JPH0736065B2 - Large display panel substrate manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a manufacturing method suitable for mass production of a large flat panel display panel substrate of active matrix type.

Conventional technology In recent years, liquid crystal, electroluminescence (abbreviated as EL below), electrochromic display (abbreviated as ECD),
Development of large-area, high-precision display panels of non-emission type or emission type such as electrophoretic display and plasma display (hereinafter abbreviated as PDP) is active.

Particularly in a large-capacity display panel that displays a large number of characters and images, the upper and lower electrodes sandwiching the display medium are, as shown in FIG.
-Y matrix configuration, for example 1000 x 10
To perform a monochrome display of 00 pixels, both X side and Y side
It requires 1000 fine strip-shaped electrode films. Usually, one electrode film must be a transparent conductive film in order to observe the display.

On the other hand, when the display panel as shown in FIG. 10 is constructed,
Whether the display system is liquid crystal, EL, ECD, or PDP, it is called a simple matrix panel configuration.

As is well known, in a simple matrix display, as the number of electrodes increases, the crosstalk phenomenon causes a decrease in contrast and a voltage increase mainly in a non-emissive display, and in a light emitting display, a decrease in brightness and Accompanied by an increase in voltage. In order to avoid the deterioration of these display characteristics, the development of a display panel called an active matrix system has been actively made in recent years. In the active matrix type display panel, different from the panel mechanism of FIG. 10, one or a plurality of switching elements such as a non-linear resistance element and a thin film transistor are introduced into each pixel electrode. As a result, crosstalk can be prevented, a voltage can be reduced and brightness can be increased by extending the voltage application time, and a good-looking display can be realized even if the number of pixels increases. However, as a conventional method for manufacturing an active matrix type display substrate, for example, for liquid crystals, “Latest Liquid Crystal Technology”, Shoichi Matsumoto et al., Industrial Research Society, 1983, first edition, pages 113 to 1
As shown on page 19, it is a manufacturing method that uses film formation and photo-etching technology, and it is necessary to put the substrate in and out of the vacuum system many times when forming the electrode film and semiconductor film. In patterning these coatings provided on the front surface into the required shape, it is necessary to perform a so-called photo-etching step of applying a photosensitive resist, exposing it with a mask, and then etching, which is a process cost. The yield was a big issue. In addition, if the cost and yield are ignored, the equipment for semiconductors can be diverted under the present circumstances and somehow A4 size can be applied to the equipment nowadays, but if you try to make a meter size display panel with one sheet, In addition to uniform deposition equipment, these fine photo etching equipment (resist coater, large photomask making machine, uniform exposure machine, etc.)
Is completely undeveloped.

On the other hand, a method of constructing an active matrix substrate without using a photoetching technique also has a large integration of a display screen;
Minutes of Information Display Society, 17-1
Volume, Pages 39-55, 1976 ("Large Scale Int
egration for Display Screens '' Proc. of the SID, Vo
l.17 / 1.1976.P39-55, or large-scale masking technology for thin film transistor arrays; Photographic Engineering Society of Japan; 100 volumes, 140-150 pages; 1977 ("Large A
rea Masking Technigues for Thin Film Transistor Ar
rays ”SPIE Vol.100. (1977) P140-150). Here, the substrate is placed in a vapor deposition machine and the vapor deposition masks are replaced one after another according to the deposit, or the vapor deposition mask having a predetermined hole shape is moved to a predetermined position on the stationary substrate surface by computer control, and the electrode , An insulating layer or a semiconductor layer is vapor-deposited each time, and an active matrix substrate is manufactured without breaking the vacuum system even once. This method is a wonderful method in that it does not require a photo-etching process and makes an active matrix substrate with one pump down. It is necessary to bring them into contact with each other, and a method such as closely contacting the substrate with a magnet provided on the back side of the substrate using a magnetic mask is used.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the case of a large-sized substrate of meter size, (1) it is difficult to make the vapor deposition mask contact the substrate uniformly in a two-dimensional manner (2) a high-precision, defect-free, two-dimensional spread Difficulty in creating large vapor deposition masks (3) Difficulty in forming a film with a uniform film thickness on a large area having a two-dimensional spread (4) Replacing vapor deposition masks many times in a vacuum system, 1
The position of the vapor deposition mask is set many times and the film is formed little by little to form a patterned film of a predetermined shape, which is complicated in control, delays the manufacturing speed, and is a facility aspect. Therefore, from the viewpoint of manufacturing man-hours, it could not be a method for manufacturing a large-sized active matrix substrate that is very suitable for mass production.

