JP2011161367A - Discharge device, impact position formation method of discharge device, method for photographing impact position, and method for confirming discharge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a discharge device with which the amount of a discharge liquid to be used for discharge confirmation is decreased, and which has an economical mechanism, an impact position formation method of the discharge device, a method for photographing impact positions, and a method for confirming discharge. <P>SOLUTION: The discharge device has a film 16 formed from a resin film 19 soluble in a solvent contained in a discharge liquid. When the discharge liquid is discharged out of respective ports 18 in a state that a plurality of ink heads 11 are moved immediately above the film 16 and kept still, the discharge liquid is impacted against the resin film 19 and the resin film 19 is partially dissolved in the discharge liquid. While the film 16 being rolled up, the impact positions of the resin film 19 are photographed by a photographing device 12 and from the photograph results, occurrence of discharge can be determined for each discharge port 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a discharge device, a landing position forming method of the discharge device, a landing position imaging method, and a discharge confirmation method.

  In recent years, an ink jet discharge apparatus equipped with an ink head is being applied to an industrial field, particularly a manufacturing field of a semiconductor or a flat panel display. In such a field, a fine processing technique is indispensable, and the same technique is required for an inkjet discharge apparatus. As nozzles become finer and more dense, device defects are likely to occur due to the lack of even one nozzle.

As a conventional discharge confirmation method, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, a method is used in which a strobe emission is synchronized with discharge while a droplet is continuously discharged from an ink head, and the discharged droplet is directly imaged with a camera. was there.
However, in the method of directly detecting the flying droplets while continuously discharging the droplets from the ink head, the discharge liquid is continuously discharged for the time required to detect the discharge from each discharge port. The cost was high.

In addition, when the flying direction of a droplet is bent or the droplet contains satellite, the droplet from the other discharge port is reflected in the droplet detection range of one of the adjacent discharge ports. There was a risk of occurrence.
Furthermore, since it is necessary to scan either the ink head side or the detection mechanism side in order to directly check the droplets, a large-scale mechanism is required to check a plurality of ink heads arranged in a short time. It was.

JP-A-11-227172 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-102311

  The present invention was created to solve the above-described disadvantages of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a discharge device and a discharge device that can reduce the amount of discharge liquid used for discharge confirmation and realize an inexpensive mechanism. The landing position forming method, the landing position imaging method, and the discharge confirmation method are provided.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a pedestal, a substrate stage arranged on the pedestal and configured to be able to place a substrate on a surface facing upward, and a discharge port on the bottom surface. An ink head configured to be relatively movable horizontally on a substrate stage, a film having a resin film soluble in a solvent contained in the discharge liquid formed on one surface, and the resin An imaging device configured to be capable of imaging a film, wherein the film is disposed at a position different from the substrate stage on the pedestal, with the resin film facing upward, and the ink head is disposed on the substrate. The ejection device is configured to be relatively movable between a stage and the film.
The present invention is a discharge device, wherein the discharge port is configured to be able to face a plurality of different portions of the resin film.
The present invention is a discharge device, wherein the film is formed by being wound in a roll shape, and two auxiliary shafts are disposed horizontally and parallel to each other above the roll, and end from the outer periphery of the roll. The film is drawn out, and the drawn film is stretched over each auxiliary shaft and stretched in a horizontal plane between the two auxiliary shafts so as to face the discharge port.
The present invention is a discharge device, and the resin film includes diallyl phthalate resin, unsaturated polyester resin, epoxy resin, xylene resin, furan resin, melamine resin, urea resin, phenol resin, and polycarbonate. , Chlorinated polyether, cellulose acetate, acrylic resin, acetal resin, nylon, polyisobutylene, polypropylene, polyethylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polystyrene, vinyl acetate resin, and vinylidene chloride resin And a discharge device formed using one or more kinds of resins selected from the group consisting of vinyl chloride resins.
The present invention is a discharge device, wherein the film is formed of a material insoluble in a solvent contained in the discharge liquid.
The present invention is a landing position forming method for an ejection device that ejects ejection liquid from ejection ports provided on the bottom surface of the ink head while causing the ink head to relatively move horizontally on the substrate and land on the substrate. A film disposing step of positioning the ink head on a film on which a resin film soluble in the discharge liquid is formed, and discharging the discharge liquid from the discharge port to land on the resin film, A landing position forming method for a discharge apparatus, comprising: a landing position forming step in which a resin film is partially dissolved in the discharge liquid to form a step mark at the landing position.
The present invention is a landing position imaging method of a discharge device that discharges discharge liquid from discharge ports provided on the bottom surface of the ink head while causing the ink head to relatively move horizontally on the substrate and land on the substrate. A film disposing step of positioning the ink head on a film on which a resin film soluble in the discharge liquid is formed, and discharging the discharge liquid from the discharge port to land on the resin film, Landing of a discharge device comprising: a landing position forming step of partially dissolving a resin film in the discharge liquid to form a step mark at a landing position; and a landing position imaging step of imaging the landing position of the resin film It is a position imaging method.
The present invention relates to a discharge confirmation method for a discharge device that discharges discharge liquid from a discharge port provided on the bottom surface of the ink head and makes it land on the substrate while moving the ink head horizontally relative to the substrate. A film disposing step of positioning the ink head on a film on which a resin film soluble in the discharge liquid is formed; and discharging the discharge liquid from the discharge port to land on the resin film; From the landing position imaging step of partially dissolving the film in the discharge liquid to form a step mark at the landing position, the landing position imaging step of imaging the landing position of the resin film, and the imaging result of the landing position A discharge confirmation method for a discharge apparatus, comprising: a discharge confirmation step of determining whether or not discharge is performed for each discharge port.

