JP5157348B2 - Discharge pattern generation method, color filter and organic functional element manufacturing method using the same, and discharge pattern generation apparatus used therefor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a discharge pattern generation method and a discharge pattern generation apparatus for discharging a high-definition pattern, and relates to a method for manufacturing a color filter and a method for manufacturing an organic functional element. The present invention relates to an inkjet discharge apparatus suitable for discharging droplets.

  The substrate size of color filters is increasing year by year. Conventionally, a pigment dispersion method that repeats the photolithography process has been used, but in order to reduce the cost of the color filter, the number of processes has been reduced in recent years, and each colored layer of the color filter can be formed simultaneously. A method using an ink jet apparatus has been studied.

  As a method for producing a color filter using an ink jet apparatus, a method of forming each colored layer by discharging colored ink corresponding to each color of the color filter from the nozzles of the ink jet nozzle head to the openings partitioned by the partition walls is generally used. Is. At this time, the color unevenness of the color filter is reduced as the variation in the amount of ink discharged and filled into each opening is smaller, and a high-quality color filter can be manufactured.

  On the other hand, color filters tend to be miniaturized year by year due to higher resolution of image display devices and the like, and higher definition. As the pixels of the color filter become finer, the pattern pitch to be applied by the ink jet becomes narrower. Therefore, it is necessary to control the amount of ink discharged from the ink jet nozzle head with high accuracy so as to be small and uniform. For this reason, in the manufacturing method of the color filter using an inkjet apparatus, the method of accumulating a some inkjet nozzle head and improving the resolution is examined.

  However, since the amount of ink ejected from the inkjet nozzle head varies from nozzle to nozzle, the ejection amount may vary. In particular, in the case of an ejection device aiming at high resolution in which a plurality of inkjet nozzle heads are stacked, the amount of ink ejected from one nozzle is extremely small, so the variation is relatively large. End up.

  In this case, even if the same number of inks are ejected from each nozzle in order to fill each opening with the same amount of ink, there is a difference in the final ink filling amount due to variations in each nozzle. As a result, the color unevenness between the pixels is a cause of lowering the quality and yield of the color filter.

  As a result, since the discharge amount to each partition opening (hereinafter referred to as cell) discharged by the combination of the same nozzle headset is substantially equal, the discharge pattern line (hereinafter referred to as cell line) formed by the same nozzle headset. Then, the difference in the discharge amount between the cell lines formed by the different nozzle headsets becomes the average total liquid amount of the ink, and due to the variation, the color unevenness appears visually.

  To solve such problems, for example, a circuit device that can change the drive voltage value for each nozzle is incorporated as a means to suppress discharge variation for each nozzle, and the ideal discharge amount is compared with the actual discharge amount to adjust the discharge amount. A method of reducing the unevenness by doing so is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  However, as shown in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, in order to change and correct the drive voltage value for each nozzle, in the case of variation of each nozzle, when adjacent nozzles are discharging at the same timing, or when not discharging It is necessary to grasp all the effects of adjacent crosstalk with different discharge amounts. For this reason, there is a problem of using enormous amounts of time and materials because the discharge is performed many times, the measurement is repeated, and the operation is performed until there is no discharge variation of each nozzle.

  A similar problem is that an organic EL element in which a partition wall is previously formed on a substrate and one or more organic functional layers are stacked in an opening thereof, or an organic functional element such as an organic solar cell is formed using an inkjet method. It also occurs when manufactured. For example, in an organic EL element, when organic functional ink is discharged from a discharge device and unevenness or variation occurs in the formed light-emitting layer, the organic EL element becomes conspicuous in uneven emission or variation as a whole. End up.

The known literature is described below.
JP 2004-90621 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. After measuring the discharge amount for each nozzle, the unevenness due to the discharge variation for each nozzle is corrected without changing the drive voltage by correcting the variation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a discharge pattern generation device capable of producing a high-quality color filter and organic functional element that does not cause quality degradation.

