JPH08292224A - Method for inspecting electrode board and electrode - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a method for inspecting an electrode board and electrodes formed so that defects of disconnections and shortcircuits feared to be generated during the formation of the electrode board can be easily inspected accurately. CONSTITUTION: A plurality of electrodes are aligned in parallel to each other via a constant distance, thereby forming parallel electrodes. At the same time, end parts of every other electrodes are connected with each other on this electrode board. The inspecting method inspects the presence/absence of disconnections and shortcircuits in the electrodes on the electrode board. In a disconnection inspection process of the inspecting method, inspecting probes 2, 3 are connected respectively to end parts 85, 86 of a second electrode 12 and a third electrode 13 at the same side, and caused to scan approximately in a perpendicular direction to a longitudinal direction of the parallel electrodes, namely, in a direction shown by an arrow (b). A resistance value is measured at this time, thereby to inspect the presence/absence of disconnections for every parallel electrode.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrode substrate provided with a plurality of electrodes aligned in parallel with each other at regular intervals and used for a predetermined inspection process, a disconnection on the electrode substrate, and The present invention relates to an electrode inspection method for inspecting the presence or absence of a short circuit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, liquid crystal display devices have been used in a wide range of applications from consumer use to industrial use because of their features such as thinness and light weight, low voltage drive, and low power consumption. At present, a color display using a liquid crystal screen has been put into practical use, and further higher definition has been made.

In the above liquid crystal display device, one of a pair of transparent substrates such as glass sandwiching each liquid crystal layer is provided with a signal electrode composed of parallel electrodes in which a plurality of electrodes are aligned in parallel with each other at a constant interval, and the transparent substrate. On the other hand, the scanning electrodes are formed of parallel electrodes in which a plurality of electrodes are aligned in parallel with each other at a constant interval in the direction perpendicular to the signal electrodes. In particular, a liquid crystal display device of a simple matrix address system or an active matrix address system takes this form.

Therefore, in order to assemble a defect-free liquid crystal display device, it is necessary to accurately inspect the electrode substrate on which the signal electrodes or the scanning electrodes are formed in advance for disconnection and short circuit.

Here, in order to inspect for the presence or absence of disconnection on the above-mentioned electric board in the related art, first, as shown in FIG.
The inspection electrode 105 is brought into contact with one end of the transparent electrode 102 disposed on the electrode substrate 91, and the inspection electrode 106 is brought into contact with the other end thereof. Next, the inspection electrode 105 is scanned in the direction shown by the arrow d, and the inspection electrode 106 is scanned in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the transparent electrode 102, that is, the direction shown by the arrow e. Since the electric resistance becomes infinite only in the transparent electrode having the disconnection point 103, the resistance of each transparent electrode is measured when scanning the inspection electrodes 105 and 106 to inspect the existence of the disconnection in the transparent electrode. it can.

Further, in order to inspect whether or not there is a short circuit on the electric substrate, as shown in FIG. 5, first, the inspection electrode 107 is brought into contact with the end portion of the first transparent electrode 93, and the inspection is performed. The inspection electrode 108 is brought into contact with the end of the second transparent electrode 94 adjacent to the one transparent electrode 93 on the side where the inspection electrode 107 is arranged. Next, the inspection electrode 107 is scanned in the direction indicated by the arrow f, and the inspection electrode 108 is scanned in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the transparent electrodes 93, 94, that is, the direction indicated by the arrow g. A current is generated only between the transparent electrodes having the short-circuited portion 104, and a predetermined electric resistance is generated. Therefore, by measuring the resistance between the transparent electrodes during scanning, the presence or absence of a short circuit between the transparent electrodes can be determined. Can be inspected.

Although an example of using a set of inspection electrodes for inspecting the transparent electrode for the presence or absence of disconnection or short circuit has been described, a method using a plurality of inspection electrodes is also known.

[0008]

By the way, in recent years, it has been desired to further increase the size and detail of liquid crystal display devices. Therefore, the electrode substrate also needs to be larger and more detailed. That is, each transparent electrode becomes thin and long.

Therefore, for example, a large transparent electrode having a longitudinal direction of 10 cm or more and a transparent electrode pattern having a pitch length of about 80 to 90 μm between the transparent electrodes are inspected for disconnection and short circuit. In the case of, for example, the above-mentioned former method, that is, a method using a set of inspection electrodes, two inspection electrodes are respectively contacted with both ends of one transparent electrode for inspecting the presence or absence of a disconnection point of the transparent electrode. It is required to maintain a considerably high precision and this precision when performing the scanning or scanning the contacted test electrodes, which makes the test difficult.

