WO2019054458A1

WO2019054458A1 - Liquid material coating method, liquid material coating mechanism, and liquid material coating apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2019054458A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/034063
Authority: WO
Inventors: 陽香中村; 山中　昭浩; 東克隆艾
Original assignee: Ntn株式会社
Priority date: 2017-09-15
Filing date: 2018-09-13
Publication date: 2019-03-21
Also published as: JP2019051489A

Abstract

Provided are a liquid material coating method, a liquid material coating mechanism and a liquid material coating apparatus, which are capable of easily forming a thick and fine pattern without requiring complicated temperature control and the like. In a liquid material coating method according to the present invention, a liquid material (5) is contained and held in a liquid material container (11), firstly; the liquid material (5) is applied to an object (6) from the liquid material container (11) with use of an application needle (1); the liquid material (5) applied to the object (6) is dried by means of a drying mechanism (42); the liquid material (5) is applied to the object (6) again from the liquid material container (11) with use of the application needle (1) so as to overlap the liquid material (5) that has been dried by the drying step; the newly applied liquid material (5) is dried again by means of the drying mechanism (42).

Description

Liquid material application method, liquid material application mechanism and liquid material application apparatus

The present invention relates to a liquid material application method, a liquid material application mechanism, and a liquid material application apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the miniaturization of electronic components such as quartz oscillators and the size of electrodes has progressed due to multifunctionalization, miniaturization and high functionality of electronic devices. For this reason, when mounting electronic components, such as a crystal oscillator, to apply | coat an electroconductive material finely and thickly is calculated | required. As a system for forming a fine pattern, a printing system, an inkjet system, etc. are generally used, but in addition to these, a system using a coating needle is one of the options. In the method using a coating needle, fine coating is possible using materials with a wide range of viscosity.

An example of a method of forming a fine pattern using a coating needle is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-268353 (Patent Document 1). Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-268353 discloses a method in which a coating needle is protruded from a bottom hole of a liquid material container, and the liquid material adhering to the tip of the coating needle is transferred and coated onto an object.

If the liquid material such as the conductive material supplied to the object has a high viscosity, it is easy to apply it thick, but it is difficult to reduce the application diameter in plan view. By forming the pattern thick, it is difficult to avoid partially expanding the planar area. On the other hand, if the liquid material has a low viscosity, it is necessary to repeat the application to form a thick film using it. At this time, if the previously applied material is not dried, the application diameter in plan view is easily expanded, so it is necessary to stand by until the material is dried. This causes a problem that it takes a lot of time to form a thick coating film.

On the other hand, for example, in WO 2014/069350 (patent document 2), a liquid material is locally heated beforehand by laser light on an object such as a substrate to which the liquid material is supplied, and the temperature distribution is controlled to Discloses a technique of forming a thick film structure by suppressing the spread of wetting on the substrate when Specifically, the temperature distribution is controlled by precisely controlling the moving speed of the substrate, the droplet discharge cycle, and the temperature of the droplet impact position.

JP 2007-268353 A International Publication No. 2014/069350

The technology disclosed in WO 2014/069350 has a problem that it is difficult to precisely control the moving speed of the substrate, the droplet discharge cycle, and the temperature of the droplet impact position. In addition, if the method using a coating needle is applied in WO 2014/069350, the material attached to the tip of the coating needle when the liquid material is applied to the object is dried by the heat of the laser light, and the coating needle is There is also the problem of sticking to the tip.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is a liquid material application method and a liquid material application mechanism capable of easily forming a thick and fine pattern without requiring complicated temperature control and the like. And providing a liquid material application device.

In the liquid material application method of the present invention, first, the liquid material is accommodated and held in the liquid material container. Liquid material is supplied to the object from a liquid material container using an applicator needle. The liquid material supplied to the object is dried by the drying mechanism. The liquid material is again supplied to the object from the liquid material container using the application needle so as to be superimposed on the dried liquid material by the step of drying. The liquid material is again dried by the drying mechanism.

The liquid material application mechanism of the present invention includes a liquid material container, an application needle, and a drying mechanism. The liquid material container holds and holds the liquid material. The applicator needle supplies the liquid material in the liquid material container onto the object. The drying mechanism dries the liquid material supplied on the object. The drying mechanism is capable of performing a drying operation towards the liquid material supplied on the object. The drying mechanism is fixed so that the applicator needle points to the position where it delivers liquid material onto the object. The applicator needle is capable of both supplying the liquid material from the liquid material container and supplying the liquid material from the liquid material container so as to be superimposed on the liquid material supplied onto the object and dried by the drying mechanism. Is configured.

