted with ink repellency is prepared, and this image transfer sheet 104 is pressed against the printing plate 100 through the ink layer 101. To do. Thereafter, by separating the image transfer sheet 104 from the printing plate 100, only the ink 101 that has been in contact with the ink lyophobic portion 103 is transferred onto the image transfer sheet 104 as an ink pattern 101a.

  Referring to FIG. 11, next, a substrate to be printed 105 is prepared, and this substrate to be printed 105 is brought into contact with and pressed against the image transfer sheet 104 via the transfer ink layer 101a. With reference to FIG. 12, the ink pattern 101 a on the image transfer sheet 104 is transferred onto the printing substrate 105 by separating the printing substrate 105 from the image transfer sheet 104. By adopting the steps shown in the above image forming method, a desired image pattern 101 a is formed on the substrate to be printed 105.

  However, in the above image forming method, there are two ink transfer steps: a first transfer step from the printing plate 100 to the image transfer sheet 104 and a second transfer step from the image transfer sheet 104 to the printing substrate 105. To be implemented. In this case, there is a risk that the amount of distortion of the finally obtained image pattern is increased by integrating the pressure distortion in each ink transfer process.

  In the second transfer process, the ink pattern 101a on the image transfer sheet 104 is an isolated pattern only in the image line portion. For this reason, the influence of distortion caused by pressing, particularly distortion due to force applied in a direction orthogonal to the pressing direction, becomes large, and it becomes difficult to form the image pattern 101a with high definition and high flatness.

  The occurrence of such a problem is that an upper layer image pattern is accurately formed on an arbitrary lower layer image pattern, that is, an image pattern needs to be laminated with high accuracy on a stepped surface. In a manufacturing process of an electronic device such as a semiconductor device or a light emitting element, it causes a decrease in device characteristics and a characteristic defect, leading to a decrease in yield and an increase in manufacturing cost.

Furthermore, since the above-described image forming method requires two ink transfer processes, an image pattern 101a is finally formed on the printing substrate 105 after the ink solution is applied onto the surface of the printing plate 100. It takes longer to be done. In this case, when the solvent which is the main component of the ink solution has a low boiling point and high volatility, the surface of the ink layer 101 is dried early. Accordingly, in the second transfer process, the ink pattern 101a may not be transferred from the image transfer sheet 104 to the substrate to be printed 105, and an image pattern may not be formed.
JP 2004-249696 A

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problem, and an image forming method in which an image pattern with high definition and high flatness is formed on a substrate to be printed, and an image pattern manufactured by the image forming method. Is to provide.

  In the image forming method according to the present invention, the ink-repellent pattern is formed on the substrate by applying the ink for forming the ink-repellent pattern to form the ink-repellent pattern having the substrate-side ink lyophilic portion and the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion. A pattern forming step, an ink layer applying step of forming an ink layer by applying an ink material on the lyophobic pattern, a transfer plate side ink lyophilic portion and a transfer plate side ink on the ink layer on the lyophobic pattern An adhesion step for closely attaching the transfer plate on which the liquid repellent portion is formed, and a transfer step for transferring the ink layer on the substrate-side ink liquid repellent portion to the transfer plate by peeling the transfer plate from the ink layer. And.

  Also, an arrangement of the substrate-side ink lyophilic portion and the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion formed on the substrate, and a transfer plate-side ink lyophobic portion and a transfer plate-side ink lyophilic portion formed on the transfer plate. The relationship is that the transfer plate-side ink lyophobic portion is provided at a position facing the substrate-side ink lyophilic portion, and the transfer plate-side ink lyophilic portion is provided at a position facing the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion. Yes.

  The image pattern based on the present invention is an image pattern formed by the image forming method.

  According to the image forming method and the image pattern based on the present invention, the substrate side ink lyophilic part and the substrate side ink lyophobic part formed on the substrate, the transfer plate side ink lyophobic part formed on the transfer plate, and The transfer plate side ink lyophilic part is provided with a transfer plate side ink lyophobic part at a position facing the substrate side ink lyophilic part, and the transfer plate side ink is located at a position facing the substrate side ink lyophobic part. A lyophilic part is provided.

