KR20090035420A - Method for repairing faulty circuit of liquid crystal display device and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for correcting a defect of a circuit of a liquid crystal display device are provided to correct a defect of a circuit with a simple method and a low cost without degradation of an aperture ratio of each pixel. An apparatus for correcting a defect of a circuit includes an opening part forming device and a short wiring forming device. The opening part forming device has an opening part(28) in a protective layer(22). The protective layer covers a signal line(12) adjacent to a pixel electrode(16) of a pixel generating a defect. The short wiring forming device piles a conductive material(30) on the opening part, contacts the conductive material with the pixel electrode, and includes a piling device, a plasma generating device, and a heating device. A conductive paste includes a conductive nano-size metallic particle and a binder. The plasma generating device sprays an oxygen radical into a piled conductive paste under atmospheric pressure. The heating device heats the conductive paste.

Description

Method for Repairing Faulty Circuit of Liquid Crystal Display Device and Apparatus therefor}

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for repairing a defect in a circuit formed on a circuit board for a liquid crystal display device.

As liquid crystal displays, many active matrix devices are currently used. This is to form a switching element such as a thin film transistor (TFT) for each pixel electrode for driving the pixel electrode on a glass substrate that is a circuit board of a liquid crystal display device (liquid crystal display panel).

As one of the above-described repair techniques for circuit boards, a plurality of switching elements are formed on the substrate in advance in each pixel electrode to have redundancy or a defect occurs in the switching element corresponding to one pixel electrode. When doing so, there may be formed a conductive path that short-circuits the pixel electrode and the wiring portion to be connected to the switching element (Patent Documents 1 and 2). In short, these repair techniques predict the occurrence of a defect in the switching element during the manufacture of the substrate, and form a wiring portion for repair in advance.

One of the other repair techniques is to form a hole in the protective layer covering the portion where disconnection has occurred, and to deposit the conductive material by laser CVD or sputtering (Patent Documents 3, 4, and 5).

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-230385

Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-92154

Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-152568

Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-260819

Patent Document 5: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-182246

However, in the repair technique of Patent Documents 1 and 2, the circuit for repair is formed on the substrate in advance, so that the aperture ratio of each pixel is lowered, and the coupling potential generated by the formed circuit causes noise and the like.

On the other hand, since the repair techniques of Patent Documents 3, 4, and 5 perform repair by laser CVD or sputtering, the cost is high and the repair work takes time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to enable simpler and cheaper maintenance without lowering the aperture ratio of each pixel.

A circuit defect repair method of a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention includes a first step of forming an opening in a protective layer covering a signal line adjacent to a pixel electrode of a pixel causing the defect to expose a portion of the signal line, and a conductive material; And a second step of depositing in the opening and its vicinity and electrically connecting the deposited conductive material and the pixel electrode.

The circuit defect repair apparatus of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention includes an opening forming device which exposes a part of the signal line by forming an opening in a protective layer covering a signal line adjacent to the pixel electrode of the pixel which caused the defect, and a conductive material. And a short-circuit wiring forming apparatus for depositing in the opening and its vicinity and electrically connecting the deposited conductive material and the pixel electrode.

The said conductive material can be deposited in the said opening part and its vicinity as an electrically conductive paste.

The conductive paste may include nanometal particles and a binder.

It is also preferable that the said 2nd process further includes spraying the oxygen radical which made into plasma under atmospheric pressure to the deposited conductive paste.

It is also preferable that the said 2nd process further includes spraying the heating gas made into plasma under atmospheric pressure to the said deposited conductive paste.

It is also preferable that the said 1st process includes irradiating a laser beam to the part which should form the said opening part, and removing a part of said protective layer of the said part.

In addition, the first step may preferably include removing a part of the protective layer of the corresponding portion by injecting a reducing gas into which the opening is to be formed.

The short-circuit wiring forming apparatus may include a deposition apparatus for depositing a conductive paste containing nanometal particles and a binder as the conductive material in the opening and its vicinity.

The short-circuit wiring forming apparatus may further include a plasma generating device that sprays oxygen radicals that have been plasmaized under atmospheric pressure to the deposited conductive paste.

The short-circuit wiring forming apparatus may further include a heating device for heating the deposited conductive paste, and the heating device may be a plasma generating device for spraying the deposited conductive paste on the deposited conductive paste under atmospheric pressure. The laser beam generator may be used to irradiate laser beam onto the deposited conductive paste.

