JP6401664B2 - Intaglio for printing, printing apparatus and printing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing intaglio, a printing apparatus using the printing intaglio, and a printing method.

  In recent years, application of printing technology to electrode pattern formation in devices such as electronic circuit boards and touch panel substrates is expected. Conventionally, with respect to the formation of these electrodes, screen printing technology is used for patterns that have relatively large line widths and high accuracy is not required, and photolithography technology is used for places where thin line widths require high-definition patterns. It was done. In such a technique, there are problems such as a complicated process such as an exposure process and a development process, and a drainage of a developer and the like.

  On the other hand, printing technology using intaglio is capable of forming fine patterns with high accuracy, the process is relatively simple, and no drainage of developer or the like occurs. Therefore, intaglio printing technology can be applied to electrode pattern formation. Has been tried.

  In patent document 1, when transferring the conductive ink composition as the printing ink from the printing blanket surface to the surface of the glass substrate using intaglio offset printing, silicone rubber is used as the blanket material, and the printing ink is used as the printing ink. It describes a technique that makes it easy to remove printing ink from silicone rubber by adding a solvent that is easily dissolved in silicone rubber (paragraph 0003 and the like).

  Also, as intaglio, Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 are known in which a large area pattern having a relatively large line width and a fine pattern having a relatively small line width are formed in one intaglio. It has been.

  In Patent Document 2, when performing intaglio printing using a silicone blanket, it is difficult to print various printing patterns at once if the degree of improvement in ink condensing power due to solvent volatilization on the blanket is different. A point is described (paragraph 0004 and the like), and a technique for setting the cross-sectional areas of the concave portions to be the same to each other is described in order to align the degree of improvement of the condensing force in the plurality of concave portions (paragraph 0022 and the like). ).

  Patent Document 3 describes a technique for forming a concave pattern having a larger depth as the concave pattern has a larger opening width in order to prevent the blanket from contacting the bottom surface of the concave pattern (paragraph 0038 and the like).

  Patent Document 4 describes a method for forming a resist pattern having a plurality of recesses. Patent Document 4 describes a technique in which a multilayer resist is formed on a support portion and a plurality of trenches (grooves) having different depths are formed in the multilayer resist by an exposure process using light having a plurality of types of wavelengths ( FIG. 4 etc.).

  Patent Document 5 describes a technique for manufacturing a printing intaglio having a high aspect ratio of a recess. In patent document 5, when manufacturing a printing intaglio by the etching using an acid, there exists a problem that the ratio (aspect ratio) of the depth and width of a recessed part cannot be made high, and substrate surfaces, such as a copper plate, Although there is a method of forming a recess with a high aspect ratio by irradiating a laser with a laser, it is not practical due to equipment and energy costs due to the use of a high-power laser (paragraphs 0004 to 0006, etc.). According to the technique of Document 5, when a printing intaglio is produced in which the ratio of the depth and width (depth / width) of the concave portion of the printing intaglio is 0.85 and the width of the concave portion is 20.1 μm, (Paragraph 0057 etc.).

JP 2008-221842 A JP 2011-240568 A JP 2009-274299 A JP 2012-208350 A JP 2011-93124 A

  As described above, for one intaglio plate in which a large area pattern having a relatively large line width and a fine pattern having a relatively small line width are formed, all the line widths can be printed by a single printing process. It is required from the viewpoint of throughput of print processing.

  As described in Patent Document 2, in order to print an intaglio having a plurality of line widths by a single printing process, it is necessary to adjust the width and depth of the concave portion. It has been proposed that the cross-sectional area determined by the depth is the same.

  As described above, when the cross-sectional areas calculated by the width and depth of the concave portions are the same, for example, when two types of concave portions having a line width of 100 μm and 10 μm are formed on one intaglio, the cross-sectional areas are the same. As a combination that satisfies the condition, for example, if a depth of 5 μm is adopted for a recess having a line width of 100 μm, an intaglio having a depth of 50 μm is required for a recess having a line width of 10 μm. Such intaglio has a very high aspect ratio of 5 or more. As disclosed in Patent Document 5, in order to achieve such an aspect ratio, the processing cost becomes high, and it is difficult to supply the intaglio at a low cost.

  Moreover, in order to suppress the increase in the aspect ratio of the recess as described above, the depth of the recess having a thick line width may be reduced. However, as disclosed in Patent Document 3, the depth of the concave portion (concave pattern) having a large line width (opening width) is a certain depth in order to prevent the blanket from contacting the bottom surface of the concave portion. Is needed. Also, if the depth in the recess is too shallow, not limited to the line width, after supplying ink to the intaglio, the ink in the recess is dried before transferring the ink to the blanket, and the ink is transferred well from the intaglio to the blanket. There may be situations where this is not done.

  Therefore, in order to suppress an increase in the aspect ratio of the recess, there is a limit in reducing the depth of the recess having a thick line width. In such a situation, when designing the width and depth of the recess, in particular, in recent years when the line width of the recess is becoming finer, it is necessary to be based on an idea different from the “same cross-sectional area” employed in Patent Document 2. ing.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in order to perform good printing by a single printing process, a printing intaglio having a suitable combination of line width and depth for a plurality of types of line width recesses is provided. The purpose is to provide.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus and a printing method using the printing intaglio.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an intaglio for printing according to the first invention of the present application includes a contact surface that comes into contact with a blanket cylinder and a plurality of recesses to which ink is supplied. The contact surface side has a plurality of types of line widths, and the relationship between the line width of the recess and the depth of the recess is at least two of the following five conditions (1) to (5): It is characterized by satisfying.
(1) When the line width of the recess is 9 μm or more and 11 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 28 μm or more and 36 μm or less.
(2) When the line width of the recess is 13 μm or more and 17 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 17 μm or more and 28 μm or less.
(3) When the line width of the recess is from 22 μm to 28 μm, the depth of the recess is from 9 μm to 14 μm.
(4) When the line width of the recess is 50 μm or more and 60 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 5 μm or more and 10 μm or less.
(5) When the line width of the recess is 85 μm or more, the depth of the recess is 5 μm.

The second invention of the present application is the printing intaglio according to the first invention, wherein the relationship between the line width of the recess and the depth of the recess is at least one of the following five conditions (1) to (5): It is characterized by satisfying two or more.
(1) When the line width of the recess is 9 μm or more and 11 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 32 μm or more and 36 μm or less.
(2) When the line width of the recess is 13 μm or more and 17 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 22 μm or more and 28 μm or less.
(3) When the line width of the recess is from 22 μm to 28 μm, the depth of the recess is from 12 μm to 14 μm.
(4) When the line width of the recess is 50 μm or more and 60 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 5 μm or more and 10 μm or less.
(5) When the line width of the recess is 85 μm or more, the depth of the recess is 5 μm.

A third invention of the present application is an intaglio plate for printing, comprising a contact surface that contacts the blanket cylinder and a plurality of recesses to which ink is supplied, and the plurality of recesses are of a plurality of types on the contact surface side. The relationship between the line width of the concave portion and the depth of the concave portion satisfies at least two of the following four conditions (1) to (4): .
If the line width of the recess is X,
(1) When the line width of the recess is 10 μm or more and 15 μm or less, the depth of the recess is (−2.1 * X + 49) μm or more (−1.5 * X + 51) μm or less.
(2) When the line width of the recess is 15 μm or more and 25 μm or less, the depth of the recess is (−0.8 * X + 29.5) μm or more (−1.45 * X + 50) μm or less.
(3) When the line width of the recess is 25 μm or more and 55 μm or less, the depth of the recess is (−0.15 * X + 13) μm or more (−0.1 * X + 16) μm or less.
(4) When the line width of the recess is 55 μm or more, the depth of the recess is 5 μm.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus in which ink is received from the coating unit for supplying ink to the concave portion of the printing intaglio according to any of the first to third inventions, and the concave portion of the printing intaglio. A blanket cylinder, and a work placement section for placing a work to which the ink is transferred from the blanket cylinder.

