JP2009145372A - Wet fixing agent and wet fixing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wet fixing agent which can be used for practical manufacture of electronic parts or the like with high precision, specifically with high smoothness and with a pattern formed without much smearing on a plane and to provide a wet fixing method using the wet fixing agent. <P>SOLUTION: The wet fixing agent fixes the pattern formed by liquid toner onto base material into which liquid in not penetrated. The wet fixing agent contains a liquid organic compound (a) for dissolving at least a part of binding resin contained in the liquid toner and a liquid organic compound (b) which does not dissolve the binding resin contained in the liquid toner. In addition, this wet fixing method includes, in the following order, an attaching process for attaching the wet fixing agent to the pattern formed by the liquid toner on the base material into which the liquid is not penetrated and a drying process for drying the base material to which the wet fixing agent is attached in an environment of low temperature and low humidity. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wet fixing agent that fixes a liquid toner used for manufacturing a flexible printed circuit board or a color filter to a base material, and a liquid toner wet fixing method using the same.

  In recent years, the product cycle has been shortened, so the production of electronic components such as flexible printed circuit boards and color filters for liquid crystal display devices, electrophotographic methods, electrostatic printing methods, ink jet methods, etc. developed in copiers and printers. The use of methods that are easy to adjust without production is being studied.

  In the method described above, as a method for fixing the toner disposed at a predetermined position on the paper to the paper, a method by heat fixing, a method by solvent fixing, or the like is performed. For this reason, the use of these methods is also being studied in the manufacture of electronic components and the like.

  The heat fixing method is, for example, a method in which the toner is fixed on paper by pressing and melting the binder resin in the toner at a high temperature with a smooth heat roller. However, in this method, it is difficult to control the heat and pressure, and it is inevitable that the pattern is blurred (two-dimensionally spread) when the toner is completely fixed.

  Therefore, the pattern is deformed to be used for the manufacture of the electronic component etc., and the required accuracy, for example, in the manufacture of a color filter, the line width of the pattern formed on the glass substrate is within ± 5 μm, the thickness There was a problem that the variation of the above could not satisfy within 20nm. Further, when a material that is deformed by heat, such as a polyimide film constituting a flexible printed circuit board, is used, there is a problem that the base material itself is deformed and the required accuracy cannot be satisfied.

  The solvent fixing method is a method in which the binder resin in the toner is swollen and dissolved with the solvent to fix the toner to each other and to the paper and the toner. Specifically, there is a method in which the toner is fixed on paper by exposing it to a vapor of a solvent that dissolves the binder resin in the toner (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). In this method, it is difficult to control the concentration of the solvent in the vapor and the exposure time to the vapor, and if the toner is completely fixed to improve the smoothness, the pattern is blurred, which makes it difficult to manufacture electronic parts and the like. There was a problem that the accuracy required for use could not be met.

As a method by solvent fixing, there is also a method in which the toner is fixed to paper by spraying or dropping a component other than the solvent that dissolves the binder resin in the toner, specifically, a wet fixing agent containing water (patent). See reference 3.) However, since the wet fixing agent of this method contains water, it is effective for a substrate infiltrated with liquid such as paper, but the amount and treatment of the wet fixing agent for a substrate not infiltrated with liquid. If the time is not controlled very strictly, the smoothness of the pattern cannot be improved and bleeding on the plane cannot be suppressed. Therefore, there is a problem that it is not practical for use in the manufacture of electronic parts and the like.
JP-A-57-135966 JP-A 62-160476 JP 07-44034 A

  Therefore, the present invention relates to a wet fixing agent used for practically producing an electronic component or the like on which a pattern with high accuracy, specifically smoothness and little bleeding on a plane is formed, and the wet fixing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a wet fixing method using an agent.

  As a result of intensive studies, the inventors have found that the above problems can be solved by a wet fixing agent containing a specific liquid organic compound and a wet fixing method using the same.