The problems described above are common in processes that require the use of a mask such as an electrode film deposition process, an insulating film deposition process, a functional device deposition process, or a display part deposition process, and are large in meter size and have high-quality characters, graphs, etc. At present, the manufacturing method of the active matrix display substrate for displaying the information or the image is still unexplored.

In view of the above problems, the present invention forms an active matrix on a large-sized substrate in a consistent continuous production line,
If necessary, even the formation of the filter layer for colorization and the display medium layer is processed in the above integrated production line, which is a high-value-added and low-cost substrate for large-sized display panels. It relates to the manufacturing method.

Means for Solving the Problems A method for manufacturing a large-sized display panel substrate of the present invention is, in a vacuum system having a predetermined degree of vacuum from a substrate storage for storing a substrate, in accordance with a transfer of a substrate transfer system for transferring the substrate, At least one selected from an electrode film deposition step, an insulating film deposition step, and a non-linear resistance element, a non-linear capacitance element, and a thin film transistor.
A method of manufacturing a panel, which sequentially performs a step including a functional element depositing step of depositing individual functional elements, wherein the functional element depositing step is performed after the electrode film depositing step or the insulating film depositing step, At least one deposition step of the film deposition step, the insulating film deposition step, and the functional element deposition step is a vapor phase deposition method for depositing a gas of a deposition component, and the vapor phase deposition method includes Active by patterning the deposition component by depositing the deposition component on the substrate from a generation source through a shielding means including a slit that extends in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction for transporting the substrate. A large-sized matrix type display panel substrate is manufactured.

With the above-described structure, the present invention can form a coating film having a uniform film thickness over the entire surface of a large-sized substrate by a coating film deposition section provided in a direction orthogonal to the substrate transport direction.
For a large-scale substrate having a dimensional spread, the film is not formed over the entire surface at the same time, but the film is sequentially formed in the transport direction, and the photoetching step is substantially unnecessary. With the extension of technology, it is possible to form color filters, molecular orientation treatment films for liquid crystals, spacers, display medium films, passivation films, etc. It is possible to manufacture the substrate at low cost and with high efficiency.

Example A method for manufacturing a large-sized display panel substrate according to an example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, in which a transparent substrate 3 carried from a transparent substrate storage 2 in a vacuum system 1 is transferred by a highly accurate substrate transfer system 4 which does not rattle or shake, for example, as shown in FIG. Transport in the direction of the arrow. The first electrode film deposition unit 5 is provided in a slit shape in a direction orthogonal to the substrate transport direction to form a vacuum system 1.
It is fixed inside. The first electrode film deposition unit 5 is an electrode film deposition source such as a long resistance heating type or an electron beam heating type that extends in a direction orthogonal to the substrate transport direction, or a long target and a sputtering electrode. And a thin film forming source such as a sputtering source. In the process of transporting the substrate 3 in the direction of the arrow, the electrode film deposition unit 5 deposits an electrode film on the lower surface of the substrate 3 in the figure. In FIG. 1 (a), in order to perform electrode film deposition and electrode patterning at the same time, a vapor deposition mask plate as shown in FIG. Therefore, when the substrate 3 has finished passing through the electrode film deposition portion 5, the substrate 3 is electrically separated and patterned as shown in FIG. 2 (a). The parallel strip-shaped bus-par electrodes, which are films, are formed in parallel with the transport direction of the substrate 3.

In the first electrode film forming portion, in order to prevent the attenuation of the electric signal applied to the display panel X or Y, the resistance metal film Al, C is formed.
r, Ta, Ag, Au, Pt, Ni, Ni-Cr, etc. are used.