According to the present invention, the liquid material supplied to the object is dried by the drying mechanism, and thereafter, the liquid material can be supplied so as to further overlap on the liquid material after the drying. Therefore, it is possible to provide a liquid material application method, a liquid material application mechanism, and a liquid material application apparatus capable of forming a thick and fine pattern easily without requiring complicated temperature control and the like.

They are a front view (A) and a side view (B) of the liquid material application mechanism concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of the liquid material application apparatus which mounts the liquid material application | coating mechanism of FIG. 1, and concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure (A) which shows the positional relationship of the application needle and liquid container in a standby state, and the figure (B) which shows the positional relationship of the application needle and liquid container in an application state. The figure (A) which shows the 1st process of the liquid material application method by the liquid material application mechanism of FIG. 1, the figure (B) which shows the 2nd process, and the figure (C) which shows the 3rd process, They are the figure (D) which shows 4 processes, and the figure (E) which shows the 5th process. (A) showing the first step of another liquid material application method by the liquid material application mechanism of FIG. 1, (B) showing the second step, and (C) showing the third step They are the figure (D) which shows the 4th process, and the figure (E) which shows the 5th process.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Configuration of liquid material application mechanism>
FIG. 1 shows a front view (A) as viewed from the negative side in the X direction and a side view (B) as viewed from the positive side in the Y direction according to the embodiment of the present invention. In addition, X direction, Y direction, and Z direction are introduced for the facilities of description. Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the liquid material application mechanism of the present embodiment is for applying a liquid material to the surface of a substrate or the like as an object using application needle 1. . The liquid material application mechanism mainly includes the application needle 1, the liquid material container 11 included in the liquid material application mechanism 21, and the laser mechanism 42.

The liquid material container 11 is a member that accommodates and holds the liquid material inside. The application needle 1 is a member for supplying the liquid material in the liquid material container 11 onto the object. The applicator needle 1 is an elongated member extending along the Z direction. The lowermost portion of the application needle 1 in the Z direction is an arbitrary shape such as a corner, a curved surface or a flat portion. At the tip of the coating needle 1, a tapered portion is formed to be tapered toward the tip (that is, to move downward in the Z direction and to decrease the area of the cross section perpendicular to the axis as it approaches the tip).

The laser mechanism 42 is arranged as a drying mechanism for drying the liquid material supplied on an object such as a substrate. That is, the laser mechanism 42 extends in an inclined direction on the YZ plane so as to face the liquid material supplied onto the object from the tip of the coating needle 1 which is the lowermost part in the Z direction. Specifically, the laser mechanism 42 moves in the Y direction, for example, the position in the Z direction as it proceeds to the negative side (not only in such a case but may be the positive side in the Y direction) in FIG. It extends in a direction inclined with respect to the Z direction so as to be low. That is, the laser mechanism 42 is fixed so that the coating needle 1 faces the position where the liquid material is supplied onto the object. Thereby, the laser mechanism 42 can perform the drying operation of irradiating the laser light emitted from the lowermost portion thereof to the liquid material supplied onto the object from the tip of the coating needle 1 ing.

In the liquid material application mechanism in the present embodiment, the application needle 1 supplies the liquid material 5 directly from the liquid material container 11, for example, onto the surface of the object, and is supplied onto the object and dried by the laser mechanism 42. It is possible both to supply the liquid material from the liquid material container 11 so as to be superimposed on the liquid material being dispensed. This is explained below.

The liquid material application mechanism 21 includes an application needle holder 23, an application needle holder storage unit 24, and an application needle holder fixing unit 25 in addition to the liquid material container 11 described above. An application needle holder storage unit 24 is fixed to the lower end of the application needle holder fixing unit 25. A recess (not shown) is formed at the lower end of the application needle holder storage unit 24. The upper end of the application needle 1 is vertically fixed to the center of the lower end of the application needle holder 23. A convex portion (not shown) is formed on the top of the application needle holder 23. The projection of the application needle holder 23 is inserted into the recess of the application needle holder storage unit 24, whereby the application needle holder 23 is positioned with respect to the application needle holder storage unit 24. The application needle holder 23 is fixed to the application needle holder storage unit 24 by a screw.

A base plate 31 is attached to the X-direction positive side of each of these holders and the portion in which the application needle 1 is stored, that is, the back side in FIG. 1 (A). Further, a linear motor 32 is attached to the base plate 31.