Also in the latter method, that is, in the case of using a plurality of inspection electrodes, similarly, when the pitch length between the transparent electrodes becomes fine, it is considerably high to bring the plurality of inspection electrodes into contact with the corresponding transparent electrodes. Precision is required and inspection becomes difficult.

That is, no matter which method is used to inspect the presence or absence of disconnection and short circuit of the transparent electrode on the electrode substrate, a mechanism having a highly sophisticated inspection electrode alignment function is required. In addition, when inspecting an electrode substrate formed of transparent electrode patterns having different pitch lengths, it is necessary to change the position of the inspection electrode for each electrode substrate, so it takes time to inspect the electrode substrate. Not only that, but the electrode substrate becomes expensive.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an electrode substrate formed so that defects of disconnection and short circuit which may occur in the process of forming the electrode substrate can be accurately and easily inspected. And an electrode inspection method.

[0013]

The electrode substrate of the present invention is an electrode substrate comprising a plurality of electrodes, which are arranged in parallel with each other at regular intervals, wherein the parallel electrodes have a single end. In this book, it is formed so as to be connected at the end of the next electrode, and is subjected to a predetermined inspection process.

The parallel electrodes are arranged in the order of the first, second, third and fourth electrodes, the end of the first electrode and the third electrode placed one from the first electrode. An end of the electrode is connected to an end of the first electrode, and the other end of the second electrode and the fourth electrode that sandwich the third electrode are not connected to each other. And the above configuration is repeated.

Alternatively, the electrodes arranged every other one of the parallel electrodes are the first, second and third electrodes in order, and the end portion of the first electrode and one electrode from the first electrode. The other end of the second electrode is connected to the other end of the second electrode, and the other end of the third electrode is separated from the other end of the second electrode. And a first electrode of the next electrode group is arranged between the second electrode and the third electrode while forming a substantially S-shaped electrode group as a whole. In addition, it is possible to repeat the above configuration.

Further, the electrode inspection method of the present invention comprises a plurality of electrodes forming parallel electrodes aligned in parallel with each other at regular intervals, with one end having one end and the end of the next electrode. A method of inspecting an electrode for inspecting for disconnection and short circuit on an electrode substrate formed so as to be connected with each other. Then, the inspection electrode is scanned in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the parallel electrodes, and a disconnection inspection step of inspecting each parallel electrode for the presence or absence of disconnection, and an electrode end on the same side of two adjacent electrodes. A short circuit inspection step of connecting the inspection electrode to a portion, scanning the inspection electrode in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the parallel electrodes, and inspecting the presence or absence of a short circuit between the two adjacent electrodes. It is a thing. Either the disconnection inspection step or the short circuit inspection step may be performed first.

The parallel electrodes on the electrode substrate are arranged in the order of the first, second, third and fourth electrodes, one end of the first electrode and one electrode from the first electrode. The end portion of the end portion of the first electrode of the third electrode was connected,
The second electrode and the fourth electrode sandwiching the third electrode are connected to each other between the other end portions of the second electrode and the other end portion side, and the above configuration is repeated.

Alternatively, the electrodes arranged every other parallel electrode on the electrode substrate are first, second and third electrodes in order, and the end portion of the first electrode and the first electrode Of the second electrode is connected to the end of the second electrode, and the other end of the second electrode with respect to the end, and the third electrode separated from the second electrode Connected to the end portion on the other end side to form a substantially S-shaped electrode group as a whole, and between the second electrode and the third electrode, the first electrode of the next electrode group is formed. It is possible to arrange the above electrodes and repeat the above configuration.

[0019]

According to the electrode substrate of the present invention, when parallel electrodes are arranged so as to be aligned in parallel, no current is generated even if a voltage is applied between the ends of two electrodes adjacent to each other, and no electric current is generated. The resistance becomes infinite. Further, for example, when a voltage is applied between the ends of every other electrode, a current is generated and a predetermined electric resistance is exhibited.

According to the electrode inspection method of the present invention,
In the disconnection inspection step, it is possible to know the presence / absence of a disconnection portion of the electrode to be inspected by connecting every other inspection electrode to the electrode ends on the same side and checking the resistance value between them, for example. Further, in the short-circuit inspection step, the presence or absence of a short-circuited portion between the electrodes to be inspected can be known by connecting the above-mentioned inspection electrodes to the electrode ends on the same side of adjacent electrodes and checking the resistance value between them, for example. You can Either the disconnection inspection step or the short circuit inspection step may be performed first.

