TW201843861A - Apparatus and method for manufacturing flexible component in which a step of peeling a layered structure from a support substrate by using a cutter is unnecessary - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a flexible component manufacturing apparatus in which a step of peeling a layered structure from a support substrate by using a cutter is unnecessary. According to the present invention, the flexible component manufacturing apparatus comprises: a first processing station (3) which cuts the layered structure (1) formed on the support substrate (10) by using laser beams and divides the structure into a plurality of component portions (15) and a remaining portion (16); a second processing station (6) which irradiates, after the layered structure (1) is processed by the first processing station (3), the support substrate (10) with laser beams to reduce the adhesion between a flexible film (11) of the layered structure (1) and the support substrate (10); and a chuck unit (100) which performs a process of separating the remaining portion (16) from a plurality of component portions (15) together with the support substrate (10), by separating the support substrate (10) from a porous vacuum chuck (7) in a state where the layered structure (1) is sucked by the porous vacuum chuck (7), after the layered structure (1) is processed by the second processing station (6).

Description

   Device and method for manufacturing flexible element   

The present invention relates to a device and method for manufacturing a flexible element such as an electroluminescent element.

As a flexible display element capable of being bent, an organic electroluminescence (hereinafter referred to as an organic EL (electroluminescence)) element is widely used in electronic devices such as smart phones. For example, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-48374, in a general method of manufacturing an organic EL element, a flexible film is formed on one main surface of a rigid support substrate, and the flexibility is An element layer including a lower electrode, an organic EL portion, and an upper electrode is formed on the film. After the element layer is formed, a protective film is attached using an adhesive so as to cover the element layer. Generally, a glass substrate is used as a support substrate, and a polyimide film is used as a flexible film.

After the layered structure including the flexible film, the element layer, and the protective film is formed on the support substrate, the flexible film is irradiated with laser light from the main surface side of the support substrate on the opposite side of the layered structure. This step is called laser lift-off (LLO). By irradiating the flexible film with laser light, the adhesiveness between the support substrate and the flexible film is reduced, and the layered structure can be removed. The support substrate is peeled. The layered structure system is formed in such a manner that the display element can be chamfered. After the layered structure is peeled from the supporting substrate, a step of cutting the layered structure from each part of the display element is performed.

    [Prior technical literature]         [Patent Literature]    

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-48374

In the manufacturing method of the organic EL device as described above, the edge portion of the protective film and the main surface of the support substrate are adhered with an adhesive. Therefore, in order to peel the layered structure from the support substrate, it is necessary to use a cutter after A step of peeling the edge of the protective film from the supporting substrate. Due to the use of such a cutter, the flexible film of the layered structure may be cracked or fine particles may be generated. In addition, in the method for manufacturing an organic EL device as described above, even if the protective film is peeled from the supporting substrate, the edge of the protective film is removed from the supporting substrate after the cutter is separated from the supporting substrate via the adhesive and the supporting substrate. Re-adhesion makes it impossible to peel the layered structure from the support substrate smoothly.

Furthermore, in the method for manufacturing an organic EL device as described above, after the step of peeling the layered structure, a flexible film of the layered structure that is peeled from the support substrate is attached to protect the layered structure, and is then attached. 2nd protective film. Therefore, in the method of manufacturing an organic EL device, it is desirable to omit steps related to such a second protective film.

In the conventional method for manufacturing an organic EL device, wrinkles may be generated in a layered structure that is peeled from a support substrate. Such wrinkles cause the yield of the display element of the final product to deteriorate.

The invention provides a flexible device manufacturing method and a manufacturing method capable of solving at least one of the above problems.

The first flexible device manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is a device that processes a layered structure formed on a support substrate to manufacture a plurality of flexible elements. The layered structure includes a flexible film, which is the same as the above. One main surface of the supporting substrate is formed in close contact; an element layer is formed on the above-mentioned flexible film to give the plurality of flexible elements functions as electronic components; and a protective film is passed through an adhesive to The flexible device manufacturing device is provided with a first processing station that performs the following processing. The edge of the protective film is attached to one main surface of the support substrate through the adhesive. That is, the layered structure is cut using laser light, and the layered structure is divided into a plurality of element portions and a residual portion corresponding to the plurality of flexible elements, respectively. The second processing station performs the following steps: After the layered structure is processed by the first processing station, the flexible film is irradiated with laser light from the other main surface side of the support substrate. Light, thereby reducing the adhesiveness between the flexible film and the support substrate, or reducing the adhesiveness between the flexible film and the support substrate except the edge portion of the flexible film; and a chuck unit, This is a process in which the layered structure is processed by the second processing station, and then the layered structure is adsorbed by a porous vacuum chuck having an adsorbent formed of porous particles. In a state, the support substrate is separated from the porous vacuum chuck, and the remaining portion is separated from the plurality of element portions adsorbed by the porous vacuum chuck together with the support substrate.

