JPH10133186A - Production of liquid crystal display device and jig for production of liquid crystal display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a process for producing a liquid crystal display device capable of lessening the cracking or chipping of glass substrates which arise in the production stages for the liquid crystal display device and a jig for production of the liquid crystal display device. SOLUTION: The glass substrates 3 are placed on receiving pins 4 between movable gaskets 1 adjacent to each other and these receiving pins are lowered, by which the glass substrates 3 are placed on the movable gaskets 1 right thereunder. Top plates 5 are inserted to the uppermost part and lowermost part of the jig. Air is admitted into the movable gaskets 1 through the inside of hollow frames 2 from an inflow port 6 disposed at the frame 2 to inflate the movable gaskets 1, by which the movable gaskets 1 and the glass substrates 3 are brought into tight contact with each other. At this time, the glass substrates 3 are previously fixed to the jig for production of the liquid crystal display device in the state of exposing the peripheral edges of the glass substrates 3. The jig for production of the liquid crystal display device is immersed in this state into the etchant, by which only the peripheral edges of the glass substrates 3 are etched.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device and a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device capable of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device with a high yield, and more particularly to cracking of a glass substrate during a manufacturing process. Also, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device capable of reducing chipping and a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device, a cleaning process is one of the most important processes from the viewpoint of yield, and cleaning is performed in every manufacturing process. In particular, various processes are performed on a glass substrate. In the receiving cleaning performed before the application, a highly-contaminated glass substrate brought into the clean room from the outside needs to be cleaned, so that a highly clean cleaning is required.

Therefore, in recent years, cleaning methods such as high-pressure cleaning and a surface shower type megasonic have been developed as cleaning methods capable of removing large dusts of 1 μm or more and small dusts of 1 μm or less.

In addition to such physical cleaning, in order to remove organic substances and the like adhering to the surface of the glass substrate which are difficult to remove by physical cleaning alone, an etchant having a low etching rate is used for the entire glass substrate. Chemical cleaning for cleaning a glass substrate is also performed by performing etching for a short period of time.

[0005]

In the manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device, when a temperature of several hundred degrees is applied to a glass substrate by CVD, sputtering, baking or the like, stress due to temperature variation in the glass substrate surface, glass The glass substrate may be cracked or chipped due to vibrations and forces applied during the process such as substrate transfer and spin coating, and impact when the glass substrate moves and contacts with pins or the like.

The inventor of the present invention has found that the cause of the crack or chipping of the glass substrate is caused by the growth of microcracks existing on the peripheral portion of the glass substrate, and the above chemical cleaning is performed. It was also found that these microcracks could not be removed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and it is intended to remove microcracks present on the periphery of a glass substrate and to prevent the glass substrate from being broken in a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device. Another object is to provide a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device and a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, which can reduce chipping.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device for performing various processes on a substrate material. The method is characterized in that microcracks present on the peripheral edge of the substrate material are removed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the first aspect.
The micro-cracks are removed before the substrate material is subjected to the various processes.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the microcracks are removed by wet etching. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, comprising a plurality of movable packings which expand by flowing a fluid into the inside and contract by discharging the fluid to the outside. The present invention is characterized in that the substrate material is placed in between, and the movable packing is inflated so that the substrate material and the movable packing are brought into close contact with each other.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the fourth aspect.
The movable packing has a rectangular shape.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, wherein each of the jigs has a groove, and a rectangular upper frame and a lower frame which are combined so that the grooves face each other. An inlet and an outlet for allowing a fluid to flow into and out of the groove; provided inside the groove of the upper frame and the lower frame; and provided outside the groove of at least one of the upper frame and the lower frame. Wherein the substrate material and the packing are brought into close contact with each other so that a peripheral portion of the substrate material is positioned in the groove, and a fluid flows through the groove.