[0021]

Embodiments of the electrode substrate and the electrode inspection method of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the electrode substrate is formed by forming parallel electrodes in which a plurality of electrodes are aligned in parallel with each other at regular intervals. Is formed so as to be connected at the end of the next electrode in one, and in the inspection process of inspecting the presence or absence of disconnection and short circuit of each electrode by contacting the inspection electrode at one end at a constant interval It is provided.

As a first example of the electrode substrate, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, first, second, third and fourth electrodes are arranged in the order of arrangement of the parallel electrodes. 11 and the end 31 on the side of the end 11 of the first electrode 11 of the third electrode 13 separated from the first electrode 11.
Is connected to the second electrode 12 sandwiching the third electrode 13 described above.
And the other ends 83 and 84 of the fourth electrode 14 which are not on the side of the ends 11 and 13 are connected, and the above configuration is repeated.

In the electrode substrate 1 of the first example, both ends of the inspection electrode 31 are connected so that the first electrode 11, the inspection electrode 31 and the third electrode 13 form a U-shape. There is. Similarly, both ends of the inspection electrode 32 are connected so that the second electrode 12, the inspection electrode 32, and the fourth electrode 14 form an inverted U-shape.

As a second example of the electrode substrate, as shown in FIG. 3, the electrodes arranged every other parallel electrode are first, second and third electrodes, respectively, The end 63 of the one electrode 41 is connected to the end 64 of the second electrode 42 that is separated from the first electrode 41, and the other end of the second electrode 42 with respect to the end 64 is connected. The end 65 which is
And a third electrode 43 separated from the second electrode 42 by one
Is connected to the end portion 66 on the side of the end portion 65 to form an electrode group having a substantially S-shape as a whole, in this case an inverted S-shape,
It is possible to arrange the first electrode 41 of the next electrode group between the second electrode 42 and the third electrode 43 and repeat the above configuration.

In the electrode substrate 51 of the second example, the first electrode 41, the inspection electrode 61, the second electrode 42, the inspection electrode 62 and the third electrode 43 are formed in an inverted S shape. , Both ends of the inspection electrode 61 are connected to the end portions 63 and 64 on the same side of the first electrode 41 and the second electrode 42,
Both ends of the inspection electrode 62 are end portions of the second electrode 42 and the third electrode 43, and the end portions 65 and 6 on the side not on the inspection electrode 61 side.
Connect with 6.

Further, the substrate end portions 6 and 7 on which the inspection electrodes 31 and 32 are arranged are, after a predetermined inspection described later is completed,
This is the part to cut off. When assembling a liquid crystal display device or the like, only this parallel electrode portion is used.

Further, each of the electrodes is made of, for example, a mixture of indium oxide and tin oxide, so-called ITO (indium tin oxide).
xide) and other transparent electrodes.

Here, as a method for forming the transparent electrode on the electrode substrate 1, first, an ITO film is formed on a glass substrate by performing a sputtering process or a process based on a vacuum deposition method. Subsequently, a positive resist is applied on the ITO film, and ultraviolet light exposure is performed using, for example, a photomask having a pattern of signal electrodes or scanning electrodes forming a liquid crystal display device. After exposure to ultraviolet light, development with an alkaline solution causes a difference in solubility in the developing solution, and a pattern similar to that of the signal electrode or the scanning electrode is transferred onto the positive resist. After that, when etching is performed using a corrosive solution such as hydrochloric acid-ferric chloride system or hydrochloric acid-nitric acid system, and the positive resist is peeled off, the above I
The TO film forms a pattern similar to that of the signal electrode or the scan electrode.

However, when the transparent electrode is formed on the electrode substrate 1, a disconnection portion 21 of the transparent electrode may occur as shown in FIG. 1 or an adjacent transparent electrode as shown in FIG. 2 due to defective etching. There is a possibility that the short-circuited portion 22 may occur between them.

Therefore, it is necessary to inspect the presence or absence of these defects.

