TWI765314B - Transfer roller, manufacturing method of transfer roller, optical film, and manufacturing method of optical film - Google Patents

Abstract

A transfer roller, a manufacturing method of a transfer roller, an optical film, and a manufacturing method of an optical film are provided. The manufacturing method of the transfer roller includes: coating a photoresist layer on an outer surface of a roller; forming a plurality of exposure patterns on an outer surface of the photoresist layer, in which the depth of anyone of the exposure patterns less than the thickness of the photoresist layer; developing the photoresist layer to remove the exposure patterns so as to form a plurality of depressed portions and a plurality of protruding portions; anisotropic etching the photoresist layer to complete removed the depressed portions, so that the protruding portions are formed as a graphic photoresist layer; anisotropic etching the outer surface of the roller by using the graphic photoresist layer as a mask so as to formed a plurality of transfer patterns on the outer surface of the roller; and removing the graphic photoresist layer.

Description

Transfer roller and its manufacturing method, and optical film and its manufacturing method

The present invention relates to a roller and an optical film, in particular to a transfer roller and a manufacturing method thereof, and an optical film and a manufacturing method thereof.

An existing manufacturing method of an optical film is to transfer an optical microstructure on the optical film by means of a transfer roller imprinting method, thereby forming an optical film. However, the existing transfer roller needs to form a microstructure for transfer on the surface of the metal roller through a special process (for example: use the electroforming method to make a transfer master, and then use the transfer master to form a metal roller with a microstructure on the surface) , the above-mentioned special process often requires a lot of money and time, which greatly increases the manufacturing time and manufacturing cost of manufacturing the optical film by the transfer method.

Therefore, how to overcome the above-mentioned defects through the design and improvement of the transfer roller manufacturing method has become one of the important issues to be solved by this business.

Aiming at the deficiencies of the prior art, the embodiments of the present invention provide a transfer roller and a method for manufacturing the same, and an optical film and a method for manufacturing the same, which can effectively improve the defects that may occur in the prior art method for manufacturing the transfer roller.

An embodiment of the present invention discloses a method for manufacturing a transfer roller, which includes: a coating step: coating a photoresist layer with a thickness of 360 degrees on the outer surface of a metal roller; the photoresist layer has a thickness; an exposure step : A patterned light source is irradiated on the outer surface of the photoresist layer, so that a plurality of exposure patterns are formed on one side of the outer surface of the photoresist layer, and the exposure depth of the photoresist layer is smaller than that of the photoresist layer. the thickness of the resist layer, so that the depth of any one of the exposure patterns is smaller than the thickness of the photoresist layer; a developing step: removing the materials of the multiple exposure patterns on the photoresist layer, so that the light The resist layer forms a plurality of concave portions corresponding to a plurality of the exposure patterns and a plurality of convex portions located outside the range of the plurality of the concave portions; a photoresist etching step: the photoresist is etched through an anisotropic etching means. The resist layer is etched, and the etching depth of the photoresist etching step is greater than the thickness of any one of the recessed portions and less than the thickness of any one of the protruding portions, so that the photoresist layers of a plurality of the recessed portions are is completely removed to form a plurality of hollow parts, and the photoresist layer of the plurality of protruding parts is not completely removed to form a plurality of shielding parts shielded on the outer surface of the metal drum, forming a patterned photoresist layer; a roller etching step: using the patterned photoresist layer as a mask to etch the outer surface of the metal roller by anisotropic etching, A plurality of imprinted patterns are formed on the outer surface; and a patterned photoresist removal step: removing the patterned photoresist layer from the surface of the metal roller, thereby forming a transfer roller.

The embodiment of the present invention discloses a transfer roller, which is manufactured by the above-mentioned method for manufacturing the transfer roller.

The embodiment of the present invention also discloses a method for manufacturing an optical film, which includes: a roller manufacturing step: manufacturing a transfer roller by the above-mentioned transfer roller manufacturing method; and an optical film transfer step: using the transfer roller Uninterrupted rolling on a light-transmitting film, so that the light-transmitting film is formed with a plurality of optical microstructures whose shapes are complementary to a plurality of the embossed patterns, so that the light-transmitting film constitutes an optical film .

The embodiment of the present invention also discloses an optical film, which is manufactured by the above-mentioned optical film manufacturing method.