According to the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device of the present invention, a temperature of several hundred degrees is applied to a substrate material by CVD, sputtering, baking, or the like by removing microcracks present at the peripheral portion of the substrate material. Due to temperature variations in the surface of the substrate material, vibrations and forces applied during the process of transporting and spin coating the glass substrate, and impacts when contacting pins etc. when moving the glass substrate. The occurrence of cracks or chips can be reduced.

Further, by performing the micro-crack removal before subjecting the substrate material to various treatments, the aforementioned crack or chipping of the substrate material can be reduced with a very high probability.

Further, by removing the microcracks by wet etching, the microcracks can be removed in the cleaning process performed in every manufacturing process, so that a new device or a complicated and expensive device needs to be used. There is no. In particular, it is desirable to remove microcracks at the time of receiving and cleaning before performing various treatments on the substrate material.

According to the jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device of the present invention, a plurality of movable packings are provided which expand by flowing a fluid into the inside and collapse by flowing the fluid to the outside. By placing the substrate material on the substrate and inflating the movable packing, the substrate material and the movable packing are brought into close contact with each other, so that only the periphery of the substrate material can be exposed, and when the substrate material is immersed in an etchant. Even without, the etchant does not enter the region used as the liquid crystal display device of the substrate material,
By etching only the periphery of the substrate material, microcracks existing at the periphery of the substrate material can be removed.

Further, since the movable packing has a rectangular shape, the movable packing does not come into contact with the area of the substrate material used as the liquid crystal display device, and thus does not affect the display characteristics of the liquid crystal display device.

According to another jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device of the present invention, a rectangular upper frame and a lower frame each having a groove and combined so that the grooves face each other, an upper frame or a lower frame. And an inflow port and an outflow port for allowing a fluid to flow into and out of the groove, and a packing provided inside the grooves of the upper frame and the lower frame, and outside at least one of the grooves of the upper frame and the lower frame. Then, the substrate material and the packing are brought into close contact with each other so that the peripheral portion of the substrate material is located in the groove, and the fluid is caused to flow in the groove, so that the flow of the etchant in the groove affects the display characteristics of the liquid crystal display device. The microcracks present at the peripheral edge of the substrate material can be removed by etching only the peripheral edge of the substrate material without affecting the substrate.

Further, after the etching, with the substrate material set in the jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, water is caused to flow in the groove to wash the peripheral portion of the substrate material, and thereafter, the gas is caused to flow so that the substrate material is flown. Can also be dried.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Embodiment 1) Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5,
Embodiment 1 will be described. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a main part of a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention,
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a peripheral portion of the glass substrate before etching, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a peripheral portion of the glass substrate after etching, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a result of a bending strength test.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a movable packing 1 made of chlorosulfonated polyethylene which expands when a fluid flows in and swells when a fluid flows out is made of polyetheretherketone (PEEK). ), Which is attached to the upper and lower surfaces of a hollow rectangular frame 2 and to which the movable packing 1 is attached.
Are provided in a plurality of stages to constitute a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device.

A glass substrate 3 is inserted between adjacent movable packings 1 in order from the upper stage by a robot arm or the like, and placed on a receiving pin 4 which moves vertically from below the jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device. Alignment pin (not shown) that moves horizontally from the side of the jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device
Thereby, the glass substrate 3 is aligned with the center of the jig for manufacturing the liquid crystal display device.

Then, by lowering the receiving pins 4, the glass substrate 3 is placed on the movable packing 1 immediately below the receiving pins 4, and the receiving pins 4 are stopped between the adjacent movable packings 1 one step below.

After repeating this series of operations and mounting the glass substrate 3 on all the stages of the jig for manufacturing the liquid crystal display device,
The top plate 5 is inserted into the uppermost and lowermost parts of the jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device.

The inflow port 6 provided in the frame 2
, The fluid, for example, air flows into the movable packing 1 through the hollow frame 2 and
The movable packing 1 and the glass substrate 3
And close contact.

At this time, the glass substrate 3 is fixed to a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device in a state where only a peripheral portion of the glass substrate 3, for example, a region up to 5 mm from an end of the glass substrate 3 is exposed.

