JPH112715A - Manufacture of color filter and the color filter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To save liquid by making the film thickness of pigment dispersed resist uniform while suppressing the formation, sticking, etc., of foreign matter. SOLUTION: A wire bar 54 is formed by winding a rod 54a spirally with a stainless steel thin wire 54b. The wire bar 54 is rotated to gather pigment- dispersed resist in recessed parts 56 formed between adjacent thin wires 54b and apply it to an upper substrate 11, and processes for exposure, development, etc., are performed to form a colored layer. The width of the area where the thin wire 54b is wound is made wide and the wire bar is rotated to apply a protecting agent gathered in the recessed parts 56 to the upper substrate 11 where the colored layer is formed, thus forming a protection layer more widely than the colored layer. Liquid of the pigment-dispersed resist can be saved. Even if the pigment-dispersed resist is left at the periphery part of the upper substrate 11, the remaining resist is covered with the protection layer, so the generation of dust and foreign matter due to the residue of the pigment-dispersed resist or unevenness like liquid drooping can be suppressed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a color filter and a color filter. For more information,
Pigment-dispersed resist or protective agent shall be stored in the recess formed between adjacent thin wires of a wire bar formed by winding a thin wire on a round rod-like body, and the wire bar is rotated to store the resist in a recess. The pigment-dispersed resist is applied to the substrate to form a colored layer, and then the wire bar is rotated with the width of the area around which the fine wire of the wire bar is wound, and the protective agent stored in the concave portion is rotated. Is applied on the colored layer to form a protective layer wider than the colored layer, thereby suppressing the generation and adhesion of foreign substances, making the thickness of the pigment-dispersed resist uniform, and saving liquid. This is to realize a color filter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a liquid crystal image display device is used as a thin image display device in a personal computer, a color television and the like. In this liquid crystal image display device, an STN (Super Twisted Nematic) method or a TFT (Thin
2. Description of the Related Art There is known a display device of a film address type, which drives a liquid crystal using discharge plasma or a discharge plasma.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, this plasma addressed liquid crystal display device has a display cell 10, a plasma cell 20, and a dielectric sheet 30 interposed therebetween.
And a flat panel structure. The dielectric sheet 30 is made of glass, mica, plastic, or the like. The dielectric sheet 30 needs to be as thin as possible in order to drive the display cell 10, and is formed to have a plate thickness of, for example, about 50 μm.

The display cell 10 is a glass substrate (upper substrate) 1
1 is used. On the inner surface of the upper substrate 11, a color filter 12 for performing color display is formed. On the color filter 12, a plurality of data electrodes 13 made of a transparent conductive material and extending in the row direction are formed in parallel in the column direction while maintaining a predetermined interval. The upper substrate 11 is joined to the dielectric sheet 30 while maintaining a predetermined gap by the spacer 14. The gap between the upper substrate 11 and the dielectric sheet 30 is filled with a nematic liquid crystal as an electro-optical material to form a liquid crystal layer 15. Here, the size of the gap between the upper substrate 11 and the dielectric sheet 30 is, for example, 4 to 10 μm, and is kept uniform over the entire display surface. In addition, a material other than liquid crystal can be used as the electro-optic material.

On the other hand, the plasma cell 20 is formed using a glass substrate (lower substrate) 21. On the inner surface of the lower substrate 21, a plurality of anode electrodes 22A and cathode electrodes 22K, which constitute the plasma electrodes and extend in the column direction, are alternately formed in parallel in the row direction at predetermined intervals. Also,
A partition 23 having a predetermined width is formed substantially at the center of each of the upper surfaces of the anode electrode 22A and the cathode electrode 22K so as to extend along the respective electrodes. And each partition 23
Of the lower substrate 2 is in contact with the lower surface of the dielectric sheet 30.
1 and the size of the gap between the dielectric sheets 30 is kept constant.

[0006] A frit sealing material 24 made of low melting glass or the like is formed along the periphery of the lower substrate 21 along the periphery.
Is provided, and the lower substrate 21 and the dielectric sheet 30 are hermetically bonded. The gap between the lower substrate 21 and the dielectric sheet 30 is a discharge channel 25, in which an ionizable gas is sealed. As the gas to be filled, for example, helium, neon, argon, or a mixed gas thereof is used.

