JP2013114000A - Substrate manufacturing method and substrate manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Even if foreign matter is present on a substrate, it is possible to correct a defect without damaging a support member and preventing deterioration of the substrate surface due to contact with a correction stamp, and it is possible to correct a defective portion 11 by one transfer. To.
A defect portion 11 lacking a formation film (PI alignment film 10) is detected on an array substrate 2, and a correction ink 7c is attached to the lower surface of a correction stamp 7b provided at the lower end of a support member 7a by surface tension. Then, the correction stamp 7b to which the correction ink 7c is attached is moved to a position where the defect portion 11 is present, and the correction ink 7c is lowered without bringing the lower surface of the correction stamp 7b into contact with the surface of the array substrate 2 to bring the correction ink 7c into the defect portion 11. The correction ink 7c applied to the defect portion 11 is lifted vertically without moving the correction stamp 7b horizontally without moving horizontally, and the correction ink 7c applied to the defect portion 11 is dried.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate manufacturing method and a substrate manufacturing apparatus for correcting a defect formed on a substrate surface.

  Conventionally, a liquid crystal panel used in a liquid crystal display device has a liquid crystal sandwiched between an array substrate and a color filter substrate. An alignment film that regulates the alignment state of liquid crystal molecules is formed on the liquid crystal side surfaces of the array substrate and the color filter substrate.

  There is a possibility that local pinholes are generated in this formed film. For example, as in Patent Document 1, an appropriate amount of a correction chemical solution is dropped on a defective portion of a coating film formed on the substrate surface, and A defect correction method is known in which a defective portion of a coating film is corrected by pressing a substrate surface with a stamp that is elastically deformed following unevenness to spread a correction chemical.

  Also, as in Patent Document 2, the presence or absence of a film defect portion of the alignment film is inspected, the position of the film defect portion is detected, and an alignment film repair agent is attached to at least a part of the film defect portion to thereby remove the film defect portion. A method for manufacturing a display panel to be repaired is known. In this method, a stamp method is used in which the alignment film repair agent is transferred from the transfer means to which the alignment film repair agent is adhered to the film defect portion.

JP 2010-104865 A WO2007 / 132586

  However, in the defect correction method of Patent Document 1, since the correction ink is pressed by an elastically deformed stamp so as to spread uniformly, it is necessary to bring the stamp into contact with the substrate, which may deteriorate the quality.

  In the method of Patent Document 2, if the defect is larger than the stamp, it is necessary to correct the defect by pressing the stamp many times. In addition, the support shaft (support member) that supports the stamp is made of glass that is difficult for the alignment film repair agent to pass through. If the stamp is not made of a soft material such as sponge, it will be supported if there is foreign matter on the substrate. The shaft may break.

  The present invention has been made in view of such points, and the object of the present invention is to prevent deterioration of the substrate surface due to contact with the correction stamp without damaging the support member even when there is foreign matter on the substrate. It is to be able to correct the defect while preventing it and to correct the defective part by one transfer.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, correction ink is adhered to the lower surface of the correction stamp by surface tension.

Specifically, in the first invention,
Assuming a substrate manufacturing method that corrects defects in the formation film formed on the substrate surface,
The above manufacturing method is
A step of attaching correction ink to the lower surface of the correction stamp provided at the lower end of the support member by surface tension;
Moving the correction stamp with the correction ink attached to a position where the defective portion is present; and
Lowering the lower surface of the correction stamp without contacting the substrate surface and applying the correction ink on the defect portion; and
And the step of raising the correction stamp vertically without moving it horizontally to leave the defective portion.

  According to the above configuration, since the correction stamp is not brought into contact with the substrate surface, even if the correction stamp is not soft like a sponge, it does not come into contact with foreign matter on the substrate surface and the support member is not damaged. On the other hand, if it is a hard correction stamp, correction ink can be made to adhere by surface tension. By making the size of the correction stamp larger than before, the defective portion can be corrected at once.

In the second invention, in the first invention,
Further comprising the step of detecting the defect and foreign matter,
When the foreign matter is detected, the foreign matter is polished before the correction ink is attached, and the portion after the foreign matter is polished is also added to the defective portion.