  A printing method according to a fifth invention of the present application is a printing method in which ink is transferred from a printing intaglio to a work via a blanket cylinder, and the concave portion of the printing intaglio according to any of the first to third inventions. A coating step of supplying the ink to the printing plate, a blank transfer step of transferring the ink from the concave portion of the printing intaglio to the blanket cylinder, and transferring the ink from the blanket cylinder to the workpiece after the blank transfer step. A workpiece transfer process.

  According to the present invention, in a printing intaglio having a contact surface that contacts a blanket cylinder and a plurality of recesses filled with ink and having a plurality of types of line widths as the recesses, the line width of the recesses and the recesses Can be selected within a suitable range. By using a printing intaglio that selects the line width and depth of the recesses included in the range, a suitable conductive pattern that can suppress the line width ratio to a desired range while obtaining complete transfer from the blanket cylinder is obtained. It can be formed on the surface.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a printing apparatus according to the present invention. It is a top view which shows the intaglio for printing which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows notionally sectional drawing of the intaglio for printing in the AA 'tip of FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a printing method according to the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the application | coating process in the flowchart of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the blank transfer process in the flowchart of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the workpiece | work transcription | transfer process in the flowchart of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the drying process in the flowchart of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the transfer defect in a blanc transfer process. It is a schematic diagram which shows the transfer defect in a workpiece | work transfer process. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the recessed part depth in a printing test result, and the cross-sectional area of an electroconductive pattern for every recessed part line | wire width. It is a graph which shows the line width ratio of the recessed part line width and conductive pattern line width in a printing test result. It is a graph which shows the suitable range of the recessed part depth with respect to the recessed part line width calculated | required from the printing test. It is a graph which shows the suitable range of the recessed part depth with respect to the recessed part line width calculated | required from the printing test.

<First Embodiment>
<1. Printer>
A printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the printing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. The printing apparatus 1 transfers the ink applied to the printing intaglio 2 to the blanket cylinder 3, and transfers the ink from the blanket cylinder 3 to the workpiece 4, whereby the conductive pattern based on the recesses formed in the printing intaglio 2. Is a device for forming a workpiece 4 on the workpiece 4.

  The printing intaglio 2 will be described in detail later. As the workpiece 4 that is a transfer destination, for example, various substrates such as a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, and a semiconductor wafer, and various resin sheets such as a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet and a polyimide (PI) sheet are used. In the first embodiment, a PET sheet is used as the work 4.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of each part of the printing apparatus 1 will be described.

  The printing apparatus 1 includes a housing 10 having a top plate, side walls, and a bottom plate, a base 11 provided in the housing 10, and an upper portion of the base 11 extending in the left-right direction on the paper surface. And a guide rail 12 provided. The guide rail 12 (guide rail shown in FIG. 1) on the front side in the paper plane has a first groove (not shown) and a first ball screw (not shown). Further, the guide rail 12 on the back side in the paper plane (the guide rail (not shown) located on the back side of the guide rail 12 shown in FIG. 1) has a second groove (not shown) and a second ball screw (not shown). Have.

  The printing apparatus 1 further includes a stage 13 that is fitted to the first groove portion of the guide rail 12 on the front side in the paper plane and connected to the first ball screw, and the guide rail 12 on the back side in the paper plane direction. A stage 14 that is fitted to the second groove and connected to the second ball screw, and two columns 15 that are provided opposite to each other in the paper surface direction (the column 15 shown in FIG. 1 has two columns). The stage 13 or the stage 14 is turned into the first groove portion or the second groove portion of the guide rail 12 by rotationally driving the first or second ball screw. A drive unit 16 that is moved along, a drive unit 17 that moves the blanket cylinder 3 up and down and rotationally moves about the paper surface as an axis, and a control unit 5 that controls the operation of the drive unit 16 and the drive unit 17.

  The stages 13 and 14 are independently connected to the first and second groove portions of the guide rail 12 and the first and second ball screws, respectively. As a result, the stage 13 and the stage 14 individually move along the first groove portion or the second groove portion of the respective guide rails 12.

  When the control unit 5 issues an operation command to the drive unit 16 and the drive unit 16 rotationally drives the first ball screw provided in the guide rail 12, the stage 13 moves along the first groove along the left-right direction in FIG. Move to. When the control unit 5 issues an operation command to the drive unit 16 and the drive unit 16 rotationally drives the second ball screw provided on the guide rail 12, the stage 14 moves along the second groove along the horizontal direction in FIG. Move to.

  When the control unit 5 gives an operation command to the drive unit 17, the drive unit 17 moves the blanket cylinder 3 in the vertical direction in FIG. 1 and / or counterclockwise rotates the blanket cylinder 3 about the paper surface direction in FIG. Rotate.

  The blanket cylinder 3 includes an impression cylinder 31, a front end clamp 32 provided on the impression cylinder 31, and a rear end clamp 33 provided on the impression cylinder 31.

  The impression cylinder 31 is a cylindrical member and is supported between the two support columns 15 with the cylindrical surface facing in a direction parallel to the paper surface direction. The front end clamp 32 and the rear end clamp 33 are clamps that hold the support 34 that receives and supports the ink 7 from the printing intaglio 2 described later. Silicone rubber is used as the support 34, and the support 34 held by the front end clamp 32 and the rear end clamp 33 is held in close contact with the cylindrical surface of the impression cylinder 31.

  In a state where the support body 34 is gripped, one clamp positioned on the rotation direction side of the support body 34 is the front end clamp 32, and the other clamp position positioned on the rotation direction opposite side of the support body 34 is the rear end clamp 33. It is.

  Further, the printing apparatus 1 includes an intaglio carrying in / out port for carrying in / out the printing intaglio 2, a work carrying in / out port for carrying in / out the work 4, and an application unit for applying ink to the printing intaglio 2, but in FIG. 1. These are not shown.

<2. Intaglio for printing>
Next, the printing intaglio according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. 2 and 3 are conceptual diagrams of the printing intaglio 2 according to the first embodiment.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view of the printing intaglio 2, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the printing intaglio 2 cut along the line AA ′ in FIG. 2.

  As a material of the printing intaglio 2, a material having low wettability to the ink to be used (that is, a material that repels ink) is preferable from the viewpoint of reliably receiving the ink on the printing intaglio 2 to the blanket cylinder 3. Moreover, from the viewpoint of the printing intaglio 2 being repeatedly pressed against the blanket cylinder 3, a material having high abrasion resistance is suitable. Although the resist resin is used as the material of the printing intaglio 2 in the first embodiment, the invention is not limited to this, and the printing intaglio 2 having a protective film mounted on the surface based on the resist resin is used. May be. A film such as a plating film or a diamond-like carbon film is used as the protective film. As the plating film, a nickel film is preferable from the viewpoint of simplicity of plating.

  Reference is made to the cross-sectional view of FIG. The printing intaglio 2 has a contact surface 21 that contacts the blanket cylinder 3 and a side wall surface 22 and a bottom surface 23 that do not directly contact the blanket cylinder 3 in a blank transfer step (S12) in a printing method described later. The printing intaglio 2 is provided with three concave portions surrounded by the side wall surface 22 and the bottom surface 23, which are referred to as a first concave portion C1, a second concave portion C2, and a third concave portion C3, respectively.

