TW201426102A - Manufacturing method of electro-optic modulator and electro-optic modulator manufactured using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A manufacturing method of an electro-optic modulator comprises the following steps. Firstly, a substrate including a transparent substrate and a conductive film disposed on the transparent substrate is provided. Then, a single liquid crystal (LC) polymerization material layer is formed on the conductive film, wherein the single LC polymerization material layer comprises mixed LC, several functional groups with phototaxis and several photoinitiator. Then, the single LC polymerization material layer is pressurized through a release film. Then, the single LC polymerization material layer is irradiated through the release film using a first light, such that some of the photoinitiator and some of functional groups with phototaxis are collected toward the first direction and then some of the photoinitiator is polymerized as a polymerization protection layer. Then, others of the photoinitiator and others of functional groups with phototaxis are irradiated using a second light, such that others of photoinitiator is polymerized as a polymerization layer. Then, the release film is removed to expose the polymerization protection layer.

Description

Electro-optic modulator manufacturing method and electro-optic modulation prepared by the method Device

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electro-optic modulator and an electro-optic modulator produced by the method, and particularly to a method for manufacturing an electro-optic modulator capable of forming a protective film by single-layer coating and applying the method A fabricated electro-optic modulator.

The conventional electro-optic modulator includes a substrate, a liquid crystal layer and a dielectric protective layer. The liquid crystal layer is formed on the substrate, and the dielectric protective layer is additionally attached to the liquid crystal layer to protect the liquid crystal.

However, the dielectric protective layer causes the driving voltage of the electro-optic modulator to rise and, when detecting electrical properties, is easily scratched to reduce the life of the device.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electro-optic modulator and an electro-optic modulator produced by the method, which can improve the problem that the driving voltage of the electro-optic modulator is too high.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method of fabricating an electro-optic modulator is provided, the method of manufacture comprising the following steps. Providing a substrate, wherein the substrate comprises a transparent substrate and a conductive film, the conductive film is formed on the transparent substrate; forming a liquid crystal polymer layer on the conductive film, wherein the liquid crystal polymer layer comprises a plurality of mixed liquid crystal molecules and several high a molecular material; and, by different reactivity of the polymer material, separating the liquid crystal polymer layer to form a polymeric protective film and a Liquid crystal layer.

According to an embodiment of the invention, an electro-optic modulator is proposed. The electro-optic modulator comprises a substrate and a liquid crystal polymer layer. The substrate includes a light transmissive substrate and a conductive film. The conductive film is formed on the light transmissive substrate. The liquid crystal polymer layer is formed on the conductive film and includes a polymeric protective film and a liquid crystal layer. The liquid crystal layer comprises a polymer film and a plurality of liquid crystal molecules dispersed in the polymer film. Wherein, the liquid crystal layer is located between the conductive film and the polymeric protective film, and the thickness of the polymeric protective film is less than the thickness of the liquid crystal layer.

In order to provide a better understanding of the above and other aspects of the present invention, the following detailed description of the embodiments and the accompanying drawings

Referring to FIG. 1, a cross-sectional view of an electro-optic modulator in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The electro-optic modulator 100 includes a substrate 110 and a liquid crystal polymerization layer 120.

The substrate 110 includes a light transmissive substrate 111 and a conductive film 112. The material of the transparent substrate 111 includes glass or plastic. The conductive film 112 is formed on the light-transmitting substrate 111. The liquid crystal polymer layer 120 is formed on the conductive film 112 and includes a polymeric protective film 121 and a liquid crystal layer 122.

The polymeric protective film 121 is, for example, an urethane acrylates, a methacrylic cyclic ester monomer (such as Isobornylmethacrylate, IBOMA), a polyester acrylate (Polyester acrylates), or an epoxy acrylate (Epoxy Acrylate, Aldrich). The polymeric protective film 121 is controlled by a light-acting functional group 1212 under the action of a photoinitiator 121' (Fig. 2B) by light control. Made up. The polymerized protective film 121 after polymerization has a hard scratch resistance and can protect the liquid crystal layer 122.