The base plate 31 holds the liquid material application mechanism 21 and the linear motor 32. The linear motor 32 held by the base plate 31 guides the movement of the liquid material application mechanism 21 along the Z direction. On the linear motor 32, a linear motor movable portion 33 is attached which restricts the movement of the liquid material application mechanism 21 along the direction other than the extending direction. The application needle holder storage unit 24, the application needle holder fixing unit 25, and the laser mechanism 42 are fixed to the linear motor movable unit 33, and are movable so as to interlock with the movement of the linear motor movable unit 33 along the Z direction. . As described above, the liquid material application mechanism 21 includes the application needle holder storage portion 24 and the application needle holder fixing portion 25. That is, the application needle holder storage portion 24 which is a part of the components of the liquid material application mechanism 21 and the laser mechanism 42 are both fixed to the linear motor movable portion 33. Therefore, the position of the laser mechanism 42 is fixed with respect to the application needle holder storage unit 24.

Further, a self weight holding spring 34 is provided on the back side of the linear motor movable portion 33. The weight of the linear motor movable portion 33 itself is supported by the self weight holding spring 34. The tension of the self-weight holding spring 34 can be adjusted by the tension adjustment unit 35.

The base plate 31 has a flat plate shape elongated in the Z direction, and the container holding portion 36 is connected to the lower portion in the Z direction. The container holding unit 36 detachably holds the liquid material container 11. The container holder 36 includes, for example, a magnet (not shown), and holds the liquid material container 11 by the magnetic force generated by the magnet. From a different point of view, the liquid material container 11 includes, for example, a magnet (not shown), and is detachably held to the container holding unit 36 by the magnetic force generated between the magnet and the magnet of the container holding unit 36.

However, the movement of the liquid material container 11 and the base plate 31 in the Z direction may be independent of the movement of the coating needle 1 and the laser mechanism 42 in the Z direction. That is, since the coating needle 1 and the laser mechanism 42 are connected to the linear motor movable portion 33, they are driven along the vertical direction, that is, the Z direction by being connected to the first vertical drive mechanism (vertical drive mechanism). Is possible. On the other hand, the whole shown in FIG. 1 (B) further including the whole liquid material application mechanism 21 including the liquid material container 11 and this and the linear motor 32, the base plate 31 and the like is the above vertical drive mechanism. It is possible to drive along the vertical direction by a second vertical drive mechanism as another vertical drive mechanism different from the vertical drive mechanism 1 described above.

Specifically, the method of supplying the liquid material to the object by the movement of the coating needle 1 in the Z direction is as follows. The linear motor 32 as the (first) vertical drive mechanism is for moving the linear motor movable portion 33 in the vertical direction, that is, the Z direction with respect to the base plate 31, and is arranged to extend in the Z direction. For example, when the linear motor movable portion 33 is positioned at the first position with respect to the base plate 31 by the linear motor 32, the tip of the application needle 1 is immersed in the liquid material in the liquid material container 11. The state is as shown in FIG. 3 (A) described later. When the linear motor movable portion 33 is positioned at the second position with respect to the base plate 31 by the linear motor 32, the tip end of the coating needle 1 has a through hole in the bottom of the liquid material container 11 and a hole in a seal member not shown. It passes through and protrudes below the bottom of the liquid material container 11, and it will be in a state like below-mentioned FIG. 3 (B). At this time, the liquid material adheres to the tip of the application needle 1 which protrudes from the bottom of the liquid material container 11. The liquid material is applied to the surface such as a substrate as the object by bringing the application needle 1 into contact with the surface of the object or approaching the vicinity of the surface. When the linear motor movable portion 33 is positioned at the first position by the linear motor 32, the tip of the coating needle 1 is returned into the liquid material container 11 and immersed in the liquid material, again as shown in FIG. It becomes a standby state like).

As described above, the coating needle 1 can be driven along the vertical direction by the linear motor 32 (linear motor movable portion 33) as the first vertical drive mechanism. However, the liquid material container 11 is fixed to the base plate 31 (see FIG. 1B) but is not connected to the linear motor movable portion 33. For this reason, the liquid material container 11 does not move in the Z direction depending on the linear motor movable portion 33.