The configuration of the present invention for solving the above problems is shown below.
(Claim 1)
An ejection pattern generation method for forming a large number of pixel portions on a substrate by ejecting ink from a plurality of nozzles of an inkjet head into a large number of patterned openings formed in advance on the substrate. Forming an opening pattern of
Based on the pattern shape of the opening, a step of selecting an effective nozzle to be used for ejection among nozzles belonging to the inkjet head; and
Obtaining a drop number of ink to be applied to the opening from the effective nozzle based on a theoretical liquid amount of ink to be applied to the opening;
Measuring the amount of ink liquid actually discharged from the nozzle to the opening;
A step of determining an increase / decrease number of the number of ink drops to be ejected from the nozzle next based on a difference between the measured ink liquid amount and the theoretical liquid amount of the ink and a random number arbitrarily generated. A discharge pattern generation method characterized by the above.
(Claim 2)
Based on the difference between the measured ink liquid amount and the theoretical liquid amount of the ink, and a random number, in the step of determining the increase / decrease number of the number of drops of ink ejected from the nozzle, the low frequency of the generated random numbers The ejection pattern generation method according to claim 1, wherein a portion is excluded.
(Claim 3)
Among some of the effective nozzles, for some nozzles, a drop of ink to be discharged from the nozzle next is based on the difference between the measured ink liquid amount and the theoretical liquid amount of the ink and a random number arbitrarily generated. Determine the number of changes,
For the remaining nozzles among the effective nozzles, the increase / decrease number of the number of drops of ink ejected from the nozzle next is determined based only on the difference between the measured ink liquid amount and the theoretical liquid amount of the ink. The ejection pattern generation method according to claim 1, wherein the ejection pattern is generated.
(Claim 4)
2. A discharge pattern generation method comprising a plurality of nozzle heads having a plurality of nozzles, comprising the step of setting a discharge amount of ink discharged from the nozzles at a time for each nozzle head. 4. The ejection pattern generation method according to any one of items 1 to 3.
(Claim 5)
The weight of the increase / decrease in the number of drops is weighted by the amount of deviation from an ideal value of the average total liquid amount of ink ejected to the opening by the same nozzle head. The discharge pattern generation method according to item.
(Claim 6)
The ejection pattern generation method according to claim 1, wherein the number of drops before being increased or decreased by a random number is set to be closest to an ideal value of the average total liquid amount. .
(Claim 7)
7. The ejection according to claim 1, wherein the maximum increase / decrease number of the number of drops is determined by a degree of variation in an average total liquid amount of each opening by the same nozzle head. Pattern generation method.
(Claim 8)
A manufacturing method of a color filter for forming a partition pattern on a substrate and a colored layer in an opening of the partition pattern, wherein the colored layer is formed by the discharge pattern generation method according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A method for producing a color filter, comprising: forming a color filter.
(Claim 9)
A discharge pattern according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which is a method of manufacturing an organic functional element in which a partition pattern is formed on a substrate and one or more organic functional layers are formed in openings of the partition pattern. A method for producing an organic functional element, wherein an organic functional layer is formed by a production method.
(Claim 10)
A discharge pattern generation apparatus comprising means for forming a discharge pattern used in the pattern generation method according to claim 1.

  According to the present invention, by having a function means such as giving a random variation in the amount of ink ejected to each cell, the number of drops actually ejected for each cell is widened, so that a constant within the cell line. It was possible to make the variation in the width and make the variation in the average discharge amount for each cell line inconspicuous, thereby reducing the overall color unevenness.

  In addition, with the ejection pattern generation method according to the present invention, it was possible to reduce the feeling of roughness when visual observation or the like was performed even with random variations.

  By randomly selecting nozzles that increase or decrease the number of drops by the discharge pattern generation method and apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce color unevenness caused by variations in the discharge amount of each nozzle, and as a whole between cells Dispersion of discharge amount could be reduced. In addition, when the increase / decrease nozzle is selected as the specific nozzle, the color unevenness between the cells as a whole can be reduced by adjusting the color unevenness by using the variation of each nozzle, as compared with the case of selecting at random. I was able to.

  According to the present invention, a more uniform colored layer could be formed. As a result, a high-quality color filter with high definition, uneven color, and less variation can be produced in a shorter time.

  According to the present invention, an organic functional layer having a more uniform film thickness can be formed, and it has become possible to manufacture high-quality organic functional elements such as an organic EL element with little emission unevenness.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of the ejection pattern generation apparatus of the present invention. The discharge pattern generation apparatus of the present invention has a configuration having an inkjet nozzle head unit 2 in which a plurality of inkjet nozzle heads 1 in which a plurality of inkjet nozzles are arranged in combination are arranged. In order to generate a color filter, it is necessary to discharge ink of each color (for example, R, G, B) forming a colored layer, and therefore, a combination of a plurality of the above-described inkjet nozzle heads is arranged in each color. ing. The ink jet nozzle head unit moves in the main scanning direction and performs image drawing.

  The substrate table 3 is movable in the sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction, and is further rotatable in the θ direction. Since it can rotate in the θ direction, the partition wall of the substrate placed on the substrate mounting table and the ink jet nozzle head unit can be aligned in parallel, and image drawing can be performed by operating in the sub-scanning direction. Further, although not shown in the figure, the substrate table is provided with a suction mechanism, and the substrate placed on the substrate table can be fixed.

  The ejection pattern generation apparatus of the present invention recognizes or measures position information based on at least nozzles existing in an inkjet nozzle head for ejecting ink to an opening of a partition wall and parameter information input in advance, and outputs the position information. And means for determining an increase / decrease in the number of drops of ink ejected from the nozzles using a function. Furthermore, it is a discharge pattern generation device having means for selecting a specific nozzle that increases or decreases the number of drops. The parameter information is information related to the discharge pattern, for example, information that is input in advance such as the size of the substrate and the formation pattern, and information that is sequentially input such as the position of the nozzle and the substrate, and the information related to the substrate. It is. The random number can be generated by using a pseudo-random number generator incorporated in the ejection pattern generation device and generating a pseudo-random number sequence.