The discharge channels 25 are formed in parallel in the row direction, that is, perpendicular to the data electrodes 13. Each data electrode 13 serves as a column drive unit, and the discharge channel 25 serves as a row drive unit.
As shown in FIG.

The color filter 12 has red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colored layers 12a, 12b, and 12c arranged in stripes or mosaics in correspondence with pixels. Each colored layer 12a, 12b, 12c
Are partitioned by a black mask 12 d formed so as to overlap the partition wall 23. The black mask 12d is provided for the purpose of shielding and preventing a decrease in contrast and color purity due to light leakage between pixels.

Here, the method of forming the color filter 12 includes a photolithography method, a printing method, an electrodeposition method, and the like.
There are several methods, but when high processing accuracy is required for the color filter 12, a photolithography method is generally adopted. This photolithography method
For example, a pigment of a predetermined color on a photosensitive resin, for example, black, red,
In this method, a pigment-dispersed resist in which green and blue pigments are dispersed is applied to the upper substrate 11, exposed and developed, and black, red, green, and blue patterns are sequentially formed.

In the thus-configured plasma addressed liquid crystal display device, when a predetermined voltage is applied between the anode electrode 22A and the cathode electrode 22K corresponding to the predetermined discharge channel 25, the inside of the discharge channel 25 is Is selectively ionized to generate plasma discharge, and the inside thereof is maintained at a substantially anode potential. In this state, when a data voltage is applied to the data electrode 13, the data voltage is written via the dielectric sheet 30 to the liquid crystal layer 15 of the plurality of pixels 41 arranged in the column direction corresponding to the discharge channel 25. When the plasma discharge ends, the discharge channel 25 becomes a floating potential, and the data voltage written in the liquid crystal layer 15 of each pixel 41 is held until the next writing period (for example, after one field or one frame). In this case, the discharge channel 25 functions as a sampling switch, and the liquid crystal layer 15 of each pixel 41 functions as a sampling capacitor.

The liquid crystal is operated by the data voltage written in the liquid crystal layer 15 of each pixel 41, thereby performing color display in pixel units. Therefore, a two-dimensional color image can be displayed by sequentially performing plasma discharge in the row direction on the discharge channel 25 for writing a data voltage in the liquid crystal layer 15 of the plurality of pixels 41 arranged in the column direction.

[0012]

In the production of a color filter by photolithography, a pigment-dispersed resist is uniformly applied to the upper substrate 11 by using, for example, a spin coating method. Next, by pre-baking, after evaporating the solvent, exposure through a photomask having a predetermined stripe pattern or mosaic pattern,
The color filter was formed by fixing the pigment-dispersed resist by performing bost baking after development.

The spin coating method has an advantage that the thickness variation of the applied pigment-dispersed resist can be reduced to, for example, 5% or less. Further, 90% or more of the resist dropped on the upper substrate 11 was discarded, and it was difficult to save the liquid. In addition, the pigment-dispersed resist that has been shaken off is wound up by rotation and adheres to the upper substrate 11 as a foreign substance, thereby lowering the yield, or causing the pigment-dispersed resist to be applied to unnecessary portions and contaminating the periphery and the back surface of the upper substrate 11. There were drawbacks such as.

For this reason, there has been a demand for a resist coating method for reducing the liquid content of the pigment-dispersed resist and preventing the adhesion of foreign substances. There is no other effective method because of the high degree of demand, such as variation in the height.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to suppress the generation and adhesion of foreign matters, to make the thickness of the pigment-dispersed resist uniform, and to realize a liquid-saving color. A filter manufacturing method and a color filter are provided.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a color filter manufacturing method, comprising: a wire bar formed by winding a fine wire around a round rod-like body; Protective agents must be stored,
By rotating the wire bar, the pigment-dispersed resist or the protective agent stored in the concave portion is applied to the substrate by applying the protective agent, and when forming the protective layer by applying the protective agent on the colored layer The width of the area around which the fine wire of the wire bar is wound is wider than when a colored layer is formed by applying a pigment-dispersed resist, and the protective layer is formed wider than the colored layer.

Further, the color filter according to the present invention comprises:
On a transparent flat substrate, a pigment-dispersed resist obtained by dispersing a pigment of a predetermined color in a photosensitive resin is applied, exposed and developed, and a colored layer having a predetermined pattern, and a colored layer on the colored layer It has a protective layer formed by applying a protective agent wider than the layer.