However, the electrode on which the display is viewed must be at least transparent. A typical transparent electrode is a film of tin oxide or indium oxide with a thickness of around 1000Å, and the second electrode film deposition part 6 sputters it. , Vapor deposition or the like. One method for providing transparent pixel electrodes, which are electrode films that are patterned into pixels and are individually separated, has a shutter mechanism in the second electrode film forming portion 6 and drives the substrate intermittently. It is to let. That is, the substrate is driven intermittently by a distance corresponding to the pixel pitch, and during movement of the substrate, the electrode film deposition unit closes the shutter under a mask similar to FIG. Prevents reaching the substrate. The opening and closing of the shutter is performed in synchronization with the transfer of the substrate. The results are shown in Fig. 2 (b). Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, an insulating film is provided in a pattern between the bus bar electrodes and the pixel electrodes by the insulating layer depositing portion 7 similarly to the formation of the transparent pixel electrodes. Al ₂ O as the insulating film
Metal oxides and nitrides such as ₃ , Ta ₂ O ₅ , SiO ₂ , Si ₃ N ₄ , Y ₂ O ₃ and BaTa ₂ O ₆ are used.

As described above, the MIM (Metal-Insulator-Metal) type non-linear resistance element 11 is introduced between the bus bar electrode 9 which is an electrode film and the pixel electrode 10. Instead of depositing an insulating film, CdS, CdSe, Si, Ge, Se, Te, ZnS, ZnO, TiO ₂ , SiC, Mo
A semiconductor film such as S ₂ or PbS is deposited, and the value of the work capacity of the bus bar electrode or the transparent conductive film is larger than the value of the work capacity of the semiconductor depending on whether the semiconductor is n-type or p-type. If it is small or small, a rectifying interface called a Schottky barrier is formed at the interface between the electrode and the semiconductor, so that it can be a non-linear resistance element. Normally, in order to drive liquid crystal or the like, in order to avoid deterioration of the liquid crystal, it is desirable that the pixel be driven by an AC voltage. For that purpose, the non-linear resistance element has a symmetrical voltage − with respect to the voltage in the positive and negative directions. It is desirable to show current characteristics. To form such a non-linear resistance element, the directions of rectification are opposite (back-to-back diode).
As described above, it is preferable to insert two diodes in series or to insert two diodes in parallel (ring diodes) so that the directions are also reversed. On the other hand, when it is necessary to increase the threshold voltage of the nonlinear resistance element according to the characteristics of the display medium, it is easy to insert a plurality of nonlinear elements in series by the same method. Examples of electrically equivalent circuits between the bus bar electrodes and the pixel electrodes are shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 4 (a).
The respective voltage-current characteristics shown in FIG. 3 are shown in FIGS. 3 (b) and 4 (b).

In any case, the structure shown in FIG. 2C is called a lateral non-linear resistance element. It is easy to provide a non-linear resistance element such as a vertical MIM, a Schottky barrier diode, a pn junction type diode, a varistor, etc. that utilizes the conductivity in the film thickness direction. Show. In this example,
The bus bar electrode 9, the transparent pixel electrode 10, the insulating layer 11 and the third electrode layer 12 are successively deposited by the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 to form an active matrix as shown in FIG. In addition, to provide all films by vapor deposition,
Since high vacuum conditions are sufficient for all, it is sufficient to provide each of the above film deposition parts one after the other, but in the case where vapor deposition and sputtering, plasma anodic oxidation, plasma CVD, etc. that require gas for film formation are mixed. For this reason, it is necessary to provide a partition wall or provide a pressure gradient in the vacuum system so that the substrate can be transferred smoothly. The gas in the vacuum system is changed each time each film is applied, and after the specified film has been deposited in the specified shape over the entire surface of the substrate, the gas is exhausted and then another gas is introduced. Film deposition may be performed. However, it goes without saying that in terms of productivity, it is preferable to unify not only vapor deposition or sputtering.