In this state, the jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device was placed in a buffered hydrofluoric acid solution (hydrofluoric acid containing 4.5 wt.
%), And only the peripheral portion of the glass substrate 3 is etched for 5 minutes.

At this time, since the movable packing 1 and the glass substrate 3 are in close contact with each other, the etchant is
3A, only the periphery of the glass substrate 3 is etched without entering the region used as the liquid crystal display device of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the microcracks 7 existing on the peripheral edge of the glass substrate 3 are removed, and as shown in FIG. 4, the microcracks 7 can be formed into gentle concave portions 8 or completely eliminated.

Further, since the movable packing 1 has a rectangular shape, the movable packing 1 does not come into contact with an area of the glass substrate 3 used as a liquid crystal display device, which affects the display characteristics of the liquid crystal display device. The microcracks 7 can be removed without the need.

After the etching, it is washed with water and dried, and the air is discharged from the inside of the movable packing 1 through the hollow frame 2 through the outlet 9 provided in the frame 2, and the movable packing 1 is deflated so as to be movable. The contact between the packing 1 and the glass substrate 3 is released, the receiving pins 4 are raised, the glass substrate 3 is held on the receiving pins 4, and the glass substrates 3 are sequentially removed from the lower stage by a robot arm or the like.

As another method, at the end of etching, a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device is immersed in an etchant.
Part of the air is allowed to flow out of the inside of the movable packing 1 through the outlet 9 to slightly shrink the movable packing 1 so that the close contact between the movable packing 1 and the glass substrate 3 is released. Infiltrate.

After a chemical cleaning of a region used as a liquid crystal display device is performed for about 10 to 30 seconds after the etchant enters the entire surface of the glass substrate 3, a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device is taken out of the etchant. After washing with water and drying, air may flow out from the inside of the movable packing 1 through the outlet 9 to completely deflate the movable packing 1, and the glass substrate 3 may be sequentially removed from the lower stage by a robot arm or the like.

The periphery of the glass substrate 3 having a thickness of 0.7 mm from which the microcracks 7 have been removed as described above, and the periphery of the glass substrate 3 having a thickness of 0.7 mm on which the microcracks 7 exist. A sample was cut out into a size of 10 × 140 mm to obtain a sample, and a four-point bending strength test based on JISR1601 was performed at a pushing speed of 0.5 m per minute, and the results are shown in FIG.

From the results, when the average value of the bending strength was compared, the sample from which the microcracks 7 were removed was 25% less than the sample in which the microcracks 7 were present.
It can be seen that the strength increases by about%, and the variation in strength is smaller in the sample from which the microcracks 7 are removed than in the sample in which the microcracks 7 are present.

The glass substrate 3 from which the microcracks 7 obtained as described above have been removed is applied to the glass substrate 3 by a known method.
Forming a transparent conductive film, forming an electrode pattern, forming a color filter, forming a thin film transistor, forming an alignment film,
A liquid crystal display device is obtained by performing various processes such as an alignment process, bonding of the pair of glass substrates 3 and injection of a liquid crystal material.

The removal of the microcracks 7 may be performed in any of the above-described various processes as long as the process is performed up to the bonding of the pair of glass substrates 3. Is desirable.

(Embodiment 2) Referring to FIGS. 3 to 8,
Embodiment 2 will be described. FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing another jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an upper frame, and FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a lower frame.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, a rectangular upper frame 10 made of PEEK is provided with a groove 11 for flowing a fluid, and a chloroform inside the groove 11 so that the fluid does not leak from the groove 11. Packing 1 made of sulfonated polyethylene
2 are provided.

In a rectangular lower frame 13 made of PEEK,
A groove 11 for flowing a fluid; a packing 12 made of chlorosulfonated polyethylene inside and outside the groove 11 so that the fluid does not leak from the groove 11;
An inflow port 6 for inflowing the fluid into the fluid and an outflow port 9 for allowing the fluid to flow out of the groove 11 are provided.