  In the first embodiment, three recesses are provided as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the recesses are arbitrary with respect to the contact surface 21 of the printing intaglio 2. Are provided at a plurality of locations.

  The first recess C1, the second recess C2, and the third recess C3 have a first depth D1, a second depth D2, and a third depth D3, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, the first depth D1 is a distance from the contact surface 21 to the bottom surface 23 of the first recess C1, and the second depth D2 is from the contact surface 21 to the second recess C2. The third depth D3 is a distance from the contact surface 21 to the bottom surface 23 of the third recess C3.

  The first recess C1, the second recess C2, and the third recess C3 have a first line width W1, a second line width W2, and a third line width W3, respectively. As shown in FIG. 2, the first line width W1, the second line width W2, and the third line width W3 are the short-side widths of the first recess C1, the second recess C2, and the third recess C3. As shown in FIG. 4, the width of the first recess C1, the second recess C2, and the third recess C3 on the contact surface 21 side.

  In the first embodiment, the first line width W1 is 10 μm, the second line width W2 is 15 μm, and the third line width W3 is 25 μm.

  The first depth D1 is 30 μm, the second depth D2 is 20 μm, and the third depth D3 is 10 μm.

  In the printing intaglio plate 2 having a plurality of recesses (first recess C1, second recess C2, and third recess C3) having different line widths, the plurality of line widths (first line width W1, second line width W2, and second 3 line width W3) and the depths of the recesses (the first depth D1, the second depth D2, and the third depth D3) are set to the above relationship, so that a line is printed in the printing process described later. Ink can be suitably transferred from the printing intaglio 2 having a plurality of recesses having different widths to the work 4 via the blanket cylinder 3.

  Regarding the numerical basis of the preferable relationship among the first depth D1, the second depth D2, and the third depth D3 and the first line width W1, the second line width W2, and the third line width W3, This will be described in detail in <Print Test>.

  In the first embodiment, the concave portions are provided in three places, the first concave portion C1, the second concave portion C2, and the third concave portion C3. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be two locations. There may be more than three locations.

Further, in the first embodiment, the line widths and depths of the plurality of recesses are in the above relationship, but the present invention is not limited to this, and in each of the plurality of recesses included in the printing intaglio 2, respectively. If the relationship between the line width and the depth satisfies at least two of the following five conditions (1) to (5), the printing intaglio 2 having a plurality of recesses having different line widths to the blanket cylinder 3 Ink can be suitably transferred to the work 4 via
(1) When the line width of the recess is 9 μm or more and 11 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 28 μm or more and 36 μm or less.
(2) When the line width of the recess is 13 μm or more and 17 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 17 μm or more and 28 μm or less.
(3) When the line width of the recess is from 22 μm to 28 μm, the depth of the recess is from 9 μm to 14 μm.
(4) When the line width of the recess is 50 μm or more and 60 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 5 μm or more and 10 μm or less.
(5) When the line width of the recess is 85 μm or more, the depth of the recess is 5 μm.

  In the first embodiment, the first recess C1 satisfies the condition (1), the second recess C2 satisfies the condition (2), and the third recess C3 satisfies the condition (3). Within this range, good transfer can be realized by a single printing process from a plurality of recesses having different line widths.

  As another selection method, for example, the first recess C1 may satisfy the condition (1), the second recess C2 may satisfy the condition (3), and the third recess C3 may satisfy the condition (5). In this range as well, good transfer can be realized by a single printing process from a plurality of recesses having different line widths.

  As another method of selection, for example, the first recess C1 may satisfy the condition (1), the second recess C2 may satisfy the condition (5), and the third recess C3 may satisfy the condition (5). That is, the plurality of recesses may satisfy the same condition. In this case as well, good transfer can be realized by a single printing process from a plurality of recesses having different line widths.

    <3. Printing method>

  Next, a printing method according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of each process of the printing method according to the first embodiment. 5 to 8 show schematic diagrams of the respective steps in the flowchart of FIG.

  Please refer to FIG. The printing apparatus 1 (see FIG. 1) executes the printing process shown in FIG. Here, the printing apparatus 1 performs the following initialization operation before executing the printing process, places the printing intaglio 2 and the workpiece 4 in advance on the stage 13 and the stage 14, respectively, and the support 34 on the impression cylinder 31. To hold. Then, the stage 13, the stage 14, and the blanket cylinder 3 are positioned at the initial positions.

  That is, the control unit 5 issues an operation command to the drive unit 16 and positions the stage 13 and the stage 14 at the loading positions where the printing intaglio 2 and the work 4 can be placed, respectively. The printing intaglio 2 is carried in from an intaglio entrance / exit (not shown) by a robot arm or the like, and the workpiece 4 is carried in from a work carry-in / out entrance (not shown) by a robot arm or the like, and placed on the stage 13 and the stage 14, respectively. . Further, the support 34 is held on the cylindrical surface of the impression cylinder 31 by being held by the front end clamp 32 and the rear end clamp 33.

  Next, the control unit 5 performs the zero point return of the printing apparatus 1. An operation command is issued to the drive unit 16 and the drive unit 17, and the stage 13, the stage 14, and the blanket cylinder 3 are respectively positioned at the initial positions.

  After executing the initialization operation described above, the control unit 5 executes the printing process shown in FIG.

  When the control unit 5 executes the printing process, an application process (S11) is first executed. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a state of the printing intaglio 2 during the coating process. In the coating process, the coating unit applies the ink 7 to the printing intaglio 2. The coating unit includes an ink supply mechanism (not shown) that supplies the ink 7 to the printing intaglio 2 and a doctor blade 6 that scrapes the ink 7 supplied from the ink supply mechanism from the contact surface 21 of the printing intaglio 2. Is a unit.

  In the coating step, first, a predetermined amount of ink 7 is supplied to the contact surface 21 of the printing intaglio 2 by the ink supply mechanism. Next, the doctor blade 6 is brought into contact with the contact surface 21 of the printing intaglio 2 and slid leftward in the paper surface direction of FIG. The ink is supplied to the inside of the second recess C2 and the third recess C3, and the ink 7 on the contact surface 21 is scraped off and removed. As a result, in the printing intaglio 2, the ink 7 is supplied only to the inside of the first recess C 1, the second recess C 2, and the third recess C 3.

  Here, as the ink 7, a conductive paste containing a conductive material and a solvent is used. In the first embodiment, silver powder is used as the conductive material, and butyl carbitol acetate (hereinafter referred to as “BCA”) is used as the solvent. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Various metal powders can be used as the conductive material, but a metal having a relatively low resistivity is suitable, and silver is used in the first embodiment. Although various organic solvents can be used as the solvent, a solvent that is absorbed by the support 34 is suitable, and in the first embodiment, BCA that is absorbed by the silicone rubber used as the support 34 is used.

  In the first embodiment, the conductive material of the ink 7 includes 60 wt% or more and 80 wt% or less, and the solvent includes 1 wt% or more and 10 wt% or less. As the proportion of the conductive material is higher and the proportion of the solvent is lower, the ink 7 tends to have a higher viscosity, and the ink 7 used in the first embodiment is also set to a relatively high viscosity. As will be described later, the solvent in the ink 7 is removed during the printing process, and since it is a conductive material that is actually transferred onto the work 4 and used, the amount of the ink 7 is higher when the material is a high viscosity material. It is preferable from the viewpoint that the amount can be suppressed and material saving can be realized.