The first flexible device manufacturing apparatus of the present invention may further include a third processing station that processes the layered structure using the chuck unit and then attaches a film to the third processing station. Each of the plurality of element portions adsorbed by the porous vacuum chuck.

The first flexible device manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is a device that processes a layered structure formed on a support substrate to manufacture a plurality of flexible elements. The layered structure includes a flexible film, which is the same as the above. One main surface of the supporting substrate is formed in close contact; an element layer is formed on the above-mentioned flexible film to give the plurality of flexible elements functions as electronic components; and a protective film is passed through an adhesive to The flexible device manufacturing device includes a porous vacuum chuck for attaching the edge of the protective film to one main surface of the support substrate through the adhesive. The layered structure is divided into a plurality of element parts corresponding to the plurality of flexible elements and a residual part, and the layered structure is adsorbed. The first processing station performs the following processing, that is, the porous structure In a state where the above-mentioned layered structure is adsorbed by the mass vacuum chuck, the flexible film is irradiated with laser light from the other main surface side of the support substrate, so that The adhesion between the flexible film and the support substrate is reduced, or the adhesion between the flexible film and the support substrate is reduced except for the edge portion of the flexible film; and the chuck unit is processed as follows, That is, after the layered structure is processed by the first processing station, the support substrate is separated from the porous vacuum chuck, and the remaining portion is removed from the porous vacuum chuck together with the support substrate. The plurality of components adsorbed are separated.

The first flexible device manufacturing apparatus of the present invention may further include a second processing station that performs a process of applying the film to the laminar structure using the chuck unit and then processing the layered structure. Each of the plurality of element portions adsorbed by the porous vacuum chuck.

The second flexible device manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is a device that processes a layered structure formed on a support substrate to manufacture a plurality of flexible devices, and includes one or a plurality of processing stations, and The first structure is processed; the first mobile conveyor belt unit is capable of placing a porous vacuum chuck having an adsorbent formed of porous particles, and is arranged to move freely along the first movement path; and the second mobile conveyor A belt unit capable of mounting the porous vacuum chuck and moving along the second moving path; and provided between the first mobile conveyor belt unit and the second mobile conveyor belt unit so as to allow the porous The porous vacuum chuck is configured to move the porous vacuum chuck in a state where the porous vacuum chuck is placed on the first mobile conveyor belt unit to receive the layered structure, and the porous vacuum chuck is configured to hold the above. The porous structure is moved from the first moving conveyor unit to the second moving conveyor unit in the state of the layered structure, and the porous vacuum chuck is in a state where the layered structure is not held. Moving from said second conveyor to said mobile unit returns the first conveyor means.

The method for manufacturing a flexible element according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing a plurality of flexible elements by processing a layered structure formed on a support substrate. The layered structure includes: a flexible film, which is similar to the support substrate. One of the main surfaces is formed in close contact; an element layer is formed on the flexible film to provide the plurality of flexible elements with a function as an electronic element; and a protective film covers the above via an adhesive. The element layer is attached; the edge of the protective film is attached to one of the main surfaces of the support substrate via the adhesive, and the method for manufacturing the flexible element includes a first step of using laser light to apply the The layered structure is cut, and the layered structure is divided into a plurality of element parts and residual parts corresponding to the plurality of flexible elements, respectively. The second step is after the above first step, by The flexible film is irradiated with laser light from the other main surface side of the support substrate, so that the adhesion between the flexible film and the support substrate is reduced, or in addition to the Except for the edge portion of the flexible film, the adhesiveness between the flexible film and the support substrate is reduced; and the third step is after the second step, and the porous layer has an adsorbent formed of porous particles. Of the laminar structure by the mass vacuum chuck to separate the support substrate from the porous vacuum chuck, and to separate the remaining portion and the support substrate from the plurality of component parts adsorbed by the porous vacuum chuck together with the support substrate. .