  The function used in the present invention is preferably a random number for reducing the roughness of the power vector in the random number sequence. The normal random number has a form as shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows the power spectrum obtained by performing FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) on this random number.

  On the other hand, in known literature concerning image evaluation techniques, it is common to use MTF or VTF as one measure of whether or not to perceive sensitively when observing an object with human eyes.

  In this function, what is sensitive to perception is the low frequency part in the spatial frequency (in the present invention, it is 3.00E + 00 or less. The reason is that the most sensitive part in the human eye is 1.00 E + 00, and there is a further margin. This is because it is within the range.) Therefore, it has been confirmed through experiments and the like that the low-frequency portion reduces the feeling of roughness when a random number from which a corresponding frequency component is removed is expanded in an image. By passing the random number through a high-pass filter (high-pass filter), it is possible to remove the low-frequency part.

  An example of the random number is shown in FIG. The power spectrum is shown in FIG.

  The inkjet nozzle head and the nozzle for ejecting ink used in the present invention can be applied as long as they have a configuration in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged, but as shown in FIG. Use a combination of several. In this case, the ink of each phase is ejected at different timing. For example, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a cross-sectional view of the inkjet nozzle head 1, but ink is ejected from the same row of the nozzle A phase, the nozzle B phase, and the nozzle C phase (hereinafter referred to as A phase, B phase, and C phase). Timing is shifted in the order of A, B, C. In this method (hereinafter referred to as “shear wave mode”), the intervals between the nozzles, for example, the A layer to B layer and the B layer to C layer can be narrowed to obtain a high-density inkjet nozzle head. Suitable for manufacturing color filters that require pattern formation.

  The inkjet nozzle head 1 includes buffers (hereinafter referred to as line buffers) corresponding to A phase, B phase, and C phase, and the line buffers of each phase can transfer information to each other. FIG. 7 shows a simple operation flow until ejection from the inkjet nozzle head.

  First, the A-phase line buffer receives the ejection pattern information, and starts ejection from the A-phase ink ejection port based on the information related to the A phase in the transferred information. Simultaneously with the start of ejection from the A-phase ink ejection port, ejection pattern information is transferred from the A-phase line buffer to the B-phase line buffer. After the end of ejection from the A-phase ink ejection port, the B-phase ink ejection port starts ejection based on information regarding the B phase in the transferred ejection pattern information. Simultaneously with the start of ejection from the B-phase ink ejection port, ejection pattern information is transferred from the B-phase line buffer to the C-phase line buffer. After the end of ejection from the B-phase ink ejection port, the C-phase ink ejection port starts ejection based on information related to the C phase in the transferred ejection pattern information. After completion of ejection from the C-phase ink ejection port, it is determined whether or not the line counter has been ejected a set number of times, and if the set number of ejections has not been performed, the ejection pattern information is transferred to the A-phase line buffer. Again, the A-phase ink discharge port starts to discharge based on the discharge pattern information. Thereafter, the above-described operation is repeated for the number of lines to create a desired ejection pattern.

  The above is the discharge control method in the share wave mode, but the discharge apparatus of the present invention has no problem even in other methods. Hereinafter, a case where a color filter is formed by the discharge pattern forming method of the present invention will be described as an example. However, in the case of other optical elements, for example, organic EL elements, similarly, when forming each color pixel of the light emitting layer. The present invention can be used.

  For example, an inkjet nozzle head controller 4 is connected to the ejection device as control means for ejecting ink from the nozzles of the inkjet nozzle head based on the ejection pattern information. The inkjet nozzle head controller 4 drives the inkjet nozzle head and stores inkjet nozzle head parameter information and ejection patterns. The inkjet nozzle head parameter information is information for driving the inkjet nozzle head. In the ejection pattern information, information about ejection of a specific nozzle is stored with the position information of the inkjet nozzle head as an argument. When performing ejection, ejection pattern information is transferred from the inkjet nozzle head controller to each nozzle, and drawing can be performed.

  In addition, in the inkjet nozzle head parameter information for driving the inkjet nozzle head of the inkjet nozzle head controller 4, it is preferable that an optimum voltage value parameter can be set for each inkjet nozzle head. If the drive voltages of all the ink jet nozzle heads are set to the same value, the amount of liquid droplets ejected from the ink jet nozzle heads varies depending on individual differences, and there is a possibility that ink cannot be uniformly ejected into the substrate. By making it possible to set an optimal voltage value parameter for each ink jet nozzle head, it becomes possible to control the discharge amount for each ink jet nozzle head and to adjust the discharge amount of each cell.

  The means for recognizing or measuring positional information and outputting the positional information possessed by the present invention includes a color filter size, a partition pattern pitch, a pixel pattern (such as a stripe arrangement, a cell arrangement, and a mosaic arrangement) inputted in advance. Parameters of the color filter substrate such as the information array pattern), positional information of the inkjet nozzle head and nozzles (including the positional deviation information of the head), and parameters such as the amount of movement of the substrate table of the ejection device (hereinafter, In addition, the landing position of the ink discharged from the nozzle onto the substrate is calculated from the discharge pattern information). Alternatively, an image of the substrate surface can be acquired and processed by a camera installed in the ejection device, and the ink landing position can be calculated.