The photoactive functional group 1212, the photoinitiator 121' and the liquid crystal molecules 1222 are mixed in the same layer 120' before illumination, and then the photoprotective film 121 and the liquid crystal layer 122 are formed by photo-control, wherein the protective film is formed. There is a distinct interface between the 121 and the liquid crystal layer 122. Further, the thickness T11 of the polymeric protective film 121 is smaller than the thickness T12 of the liquid crystal layer 122. In an example, the relationship between the thicknesses T11 and T12 satisfies the following formula (1).

Since the thickness T11 of the polymeric protective film 121 is relatively thin, the driving voltage V required for testing the panel to be tested by the electro-optic modulator 100 is small, so that the panel to be tested is prevented from being damaged by a large voltage.

The liquid crystal layer 122 is disposed between the conductive film 112 and the polymeric protective film 121 and includes a polymer film 1221 and a plurality of liquid crystal molecules 1222 dispersed in the polymer film 1221.

Please refer to FIGS. 2A to 2G for illustrating a manufacturing process diagram of an electro-optic modulator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2A, a substrate 110 is provided, wherein the substrate 110 includes a light-transmitting substrate 111 and a conductive film 112. In this example, the conductive film 112 is pre-formed on the transparent substrate 111 and is a full-covering conductive film, that is, the conductive film 112 is not patterned; in another example, the conductive film 112 may also be a patterned conductive film. .

As shown in FIG. 2B, for example, a single layer coating method can be used to form The liquid crystal polymer layer 120' is on the conductive film 112, wherein the liquid crystal polymer layer 120' is a homogeneous mixture fluid, which comprises a plurality of mixed liquid crystal molecules 1222, a plurality of photo-functional groups 1212, and a plurality of photoinitiators 121'. Wherein, the ratio of the photo-functional groups 1212 is between about 30% and 70%, and the ratio of the liquid crystal molecules 1222 is between about 70% and 30%. When the proportion of such photo-functional groups 1212 is higher, the higher the driving voltage V (Fig. 3) required for the electro-optic modulator 100 (the higher the driving voltage, the more susceptible the panel to be tested is to voltage damage), but the contrast ratio is higher. Preferably, the lower the ratio of the photo-functional groups 1212 to the liquid crystal polymer layer 120', the lower the driving voltage V required for the electro-optic modulator 100, but the worse the contrast. When a PDLC (Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal) type material is used, it can obtain good contrast and a small driving voltage V. In one example, the ratio of the photo-functional group 1212 to the liquid crystal molecule 1222 is about 1:1. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the use of PDLC, and PNLC or PSLC may also be used, and the ratio of the photo-functional group 1212 and the liquid crystal molecule is different from that of the PDLC. .

The photo-functional group 1212 can be a monomer, a prepolymer or a high molecular polymer. In one example, the photo-functional group 1212 is an acrylic group. The photo-functional group 1212 comprises a single bond functional group, a mixture of a double bond functional group and at least one of the other multi-bond functional groups, wherein the double bond functional group is, for example, tripropylene glycol diacrylate (TPGDA), 1,6 hexanediol. Diacrylate (HDDA), diethylene glycol diacrylate (DEGDA), neopentyl glycol diacrylate (NPGDA) or other suitable materials, and the multi-bond functional group is, for example, trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) ), pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA) or other suitable material. The more the number of bonds of the photo-functional group 1212, the higher the polymerization rate of the formed polymer structure, and the higher the hardness of the polymerized structure after polymerization.

As shown in Fig. 2C, the liquid crystal polymerization layer 120' is pressurized through the release layer 130 by using the rolling mechanism 140. The release layer 130 is, for example, a light transmissive release layer. The rolling mechanism 140 is, for example, a roller set including a first roller 141 and a second roller 142, wherein the first roller 141 is spaced apart from the second roller 142 by a distance H. The release layer 130, the liquid crystal polymerization layer 120', and the substrate 110 are located between the first roller 141 and the second roller 142. When the rolling mechanism 140 is in operation, the rolling mechanism 140 presses the release layer 130, the liquid crystal polymerization layer 120' and the substrate 110 to make the total thickness of the pressed release layer 130, the liquid crystal polymerization layer 120' and the substrate 110 The value is equal to the value of the distance H. That is, by adjusting the distance H, the thickness of the liquid crystal polymer layer 120' after being pressed can be controlled. In one example, before pressing, the thickness T2 of the substrate 110 is about 188 microns, and the thickness T3 of the release layer 130 is about 50 microns; after pressing, the thickness T1' of the liquid crystal polymer layer 120' is compressed to a thickness T1, wherein the thickness T1 The value of the thickness T11 and T12 of the first figure is about 20 micrometers, and the value of the other is smaller or larger. However, the value of the thickness T1 may be determined according to the actual design, and is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

In another example, the release layer 130 can be formed by spin coating or die coating.