  Returning to FIG. When the ink 7 is supplied into the first concave portion C1, the second concave portion C2, and the third concave portion C3, a blank transfer step (S12) is performed next.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a state of the printing intaglio 2 and the blanket cylinder 3 during the blank transfer process. In response to an operation command from the control unit 5 (see FIG. 1), the drive unit 16 moves the stage 13 on which the printing intaglio 2 is placed below the blanket cylinder 3, and the drive unit 17 moves the blanket cylinder 3 downward. The blanket cylinder 3 having the support 34 attached to the surface is pressed against the contact surface 21 (see FIG. 3) of the printing intaglio 2. Then, the drive unit 16 moves the stage 13 to the right in the paper direction of FIG. 6 according to the operation command of the control unit 5, and the drive unit 17 rotates the blanket cylinder counterclockwise about the paper direction of FIG. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the ink 7 inside the first concave portion C <b> 1, the second concave portion C <b> 2, and the third concave portion C <b> 3 of the printing intaglio 2 is received by the support body 34. The ink 7 is transferred to the cylinder 3.

  After the ink 7 is transferred to the blanket cylinder 3, the drive unit 17 moves the blanket cylinder 3 upward from the position where the blanket cylinder 3 is pressed against the printing intaglio 2 according to the operation command of the control unit 5, and the drive unit 16 moves the stage 13. The blanket cylinder 3 is retracted from below to the initial position.

  In the blank transfer process, by making the peripheral speed of the blanket cylinder 3 equal to the moving speed of the stage 13, the ink 7 is transferred to the blanket cylinder 3 while maintaining the size of the plurality of recesses C1, C2, C3 of the printing intaglio 2 can do. In the first embodiment, the control unit 5 controls the drive units 16 and 17 so that these speeds are equal.

  Returning to FIG. When the ink 7 is transferred from the printing intaglio 2 to the support 34 in the blanket cylinder 3, a workpiece transfer step (S13) is then performed.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the blanket cylinder 3 and the workpiece 4 in the workpiece transfer process. The drive unit 16 moves the stage 14 on which the workpiece 4 is placed under the blanket cylinder 3 according to the operation command of the control unit 5 (see FIG. 1), and the drive unit 17 moves the blanket cylinder 3 downward to A blanket cylinder 3 having a support 34 attached thereto is pressed against the surface of the workpiece 4. Then, the drive unit 16 moves the stage 14 to the right in the paper surface direction of FIG. 7 according to the operation command of the control unit 5, and the drive unit 17 rotates the blanket cylinder counterclockwise about the paper surface direction of FIG. As a result, the ink 7 on the support 34 is received by the surface of the work 4 as shown in FIG. 7, whereby the transfer of the ink 7 from the blanket cylinder 3 to the work 4 is executed.

  After the ink 7 is transferred to the support 34 by the blank transfer process, the BCA as the solvent contained in the ink 7 is absorbed by the silicone rubber as the support 34, thereby including the solvent on the surface of the support 34. An absorption layer is formed. This absorbing layer tends to have a weaker adhesive force with the ink 7 than the surface of the normal support 34, so that the ink 7 does not remain on the surface of the support 34 in the work transfer process. The ink 7 can be easily transferred.

  Therefore, after the ink 7 is transferred from the printing intaglio 2 to the support 34 by the blank transfer process, the solvent in the ink 7 is removed until the ink 7 is transferred from the support 34 to the work 4 by the work transfer process. It is preferable to secure time for the support 34 to absorb. In addition, if the above time becomes longer, the solvent contained in the ink 7 is absorbed more than necessary or volatilized and removed to the atmosphere, so that the ink 7 of the support 34 does not adhere to the workpiece 4. Such time is preferably adjusted to an appropriate time. In the first embodiment, the ink 7 is transferred from the support 34 to the work 4 by the work transfer process after the ink 7 is transferred from the printing intaglio 2 to the support 34 by the blank transfer process. Is transcribed.

  After the ink 7 is transferred to the workpiece 4, the drive unit 17 moves the blanket cylinder 3 upward from the position where the blanket cylinder 3 is pressed against the workpiece 4 according to the operation command of the control unit 5, and the drive unit 16 moves the stage 14 to the blanket cylinder 3. Retreat from below to the initial position.

  Returning to FIG. When the ink 7 is transferred from the support 34 in the blanket cylinder 3 to the workpiece 4, a drying step (S14) is performed next.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a state of the workpiece 4 after the drying process is completed. After the workpiece transfer process, the ink 7 is formed in a predetermined pattern on the surface of the workpiece 4. As described above, the ink 7 contains a solvent in addition to the conductive material. When the workpiece 4 is used as a device, it is necessary to remove the solvent. In the drying step, the solvent is removed by natural drying. That is, by leaving the workpiece 4 after the workpiece transfer process as it is, the solvent is removed from the surface of the workpiece 4 by volatilization, and a conductive pattern 71 containing a conductive material is formed on the surface of the workpiece 4 as shown in FIG. Is done.

  In the first embodiment, as described above, the solvent in the ink 7 is removed from the surface of the work 4 by natural drying. However, such a configuration does not require a separate drying unit particularly for the drying process. This is preferable from the viewpoint of suppressing the apparatus cost.

  In addition, regarding implementation of this invention, it is not restricted to natural drying, It is good also as a structure which removes the solvent in ink using various drying methods. In the case where natural drying cannot provide a sufficient drying speed and a desired throughput in the printing process cannot be achieved, a drying unit for supplying hot air to the surface of the work 4 is further provided, and hot air is supplied to the surface of the work 4 in the drying process. The drying rate of the solvent may be increased by supplying.

  Moreover, it is good also as a structure which raises the drying rate of a solvent by using a drying unit which decompresses the atmosphere in the surface of the workpiece | work 4 besides supplying hot air.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the drying process is performed while the work 4 is placed on the stage 14 of the printing apparatus 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the work 4 is transferred from the work carry-in / out entrance to the printing apparatus 1. It is good also as a structure which removes the solvent in the ink 7 from the surface of the workpiece | work 4 after carrying out to the exterior of this and introduce | transducing into the drying apparatus prepared separately.

  Through the above steps, the printing method according to the first embodiment is executed, and the conductive pattern 71 based on the shapes of the first concave portion C1, the second concave portion C2, and the third concave portion C3, which are a plurality of concave portions of the printing intaglio 2, It is formed on the surface of the workpiece 4.

  Further, in the first embodiment of the present application, as the intaglio 2 for printing, the first line width W1 is 10 μm, the second line width W2 is 15 μm, and the third line width W3 is 25 μm. An intaglio plate having

  As described above, in the intaglio having a plurality of types of line widths, the first depth D1 is set to 30 μm, the second depth D2 is set to 20 μm, and the third depth D3 is set to 10 μm. Thus, the ink can be suitably transferred from the printing intaglio 2 to the work 4 via the blanket cylinder 3.

  Regarding the numerical basis of the preferable relationship among the first depth D1, the second depth D2, and the third depth D3 and the first line width W1, the second line width W2, and the third line width W3, This will be described in detail in <Print Test>.

<4. Method for producing printing intaglio>
Next, the manufacturing method of the printing intaglio 2 (refer FIG. 2, FIG. 3) which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. The printing intaglio 2 according to the first embodiment is manufactured by developing a resist laminate that is generated by repeatedly forming a resist layer and exposing the resist layer to each layer.

  In the intaglio having a plurality of types of line widths, the first line width W1 is 10 μm, the second line width W2 is 15 μm, and the third line width W3 is 25 μm as the intaglio 2 for printing by the above manufacturing method. The first depth D1 can be set to 30 μm, the second depth D2 can be set to 20 μm, and the third depth D3 can be set to 10 μm.