As an example of the vertical non-linear resistance element, for example, after forming tantalum (Ta or Al) as a bus bar electrode by the first electrode film deposition portion by vapor deposition or sputtering, oxygen gas is introduced into the vacuum system, When plasma discharge is performed using the bus bar electrode as an anode, the surface of tantalum, which is the bus bar electrode, is deoxidized and the surface changes to Ta ₂ O ₅ . About 1000
While growing Å Ta ₂ O ₅ or Al ₂ O ₃ and then evacuating the chamber until it becomes vacuum again, the transparent electrode that becomes a pixel is intermittently driven on the substrate 1 or continuously driven at a low speed. The electrode film deposition portion (tin oxide or indium oxide) is formed in a pattern. Next, the third electrode film deposition part (Ta, Cr, Au, Ni
-Electrode material such as Cr), as shown in Fig. 5, Ta ₂ O ₅ and Al
_A pattern is formed so as to cover a part of ₂ O _{3 and} a part of the pixel electrode. As described above, the MIM type non-linear resistance element can be introduced between the bus bar and each transparent pixel electrode.
Further, instead of Ta ₂ O ₅ or Al ₂ O ₃ , for example, Bi ₂ O ₃ ,, Zn0, Bi ₂ O ₃
A vertical thin film varistor element can be formed by forming a three-layer film such as.

When the display panel was assembled, the third pattern electrode film was deposited in order to reduce the electric capacity of the non-linear resistance element as compared with the pixel capacity. However, when the pixel capacity can be sufficiently increased, The third electrode deposition may be omitted, and the pixel electrode itself may be provided so as to cover Ta ₂ O ₅ or the varistor film on the bus bar immediately. When performing anodization, it is desirable to hold the Ta or Al bus bar electrode at an equipotential anode,
Instead of forming a strip over the entire surface of the substrate, an electrode is provided in the direction orthogonal to the bus bar at at least one end that is orthogonal to the traveling direction, and this portion is brought into contact with the anode and anodized by plasma discharge. Is good. If the substrate is taken out from the vacuum system and the rear end portion is cut and removed, the bus bar electrodes are electrically separated.

Heretofore, an example has been described in which the horizontal and vertical non-linear resistance elements are provided in each pixel. The non-linear resistance element basically has two terminals, and can be a non-linear capacitance element in the case of a Schottky barrier or a pn junction. Even if a non-linear capacitance element is connected in series with the pixel, if the drive signal is devised, the non-linear capacitance element can be used to determine the ratio of the peak value or the effective value of the voltage applied to the ON pixel and the OFF pixel of the matrix panel. This can be improved compared to the case of a simple matrix panel which does not exist, and can contribute to an increase in display contrast. Although the pixel electrode has been described as a transparent body, in the case of a display panel using a twisted nematic liquid crystal (hereinafter abbreviated as TN liquid crystal), the pixel electrodes on the upper and lower substrates both need to be transparent. Since the guest-host liquid crystal (GH liquid crystal) has only one transparent electrode on one side in EL, ECD, electrophoretic display, etc., the bus bar electrode and the pixel electrode may be made of the same material for such a display panel. If an active matrix substrate as shown in FIG. 5 and a substrate having ordinary parallel strip electrodes as shown in FIG. 10 are sandwiched by a display medium so that the electrodes are orthogonal to each other, an active matrix is formed. It becomes a display panel.

Of course, two active matrix substrates as shown in FIG. 5 may be used, the electrodes may be orthogonal to each other, the pixels may be arranged to overlap each other, and the display medium may be sandwiched between the electrodes.

In this case, non-linear elements are introduced in series on both sides of the display medium corresponding to one pixel.

Next, an example of a method for manufacturing an active matrix substrate provided with a 3-terminal switch element such as a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) will be described with reference to FIG.

Electrode materials such as Cr, Al, and Ni-Cr are provided in the first electrode film deposition portion as shown in FIG. The striped bus bar electrode 9 serves as a gate electrode or a scanning electrode.