As shown in FIG. 2D, the first light ray L1 is irradiated through the release layer 130 to illuminate the liquid crystal polymer layer 120' (FIG. 2C), so that the first portion of the light-responsive functional group 1212 and the first portion of the photoinitiator 121' It is concentrated in the direction of the first light ray L1 to be polymerized into the polymeric protective film 121. The first light L1 is, for example, ultraviolet light. The wavelength of the first light ray L1 is determined by the type of visible light responsive functional group 1212 and/or the type of photoinitiator 121'. In one example, the first light L1 may have a wavelength between 340 and 365 nanometers (nm) or other suitable wavelength.

In one example, the light intensity of the first light L1 is between 7 and 10 (mW/cm ² ) or other suitable intensity value. The light intensity of the first light ray L1 is controlled within a small intensity range, so that all of the photo luminescent functional groups 1212 are not polymerized into the polymeric protective film 121, so that some of the photoinitiator 121' and some photo-functional groups can be retained. The 1212 is used to form the liquid crystal layer 122 in the subsequent illumination process (Fig. 2E).

When the light intensity of the first light L1 is stronger, the reactivity of the photo-functional group 1212 is stronger, and the more proportions of the photoinitiator 121' and the photo-functional group 1212 move toward the first light L1, thus causing The faster the polymerization rate of the polymeric protective film 121, the thicker the thickness of the polymeric protective film 121 after polymerization and the harder the hardness. In this example, the light intensity of the first light L1 is controlled to be smaller than the light intensity of the second light L2, and although the light intensity of the first light L1 is small, by controlling the light starter 121' and the photo-functionalizing machine 1212 The ratio of the functional group containing a single bond, a double bond or a multiple bond makes the highly reactive double bond functional group and the multi-bond functional group rapidly aggregate toward the first light L1 to form a polymerization protection. The film 121, which remains unpolymerized, is mostly a single bond functional group.

As shown in Fig. 2E, the second portion (remaining portion) of the photoinitiator 121' (Fig. 2B) and the second portion of the photofunctional group 1212 (Fig. 2B) are irradiated with the second light L2 (the remaining portion) The remaining portion) polymerizes the second portion of the photo-functional group 1212 into a polymeric film 1221, wherein the polymeric film 1221 and the liquid crystal molecules 1222 form a liquid crystal layer 122. The second light ray L2 is, for example, ultraviolet light. The light intensity of the second light ray L2 is greater than the light intensity of the first light ray L1, and the remaining portion of the light responsive functional group 1212 is polymerized into the polymer film 1221 almost or completely.

As shown in FIG. 2F, the release layer 130 may be removed by, for example, stripping to expose the liquid crystal polymer layer 120.

As shown in Fig. 2G, a portion of the liquid crystal polymer layer 120 may be removed by, for example, a solvent to permeate the conductive film 112, thereby forming the electro-optic modulator 100 of Fig. 1.

In another example, the type of the photoinitiator 121' can be adjusted to form the polymeric protective film 121. In this design, the light intensities of the first light L1 and the second light L2 are not limited to being different, and may be substantially the same. For example, in Figure 2B, photoinitiator 121' includes a first optical band initiator and a second optical band initiator. In the second light diagram, the first light ray L1 is transmitted through the release layer 130 to illuminate the liquid crystal polymer layer 120', and the photo-optic functional group 1212 and the first optical band initiator (first part) of the photoinitiator 121' are directed to the first light. The L1 direction is aggregated, and the photo-functional group 1212 is polymerized into the polymeric protective film 121. In Fig. 2E, the second optical band initiator (second portion) and the photo-functional group 1212 of the photoinitiator 121' are irradiated with the second light L2, so that the photo-functional group 1212 and the liquid crystal molecules 1222 form a liquid crystal layer. 122.