  As a result, when the transfer plate is brought into close contact with the substrate provided with the ink layer, the entire area of the ink layer is sandwiched between the lyophilic portion and the liquid repellent portion. As a result, the entire amount of the ink layer in contact with the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion on the substrate is transferred from the substrate to the transfer plate, and the substrate has the ink layer in contact with the substrate-side ink lyophilic portion on the substrate. Since the entire amount remains, it is possible to prevent the ink layer from being transferred to another region and the ink from being divided.

  Also, since the ink layer transfer process necessary for pattern formation is one time, the distortion of the ink pattern and the misalignment caused when the transfer process is pressed are reduced as compared with the case where a plurality of transfer processes are performed. be able to.

  In addition, since the ink layer transfer process required for pattern formation is performed once, the time required from application of the ink material solution to formation of the final image pattern can be shortened. Accordingly, even ink having a short drying time can be used, and the application range of the printing process can be expanded.

  As a result, an image pattern having high definition and excellent flatness can be formed on the substrate. Thereby, it is possible to improve the performance of products such as a semiconductor device, an electric circuit, a display module, a color filter, and a light emitting element having an image pattern manufactured by using the image forming method of the present invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings referred to below, the same or corresponding members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description may not be repeated.

(Embodiment 1)
As an image forming method for solving the above problems, there are the following two image forming methods. The first image forming method is the method shown in FIGS. This image forming method is a method of forming a thin film pattern on a substrate 201 to be printed, and as shown in FIG. 13, a substrate to be printed on which an ink lyophilic portion 204 and an ink lyophobic portion 205 are formed. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the application step of applying the ink layer 202 on the material 201, and the transfer step of bringing the transfer plate 203 into contact with the ink layer 202 applied on the substrate 201 to be printed are included. .

  Here, the affinity of the transfer plate 203 is lower than the affinity of the ink lyophilic portion 204 on which the thin film pattern on the substrate 201 to be printed is to be formed, and the affinity of the ink lyophobic portion 205 on the substrate 201 to be printed. It is characterized by higher than affinity.

  According to the image forming method described above, the ink layer 202 simultaneously contacts the printing substrate 201 and the transfer plate 203 in the transfer step. At this time, the ink layer 202 adheres to a higher affinity and peels from the lower affinity. As a result, as shown in FIG. 16, the affinity of the ink lyophilic portion 204 for forming the thin film pattern on the substrate 201 to be printed is higher than the affinity of the transfer plate 203. Therefore, the ink layer 202 on the substrate 201 to be printed is peeled off from the transfer plate 203 and is in close contact with the ink lyophilic portion 204.

  On the other hand, since the affinity of the ink repellent part 205 on the substrate 201 to be printed is lower than the affinity of the transfer plate 203, the ink layer 202 on the ink repellent part 205 is The ink adheres to the transfer plate 203 and peels from the ink repellent part 205.

  Next, as a second image forming method, methods shown in FIGS. This image forming method includes a step of forming an ink layer 302 on the main surface of a substrate to be printed 301 as shown in FIG. 17, and an ink lyophilic portion 305 and an ink lyophobic as shown in FIGS. A step of pressing the transfer plate 303 having the transfer surface patterned with the part 304 and the substrate to be printed 301 in contact with each other through the ink layer 302, and as shown in FIG. A step of transferring the ink layer 302 in contact with the ink lyophilic portion 305 from the substrate to be printed 301 to the transfer plate 303 by separating the substrate to be printed 301 from each other.

  According to the image forming method configured as described above, the ink lyophobic portion 304 has lyophobicity with respect to the ink layer 302, and the ink lyophilic portion 305 has lyophilicity with respect to the ink layer 302. , The ink layer 302 that has been in contact with the ink lyophilic portion 305 can be selectively left on the printed substrate 301. As a result, a desired image pattern conforming to the pattern shape of the ink lyophobic portion 304 can be formed on the printing substrate 301.

  As described above, in both of the above two image forming methods, the transfer plates 203 and 303 are used only for removing the ink layers 202 and 302 unnecessary for forming the thin film pattern. High-precision alignment between the transfer plates 203 and 303 and the printing base materials 201 and 301 is not necessary. Therefore, the ink layers 202 and 302 can remain only in the ink lyophilic portion 305 where the thin film pattern is to be formed, and a good thin film pattern can be easily formed.

  Further, according to the above two image forming methods, the ink layers 202 and 302 are formed on the main surfaces of the printing substrates 201 and 301 during the pressing process of the transfer plates 203 and 303 and the printing substrates 201 and 301. Provided in its original form. For this reason, the influence which the ink layers 202 and 302 receive during the pressing process, particularly the distortion due to the force applied in the direction orthogonal to the pressing direction, is reduced, and a high-definition and highly flat image pattern is formed on the substrate to be printed. Making it possible.