In the present invention, a wire bar is used which is formed by winding a thin wire around a round bar, for example, in a helical manner, and this wire bar is rotated to form a recess formed between adjacent thin wires of the wire bar. Is applied on a transparent and flat substrate. The pigment-dispersed resist is formed by dispersing a pigment of a predetermined color in a photosensitive resin, and a colored layer having a predetermined pattern is formed by performing exposure and development. Next, the width of the area around which the thin wire of the wire bar was wound was made wide, and by rotating this wire bar, the protective agent stored in the recess of the wire bar formed a colored layer. A protective layer is formed on the substrate to be wider than the colored layer.

[0019]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The color filter is formed using a photolithography method. For example, a pigment-dispersed resist in which a pigment of a predetermined color, for example, a black, red, green, or blue pigment is dispersed in a photosensitive resin, is formed using a coating apparatus shown in FIG. It is applied to the substrate 11.

The pigment-dispersed resist is obtained by dispersing a pigment by giving a photosensitive resin to a polymer resin having relatively high heat resistance, such as an acrylic resin, a polyimide resin, an ethoxy resin, or a polyvinyl alcohol resin. . The pigment may be an organic pigment or an inorganic pigment. For example, as the organic pigment, dianthraquinone as a red pigment, copper phthalocyanine halide as a green pigment, and copper phthalocyanine as a blue pigment are used.

In FIG. 1, the upper substrate 11 is transported in the direction of arrow A by the transport units 51a and 51b of the coating apparatus. A coating section 52 is provided between the transport section 51a and the transport section 51b, and a pigment dispersion resist is applied to the upper substrate 11 by the coating section 52 while the upper substrate 11 is transported from the transport section 51a to the transport section 51b. .

The coating section 52 includes a coating liquid tank 53 for storing the pigment-dispersed resist, a wire bar 54 for applying the pigment-dispersed resist stored in the coating liquid tank 53 to the upper substrate 11 as shown in FIG. It is composed of a roller 55 for bringing the upper substrate 11 into contact with the wire bar 54.

As shown in FIG. 3, the wire bar 54 is, for example, a rod 54 having a diameter of 12 mm.
A stainless steel wire 54b having a diameter of about 100 μm is spirally wound around a without any gap. The wire bar 54 is rotatably held in the coating liquid tank 53, and a part of the wire bar 54 is immersed in a pigment-dispersed resist as shown in FIG.

For this reason, when the wire bar 54 is rotated in the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 2, a predetermined amount of the pigment-dispersed resist is stored in the concave portion 56 formed between the adjacent fine stainless wires 54b. Further, the wire bar 54 and the roller 55 face in parallel, and the upper substrate 11 is sandwiched between the wire bar 54 and the roller 55. Here, the roller 55 is also rotated in the direction of arrow C, and the upper substrate 1 is rotated.
When 1 passes through the application section 52 in the direction of arrow A while being sandwiched between the wire bar 54 and the roller 55, the pigment-dispersed resist stored in the concave portion 56 between the stainless steel wires 54 b of the wire bar 54 is attached to the upper substrate 11, A pigment-dispersed resist is applied. Thereafter, the upper substrate 11 has the pigment-dispersed resist applied surface 11a facing upward, and the pigment-dispersed resist is planarized.

As described above, in the coating apparatus using the wire bar, the pigment-dispersed resist is supplied to the upper substrate from the coating solution tank via the wire bar in a required amount, so that the resist is spun out by rotation. The amount of the pigment-dispersed resist used is smaller than that of the method, and liquid saving can be achieved. Further, the pigment-dispersed resist does not adhere to the upper substrate 11 as a foreign substance, and the periphery and the back surface of the upper substrate 11 are not stained by dispersing the pigment in unnecessary portions and applying dist.

Next, a process of forming a color filter will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 show a step of forming a colored layer. In step ST1 of the flowchart of FIG. 4, a pigment-dispersed resist is applied to the upper substrate 11 as shown in FIG. 5A using a coating device using a wire bar. Is applied with a predetermined thickness (for example, 1 to 3 μm) to form a pigment-dispersed resist layer 61. The pigment-dispersed resist used in the production of this color filter is a major factor in determining the characteristics of the liquid crystal panel, and therefore needs to have excellent transparency, heat resistance, adhesion, and the like.
Next, in step ST2, pre-baking (for example, 85 to 110 ° C. for 2 to 5 minutes) is performed to volatilize the solvent. In step ST3, as shown in FIG. 5B, an ultraviolet ray is irradiated (for example, 1000 to 2000 mj / cm ² ) through a photomask 62 having a predetermined pattern, and exposure is performed. In step ST4, development (for example, immersion in 60% of an alkaline solution for 60 seconds and rocking) is performed.
As shown in C, the portion of the pigment-dispersed resist layer that has been irradiated with the ultraviolet rays is removed, and after rinsing (washing) is performed in step ST5, post-baking is performed in step ST6 (for example, 200 to 300 ° C, 5 to 30 ° C). Is performed to form the black mask 12d.