In another method of fabricating an electro-optic modulator, a first heat source (not shown) may be substituted for the first light L1 to form a polymeric protective film 121, and a second heat source (not shown) may be substituted for the second light L2 to form a liquid crystal. Layer 122. Under this design, the photoinitiator 121' needs to be replaced with a hot initiator, and the photo-functional group 1212 needs to be replaced with a thermal-functional group. The remaining process steps can be similar to the corresponding steps in Figures 2A through 2G.

In another method of fabricating an electro-optic modulator, the liquid crystal polymer layer 120' is a homogeneous mixture fluid comprising a plurality of mixed polymer materials, a plurality of liquid crystal molecules 1222, and a plurality of solvents. Under this design, the illumination step (Fig. 2D and 2E) was replaced by a "volatile solvent" process. The liquid crystal can be polymerized by, for example, heating or other suitable means to control the solvent volatilization rate. The layer forms a polymeric protective film and a liquid crystal layer.

It can be seen from the above that the method for forming the protective film of the embodiment of the present invention has at least a method of thermally inducing phase separation, solvent-induced phase separation, and photopolymerization-induced phase separation, and the like, as long as it is a single layer coating, the separable liquid crystal polymer layer 120' is polymerized. The methods of the protective film 121 and the liquid crystal layer 122 are all applicable to the embodiments of the present invention, and the composition of the liquid crystal polymer layer 120' used therein can be adjusted correspondingly, and is not limited by the above embodiments.

Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a schematic diagram of the test of the optical modulator of FIG. 1. The driving voltage V is coupled to the light modulator 100 and the panel to be tested 200, wherein the panel to be tested 200 is, for example, a display panel, a touch panel or other type of panel having a fully conductive or patterned conductive layer 210 to be tested. The pattern of the conductive layer 210 to be tested is reflected on the conductive film 112 of the light modulator 100 by the driving voltage V, and then the image capturing module (not shown) is captured. The image on the conductive film 112 of the light modulator 100 can then observe the quality of the conductive layer 210 to be tested of the panel to be tested through the captured image.

In conclusion, the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, but it is not intended to limit the present invention. A person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧Electro-optic modulator

110‧‧‧Substrate

111‧‧‧Transparent substrate

112‧‧‧Electrical film

120, 120'‧‧‧ liquid crystal polymer layer

121‧‧‧Polymeric protective film

121'‧‧‧Photoinitiator

1212‧‧‧Photochromic functional groups

122‧‧‧Liquid layer

1221‧‧‧Polymer film

1222‧‧‧ liquid crystal molecules

130‧‧‧ release layer

140‧‧‧Rolling mechanism

200‧‧‧Substrate to be tested

210‧‧‧ Conductive layer to be tested

V‧‧‧ drive voltage

T1, T11, T12, T1', T2, T3‧‧‧ thickness

1 is a cross-sectional view of an electro-optic modulator in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

2A to 2G are views showing a manufacturing process of an electro-optic modulator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic view showing the test of the light modulator of Figure 1.

100‧‧‧Electro-optic modulator

110‧‧‧Substrate

111‧‧‧Transparent substrate

112‧‧‧Electrical film

120‧‧‧Liquid polymer layer

121‧‧‧Polymeric protective film

122‧‧‧Liquid layer

1221‧‧‧Polymer film

1222‧‧‧ liquid crystal molecules

T11, T12‧‧ thickness

Claims (16)