  However, in the above two image forming methods, the higher the fine image formation, the closer the affinity is when the printing substrate 201, 301 and the transfer plate 203, 303 are in contact, that is, when the ink layers 202, 302 are transferred. It is preferable that the surfaces do not contact each other.

  For example, in the first image forming method described above, when the surfaces of the ink lyophilic portion 204 and the transfer plate 203 of the printing target substrate 201 having close affinity come into contact with each other, (i) on the printing target substrate 201 Problems arise, such as the entire amount of ink being transferred to the transfer plate 203, or (ii) the ink being divided and transferred to the transfer plate 203.

  This also occurs in the above-described second image forming method. In particular, when the amount of ink transferred from the printing substrate 201 or 301 to the transfer plate 203 or 303 is small, the above is a concern. As a result, it is difficult to form a high-definition and highly flat image pattern on the substrate to be printed.

(Embodiment 2)
1 to 5 are sectional views showing first to fifth steps showing steps of the image forming method according to the first embodiment based on the present invention. The image forming method in the present embodiment is an image forming method for forming an image pattern on the substrate 1 by a printing method.

  With reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, the basic steps of the image forming method in the present embodiment will be described first. In this image forming method, a substrate-side ink lyophilic portion 3 having affinity for ink on a main surface of a substrate 1 as a substrate to be printed, and a substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4 having repulsion for ink. And a first step of forming the ink layer 2 on the substrate 1 on which the substrate-side ink lyophilic portion 3 and the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4 are formed. A second step (FIG. 2).

  Further, a transfer plate 5 having a transfer surface on which a transfer plate-side ink lyophilic portion 7 having affinity for the ink layer 2 and a transfer plate-side ink lyophobic portion 6 having repulsion with respect to ink are patterned. And the substrate 1 on which the substrate-side ink lyophilic part 3 and the substrate-side ink lyophobic part 4 are formed are pressed while being in contact with each other via the ink layer 2 (FIGS. 3 and 4). And a fifth step (FIG. 5) for transferring the ink layer 2 in contact with the substrate-side ink lyophilic part 3 from the substrate 1 to the transfer plate 5 by separating the transfer plate 5 and the substrate 1. .

  As clearly shown in FIG. 4, the substrate-side ink lyophilic portion 3 and the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4 formed on the substrate 1, and the transfer-plate-side ink lyophobic portion 6 and the transfer-plate side formed on the transfer plate 5. The arrangement relationship with the ink lyophilic part 7 is such that the transfer plate side ink lyophobic part 6 is provided at a position facing the substrate side ink lyophilic part 3 and the transfer plate side is located at a position facing the substrate side ink lyophobic part 4. An ink lyophilic part 7 is provided.

  Subsequently, each step of the image forming method in the present embodiment will be described in detail. First, referring to FIG. 1, substrate 1 is formed of a material selected from, for example, glass, silicon, silicon oxide, quartz, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polyether sulfone, and polyimide film.

  In the first step shown in FIG. 1, the adjustment of the affinity for the ink layer on the substrate 1 will be described. As used herein, the term “affinity” is intended to indicate the property of a substance to selectively bind to a specific substance, and in one aspect the terms “adhesion” or “adhesion”. Used interchangeably.

  As described above, the substrate 1 is adjusted so that the affinity of the substrate-side ink lyophilic portion 3 is higher than the affinity of the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4. For this adjustment, it is obvious that at least one of the process of improving the affinity of the substrate-side ink lyophilic part 3 and the process of reducing the affinity of the substrate-side ink lyophobic part 4 may be performed. .

  Specifically, it can be performed on the substrate 1 by changing the lyophobic property, the surface roughness, or the wettability by using a known modification treatment. Further, a substance different from the substrate 1 may be formed.

  For example, the affinity of the substrate-side ink lyophobic part 4 with respect to ink can be reduced by performing the lyophobic treatment only on the substrate-side ink lyophobic part 4 by a method described later. As the liquid repellent treatment, a known liquid repellent treatment such as silane coupling treatment or fluorine plasma treatment is used. As a result, the film thickness of the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4 formed on the surface of the substrate 1 is about 10 nm or less. The size of the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4 is formed in accordance with a desired image pattern, but is particularly effective for an image pattern in which a large area pattern is formed on the substrate 1 in the printing process of the present invention. It is. For this reason, the size of the substrate-side ink lyophobic part 4 is preferably 20 μm or less. As an example of this image pattern, an interlayer insulating film or a transparent conductive film in a TFT process for liquid crystal may be used.