Second Embodiment
The second embodiment of the present application is different from the first embodiment in the relationship between the line widths and depths of the plurality of recesses in the printing intaglio 2, but the other points are the same as those in the first embodiment, so that Is omitted.

In the printing intaglio 2 according to the second embodiment, the relationship between the line width and the depth of each of the plurality of recesses included in the printing intaglio 2 is at least from the following (1) with X being the line width of the recess. If two or more of the four conditions of 4) are satisfied, ink can be suitably transferred from the printing intaglio 2 having a plurality of concave portions having different line widths to the work 4 via the blanket cylinder 3.
(1) When the line width of the recess is 10 μm or more and 15 μm or less, the depth of the recess is (−2.1 * X + 49) μm or more (−1.5 * X + 51) μm or less.
(2) When the line width of the recess is 15 μm or more and 25 μm or less, the depth of the recess is (−0.8 * X + 29.5) μm or more (−1.45 * X + 50) μm or less.
(3) When the line width of the recess is 25 μm or more and 55 μm or less, the depth of the recess is (−0.15 * X + 13) μm or more (−0.1 * X + 16) μm or less.
(4) When the line width of the recess is 55 μm or more, the depth of the recess is 5 μm.

  For example, the first recess C1 satisfies the condition (1), the second recess C2 satisfies the condition (2), and the third recess C3 satisfies the condition (3). Within this range, good transfer can be realized by a single printing process from a plurality of recesses having different line widths.

As another selection method, for example, the first recess C1 may satisfy the condition (1), the second recess C2 may satisfy the condition (3), and the third recess C3 may satisfy the condition (4). In this range as well, good transfer can be realized by a single printing process from a plurality of recesses having different line widths.
<Modification>
In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the ink 7 is transferred from the printing intaglio 2 to the work 4 using the printing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, and the conductive pattern 71 is formed on the surface of the work 4. . In the embodiment of the present invention, the configuration of the printing apparatus is not limited to the printing apparatus 1, and a printing apparatus in which various changes are made to the printing apparatus 1 may be used.

  In the first embodiment, the support body 34 is provided on a part of the cylindrical surface of the impression cylinder 31 by the front end clamp 32 and the rear end clamp 33. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, and the support 34 may be wound around the entire cylindrical surface of the impression cylinder 31. Further, the holding method of the support 34 is not limited to gripping by the front end clamp 32 and the rear end clamp 33, and is configured to perform suction holding (so-called vacuum chuck) by sucking air from a groove provided on the cylindrical surface. It is good.

  In the first embodiment and the like, as shown in FIG. 1, the blanket cylinder 3 is supported by the support column 15 and is driven up and down and rotated with reference to the support column 15 so that the stage 13 and the stage 14 move below the blanket cylinder 3 each time. It was. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, and the column 15 itself may be configured to be movable to the left and right, the blanket cylinder 3 may be moved to the left and right, and the stage 13 and the stage 14 may be fixed to the base 11. . In the implementation of the present invention, the blanket cylinder 3 and the printing intaglio 2 and the blanket cylinder 3 and the workpiece 4 may be configured to move relative to each other.

<Printing test>
In order to verify the action and effect of the printing intaglio in the present invention, the inventors conducted many printing tests. The contents and results of the test are shown below. The printing test is a test for obtaining a suitable relationship between the line width and the depth in a printing intaglio having a plurality of types of line widths.

<Test content>
First, the contents of the print test will be described. In the printing test, first, a plurality of printing intaglios having different line widths and depths were prepared. Specifically, six types of line widths of 10 μm, 15 μm, 25 μm, 55 μm, 85 μm and 100 μm are selected, respectively, and the depth is 5 μm, 10 μm, 20 μm and 30 μm, respectively. And recesses having 5 depths of 40 μm were prepared. In other words, the prepared recesses are 30 types of recesses (6 types of line width) × (5 types of depth).

  In the printing test, a depth of 5 μm or more and 40 μm or less is selected. When the depth of the recess is shallower than 5 μm, the volume per unit area of the ink supplied to the recess becomes small, and after the ink is supplied to the printing intaglio, before the ink is received by the blanket cylinder In addition, if the solvent is volatilized from the ink, the ink is dried and cannot be transferred to the blanket cylinder, and if the depth of the concave portion having a large line width is shallower than a certain level, the doctor blade is used in the ink application process. A depth of 5 μm or more was selected from the viewpoint of causing so-called bottom scratching that comes into contact with the bottom surface of the concave portion and making it impossible to supply a good ink to the concave portion.

  In addition, when the depth of the recess is deeper than 40 μm, the ink is not completely transferred from the printing intaglio to the blanket cylinder, and there is a possibility that a part of the ink remains on the bottom of the recess of the printing intaglio. is there. The ink from which the solvent is volatilized from the residual ink is mixed with the ink supplied in the subsequent printing process, so that the ink with an unexpected solvent concentration is transferred from the printing intaglio to the blanket cylinder. As a result, problems such as poor transfer of ink from the blanket cylinder to the workpiece may occur, which is not suitable for continuous printing. In addition, the amount of ink transferred to the surface of the workpiece tends to increase as the depth of the concave portion increases, but this increase in the amount of ink may saturate when it reaches a certain depth or more. It became clear by the experiment mentioned later. Also from this viewpoint, a depth of 40 μm or less was adopted as the depth of the recess.

  The printing process shown in FIG. 4 was performed using each of these printing intaglios having 30 types of recesses. In this printing process, the printing conditions were the same except that the dimensions of the recesses were different.

  More specifically, first, the ink 7 was transferred from the printing intaglio 2 to the blanket cylinder 3 using silicone rubber as the support 34 (a blank transfer process). As the ink 7, an ink containing 80% by weight of silver paste and 10% by weight of BCA was used. The stage 13 was moved at a moving speed of 40 mm / sec so that the moving speed of the stage 13 and the peripheral speed of the blanket cylinder 3 were equal.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a transfer failure of the ink 7 from the printing intaglio 2 to the support 34 in the above-described blank transfer step. In FIG. 9, the support 34 is shown as a flat plate for simplicity, but actually, the support 34 has a curved surface by being held by a cylindrical impression cylinder 31 as shown in FIG. .

  As shown in FIG. 9, the ink 7 supplied to the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2 is not received by the support 34 after the blank transfer process and remains in the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2. This is referred to as “transfer defect ink 72”.

  As the depth of the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2 is shallower and the line width of the concave portion is narrower, the ink 7 is not transferred to the blanket cylinder 3 and tends to remain as defective transfer ink 72 in the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2. This is because, in a concave portion having the same line width, the volume of the ink 7 supplied to the inside becomes smaller as the depth of the concave portion is shallower and in the concave portion having the same depth, the smaller the line width of the concave portion. Therefore, the solvent in the ink is less than the other recesses, so that the solvent is volatilized and dried from the ink 7 in the recesses before transferring to the support 34, and has sufficient adhesive force to the support 34. It is caused by not being able to.

  Next, the ink 7 was transferred from the blanket cylinder 3 to the work 4 (work transfer process). The time from the blank transfer process to the workpiece transfer process was in the range of 2 seconds to 6 seconds. The stage 14 was moved at a moving speed of 40 mm / second so that the moving speed of the stage 14 and the peripheral speed of the blanket cylinder 3 were equal.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing a transfer failure of the ink 7 from the support 34 to the work 4 in the work transfer process. In FIG. 10, the support 34 is shown as a flat plate for simplicity, but actually, the support 34 has a curved surface by being held by a cylindrical impression cylinder 31 as shown in FIG. .

