KR20060092015A - E-paper panel and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a two-paper panel and a method for manufacturing the same. In the case of forming a partition wall by patterning a polymer or ceramic layer by a sand blasting method in forming a conventional panel, a material having a high hardness enough to be applied to the sand blasting method Since the use of the material is limited in selection of the material, the flexibility of the panel is low, there is a problem that is vulnerable to physical impact. In addition, when the photoresist is used as the barrier rib, the barrier rib is cured by photopolymerization. In view of the above problems, the present invention forms a mask pattern on a barrier sheet made of a flexible and chemically stable fully polymerized polymer, and then forms an upper plate and a bottom plate by anisotropic wet etching a cell region defined in the structure. By applying in between, it is possible to improve both the flexibility and chemical stability of the panel through an easy partitioning process.

Description

E-PAPER PANEL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional two-paper panel structure.

Figure 2a to 2f is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional process for manufacturing a two-paper panel.

Figure 3a to 3d is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of an embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 4a to 4d is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of another embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a conceptual diagram showing an etching mechanism used in the wet etching polymer of an embodiment of the present invention.

6A to 6B are cross-sectional views illustrating examples of manufacturing a two-paper panel using partition walls according to the present invention.

*** Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing ***

10: lower substrate 20: lower electrode

30: lower insulating layer 40: partition wall

50: toner particles 60: upper substrate

70: upper electrode 80: upper insulating layer

100, 120: polymer partition 110: photoresist

The present invention relates to a two-paper panel and a method of manufacturing the same. Particularly, the partition wall of the collision-charged two-paper panel is used by patterning a fully polymerized polymer sheet by wet etching, thereby satisfying both flexibility and chemical stability. The present invention relates to a two-paper panel provided and a method of manufacturing the same.

With the necessity of various display devices, E-paper technology has been developed that can provide a clear image quality for a long time with smaller driving power.

E-paper technology uses the rapid movement of microparticles by an electric field to electrostatically move charged particles suspended in a certain space to display colors. Removing the particles does not change the position of the particles, so that the image does not disappear, as if printed on paper with ink. In other words, it does not emit light by itself, but the visual fatigue is very low, so it is possible to enjoy comfortable viewing like a real book, and the panel's flexibility is high enough to bend and the thickness can be formed very thin. Expecting. In addition, as mentioned above, since the image displayed once is maintained for a long time unless the panel is reset, the power consumption is extremely low, and thus the utility as a portable display device is excellent. In particular, low prices due to simple processes and low cost materials are expected to contribute to the popularization of e-paper panels.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional collision-charged two-paper panel using dry particles, the structure of which is the upper and lower substrates formed with transparent electrodes (ITO) 20, 70 coated with an insulating layer (30, 80) The partition walls 40 are formed between the fields 10 and 60, and the toner particles charged and the toner particles 50 charged in the space secured by the partition walls 40 are relatively simple. .

The thickness of the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 60 is not limited, but since the toner particles 50 must be moved by the electrostatic force, the thickness of the actual partition wall 40 (tens of tens to hundreds of micrometers) or the toner particles 50 is not limited. Note that the size of is very small. In addition, the thickness of the transparent upper and lower electrodes 20 and 70 is much thinner than that of the upper and lower substrates 10 and 20, and the thicknesses of the electrodes 20 and 70 and the toner particles 50 may be reduced. Note that the thickness of the insulating layer 30 coated on the electrodes 20 and 70 is also thin so as to prevent electron movement by contact.

Referring to the principle of operation of the two-paper structured as described above, it is first assumed that the black toner particles are positively charged, and that the white toner particles are negatively charged (which may be oppositely charged). First, when a negative voltage is applied to the upper electrode 70 and a positive voltage is applied to the lower electrode 20, white particles positively charged by the coulomb force move toward the upper substrate 60, and the negatively charged black particles Move toward the lower substrate 10. Since the white toner particles 50 are located on the upper substrate 60 side, they appear white when viewed from the outside. On the contrary, when + voltage is applied to the upper electrode 70 and-voltage is applied to the lower electrode 20, the negatively charged black particles move toward the upper substrate 60, and the positively charged white particles move to the lower substrate 10. It will move to) and display in black. Therefore, after applying a voltage so that all the cells appear white at first, only the desired cell is applied with the opposite voltage so that the cells appear black.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of manufacturing a conventional dry two-paper panel shown in FIG. 1.

First, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, a transparent lower electrode 20 and an insulating layer 30 are sequentially formed on the lower substrate 10. Since the basic electrode structure of the e-paper panel is a matrix structure, the lower electrode 20 has a shape similar to the perspective view shown on the right side. It is preferable that the transparent electrode is ITO, and there is no problem in driving even if the insulating layer 30 applied thereon is omitted. However, when the toner particles are in close contact with the electrode and electron movement occurs, the memory effect is reduced. It may be difficult to preserve an image for a long time without applying power, so it is desirable to apply it.