  After the position of the inkjet nozzle head and the nozzle is calculated with respect to the partition pattern on the substrate, based on this information, is the ink landing position the pixel portion formation position (target partition opening: cell)? Whether or not processing is determined by a program Only when the landing position corresponds to the target partition opening, the nozzle is recognized as an effective nozzle, and is not ejected from a nozzle that is not.

  FIG. 8 is a specific example of determining whether or not a nozzle is valid. Of the nozzles 5 of the inkjet nozzle head, the nozzles directly above the openings of the color filter substrate are determined to be valid, and the other nozzles are determined to be invalid, and discharge pattern information is generated. Then, according to this ejection pattern information, the nozzles of each inkjet nozzle head eject ink into the target cell.

  Here, when the discharge apparatus and the discharge method of the present invention are not used, in the cell line, when the variation in the discharge amount for each cell is small, that is, when the standard deviation of the discharge amount of each cell is small (within the cell line) The standard deviation of the discharge amount between each cell line (standard deviation of the discharge amount between cell lines) is larger than the standard deviation of the discharge amount within the cell line. This results in a color filter with large color unevenness visually.

  Therefore, the ejection pattern forming apparatus of the present invention solves this problem by having means for determining the increase / decrease number of ink drops ejected from effective nozzles using random numbers. In other words, by giving a certain range of drop numbers (hereinafter referred to as “basic drop number”) to each cell, the number of drops actually ejected to each cell is given a range, so that there is an arbitrary variation in the cell line. Variations in the average discharge amount can be made inconspicuous, thereby reducing overall color unevenness.

  Here, the means for determining the increase / decrease number of the number of ink drops ejected from the nozzles is to select the nozzles to be ejected from the above-mentioned effective nozzles, and further, the computation computer uses the random numbers to eject Give the ink drop number to be increased or decreased from the specified value. By distributing the increase / decrease numbers randomly within the preset increase / decrease range, the number of drops of ink discharged to each cell of the pixel section is widened, and color unevenness between pixels due to discharge amount variation for each nozzle Can be reduced. This is because, by randomly increasing or decreasing the number of drops in each cell line, the standard deviation of the discharge amount between the cell lines can be intentionally made closer to the standard deviation of the discharge amount in the cell line.

  In addition, it is ideal to discharge the theoretical total liquid amount of ink to form the ideal colored layer thickness, but as mentioned in the problem, the effect of the discharge amount variation and crosstalk of each nozzle For example, the actual average ink total liquid amount may deviate from the theoretical ink total liquid amount. Therefore, when the average total ink volume discharged (in each cell line) is large, the average total ink volume can be calculated by applying a weight to the random number allocation in the direction that the number of drops that increase or decrease decreases. The value can be made closer to the value, and a higher quality color filter can be manufactured. For example, when the average total liquid amount is larger than the theoretical layer liquid amount, the random function is allocated to the number of drops to be increased or decreased so that the rate of increase is higher than the rate of decrease of the number of drops.

  Note that if the average total liquid volume of ink is larger than the theoretical total liquid volume, the number of basic drops discharged from the nozzles may be increased or decreased. Thereby, the difference between the average total liquid volume and the theoretical total liquid volume can be reduced to 1 drop or less. A conventional method, for example, a method of increasing or decreasing the discharge amount of one drop from the nozzle is also conceivable. However, when the discharge amount from the nozzle is set for each nozzle head, the discharge amount from the nozzle changes in the entire nozzle head. Therefore, it is difficult to adjust the liquid amount.

  Therefore, as in the present invention, by applying a weight to the allocation of random numbers that determine the increase or decrease of the number of drops, it becomes possible to bring the average total ink amount closer to a value closer to the theoretical total ink amount.

In addition, by randomly specifying the nozzles to be ejected using random numbers, it is possible to reduce unevenness caused by variations in the ejection amount of each nozzle, and to reduce variations in the ejection amount between cells as a whole. And the number of adjustments can be reduced.
When the nozzles to be ejected are specified, the variation in the ejection amount between the cells can be further reduced as a whole by using the variation in the ejection amount of each nozzle in reverse, as compared with the case where the nozzles are specified at random.
Since the present invention reduces variations in the film thickness of the pixel portion and eliminates unevenness in forming a pattern using the ink jet method, the present invention can be applied to manufacturing an element using the ink jet method. Hereinafter, as an example of a method for producing an element using the present invention, a method for producing a color filter and an organic functional element will be described.

  The manufacture of either the color filter or the organic functional element can be made by forming a partition on a substrate and forming a pixel portion there.

  The substrate will be described below. The substrate is used as a support substrate for printed matter. For example, a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, a plastic substrate, and a known transparent substrate material such as a dry film can be used, although the type of substrate varies depending on the target optical element. Among them, the glass substrate is excellent in transparency, strength, heat resistance, and weather resistance in color filter and organic EL device applications.

