JPH10260308A - Color filter and its production - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain R, G, B colored layers having flat surfaces and to eliminate the need for intricate polishing stages by disposing transparent layers thicker than light shielding layers in the spacing parts of the light shielding layer patterns on a transparent substrate and providing the surfaces thereof with the respective colored layers which are joined to each other in the upper parts of the light shielding layers and have required optical characteristics. SOLUTION: The color filters consist of the transparent substrate 1 which consists of glass or plastics, etc., the thick-film light shielding layers 2 which are represented by the resin light shielding layers formed by a pigment dispersion method, etc., using black pigments on the transparent substrate 1, the transparent resin layers 7 which are formed thicker than the light shielding layers 2 in the spacing parts between the resin light shielding layers 2 and the respectively colored layers 3 of R, G, B which respectively cover the surfaces of the transparent resin layers 7 and are joined at the boundaries of the ends on the upper parts of the transparent resin layers 7. The light shielding layers 2 may be formed of not only the resin light shielding layers but inorg. substances, such as black SiO2 , formed by a sol-gel method if light shieldability is sufficiently obtd. The transparent resin layers 7 may also be formed of inorg. materials, such as glass.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color filter used for a flat panel display such as a color liquid crystal and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A light-shielding layer between pixels is formed on a transparent substrate such as glass or plastic, and R, G, and B colored layers having optical characteristics required as a color filter are formed thereon in a required pattern. In a color filter to be formed, a pigment dispersion method, a dye dispersion method, an electrodeposition method, a printing method, and the like are generally used as the formation method. If the surface smoothness of each of the R, G, and B pixels formed by these methods is insufficient in terms of the display characteristics of the liquid crystal cell, a transparent resin is applied thereon as necessary by spin coating or the like. To form a smooth layer.

As a light shielding layer, it is common to form a thin film of chromium or chromium oxide by sputtering or the like, and form this into a required pattern by photoetching.
It is about μm. However, since this material is expensive, a carbon dispersed resin layer has recently been used as an alternative for cost reduction. A material in which carbon is uniformly dispersed in a resin is formed into a coating film or a pattern by a pigment dispersion method, a film transfer method, a printing method, or the like, but a film thickness of about 1 μm is required to satisfy the optical light shielding characteristics. FIG. 9
As shown in (b), a step of about 1 μm occurs between the surface of the substrate 1 and the surface of the light shielding layer pattern 2. This is the conventional FIG.
This corresponds to 10 times that in the case of the thin film light shielding layer shown in (a), and this difference is caused by the R, G, B colored layers 3 formed on the substrates 1 and 2.
Adversely affects the flatness of the surface. The swelling 4 occurs at the junction of each color, that is, the portion above the light-shielding layer 2, and in extreme cases, a projection is generated to impair the flatness.

Therefore, after forming the R, G, and B layers, measures have been put to practical use, such as polishing the surface and providing a smooth layer 5 made of a transparent resin. However, even if such a smooth layer is formed, the tendency to form the convex portion 6 on the portion above the light-shielding layer is not eliminated, and an extra material and a complicated process are required to solve the problem, resulting in an increase in cost. ing. In particular, as shown in FIG. 8, as a method of forming a color filter, inks of three colors R, G, and B are simultaneously printed with a certain gap therebetween, and this is printed from above through a non-transferable substance such as a silicon sheet layer 13. The influence of the step is particularly remarkable in a method of forming a pattern by applying the ink of each color adjacent at the middle point of the gap by pressing 12. In other words, if the step is large, the ink extruded into the gap by the press hardly flows smoothly, and even if a smooth and smooth layer is formed on the light-shielding layer as shown in FIG. Properties tend to be insufficient.

[0005] As means for reducing such swelling, a transparent resin is applied over the entire surface of the light-shielding layer pattern to reduce the level difference (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-294723). One surface (JP-A-7-28
A technique for flattening the substrate surface, such as 7112), has been proposed, but it is still insufficient when demands on display characteristics as an image are severe.

In addition, since a silicon-based material is generally used to prevent ink from adhering to the plate during pressing, silicon adheres to the surface of the formed R, G, B colored layer and remains. It requires a powerful detergent and complicated processes to wash and remove this,
It is also necessary to take measures to affect the characteristics.