  That is, after the foreign matter has been polished, the formed film is also removed at the same time. However, according to the above configuration, the defect portion generated on the polished substrate surface is also corrected, so that the quality is further improved.

In the third invention, in the first or second invention,
The formation film is an alignment film for aligning liquid crystal molecules in a certain direction.

  According to said structure, since an alignment film without a defect is obtained, a high quality image is obtained.

In the fourth invention,
A moving device for moving the head body to an arbitrary position on the substrate surface;
A support member that is provided in the head main body and that adheres correction ink to the lower surface of the correction stamp provided at the lower end of the head main body by surface tension;
The correction stamp on which the correction ink is attached is moved to a position where there is a defective portion on the substrate, and the lower surface of the correction stamp is lowered without contacting the surface of the substrate to bring the correction ink into the position. And a control device for coating on the defective portion.

  According to the above configuration, since the correction stamp is not brought into contact with the substrate surface, even if the correction stamp is not soft like a sponge, it does not come into contact with foreign matter on the substrate surface and the support member is not damaged. On the other hand, if it is a hard correction stamp, correction ink can be made to adhere by surface tension. By making the size of the correction stamp larger than before, the defective portion can be corrected at once.

In the fifth invention, in the fourth invention,
A defect capturing mechanism for capturing defects on the substrate surface and creating information for correction;
A polishing apparatus for polishing foreign matter on the substrate surface,
The defect capturing mechanism is configured to be able to capture the foreign matter,
When the defect capturing mechanism supplements foreign matter, the control device polishes the foreign matter with the polishing device before moving the correction stamp, and then moves the correction stamp to polish the defective portion and foreign matter. It is comprised so that a subsequent site | part may be corrected.

  That is, after the foreign matter has been polished, the formed film is also removed at the same time. However, according to the above configuration, the defect portion generated on the polished substrate surface is also corrected, so that the quality is further improved.

In the sixth invention, in the fourth or fifth invention,
The formation film is an alignment film for aligning liquid crystal molecules in a certain direction.

  According to said structure, since an alignment film without a defect is obtained, a high quality image is obtained.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the correction ink is attached to the lower surface of the correction stamp provided at the lower end of the support member by the surface tension, and the lower surface of the correction stamp is lowered without contacting the substrate surface. By applying correction ink on the defective portion and moving the correction stamp vertically without moving it horizontally to leave the defective portion, even if there is a foreign object on the substrate, the support member is not damaged, In addition, the defect can be corrected while preventing deterioration of the substrate surface due to the contact of the correction stamp, and the defective portion can be corrected by one transfer.

It is sectional drawing which shows the correction process in a board | substrate manufacturing method, (a) is a defect part before correction, (b) is a defect part during application | coating, (c) is a defect part during drying, ( d) is a defect after correction. It is a perspective view which shows a manufacturing apparatus. It is a flowchart of a board | substrate manufacturing method. It is sectional drawing which shows a grinding | polishing process, (a) is a foreign material before grinding | polishing, (b) is a foreign material in process of grinding | polishing, (c) is a foreign material in which the polisher is going up, (d) is grinding | polishing. It is a foreign object after. It is sectional drawing after a correction process. The correction stamp to which the correction ink is attached, the defect portion and the periphery thereof are shown enlarged, (a) is a cross-sectional view, and (b) is a plan view. The defect correction method concerning the modification of a correction stamp is shown, (a) is a sectional side view, (b) is a top view. The defect correction method concerning the other modification of a correction stamp is shown, (a) is a sectional side view, (b) is a top view. The defect correction method concerning a prior art is shown, (a) is a sectional side view, (b) is a top view.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 shows a substrate manufacturing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The substrate manufacturing apparatus 1 is provided with a flat work stage 3 on which an array substrate 2 is placed, for example. For example, in this embodiment, the array substrate 2 is an array substrate after forming a polyimide alignment film (PI alignment film) 10 as a formation film. The work stage 3 is provided with a plurality of through holes (not shown), and the array substrate 2 is fixed on the work stage 3 by sucking air.