  Compared with the set value for each discharge port measured in advance, the size of each step mark is good if the area ratio is within ± 20%, and if it is out of the range, the discharge is poor. If it is set, it is possible to determine whether each discharge port is good or bad from the imaging result of the landing position.

The amount of discharge liquid used for discharge confirmation can be minimized. It is possible to check the discharge of each discharge port in a short time with an inexpensive mechanism. In particular, it is possible to reduce the cost and time required for ejection confirmation with an ejection apparatus equipped with a large number of ink heads.
Even when the discharge liquid is colorless, a step mark is formed in the resin film, so that discharge can be confirmed.

Schematic front view of the discharge device during discharge inspection Three-dimensional view of the discharge device before the start of discharge Three-dimensional view of the discharge device during discharge inspection Three-dimensional view of the discharge device at the start of discharge onto the substrate (A) Enlarged front view of the film before ejection and the lower part of the ink head (b) Same enlarged front view after ejection As an example, a photograph of the landing position on the resin film

<Discharge device structure>
The structure of the ejection device according to the present invention will be described.
2 is a three-dimensional view of the discharge device before the start of discharge, FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional view at the time of discharge inspection, and FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional view at the start of discharge onto the substrate. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of the ejection device during ejection inspection.

The discharge device 20 includes a pedestal 21, a substrate stage 24, a plurality of ink heads 11, a film module 40, and a head standby module 25.
The substrate stage 24, the film module 40, and the head standby module 25 are arranged in a line on the base 21 in this order.

Two linear rails 23a, 23b are provided on the sides of the substrate stage 24, the film module 40, and the head standby module 25 on the pedestal 21, and any of the substrate stage 24, the film module 40, and the head standby module 25 is provided. Also, the substrate stage 24, the film module 40, and the head standby module 25 are provided in parallel to each other so as to sandwich them.
Hereinafter, the longitudinal direction of the rails 23a and 23b is referred to as the Y direction, and the horizontal direction perpendicular to the Y direction is referred to as the X direction.

Bar-shaped support columns 27a and 27b are vertically provided on the rails 23a and 23b, respectively. Each column 27a, 27b has an upper end formed higher than any of the substrate stage 24, the film module 40, and the head standby module 25.
A rod-shaped bridge 22 is disposed so as to cover the two columns 27a and 27b, and both ends of the bridge 22 are fixed to the upper ends of the columns 27a and 27b, respectively.

  A Y-direction moving mechanism (not shown) is provided at a portion facing the rails 23a and 23b at the lower ends of the columns 27a and 27b. The Y-direction moving mechanism is equipped with a motor, and is configured to be able to reciprocate in the Y-direction along the rails 23a and 23b between the columns 27a and 27b and the bridge 22 when receiving a control signal from a control device (not shown). Yes.

The plurality of ink heads 11 are fixed to the side surfaces of the bridge 22 at positions higher than any of the substrate stage 24, the film module 40, and the head standby module 25.
Accordingly, the Y-direction moving mechanism receives the control signal from the control device and reciprocates the support columns 27a, 27b and the bridge 22 in the Y direction, so that the plurality of ink heads 11 are placed on the substrate stage 24 and the film module 40. It is configured to be able to reciprocate between the head standby module 25 (see FIGS. 2 to 4).