  The partition will be described below. In the present invention, ink is applied to the substrate by an ink jet printing apparatus to form a color filter or an organic functional element. In order to prevent color mixing (or mixing) between different types of inks, it is preferable to form partition walls on the substrate in advance.

  The partition wall has a function of dividing the surface of the substrate into a plurality of regions and preventing color mixture of ink ejected in each of the many regions. In order to prevent color mixing, it is desirable to use a partition that exhibits a certain ink repellency. For example, a method of forming partition walls by a resin composition part containing an ink repellent agent, a method of imparting ink repellency by performing plasma treatment on the partition walls formed of a resin composition, and forming a partition wall together with a photocatalyst layer to repel the partition walls by photocatalysis. Examples thereof include a method for imparting ink properties. Moreover, in the color filter and organic EL element which comprise the display screen of a display, the contrast of a display screen can be improved by providing light-shielding property to this partition. In any case, when the partition walls are formed from the resin composition, it is necessary to contain a resin binder and an ink repellent as essential components.

  The partition can be formed by a known partition forming method such as a printing method or a photolithography method.

  A method for manufacturing the color filter will be described below. When forming a color filter, first, a partition wall is formed on the substrate by the method described above. A colored layer is formed by the discharge pattern forming apparatus of the present invention using colored ink. The colored ink can contain a color pigment, a solvent, and a resin binder as necessary.

  The manufacturing method of an organic functional element is demonstrated below. In the case of forming an organic EL element, an organic solar cell, or an organic semiconductor, first, a partition is formed on the substrate. The ink includes an organic light emitting material, and can be manufactured by forming an organic functional layer on a substrate by using the discharge pattern generation apparatus and the discharge method of the present invention. The ink can contain an organic light emitting material, a solvent, and a resin binder as necessary. As the solvent and the resin binder, the same materials as listed in the formation of the partition walls can be used.

  The organic light emitting material will be described below. Organic light-emitting materials such as coumarin, perylene, pyran, anthrone, porphyrene, quinacridone, N, N'-dialkyl substituted quinacridone, naphthalimide, N, N'-diaryl substituted pyrrolopyrrole, iridium complex Organic light-emitting materials that are soluble in organic solvents such as those dispersed in polymers such as polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl carbazole, polyarylene-based, polyarylene vinylene-based, polyfluorene-based, etc. And a high molecular organic light emitting material.

  The discharge pattern generation method by the discharge apparatus of the present invention will be described with a specific example.

  First, the validity / invalidity of the nozzle is determined according to the ejection pattern as described above. A nozzle that ejects ink corresponding to the pixel formed in the pixel partition and present in the base partition opening is made effective (see FIG. 4).

  Next, the number of effective nozzles (hereinafter referred to as the number of ejection nozzles) N in one cell can be arbitrarily determined according to the total amount of ink filled in each cell, the size of the cell, and the like.

  Assuming that the amount of ink discharged from one nozzle at a time (1 drop discharge amount) is a and the number of ink drops from all discharge nozzles (reference drop number) is D, the ideal total liquid amount of ink M is represented by D × a, and the number of drops d assigned to each nozzle is D / N and the remainder.

  Next, in the present invention, with respect to the ideal total liquid amount M of ink, a certain set amount m smaller than M is assumed as an increase / decrease amount from the ideal total liquid amount M. This set amount m is calculated from, for example, the variation (standard deviation) of the total liquid amount of cells in each actual cell line. As described above, it is preferable to adjust so that the standard deviation of the discharge amount in the cell line is close to the standard deviation of the average discharge amount between the cell lines, and the average discharge amount is matched between the cell lines.

  Further, the number of drops in each cell line is adjusted in consideration of the difference between the actual average total liquid amount M ′ and the ideal total liquid amount M. Here, it is desirable to make it as close as possible from the ideal total liquid volume by adjustment. For example, the number of drops to be increased / decreased can be determined by the difference between the average total liquid amount M ′ and the ideal total liquid amount M and the ink discharge amount of one drop, and the adjusted drop number D ′ is as follows: I can write.

D ′ = D − [(M−M ′) / a] (Formula 1)

M is the ideal total liquid volume M ′, the average total liquid volume D is the reference drop number (ideal drop number)
D ′ is the adjusted drop number “a” is the discharge amount of one drop.

  By adjusting the number of drops as described above, the average total liquid volume can be brought close to the ideal total liquid volume, and becomes the adjusted average total liquid volume M ″. Ideal total liquid amount M, average total liquid amount M ′, adjusted average total liquid amount M ″, set amount m, number of discharge nozzles N, one-drop discharge amount a, reference drop number D, number of drops Each setting parameter such as the reference value b is set and stored in advance as ejection pattern information.

  Next, the drop number D (x) in each cell is determined using the setting parameter and a random number. Here, x is a symbol representing each cell. When the average total liquid volume M ″ after adjustment is equal to the theoretical total liquid volume M, the formula for determining the drop number D (x) should be written as follows, with the increase / decrease number of the drop number being bi: Can do.