  In one embodiment, in the modification step, light such as UV is irradiated only on a specific region in order to perform the modification treatment only on the specific region. An existing exposure apparatus or the like can be used for the light irradiation. For example, if the UV light has a wavelength of 180 nm to 300 nm, the surface of the irradiated region can be deteriorated, so that the affinity of the region for the material solution can be changed. Although UV light having a wavelength of 180 nm or less can also be used for the modification treatment, it is preferable to perform the treatment in a vacuum because the attenuation due to absorption in the atmosphere is large. If an exposure mask or the like is used, it is possible to easily irradiate light only to a specific region on the substrate 1, and it is possible to form an ink repellent portion that conforms to a desired print pattern.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, an ink layer 2 is formed on the substrate 1 by applying a liquid ink material (ink solution) to the substrate 1 on which the substrate-side ink lyophilic portion 3 is formed. To do. Examples of the ink material include transparent conductive materials such as In and SnO ₂ indium tin oxide (ITO) in the TFT process of liquid crystal, or interlayer insulating materials such as polyimide resins, acrylic resins, and fluorine resins. It is not limited to. The ink layer 2 is formed on the entire surface of the substrate 1. The ink layer 2 is formed on the substrate 1 so as to extend continuously in a plane. The method for applying the ink material to the substrate 1 is not particularly limited, and various methods such as a bar coating method, a slit coating method, a spin coating method, a dip coating method, and a casting method are used.

The ink material includes a solid content of the ink and a solvent. The solid content is selected from various conductive materials or insulating materials according to the characteristics required for the target image pattern. Examples of solids include fine particles of metals or metal oxides such as silver, gold, copper, ITO, SiO ₂ and TiO ₂ , organic resins such as polyimide, acrylic and fluororesin, SOG (spin-on glass) Etc. The solvent is not particularly limited as long as it can disperse or dissolve the solid content, and examples thereof include dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, isopropyl acetate, and propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate.

  3 to 5, transfer plate 5 has a transfer surface. On the transfer surface, a transfer plate side ink lyophobic portion 6 and a transfer plate side ink lyophilic portion 7 are formed. The transfer plate-side ink lyophilic portion 7 is preferably close to the size of the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4 formed on the substrate 1. The transfer plate side ink lyophilic portion 7 is formed on the entire transfer surface except for the transfer plate side ink lyophobic portion 6.

  The transfer plate 5 needs to adhere to the substrate 1 following the surface shape of the substrate 1. Therefore, the transfer plate-side ink lyophilic portion 7 is patterned as a transfer plate 5 on a laminate of a cushion layer material such as urethane resin or woven fabric and a surface layer constituting the transfer plate-side ink lyophobic portion 6. It is preferable to use what was done.

  The material forming the transfer plate-side ink lyophobic portion 6 and the transfer plate-side ink lyophilic portion 7 is such that the surface of the substrate-side ink lyophilic portion 3 on the substrate 1 has an affinity for ink (adhesion, adhesive strength). The surface of the transfer plate side ink lyophilic portion 7 on the transfer plate 5 is the next largest, the surface of the substrate side ink lyophobic portion 4 on the substrate 1 and the transfer plate side ink lyophobic portion 6 on the transfer plate 5. Is selected to have the smallest surface.

  The affinity between the surface of the substrate-side ink lyophobic part 4 on the substrate 1 and the surface of the transfer plate-side ink lyophobic part 6 on the transfer plate 5 is not particularly limited. For example, a silicone resin rubber or a fluororesin rubber can be used as the transfer plate-side ink lyophobic portion 6 on the transfer plate 5. Since these materials have both high liquid repellency and high mold releasability, it is possible to realize transfer of the entire amount of ink in the process shown in FIG. Further, as the transfer plate-side ink lyophilic portion 7 on the transfer plate 5, a resist resin can be used.