Here, in the above-mentioned electrode inspection method, a plurality of electrodes are formed by forming parallel electrodes which are aligned in parallel with each other at regular intervals, and one end is provided so that the next electrode has an end. A method of inspecting an electrode for inspecting the presence or absence of disconnection and short circuit on an electrode substrate formed so as to be connected, comprising:
As shown in FIG. 7, the inspection probes 2 and 3 are connected to the electrode ends of the parallel electrodes, which are on the same side, for example, end portions 85 and 86, and these inspection electrodes are connected in the longitudinal direction of the parallel electrodes. A disconnection inspection step of inspecting the presence or absence of disconnection for each parallel electrode by scanning in a substantially vertical direction, that is, a direction indicated by an arrow b, and two adjacent electrodes, for example, a second electrode, as shown in FIG. The inspection probes 2, 3 are attached to the end portions 85, 82 which are the end portions of the electrode 12 and the third electrode 13 on the same side.
And scan the inspection electrodes in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the parallel electrodes, that is, in the direction indicated by arrow c,
And a short circuit inspection step for inspecting the presence or absence of a short circuit between the two adjacent electrodes, that is, the second electrode 12 and the third electrode 13.

In the disconnection inspection step, assuming that the disconnection portion 21 exists on the third electrode 13 as shown in FIG. 1, the inspection probes 4 and 5 are connected to the first electrode 11 and the third electrode 13. When the end portions of the electrodes are brought into contact with the end portions on the side other than the inspection electrode 31 side and a voltage is applied via the inspection probes 4 and 5, no current is generated, and the resistance value becomes infinite. . Further, if the inspection probes 4 and 5 come into contact with an electrode having no disconnection portion, the inspection probes 4 and 5 exhibit a predetermined resistance value. However, by measuring the resistance value, the presence or absence of disconnection can be continuously inspected for all the U-shaped electrodes. It should be noted that it is possible to perform the inspection for two lines by measuring the resistance value once.

Further, the second electrode 12 and the fourth electrode 14
The inspection probes 2 and 3 are brought into contact with the end portions 85 and 86 of the probe, and the inspection probes 2 and 3 are moved along the arrow b while applying voltage.
By measuring the resistance value while scanning in the direction indicated by, it is possible to continuously inspect the presence or absence of disconnection for all the inverted U-shaped electrodes.

The above-mentioned inspection probes 2, 3, 4, 5
As an example, the disconnection inspection may be performed at once using four inspection probes, or the disconnection inspection may be performed once for each end portion using two inspection probes.

Further, in the short-circuit inspection step, assuming that a short-circuit portion 22 exists between the second electrode 12 and the third electrode 13 as shown in FIG. 2, the inspection probe 2, 3 is brought into contact with either end of the second electrode 12 and the third electrode 13, for example, ends 85 and 82,
When a voltage is applied through the inspection probes 2 and 3,
Since a current is generated, it exhibits a predetermined resistance value. Further, if the inspection probes 2 and 3 come into contact with the short-circuited portion between the adjacent electrodes, no current is generated and the resistance value becomes infinite.
By measuring the resistance value while scanning the inspection probes 2 and 3 in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of each electrode, that is, in the direction indicated by the arrow c, the presence or absence of a short-circuited portion between adjacent electrodes can be continuously inspected. . That is, this short circuit inspection step is executed by the same inspection mechanism as the disconnection inspection step.

Either the disconnection inspection step or the short circuit inspection step may be performed first.

By configuring the electrode inspection method as described above, the inspection probes 2 and 3 are brought into contact with the same side end portions of every other electrode so as to be substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the electrode. By scanning in the direction, it is possible to inspect for the presence or absence of disconnection points in the electrodes.Also, by making contact with the ends of adjacent electrodes on the same side, scanning in the direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the electrodes. In addition, by measuring the resistance value, it is possible to inspect for the presence or absence of a short circuit portion between the electrodes.

The disconnection inspection and the short-circuit inspection can be realized by simply scanning the end portions of one side of the electrodes with the inspection probes 2 and 3 in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the electrodes. Not only can the inspection be performed by the inspection device described above, but the disconnection inspection and the short-circuit inspection can be accurately performed even if the electrode substrate is large-sized and highly detailed.

Further, it is possible to inspect for two or four electrodes at a time in the disconnection inspection and inspecting once for two electrodes in the short circuit inspection. Therefore, the inspection time can be shortened.

Furthermore, since the distance between the two inspection probes can be fixed according to the pitch of the electrodes,
Once the distance between the inspection probes is set, it is not necessary to perform the high-level alignment that was required each time the inspection probe was brought into contact with the electrodes in the past, thus shortening the inspection time and improving the inspection accuracy. Can be planned.

In this embodiment, an example of an electrode substrate on which a transparent electrode made of an ITO film is arranged and an electrode inspection method for inspecting the disconnection and short circuit of the transparent electrode has been described.
The electrode substrate is not limited to this, and any material may be used as long as it is an electrode substrate on which parallel electrodes are formed so that the electrodes are arranged in parallel. An electrode inspection method for inspecting an electrode substrate on which parallel electrodes are formed may be used.