The opening forming device may include a laser light generating device.

The opening forming apparatus may include a laser light generating device that removes a protective layer of the corresponding portion by irradiating a laser beam to a portion where the opening is to be formed.

Instead, the opening forming apparatus may include a plasma generating apparatus that removes a part of the protective layer of the corresponding portion by injecting a reducing gas into which the opening is to be formed.

The defect repair apparatus according to the present invention may include a support defining an X-Y plane on which the circuit board is disposed, and a movable frame movable in the X-axis direction above the circuit board disposed on the support. In this case, the opening forming device and the short circuit forming device are supported by the movable frame to be movable in the Y-axis direction above the circuit board.

According to the present invention, after a signal line, a gate wire, a pixel electrode, a switching element, a connection wiring, and the like are formed on a circuit board, a defective pixel in which a defect is present in the switching element, the connection wiring, or the like is applied to the pixel electrode. An opening is formed in the protective layer covering the adjacent signal line to expose a part of the signal line, and a conductive material is deposited in the opening and its vicinity by spraying, coating or the like, and a repair is performed to short the deposited conductive material and the pixel electrode.

Therefore, it is not necessary to form a redundant circuit for maintenance in advance on the circuit board, and the aperture ratio of each pixel does not decrease. In addition, maintenance work can be performed in the air, and as a result, maintenance can be performed easily and inexpensively compared with the prior art.

By using the electrically conductive paste containing an electroconductive material, it can repair at low cost and for a short time. In particular, when the conductive paste containing the nanometal particles and the binder as the conductive material is deposited in the opening and its vicinity in the air state, it is more reliably attached to the opening and the vicinity of the protective layer.

 Next, when oxygen radicals are sprayed on the deposited conductive paste in a plasma state, the conductive paste is exposed to these oxygen radical molecules.

The oxygen radical molecule is a molecule having a hole electron in the outer electron, and causes a chemical reaction with a binder (generally an organic material is used) in the conductive paste. By this chemical reaction, hydrogen in the binder becomes water, carbon becomes carbon dioxide, and each evaporates and is released into the atmosphere. In addition, other elements included in the binder are also gasified and released into the atmosphere.

When the binder is removed from the conductive paste by the above-described chemical reaction, the nanometal particles having high surface energy are in direct contact with each other between the particles and between the particles and the electrode (signal line) material, and metal bonds are generated by the surface energy. do. As a result, a short circuit path connecting the signal line and the pixel electrode is formed.

In addition, it is also preferable to bake an electrically conductive paste by heating using heating means, such as a laser beam. Also in this case, the binder in the conductive paste is removed by heating.

1 and 2, the repaired circuit board 10 is used in an active matrix liquid crystal display device which displays each of a plurality of pixels formed in a matrix form on a glass substrate by driving them with a switching element.

The circuit board 10 shown in the drawing includes a plurality of signal lines 12 arranged at intervals in the X direction and extending in the Y direction, and a plurality of gates arranged at intervals in the Y direction and extending in the X direction. Switching elements 18 such as thin film transistors (TFTs) formed for each pixel electrode 16 and a plurality of pixel electrodes 16 arranged at the intersection of the line 14, the signal line 12 and the gate line 14. Is a so-called TFT array substrate formed on one surface of a transparent substrate 20 such as a glass substrate.

In the illustrated example, the signal line 12 is formed directly on one side of the transparent substrate 20, and the pixel electrode 16 and the switching element 18 are formed on the transparent substrate 20 to cover the signal line 12. It is formed on the protective layer 22 made of an electrically insulating material.

Although not shown, the protective layer 22 may be formed on the first protective layer formed on the transparent substrate 20 to cover the signal line 12 and on the first protective layer to cover the first protective layer. 12 and a second protective layer electrically insulating the gate line 14. Therefore, the gate line 14 is formed on the first protective layer, and the pixel electrode 16 and the switching element 18 are formed on the second protective layer.

In the illustrated example, each switching element 18 controls a source connected to the corresponding signal line 12, a drain connected to the corresponding pixel 16, and a channel between the source and the drain. A field effect transistor having a gate connected to the gate line 14 so as to output a driving signal for driving the corresponding pixel electrode 16 to the corresponding pixel electrode 16 through the conductive path 24. do.

However, the switching element 18 may be another type, such as a PNP transistor, an NPN transistor, a semiconductor relay, as long as it outputs a drive signal to the corresponding pixel electrode 16. FIG.