  Other examples of the material forming the transfer plate-side ink lyophobic portion 6 on the transfer plate 5 include polymers such as dimethylsiloxane, methylvinylsiloxane, methylfluorovinylsiloxane, or methylphenylvinylsiloxane, or these polymers. , Nitrile butadiene rubber (hereinafter referred to as “NBR”), ethylene propylene diene monomer (hereinafter referred to as “EPDM”) or styrene butadiene rubber (hereinafter referred to as “SBR”) and a copolymer system, or NBR, EPDM or SBR, etc. Examples include rubber members mixed with silicon oil, etc. Also, organic materials such as glass, silicon, silicon oxide, quartz, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polyethersulfone, or polyimide film. Surface fat material or metal, rubber, those treated release with a release agent to the surface of the resin or ceramic or the like.

  Other examples of the transfer plate-side ink lyophilic portion 7 on the transfer plate 5 include organic materials such as glass, silicon, silicon oxide, quartz, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polyethersulfone, and polyimide film. Resin material, metal, rubber, resin, and ceramic are mentioned.

  3 and 4, the substrate 1 is transferred to the transfer plate 5 so that the transfer plate-side ink lyophilic portion 7 on the transfer plate 5 and the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4 on the substrate 1 face each other. Position with respect to. Arrangement of substrate-side ink lyophilic portion 3 and substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4 formed on substrate 1, and transfer plate-side ink lyophobic portion 6 and transfer plate-side ink lyophilic portion 7 formed on transfer plate 5 The relationship is that a transfer plate side ink lyophobic part 6 is provided at a position facing the substrate side ink lyophilic part 3, and a transfer plate side ink lyophilic part 7 is provided at a position facing the substrate side ink lyophobic part 4. ing. Next, the substrate 1 and the transfer plate 5 are pressed while bringing the transfer plate 5 into contact with the ink layer 2 formed on the substrate 1.

  In the process shown in FIG. 5, the transfer plate 5 and the substrate 1 are separated by separating the substrate 1 and the transfer plate 5. At this time, the entire amount of the ink layer 2 in contact with the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4 on the substrate 1 is transferred from the substrate 1 to the transfer plate 5, and the substrate-side ink lyophilic portion on the substrate 1 is transferred to the substrate 1. The total amount of the ink layer in contact with 3 remains.

  Thereafter, the substrate 1 is subjected to a baking process suitable for each ink material, thereby evaporating the solvent contained in the ink layer 2 and solidifying the solid matter of the ink layer 2. Through the above steps, a desired image pattern 2 is formed on the substrate 1.

  Finally, in order to improve the characteristics of the image pattern 2 formed on the substrate 1, it is preferable to remove the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4 on the substrate 1. When a well-known liquid repellent process such as a silane coupling process or a fluorine plasma process is used as the liquid repellent process, only the substrate-side ink liquid repellent part 4 on the substrate 1 can be removed by the UV process using the exposure apparatus. Since the material of the substrate-side ink lyophobic part 4 formed on the substrate 1 is difficult to remove with UV light when the film thickness is 10 nm or more, the silane coupling has a film thickness of 10 nm or less. It is preferable to remove the agent. However, the method of removing only the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4 is not limited to the above, and dry etching or the like may be used.

  According to the image forming method in the present embodiment, since the ink transfer process necessary for pattern formation is one time, the ink pattern generated when the transfer process is pressed is compared with the case where a plurality of transfer processes are performed. Distortion and misalignment can be reduced.

  Further, at the time of the transfer process from the substrate 1 to the transfer plate 5, the ink layer 2 is provided not in the form of an isolated pattern but in a form covering the entire surface of the substrate 1. For this reason, distortion (particularly distortion in a direction perpendicular to the pressing direction) that is applied during the transfer process can be effectively suppressed.

  Further, since the transfer process of the ink layer 2 necessary for pattern formation is one time, the time required from the application of the ink material solution to the formation of the final image pattern can be shortened. Accordingly, even ink having a short drying time can be used, and the application range of the printing process can be expanded.

  According to the image forming method in the embodiment of the present invention described above, the entire amount of the ink layer 2 in contact with the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4 on the substrate 1 is transferred from the substrate 1 to the transfer plate 5, Since the entire amount of the ink layer that has been in contact with the substrate-side ink lyophilic portion 3 on the substrate 1 remains on the substrate 1, the image pattern 2 having high definition and excellent flatness can be formed on the substrate 1. . As a result, it is possible to improve the performance of products such as semiconductor devices, electrical circuits, display modules, color filters, and light-emitting elements manufactured using the image forming method in this embodiment. In addition, since the ink transfer process only needs to be performed once, the time required from the application of the ink material solution to the formation of the final image pattern can be shortened.