  On the work stage 3, there is provided a moving device 5 that supports the head body 4 so as to be movable in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction. Although details are not shown, the moving device 5 moves along the Y direction on a pair of rail portions arranged along the Y direction on the opposite side surfaces of the work stage 3, and moves the head body 4. A gantry section 5a that is supported so as to be movable in the X direction and the Z direction and a plurality of motors (not shown) are provided, and the head body 4 is configured to be movable to an arbitrary position on the work stage 3.

  The head body 4 includes a polishing unit 6, a PI (polyimide) application unit 7, and a height measurement unit 8.

  Although not shown in detail, the polishing unit 6 includes a polishing cassette. The polishing cassette has the same shape as a normal audio tape, and includes a supply reel on which the polishing tape 6a is wound, and a take-up reel that winds up the polishing tape 6a. Is configured to be driven by a motor (not shown) provided in the head body 4. As shown in FIG. 4, a polishing head 6b that presses the polishing tape 6a against the array substrate 2 is provided between the reels. The polishing tape 6a is prepared by applying polishing powder to a weakly sticky surface layer, and most of the polished material generated by polishing is taken into the polishing cassette while adhering to the polishing tape 6a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a control device 14 at an arbitrary position, and the control device 14 is connected to a main server 15 (not shown). The main server 15 stores defect information for defect correction such as the size and position of defects on the surface of the array substrate 2 captured by the defect capturing mechanism 16 in the previous process. The configuration of the defect capturing mechanism 16 is not particularly limited, but it is only necessary that the surface of the array substrate 2 can be scanned by known image processing.

  The height measuring unit 8 measures the height of the foreign matter 12 on the surface of the array substrate 2 and includes a known digital micromirror device. This digital micromirror device is a kind of display element in which a number of micro mirror surfaces (micromirrors) (not shown) are arranged in a plane. The so-called confocal system can grasp the height distribution of the foreign matter 12 at each coordinate. It is configured. The control device 14 is configured to move the head body 4 to the foreign material 12 that needs to be corrected based on the defect information stored in the main server 15 and measure the height of the foreign material 12 with the height measuring unit 8. Has been.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the PI application unit 7 includes a support member 7a made of a glass shaft to which the correction ink 7c hardly adheres. The base end side of the support member 7a is connected to the head body 4, and the correction stamp 7b is connected to the tip. In the present embodiment, the correction stamp 7b is formed, for example, by UV curing a tetraacreate resin, and has a rectangular plate shape with rounded corners as shown in FIG. The correction ink 7c is made of, for example, a solution in which polyimide as an alignment film material is dissolved in a solvent. The thickness of the support member 7a is larger than the thickness of the conventional support member 7a shown in FIG. 7, and the size of the correction stamp 7b is also larger than the conventional one.

-Substrate manufacturing method-
Next, a method for manufacturing a substrate on the surface of the array substrate 2 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, first, the array substrate 2 flowing from the array manufacturing process is sent to the PI process. First, in the substrate cleaning process before PI application in step S01, the array substrate 2 is cleaned.

  Next, the PI alignment film 10 is applied in the PI alignment film application step of Step S02. Although not described in detail, for example, a solution containing a polyimide resin in a solvent is applied to the array substrate 2 by an inkjet method.

  Next, in step S03, the array substrate 2 is temporarily dried at a high temperature, and the solvent component is evaporated to form the PI alignment film 10 of about several tens to 100 nm.

  Next, in the defect capturing step in step S04, the defect capturing mechanism 16 captures defects on the array substrate 2 after the PI alignment film 10 is formed. As a result, the positions and sizes of the defective portion 11 and the foreign material 12 that need to be corrected on the array substrate 2 are supplemented and stored in the main server 15.