  As shown in FIG. 10, the ink 7 supplied to the support 34 is not completely transferred to the work 4 after the work transfer process, and a part or all of the ink remains on the surface of the support 34. This is referred to as “transfer defective ink 73”.

  As the depth of the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2 is deeper and the line width of the concave portion is wider, the ink 7 is not completely transferred from the blanket cylinder 3 and tends to remain as defective transfer ink 73 on the surface of the support 34. In order for the ink 7 to be completely transferred from the blanket cylinder 3, the bonding force between the inks 7 must be sufficiently strong, and the adhesive force between the workpiece 4 and the ink 7 must be stronger than the adhesive force between the blanket cylinder 3 and the ink 7. .

  As the intaglio 2 for printing is deeper and the line width of the recess is wider, the volume of the ink 7 becomes larger and the bonding force between the inks 7 tends to become weaker. When the bonding force between the inks 7 is lower than the adhesive force between the blanket cylinder 3 and the ink 7 and the adhesive force between the work 4 and the ink 7, the ink 7 is divided and becomes a defective transfer ink 73.

  Finally, after the work transfer process, the solvent in the ink 7 was removed on the surface of the work 4 by natural drying to obtain a conductive pattern 71 (drying process).

  Table 1 shows the results of executing the above printing process for 30 types of recesses. In Table 1, the result that the ink 7 supplied to the concave portion becomes “transfer defective ink 72” is indicated by a “−” mark, and the result that the ink 7 supplied to the concave portion becomes “transfer defective ink 73” is shown. The ink 7 indicated by a “x” mark and supplied to the concave portion does not become the defective transfer inks 72 and 73 but is normally transferred from the printing intaglio 2 to the support 34 and completely transferred from the support 34 to the workpiece 4. The result of obtaining the conductive pattern 71 is indicated by “◯” mark as normal transfer.

  Further, FIG. 11 shows the relationship between the cross-sectional area of the conductive pattern 71 on the surface of the workpiece 4 and the depth of the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2 obtained as a result of executing the above printing process for each line width of the concave portion. Show.

The cross-sectional area of the conductive pattern 71 on the surface of the work 4 is inevitably smaller than the cross-sectional area of the ink 7 supplied to the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2. There are the following reasons for this.
(1) Absorbed by the support 34 of the blanket cylinder 3 or due to the solvent being removed from the ink 7 in the drying process, the amount of ink 7 that becomes the conductive pattern 71 decreases.
(2) Ink 7 which becomes conductive pattern 71 due to ink 7 remaining in the bottom of the recess without being completely transferred from printing intaglio 2 to blanket cylinder 3 in the blank transfer step The amount decreases.

  The reduction in the cross-sectional area of the conductive pattern 71 due to the reason (1) depends on the ratio of the conductive material and the solvent of the ink 7 regardless of the depth of the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2. In the experiment using the above, it is considered that the reduction in the cross-sectional area of the conductive pattern 71 due to the reason (1) occurs uniformly in the recesses of any depth.

  On the other hand, the reduction in the cross-sectional area of the conductive pattern 71 due to the reason (2) is more noticeable as the depth of the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2 is deeper. That is, as the depth of the concave portion increases, the ink is not completely transferred from the printing intaglio to the blanket cylinder, and some of the ink remains on the bottom of the concave portion of the printing intaglio according to the experimental results. It became clear.

  As shown in FIG. 11, in any of the line widths of 10 μm, 15 μm, and 25 μm, the conductive pattern 71 formed on the surface of the work 4 is cut off when the depth of the recess is between 5 μm and 30 μm. The area tends to increase as the depth of the recess increases, and the increase rate when the depth of the recess is from 20 μm to 30 μm is 80% for the line width 10 μm, 40% for the line width 15 μm, and 25 μm for the line width. 50%.

  On the other hand, the increase rate of the cross-sectional area of the conductive pattern 71 when the depth of the concave portion is changed from 30 μm to 40 μm is 20% for the line width 10 μm, 10% for the line width 15 μm, and 10% for the line width 25 μm. It becomes smaller than 1/4 of the increase rate from 20 μm to 30 μm. Thereby, it is suggested from the experimental results that the increase rate is saturated at 40 μm or more.

  The cross-sectional area of the conductive pattern 71 on the surface of the work 4 corresponds to a so-called effective ink amount that is actually used in device formation. The higher the ratio of the cross-sectional area of the conductive pattern 71 to the concave cross-sectional area of the printing intaglio 2 is, the more effectively the ink 7 supplied to the printing intaglio 2 is used. In other words, even if the concave cross-sectional area of the printing intaglio 2 is large, if the cross-sectional area of the conductive pattern 71 does not increase accordingly, the ink 7 is wasted, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of saving materials. .

  From the above, by evaluating the recess depth of the printing intaglio 2 and the cross-sectional area of the conductive pattern 71, the upper limit of the depth of the recess of the printing intaglio 2 suitable for the printing process is obtained. In this example, since the tendency of the increase rate of the cross-sectional area of the conductive pattern 71 to be saturated at 40 μm or more was obtained, 40 μm is set as the upper limit of the recess depth.

  A saturation tendency is obtained when the evaluation is made using the graph as shown in FIG. 11 depending on the relationship between the adhesive strength between the printing intaglio 2 and the ink 7 and the adhesive strength between the support 34 of the blanket cylinder 3 and the ink 7. Needless to say, if the depth of the recess is larger than 40 μm, an upper limit of the recess depth larger than 40 μm may be adopted.

  Next, refer to Table 1. As shown in the printing conditions with a line width of 10 μm and a depth of 5 μm in Table 1, the ink 7 in the concave portion having a small line width and a shallow depth tended to be a transfer failure ink 72. Further, as shown in the printing condition of a depth of 20 μm or more at a line width of 55 μm and the printing condition of a depth of 10 μm or more at a line width of 85 μm or more, the ink 7 in the concave portion having a large line width and a deep depth is a transfer failure ink. A tendency to be 73 was obtained. In a printing experiment, it was verified that normal transfer was performed under the conditions indicated by “◯” in Table 1.

  Therefore, if only normal transfer is required, the depth of a plurality of recesses having a plurality of types of line widths may be determined using the conditions indicated by “◯” in Table 1 as the printing intaglio 2. .

  If it is desired to simply increase the amount of ink 7 transferred to the workpiece 4, among the conditions indicated by “◯” in Table 1, the deepest depth for each line width may be selected. That is, for a line width of 10 μm to 25 μm, the depth of the recess is 40 μm, for a line width of 55 μm, the depth of the recess is 10 μm, and for a line width of 85 μm or more, the depth of the recess is 5 μm. It is preferable to use the intaglio plate 2 for printing.

  However, the inventors have clarified a more preferable method for selecting the line width and depth in the printing intaglio 2 by further evaluating the printing result.

  FIG. 12 shows a line width ratio (a ratio of the conductive pattern 71 of the conductive pattern 71) which is a ratio between the line width of the conductive pattern 71 on the surface of the work 4 and the line width of the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2 obtained as a result of executing the above printing process. The relationship between the line width / the line width of the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2 and the depth of the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2 is shown for each line width of the concave portion.

  As shown in Table 1, for the line width of 55 μm and the line width of 85 μm, if the depth is larger than about 10 μm, the complete transfer from the blanket cylinder 3 to the work 4 cannot be performed. It is limited to about 10 μm or less. Therefore, FIG. 12 shows a relationship from a line width of 10 μm to a line width of 25 μm that can adopt a relatively large depth without transfer failure.