In the example of illustration, the pixel electrode 16 of the left edge | side of FIG. 1 is defect by the disconnection 26 of the conductive path 24. As shown in FIG. However, in the present invention, the switching element 18 itself corresponding to the pixel electrode 16 is defective, or the disconnection of the conductive path (not shown) connecting the switching element 18 and the signal line 12 or the gate line 14 to each other. It can be applied even in the case of a defect due to the like.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 2, the above-mentioned defect repair method is demonstrated.

2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the vicinity of a part to be repaired. Before repairing, the part to be repaired is in the state shown in Fig. 2A.

First, a heating laser light converged to a desired spot diameter by a laser light generating device is irradiated from above on the protective layer 22 covering the signal line 12 adjacent to the pixel electrode 16 of the defective pixel. In a part of the layer 22, particularly in the vicinity of the pixel electrode 16 of the defective pixel, the protective layer material of the upper portion of the signal line 12 is removed by heating and evaporating. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2B, an opening 28 exposing a portion of the signal line 12 upward is formed in the protective layer 22.

As such a laser generating device, a commercially available processing laser light generating device that generates a converged laser light can be used.

Next, the conductive material 30 is filled in the opening 28 by spraying, coating, or the like in the opening 28 by the deposition apparatus, and the conductive material 30 is further filled with the opening 28 and the pixel. These conductive materials 30 are deposited on the upper portion of the protective layer 22 between the electrodes 16 and the upper edge of the pixel electrode 16 so as to be continuous.

As a result of this, as shown in Fig. 2C, the conductive material 30 is deposited in the opening 28 and in the vicinity of the opening 28, so that the signal line 12 and the pixel electrode 16 of the defective pixel are formed. And electrically connected through the deposited conductive material 30.

As the deposition apparatus described above, the spraying apparatus using an injection nozzle such as an inkjet nozzle, for example, the spraying of the conductive paste by the inkjet method, may be used for maskless mesoscale material deposition of Optomex, USA. a ³ D (R)) apparatus (U.S. Patent No. 7,045,015) may be used. However, as a deposition apparatus, other apparatuses, such as a spraying apparatus using another spray nozzle and a general paste coating apparatus, can also be used.

The conductive material 30 is in the form of a conductive paste containing nano-metal particles and an organic binder as the conductive material, and is deposited in the atmosphere 28 and in the vicinity by the deposition apparatus.

At this point in time, the conductive material 30 exists in a state contained in the conductive paste. Therefore, next, the oxygen radical which made into plasma by the plasma generation apparatus is sprayed on the electrically conductive paste. As a result, the conductive paste is exposed to oxygen radical molecules.

The said oxygen radical molecule is a molecule | numerator which has a hole electron in an outer shell electron, and produces a chemical reaction with the binder in the said electrically conductive paste. By this chemical reaction, hydrogen in the binder becomes water, carbon becomes carbon dioxide, and each evaporates and is released into the atmosphere. In addition, other elements included in the binder are also gasified and released into the atmosphere.

When the binder is removed from the conductive paste by the chemical reaction, the nanometal particles having high surface energy are directly contacted with each other or with the signal line 12 or the pixel electrode 16 without directly passing through the binder. Metal bonds are generated by surface energy. As a result, a solid short circuit connecting the signal line 12 and the pixel electrode by metal bonding between the contact metal particles without using a physical overheating phenomenon by a heater or a laser beam is shown in Fig. 2C. As formed.

As described above, in order to expose the binder included in the conductive paste to the oxygen radical molecules, the oxygen radical molecules may be injected toward a predetermined portion on the circuit board 10 through the plasma generator.

The plasma generating device generates a gas in a state in which positive and negative charge particles coexist, including radical molecules such as oxygen radicals. Therefore, by spraying the plasma gas generated from the plasma generator toward a predetermined portion on the circuit board 10, the organic material of the predetermined portion can be exposed to oxygen radical molecules or the gas.

As the plasma generating device, a commercially available atmospheric plasma generating device can be used.

Since such an atmospheric plasma generating device can generate oxygen radical molecules at about atmospheric pressure, the radical molecules are not exposed to the atmosphere without being held in a vacuum in a substrate including the predetermined portion, and the radical molecules are exposed to the circuit board 10. We can irradiate to predetermined part of). Therefore, since a vacuum chamber for holding the circuit board 10 as a maintenance object in vacuum is unnecessary, a short circuit can be formed more easily and cheaply by using an atmospheric plasma generator.