One of the beneficial effects of the present invention is that the transfer roller and its manufacturing method, and the optical film and its manufacturing method provided by the present invention can pass through the exposure step and the developing step on the photoresist layer. After forming a plurality of the recessed parts and a plurality of the protruding parts, and then forming the patterned photoresist layer through the photoresist etching step, the patterned photoresist layer is then formed by an anisotropic etching method. The technical solution of mask etching the outer surface of the metal roller to form a plurality of the imprinting patterns, and then a plurality of the imprinting patterns for transfer can be formed on the outer surface of the transfer roller by etching means, so as to The manufacturing time and manufacturing cost of the transfer roller are greatly reduced.

For a further understanding of the features and technical content of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed descriptions and drawings of the present invention. However, the drawings provided are only for reference and description, and are not intended to limit the present invention.

The following is a description of the implementation method of the "transfer roller and its manufacturing method, and an optical film and its manufacturing method" disclosed in the present invention through specific specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art can understand the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. Advantages and Effects. The present invention can be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified and changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the concept of the present invention. In addition, the drawings of the present invention are merely schematic illustrations, and are not drawn according to the actual size, and are stated in advance. The following implementation method will further describe the related technical content of the present invention in detail, but the disclosed content is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

It should be understood that although terms such as "first", "second" and "third" may be used herein to describe various elements or signals, these elements or signals should not be limited by these terms. These terms are primarily used to distinguish one element from another element, or a signal from another signal. In addition, the term "or", as used herein, should include any one or a combination of more of the associated listed items, as the case may be.

Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 12 , which are embodiments of the present invention. It should be noted that the drawings corresponding to this embodiment and the related numbers and shapes mentioned in this embodiment are only used for specific description. The implementation method of the present invention is used to facilitate understanding of the content of the present invention, rather than to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

The embodiment of the present invention discloses a transfer roller 100 and a manufacturing method thereof, as well as an optical film 600 transferred by the transfer roller 100 and a manufacturing method thereof. In order to facilitate the understanding of the structure of the transfer roller 100, the following will first introduce the manufacturing method of the transfer roller 100 (that is, the roller manufacturing step S1), and then describe the structure of the transfer roller 100, The manufacturing method of the optical film 600 manufactured by the transfer roller 100 and the structure of the optical film 600 are described.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the roller manufacturing step S1 includes the following steps in this embodiment: a coating step S11 , an exposure step S12 , a developing step S13 , a photoresist etching step S14 , a roller The etching step S15, and a patterned photoresist removal step S16, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in other embodiments not shown in the present invention, the roller manufacturing step S1 may further include a soft bake step connected to the coating step S11 , and a soft bake step connected to the developing step S13 or a hard bake step of the photoresist etching step S14.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the coating step S11 : providing a metal drum 1 , and coating a photoresist layer around 360 degrees on an outer surface 12 of the metal drum 1 through a coating device 200 300.

In this embodiment, the metal drum 1 can define a central axis 11, the outer surface 12 of the metal drum 1 is cylindrical, and at least the part of the metal drum 1 below the outer surface 12 is formed by Made of nickel metal, chromium metal, copper metal and other types of metal materials or alloy materials.

The coating apparatus 200 used in this embodiment includes a coating mechanism 2, a rotary module 3 disposed below the coating mechanism 2, a linear drive module 4, and a A bearing platform 5 below the rotating module 3 . Wherein, the metal drum 1 is arranged on the rotating module 3, and the metal drum 1 is driven to rotate around its central axis 11 through the rotating module 3, and the coating mechanism 2 is arranged on the linear drive On the module 4 , the coating mechanism 2 can be driven to move back and forth along the direction of the central axis 11 through the linear drive module 4 . When the metal drum 1 is driven to rotate by the rotating module 3, the coating mechanism 2 is simultaneously driven by the linear driving module 4 to linearly displace along the direction of the central axis 11, and the photoresist material It is coated on the outer surface 12 of the metal drum 1 to form the photoresist layer 300 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , in this embodiment, the coating mechanism 2 is a spray coating mechanism, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the coating mechanism 2 may also be a wire-bar coating mechanism, a double-sided forming coating mechanism, and a closed blade coating mechanism and other coating mechanisms that apply different coating technologies.