Further, in the present embodiment, an example of an electrode substrate having parallel electrodes for forming a liquid crystal display device was given as the electrode substrate, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the electrode substrate may be replaced with another electrode substrate. It is possible to apply to an electronic device using a parallel electrode.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An electrode substrate is formed by connecting one end of one parallel electrode to be connected at the end of the next electrode, and the disconnection inspection and short-circuit inspection of this electrode substrate are performed by connecting the inspection electrode to one side of the electrode. Since it can be realized by simply scanning the end part of the electrode in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the electrode, even if it does not have a high-level inspection electrode alignment mechanism, the same inspection device as before can be used. Not only the inspection is possible, but even if the electrode substrate is large-sized and highly detailed, the disconnection inspection and the short-circuit inspection are accurately executed, so that a more inexpensive and highly reliable electrode substrate can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the shape of a transparent electrode forming an electrode substrate of the present invention and showing that the transparent electrode is broken.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the shape of the transparent electrodes and showing that a short circuit has occurred between the transparent electrodes.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of the shape of the transparent electrode forming the electrode substrate.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a conventional method for inspecting the presence or absence of a disconnection portion of a transparent electrode.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a conventional method for inspecting the presence or absence of a short-circuited portion between transparent electrodes.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 51 electrode substrate 2, 3, 4, 5 inspection probe 11 first transparent electrode 12 second transparent electrode 13 third transparent electrode 14 fourth transparent electrode 31, 32, 61, 62 inspection electrode 41 First transparent electrode 42 Second transparent electrode 43 Third transparent electrode

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An electrode substrate comprising a plurality of electrodes, wherein parallel electrodes are arranged in parallel with each other at regular intervals. The parallel electrode has one end and is connected at the end of the next electrode. An electrode substrate, which is formed as described above, and is subjected to an inspection step of inspecting the above electrodes for disconnection and short circuit by contacting one end of the electrodes at regular intervals. 2. The first, second, third, and fourth electrodes are arranged in the order of arrangement of the parallel electrodes, and the end of the first electrode and the third electrode placed one from the first electrode. The end of the electrode connected to the end of the first electrode is connected, and the second electrode sandwiching the third electrode and the other end of the fourth electrode which is not the end are connected. The electrode substrate according to claim 1, wherein the above configuration is repeated. 3. An electrode arranged every other parallel electrode is a first electrode, a second electrode, and a third electrode in order, and an end portion of the first electrode and one electrode from the first electrode. The other end of the second electrode is connected to the other end of the second electrode, and the other end of the third electrode is separated from the other end of the second electrode. And a first electrode of the next electrode group is arranged between the second electrode and the third electrode while being connected to the end portion on the side to form a substantially S-shaped electrode group as a whole. The electrode substrate according to claim 1, wherein the above configuration is repeated. 4. A plurality of electrodes are formed by forming parallel electrodes aligned in parallel with each other at regular intervals, and one end is formed so as to be connected at the end of the next electrode. A method for inspecting an electrode for the presence or absence of disconnection and short circuit on an electrode substrate, which comprises connecting the inspection electrodes to the electrode ends on the same side of every other parallel electrodes, and connecting the inspection electrodes to the parallel electrodes. A disconnection inspection step of inspecting the presence or absence of disconnection of each parallel electrode by scanning in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the electrode, and connecting the inspection electrode to the electrode end on the same side of two adjacent electrodes And a short-circuit inspection step of scanning the inspection electrode in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the parallel electrodes to inspect for the presence or absence of a short circuit between the two adjacent electrodes. . 5. The first, second, third and fourth electrodes are arranged in the order of arrangement of the parallel electrodes on the electrode substrate, the end of the first electrode and one electrode from the first electrode. The third electrode is connected to the end of the first electrode on the end side, and the second electrode and the fourth electrode sandwiching the third electrode are not on the end side of the other. The method for inspecting an electrode according to claim 4, wherein the ends are connected to each other, and the above configuration is repeated. 6. An electrode arranged every other parallel electrode on the electrode substrate is a first electrode, a second electrode and a third electrode in order, and an end portion of the first electrode and the first electrode. Of the second electrode is connected to the end of the second electrode, and the other end of the second electrode with respect to the end, and the third electrode separated from the second electrode Is connected to the end on the other end side to form a substantially S-shaped electrode group as a whole, and the first electrode of the next electrode group is formed between the second electrode and the third electrode. 5. The method for inspecting an electrode according to claim 4, wherein the electrode is arranged and the above configuration is repeated.