In addition, by decreasing the temperature of the plasma gas, for example, by cooling, the ratio of radical molecules in the plasma gas can be increased. By spraying a gas having an increased ratio of the radical molecules into the pattern portion, the organic material can be removed more effectively, so that a short circuit can be formed more efficiently.

Nanometal particles are conductive metal particles such as gold, silver, copper and the like having a particle diameter of several nanometers to several hundred nanometers. Since such metal fine particles have a very high surface energy, the metal bond can be more reliably generated simply by removing the binder. As an electrically conductive paste containing such a metal fine particle and a binder, the product (brand name "nano paste") marketed from Harima Chemical Co., Ltd. can be used, for example.

In the nanometal particles, it is preferable that each particle is coated with a protective film. Such a protective film reliably prevents unwanted metal bonds due to direct contact between nanometal particles in an unreacted state with radical molecules, and is rapidly and surely removed by irradiation of radical molecules, thereby directly removing nanometal particles. Enable metal bonding by contact.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 3, one Embodiment of the atmospheric plasma generating apparatus 40 used for the defect process mentioned above is demonstrated. 3 is a schematic diagram partially showing the atmospheric plasma generator 40.

The atmospheric plasma generator 40 includes a plasma injection nozzle 42 made of a dielectric such as glass, the upper end of which is a gas inlet 42a and the lower end of which is a plasma injection port 42b; An alternating voltage between the pair of electrodes 44 and 44 and the two electrodes 44 which are arranged at a distance d from each other in the longitudinal direction of the injection nozzle 42 and are arranged to surround the injection nozzle 42. Or a power supply 46 for applying a pulsed voltage.

In the gas inlet 42a of the injection nozzle 42, an oxidizing gas Go such as oxygen gas or air and a carrier gas Ca such as nitrogen or argon are opened and closed from the gas sources 48 and 50, respectively. Via valve 52 it is optionally guided. The plasma injection port 42b of the injection nozzle 42 faces the opening 28 and its vicinity.

When the on-off valve 52 is opened, the oxidizing gas Go from the oxidizing gas source 48 together with the carrier gas Ca from the carrier gas source 50 passes through the injection nozzle 42 to the plasma injection port 42b. Is guided toward).

While the oxidizing gas Go is guided to the injection nozzle 42, a voltage from the power supply 46 is applied between the pair of electrodes 44 and 44, so that a pair of discharge space regions due to dielectric barrier discharge are provided. Is formed in a region corresponding to the interval d2 between the electrodes 44 and 44. Therefore, the oxidizing gas Go guided toward the plasma injection port 42b from the gas inlet 42a of the injection nozzle 42 is in the plasma state in the process of passing through the said discharge space area | region.

When a plasma using the oxidizing gas Go as a plasma source is injected onto the circuit board 10, oxygen radicals contained in the plasma cause a chemical reaction with the organic binder in the conductive paste.

As a result of the above, the organic binder is mainly removed by a chemical reaction with oxygen radicals. When the organic binder is removed from the conductive paste, the nanometal particles in the conductive paste contact each other. When such mutual contact occurs, the surface energy of the nanometal particles causes the nanometal particles to sinter and a solid conductive path, that is, a short circuit, is formed to short the signal line 12 and the pixel electrode 16.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the defect repair apparatus 60 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

The defect repair apparatus 60 is provided with the door-shaped support 64 which defines the rectangular X-Y plane 62, and the movable frame 66 supported on the said support stand. On each side of the XY plane 62 of the support 64, a pair of aluminum rails 68 and 68, for example, are parallel to the X axis direction at intervals in the Y axis direction of the XY plane 62, respectively. It is arrange | positioned in the state extended so that.

On the X-Y plane 62, a circuit board 10 having a defective portion to be repaired is disposed between the rails 68, 68 disposed on both sides of the plane 62. As shown in FIG. The movable frame 66 is disposed along the Y-axis direction so as to cross the circuit board 10.

The movable frame 66 includes a beam portion 66a extending in the Y-axis direction from above the circuit board 10 and a pair of legs portions 66b and 66b integrally formed at both ends of the beam portion 66a. . Each leg portion 66b is provided with a sliding member 70 engaged with the corresponding rail 68. By coupling the slide 70 and the corresponding rail 68, the movable frame 66 can move on the X-Y plane 62 in the X-axis direction.