  The image forming method according to the embodiment of the present invention that exhibits such actions and effects can be applied to applications that require the formation of a highly flat film such as a liquid crystal TFT array or an interlayer insulating film of a semiconductor device, or an ink that is extremely dry. It is preferably applied to a process using a material.

(Example)
Next, examples and comparative examples performed to verify the operation and effect of the image forming method according to the present embodiment will be described. 6 and 7 are part of a plan view showing the surface of the substrate 1 and the transfer surface of the transfer plate 5 used in the examples. Referring to FIG. 1, a substrate obtained by forming a SiN film on a glass substrate (hereinafter referred to as an SiN substrate) is applied, and a fluorine-based silane coupling agent is applied onto the SiN substrate by a spin coater, and then a photomask is used. As a result of irradiating UV light through the silane coupling agent, only the region irradiated with light was decomposed. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 6, the size of the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4 on the surface of the SiN substrate was 20 μm × 20 μm, and other than that, the SiN substrate-side ink lyophilic portion 3 was formed. This SiN substrate can be formed using CVD or the like. As shown in FIG. 7, the size of the transfer surface on the transfer plate 5 was set to 30 μm × 30 μm in consideration of alignment in the transfer process.

  2 to 6, an ink material was applied on the surface of the substrate 1 using a slit coater to form an ink layer 2 having a thickness of about 1.5 μm. Thereafter, the pattern film was irradiated with UV light to remove the silane coupling agent. As ink materials, CF (color filter) ink (green) and Ag nanoparticle-dispersed ink were used.

  Next, the substrate-side ink lyophilic portion 3 and the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion 4 formed on the surface of the substrate 1, and the transfer-plate-side ink lyophilic portion 7 and the transfer-plate-side ink repellency formed on the transfer surface of the transfer plate 5. FIG. 8 shows the strength of the affinity (adhesion, adhesion strength) of the liquid part 6 to the CF ink (green) and the Ag nanoparticle-dispersed ink. The affinity for the CF (color filter) ink (green) used in the examples and comparative examples was compared with the Ag nanoparticle-dispersed ink.

  First, a sample piece of each square material having a side of 50 mm was prepared. Next, two arbitrary types of sample pieces were selected, and after applying ink to one of the sample pieces, both sample pieces were brought into contact with each other. Thereafter, the sample pieces were pulled apart to observe which sample piece the ink was attached to. Shown in each column are sample pieces to which ink has been applied before contact.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the affinity for the ink decreased in the order of SiN substrate, resist resin (transfer surface), fluorine-based silane coupling agent (substrate surface), and silicone resin (transfer surface) (fluorine-based silane cup). Ring agent (substrate surface) and silicone resin (transfer surface) are in the same order).

  Considering together with the result of the comparative example, as in the example, the affinity for ink is substrate side ink lyophilic part 3 (substrate surface)> transfer plate side ink lyophilic part 7 (transfer surface)> substrate side ink. It can be assumed that an appropriate image pattern can be formed under the conditions of the liquid repellent part 4 (substrate surface) and the transfer plate side ink liquid repellent part 6 (transfer surface).

  Referring to FIG. 8, it can be predicted that both sides should not come into contact with each other during the pressing step because the difference in affinity between the SiN substrate and the resist resin (transfer surface) is small. For this reason, in order to obtain a desired image pattern with low adhesion in the transfer process, it is necessary to appropriately pattern the ink lyophilic portion and the ink lyophobic portion on the substrate surface and the transfer surface. Further, from the above affinity relationship, the condition for transferring the ink to the transfer plate is that only the transfer from the ink lyophobic portion on the substrate surface to the ink lyophilic portion on the transfer surface is established.

  An image pattern could be formed on the surface of the substrate 1 in each of the case where the CF ink (green) was used and the case where the Ag nanoparticle dispersed ink was used. Next, the pattern line and film thickness of the image pattern were measured. As a result, when the CF ink (green) is used, the pattern line is 10 ± 1 μm and the film thickness is 1.2 μm. When the Ag nanoparticle dispersed ink is used, the pattern line is 10 ± 1.5 μm and the film thickness. Was 1.0 μm. Further, when the surface flatness of the top surface of the image pattern was measured, the surface flatness was about 0.1 μm or less in both cases where the CF ink (green) and the Ag nanoparticle-dispersed ink were used.