Next, the insulating film depositing portion and the semiconductor film depositing portion are successively passed, and the crossover insulating film / gate insulating film 13 and the semiconductor film 14 are deposited on the bus bar in a pattern corresponding to the pixel pitch as shown in FIG. To do. Hereinafter, the deposition order is not particularly limited,
By depositing the signal electrode 15, the pixel electrode 16, and the drain electrode 17 as shown in FIG. 6, an inverse stagger type TFT 20 is formed in each pixel. When the semiconductor layer is exposed, the safety is poor. Therefore, the second insulating layer deposition portion has almost the same shape as that of the first insulating layer or leaves only the pixel electrode. The TFT is stabilized by providing a passivation film.

In an active matrix panel, in most cases, when a capacitive element is added in parallel with a pixel, it contributes to the improvement of characteristics both in the case of the above-mentioned two-terminal element and in the case of the above-mentioned three-terminal element. This is because if the pixel equivalent capacitance is made larger than the capacitance of the non-linear element or the switching element itself, unnecessary voltage application to the pixel due to the pulse voltage at the time of non-selection can be reduced, and the voltage applied to the pixel at the time of selection can be reduced. This is because the voltage holding time can be extended by the parallel capacitance, which can contribute to low-voltage driving and high-speed response. Introduced parallel capacity 21
An example of the TFT active matrix substrate is shown in FIG. 7, which differs from that in FIG. 6 in that the parallel capacitance electrode 18 is formed on the same surface as the bus bar electrode 9 at the same time, and the substrate end portion is different. The point is to provide a coupling electrode 19 that couples these electrodes 18 to each other. When a display panel is constructed by connecting a display electrode such as a liquid crystal, EL, ECD, or electrophoretic dispersion system between the electrodes of the other substrate provided with uniform electrodes and the electrode 19 on the substrate 3 side, and connecting the two substrates. The electrical equivalent circuit of is shown in FIG.

The insulating layer used in the TFT is also made of metal oxide, nitride, silicon oxide, nitride such as Al ₂ O ₃ , Ta ₂ O ₅ , SiO ₂ , Si ₃ N _{4 and the} like. It can be formed by oxidation or plasma CVD. On the other hand, the semiconductor layer is Te, S
Similarly, i, CdS, CdSe, etc. can be formed by thin film forming methods such as vapor deposition, sputtering and plasma CVD. The same material as the insulating film is used for the passivation film. In any film formation, when it is necessary to heat the substrate in terms of adhesion strength and electric characteristics of the film, a substrate heating heater may be provided in the middle of the transfer system.

The basic continuous manufacturing method of the active matrix substrate has been described above, but in the case of a display panel that can be formed using a vacuum system, such as ECD or EL, the formation of such a display medium layer is performed in a series of steps. It is possible to incorporate. For example, an insulating film having a sufficient withstand voltage is provided as an interlayer insulating layer on the active matrix substrate of FIG. 6 while leaving the pixel electrode portion, and then an EL layer such as ZnSiMn is provided so as to cover the pixel, and then a metal or metal layer is formed. An active matrix EL panel can be completed by providing an electrode layer made of transparent electrodes so as to cover all pixel regions so as not to short-circuit with signal bus bars, scanning bus bars, and the like. This is an example of a DC emission type EL panel, but it is also easy to form a thin film AC type EL layer in which an EL layer made of ZnSiMn or the like is sandwiched by an insulating layer. In the case of a normal EL layer, 1 to increase the brightness
It is desirable to introduce at least two TFTs into the pixel, but it is possible to manufacture the pixel only by slightly complicating the electrode shape, and basically by slightly modifying the above-mentioned steps. ECD
In the case of a layer, an ECD layer such as WO ₃ is provided in place of the solid EL layer, the substrate is taken out from the vacuum system, and then an electrolytic solution or the like is sandwiched between the other uniform electrode substrate. If you put it in, it will be an active matrix type ECD panel.

Next, in the present invention, the method of providing the electrodes, the insulating layer, the semiconductor layer, etc. by the masking method and, in some cases, by using the intermittent transfer of the substrate and the synchronous interlocking of the shutter mechanism of the depositing part together has been mainly described. As another effective method for realizing the above, as shown in FIG. 9 (illustration of a vacuum system etc. is omitted)
The cutting section 21 is provided after the film deposition section 5.