As shown in FIG. 3 , after the photoresist material is coated on the surface of the metal roller 1 , the photoresist layer 300 surrounding the outer surface 12 of the metal roller 1 is formed 360 degrees, and the photoresist layer 300 The thickness T is in the range of 3 micrometers (µm) to 25 micrometers. In particular, the coating step S11 of the present invention is performed in a manner to maintain the uniformity of the thickness of the photoresist layer 300 , so the photoresist layer 300 does not need to be limited to a thinner thickness.

As shown in FIG. 4 , in the exposing step S12 , a patterned light source 302 is provided to illuminate a patterned light 303 on an outer surface of the photoresist layer 300 . In this embodiment, a positive photoresist layer is selected for the photoresist layer 300 , and a plurality of exposure patterns 301 are formed on the exposed parts of the outer surface of the photoresist layer 300 irradiated by the patterned light 303 . The depth h of the exposure pattern 301 is between 1/3 to 2/3 of the thickness T of the photoresist layer 300 . In particular, in the exposure step S12 of the present invention, since the photoresist layer 300 has a larger thickness in order to maintain better uniformity, the exposure depth of the photoresist layer 300 is smaller than that of the photoresist layer Therefore, the depth h of any one of the exposure patterns 301 is smaller than the thickness T of the photoresist layer 300 . In other words, a plurality of the exposure patterns 301 do not completely penetrate the photoresist layer 300 , so that any one of the exposure patterns 301 will remain unexposed in the direction toward the side of the metal drum 1 . the photoresist layer 300 .

In this embodiment, the patterned light source 302 can be formed by passing light generated by a light source device (eg, an LED or a laser diode) through a photomask, but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, the patterned light source 302 can also be a laser light source or a patterned light source formed by focusing an ultraviolet LED through a micro-rhomb mirror.

As shown in FIG. 5 , in the developing step S13 , the material of the plurality of exposure patterns 301 on the photoresist layer 300 is removed, so that the photoresist layer 300 is formed on the photoresist layer 300 corresponding to the plurality of exposure patterns 301 . A plurality of recessed portions 304 , and a plurality of raised portions 305 located outside of the plurality of recessed portions 304 . In more detail, in this embodiment, the developing step S13 may be performed using a developer corresponding to the material of the photoresist layer 300 . When the developing step S13 is performed, multiple The material of the exposure pattern 301 can be dissolved and removed by the developer, thereby forming a plurality of the recessed portions 304, while the material of the photoresist layer 300 outside the range of the plurality of the exposure patterns 301 will not be removed by the developer. The developer dissolves, thereby forming a plurality of the raised portions 305 .

As shown in FIG. 6 , the photoresist etching step S14 is to etch the photoresist layer 300 through anisotropic etching means (eg, plasma etching), so that the photoresist layer 300 is etched A patterned photoresist layer 400 is formed. In more detail, in the photoresist etching step S14, the etching depth of the photoresist layer 300 is greater than the thickness of any one of the concave portions 304 and less than the thickness of any one of the protruding portions 305, so that multiple The photoresist layer 300 of the recessed portion 304 is completely removed, while the photoresist layer 300 of the plurality of convex portions 305 is not completely removed and remains on the outer surface 12 of the metal roller 1 , and the patterned photoresist layer 400 is formed. A plurality of hollow portions 401 are formed in the patterned photoresist layer 400 at positions corresponding to the plurality of the concave portions 304 , so that the outer surface 12 of the metal drum 1 is exposed from the plurality of the hollow portions 401 Then, the positions of the patterned photoresist layer 400 corresponding to the protruding portions 305 will form a plurality of shielding portions 402 covering the outer surface 12 of the metal drum 1 .

In this embodiment, the photoresist etching step S14 is to use a plasma etching method to etch the photoresist layer 300 , but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, other anisotropic etching methods can be applied to implement the photoresist etching step S14.

Since the anisotropic etching means has the feature of controllable etching direction, the photoresist layer 300 can be etched in a direction substantially along the normal direction to the outer surface 12 of the metal drum 1 , thus ensuring The shapes of the hollow portions 401 and the shielding portions 402 of the patterned photoresist layer 400 formed in the photoresist etching step S14 are correct, and the patterned photoresist layer is reduced 400 chance of producing a defect.