  That is, the wet fixing agent according to claim 1 of the present invention is a wet fixing agent that fixes a pattern formed by liquid toner on a substrate that does not soak liquid, and is a binder resin contained in the liquid toner. The liquid organic compound (a) that dissolves at least a part of the liquid organic compound (b) and the liquid organic compound (b) that does not dissolve the binder resin contained in the liquid toner.

  The wet fixing agent according to claim 2 of the present invention is the wet fixing agent according to claim 1, wherein the liquid organic compound (a) is 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol, monoethylene glycol. It is selected from the group consisting of dimethyl ether, methyl ethyl ketone and mixtures thereof.

  The wet fixing agent according to claim 3 of the present invention is the wet fixing agent according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the liquid organic compound (b) is selected from the group consisting of a lower alcohol and a mixture thereof. Is.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wet fixing method in which the wet fixing agent according to any one of the first to third aspects adheres to a pattern formed by liquid toner on a substrate that does not soak liquid. And a drying step of drying the substrate on which the wet fixing agent is adhered in an environment of low temperature and low humidity in this order.

  A wet fixing method according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the wet fixing method according to the fourth aspect, wherein the wet fixing agent is attached to the pattern in an environment of low temperature and low humidity in the attaching step.

  A wet fixing method according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the wet fixing method according to the fourth or fifth aspect, wherein the wet fixing agent is sprayed or dropped onto the substrate in the attaching step. In this way, the wet fixing agent is attached to the pattern.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wet fixing method according to the fourth or fifth aspect, wherein the substrate is dipped in a wet fixing agent in the attaching step. In this method, the fixing agent is attached to the pattern.

  The wet fixing method according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the wet fixing method according to any one of the fourth to seventh aspects, wherein the temperature is 20 ° C. or lower and the relative humidity is 20% or lower in the drying step. This is a method of drying a wet fixing agent attached to a substrate in the environment.

  A wet fixing method according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the wet fixing method according to any one of the fourth to eighth aspects, wherein in the drying step, the wet fixing agent attached to the substrate in a reduced pressure state is used. It is a method of drying.

  According to the wet fixing agent and wet fixing method of the present invention, an electronic component or the like on which a pattern having high smoothness and little bleeding on a flat surface is formed can be produced with practical productivity.

1. Wet fixer The wet fixer of the present invention fixes a pattern formed by a liquid toner on a substrate that does not soak liquid, and includes a liquid organic compound (a) and a liquid organic compound (b). Containing. Details thereof will be described below.

(1) Substrate that does not soak liquid The base material that does not soak liquid is made of glass, metal, ceramic, resin film, or a combination of them, and liquid toner does not soak and does not stretch easily. It is. Specifically, a glass substrate in which an indium tin oxide (ITO) film is formed on glass by sputtering, coating, or the like, a film wiring substrate such as a polyimide resin or a liquid crystal polymer, a film substrate such as PET or polycarbonate, and the like can be given.

(2) Liquid toner The liquid toner is a dispersion liquid in which a binder resin, a charge control agent, an external additive and the like are dispersed in a nonpolar solvent, and the liquid toner is swelled and dissolved. The liquid toner and the substrate can be fixed to each other. The liquid toner may contain a colorant (pigment, dye), a release agent, and the like as necessary.

  Examples of the binder resin include known thermoplastic resins, specifically acrylic resins, vinyl acetate resins, polystyrene resins, polyester resins, and mixtures thereof. Further, the charge control agent, the external additive and the like can be used without particular limitation as long as they are known materials. For example, examples of the charge control agent include metal salts such as naphthenic acid, octylic acid, and stearic acid when the toner is positively charged, and zinc phosphate when the toner is negatively charged.

(3) Pattern formation A pattern using liquid toner is formed by a known method, specifically, a predetermined pattern on the substrate by electrophotography, electrostatic printing, ink jet, electrodeposition or the like. This is done by placing toner in position.