  The moving mechanism of the present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration. If the plurality of ink heads 11 can move relative to each other between the substrate stage 24, the film module 40, and the head standby module 25, the moving mechanism can be moved relative to the base 21. The substrate stage 24, the film module 40, and the head standby module 25 may be configured to be horizontally movable below the plurality of ink heads 11 that are stationary and the plurality of ink heads 11, the substrate stage 24, and the film module 40. The head standby module 25 may be configured to be horizontally movable with respect to the base 21.

Referring to FIG. 1, a plurality of nozzles 17 are provided inside each ink head 11. The ejection ports 18 provided at the ends of the nozzles 17 are respectively exposed to the bottom surface of the ink head 11 and arranged so as to be arranged at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction of the bridge 22.
Each nozzle 17 is connected to an ink tank (not shown) in which the discharged liquid is stored, and the ink tank is configured to be able to supply the discharged liquid into each nozzle 17.
The discharge liquid of the present invention may be colored or colorless as long as the solvent contained in the discharge liquid can dissolve the resin film material for discharge confirmation as described later.

  Each nozzle 17 is provided with a pressure generating mechanism such as a piezoelectric element. When a control signal is received from a control device (not shown), a predetermined pressing force is applied to the discharge liquid in the nozzle 17 to The discharge port 18 is configured to discharge a predetermined amount of discharge liquid downward.

Referring to FIG. 4, the surface facing upward of substrate stage 24 is configured to be able to hold substrate 29 by vacuum suction or the like.
By discharging the discharge liquid from the predetermined discharge port 18 of the predetermined ink head 11 while reciprocating the ink head 11 in the Y direction on the substrate 29 while holding the substrate 29 on the substrate stage 24, the substrate The discharged liquid can be landed at a predetermined position on the 29.

By moving the ink head 11 back and forth in the Y direction on the substrate 29 in a state where the longitudinal direction of the bridge 22 is inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the X direction, the longitudinal direction of the bridge 22 is parallel to the X direction. The discharged liquid can be landed on the substrate 29 at a narrow interval.
Referring to FIG. 2, a cleaning unit such as a wet wipe is provided on the upper portion of the head standby module 25.

  When the head standby module 25 receives the control signal from the control device in a state where the ink head 11 is moved to a position just above the head standby module 25 and is stationary, for example, a wet wipe is pressed against the bottom surface of the ink head 11, It is comprised so that the deposit | attachment adhering to each discharge port 18 can be wiped off. Thus, each discharge port 18 can be repaired when discharge cannot be made from each discharge port 18 or when the discharge direction is bent.

With reference to FIG. 1, the film module 40 includes a drive shaft 14, a driven shaft 15, and a roll 45.
The drive shaft 14 and the driven shaft 15 are disposed to face each other in parallel.
The roll 45 is formed by winding a film 16, and a driven shaft 15 is inserted in the center.
Auxiliary shafts 13a and 13b are disposed horizontally and parallel to each other at a position above the drive shaft 14 and a position above the driven shaft 15, respectively.

The end of the film 16 is drawn from the outer periphery of the roll 45, and the drawn film 16 is hung so that the back surface contacts the auxiliary shaft 13b above the driven shaft 15 and the auxiliary shaft 13a above the drive shaft 14. The end portion is wound around the drive shaft 14.
When the drive shaft 14 rotates around the central axis, the film 16 stretched around the auxiliary shafts 13a and 13b is pulled, and the driven shaft 15 is rotated by the force to feed the film 16 out of the roll.
At this time, a force in the direction opposite to the rotational force due to the pulling force applied to the roll 45 is generated on the driven shaft 15, and the film between the auxiliary shafts 13 a and 13 b is horizontally flat by the two forces. To be stretched.

FIG. 5A is an enlarged front view of the film 16 before ejection and the lower portion of the ink head 11 in a state where the ink head 11 is moved to a position just above the film module 40 and is stationary, and FIG. The enlarged front view is shown.
The film 16 is formed of a material unnecessary for the solvent contained in the discharge liquid, and is included in the discharge liquid on the surface facing the discharge port 18 and facing upward between the auxiliary shafts 13a and 13b. A resin film 19 soluble in the solvent to be formed is formed.