D (x) = D ′ + b−i (Formula 2)

However, i is 0 ≦ i ≦ 2b + 1
i / (2b + 1) ≦ RAND (x) ≦ (i + 1) / (2b + 1)
An integer

Note that D (x) is a drop number formula b, a drop number increase / decrease number reference value RAND (x) is a function for generating a random number.

Here, RAND (x) represents a function for generating a real random number between 0 and 1. When the average total liquid volume M ″ after adjustment is different from the theoretical total liquid volume M, the formula for determining the drop number D (x) should be written as follows, with the increase / decrease number of the drop number being bj: Can do.

D (x) = D ′ + b−j (Formula 3)
Where j is
0 ≦ j ≦ 2b
When 0 ≦ RAND (x) − (M−M ″) / m ≦ 1, j / (2b + 1) + (M−M ″) / m ≦ RAND (x) ≦ (j + 1) / (2b + 1) + (M -M ") / m
When RAND (x) − (M−M ″) <0, j = 0
When 1 <RAND (x) − (M−M ″) / m, j = 2b
Where j is an integer.

  According to the above formula, for example, when the actual average total liquid amount M ″ is larger than the ideal total liquid amount, the number of drops in each cell is probabilistically inclined to a number of drops that is smaller than the reference number of drops. The corrected average total liquid amount is close to the ideal total liquid amount.

  In addition, when the determined increase / decrease value of the number of drops is more than a certain deviation between consecutive cells, it is possible to recalculate again with random numbers and eliminate the deviation more than a certain value.

As described above, according to the method of the present invention, it is possible to reduce color unevenness between pixels without a complicated operation of measuring variation in discharge amount for each nozzle and correcting the discharge amount for each nozzle. Is possible. Furthermore, it is possible to reduce the influence on the variation in the discharge amount for each discharge in the same nozzle.
However, if the color unevenness does not completely disappear with the substrate created by the above method, it is necessary to take the hue data of all the cells in the width direction and adjust the color unevenness based on the data.
When performing unevenness adjustment, the hue data of all the cells in the width direction is acquired, and the liquid amount of each cell is adjusted so as to reduce the variation in the hue data of the adjacent cells in the width direction. In order to determine the adjustment amount, it is necessary to derive the relationship between the hue data and the liquid amount. In order to derive the relationship between the hue data and the liquid volume, a substrate in which the liquid volume of each cell is increased or decreased by a unit drop is created, the hue data of all the cells in the width direction is acquired, and a calibration curve for each cell is created. The amount of the adjustment liquid in each cell is determined from the difference between the hue data of all the cells in the width direction and the target hue data and the above-described calibration curve.
When the number of nozzles that increase or decrease by adjusting the liquid amount is determined using random numbers, there are as many nozzles that can be increased or decreased as the number of effective nozzles in the cell. When the increase / decrease nozzle is specified, the increase / decrease nozzle is one of the effective nozzles.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram when one increase / decrease nozzle indicated by an arrow is specified from the effective nozzles. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram when the increase / decrease nozzle is determined by random numbers.
The nozzle that increases / decreases the unit drop when obtaining the calibration curve is one of the effective nozzles. Therefore, when using a random number to determine the nozzle to increase / decrease by adjusting the liquid volume, create a calibration curve for many cells in the cell line. A nozzle different from the one used at the time will be used. Therefore, the adjustment amount is not accurate because it is not an accurate calibration curve. When the increase / decrease nozzle in the adjustment is specified as the same nozzle as that used for deriving the calibration curve, a more accurate adjustment amount can be derived than in the case of random numbers.

  Next, the manufacturing method of the color filter of this invention is demonstrated as an Example.

Example 1
A black photosensitive resin composition blended at the following composition ratio was used as a photosensitive resin composition containing a material for imparting ink repellency, described below, with a partition wall formed. As the substrate, non-alkali glass (1737: manufactured by Corning Co., Ltd.) was used, and this black photosensitive resin composition was applied thereon by spin coating, and prebaked on a hot plate at a temperature of 90 ° C. for 1 minute. A film having a thickness of 2.0 μm was formed on the substrate.

The composition of the photosensitive resin composition is
Cyclohexanone (boiling point 155.7 ° C.) 80 parts by weight Cresol-novolak resin: EP4050G (manufactured by Asahi Organic Materials Co., Ltd.) 15 parts by weight melamine resin: MW30 (manufactured by Sanwa Chemical Co., Ltd.) 5 parts by weight Carbon pigment: MA -8 (manufactured by Mitsubishi Materials Corporation) 23 parts by weight Dispersant: Solsperse 5000 (manufactured by Zeneca Corporation) 1.4 parts by weight Compound having radical polymerizability: trimethylolpropane triacrylate (manufactured by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) 5 Part by weight Photopolymerization initiator: Irgacure 369 (manufactured by Ciba Specialty Chemicals) 2 parts by weight Fluorine-containing compound: Modiper F-600 (manufactured by NOF Corporation, mass average molecular weight 35000)
) 5 parts by weight,
It is.