As shown in FIG. 2B, a partition wall 40 is formed on the substrate. Since the partition 40 is simply used to distinguish cell units, the material may be a polymer, an inorganic material, or the like. Generally, a method of constituting the partition 40 includes a polymer or a ceramic having a high hardness. The panel of material may be patterned through a sand blast or coated with photoresist, followed by exposure and selective development to use the resist layer itself as a partition. In addition, a laminating method such as cutting and using a pre-made material may be used, and in the case of adhesion, it may be applied on a preformed lower plate by a method such as UV adhesive and ultraviolet irradiation. The general partition 40 has a lattice structure as shown in the right perspective view.

As shown in FIG. 2C, negatively charged toner particles 50 using a corona discharge lamp are injected into a nozzle and injected into a space separated by the partition wall 40. At this time, by applying a positive voltage to the lower electrode 20 or a means for applying a positive electric field to the lower portion of the substrate 10 so that the toner particles 50 injected can easily reach the inside of the partition 40. . The toner particles 50 have an additive material for controlling charging characteristics internally, and when the toner particles 50 collide with each other, the charging characteristics appear. When you apply AC, you will be able to find your match characteristics.

As shown in FIG. 2D, the toner particles 50a disposed on the partition 40 are removed by various methods. The most common method is to adsorb and remove toner particles 50a on the top of the partition wall 40 using an adhesive roller or the like, and after the toner jet is finished with a separate mask disposed on the top of the wall 40. The method of removing the mask can also be used.

As shown in FIG. 2E, the transparent upper electrode 70 and the upper insulating layer 80 are sequentially formed on the transparent upper substrate 60 in the same process as the lower plate for use as the upper plate. In this case, the upper electrode 70 may also have a structure as shown in FIG. 2A, but has a direction perpendicular to the lower electrode.

As shown in FIG. 2F, the formed upper plates 60, 70, and 80 are disposed on and bonded to the lower plates 10, 20, 30, and the partition 40, which are previously formed. Then, if necessary, by repeatedly applying the opposite voltage to each electrode, the toners 50 are moved and run to each other so as to be negatively or positively charged, respectively.

The dry two-paper panel is superior to the conventional liquid phase in terms of response speed and ease of processing, but a systematic manufacturing method has not yet been established. Particularly, when the polymer or ceramic layer is patterned by sand blasting when forming the barrier ribs of the panel, a material having a high hardness enough to be applied to the sand blasting method must be used. There was a problem of becoming vulnerable. In addition, when the photoresist is used to harden the partition wall by photo-polymerization, a chemically weak problem occurs.

The present invention for solving the above problems is formed by forming a mask pattern on a partition sheet of a flexible and chemically stable fully polymerized polymer material and then anisotropic wet etching the cell region defined in the structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a two-paper panel and a method of manufacturing the same that is applied between the upper and lower plates to satisfy both flexibility and chemical stability.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a lower substrate formed with a lower electrode; An upper substrate on which the upper electrode is formed; Barrier ribs of a fully polymerized polymer material having an anisotropic wet etching pattern for cell configuration and positioned between the upper substrate and the lower substrate; And dry toner particles injected into the cell region defined by the pattern of the barrier rib.

In addition, the present invention comprises the steps of preparing an upper plate and a lower plate formed electrode; Forming a mask pattern for cell formation on at least one side of the barrier polymer sheet made of a fully polymerized polymer; Applying a wet etchant capable of anisotropically etching the fully polymerized polymer to the structure to etch away the polymer sheet of the cell region defined by the mask pattern; Removing the mask pattern from the polymer sheet for partition walls to complete the partition walls; Applying the partition to the lower plate and spraying toner particles, and bonding the upper plate to the upper plate.

The present invention as described above will be described in detail through one embodiment as follows.

3A to 3D are cross-sectional views illustrating a process of fabricating a partition wall according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, wet etching is performed after forming a mask pattern 110 on both sides of a partition panel 100 used as a partition material. Is to define the cell area.

Since the present invention aims to produce flexible and chemically stable partition walls, the partition material used in the illustrated process is a flexible and chemically stable fully polymerized polymer.

Referring to the process of forming the partition wall using the polymer material as described above, the photoresist 110 is applied to the upper and lower sheets of the polymer partition wall 100 as shown in FIG. 3A.

As shown in FIG. 3B, ultraviolet rays are irradiated to remove the photoresist 110 so that the sheet for the polymer barrier 100 of the portion to form the cell is exposed, and then developed to form a photoresist pattern as shown. In this case, the photoresist pattern is to have the same pattern on the upper and lower parts of the polymer sheet.

3C, an etching solution is applied or sprayed on both surfaces of the polymer barrier 100 sheet exposed by the photoresist pattern 110, or the structure is dipped in the etching solution to perform etching. Since the etching of the polymer barrier 100 exhibits anisotropic etching characteristics, etching is performed in the form of an hourglass.