In the example of illustration, in order to make the movable frame 66 self-propelled, the corresponding rail 68 and the corresponding slide 70 comprise a linear motor. For the configuration of this linear motor, a field coil (not shown) is formed in each sliding member 70.

Each field coil generates a moving magnetic field by receiving AC power. When an induced current is generated in the corresponding rail 68 by electromagnetic induction of the moving magnetic field, the induced current and the interaction between the moving magnetic field of each field coil of the sliding element 70 are followed by the rail 68. The driving force acts on the slider 70. Therefore, by controlling the power supply to the field coils formed in each sliding member 70, the movable frame 66 can be moved in the X-axis direction and stopped at a desired position.

The pair of rails 72 and 72 are formed in the beam part 66a of the movable frame 66 along the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction). Both rails 72 are supported with a base plate 74 constituting the linear motor as described above together with both rails 72. Therefore, the base plate 74 can be driven in the Y-axis direction along the beam portion 66a of the frame on the movable frame 66.

The laser beam generator 76, the deposition apparatus 78, the atmospheric plasma generator 40, and the optical microscope 80 are supported by the base plate 74. As shown in Fig. 6, in order to keep the laser light generating device 76 and the deposition device 78, the atmospheric plasma generating device 40, and the microscope 80 movable in the Z-axis direction in the vertical direction, Four rails 82 extending in the vertical direction in parallel to each other are fixed to the base plate 74.

As the laser light generator 76, the deposition apparatus 78, the atmospheric plasma generator 40, and the optical microscope 80, commercially known known apparatuses can be used. In particular, the apparatus shown in FIG. 3 can be used for the atmospheric plasma generator 40.

In the laser light generating device 76, the deposition device 78, the atmospheric plasma generating device 40, and the microscope 80, respective sliding members 84 coupled to the corresponding rails 82 are fixed. .

As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the laser beam generator 76 is directed toward the circuit board 10, and the deposition apparatus 78 directs the conductive paste jet port to the circuit board 10. As shown in FIG. In a state in which the air plasma is generated, the atmospheric plasma generator 40 has its plasma injection port 42b directed toward the circuit board 10 on the support 64, and the microscope 80 moves the objective lens to the circuit board 10. It is arrange | positioned so that the movement to an up-down direction may be carried out in the base plate 74, respectively, in the state toward the side.

Each rail 82 and the sliding element 84 corresponding to this constitute a linear motor as described above. Therefore, by controlling the power supply to these linear motors, the laser light generating device 76, the deposition device 78, the atmospheric plasma generating device 40, and the microscope 80 can be driven independently in the vertical direction, You can also keep them in the desired lift position.

Thereby, the plasma injection port 42b of the atmospheric plasma generating apparatus 40 can adjust the space | interval with the circuit board 10 which is a to-be-processed object, for example between 1-20 mm. In addition, the laser beam generator 76, the deposition apparatus 78, and the microscope 80 are also adjustable to the same extent.

In the arrangement of the circuit board 10 on the XY plane 62 of the support 64, and at the time of taking out the circuit board 10 from the XY plane 62, the laser light generating device 76, the deposition apparatus. (78), the atmospheric plasma generating apparatus 40 and the microscope 80 can be evacuated to the highest evacuation position. As a result, the interference between the circuit board 10 and the circuit board 10 can be prevented, and the arrangement work on the X-Y plane 62 on the circuit board 10 and the take-out work therefrom can be performed quickly and easily.

In this embodiment, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the tank 86, which stores the oxidizing gas and the carrier gas separately, is held on the upper portion of the base plate 74. The oxidizing gas and the carrier gas are supplied via the pipe 88 extending to 42.

In the case of the defect repair apparatus 60, by moving the movable frame 66 to the X-axis direction and moving the base plate 74 to the Y-axis direction, the laser beam generator 76, the deposition apparatus 78, Each of the atmospheric plasma generator 40 and the microscope 80 can be moved to a desired position of the circuit board 10.

When the projection lens of the microscope 80 is moved above the position (x, y) of the defective pixel, the image of the field of view of the microscope 80 can be projected onto an appropriate display device such as a liquid crystal display device, if necessary, On the screen, the defective pixel of the circuit board 10 can be observed.

When the position (x, y) of the defective pixel to be repaired is determined from the position of the microscope 80, the laser beam generator 76 replaces the projection lens by the movement of the base plate 74, instead of the microscope 80. Is moved so as to be above the position (x, y) of the defective pixel.