  Next, in step S05, it is determined whether correction of the PI alignment film 10 is necessary based on defect information (position, size, etc. of the defect portion 11 and the foreign material 12). If there is no defect 11 or foreign matter 12 or the defect does not need to be corrected or polished, the process proceeds to step S06, the PI alignment film 10 is baked, and the process proceeds to the substrate bonding process in step S07. (Not shown).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the PI alignment film 10 needs to be corrected, it is put into the correction process in step S08. In the correction process, the control device 14 controls the substrate manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the sequence of the automatic mode. First, in step S09, it is determined whether there is a foreign material 12 having a size that requires foreign material polishing. Specifically, the board manufacturing apparatus 1 acquires defect information from the main server 15 and determines the size of the foreign matter.

  In the case where the foreign matter 12 needs to be polished, correction is performed in the foreign matter polishing step of step S10. First, centering is performed on the foreign object 12 by the moving device 5, and the height of the center of the foreign object 12 is measured by the height measuring unit 8. Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the polishing tape 6a is fed out from the supply reel, and the polishing tape 6a between the supply reel and the take-up reel is pressed by the polishing head 6b while being taken up by the take-up reel. Then, the foreign material 12 on the surface of the array substrate 2 is polished and corrected. The pushing amount is based on the average surface of the array substrate 2, and the polishing tape 6a is caused to travel from the reference to a height of about 1 to 2 μm. The polished part is stored as a defective part 11 to be corrected. Although not shown for simplification, it is determined whether there is an uncorrected foreign object 12 based on the defect information. If there is an uncorrected foreign object 12, the process returns to step S09 to repeat the foreign object determination. If there is no correction foreign matter 12, the process proceeds to step S11.

  If there is no foreign object 12 that needs to be corrected in step S09, the process proceeds to step S11 without passing through step S10.

  In step S11, first, the correction device 7b is inserted into the container filled with the correction ink 7c (not shown) by the moving device 5, and the correction ink 7c is attached to the lower surface of the correction stamp 7b by surface tension. As shown in FIG. 6, the correction ink 7c swells larger than the outer shape of the correction stamp 7b. Next, the correction stamp 7 b is moved directly above the defective portion 11 by the moving device 5. As shown in FIG. 1A, the defective portion 11 includes not only a portion that is originally deficient due to the repelling of the correction ink 7c, but also a foreign matter 12 portion after polishing.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), the correction stamp 7b is lowered and is not brought into contact with the surface of the array substrate 2 at all, but only the correction ink 7c rounded due to the surface tension is brought into contact therewith. Then, the correction ink 7c adheres to the defective portion 11 side. Thereafter, the correction stamp 7b is raised.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1C, the correction ink 7c attached to the defect portion 11 and its periphery is heated and dried (volatilized).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1 (d), the solvent is volatilized and the solid content of PI remains. Thereby, the defective part 11 is covered with PI, and correction is completed. The defective part 11 after the polishing correction is similarly covered with PI.

  Although not shown for simplification, it is determined whether there is an uncorrected defect portion 11 based on the defect information. If there is an uncorrected defect portion 11, the process returns to step S11 and the PI correction is repeated. If there is no uncorrected defective part 11, it is determined that all corrections have been made, and the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, PI is completely baked. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the PI alignment film 10 becomes two layers of a base layer 10a on the surface of the array substrate 2 and a photosensitive PI layer 10b formed thereon. The base layer 10a serves to bond the photosensitive PI layer 10b. The correction ink 7c is cured and assimilated with the photosensitive PI layer 10b. Then, it flows to the board | substrate bonding process of step S07, and is bonded with a color filter board | substrate (not shown).

  As described above, since the correction is performed on the single defective portion 11 only by the vertical movement of the correction stamp 7b only once, the process time is remarkably reduced as compared with the conventional case.

  That is, in the correction stamp 107b of the conventional PI coating unit 107 as shown in FIG. 9, the size of the correction stamp 107b is small and the amount of the correction ink 107c attached thereto is small. As shown, it is necessary to move the correction stamp 107b within the defect portion 11 many times. In such a case, if there is a foreign substance 12 in the defective part 11, the correction stamp 107b may be caught by the foreign substance 12 and the glass support member 107a may be broken.