On the other hand, all of the laser mechanism 42 fixed to the linear motor movable portion 33 including the coating needle 1, the coating needle holder storage portion 24, the coating needle holder fixing portion 25 and further the liquid material container 11 of FIG. The member can be driven along the vertical direction together with the linear motor movable portion 33 and the base plate 31 by the Z-axis table 44 (see FIG. 2) as a second vertical drive mechanism. Therefore, the first vertical drive mechanism can move, for example, the coating needle 1 independently in the Z direction up and down from the liquid material container 11 connected to the base plate 31 moved by the second vertical drive mechanism. There is.

<Configuration of Liquid Material Application Device>
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an entire configuration of a liquid material application apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is equipped with the liquid material application mechanism shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 2, liquid material application apparatus 100 of the present embodiment mainly includes observation optical system 40, CCD camera 41, laser mechanism 42 of FIG. 1 and liquid material application mechanism 21. The observation optical system 40 includes a light source for illumination, an objective lens, and the like, and is used to observe the surface state of the substrate 6 which is an object, and the state of the liquid material 5 applied by the liquid material applying mechanism 21. The image observed by the observation optical system 40 is converted into an electrical signal by the CCD camera 41. The liquid material application mechanism 21 applies and corrects the conductive liquid material 5 to, for example, the broken portion generated in the wiring pattern formed on the substrate 6. In this case, the observation optical system 40, the CCD camera 41, and the liquid material application mechanism 21 constitute a correction head. In addition, the liquid material application mechanism 21 may apply a liquid material to the surface of the substrate 6 to form a predetermined pattern, for example.

The liquid material coating apparatus 100 further mounts a Z-axis table 44 for moving the correction head portion in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) with respect to the substrate 6 to be coated, and a Z-axis table 44. X-axis table 45 for moving the Z-axis table 44 in the axial direction), Y-axis table 46 for mounting the substrate 6 and moving the substrate 6 in the back and forth direction (Y-axis direction) And an operation panel 48 for inputting an instruction from a worker to the control computer 47. The Z-axis table 44, the X-axis table 45 and the Y-axis table 46 constitute a positioning device.

Note that this apparatus configuration is an example, and for example, the Z-axis table 44 carrying the observation optical system 40 etc. is mounted on the X-axis table, the X-axis table is mounted on the Y-axis table, and the Z-axis table 44 is XY It may be a configuration called a gantry system that moves in a direction. The configuration of the apparatus may be any configuration as long as the Z-axis table 44 on which the observation optical system 40 or the like is mounted can be moved relative to the substrate 6 to be coated in the X and Y directions.

Next, the operation of the liquid material application apparatus will be described. In the liquid material application mechanism 21, it is assumed that a desired application needle 1 and a liquid material container 11 into which the desired liquid material has been injected are set in advance. The substrate 6 to be coated is set on the Y-axis table 46. Here, it is assumed that the liquid material is applied to the broken portion generated in the wiring pattern formed on the substrate 6. The liquid material is a conductive metal paste.

The surface of the substrate 6 photographed by the CCD camera 41 is displayed on the screen of the monitor 49. The user of the liquid material application apparatus operates the buttons of the operation panel 48 while looking at the screen of the monitor 49 so that an image of the central portion of the broken part is displayed at a predetermined position (for example, the center) of the screen of the monitor 49 Control the Z-axis table 44, the X-axis table 45, and the Y-axis table 46. When the central portion of the broken portion is disposed at a predetermined position, the coordinates of the Z-axis table 44, the X-axis table 45, and the Y-axis table 46 at that time are stored. Based on the coordinates, the distance between the optical axis of observation optical system 40 and the central axis of application needle 1 stored in advance, and the distance between the focal position of observation optical system 40 and the tip of application needle 1 The Z-axis table 44, the X-axis table 45, and the Y-axis table 46 are controlled, and as shown in FIGS. 3A and 4A, the tip of the application needle 1 is disposed at a predetermined position above the broken portion. Be done.

Next, when the user instructs the application operation using the operation panel 48, the linear motor 32 operates. As described above, when the linear motor 32 moves the linear motor movable portion 33 downward, the coating needle 1 is lowered. As a result, the tip portion of the coating needle 1 protrudes through the through hole of the liquid material container 11 under the bottom of the liquid material container 11, and the liquid material attached to the tip portion of the coating needle 1 is a broken portion of the surface of the substrate 6 Applied to When the linear motor 32 moves the linear motor movable portion 33 upward, the coating needle 1 ascends, and the tip of the coating needle 1 is immersed in the liquid material in the liquid material container 11 to be in a standby state.