In this case, the film is once uniformly formed on the substrate 3, but a high-energy beam such as an ion beam, a laser beam, an electron beam, or the like is applied to a predetermined portion of the film by multi-beam or scanning. Or with a diamond cutter,
The patterning of the film is performed by mechanically removing a predetermined portion of the film adhered on the substrate 3.

The advantage of patterning the film by irradiation with high energy rays is that it is possible to achieve fine separation of several μm between electrodes, which is difficult with the masking method.

According to the method of the present invention, it is possible to further increase the added value of the display panel substrate. That is, if the display panel is intended for full-color display, for example, a transparent conductive film is usually provided with filters of colors such as red, green, and blue in a mosaic pattern, and the display medium has a brightness change from white to black. Composed. A color filter is generally provided with a dyeing layer of gelatin, polyvinyl alcohol, etc. on a transparent electrode, then covering the area other than the area to be dyed and immersing it in a dyeing solution of a specified color to make the specified area of the dyed layer a specific color. Dyeing type for dyeing, printing method to provide a color filter layer by printing, electrodeposition method by electrodeposition in dye solution, vapor deposition method for depositing coloring materials such as pigments, dyes and metal films, transparent inorganic materials with different refractive index There is known an interference filter film method or the like in which several tens of layers are alternately stacked in a predetermined thickness.

In the present application, since the substrate is basically introduced into the vacuum system, it is extremely easy to provide the color filter layer by the vapor deposition method or the interference filter film method. That is, by providing, for example, three stages of color material deposition portions having masks of a predetermined shape corresponding to each color material, the red, green, and blue filter layers can be formed in a mosaic shape, and the mask of each color material deposition portion is mechanical. The opening / closing mechanism has a different opening / closing mechanism, and if the opening of the mask is opened / closed in synchronism with the transfer of the substrate, a filter layer of different colors such as red, green, and blue is formed on the same electrode. It is also possible.

Similarly, in the interference filter film method, it is possible to separately paint the mosaic interference film color filters by alternately providing a plurality of filter film deposition portions having different vapor deposition materials. The color filter is not provided on the transparent electrode, but it is often desirable to have the transparent electrode layer on the color filter layer in order to eliminate voltage loss, and the deposition of the transparent electrode is performed after forming the mosaic filter layer. It can be easily realized.

On the other hand, when the substrate is for a liquid crystal display panel, it is usually necessary to form an alignment film for aligning liquid crystal molecules on the uppermost layer of the substrate. The alignment film is made of an organic material such as polyimide or polyvinyl alcohol, or an inorganic material such as SiO, and these are usually provided on the entire effective display surface. For this purpose, an alignment film deposition section may be provided at the final stage of film deposition.

For example, in the well-known two-time oblique vapor deposition alignment film forming method, if the vapor deposition angle with respect to the substrate surface and the slit-shaped alignment film deposition portion are each twice with a predetermined angle with respect to the substrate transport direction, , Nematic liquid crystals can be arranged parallel to the substrate with a uniform small tilt angle.

In the present invention, the deposited film is not attached by itself. Especially when trying to construct a large-sized display panel using a large-sized substrate, the accuracy of the gap between the facing electrodes is extremely important. Especially for liquid crystal display panels that have a liquid crystal sandwiched between electrodes, the gap between the electrodes is usually several microns or less.
It is a few tens of microns, and unless it is held in a uniform gap over a large area, uneven density, interference color, uneven response speed, etc. occur, making it unusable as a display panel.

In the present invention, in order to keep the gap between the electrodes uniform, it is extremely easy to uniformly provide the thin wire spacers between the electrodes. That is, similar to the formation of patterned electrodes,
If a slit-shaped spacer material deposition part is provided orthogonally to the substrate transport system, and a mask with a shape that covers only the patterned electrode part is provided in the spacer material deposition part, it will be parallel to the electrodes and on the same surface. Spacers having a predetermined thickness can be uniformly provided in the upper inter-electrode space portion, and the added value of the display panel is further increased.