The upper frame 10 and the lower frame 13 are arranged so that the groove 11 of the upper frame 10 and the groove 11 of the lower frame 13 face each other.
The glass substrate 3 is inserted between the upper frame 10 and the lower frame 13 by a robot arm or the like, and is placed on a receiving pin 4 that moves vertically from below the jig for manufacturing the liquid crystal display device, and is mounted on the liquid crystal display device. The glass substrate 3 is positioned at the center of the liquid crystal display device manufacturing jig by using positioning pins (not shown) that move horizontally from the side of the manufacturing jig.

Then, by lowering the receiving pins 4, the glass substrate 3 is placed on the packing 12 provided on the lower frame 13, and the upper frame 10 is lowered to bring the packing 12 and the glass substrate 3 into close contact with each other.

At this time, only the peripheral portion of the glass substrate 3, for example, a region up to 5 mm from the edge of the glass substrate 3 is
In a state sealed in the area surrounded by and the packing 12,
The glass substrate 3 is fixed to a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device.

In this state, while the etchant composed of buffered hydrofluoric acid (hydrofluoric acid is 4.5 wt%) at 25 ° C. flows into the groove 11 from the inflow port 6, the etchant flows out of the groove 11 from the outflow port 9. Then, the etchant is caused to flow in the groove 11 and only the peripheral portion of the glass substrate 3 is etched for 5 minutes.

At this time, the packing 12 and the glass substrate 3
Are in close contact with each other, so that the etchant does not leak from the region surrounded by the groove 11 and the packing 12,
The etchant does not touch a region of the glass substrate 3 used as a liquid crystal display device, and only the peripheral portion of the glass substrate 3 is etched, as shown in FIG.
The microcracks 7 existing in the peripheral portion of FIG.
As shown in FIG.
Or completely eliminate it.

Further, since the packing 12 has a rectangular shape, the packing 12 does not come into contact with an area of the glass substrate 3 used as a liquid crystal display device. The crack 7 can be removed.

After the etching, the flow of the etchant from the inflow port 6 into the groove 11 is stopped.
When the upper frame 10 is raised by flowing the air into the groove 11 by flowing out the air, the etchant is easily dried so as not to spill outside the groove 11.

Then, the upper frame 10 is raised, the close contact between the packing 12 and the glass substrate 3 is released, the receiving pins 4 are raised, and the glass substrate 3 is held on the receiving pins 4. The glass substrate 3 is extracted by a robot arm or the like, washed with water and dried.

As another method, after the etching, the flow of the etchant into the groove 11 from the inlet 6 is stopped, and the water is flowed out from the outlet 9 while the water flows into the groove 11 from the inlet 6. The periphery of the glass substrate 3 is washed with water.

Then, the flow of water from the inflow port 6 into the groove 11 is stopped, and while the gas such as air flows into the groove 11 from the inflow port 6, the air flows out of the outflow port 9, and the glass substrate 3 Dry the periphery.

Then, the upper frame 10 is raised, the close contact between the packing 12 and the glass substrate 3 is released, the receiving pins 4 are raised, and the glass substrate 3 is held on the receiving pins 4. You may make it extract with a robot arm etc.

The peripheral portion of the glass substrate 3 having a thickness of 0.7 mm from which the microcracks 7 have been removed as described above and the peripheral portion of the glass substrate 3 having a thickness of 0.7 mm on which the microcracks 7 exist. When a four-point bending strength test based on JISR1601 is performed at a pushing speed of 0.5 m per minute, a sample is cut out to a size of 10 × 140 mm, which is almost the same as the case of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Is obtained.

From the results, when comparing the average values of the bending strength, the sample from which the microcracks 7 were removed was found to be 25% less than the sample in which the microcracks 7 were present.
It can be seen that the strength increases by about%, and the variation in strength is smaller in the sample from which the microcracks 7 are removed than in the sample in which the microcracks 7 are present.