The red, green and blue color filters are sequentially formed by repeating the same process as the black mask. In this case, in step ST1, the thickness of the pigment-dispersed resist is set to, for example, 1 to 2 μm. This change in the film thickness can be easily controlled by the diameter of the stainless fine wire wound around the rod and the solid content concentration of the pigment-dispersed resist. In the exposure step of step ST3, a photomask 62 as shown in FIG. 6 is used.

In FIG. 6, the shaded area of the area LC is the area where the colored layer is formed, and the area LB is the area where the black mask 12d is formed. The hatched portion of the region SP indicates a portion where the spacer 14 is formed. By aligning the photomasks one by one in the forming step of each colored layer in succession, each colored layer can be formed in a stripe shape with the same dimensions, and as shown in FIG. 5D, the black mask 12d is formed.
And the colored layers 12a, 12b, and 12d are formed. Also,
The spacers 14 are formed by sequentially laminating the pigment-dispersed resists by the regions SP of the photomask.

When the formation of the colored layer is completed in this way, a protection layer is formed using an acrylic resin or the like.
In the formation of the protective layer, the protective agent is stored in the coating liquid tank 53 of the coating device, and the protective agent is applied to the substrate on which the colored layer is formed using a wire bar as in the formation of the colored layer.

Here, in the step of forming the colored layer, as shown in FIG.
Using a wire bar wound with a width of "1", a pigment-dispersed resist is applied as shown in FIG. 7B to form a colored layer. In the protective layer forming step, as shown in FIG. 7C. As shown in FIG. 7D, a protective agent is applied more widely than the pigment-dispersed resist as shown in FIG. 7D by using a wire bar in which a thin stainless wire 54b is wound around the rod 54a with a width “W2” wider than “W1”. Is formed.

For this reason, when the pigment-dispersed resist is applied by the wire bar coating method, the pigment-dispersed resist is thickly applied to the peripheral portion of the upper substrate 11 and cannot be removed during development. Since the remaining resist can be sufficiently covered with the protective layer, when the etching process is performed to form the striped data electrodes 13, the remaining resist is peeled off and becomes a foreign substance, or the upper substrate 11 The remaining resist melts out and the upper substrate 1
1 can be prevented from causing unevenness such as dripping of the liquid.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, since the coating of the pigment-dispersed resist is performed by the wire bar coating method, it is possible to save liquid, and at the time of forming the protective layer, Since the protective agent is applied using a wire bar with a stainless steel wire wound with a wider width, even if the pigment-dispersed resist cannot be completely removed around the upper substrate, this resist can be used. Since the remainder can be covered with the protective layer, the yield can be improved.

In the above-described embodiment, the color filter is formed by using a striped photomask. However, the color filter may be formed by using a mosaiced photomask. In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be easily applied not only to the color filter of the plasma addressed display device but also to a color filter used in another display device or the like.

[0034]

According to the present invention, a pigment-dispersed resist is applied on a transparent flat substrate using a wire bar formed by winding a fine wire around a round rod, and is exposed and developed. A colored layer having a predetermined pattern is formed. Next, the width of the region around which the thin wire of the wire bar is wound is made wider, and a protective agent is applied on the substrate on which the colored layer is formed, so that the protective layer is formed wider than the colored layer. For this reason, the yield of the pigment-dispersed resist used in the formation of the color filter can be reduced while reducing the generation of dust and foreign matter due to the residue of the pigment-dispersed resist or the occurrence of unevenness such as dripping of the liquid. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a coating apparatus used in a color filter manufacturing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a coating unit viewed from a lateral direction with respect to a transport direction of an upper substrate.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wire bar when viewed from a transport direction of an upper substrate.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a step of forming a colored layer.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in a step of forming a colored layer.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a photomask.