Further, by controlling the X-axis table 45, the Y-axis table 46, and the Z-axis table 44, the liquid material can be applied to any position on the surface of the substrate 6.

In this embodiment, the case where the liquid material is applied to the broken portion of the fine pattern formed on the surface of the substrate 6 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the liquid material application apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 2, by moving the application position continuously, a circuit such as an RFID tag is drawn on the surface of the substrate 6, a conductive pattern is drawn, or a conductive adhesive is used. Needless to say, it is also possible to apply

<Liquid material application method>
Hereinafter, the liquid material application method of the present embodiment using the liquid material application mechanism 21 described above and the liquid material application apparatus 100 including the same will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the coating needle 1 and the liquid material container 11 in (A) standby state and (B) application state. Referring to FIG. 3, liquid material application mechanism 21 further includes a holder 7 for holding application needle 1. The holding unit 7 is connected to the application needle holder 23 (see FIG. 1). When the liquid material application mechanism 21 does not apply the liquid material 5 (standby state), as shown in FIG. 3A, the linear motor 32 as the (first) vertical drive mechanism (see FIG. 1) The coating needle 1 is accommodated in the liquid material container 11 by this, and thereby the drying of the liquid material 5 adhering to the coating needle 1 is prevented. When the liquid material 5 is applied (application state), as shown in FIG. 3B, the liquid material application mechanism 21 applies the application needle 1 to the liquid material container 11 by the linear motor 32 (see FIG. 1). It projects from the through hole 14 of the bottom 13. In this state, the flat surface of the tip of the coating needle 1 contacts the surface of the substrate 6 to apply the liquid material 5 to the substrate 6.

FIGS. 4A to 4E show each step of the liquid material application method according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 4A, the liquid material 5 is accommodated and held inside the liquid material container 11 which constitutes a part of the liquid material application mechanism 21. Inside the liquid material container 11, a part of the application needle 1, in particular a part including the tapered portion and the tip portion, is in a state of being immersed in the liquid material 5. On the other hand, a region on the upper side in the Z direction of the application needle 1 is held by the holding unit 7. The holding portion 7 is disposed so as to extend from the inside of the liquid material container 11 to a region outside the liquid material container 11. In this state, the distance between the surface 6 a of the substrate 6 which is an object to which the liquid material 5 is supplied and the lowermost portion of the liquid material container 11 is a here. Further, the laser mechanism 42 is disposed such that its tip is directed to the area where the supply of the liquid material 5 by the application needle 1 is scheduled. The distance between the surface 6 a of the substrate 6 and the lowermost portion of the laser mechanism 42 is c here.

Referring to FIG. 4 (B), liquid material 5 is supplied to the object from liquid material container 11 using a coating needle. Specifically, since the tip is immersed in the liquid material 5 in the liquid material container 11, the application needle 1 in a state in which the liquid material 5 is attached is lowered toward the substrate 6. Thereby, the tip of the application needle 1 is protruded from the through hole 14 under the bottom of the liquid material container 11. When the tip of the application needle 1 protrudes from the through hole 14 below the bottom of the liquid material container 11, the liquid material 5 adheres to the tip of the application needle 1. When the tip of the coating needle 1 contacts the surface 6 a of the substrate 6, the liquid material 5 adhering to the tip of the coating needle 1 is coated on the surface 6 a of the substrate 6.

The distal end portion of the coating needle 1 can contact the surface 6a as shown in FIG. 4B by driving the coating needle 1 in the Z direction with the linear motor 32 as the first vertical drive mechanism. On the other hand, in the process of FIG. 4B, the liquid material container 11 itself driven by the Z-axis table 44 (see FIG. 2) as the second vertical drive mechanism does not move in the Z direction, and its lower end And the surface 6a is maintained at a distance a. This is basically the same in each of the steps shown in FIGS. 4C to 4E, and the liquid material container 11 is attached to the substrate 6 between the steps shown in FIGS. 4A to 4E. Not move relative to each other. Therefore, in the description of each of the steps shown in FIGS. 4C to 4E, the description will not be repeated with respect to the fact that the liquid material container 11 itself does not move.

Referring to FIG. 4C, after the liquid material 5 is supplied to the surface 6a of the substrate 6 by the coating needle 1 as shown in FIG. 4B, the coating needle 1 is raised. As a result, the tip of the application needle 1 is immersed in the liquid material 5 in the liquid material container 11 and is in a standby state. The positions of the coating needle 1 and the holding unit 7 in the Z direction at this time are the same as the positions of the coating needle 1 and the holding unit 7 in the Z direction in FIG. 4A. Thereafter, the liquid material 5 supplied to the target substrate 6 is dried by the drying mechanism. As a result, the dried liquid material 5 becomes a solid convex portion having a height b.