The glass substrate 3 from which the microcracks 7 obtained as described above have been removed is applied to the glass substrate 3 by a known method.
Forming a transparent conductive film, forming an electrode pattern, forming a color filter, forming a thin film transistor, forming an alignment film,
A liquid crystal display device is obtained by performing various processes such as an alignment process, bonding of the pair of glass substrates 3 and injection of a liquid crystal material.

The removal of the microcracks 7 may be performed in any of the various processes described above as long as the process is performed up to the bonding of the pair of glass substrates 3. However, the removal is performed before the various processes are performed. Is desirable.

[0057]

As described above, according to the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device of the present invention, by removing the microcracks present at the peripheral portion of the substrate material, the stress due to the temperature variation in the substrate material plane can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of cracks or chips in the substrate material due to vibration, force, impact, and the like applied during the process, thereby improving the yield.

Further, by performing the micro-crack removal before subjecting the substrate material to various treatments, the above-described crack or chipping of the substrate material can be reduced with a very high probability, thereby further improving the yield. be able to.

Further, by removing the microcracks by wet etching, it is not necessary to use a new device or a complicated and expensive device, so that the cost does not increase.

According to the jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device of the present invention, a plurality of movable packings are provided which expand by flowing a fluid into the inside and collapse by flowing the fluid to the outside. By placing the substrate material on the substrate and inflating the movable packing, the substrate material and the movable packing are brought into close contact with each other, so that only the peripheral portion of the substrate material is etched, and microcracks present on the peripheral portion of the substrate material are removed. Therefore, the occurrence of cracks or chips in the substrate material can be reduced, and the yield can be improved.

Furthermore, since the movable packing has a rectangular shape, the movable packing does not come into contact with the area of the substrate material used as the liquid crystal display device, and thus the display characteristics of the liquid crystal display device are not affected. The occurrence of cracks or chips in the substrate material by removing cracks can be reduced, and the yield can be improved.

According to another jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device of the present invention, a rectangular upper frame and a lower frame, each having a groove, and combined so that the grooves face each other, an upper frame or a lower frame. And an inflow port and an outflow port for allowing a fluid to flow into and out of the groove, and a packing provided inside the grooves of the upper frame and the lower frame, and outside at least one of the grooves of the upper frame and the lower frame. Then, the substrate material and the packing are brought into close contact with each other so that the peripheral portion of the substrate material is located in the groove, and the fluid is caused to flow in the groove, so that the peripheral characteristics of the substrate material are not affected without affecting the display characteristics of the liquid crystal display. Since only the portion is etched to remove microcracks present at the peripheral edge of the substrate material, the occurrence of cracks or chips in the substrate material can be reduced, and the yield can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a main part of a jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a peripheral portion of a glass substrate before etching.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a peripheral portion of the glass substrate after etching.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a result of a bending strength test.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an upper frame.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a lower frame.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Movable packing 2 Frame 3 Glass substrate 4 Receiving pin 5 Top plate 6 Inlet 7 Micro crack 8 Smooth recess 9 Outlet 10 Upper frame 11 Groove 12 Packing 13 Lower frame

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device for performing various treatments on a substrate material, wherein microcracks present on a peripheral portion of the substrate material are removed. 2. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the microcracks are removed before the substrate material is subjected to the various processes. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the micro cracks are removed by wet etching. 4. A movable packing comprising: a plurality of movable packings which expand by flowing a fluid into the interior and which shrink by flowing a fluid to the outside; a substrate material is disposed between adjacent movable packings; A jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, wherein the substrate material and the movable packing are brought into close contact with each other by inflation. 5. The jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to claim 4, wherein said movable packing is rectangular. 6. A rectangular upper frame and a lower frame, each having a groove, which are combined so that the grooves face each other, and provided on the upper frame or the lower frame to allow fluid to flow into and out of the groove. An inflow port and an outflow port, and a packing provided inside the grooves of the upper frame and the lower frame, and outside of the grooves of at least one of the upper frame and the lower frame; A jig for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, wherein the substrate material and the packing are brought into close contact with each other such that a portion is positioned in the groove, and a fluid flows through the groove.