  The electrodeposition method means that a metal plate is attached to the back of the glass plate, and a metal plate as a counter electrode is installed at a location slightly away from the surface of the glass plate (about 3 mm). In this method, after being immersed in the toner liquid, a voltage is applied between the metal plates to fix the charged toner particles to the glass surface.

(4) Liquid organic compound (a)
The liquid organic compound (a) can be used without particular limitation as long as it is a liquid organic compound that can dissolve at least a part of the binder resin that is a component of the liquid toner. Specifically, 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol, monoethylene glycol dimethyl ether, methyl ethyl ketone, benzene, xylene, toluene, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, benzyl alcohol, propylene carbonate, N-methyl-2 -Pyrrolidone, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether, triethylene glycol dimethyl ether, dibasic acid diesters (dimethyl succinate, dimethyl adipate, dimethyl gluconate), other petroleum solvents, and mixtures thereof.

  Among these, even if the resin is dissolved, it does not evaporate and dry before fixing on the substrate, in other words, because of its high boiling point, 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol, monoethylene glycol dimethyl ether, methyl ethyl ketone Is preferred. Further, the proportion of the liquid organic compound (a) in the wet fixing agent is 2% to 30% by weight, preferably 2% to 20% by weight, although it varies depending on the material used.

(5) Liquid organic compound (b)
The liquid organic compound (b) is not particularly limited as long as the liquid organic compound (a) can suppress and control the force of dissolving the binder resin and can penetrate into the liquid toner. be able to. Specific examples include lower alcohols, and more specifically methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, n-propanol, butanol and mixtures thereof. Among these, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, and butanol are preferable in consideration of the influence on the environment. The ratio of the liquid organic compound (b) in the wet fixing agent is 70% to 98% by weight, preferably 80% to 98% by weight, although it varies depending on the material used.

(6) Preparation of wet fixing agent This wet fixing agent needs to be volatilized at an appropriate temperature in the drying step described later. Therefore, the temperature of the liquid organic compound (a) and the liquid organic compound (b), which are related to the volatilization temperature, is as low as possible. It is preferable to prepare by mixing together.

2. Wet fixing method The wet fixing method of the present invention is a method including (1) an adhesion step and (2) a drying step in this order. Therefore, these details will be described below.

(1) Adhering step The adhering step is a step of adhering the wet fixing agent to a pattern formed with liquid toner on a substrate that does not soak liquid, (i) a method by spraying or dripping, (ii) immersion The method by etc. can be illustrated. These details will be described below.

(I) Method by spraying or dripping As shown in FIG. 1, the method by spraying or dripping is performed by applying a wet fixing agent 2 to a base material 1 on which a pattern 1a is formed on the upper surface of a glass plate 1b with a liquid toner. It is the method of attaching. In addition, Fig.1 (a) is the figure which looked at the spraying apparatus 10 from the front, and FIG.1 (b) is the figure seen from the side.

  The spraying device 10 includes a spraying part 11 having a plurality of nozzles 11a for spraying a wet fixing agent uniformly over a wide area, a storage tank 12 for storing the wet fixing agent 2, a spraying part 11 and a liquid storage. A supply pipe 13 that connects the tub 12, a pump 14 that is attached in the middle of the supply pipe 13 and transfers the wet fixing agent 2 while being pressurized from the liquid storage tub 12 to the spray unit 11, and an adsorption that fixes the base material 1 And a board 15.

  The spraying device 10 fixes the spraying part 11 to the arrow 11 in FIG. 1B while spraying the wet fixing agent 2 transferred from the liquid storage tank 12 from the nozzle 11a in a state where the base material 1 is fixed on the adsorption board 15. The wet fixing agent 2 is uniformly attached to the entire surface of the substrate 1 by moving in the direction of.