FIG. 7 is a view showing the formation of a colored layer and a protective layer.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a plasma addressed display device.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a plasma addressed display device.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an arrangement of data electrodes, plasma electrodes, and discharge channels.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: electro-optical display cell, 30: dielectric sheet,
11: glass substrate (upper substrate), 11a: coating surface, 12: color filter, 12a, 12b, 12
c: colored layer, 12d: black mask, 13.
..Data electrode, 14 spacer, 15 liquid crystal layer, 20 plasma cell, 21 glass substrate (lower substrate), 22A anode electrode, 22K
・ Cathode electrode, 23 ・ ・ ・ Partition wall, 24 ・ ・ ・ Frit seal material, 25 ・ ・ ・ Discharge channel, 41 ・ ・ ・ Pixel,
51a, 51b: transport section, 52: coating section, 53
... Coating liquid tank, 54 ... Wire bar, 54a ...
・ Rod, 54b ・ ・ ・ Stainless fine wire, 55 ・ ・ ・ Roller, 56 ・ ・ ・ Recess, 62 ・ ・ ・ Photomask

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] August 14, 1997

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0026

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Next, a process of forming a color filter will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 show a step of forming a colored layer. In step ST1 of the flowchart of FIG. 4, a pigment-dispersed resist is applied to the upper substrate 11 as shown in FIG. 5A using a coating device using a wire bar. Is applied with a predetermined thickness (for example, 1 to 3 μm) to form a pigment-dispersed resist layer 61. The pigment-dispersed resist used in the production of this color filter is a major factor in determining the characteristics of the liquid crystal panel, and therefore needs to have excellent transparency, heat resistance, adhesion, and the like.
Next, in step ST2, pre-baking (for example, 85 to 110 ° C. for 2 to 5 minutes) is performed to volatilize the solvent. In step ST3, as shown in FIG. 5B, an ultraviolet ray is irradiated (for example, 1000 to 2000 mj / cm ² ) through a photomask 62 having a predetermined pattern, and exposure is performed. In step ST4, development (for example, immersion in 60% of an alkaline solution for 60 seconds and rocking) is performed.
As shown in C, the portion of the pigment-dispersed resist layer that has not been irradiated with the ultraviolet rays is removed, and after rinsing (washing) is performed in step ST5, post-baking is performed in step ST6 (for example, 200 to 300 ° C., 5 to 5 ° C.). 30 minutes) to form the black mask 12d.

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0028

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

In FIG. 6, the shaded area of the area LC is the area where the colored layer is formed, and the area LB is the area where the black mask 12d is formed . By aligning sequentially not a one by one pitch in the process of forming each color layer a photomask like this can be formed in a stripe shape of each color layer with the same dimensions, the black mask as illustrated in Figure 5D 12d and the colored layers 12a, 12b, 12d are formed .

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 5

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 5

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 6

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 6

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A pigment-dispersed resist obtained by dispersing a pigment of a predetermined color in a photosensitive resin is coated on a transparent flat substrate, and exposed and developed to form a colored layer having a predetermined pattern. A method for producing a color filter, wherein a protective layer is formed on a layer to produce a color filter, wherein the pigment is provided in a concave portion formed between adjacent fine wires of a wire bar formed by winding a fine wire around a round rod. The dispersion resist or the protective agent is to be stored, the wire bar is rotated, and the pigment-dispersed resist or the protective agent stored in the concave portion is applied to the substrate, and the coating is performed. When the protective agent is applied to form a protective layer, the width of the area around which the fine wire of the wire bar is wound is smaller than when the pigment-dispersed resist is applied to form a colored layer. And casting, the color filter manufacturing method characterized by widely forming the protective layer than the colored layer. 2. A pigment-dispersed resist obtained by dispersing a pigment of a predetermined color in a photosensitive resin is coated on a transparent flat substrate.
Exposure, a colored layer with a predetermined pattern by performing development,
A color filter comprising a protective layer formed by applying a protective agent on the colored layer more widely than the colored layer. 3. The colored layer and the protective layer are formed between a thin wire adjacent to the wire bar by rotating a wire bar formed by winding a thin wire around a round bar. The protective layer is formed by adhering the pigment-dispersed resist or the protective agent stored in the concave portion to the substrate, and the protective layer varies the width of a region where the fine wire of the wire bar is wound. 3. The color filter according to claim 2, wherein the color filter is formed wider than the colored layer.