That is, the step of drying the liquid material 5 in FIG. 4C is performed by the drying mechanism performing a drying operation toward the liquid material supplied on the substrate 6. In particular, the drying operation in FIG. 4C is an operation in which the laser light is irradiated toward the liquid material 5 supplied on the surface 6 a of the substrate 6. Since the liquid material 5 on the surface 6a is heated by this, the liquid material 5 dries in a short time.

It is preferable that a generally known carbon dioxide gas laser or YAG laser be used as the laser used for the drying operation of FIG. 4 (C). The laser may have a fundamental wavelength, but may have a second harmonic or a third harmonic. Furthermore, means other than a laser beam may be used for the said drying operation, and a halogen lamp, a hot air, etc. may be used instead of the laser mechanism 42 as a drying mechanism.

With reference to FIG. 4 (D), using the coating needle 1 so as to overlap on the solidified liquid material 5 on the surface 6a dried by the drying step of FIG. 4 (C), the liquid material container The liquid material 5 is again supplied to the substrate 6 from 11. Specifically, the tip portion is immersed in the liquid material 5 in the liquid material container 11 by the process of FIG. 4C, and the coating needle 1 in a state in which the liquid material 5 is attached is lowered again. As a result, the tip of the application needle 1 is protruded from the through hole 14 under the bottom of the liquid material container 11. At this time, the tip of the coating needle 1 comes in contact with the top of the dried liquid material 5 already deposited on the surface 6 a of the substrate 6. Thereby, the liquid material 5 attached to the tip of the application needle 1 is applied so as to be superimposed on the liquid material 5 already attached to the surface 6 a of the substrate 6 and dried.

In the process of FIG. 4D, the tip of the coating needle 1 is stopped at a position above the Z direction by a distance b, compared to the process of FIG. 4B, and the process of supplying the liquid material 5 is performed there. Ru. That is, the tip of the application needle 1 is lowered to reach a position separated from the surface 6 a of the substrate 6 by the distance b. In that way, it is possible to supply the liquid material 5 in such a way that it is superimposed on the already deposited and dried liquid material 5 as described above. That is, in the process of FIG. 4D, the target position of the tip portion of the coating needle 1 corresponds to the thickness of the liquid material 5 supplied onto the substrate 6 in the process of FIG. Set to a position above the target position in the process of

Referring to FIG. 4E, as shown in FIG. 4D, after the liquid material 5 is again supplied onto the liquid material 5 by the application needle 1, the application needle 1 is raised. As a result, the tip of the application needle 1 is immersed in the liquid material 5 in the liquid material container 11 and is in a standby state. The positions of the coating needle 1 and the holding portion 7 in the Z direction at this time are the same as the positions of the coating needle 1 and the holding portion 7 in the Z direction in FIGS. 4 (A) and 4 (C). Thereafter, the liquid material 5 supplied to the substrate 6 which is the object in the process of FIG. 4D is dried again by the drying mechanism. About the drying process by this drying mechanism, since it is the same as the process of FIG.4 (C), detailed description is not repeated.

4 (A) to 4 (E) describe the process in which the liquid material 5 is supplied twice on the surface 6a of the substrate 6 and dried. However, in the present embodiment, the number of steps of supplying and drying the liquid material 5 on the surface 6 a of the substrate 6 is not limited to two. The coating needle 1 is driven along the vertical direction by driving the linear motor 32 as the (first) vertical drive mechanism, whereby the coating needle 1 carries the liquid material 5 a plurality of times, ie, twice or more on the object. It can be supplied any number of times. In the present embodiment, the number of times of supply and drying of the liquid material 5 on the substrate 6 may be two or more arbitrary multiple times. When the liquid material 5 is supplied and dried three or more times, the steps of FIGS. 4D and 4E are repeated twice or more. When the liquid material 5 is supplied and dried three or more times, the tip portion of the coating needle 1 is compared with the process of FIG. 4 (D) just before the process of FIG. 4 (D). The descent position of is the upper position. That is, in the (first) vertical drive mechanism included in the liquid material application device 100 of FIG. 2, when applying the liquid material 5 again as shown in FIG. 4D, the target position of the tip of the application needle 1 is The thickness of the liquid material 5 supplied on the substrate 6 immediately before that is set to a position above the target position in the immediately preceding process. As described above, the liquid material 5 is supplied onto the surface 6 a of the substrate 6 to form a pattern of the liquid material 5.