3D, the polymer barrier wall 100 is completed by removing the photoresist pattern 110 remaining in the upper and lower portions of the polymer barrier wall 100.

4A to 4D are process cross-sectional views showing a similar process to those shown in FIGS. 3A to 3D. The mask is formed only on one surface of the sheet for manufacturing the polymer partition wall 120, and then the etching liquid is formed only on the corresponding surface. Cell pattern is formed to form a puddle-shaped etch cross section by applying.

First, as shown in FIG. 4A, a photoresist 110 is applied to an upper portion of the polymer barrier 120 sheet, and as shown in FIG. 4B, a portion of the polymer barrier 120 sheet where the cell is to be exposed is exposed. After the resist 110 is patterned, the etchant is applied to the polymer barrier wall 120 sheet on the surface to which the photoresist 110 pattern is applied by etching or spraying, as shown in FIG. 4C. Through the etching process, the polymer barrier wall 120 has a cell pattern having an etch-shaped cross section formed by an anisotropic etching.

As shown in FIG. 4D, the photoresist pattern 110 on the sheet of the polymer barrier wall 120 is removed to complete the polymer barrier wall in which the puddle-shaped cell is defined.

The etchant applied to the above-described methods for producing the polymer partition wall may use a different kind according to the material of the polymer partition wall used. For example, if a polyimide, a fully polymerized polymer having flexibility and chemical stability, is used as the material of the polymer partition wall used in this embodiment, TPE3000 sold by Toray Engineering as an etchant for etching it Can be used. The TPE3000 is composed of 20 to 40 wt% of an aliphatic amine (C ₂ H ₇ NO) compound in a 20 wt% KOH solution, and is used for hydrolyzing polyimide and polyester. 5 is a conceptual view illustrating an etching mechanism of the TPE3000.

6A to 6B show cross-sectional views of an E-paper panel applying the partitions manufactured in the above-described manner, and as shown in FIG. It can be seen that the shape does not affect the operation.

Therefore, even when the partition wall 100 having a cell cross-section is formed in a puddle form as shown in FIG. 6A, there is no change in actual operating characteristics, and a two-paper panel having high flexibility and chemical stability may be realized by the characteristics of the partition wall 100. Will be.

FIG. 6B illustrates a case in which the partition wall 120 formed to have an hourglass-shaped cell cross section is applied. In this case, the movement of the actual toner particles is not disturbed, and the etching is simultaneously performed on the upper and lower surfaces of the partition wall 120. As a result, the manufacturing time of the barrier ribs is reduced, and the etching process can be performed through dipping, thereby facilitating the process. In addition, the flexibility and chemical stability of the entire panel is increased by the characteristics of the partition wall 120 applied to the panel.

As described above, the two-paper panel of the present invention and a method of manufacturing the same are manufactured by forming a mask pattern on a partition sheet made of flexible and chemically stable fully polymerized polymer and then anisotropically wet etching the cell region defined in the structure. By applying a partition between the upper plate and the lower plate, it is possible to improve both the flexibility and the chemical stability of the panel through an easy partition forming process.

Claims (6)

A lower substrate on which a lower electrode is formed; An upper substrate on which the upper electrode is formed; Barrier ribs of a fully polymerized polymer material having an anisotropic wet etching pattern for cell configuration and positioned between the upper substrate and the lower substrate; E-paper panel comprising dry toner particles injected into the cell region defined by the pattern of the partition wall. According to claim 1, wherein the cell pattern cross-section of the partition wall has a puddle form when the anisotropic wet etching proceeds in one direction, or an e-paper panel characterized in that it has an hourglass form appears when the anisotropic wet etching proceeds in both directions. . The two-paper panel of claim 1, wherein the partition wall is made of a flexible polymer fully flexible including polyimide. Preparing an upper plate and a lower plate on which electrodes are formed; Forming a mask pattern for cell formation on at least one side of the barrier polymer sheet made of a fully polymerized polymer; Applying a wet etchant capable of anisotropically etching the fully polymerized polymer to the structure to etch away the polymer sheet of the cell region defined by the mask pattern; Removing the mask pattern from the polymer sheet for partition walls to complete the partition walls; Applying the partition wall to the lower plate and spraying toner particles, and then bonding the upper plate to the upper plate. The method of claim 4, wherein the wet etchant is a compound for hydrolyzing the fully polymerized polymer used as the material of the polymer sheet for partition walls to form a puddle-shaped anisotropic etching cross section. 5. The hourglass of claim 4, wherein when the mask pattern is formed on both sides of the barrier polymer sheet, the wet etchant is applied or sprayed on both sides of the polymer sheet, or the polymer sheet having the mask pattern formed on the wet etchant is dipped. And etching to form an etch cross section of the shape.

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