As shown in FIG. 7 , the roller etching step S15 : using the patterned photoresist layer 400 as a mask to remove the outer surface of the metal roller 1 by anisotropic etching means (eg, plasma etching) The surface 12 is etched, and a plurality of embossing patterns 13 are formed on the outer surface 12 of the metal drum 1 at positions corresponding to each of the hollow portions 401 of the patterned photoresist layer 400 . As shown in FIG. 8 , in this embodiment, after the drum etching step S15 is completed, the depth d of any one of the imprint patterns 13 on the outer surface 12 of the metal drum 1 is between 0.2 μm ( μm) to 0.6 μm, the width w of any one of the embossed patterns 13 is between 0.3 μm to 0.8 μm, and the distance p between any two adjacent embossed patterns 13 is between 0.6 μm to 0.8 μm between 1.6 microns.

In particular, in this embodiment, the roller etching step S15 is performed by using a high density plasma source (High density plasma, HDP) and a reactive ion etching method (Reactive Ion Etch, RIE). However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the drum etching step S15 can also use magnetic field enhanced reactive ion etching (Magnetic Enhanced RIE, MERIE), or technical means enhanced by pulsed electric field to enhance the etching efficiency and improve the efficiency of the etching process. Controls the direction of etching.

As shown in FIG. 8 , the patterned photoresist removal step S16 : after the roller etching step S15 is completed, the patterned photoresist layer 400 on the outer surface 12 of the metal roller 1 is removed. In this way, the metal roller 1 forms a transfer roller 100 . As shown in FIG. 9 to FIG. 11 , the outer surface of the transfer roller 100 manufactured through the roller manufacturing step S1 has a plurality of the embossing patterns 13 formed in the foregoing steps.

As shown in FIG. 9 to FIG. 12 , an embodiment of the present invention also discloses a method for manufacturing an optical film 600 , which includes manufacturing the transfer roller 100 through the roller manufacturing step S1 , and passing through the transfer roller 100 An optical film transfer step S2 is performed. In the optical film transfer step S2 , the transfer roller 100 is continuously rolled on a transparent film 500 , so that the transparent film 500 is formed with a shape complementary to the transfer roller 100 . The plurality of optical microstructures 601 of the embossed pattern 13 make the light-transmitting film 500 constitute an optical film 600 .

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, since the shapes of the plurality of optical microstructures 601 on the optical film 600 are complementary to the shapes of the plurality of embossing patterns 13 on the transfer roller 100, Therefore, any one of the optical microstructures 601 on the optical film 600 will form a microstructure with a convex shape with a height between 0.2 μm and 0.6 μm and a width between 0.3 μm and 0.8 μm. The distance between two adjacent optical microstructures 601 is between 0.6 μm and 1.6 μm.

[Advantageous effects of the embodiment]

One of the beneficial effects of the present invention is that the transfer roller and its manufacturing method, and the optical film and its manufacturing method provided by the present invention can pass through the exposure step and the developing step on the photoresist layer. After forming a plurality of the recessed parts and a plurality of the protruding parts, and then forming the patterned photoresist layer through the photoresist etching step, the patterned photoresist layer is then formed by an anisotropic etching method. The technical solution of mask etching the outer surface of the metal roller to form a plurality of the imprinting patterns, and then a plurality of the imprinting patterns for transfer can be formed on the outer surface of the transfer roller by etching means, so as to The manufacturing time and manufacturing cost of the transfer roller are greatly reduced.

In more detail, in the method for manufacturing a transfer roller provided by the present invention, the thickness of the photoresist layer can be greater than the depth of the plurality of exposure patterns, so that the photoresist layer can have a larger thickness (for example, 3 microns) to 25 microns), which can improve the uniformity of the photoresist layer. And by controlling the ratio of the depth of the exposure patterns and the thickness of the photoresist layer (for example, between 1/3 and 2/3 of the thickness of the photoresist layer), and with anisotropic plasma etching methods, The patterned photoresist layer is formed after the photoresist layer is etched, which can improve the correctness of the pattern of the patterned photoresist layer and reduce the defects of the patterned photoresist layer.

The contents disclosed above are only preferred feasible embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, any equivalent technical changes made by using the contents of the description and drawings of the present invention are included in the application of the present invention. within the scope of the patent.