First, when the transmissive lens of the laser beam generator 76 is moved above the position (x, y) of the defective pixel, from the laser beam generator 76 to form the opening 28 shown in FIG. The laser light is irradiated to the portion corresponding to the defective pixel on the circuit board.

Next, when the paste ejection opening of the deposition apparatus 78 is moved above the position (x, y) of the defective pixel, the deposition apparatus (the deposition apparatus so as to form a short circuit between the signal line 12 and the pixel electrode 16). From the opening 28 and its vicinity. As a result, a conductive paste containing metal particles as the conductive material is deposited in the opening 28 and its vicinity.

Next, when the injection port 42b of the atmospheric plasma generating device 40 is moved above the position (x, y) of the defective pixel, the conversion valve 52 of the atmospheric plasma generating device 40 is operated, and FIG. The mixed gas of the carrier gas Ca of the carrier gas source 50 shown in the figure, and the oxidizing gas Go of the oxidizing gas source 48 is supplied to the injection nozzle 42.

By supplying the mixed gas, a relatively high temperature plasma 22b is sprayed onto the deposited metal fine particles from the injection port 42b of the injection nozzle 42, the organic binder in the conductive paste is removed, and the metal particles are bonded. .

Thereafter, with the defrosting, the signal line 12 and the pixel electrode 16 of the defective pixel are reliably shorted by more stable metal particles.

As a result of this, the repair work for one defective pixel is completed, but if necessary, the repair part can be observed by moving the microscope 80 to the repair part instead of the atmospheric plasma generator 40. When a plurality of defective pixels are present, the above maintenance work is performed for each defective pixel.

In addition, the content of oxygen radical molecules in the plasma gas injected from the injection port 42a of the injection nozzle 42 of the atmospheric plasma generator 40 using the oxidizing gas Go as the plasma gas source is increased, and the circuit board 10 is increased. In order to suppress unnecessary temperature rise, it is preferable to reduce the temperature of the plasma gas flow injected from the plasma injection port 42b of the injection nozzle 42 as much as possible.

By setting the temperature of the plasma flow injected from the injection port 42b to 200 ° C, for example, the content rate of the oxygen radical molecules is increased, thereby effectively removing the organic binder in the wiring pattern portion without causing overheating of the peripheral portion. Therefore, nanometal particles can be sintered by, for example, spraying plasma gas for a short time of about 30 seconds.

The operating conditions of the atmospheric plasma generator 40 are, for example, at least one of the rise time or the fall time of the voltage applied to the pair of electrodes 44 and 44 from the power supply device is 100 seconds or less, and the voltage from the power supply device. The waveform repetition frequency of (V) can be suitably selected in the range of 0.5-1,000 kH, and the electric field intensity applied between a pair of electrodes 44 and 44 is 0.5-200 kV / cm. Moreover, it is preferable to adjust the space | interval between the injection port 42b of the injection nozzle 42 and the circuit board 10 in the range of 1-20 mm, for example.

By using the defect repair apparatus 60 described above, from the formation of the opening 28 to the deposition on the repair portion of the metal fine particles as the repair material and its firing, the support 64 can be performed.

In addition, although the microscope 80 may not be needed, since the defective pixel can be observed on the support base 64 and the state after repair, the microscope 80 can be performed quickly in order to perform more reliable repair. Is preferably formed in the movable frame 66.

In the above embodiment, a linear motor is used as a driving mechanism such as the movable frame 66 and the base plate 74, but various driving mechanisms can be used instead of these, and they can also be operated manually.

Instead of using the laser light generator 76 to form the openings 28, the atmospheric gas generator 40 or other atmospheric plasma generators, such as the same, are used for heating gas from the atmospheric plasma generator. It is also preferable to eject to the predetermined part of (10).

In addition, instead of using the spraying apparatus of the conductive paste as the deposition apparatus 78, using the atmospheric plasma generating apparatus 40 or another atmospheric plasma generating apparatus like it, heating gas is transferred from the atmospheric plasma generating apparatus to the circuit board. It is also preferable to eject to the predetermined part of (10).

In any of the above cases, the reducing gas source storing the reducing gas such as carbon monoxide gas or hydrogen gas is used in the atmospheric plasma generator 40 shown in FIG. 3 or another atmospheric plasma generator such as this, and the opening 28 is used. It is also preferable to supply the reducing gas from the reducing gas source and the carrier gas from the carrier gas source to the injection nozzle when forming a. That is, the opening 28 is formed by chemically reacting the reducing gas with the protective layer 22, thereby removing the protective layer 22 (so-called a process such as plasma etching).