(Ii) Method by dipping As shown in FIG. 2, the method by dipping is a method in which a wet fixing agent 2 is adhered by a dipping device 20 to a substrate 1 on which a pattern 1a is formed on one surface of a glass plate 1b with liquid toner. It is. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the immersion apparatus 20.

  The dipping device 20 is attached in the middle of the supply pipe 23, the storage tank 22 for storing the wet fixing agent 2, the supply pipe 23 for connecting the immersion tank 21 and the storage tank 22, in addition to the immersion tank 21. A pump 24 for transferring the wet fixing agent 2 from the storage tank 22 to the immersion tank 21, an adsorption plate 25 for fixing the substrate 1, and a discharge pipe 26 for discharging the wet fixing agent 2 from the immersion tank 21 to the storage tank 22. And a cock 27 for intermittently connecting the discharge pipe.

  The dipping device 20 hangs and immerses in the penetrating bowl 21 containing the wet fixing agent 2 transferred from the storage tank 22 with the base material 1 fixed on the adsorption board 25, and after a certain time has passed. The wet fixing agent 2 is uniformly attached to the entire surface of the substrate 1 by opening the cock 27 and discharging the wet fixing agent 2 from the immersion tub 21 to the liquid storage tub 22.

(iii) Processing temperature In order to prevent the smoothness of the pattern from being reduced and the spread on the flat surface from increasing due to evaporation of the wet fixing agent, the adhesion process is performed at a constant temperature and a constant temperature of 30 ° C. or less and a relative humidity of 30% or less. It is preferably carried out under wet conditions, more preferably under low temperature and low humidity conditions. In addition, the said low temperature is 20 degrees C or less. The low humidity means that the relative humidity is 20% or less, and preferably 10% or less.

(Iv) Others In addition to the above (i) and (ii), the amount of the wet fixing agent used may be reduced, for example, by spraying or dropping the wet fixing agent along the pattern of the substrate by an ink jet method. Good.

(2) Drying step The drying step is a step of drying the substrate to which the wet fixing agent is adhered in an environment of low temperature and low humidity. Specifically, a method of placing a base material on a desiccator set to low temperature and low humidity, a method of circulating a low temperature, low humidity inert gas (for example, nitrogen gas) in a container containing the base material, and a combination thereof Methods and the like.

  Here, the low temperature is higher than the temperature at which the wet fixing agent is in a liquid state, and is 30 ° C. or lower, preferably 20 ° C. or lower. If the temperature is 30 ° C. or lower, the relative humidity is lowered, so that adhesion of moisture to the dissolved resin can be prevented, the smoothness of the pattern can be improved, and bleeding can be reduced. Low humidity means that the relative humidity is 20% or less, preferably 10% or less. If the relative humidity is 20% or less, the adhesion of moisture to the dissolved resin is reduced, the smoothness of the pattern can be improved, and bleeding on a flat surface can be reduced.

  If necessary, the inside of the desiccator can be depressurized, and the circulating inert gas can be depressurized to accelerate the drying of the wet fixing agent, improve the smoothness of the pattern, and reduce bleeding on the flat surface. it can. For example, using a vacuum desiccator, the pressure can be reduced from normal pressure to 400 hPa to 900 hPa over about 5 minutes, held in a reduced pressure state for about 60 minutes, and then returned to normal pressure over about 5 minutes to obtain the above effect. It is done.

(3) Others In the wet fixing method of the present invention, the above steps are sequentially executed (batch processing), and a flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter abbreviated as FPC) in which a copper foil is bonded to a polyimide film is wound in a roll shape. For long objects such as those, continuous execution (continuous processing) can also be performed.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the continuous processing apparatus 30. The continuous processing apparatus 30 sprays the wet fixing agent 2 on the FPC 3, a feed roller 31 wound with the FPC 3, a pattern forming unit 32 that forms a pattern on the FPC 3, and the like. A spraying unit 33, a constant temperature and humidity unit 34 maintained at a low temperature and a low humidity, and a winding roller 35 for winding the FPC 3 are provided. Since the continuous processing apparatus 30 can continuously perform pattern formation, adhesion of the wet fixing agent 2 and drying of the wet fixing agent 2, the productivity of the FPC 3 can be further improved as compared with the case of batch processing. it can.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated in detail based on an Example, the claim of this invention is not restrict | limited in any meaning by a following example.