100: transfer roller 1: Metal Roller 11: Central axis 12: Outer surface 13: Embossed graphics 200: Coating equipment 2: Coating mechanism 3: Rotary module 4: Linear displacement module 5: Bearing platform 300: photoresist layer 301: Exposure Pattern 302: Patterned Light Source 303: Patterned Light 304: sunken part 305: Raised part 400: Patterned photoresist layer 401: hollow part 402: shaded part 500: translucent film 600: Optical film 601: Optical Microstructure T: thickness of photoresist layer h: exposure pattern depth w: width d: depth p: spacing S1: Roller manufacturing steps S11: Coating step S12: Exposure step S13: Development step S14: Photoresist etching step S15: Roller etching step S16: Patterned photoresist removal step S2: Optical film transfer step

FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of steps of a method for manufacturing a transfer roller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a photoresist coating device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a schematic perspective view of a metal roller coated with a photoresist layer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an operation of irradiating a photoresist layer through a patterned light source to form an exposure pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a photoresist layer developed through a developing step according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an operation of forming a patterned photoresist layer through a photoresist etching step according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the operation of forming an imprint pattern on the surface of a metal drum through a drum etching step according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of the metal roller after removing the photoresist layer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9 and FIG. 10 are schematic diagrams of the operation of the transfer roller imprinting the light-transmitting film to form an optical film according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic partial enlarged cross-sectional view taken from part XI of FIG. 10 .

FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged schematic cross-sectional view taken from XII of FIG. 10 .

S1: Roller manufacturing steps

S11: Coating step

S12: Exposure step

S13: Development step

S14: Photoresist etching step

S15: Roller etching step

S16: Patterned photoresist removal step

Claims (8)

A method for manufacturing a transfer roller, comprising: a coating step: coating a photoresist layer around 360 degrees on the outer surface of a metal roller, the photoresist layer has a thickness; an exposure step: patterning a The light source is irradiated on the outer surface of the photoresist layer, so that one side of the outer surface of the photoresist layer forms a plurality of exposure patterns, and the exposure depth of the photoresist layer is less than the thickness of the photoresist layer, so that the depth of any one of the exposure patterns is smaller than the thickness of the photoresist layer; a developing step: removing the materials of the plurality of exposure patterns on the photoresist layer, so that the photoresist layer is formed corresponding to a plurality of concave portions of the exposure patterns and a plurality of convex portions located outside the range of the plurality of concave portions; a photoresist etching step: etching the photoresist layer by anisotropic etching means, The etching depth of the photoresist etching step is greater than the thickness of any one of the recessed portions and less than the thickness of any one of the protruding portions, so that the photoresist layers of the plurality of recessed portions are completely removed to form A plurality of hollow parts, and the photoresist layer of a plurality of the protruding parts are not completely removed to form a plurality of shielding parts shielded on the outer surface of the metal drum to form a pattern A photoresist layer; a roller etching step: etching the outer surface of the metal roller by using the patterned photoresist layer as a mask by anisotropic etching means, and forming multiple layers on the outer surface of the metal roller and a patterned photoresist removing step: removing the patterned photoresist layer from the surface of the metal roller to form a transfer roller; wherein, the photoresist layer is The thickness is between 3 micrometers (μm) and 25 micrometers; in the exposure step, the depth of any one of the exposure patterns is between 1/3 to 2/3 of the thickness of the photoresist layer. The method for manufacturing a transfer roller according to claim 1, wherein the depth of any one of the embossed patterns is between 0.2 μm and 0.6 μm, and the width of any one of the embossed patterns is between 0.3 μm and 0.8 μm between. The method for manufacturing a transfer roller according to claim 2, wherein the distance between any two adjacent imprint patterns is between 0.6 micrometers and 1.6 micrometers. The method for manufacturing a transfer roller according to claim 1, wherein the photoresist etching step is performed by plasma etching. The method for manufacturing a transfer roller according to claim 1, wherein the roller etching step is performed using a high-density plasma source and a reactive ion etching method. A transfer roller, the transfer roller has a metal drum, and an outer surface of the metal drum forms a plurality of imprinting patterns; wherein, the plurality of imprinting patterns on the outer surface of the metal drum are Manufactured by the method of manufacturing a transfer roller as claimed in claim 1. An optical film manufacturing method, comprising: a roller manufacturing step: manufacturing a transfer roller by the transfer roller manufacturing method described in claim 1; an optical film transfer step: using the transfer roller to continuously Rolling is carried out on a light-transmitting film, so that the light-transmitting film is formed with a plurality of optical microstructures whose shapes are complementary to a plurality of the embossing patterns, so that the light-transmitting film constitutes an optical film. An optical film, the optical film includes a light-transmitting film, and the light-transmitting film has a plurality of optical microstructures, wherein the plurality of the optical microstructures are manufactured by the optical film according to claim 7 method made.

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