For example, a liquid crystal display panel has a structure in which a pair of electrode substrates are separated by a distance corresponding to the spacers and is adhered in the periphery to form a substantially sealed structure, and then liquid crystal is injected from an injection port provided in a part of the panel and then poured. Although it can be completed by sealing the inlet, it is difficult to inject the liquid crystal when the spacers cross the opposite sides of the panel. Therefore, it is necessary to control the deposition of the spacers so that they are not provided over the entire area of the substrate in accordance with the timing of transporting the panel.

In this way, if insulating spacers of uniform height, for example, made of metal oxide, are provided evenly over substantially the entire display area, even if the panel becomes metric, the other The gap between the electrodes and the electrodes is uniformly defined by the thickness of the spacer, and the uniform gap can be maintained over the entire display area. However, after sandwiching the display medium between the electrodes, the inside of the panel needs to be kept at a reduced pressure from the outside. In this embodiment, it is considered that the substrates are separated into a plurality of sheets and handled, but it goes without saying that when a transparent plastic film or the like is used for the substrates, they may be handled in a continuous roll form.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, the present invention is a method for manufacturing a large-sized active matrix type display panel substrate at low cost and with good mass productivity. Unlike the conventional method, the large-sized substrate is transported in a predetermined direction and transported. An electrode film, an insulating film, a semiconductor film, a passivation film, a color filter film, an alignment film, a spacer film, a display medium layer, etc. were deposited in an optimal order in a uniform or patterned state, and then stored in a hangar. At times, it is characterized by performing a series of processes consistently until it is completed as an active matrix substrate for a display panel. In the same vacuum system, the vacuum is frequently broken or the mask is replaced. Therefore, it is possible to form a display panel substrate with high added value at a low cost while having extremely high mass productivity. In particular, as active matrix functional elements, MIM, pn junction, Schottky barrier layer, thin film varistor, thin film transistor, MIS diode (metal-insulating layer-semiconductor), etc. can all be formed using thin film technology, and vacuum system is adopted. Therefore, many thin film manufacturing methods such as vapor deposition, sputtering, plasma CVD, plasma polymerization, plasma anodic oxidation ion plating, and photoexcited CVD can be used, and high-performance active elements can be formed. Even if the substrate becomes large, film formation is mainly performed in a thin strip area, which facilitates uniform control of film thickness, close contact of the mask with the substrate, and uniform cutting of the film. Therefore, the conventional photo-etching process becomes unnecessary. In the future production of large-scale, high-performance flat panel display panels such as metric size commercial and entertainment terminals, TVs, etc., the utility value is extremely high, and high-quality, large-scale, flat panel type for consumer and industrial use. This can greatly contribute to the realization of a display and cost reduction.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 (a) is a diagram showing a method for manufacturing a large-sized display panel substrate in one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 (b) is a front view of a mask plate used in the film deposition part of FIG. 1 (a). FIG. 2 (a) is a front view of a part of the substrate in the process of manufacturing an active matrix substrate using the apparatus of FIG. 1 (a).
FIG. 2B is a front view of the main part of the substrate which is being manufactured, like FIG. 1A. FIG. 2C is a front view of the main part of the active matrix substrate in one embodiment of the present invention. a) and FIG. 4a are diagrams showing an example of an equivalent circuit when a non-linear element is introduced into each pixel, FIG. 3b and FIG. 4b, respectively.
3A and 3A show examples of voltage-current characteristics by the non-linear element of FIGS. 3A and 4A, respectively, and FIG. 5 shows a part of a substrate in which the vertical non-linear element of the present invention is introduced. Front view, FIG. 6 is a partial front view of an active matrix substrate in which the thin film transistor of the present invention is introduced into each pixel, and FIG. 7 is a partial front view of an active matrix substrate in which a parallel capacitance is introduced into each pixel, FIG. Is a diagram of an electrically equivalent circuit of a display panel substrate constructed by using the active matrix substrate of FIG.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another embodiment when the film of the present invention is provided in a pattern, and FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b) are diagrams showing the configuration of a known XY matrix type display panel. 1 ... vacuum system, 2 ... transparent substrate storage, 3 ... transparent substrate, 4 ... transparent substrate transport system, 5 ... first electrode film deposition section,
6 ... Second electrode film deposition part, 7 ... Insulation film deposition part, 8 ...
Substrate storage.