FIGS. 5A to 5E show steps of another liquid material application method according to the present embodiment. 5 (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E) respectively correspond to FIGS. 4 (A), (B), (C) and (D) in the liquid material application method of FIG. It corresponds to each of (E) and (E). Referring to FIGS. 5 (A) to 5 (E), the steps of the other liquid material application method are basically the same as the liquid material application method of FIGS. 4 (A) to 4 (E). The description will not be repeated. However, in the steps of FIGS. 5A to 5E, particularly in the step of supplying the liquid material 5 again in FIG. 5D as shown in FIGS. 11 and the position of the laser mechanism 42 correspond to the thickness b of the liquid material 5 supplied on the substrate 6 in the process of FIG. 5B immediately before the process, the liquid material container in the process of FIG. 11 and a position above the position of the laser mechanism 42. That is, in the second vertical drive mechanism included in the liquid material application apparatus 100 of FIG. 2, when the liquid material 5 is applied again as shown in FIG. 5D, the positions of the liquid material container 11 and the laser mechanism 42 are The thickness b of the liquid material 5 supplied on the substrate 6 immediately before that is set to a position above the target position in the immediately preceding process. Therefore, in FIG. 5D, the distance between the surface 6a of the substrate 6 and the lowermost portion of the liquid material container 11 is a + b. In FIG. 5D, the distance between the surface 6a of the substrate 6 and the lowermost portion of the laser mechanism 42 is c + b.

In this way, as shown in FIG. 5E, only the liquid material 5 supplied to the substrate 6 in the step of FIG. 5D is dried by the laser beam from the drying mechanism, and the previous FIG. The liquid material 5 supplied to the substrate 6 in the step (B) is not irradiated with laser light from the drying mechanism.

In FIGS. 5 (A) to 5 (E), the laser mechanism 42 may be connected and fixed to the linear motor movable portion 33 as in FIG. However, by compacting the liquid material application mechanism 21 and reducing the weight of the linear motor movable portion 33, the load on the linear motor can be reduced, and the laser mechanism 42 can be a base plate from the viewpoint of enabling increase in driving speed. It may be fixed at 31.

<Function effect>
Next, the operation and effect of the present embodiment described above will be described.

The liquid material application mechanism 21 of the present embodiment has a laser mechanism 42 as a drying mechanism capable of performing a drying operation toward the liquid material 5 supplied onto the target substrate 6. . The liquid material application mechanism 21 can supply the liquid material 5 from the liquid material container 11 so as to be superimposed on the liquid material 5 supplied onto the substrate 6 and dried by the drying mechanism. As a result, the liquid material application method of the present embodiment makes it possible to supply the liquid material 5 on the substrate 6 and dry it, and further to supply the liquid material 5 again and dry it.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the portion where the liquid material 5 is supplied is dried by laser irradiation or heating each time. Therefore, it is not necessary to precisely control the moving speed of the substrate on the substrate 6 as in the prior art, the droplet discharge cycle, and the temperature of the droplet landing position, and the liquid material is supplied locally only in a short time. It can be solidified. Therefore, even when a low viscosity material is used as the liquid material 5, it can be deposited on the substrate 6 in a short time to obtain a thick film. In addition, if the method and mechanism of the present embodiment that the liquid material 5 is supplied in small quantities and divided into a plurality of times and dried each time are used, the liquid material 5 is easily spread even when it spreads. A fine pattern can be obtained without an increase in the outline and line width of the liquid material applied thereon. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, a conductive material for mounting an electronic component such as a quartz oscillator can be finely and thickly coated.

In addition, since the position of the laser mechanism 42 is fixed with respect to the application needle holder storage part 24, the relative position of the laser mechanism 42 with respect to the application needle holder storage part 24 is constant. Therefore, multiple coating processes can be performed so as to be accurately superimposed at the same position while omitting the process of repositioning the laser mechanism 42 with respect to the application needle holder storage unit 24 each time the liquid material 5 is applied. . In the present embodiment, the area to which the liquid material 5 is applied is as narrow as 100 μm or less in plan view. Also in this case, a plurality of coating processes can be performed so as to accurately overlap at the same position in the X coordinate and the Y coordinate.