However, in order to minimize the temperature rise of the circuit board 10, it is preferable to use the laser light generating device 76 and the spraying device of the conductive paste.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.

1 is an enlarged view showing a part of an embodiment of a circuit board to be repaired according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1, showing an embodiment of the repair method according to the present invention, (A) shows an unrepaired state, (B) shows a state in which an opening is formed. , (C) shows the state of completion of repair.

3 is a view schematically showing an embodiment of an atmospheric plasma generating apparatus.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a defect repair apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the defect repair apparatus shown in FIG. 4. FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of the defect repair apparatus shown in FIG. 4. FIG.

* Description of Major Symbols in Drawings *

10: circuit board 12: signal line

14: gate line 16: pixel electrode

18: switching element 20: transparent substrate

22: protective layer 24: conductive path

26: Defective (breaking line) part 28: Opening

30: conductive material 40: atmospheric plasma generator

42: plasma jet nozzle 44: electrode

46: power supply 48: oxidizing gas source

50: carrier gas source 52: on-off valve

60: defect repair device 62: X-Y plane

64: support 66: movable frame

68, 72: rails 70, 84: slider

74: base plate 76: laser light generating device

78: deposition apparatus 80: microscope

Claims (16)

As a method of repairing a circuit defect of a liquid crystal display device, A first step of forming an opening in a protective layer covering a signal line adjacent to the pixel electrode of the pixel causing the defect to expose a portion of the signal line; And a second step of depositing a conductive material in the opening and its vicinity and electrically connecting the deposited conductive material and the pixel electrode. The circuit defect repair method according to claim 1, wherein the conductive material is deposited as a conductive paste in the openings and its vicinity. The method of claim 2, wherein the conductive paste comprises nanometal particles and a binder. 4. The circuit defect repair method according to claim 3, wherein the second step comprises spraying the deposited oxygen conductive plasma onto the deposited conductive paste under atmospheric pressure. 4. The circuit defect repair method according to claim 3, wherein the second step comprises spraying the heating gas, which has been converted into plasma under atmospheric pressure, onto the deposited conductive paste. The method of claim 1, wherein the first step includes irradiating a laser beam to a portion where the opening is to be formed and removing a portion of the protective layer of the portion. 2. The circuit defect repair method according to claim 1, wherein the first step includes removing a part of the protective layer of the portion by irradiating a reducing gas to a portion where the opening is to be formed. A device for repairing a circuit defect of a liquid crystal display device, An opening forming device that exposes a portion of the signal line by forming an opening in a protective layer covering a signal line adjacent to the pixel electrode of the defective pixel; And a short-circuit wiring forming device for depositing a conductive material in the opening and its vicinity and electrically connecting the deposited conductive material and the pixel electrode. 9. The circuit defect repair apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the short-circuit wiring forming apparatus includes a deposition apparatus for depositing a conductive paste containing nanometal particles and a binder as the conductive material in the opening and its vicinity. 10. The circuit defect repair apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the short-circuit wiring forming apparatus further comprises a plasma generating device for spraying plasma radicalized oxygen radicals on the deposited conductive paste under atmospheric pressure. 10. The circuit defect repair apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the short-circuit wiring forming apparatus further comprises a heating device for heating the deposited conductive paste. 12. The circuit defect repair apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the heating apparatus includes a plasma generator for spraying the plasma-heated heating gas under the atmospheric pressure onto the deposited conductive paste. 12. The circuit defect repair apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said heating apparatus includes a laser light generating device for irradiating a laser beam onto said deposited conductive paste. 9. The circuit defect repair apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the opening forming apparatus includes a laser light generating device that irradiates the laser light to a portion where the opening is to be formed and removes a part of the protective layer of the portion. 9. The circuit defect repair apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the opening forming apparatus includes a plasma generating apparatus for spraying a reducing gas in which plasma is formed to a portion where the opening is to be formed to remove a part of the protective layer of the corresponding portion. . 10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising: a support defining an X-Y plane on which the circuit board is disposed, and a movable frame movable in the X-axis direction above the circuit board disposed on the support; The opening forming device and the short-circuit wiring forming device are supported on the movable frame so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction above the circuit board.

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