Example 1
A liquid toner mainly composed of an acrylic resin was electrodeposited on the entire surface of an ITO glass substrate (10 cm × 5 cm) to a thickness of 3 to 4 μm to produce a substrate. Two types were produced: a base material (A-1) electrodeposited with liquid toner on the entire surface of a glass substrate and a base material (A-2) electrodeposited with liquid toner in a pattern with a line width of 50 μm.

  After blending 20% by weight of 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol and 80% by weight of ethanol in a beaker, the mixture was sufficiently stirred to prepare a wet fixing agent. The substrate (A-1) and the substrate (A-2) were immersed in this wet fixing agent for 30 seconds (attachment step). The substrate to which the wet fixing agent was adhered was dried (drying step) for 30 to 60 minutes with a desiccator adjusted to a temperature of 20 ° C. and a relative humidity of 10% to obtain a test sample.

(Example 2)
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a wet fixing agent containing 10% by weight of 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol and 90% by weight of ethanol was used.

(Example 3)
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a wet fixing agent containing 5% by weight of 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol and 95% by weight of ethanol was used.

Example 4
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a wet fixing agent containing 10% by weight of monoethylene glycol dimethyl ether and 90% by weight of ethanol was used.

(Example 5)
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a wet fixing agent containing 5% by weight of monoethylene glycol dimethyl ether and 95% by weight of ethanol was used.

(Example 6)
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a wet fixing agent containing 8% by weight of methyl ethyl ketone and 92% by weight of ethanol was used.

(Example 7)
The same method as in Example 1 except that a wet fixing agent containing 5% by weight of 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol, 5% by weight of monoethylene glycol dimethyl ether and 90% by weight of ethanol was used. A test sample was obtained.

(Example 8)
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that it was dried (drying step) with a desiccator adjusted to a temperature of 10 ° C. and a relative humidity of 5%.

Example 9
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Example 8, except that a wet fixing agent containing 10% by weight of 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol and 90% by weight of ethanol was used.

(Example 10)
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Example 8 except that a wet fixing agent containing 5% by weight of 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol and 95% by weight of ethanol was used.

(Example 11)
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Example 8 except that a wet fixing agent containing 7% by weight of monoethylene glycol dimethyl ether and 93% by weight of ethanol was used.

Example 12
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Example 8 except that a wet fixing agent containing 5% by weight of monoethylene glycol dimethyl ether and 95% by weight of ethanol was used.

(Example 13)
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Example 8 except that a wet fixing agent containing 7% by weight of methyl ethyl ketone and 93% by weight of ethanol was used.

(Example 14)
The same method as in Example 8 except that a wet fixing agent containing 5% by weight of 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol, 5% by weight of monoethylene glycol dimethyl ether and 90% by weight of ethanol was used. A test sample was obtained.

(Comparative Example 1)
Using a wet fixer containing 40% by weight of 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol and 60% by weight of ethanol, and drying with a desiccator adjusted to a temperature of 35 ° C and a relative humidity of 60% (drying process) A test sample was obtained by the same method as in Example 1 except that.

(Comparative Example 2)
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1 except that a wet fixing agent containing 0.3% by weight of 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol and 99.7% by weight of ethanol was used.

(Comparative Example 3)
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1 except that a wet fixing agent containing 30% by weight of monoethylene glycol dimethyl ether and 70% by weight of ethanol was used.

(Comparative Example 4)
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1 except that a wet fixing agent containing 0.3% by weight of monoethylene glycol dimethyl ether and 99.7% by weight of ethanol was used.