[0007]

As in the above-mentioned prior art, a color filter using a thick light-shielding layer such as a carbon-dispersed resin layer and a method for manufacturing the same are not limited to any method. There is a particularly large tendency to form protrusions at the junctions of the colored layers, which has been a problem that cannot be easily solved.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a color filter and a method for manufacturing the same, which can easily solve such problems.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a color filter according to the present invention has a structure in which a transparent layer thicker than a light-shielding layer is provided in a gap between light-shielding layer patterns on a transparent substrate.
On the light-shielding layer, there are provided colored layers having required optical characteristics which are joined to each other on the light-shielding layer. Further, the color filter of the present invention includes a transparent substrate, a resin light-shielding layer formed in a required pattern on the transparent substrate, a transparent thick film layer formed thicker than the light-shielding layer in a gap between the light-shielding layers, A boundary of an end portion covering each of the thick film layers is formed of R, G, and B coloring layers joined at an upper portion of the light shielding layer.

Further, a smooth layer of a transparent resin is formed on the colored layer. Next, the production method of the present invention has a light-shielding layer forming step of forming a resin light-shielding layer in a required pattern on a transparent substrate, and a transparent light-curing resin layer on the light-shielding layer, the cured film thickness of which is larger than that of the light-shielding layer. A film pressing step of pressing the transparent photocurable resin film, and a curing step of curing the transparent photocurable resin layer by light exposure from the back of the transparent substrate,
A pressing step of pressing the cured transparent light-cured resin layer between the light-shielding layers, an uncured resin removing step of peeling the supporting film of the transparent light-cured resin film and removing the uncured resin layer on the light-shielding layer, and a cured transparent layer. It is characterized by comprising a substrate completing step of fully curing the photocurable resin layer to form a concave transparent substrate, and a forming step of forming R, G, B colored layers on the completed concave transparent substrate. I do.

A film pressing step of pressing a transparent photocurable resin film having a transparent photocurable resin layer on the formed colored layer, and a light exposure of the pressed film from the upper surface of the film to cure the transparent photocurable resin layer. And forming a smooth layer of a transparent photocurable resin layer on the colored layer. Further, a coloring layer printing step of simultaneously printing R, G, and B inks in a required pattern on a transparent substrate having the completed light-shielding layer having a concave shape on a transparent substrate; The coloring layer is formed by a pressing step of uniformly pressing the object through the object.

Further, a coloring layer printing step of simultaneously printing R, G, and B inks in a required pattern on a transparent substrate having a concave shape on the light-shielding layer with a gap therebetween, and a transparent photo-curing thereon. A pressing step in which the resin layer of the transparent film having a resin layer is pressed so that the resin layer is in contact with the printed coloring layer and pressurized through the film; and a transparent light-cured resin layer is cured by irradiating light from the upper surface of the film and then transparent. It is characterized by comprising a smooth layer forming step of obtaining a smooth layer by peeling the film.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG.
Shows the configuration of a color filter according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The color filter has a thickness of 1.1 mm,
A thick film typified by a resin light-shielding layer having a thickness of 1 μm, a width of 20 μm, and an interval of 90 μm formed by a pigment dispersion method or the like using a transparent substrate 1 made of glass or plastic having a size of 400 mm and using a black pigment on the transparent substrate 1 by a pigment dispersion method or the like. The light shielding layer 2 and the gap between the resin light shielding layer 2 are 0.1 to 0.3 μm thicker than the light shielding layer 2.
The transparent resin layer 7 is formed to be thick, and each of the R, G, and B colored layers 3 that covers the transparent resin layer 7 and has an edge boundary joined at the upper portion of the resin light shielding layer 2.