Further, through the process of FIG. 4, the liquid material 5 can be supplied so as to be superimposed on the already attached and dried liquid material 5. Further, by passing through the process of FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. 5E, in the second drying process, the liquid material 5 applied first is not irradiated with the laser light again. The irradiation range can be narrowed, and laser irradiation can be performed only on the liquid material 5 applied immediately before. As a result, since the first application material is not dried again, it is possible to suppress deterioration due to the liquid material 5 being subjected to laser irradiation a plurality of times. Further, since the laser output can be finely adjusted, excessive drying of the liquid material 5 and the accompanying deterioration can be suppressed. Besides, it is possible to suppress an excessive temperature rise of the coating material which has already been dried before the drying of the coating material. Therefore, when the second application of the liquid material 5 is performed, the heat transfer from the first applied liquid material 5 to the application needle 1 can be suppressed. For this reason, sticking of the liquid material 5 at the tip of the application needle 1 can be suppressed. Furthermore, the time cycle of the first application step (FIG. 5B) and the second application step (FIG. 5D) can be shortened.

The liquid material application mechanism 21 described above, the liquid material application apparatus 100 including the same, and the liquid material application method using these are an example. The features described in the above-described embodiment (each example included in the above) may be applied as appropriate in a technically consistent range.

It should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative and non-restrictive in every respect. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description but by the scope of claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 application needle, 5 liquid material, 6 board | substrates, 7 holding part, 11 liquid material container, 13 bottom part, 14 through hole, 21 liquid material application mechanism, 23 application needle holder, 24 application needle holder storage part, 25 application needle holder fixing Parts, 31 base plate, 32 linear motors, 33 linear motor movable parts, 34 self weight holding springs, 35 tension adjusting parts, 36 container holding parts, 40 observation optical systems, 41 CCD cameras, 42 laser mechanisms, 44 Z axis tables, 45 X axis table, 46 Y axis table, 47 control computer, 48 operation panel, 49 monitor, 100 liquid material application device.

Claims

Storing and holding the liquid material in the liquid material container;
Supplying the liquid material from the liquid material container to an object using a coating needle;
Drying the liquid material supplied to the object by a drying mechanism;
Resupplying the liquid material from the liquid material container to the object using the application needle so as to overlap on the liquid material dried by the drying step;
And d) re-drying the liquid material supplied to the object by the re-supplying step by the drying mechanism.
The step of drying and the step of redrying are performed by the drying mechanism performing a drying operation toward the liquid material supplied onto the object;
The liquid material application method according to claim 1, wherein the drying operation is an operation in which a laser beam is irradiated toward the liquid material supplied onto the object.
In the resupplying step, the target position of the tip portion of the coating needle is greater than the target position in the supplying step by the thickness of the liquid material supplied onto the object in the supplying step. The liquid material application method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the liquid material is set in the upper position.
In the step of resupplying, the positions of the liquid material container and the drying mechanism are supplied in the step of supplying by the thickness of the liquid material supplied onto the object immediately before the step of resupplying. The liquid material application method according to claim 3, wherein the liquid material container and the drying mechanism are set above the position of the container.
A liquid material container for containing and holding the liquid material;
An application needle for supplying the liquid material in the liquid material container onto an object;
A drying mechanism for drying the liquid material supplied onto the object;
The said drying mechanism is a liquid material application mechanism which is being fixed so that the said coating needle may face the position which supplies the said liquid material on the said target object.
It further comprises an application needle holder storage unit for storing the application needle,
The liquid material application mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the position of the drying mechanism is fixed with respect to the application needle holder storage unit.
The liquid material application mechanism according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the application needle and the drying mechanism can be driven along a vertical direction by being connected to a vertical drive mechanism.
By driving the application needle along the vertical direction by driving the vertical drive mechanism, the application needle can supply the liquid material a plurality of times on the object,
When the vertical drive mechanism supplies the liquid material again, the target position of the tip of the application needle is the thickness of the liquid material supplied onto the object immediately before the supply again. The liquid material application mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the liquid material application mechanism is set to a position above the target position in the supplying step.
It further comprises another vertical drive mechanism other than the vertical drive mechanism,
The other vertical drive mechanism is configured to supply the liquid material again, the position of the liquid material container and the drying mechanism by the thickness of the liquid material supplied on the object immediately before the resupply. The liquid material application mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the liquid material application mechanism is set to a position above the target position in the supplying step.
A liquid material application apparatus equipped with the liquid material application mechanism according to any one of claims 5 to 9.