  However, in the present embodiment, the size of the correction stamp 7b is large, and it is not necessary to horizontally move the correction stamp 7b many times. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, the correction stamp 7b itself is separated from the surface of the array substrate 2. Since the distance is wide, the support member 7a is not broken without contacting the foreign material 12. Moreover, since the support member 7a is thicker than before, it is resistant to impact. Furthermore, since the correction stamp 7b is not brought into contact with the surface of the array substrate 2, no trouble is caused on the surface of the array substrate 2.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to correct a defect without damaging the support member 7a and preventing deterioration of the substrate surface due to contact with the correction stamp 7b even when there is a foreign substance 12 on the substrate, and at the same time transfer. Thus, the defective portion 11 can be corrected.

-Modification-
The shape of the correction stamp 7b may be a disc shape as shown in FIG. As a result, the correction ink 7c is also attached in a disk shape, and the adhesion is better than in the case of the rectangular shape.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, the shape of the correction stamp 7b may be a rectangular shape in plan view. As a result, the correction ink 7c also adheres long and thin, and the long and thin defect portion 11 can be corrected. In this case, you may make it rotate the correction stamp 7b according to the shape of the defect part 11. FIG.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention may be configured as follows with respect to the above embodiment.

  That is, in the above embodiment, the array substrate 2 after the PI alignment film 10 is formed in the liquid crystal display device is to be corrected. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a color filter substrate after the PI alignment film 10 is formed may be used.

  In addition, the above embodiment is an essentially preferable illustration, Comprising: It does not intend restrict | limiting the range of this invention, its application thing, or a use.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for a substrate manufacturing method and a substrate manufacturing apparatus for correcting a defect formed on a substrate surface.

1 Substrate manufacturing equipment 2 Array substrate (substrate)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Work stage 4 Head main body 5 Moving apparatus 5a Gantry part 6 Polishing unit 6a Polishing tape 6b Polishing head 7 PI coating unit 7a Support member 7b Correction stamp 7c Correction ink 8 Measurement unit 10 PI orientation film (formation film)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10a Base layer 10b Photosensitive PI layer 11 Defect part 12 Foreign material 14 Control apparatus 15 Main server 16 Defect capture mechanism

Claims (6)

In a substrate manufacturing method for correcting a defective portion of a formation film formed on a substrate surface,
A step of attaching correction ink to the lower surface of the correction stamp provided at the lower end of the support member by surface tension;
Moving the correction stamp with the correction ink attached to a position where the defective portion is present; and
Lowering the lower surface of the correction stamp without contacting the substrate surface and applying the correction ink on the defect portion; and
And a step of raising the correction stamp vertically without moving it horizontally and moving away from the defective portion. In the board | substrate manufacturing method of Claim 1,
Further comprising the step of detecting the defect and foreign matter,
A method for manufacturing a substrate, comprising: polishing the foreign matter before applying the correction ink when the foreign matter is detected, and adding the portion after the foreign matter polishing to the defective portion. In the board | substrate manufacturing method of Claim 1 or 2,
The substrate forming method, wherein the formation film is an alignment film for aligning liquid crystal molecules in a certain direction. A moving device for moving the head body to an arbitrary position on the substrate surface;
A support member that is provided in the head main body and that adheres correction ink to the lower surface of the correction stamp provided at the lower end of the head main body by surface tension;
The correction stamp on which the correction ink is attached is moved to a position where there is a defective portion on the substrate, and the lower surface of the correction stamp is lowered without contacting the surface of the substrate to bring the correction ink into the position. A substrate manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a control device that applies to the defective portion. In the board | substrate manufacturing apparatus of Claim 4,
A defect capturing mechanism for capturing defects on the substrate surface and creating information for correction;
A polishing apparatus for polishing foreign matter on the substrate surface,
The defect capturing mechanism is configured to be able to capture the foreign matter,
When the defect capturing mechanism supplements foreign matter, the control device polishes the foreign matter with the polishing device before moving the correction stamp, and then moves the correction stamp to polish the defective portion and foreign matter. A substrate manufacturing apparatus configured to correct a subsequent portion. In the board | substrate manufacturing apparatus of Claim 4 or 5,
The substrate forming apparatus, wherein the formation film is an alignment film for aligning liquid crystal molecules in a certain direction.

Images