(Comparative Example 5)
The same method as in Comparative Example 1 except that a wet fixing agent containing 25% by weight of 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol, 12% by weight of monoethylene glycol dimethyl ether and 63% by weight of ethanol was used. A test sample was obtained.

(Comparative Example 6)
A test sample was obtained in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1 except that a wet fixing agent containing 15% by weight of methyl ethyl ketone and 85% by weight of ethanol was used.

(Comparative Example 7)
The same method as in Comparative Example 1 except that a wet fixing agent containing 0.1% by weight of 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol, 0.1% by weight of monoethylene glycol dimethyl ether and 99.8% by weight of ethanol was used. A test sample was obtained.

  The test samples obtained in Examples 1 to 14 and Comparative Examples 1 to 7 were examined for the smoothness of the fixed pattern and bleeding on a flat surface. The results are shown in Tables 1 to 3.

  In addition, the smoothness of a pattern measured the unevenness | corrugation of the pattern surface with the atomic force microscope, and described the width | variety of the measured maximum value and the minimum value. In the case of bleeding on a flat surface, the pattern was observed with a 500 × microscope, and ◎ indicates that there is no bleeding, ○ indicates that there is little bleeding, Δ indicates that there is some bleeding, and × indicates that there is large bleeding.

  As can be seen from these tables, by using the wet fixing agent of the present invention and drying at low temperature and low humidity, the smoothness of the pattern fixed on the base material is improved and the bleeding to the flat surface is reduced. I was able to.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline | summary of the wet fixing method using a spraying apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline | summary of the wet fixing method using an immersion device. It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline | summary of the wet fixing method which uses a continuous processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Substrate 2 Wet Fixer 3 Flexible Printed Substrate (FPC)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Spraying device 11 Spraying part 12 Storage tank 13 Supply pipe 14 Pump 15 Adsorption board 20 Immersion apparatus 21 Immersion bowl 22 Storage tank 23 Supply pipe 24 Pump 25 Adsorption board 26 Discharge pipe 27 Cock 30 Continuous processing apparatus 31 Sending roller 32 Pattern Forming part 33 Spraying part 34 Constant temperature and humidity part 35 Winding roller

Claims (9)

A wet fixing agent that fixes a pattern formed by liquid toner on a substrate that does not soak liquid,
A liquid organic compound (a) that dissolves at least part of the binder resin contained in the liquid toner;
A liquid organic compound (b) that does not dissolve the binder resin contained in the liquid toner;
A wet fixing agent.   The wet fixing agent according to claim 1, wherein the liquid organic compound (a) is selected from the group consisting of 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol, monoethylene glycol dimethyl ether, methyl ethyl ketone, and a mixture thereof.   The wet fixing agent according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the liquid organic compound (b) is selected from the group consisting of a lower alcohol and a mixture thereof. An adhesion step of adhering the wet fixing agent according to any one of claims 1 to 3 to a pattern formed by liquid toner on a substrate that does not soak liquid;
A drying process in which the substrate to which the wet fixing agent is attached is dried in a low-temperature, low-humidity environment;
Wet fixing method including in this order.   The wet fixing method according to claim 4, wherein in the attaching step, the wet fixing agent is attached to the pattern in an environment of low temperature and low humidity.   6. The wet fixing method according to claim 4, wherein the wet fixing agent is attached to the pattern by spraying or dripping the wet fixing agent onto the substrate in the attaching step.   6. The wet fixing method according to claim 4, wherein the wet fixing agent is attached to the pattern by immersing the substrate in the wet fixing agent in the attaching step.   The wet fixing method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein, in the drying step, the wet fixing agent attached to the substrate is dried in an environment having a temperature of 20 ° C or lower and a relative humidity of 20% or lower.   The wet fixing method according to any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein in the drying step, the wet fixing agent attached to the substrate in a reduced pressure state is dried.

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