  Subsequently, using a photomask having a stripe pattern, an exposure process of 100 mJ / cm 2 was performed with an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp, and further a development process was performed to obtain a desired partition wall pattern. Thereafter, heat treatment was performed in a hot-air firing furnace.

  The adjustment of the colored ink will be described below. 0.75 parts by weight of azobisisobutylnitrile was added to the following composition under a nitrogen atmosphere and reacted at 70 ° C. for 5 hours to obtain an acrylic copolymer resin.

The composition of the colored ink composition is
20 parts by weight of methacrylic acid, 10 parts by weight of methyl methacrylate, 55 parts by weight of butyl methacrylate, 15 parts by weight of hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and 300 parts by weight of butyl lactate. Dilution was performed using propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate to obtain a diluted solution of an acrylic copolymer resin.

  Add 19.0 g of color pigment and 0.9 g of polyoxyethylene alkyl ether as a dispersant to 80.1 g of this diluted solution, and knead with three rolls to obtain red, green and blue colored varnishes. It was. As a red pigment, Pigment Red 177, Pigment Green 36 as a green pigment, and Pigment Blue 15 as a blue pigment were used.

  Propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate is added to each colored varnish so that the pigment concentration is 12 to 15% by weight and the viscosity is 15 cps, and red, green, and blue colored inks are obtained. It was.

  A color filter was prepared. This will be described below. A colored layer was formed using the discharge device of the present invention shown in FIG. Here, the ideal total liquid amount M of each cell is 660 pl, the set amount m is 24 pl, the drop number increase / decrease number b is 2, and the 1-drop discharge amount a is 6 pl.

  Next, the ink jet nozzle head controller 4 (see FIG. 1) of the ejection device was incorporated with a program for determining the number of drops in each cell using the mathematical formula shown in Equation 2, and the pixel portion was formed.

  As for the result of Example 1, each table | surface of FIG. 11, FIG. 12 shows each cell of the coloring layer on a board | substrate, FIG. 11 shows the number of drops of each cell before correction | amendment, FIG. The number of drops after correction at 1.

  As a result of actually measuring the total liquid volume of each cell of Example 1, the corrected average total liquid volume M ″ was 660.077 pl, which is a value close to 660 pl of the ideal total liquid volume M, and color unevenness was reduced as a whole. It became a color filter.

  As described above, the variation in discharge amount for each nozzle is measured, and the variation in discharge amount for each cell of each colored layer is reduced in a short time without controlling the discharge amount for each nozzle. The filter could be manufactured.

  As a comparative example of the discharge pattern generation method by the discharge device of the present invention, Example 2 using the conventional discharge pattern generation method was performed. This will be described in detail below.

(Example 2)
In Example 2, the total number of drops is the same as that in Example 1 except that the reference number of drops is discharged to each cell, and the ideal total liquid amount M is a coating layer of 660 pl. Otherwise, the color layer is formed. This is the same method as method 1. As a result of Example 2, the average total liquid amount M ″ is as shown in FIG. In this way, the same nozzle head is used on the cell line, the discharge amount in the cell line becomes almost equal, the discharge amount between cell lines using different nozzle heads varies, and the standard in the cell line The color unevenness in which the deviation and the standard deviation between the cell lines were dispersed became visually noticeable.

(Example 3)
Example 3 was carried out when the increase / decrease nozzle was random and when specified.
Table 1 shows the average total liquid amount and the like of the line cell when the increase / decrease nozzle is selected at random.
Table 2 shows the average total liquid amount and the like of a line cell when the increase / decrease nozzle is a specific nozzle.
The nozzles used in the increase / decrease nozzles in Table 2 are the same as the nozzles increased / decreased in the calibration curve derivation.
It is assumed that the deviation of the hue data of the cell of interest is 0.104. The cell line is 1000 lines. When the calibration curve is obtained, the increase / decrease nozzle is the 20th nozzle of the 3rd head, and the calibration curve at that time is 0.065 per 1 pl.
The number of changed cells is (0.104 × 1000) / (6 × 0.065) = 267 cells.
When the increase / decrease nozzle is random, the average total liquid amount is 423.125 pl, and when the increase / decrease nozzle is specified, the average total liquid amount is 423.000 pl, and it can be seen that the increase / decrease nozzle is closer to the theoretical total liquid amount.
(Table 1) A table showing the average total liquid amount and the like of a line cell when the increase / decrease nozzles are randomly selected.
(Table 2) The table | surface which showed the average total liquid quantity of the line cell when the increase / decrease nozzle was made into the specific nozzle.