  For comparison, an image pattern was formed according to the steps of the image forming method shown in FIGS. 9 to 12, and the pattern line, film thickness, and surface flatness of the obtained image pattern were measured. The ink material to be used, the coating film thickness, and the image pattern formation conditions were the same as in the case of the above example. As a result of measurement, when CF ink (green) is used, the pattern line is 10 ± 3 μm and the film thickness is 1.2 μm. When Ag nanoparticle dispersed ink is used, the pattern line is 10 ± 3 μm and the film thickness is It was 1.0 μm. In both cases where the CF ink (green) and the Ag nanoparticle-dispersed ink were used, the surface flatness was about 0.3 μm to 0.5 μm.

  According to the verification by the above examples and comparative examples, according to the image forming method in the present embodiment, it was confirmed that the variation in the pattern lines of the obtained image pattern was reduced and the surface flatness of the image pattern was improved. .

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a first step of the image forming method in Embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a second step of the image forming method in Embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a third step of the image forming method in Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a fourth step of the image forming method in Embodiment 1. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a fifth step of the image forming method in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a top view which shows the surface of the board | substrate used in the Example. It is a top view which shows the transfer surface of the transfer plate used in the Example. CF ink (green) on the substrate-side ink lyophilic portion and substrate-side ink lyophobic portion formed on the substrate surface, and on the transfer plate-side ink lyophilic portion and transfer plate-side ink lyophobic portion formed on the transfer surface of the transfer plate ) And the Ag nanoparticle-dispersed ink (the adhesion and adhesion strength). It is sectional drawing which shows the 1st process of the 1st image forming method shown to background art. It is sectional drawing which shows the 2nd process of the 1st image forming method shown in background art. It is sectional drawing which shows the 3rd process of the 1st image forming method shown in background art. It is sectional drawing which shows the 4th process of the 1st image forming method shown in background art. It is sectional drawing which shows the 1st process of the 2nd image forming method shown in background art. It is sectional drawing which shows the 2nd process of the 2nd image forming method shown in background art. It is sectional drawing which shows the 3rd process of the 2nd image forming method shown in background art. It is sectional drawing which shows the 4th process of the 2nd image forming method shown in background art. It is sectional drawing which shows the 1st process of the 3rd image forming method shown in background art. It is sectional drawing which shows the 2nd process of the 3rd image forming method shown in background art. It is sectional drawing which shows the 3rd process of the 3rd image forming method shown in background art. It is sectional drawing which shows the 4th process of the 3rd image forming method shown in background art.

Explanation of symbols

  1 substrate, 2 ink layer, 3 substrate side ink lyophilic part, 4 substrate side ink lyophobic part, 5 transfer plate, 6 transfer plate side ink lyophobic part, 7 transfer plate side ink lyophilic part.

Claims (6)

A lyophobic pattern forming step of applying an ink for forming a lyophobic pattern on a substrate to form a lyophobic pattern having a substrate side ink lyophilic portion and a substrate side ink lyophobic portion;
An ink layer application step of forming an ink layer by applying an ink material on the repellent pattern;
An adhesion step in which a transfer plate-side ink lyophilic portion and a transfer plate-side ink lyophobic portion are formed on the ink layer on the lyophobic pattern;
A transfer step of transferring the ink layer on the substrate-side ink lyophobic part to the transfer plate by peeling the transfer plate from the ink layer,
The positional relationship between the substrate-side ink lyophilic portion and the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion formed on the substrate and the transfer plate-side ink lyophobic portion and the transfer plate-side ink lyophilic portion formed on the transfer plate is as follows: The transfer plate side ink lyophobic part is provided at a position facing the substrate side ink lyophilic part, and the transfer plate side ink lyophilic part is provided at a position facing the substrate side ink lyophobic part. Image forming method.   The image forming method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of removing the substrate-side ink lyophobic portion formed on the substrate after the transfer step.   The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the ink layer is formed using an ink including an interlayer insulating film or a transparent conductive oxide film.   4. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the size of the substrate-side ink lyophobic part is a rectangle having a side of 20 [mu] m or less.   The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the substrate-side ink liquid repellent portion is 10 nm or less.   An image pattern manufactured by the image forming method according to claim 1.

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