  Here, the resin film 19 includes diallyl phthalate resin, unsaturated polyester resin, epoxy resin, xylene resin, furan resin, melamine resin, urea resin, phenol resin, polycarbonate, chlorinated polyether, Cellulose acetate, acrylic resin, acetal resin, nylon, polyisobutylene, polypropylene, polyethylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polystyrene, vinyl acetate resin, vinylidene chloride resin, and vinyl chloride resin. It is formed using one or more kinds of resins selected from the group consisting of:

As shown in FIG. 5B, when the discharge liquid is discharged from the discharge port 18 and landed on the resin film 19, the resin film 19 is partially dissolved in the discharge liquid, and a crater-like step mark is formed at the landing position. Is formed.
An imaging device 12 is installed between the drive shaft 14 and the ink head 11 with the lens facing the portion of the film 16 downstream of the ink head 11 and the surface on which the resin film 19 is formed. The imaging device 12 is configured to be capable of imaging the surface of the resin film 19 when receiving a control signal from a control device (not shown).

The installation position of the imaging device 12 of the present invention is not limited to the above configuration. When the film 16 is transparent, the lens of the imaging device 12 is a portion downstream of the ink head 11 of the film 16 and the resin film 19. The resin film 19 may be configured so as to be opposed to the opposite surface and capable of imaging the resin film 19 through the transparent film 16.
A storage device 41 is connected to the imaging device 12. The storage device 41 includes a memory, and is configured to store one or a plurality of imaging results of the imaging device 12.

  A computer 42 is connected to the storage device 41. The computer 42 stores the distance between the center of each step mark and the size (set value) measured in advance using a good ink head. The computer 42 measures the distance and size between the centers of each step mark from the imaging result stored in the storage device 41, and compares them with the set value, thereby determining whether or not there is discharge for each discharge port 18, as described later. Thus, it is configured to be able to discriminate between good discharge and defective discharge.

  The computer 42 of the present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration, the setting value is not stored in advance, the distance between the centers of each step mark is measured from the imaging result stored in the storage device 41, and each discharge port 18 is measured. You may be comprised so that the presence or absence of discharge may be discriminate | determined for every.

<Discharge device inspection method>
Next, an inspection method for the ejection device 20 according to the present invention will be described.
FIG. 2 shows a state before the discharge of the discharge device 20 is started. The ink head 11 is stopped just above the head standby module 25, and the adhering matter adhering to each ejection port 18 is wiped off by wet wipe or the like.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3, the ink head 11 is moved above the film module 40 and stopped as a film placement step. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5A, each discharge port 18 faces an unused portion where the step mark of the resin film 19 is not formed.

  Next, as a landing position forming step, when the discharge liquid is discharged from each discharge port 18 and landed on the resin film 19, the resin film 19 is partially dissolved in the discharge liquid as shown in FIG. Crater-like step marks are formed at the landing position.

  Next, as a landing position imaging step, as shown in FIG. 1, when the drive shaft 14 is rotated and the film 16 is wound up by a predetermined length, a step mark of the resin film 19 is formed on the lens of the imaging device 12. Face the part. The landing positions from all the discharge ports 18 are imaged by causing the imaging device 12 to image one or more times while winding the film 11. The imaging device 12 stores the imaging result in the storage device 41.

FIG. 6 shows a photograph of the landing position on the resin film as an example.
The method for confirming a step mark according to the present invention is not limited to the method of capturing an image with the imaging device 12, but may be confirmed by other optical means such as a visual observation of a measurer.

  After imaging the landing positions from all the discharge ports 18, the used part of the resin film 19 is wound downstream from the imaging device 12, so that a step mark on the resin film 19 is formed at each discharge port 18. It will face an unused part different from the part.

Next, as a discharge confirmation step, the computer 42 measures the distance and size between the centers of each step mark from the imaging results stored in the storage device 41, compares them with the set values, and determines each discharge port 18. The presence or absence of discharge is determined. It may be determined that the discharge is good if the area ratio is within a range of ± 20% with respect to the set value for each discharge port 18, and the discharge is poor if the area ratio is out of the range.
The discharge confirmation method of the present invention is not limited to the above method, and the distance between the centers of each step mark is measured from the imaging result stored in the storage device 41, and the presence or absence of discharge is determined for each discharge port 18. Also good.