  Please refer to FIG. In FIG. 12, the measured value of the relationship between the depth of the recess and the line width ratio at a line width of 10 μm is plotted with “♦”, and similarly, “●” is plotted for a line width of 15 μm, and “x” is plotted for a line width of 25 μm. doing. In addition, for each of these plots, an approximate expression is taken by polynomial approximation (the order is 2) and each is indicated by a dotted line. In addition, in the approximate expression, “◯” marks are respectively shown at points where the line width ratios are “0.9”, “1.0”, and “1.1”.

  FIG. 12 shows that the line width ratio tends to increase as the depth of the concave portion increases in all the line widths. This is because the deeper the concave portion, the higher the height of the ink 7 transferred to the work 4, and the ink 7 tends to spread on the surface of the work 4 due to gravity or the force pressed from the blanket cylinder 3 to the work 4 before drying. Due to becoming.

  After the ink 7 is received from the printing intaglio 2 to the blanket cylinder 3, the ink 7 line when the ink is transferred from the blanket cylinder 3 to the work 4 due to absorption of the solvent in the blanket cylinder 3, etc. The width is smaller than the line width of the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2. Thereafter, the ink 7 spreads on the surface of the work 4 while consuming the height thereof, whereby the line width is increased, and the conductive pattern 71 is formed by the drying process, whereby the line width is fixed.

  As shown in the approximate expression of FIG. 12, when the line width is 10 μm, the difference between the line width (10 μm) of the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2 and the line width of the conductive pattern 71 on the surface of the work 4 is that the depth of the concave portion is 32 μm. And the line width ratio is 1. Further, the range in which the line width ratio is 0.9 or more and 1.1 or less with respect to the line width of 10 μm is the depth of the concave portion of 28 μm to 36 μm.

  When the line width is 15 μm, the difference between the line width (15 μm) of the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2 and the line width of the conductive pattern 71 on the surface of the work 4 is the smallest when the depth of the concave portion is 22 μm. The line width ratio is 1. Further, the range in which the line width ratio is 0.9 or more and 1.1 or less with respect to the line width of 15 μm is the depth of the concave portion of 17 μm to 28 μm.

  Further, when the line width is 25 μm, the difference between the line width (25 μm) of the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2 and the line width of the conductive pattern 71 on the surface of the work 4 becomes the smallest when the depth of the concave portion is 12 μm, The line width ratio is 1. The range in which the line width ratio is 0.9 or more and 1.1 or less with respect to the line width of 25 μm is the depth of the concave portion of 9 μm to 14 μm.

  From the above results, a suitable line width and depth for good transfer to the workpiece 4 can be determined from two viewpoints. The first viewpoint is the ink amount, and the second viewpoint is the line width ratio.

  The first viewpoint acts on the resistivity of the conductive pattern 71. The tendency that the cross-sectional area of the conductive pattern 71 increases as the amount of ink transferred to the workpiece 4 increases is obtained from FIG. The larger the cross-sectional area of the conductive pattern 71, the lower the resistivity of the conductive pattern 71. When the workpiece 4 is made into a device, the lower the resistivity of the wiring such as the conductive pattern 71 is, the better. Therefore, from the viewpoint of resistivity, it is preferable that the amount of ink is large, that is, it is preferable that the depth of the recess is as deep as possible.

  The second viewpoint affects the accuracy with which the conductive pattern 71 is created. The creation of the conductive pattern 71 with a size as designed is necessary to increase the definition of the conductive pattern 71. It is desirable that the line width ratio is smaller in view of facilitating the size design of the conductive pattern 71 if the line width of the concave portion designed by the printing intaglio 2 becomes the line width of the conductive pattern 71 on the surface of the workpiece 4 as it is. For this reason, the depth whose line width ratio is close to 1 is selected. Specifically, the range in which the line width ratio is 0.9 to 1.1 with respect to the line width (that is, the difference between the line width of the conductive pattern 71 and the line width of the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2 becomes zero. If the depth is within a range of ± 10% with respect to the depth, the error can be within a practical range.

  To summarize the above, when forming a plurality of recesses having a plurality of types of line widths on the printing intaglio 2, first, the depth at which the line width ratio is close to 1 can be selected with emphasis on the second viewpoint. The inventors have shown that this is preferable by a printing test. Thereby, the line width of the concave part designed by the printing intaglio 2 is not reflected as it is in the line width of the conductive pattern 71 on the surface of the workpiece 4, and when the size shift occurs, the adjacent conductive patterns 71 are not originally in contact with each other. It is possible to prevent the defective device from being manufactured by contacting at a position.

  Then, the line width ratio is applied by applying the first aspect of low resistivity by the ink amount to the depth region of the allowable range of 0.9 to 1.1. It is possible to obtain a conductive pattern 71 having a low resistivity while suppressing the above.

  That is, a deeper concave portion is selected as the concave shape condition within an allowable range of a line width ratio of 0.9 to 1.1. Specifically, the range of the line width ratio of 1.0 or more and 1.1 or less is a more preferable concave shape condition.

  From these results, the preferable upper limit of the depth that can be adopted is 40 μm from the results of FIG. 11, and from the results of Table 1 and FIG. 12, when using intaglio plates having a plurality of types of line widths as printing intaglio plates 2, For a recess having a width of 10 μm, the depth of the recess is preferably 28 μm or more and 36 μm or less, and more preferably a depth of 32 μm or more and 36 μm or less. Further, for a recess having a line width of 15 μm, the depth of the recess is preferably 17 μm or more and 28 μm or less, and more preferably 22 μm or more and 28 μm or less. In addition, for a recess having a line width of 25 μm, the depth of the recess is preferably 9 μm or more and 14 μm or less, and more preferably 12 μm or more and 14 μm or less.

  Moreover, 5 μm or more and 10 μm or less is preferable as the depth of the recess for a recess having a line width of 55 μm, and 5 μm is preferable as the depth of the recess for a recess having a line width of 85 μm or more.

  In the printing intaglio 2 having a plurality of types of line widths, the ink is suitably transferred from the printing intaglio 2 to the work 4 via the blanket cylinder 3 by selecting the relationship between the line width and the depth as described above. be able to.

  A plurality of recesses having a plurality of types of line widths can be used as long as the relationship between the plurality of line widths and the depth of the recess corresponding to each line width satisfies at least two of the above conditions. The intaglio 2 for printing having a line width of 2 can transfer the ink 7 satisfactorily by a single printing process.

  Under the above conditions, even when the line width is 10 μm, the maximum preferred depth is 36 μm, and the aspect ratio between the line width and the depth is 3.6. Under the above conditions, a depth of 5 μm is suitable for a line width of 85 μm or more, and for a line width of 10 μm, a depth of 28 μm or more and 36 μm or less is suitable.

  Here, Patent Document 2 does not mention a value that can be specifically transferred as the relationship between the line width and the depth. On the other hand, the inventors have clarified the relationship between the line width and the depth that can be suitably transferred, and further proposed a viewpoint of the line width ratio and incorporated it in the evaluation, so that a more suitable line width and depth can be obtained. We were able to provide a specific range. In addition, when printing a fine pattern (line width of 10 μm) and a large area pattern (line width of 85 μm or more) on one printing intaglio as described above, the line width and depth of which both patterns are transferred well. I was able to clarify the relationship.