A method for manufacturing an electro-optic modulator, comprising: providing a substrate, wherein the substrate comprises a transparent substrate and a conductive film, the conductive film is formed on the transparent substrate; forming a liquid crystal polymer layer by using a single layer coating On the conductive film, the liquid crystal polymer layer comprises a plurality of mixed liquid crystal molecules and a plurality of polymer materials; and the liquid crystal polymer layer is separated into a polymer protective film and a liquid crystal layer. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein in the step of forming the liquid crystal polymer layer on the conductive film by a single layer coating, the polymer materials comprise a plurality of photo-functional groups, and The liquid crystal polymer layer further includes a plurality of photoinitiators; the manufacturing method further comprises: pressurizing the liquid crystal polymer layer through a release layer; and including in the step of separating the liquid crystal polymer layer into the polymer protective film and the liquid crystal layer : irradiating the liquid crystal polymer layer with a first light beam through the release layer, and by using different reactivity of the polymer materials, the first portion of the photoinitiators and one of the photo-functional groups are a portion of the light concentrating in the direction of the first light, thereby polymerizing the first portion of the photo-functional groups into the polymeric protective film; irradiating a second portion of the photo-initiating agent with a second light and the light a second portion of the functional group, wherein the second portion of the photo-functional groups is polymerized into a polymeric film, wherein the polymeric film and the liquid crystal molecules Forming a liquid crystal layer, the liquid crystal molecules are dispersed in the polymer film; the manufacturing method further comprises: removing the release layer to expose the liquid crystal polymer layer. The manufacturing method of claim 2, wherein the light intensity of the second light is greater than the light intensity of the first light. The manufacturing method of claim 2, wherein the photoinitiator comprises a plurality of first optical band initiators and a plurality of second optical band initiators; In the step of irradiating the liquid crystal polymer layer, the first optical band initiators are concentrated in the first light direction; and the second portion of the photoinitiators is irradiated with the second light and In the step of the second portion of the photo-functional groups, the second light illuminates the second optical band starters. The manufacturing method of claim 2, wherein the step of pressurizing the liquid crystal polymer layer through the release layer comprises: rolling the release layer with a first roller and a second roller, a liquid crystal polymerization layer and the substrate, wherein the release layer, the liquid crystal polymerization layer and the substrate are press-fitted between the first roller and the second roller. The manufacturing method of claim 2, wherein after the step of removing the release layer, the manufacturing method further comprises: A portion of the liquid crystal polymer layer is removed to reveal the conductive film. The manufacturing method of claim 2, wherein the first light and the second light are ultraviolet light. The manufacturing method of claim 2, wherein the ratio of the photo-functional groups to the liquid crystal molecules is 1:1. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein in the step of forming the liquid crystal polymer layer on the conductive film by a single layer coating, the polymer materials comprise a plurality of thermal functional groups, and The liquid crystal polymer layer further includes a plurality of thermal initiators; the manufacturing method further comprises: pressurizing the liquid crystal polymer layer through a release layer; and the step of separating the liquid crystal polymer layer into the polymerized protective film and the liquid crystal layer Heating the liquid crystal polymer layer through the release layer by a first heat source, and by using the different reactivity of the polymer materials, the first part of the hot starter and one of the heat-promoting functional groups are a portion is aggregated in the direction of the first heat source, thereby polymerizing the first portion of the thermal functional groups into the polymeric protective film; heating a second portion of the hot starters and the heat with a second heat source And a second portion of the functional group, wherein the second portion of the thermal functional groups is polymerized into a polymer film, wherein the polymer film and the liquid crystal molecules form a liquid crystal layer, and the liquid crystal molecules are dispersed in the polymer film in; The manufacturing method further includes removing the release layer to expose the liquid crystal polymerization layer. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal polymer layer further comprises a plurality of solvents in the step of forming the liquid crystal polymer layer on the conductive film by a single layer coating; the manufacturing method further comprises: The solvent is volatilized by controlling the volatilization rate to form a polymerized protective film and a liquid crystal layer. An electro-optic modulator comprising: a substrate comprising: a transparent substrate; and a conductive film formed on the transparent substrate; and a liquid crystal polymer layer formed on the conductive film by a single layer coating, and including a polymer protective film; and a liquid crystal layer comprising a polymer film and a plurality of liquid crystal molecules dispersed in the polymer film; wherein the liquid crystal layer is located between the conductive film and the polymeric protective film, and The thickness of the polymeric protective film is less than the thickness of the liquid crystal layer. The electro-optic modulator of claim 11, wherein the protective film forms a distinct interface with the liquid crystal layer. The electro-optic modulator of claim 11, wherein the protective film has a thickness smaller than a thickness of the liquid crystal layer. The electro-optic modulator according to claim 11, wherein the thickness T11 of the protective film and the thickness T12 of the liquid crystal layer satisfy The electro-optic modulator of claim 11, wherein the photo-functional group is a monomer, a prepolymer or a high molecular polymer of a single- or multi-bond functional machine. The electro-optic modulator according to claim 11, wherein the liquid crystal polymer layer forms the polymeric protective film and the liquid crystal layer in a single layer coating.