  If the discharge liquid is discharged from all of the discharge ports 18 as a result of the discharge confirmation process, the ink head 11 is moved onto the substrate stage 24 as shown in FIG. Apply. Next, every time a predetermined number of substrates 29 are applied, the ink head 11 is moved onto the film module 40 as shown in FIG. At this time, the used portion of the resin film 19 has already been wound up in the previous landing position imaging step, and each discharge port 18 faces an unused portion of the resin film 19. There is no need to rewind the part, and the landing position forming process can be started.

  As a result of the discharge confirmation process, when there is even one discharge port 18 from which no discharge liquid is discharged, the ink head 11 is moved onto the head standby module 25 to be stationary as shown in FIG. The deposit | attachment adhering to 18 is removed. Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the ink head 11 is moved onto the film module 40, and a discharge inspection is performed.

In the present invention, it is only necessary to have one drop of discharge liquid per nozzle in order to form a step mark necessary for discharge inspection, so it is not necessary to continuously discharge discharge liquid from each nozzle for discharge inspection.
In the present invention, since the step confirmation formed on the resin film 19 is optically detected and the ejection is confirmed, the ejection can be confirmed even when the ejection liquid is colorless.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Ink head 12 ... Imaging device 13a, 13b ... Auxiliary shaft 16 ... Film 18 ... Discharge port 19 ... Resin film 20 ... Discharge device 21 ... Base 24 ... Substrate stage 29 ... Substrate

Claims (8)

A pedestal,
A substrate stage arranged on the pedestal and configured to be able to place a substrate on a surface facing upward;
An ink head having a discharge port on the bottom surface and configured to be relatively movable horizontally on the substrate stage;
A discharge device comprising:
A film in which a resin film soluble in the solvent contained in the discharge liquid is formed on one surface;
An imaging device configured to be capable of imaging the resin film;
Have
The film is arranged at a position different from the substrate stage on the pedestal, with the resin film facing upward,
The ejection device is configured such that the ink head is relatively movable between the substrate stage and the film.   The discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the discharge port is configured to face a plurality of different portions of the resin film. The film is formed in a roll shape,
Above the roll, two auxiliary shafts are disposed horizontally and facing each other in parallel,
An end portion is drawn from the outer periphery of the roll, and the drawn film is stretched over each auxiliary shaft and stretched in a horizontal plane between the two auxiliary shafts so as to face the discharge port. The discharge device according to claim 2.   The resin film comprises diallyl phthalate resin, unsaturated polyester resin, epoxy resin, xylene resin, furan resin, melamine resin, urea resin, phenol resin, polycarbonate, chlorinated polyether, acetic acid A group consisting of cellulose, acrylic resin, acetal resin, nylon, polyisobutylene, polypropylene, polyethylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polystyrene, vinyl acetate resin, vinylidene chloride resin, and vinyl chloride resin The discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the discharge device is formed using one or more kinds of resins selected from the above.   The discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the film is formed of a material insoluble in a solvent contained in the discharge liquid. A landing position forming method for a discharge device that discharges discharge liquid from a discharge port provided on a bottom surface of the ink head while causing the ink head to move horizontally relative to the substrate and land on the substrate.
A film disposing step of positioning the ink head on a film on which a resin film soluble in the discharge liquid is formed;
A landing position forming step of discharging the discharge liquid from the discharge port, landing on the resin film, partially dissolving the resin film in the discharge liquid, and forming a step mark at the landing position;
A landing position forming method of a discharge device having A landing position imaging method of a discharge device that discharges discharge liquid from a discharge port provided on a bottom surface of the ink head while landing on the substrate while relatively moving the ink head horizontally on the substrate,
A film disposing step of positioning the ink head on a film on which a resin film soluble in the discharge liquid is formed;
A landing position forming step of discharging the discharge liquid from the discharge port, landing on the resin film, partially dissolving the resin film in the discharge liquid, and forming a step mark at the landing position;
A landing position imaging step of imaging the landing position of the resin film;
A method for imaging a landing position of a discharge device. A discharge confirmation method for a discharge device that discharges a discharge liquid from a discharge port provided on the bottom surface of the ink head and makes it land on the substrate while relatively moving the ink head horizontally on the substrate,
A film disposing step of positioning the ink head on a film on which a resin film soluble in the discharge liquid is formed;
A landing position forming step of discharging the discharge liquid from the discharge port, landing on the resin film, partially dissolving the resin film in the discharge liquid, and forming a step mark at the landing position;
A landing position imaging step of imaging the landing position of the resin film;
A discharge confirmation step of determining the presence or absence of discharge for each discharge port from the imaging result of the landing position;
A discharge confirmation method of a discharge device having