  In addition, as the line width of the printing intaglio 2, even if there is a difference of about ± 10% with respect to the line width, it is considered that the transfer quality of the ink 7 is not greatly affected. When using intaglio plates having a plurality of types of line widths, the depth of the recesses is preferably 28 μm or more and 36 μm or less, and a depth of 32 μm or more and 36 μm or less is more preferable for the recesses having a line width of 9 μm or more and 11 μm or less. is there. Further, for a recess having a line width of 13 μm or more and 17 μm or less, the depth of the recess is preferably 17 μm or more and 28 μm or less, and more preferably 22 μm or more and 28 μm or less. Further, for a recess having a line width of 22 μm or more and 28 μm or less, the depth of the recess is preferably 9 μm or more and 14 μm or less, and more preferably 12 μm or more and 14 μm or less.

  Similarly, for a recess having a line width of 50 μm or more and 60 μm or less, the depth of the recess is preferably 5 μm or more and 10 μm or less. When the line width is 85 μm or more, 5 μm is preferable as the depth of the recess.

  The above relationship is shown in the graph of FIG. In FIG. 13, the horizontal axis represents the line width of the concave portion of the printing intaglio 2, the vertical axis represents the depth of the concave portion, and the preferred depth of the concave portion is indicated by a rectangular range for each line width of each concave portion. .

  Further, the line width and the depth of the printing intaglio 2 have a relationship as shown in FIG. 14 from another viewpoint. In FIG. 13, as the line width of the printing intaglio 2, even if there is a difference of about ± 10% with respect to the line width, the line width of 10 μm, 15 μm, The line width and depth were selected assuming that the same preferred depth exists within the range of ± 10% for each of 25 μm and 55 μm. Actually, the ink 7 is a material that can be easily transferred in the blank transfer process and the workpiece transfer process. For example, when the printing conditions are such that the ink 7 can be transferred satisfactorily even under relatively different conditions. It is preferable to select the line width and depth of the printing intaglio 2 from the viewpoint shown in the graph of FIG.

  On the other hand, when the conditions under which the ink 7 is transferred compared to the above are limited, that is, when the preferred depth changes strictly with the line width, as shown in FIG. It is preferable to select the line width and depth of the recesses within a range in which a linear function is taken between the respective depths for values where the line width ratio is 0.9 or more and 1.1 or less.

  That is, when the line width of the recess is X and the line width is in the range of 10 μm to 15 μm, the depth of the recess is in the range of (−2.1 * X + 49) μm to (−1.5 * X + 51) μm, In the range of 15 μm to 25 μm in width, the depth of the recess is in the range of (−0.8 * X + 29.5) μm to (−1.45 * X + 50) μm, and in the range of 25 μm to 55 μm in line width, It is preferable to select the relationship between the line width and the depth in which the depth of the recess is in the range of (−0.15 * X + 13) μm or more and (−0.1 * X + 16) μm or less.

  Table 1 shows that when the line width is 55 μm, 85 μm, and 100 μm, the transfer is normally performed at 5 μm. Therefore, when the line width is 55 μm or more, the depth of the recess is preferably 5 μm.

  From the above printing experiment, the inventors have clarified a preferable relationship between the line width and depth of the recess when forming a plurality of recesses having a plurality of types of line widths on the printing intaglio 2. If the printing intaglio 2 in which the line width and depth of the recesses included in the above range are selected is used, the complete transfer from the blanket cylinder 3 is obtained, the line width ratio is suppressed to a desired range, and the resistivity is also high. A suitable conductive pattern 71 that can be kept low can be formed on the surface of the workpiece 4. By making the workpiece 4 into a device, it is possible to manufacture a device whose quality is improved as compared with a device manufactured by a conventional intaglio printing technique.

  The present invention can be applied to a printing intaglio, a printing apparatus using the printing intaglio, and a printing method.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing apparatus 2 Printing intaglio 3 Blanket cylinder 4 Work 5 Control part 6 Doctor blade 7 Ink 10 Case 11 Base 12 Guide rail 13 Stage 14 Stage 15 Support | pillar 16 Drive part 17 Drive part 21 Contact surface 22 Side wall surface 23 Bottom face 31 Impression cylinder 32 Front end clamp 33 Rear end clamp 34 Support 71 Conductive pattern 72 Incomplete transfer ink 73 Incomplete transfer ink C1, C2, C3 First recess, second recess, third recess W1, W2, W3 First line width, 2nd line width, 3rd line width D1, D2, D3 1st depth, 2nd depth, 3rd depth

Claims (5)

An intaglio for printing,
A contact surface that contacts the blanket cylinder;
A plurality of recesses to which ink is supplied,
The plurality of recesses have a plurality of types of line widths on the contact surface side, and the relationship between the line width of the recesses and the depth of the recesses is at least the following (1) to (5) 5 An intaglio for printing, wherein two or more of the conditions are satisfied.
(1) When the line width of the recess is 9 μm or more and 11 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 28 μm or more and 36 μm or less.
(2) When the line width of the recess is 13 μm or more and 17 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 17 μm or more and 28 μm or less.
(3) When the line width of the recess is from 22 μm to 28 μm, the depth of the recess is from 9 μm to 14 μm.
(4) When the line width of the recess is 50 μm or more and 60 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 5 μm or more and 10 μm or less.
(5) When the line width of the recess is 85 μm or more, the depth of the recess is 5 μm. The intaglio for printing according to claim 1,
An intaglio for printing, wherein the relationship between the line width of the recess and the depth of the recess satisfies at least two of the following five conditions (1) to (5).
(1) When the line width of the recess is 9 μm or more and 11 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 32 μm or more and 36 μm or less.
(2) When the line width of the recess is 13 μm or more and 17 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 22 μm or more and 28 μm or less.
(3) When the line width of the recess is from 22 μm to 28 μm, the depth of the recess is from 12 μm to 14 μm.
(4) When the line width of the recess is 50 μm or more and 60 μm or less, the depth of the recess is 5 μm or more and 10 μm or less.
(5) When the line width of the recess is 85 μm or more, the depth of the recess is 5 μm. An intaglio for printing,
A contact surface that contacts the blanket cylinder;
A plurality of recesses to which ink is supplied,
The plurality of recesses have a plurality of types of line widths on the abutment surface side, and the relationship between the line width of the recesses and the depth of the recesses is at least the following (1) to (4) 4 An intaglio for printing, wherein two or more of the conditions are satisfied.
If the line width of the recess is X,
(1) When the line width of the recess is 10 μm or more and 15 μm or less, the depth of the recess is (−2.1 * X + 49) μm or more (−1.5 * X + 51) μm or less.
(2) When the line width of the recess is 15 μm or more and 25 μm or less, the depth of the recess is (−0.8 * X + 29.5) μm or more (−1.45 * X + 50) μm or less.
(3) When the line width of the recess is 25 μm or more and 55 μm or less, the depth of the recess is (−0.15 * X + 13) μm or more (−0.1 * X + 16) μm or less.
(4) When the line width of the recess is 55 μm or more, the depth of the recess is 5 μm. A printing device,
An application unit that supplies ink to the concave portion of the printing intaglio according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A blanket cylinder in which ink is received from the recesses of the printing intaglio,
A printing apparatus comprising: a work placement section for placing a work to which the ink is transferred from the blanket cylinder. A printing method for transferring ink from a printing intaglio to a workpiece via a blanket cylinder,
An application step of supplying the ink to the concave portion of the printing intaglio according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A blank transfer step of transferring the ink from the concave portion of the printing intaglio to the blanket cylinder;
A printing method comprising: a workpiece transfer step of transferring the ink from the blanket cylinder to the workpiece after the blank transfer step.

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