Schematic which shows the example of a whole block diagram of the discharge pattern production | generation apparatus of this invention. The figure which shows an example of a random number. The figure which shows the power spectrum of a random number. The figure which shows the random number which removed the random number of the low frequency. The figure which shows the power spectrum of the random number which removed the low frequency random number. Schematic of nozzle of inkjet nozzle head in share wave mode. 6 is an ink discharge operation flowchart in a share wave mode. Schematic which selects an effective nozzle from the nozzle of an inkjet nozzle head. Schematic which shows the nozzle selected one by the random number in a cell. Schematic which shows the nozzle selected two by the random number in a cell. Chart of the number of drops before adjustment. The chart of the number of drops of the result of Example 1. Chart of total liquid volume in cell before adjustment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inkjet nozzle head 2 ... Inkjet nozzle head unit 3 ... Substrate stand 4 ... Inkjet nozzle head controller 5 ... Nozzle 6 ... Effective nozzle 7 ... Partition wall opening

Claims (7)

An ejection pattern generation method for ejecting ink from a plurality of nozzles of an inkjet head to a large number of patterned openings formed on a substrate to form a large number of pixel portions on the substrate,
Forming a large number of opening patterns on the substrate;
Based on the pattern shape of the opening, a step of selecting an effective nozzle to be used for ejection among nozzles belonging to the inkjet head; and
Obtaining a drop number of ink to be applied to the opening from the effective nozzle based on a theoretical liquid amount of ink to be applied to the opening;
Measuring the amount of ink liquid actually discharged from the nozzle to the opening;
Based on the difference between the measured ink liquid amount and the theoretical liquid amount of the ink, and a randomly generated random number,
Next, a step of determining an increase / decrease number of ink drops ejected from the nozzles,
Based on the difference between the measured ink liquid amount and the theoretical liquid amount of the ink, and a random number, in the step of determining the increase / decrease number of the number of drops of ink ejected from the nozzle, the low frequency of the generated random numbers An ejection pattern generation method characterized by excluding a portion. An ejection pattern generation method for ejecting ink from a plurality of nozzles of an inkjet head to a large number of patterned openings formed on a substrate to form a large number of pixel portions on the substrate,
Forming a large number of opening patterns on the substrate;
Based on the pattern shape of the opening, a step of selecting an effective nozzle to be used for ejection among nozzles belonging to the inkjet head; and
Obtaining a drop number of ink to be applied to the opening from the effective nozzle based on a theoretical liquid amount of ink to be applied to the opening;
Measuring the amount of ink liquid actually discharged from the nozzle to the opening;
Based on the difference between the measured ink liquid amount and the theoretical liquid amount of the ink, and a randomly generated random number,
Next, a step of determining an increase / decrease number of ink drops ejected from the nozzles,
Among some of the effective nozzles, for some nozzles, a drop of ink to be discharged from the nozzle next is based on the difference between the measured ink liquid amount and the theoretical liquid amount of the ink and a random number arbitrarily generated. Determine the number of changes,
For the remaining nozzles among the effective nozzles, the increase / decrease number of the number of drops of ink ejected from the nozzle next is determined based only on the difference between the measured ink liquid amount and the theoretical liquid amount of the ink. A characteristic ejection pattern generation method. An ejection pattern generation method for ejecting ink from a plurality of nozzles of an inkjet head to a large number of patterned openings formed on a substrate to form a large number of pixel portions on the substrate,
Forming a large number of opening patterns on the substrate;
Based on the pattern shape of the opening, a step of selecting an effective nozzle to be used for ejection among nozzles belonging to the inkjet head; and
Obtaining a drop number of ink to be applied to the opening from the effective nozzle based on a theoretical liquid amount of ink to be applied to the opening;
Measuring the amount of ink liquid actually discharged from the nozzle to the opening;
Based on the difference between the measured ink liquid amount and the theoretical liquid amount of the ink, and a randomly generated random number,
Next, a step of determining an increase / decrease number of ink drops ejected from the nozzles,
An ejection pattern generation method characterized in that the increase / decrease number of the number of drops is weighted by the amount of deviation from an ideal value of the average total liquid amount of ink ejected to the opening by the same nozzle head. An ejection pattern generation method for ejecting ink from a plurality of nozzles of an inkjet head to a large number of patterned openings formed on a substrate to form a large number of pixel portions on the substrate,
Forming a large number of opening patterns on the substrate;
Based on the pattern shape of the opening, a step of selecting an effective nozzle to be used for ejection among nozzles belonging to the inkjet head; and
Obtaining a drop number of ink to be applied to the opening from the effective nozzle based on a theoretical liquid amount of ink to be applied to the opening;
Measuring the amount of ink liquid actually discharged from the nozzle to the opening;
Based on the difference between the measured ink liquid amount and the theoretical liquid amount of the ink, and a randomly generated random number,
Next, a step of determining an increase / decrease number of ink drops ejected from the nozzles,
Discharge pattern generation method maximum number of increase or decrease the number of drops, characterized in that determined by the same nozzle head by the degree of variation in the average total volume of each opening. A manufacturing method of a color filter for forming a partition pattern on a substrate and a colored layer in an opening of the partition pattern, wherein the colored layer is formed by the discharge pattern generation method according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A method for producing a color filter, comprising: forming a color filter. A discharge pattern according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , which is a method of manufacturing an organic functional element in which a partition pattern is formed on a substrate and one or more organic functional layers are formed in openings of the partition pattern. A method for producing an organic functional element, wherein an organic functional layer is formed by a production method. Ejection pattern generating apparatus comprising means for forming the discharge pattern used in the pattern generating method according to any one of claims 1-4.