The light-shielding layer used here is not limited to a resin light-shielding layer, and may be an inorganic film such as black SiO ₂ formed by a sol-gel method or the like as long as sufficient light-shielding properties can be obtained. The transparent resin layer formed in the gap may be formed of an inorganic material such as a vitreous material as long as a transparent thick film is obtained. In any case, any material and method can be applied as long as a substrate having a concave shape capable of absorbing the bulging amount generated by the conventional method in the light-shielding layer portion, that is, the joint portion of each colored layer, can be obtained.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of a color filter according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The color filter is formed by forming a smooth layer 5 of about 1 to 2 μm on each of the colored layers 3 with a transparent resin. Next, a case where a black resin light-shielding layer and a transparent UV curable resin layer are formed will be described as an example of the production method of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the thickness is 1.1 mm,
A light-shielding layer 2 having a width of 20 μm, an interval of 90 μm, and a thickness of 1 μm is formed on a transparent substrate 1 such as 320 × 400 mm glass or plastic by a pigment dispersion method, a transfer method, an electrodeposition method, a printing method, etc. Support film 8-2 and U
A commercially available acrylic styrene-based transparent UV curable resin film sheet 8 composed of the V-curable resin layer 8-1 is uniformly pressed by using a laminator or the like. The film sheet 8 used is such that the film thickness after curing is 0.2 to 0.3 μm thicker than the film thickness of the light shielding layer 2. This thickness difference selects a value that results in a flat colored layer 3 in relation to the material of the colored layer 3 to be formed next, the forming method, and the like.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, UV irradiation 9 is performed from the back of the transparent substrate 1. Then, the light-blocking layer 2 already provided becomes a pattern mask for UV exposure, and only the UV-curable resin layer 8-1 in the portion without the light-blocking layer 2 is cured to form a cured portion 10. Cured resin layer 8
-1 remains as the uncured portion 11. Next, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3 (c), the support film 8-2 is uniformly pressed in parallel 12 on the transparent substrate 1 by a press, and the hardened portion 10 is pushed into the space between the light-shielding layers 2, and then as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the support film 8-2 is peeled off, the unnecessary uncured portion 11 such as the surface of the light-shielding layer 2 is removed by an alkali phenomenon, and the surface of the light-shielding layer 2 is 0.2 to 0.3 μm by fully curing. A low concave transparent substrate 1 is formed.

FIG. 4 shows a measured data chart of the surface state of the thus formed concave transparent substrate 1. In FIG. 4, B is a light shielding layer and W is a transparent layer. On this concave substrate, a pigment dispersion method, an electrodeposition method, which applies a generally used photo phosphorus method,
When R, G, B colored layers are formed by printing method, etc., FIG.
A flat colored layer surface as shown in FIG.

The effect of the concave substrate shape of the present invention is clear regardless of which method is applied, and no swelling as shown in FIG. 9B is observed. As a conventional efficient printing method, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), R, G, B colored layers 3 'are provided on a transparent substrate 1 provided with a light shielding layer 2 at a certain interval between them to avoid color mixing. When this is printed and is uniformly pressed 12 by a press through a non-transferable substance, for example, a silicon sheet layer 13, they are extruded in the lateral direction and joined at an intermediate point as shown in FIG. Has been put to practical use.

However, in the case of this method, the influence of the thickness of the light shielding layer 2 is larger than in the other methods, and the swelling of the joint cannot be avoided. Therefore, the concave substrate 1 formed by the present invention
When the R, G, and B color layers were formed by this method using the method described above, excellent flatness without swelling was obtained as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

FIG. 6 shows a measurement chart of the surface state in the conventional example (FIG. 8) and the present invention (FIG. 5) in order to clarify this effect. FIG. 7 shows another pressing means of the printed colored layer of FIG. 5, in which a UV film comprising a support film 8-2 and a UV-curable transparent resin layer 8-1 is provided on the colored layer printed at regular intervals. The cured resin film sheet 8 is stacked with the support film 8-2 side facing up, a transparent plate 14 made of glass or the like having a smooth surface is placed thereon, heated to about 60 ° C., and uniformly pressed 12 by a fleece and pressed. 50mj / cm from transparent plate 14 side
^After irradiating about ³ UV rays to cure the UV-curable resin layer 8-1, the transparent film 14 is removed, and the support film 8-2 is peeled off, so that the colored film 3 is formed on the colored layer 3 as shown in FIG. A color filter having a smooth layer 8-1 with a flat surface is obtained.

As described above, U which is the most practical as a photocurable resin
Although the V-curing resin has been described as a representative example, other photo-curing resins can be used as a matter of course according to the material properties and the curing process conditions.

[0023]

As described above, the present invention provides a transparent substrate, a light-shielding layer formed in a required pattern on the transparent substrate, and a resin formed thicker than the light-shielding layer in a gap between the light-shielding layers. , And R, G, R, G,
Since the color filter is composed of the respective color layers of B, even in a color filter requiring a light-shielding layer having a large film thickness such as a black resin light-shielding layer, the rise of the boundary of each of the R, G, and B coloring layers is greatly increased. In particular, by optimizing the configuration conditions and manufacturing conditions of the substrate, the light-shielding layer, and the transparent thick film layer, even if the color filters by any manufacturing method have extremely flat R, G,
A B-colored layer is obtained, and a complicated polishing step is not required, and a smooth layer formed thereon can be made thinner, and can be omitted depending on the application.