Front page continued (72) Inventor Masahiro Nagasawa 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-54-93363 (JP, A) JP-A-57-149748 (JP, A) JP-A-51-75635 (JP, A) JP-A-57-63678 (JP, A) Ionics August issue (1970) P. 34 Takuo Sugano, "Integrated Circuit Process Technology Series, Semiconductor Plasma Process Technology," Showa July 10, 1955 (Sangyo Tosho Co., Ltd.) P. 178-181

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. An electrode film depositing step, an insulating film depositing step, and a non-linear resistance element according to the transfer of a substrate transfer system for transferring the substrate in a vacuum system having a predetermined degree of vacuum from a substrate storage for storing the substrate. A method for manufacturing a panel, which sequentially performs steps including a functional element deposition step of depositing at least one functional element selected from a non-linear capacitance element and a thin film transistor, wherein the electrode film deposition step or the insulating film deposition step is performed. After that, the functional element depositing step is performed, and at least one of the electrode film depositing step, the insulating film depositing step, and the functional element depositing step is a vapor deposition method of depositing a gas of a deposition component. In the vapor deposition method, the substrate is transferred from a source of the gas through a shielding unit including a slit that extends in a direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the substrate transfer system. Large display panel manufacturing method of the substrate, characterized by patterning the deposited components by depositing the deposition component. 2. A method of manufacturing a panel in which a functional element depositing step is sequentially performed after an electrode film depositing step or an insulating film depositing step according to the transport of a substrate transport system, the display element of the display element being after the functional element depositing step. The method for manufacturing a large-sized display panel substrate according to claim 1, wherein a display element forming step of depositing the components is performed. 3. The functional element depositing step includes a semiconductor film depositing step.
Item 8. A method for manufacturing a large display panel substrate according to any one of items. 4. The electrode film depositing step according to claim 1, wherein the electrode film depositing step is carried out in a plurality of stages so that electrode film components made of different materials can be deposited in time series. A method for manufacturing the large-sized display panel substrate described. 5. The large size product according to claim 4, wherein the main component of any of the electrode film components in the electrode film deposition process performed in a plurality of steps is either tin oxide or indium oxide. Manufacturing method of display panel substrate. 6. A gas introducing system and a gas exhausting system are provided in at least one of the electrode film depositing step, the insulating film depositing step, the functional element depositing step, the semiconductor film depositing step and the display element forming step. The first claim
Item 7. A method for manufacturing a large-sized display panel substrate according to any one of items 5 to 5. 7. A discharge system is provided in at least one of an electrode film depositing step, an insulating film depositing step, a functional element depositing step, a semiconductor film depositing step and a display element forming step. Range 1st to 3rd or 6th
Item 8. A method for manufacturing a large display panel substrate according to any one of items. 8. The large-sized display panel according to claim 1, wherein the substrate transfer system is configured to transfer the substrate to be transferred intermittently. Substrate manufacturing method. 9. A shield means including a slit having a width extending in a direction orthogonal to a transfer direction of a substrate transfer system, and a shutter for intermittently blocking a gas of a deposition component. Item 9. A method for manufacturing a large-sized display panel substrate according to any one of items 1, 2 and 8. 10. The method for manufacturing a large-sized display panel substrate according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a metal oxide and a silicon oxide or a nitride is deposited in the insulating film depositing step. 11. A large-sized display panel substrate according to claim 2, wherein the display element in the display element forming step forms any one of an electroluminescence element, an electrochromic element and a liquid crystal element. Law. 12. A color filter film as a component of the display element forming step.
A method for manufacturing a large-sized display panel substrate as described in the item. 13. The method for manufacturing a large-sized display panel substrate according to claim 2, wherein the component in the display element forming step is a liquid crystal molecule alignment control film.