R, R,
In the method of forming the G and B colored layers, by pressing through a transparent photo-curable resin film sheet and photo-curing the resin layer as it is to form a smooth layer, there is no need to worry about contamination by transferable substances at the time of pressing. The most suitable press material and method can be selected. Moreover, since the softened resin is cured while flowing along the surface shape of the colored layer, while the surface side is defined by the surface smoothness and flatness of the support film,
An excellent smooth layer can be easily obtained without material loss unlike conventional spin coating.

Further, since the surface shape of the substrate on which the color coloring layer is formed is defined according to the present invention, it is not necessary to polish the surface of the glass substrate itself to a high level as in the prior art, which contributes to cost reduction. it can. These techniques are also effective when individually combined with the conventional techniques and construction methods, and are more effective when combined as in this embodiment. Furthermore, the present invention is generally commercialized, and it is easy to industrially apply it by applying a commercially available transparent photocurable resin film sheet, and is effective in any color filter manufacturing method. It improves the characteristics and quality of various image display devices used and contributes to the improvement of productivity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a method for manufacturing a substrate of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a measurement chart showing the surface state of the substrate of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a method for producing a colored layer of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a measurement chart showing the surface state of a colored layer according to a conventional example and the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a production method for simultaneously forming a colored layer and a smooth layer according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a conventional method for producing a colored layer.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a conventional example.

[Description of Signs] 1 Transparent substrate 2 Light-shielding layer 3 Colored layer 5 Smooth layer 7 Transparent resin layer

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A color filter comprising: a transparent layer thicker than a light-shielding layer provided in a gap between light-shielding layer patterns on a transparent substrate; and colored layers having required optical characteristics joined to each other above the light-shielding layer. . 2. A transparent substrate, a resin light-shielding layer formed in a required pattern on the transparent substrate, a transparent resin layer formed thicker than the light-shielding layer in a gap between the resin light-shielding layers, and the transparent resin layer. 2. The color filter according to claim 1, wherein each of the color filters covers an upper portion, and a boundary of an end portion is composed of R, G, and B colored layers joined at an upper portion of the resin light shielding layer. 3. The color filter according to claim 1, wherein a smooth layer of a transparent resin is formed on the colored layer. 4. A light-shielding layer forming step of forming a resin light-shielding layer in a required pattern on a transparent substrate, and a transparent light-curing resin layer having a transparent light-curing resin layer on the light-shielding layer, the cured film having a greater thickness than the light-shielding layer. A film pressing step of pressing the resin film, a curing step of exposing the backside of the transparent substrate to light to cure the transparent photocurable resin layer, a pressing step of pushing the cured transparent photocurable resin layer between the light shielding layers, and a transparent photocuring step. An uncured resin removing step of removing the uncured resin layer on the light-shielding layer by peeling the supporting film of the resin film, and a substrate completing step of fully curing the cured transparent resin layer to form a concave transparent substrate, and completing A color layer forming step of forming each of R, G, and B color layers on the formed concave transparent substrate. 5. A film pressing step of pressing a transparent photocurable resin film having a transparent photocurable resin layer on the formed colored layer, and exposing the pressed film to light from the upper surface of the film to form a transparent photocurable resin layer. 5. The method for producing a color filter according to claim 4, comprising a step of curing to form a smooth layer made of a transparent resin layer on the colored layer. 6. A colored layer printing step of simultaneously printing R, G, and B inks in a required pattern on a transparent substrate having a concave shape on the completed light-shielding layer with a gap therebetween, and a printed colored layer. 5. The method for producing a color filter according to claim 4, wherein the colored layer is formed by a pressing step of uniformly pressing the ink through a non-transferable substance. 7. A colored layer printing step of simultaneously printing R, G, and B inks in a required pattern on a transparent substrate having a concave shape on the completed light shielding layer with a gap therebetween, and a transparent light on the colored layer printing step. A pressing step in which the resin layer of the transparent film having the cured resin layer is pressed so that the resin layer of the transparent film is in contact with the printed coloring layer, and pressure is applied through the film; and after irradiating light from the upper surface of the film to cure the transparent photocured resin layer, 5. The method for producing a color filter according to claim 4, comprising a step of forming a smooth layer by peeling the transparent film to obtain a smooth layer.