The method for manufacturing a flexible device according to the present invention may further include a fourth step. After the third step, a thin film is attached to each of the plurality of device portions adsorbed by the porous vacuum chuck.

According to the first and second flexible device manufacturing devices of the present invention and the flexible device manufacturing method of the present invention, it is not necessary to perform a step of peeling the edge portion of the protective film from the support substrate using a cutter.

According to the first to third flexible device manufacturing devices of the present invention and the flexible device manufacturing method of the present invention, the step of attaching a temporary protective film to the flexible film side of the layered structure can be eliminated, Furthermore, there is no case where the yield of the flexible element of the final product is deteriorated due to wrinkles generated in the layered structure peeled from the support substrate.

1‧‧‧ layered structure

2‧‧‧ holding unit

3‧‧‧ Half Cut Station

4‧‧‧ transport unit

5‧‧‧The first mobile mechanism

6‧‧‧LLO Station

7‧‧‧ Porous Vacuum Chuck Platform

8‧‧‧The first mobile conveyor unit

9‧‧‧ 2nd mobile agency

10‧‧‧ support substrate

11‧‧‧ flexible film

12‧‧‧ component layer

13‧‧‧ Adhesive

14‧‧‧ protective film

15‧‧‧ Components

16‧‧‧ stub

17‧‧‧ support film

18‧‧‧ flexible element

21‧‧‧ Suction Chuck

22‧‧‧ support

23‧‧‧ Lifting guide

24‧‧‧ 1st rail

31‧‧‧laser cutter

32‧‧‧laser head

41‧‧‧ base

42‧‧‧ pillar

43‧‧‧through hole

51‧‧‧Slider section

52‧‧‧ 2nd rail

61‧‧‧ Beam Head

71‧‧‧ adsorbent

81‧‧‧The first conveyor belt

82‧‧‧The first movable member

91‧‧‧3rd rail

92‧‧‧1st slider

100‧‧‧The first chuck unit

101‧‧‧ 4th rail

102‧‧‧Adsorption pad

103‧‧‧Chuck head

104‧‧‧ 1st arm

110‧‧‧Support substrate recycling station

120‧‧‧ 2nd mobile conveyor unit

121‧‧‧ 2nd conveyor belt

122‧‧‧The second movable member

130‧‧‧ 3rd mobile agency

131‧‧‧5th rail

132‧‧‧ 2nd slider

141‧‧‧The first intermediate conveyor belt

142‧‧‧Second intermediate conveyor belt

150‧‧‧Support film attachment station

151‧‧‧Stacker

152‧‧‧Stripping agencies

153‧‧‧ attached head

154‧‧‧Adsorption head

155‧‧‧Adsorption Department

156‧‧‧Press roller

157‧‧‧ belt

158‧‧‧ Camera

160‧‧‧ Flexible Recycling Station

161‧‧‧Recycling platform

170‧‧‧ 2nd chuck unit

171‧‧‧6th rail

172‧‧‧Adsorption Chuck

173‧‧‧ 2nd arm

R‧‧‧rotation shaft

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a flexible device manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a layered structure and a support substrate used for manufacturing a flexible element.

Fig. 3 is an explanatory view showing a state of a flexible device manufacturing apparatus in a half-cutting step.

Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the half-cut step performed by the flexible device manufacturing apparatus.

5 is a plan view of the layered structure after the half-cutting step.

6 is a cross-sectional view of the layered structure and the supporting substrate after the half-cutting step.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a state of a flexible device manufacturing apparatus in an LLO step.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of an LLO step performed by a flexible device manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of a layered structure and a supporting substrate in the LLO step.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a state of a flexible device manufacturing apparatus in a supporting substrate recovery step.

11 (a) and 11 (b) are cross-sectional views showing the state of the layered structure and the support substrate in the support substrate recovery step.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating operations of a supporting substrate recovery step, a supporting film attaching step, and a flexible element taking out step performed by a flexible device manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing a case of supporting a flexible device manufacturing apparatus in a film attaching step.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing a state of a flexible element manufacturing apparatus in a flexible element taking-out step.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a flexible device manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a layered structure 1 used for manufacturing the flexible device in the flexible device manufacturing apparatus. And a sectional view of the supporting substrate 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, a layered structure 1 is formed on a main surface of the support substrate 10 by using a forming device (not shown) provided separately from the flexible device manufacturing device shown in FIG. 1. The layered structure 1 is formed so as to have a structure and a size capable of multi-chamfering a flexible element manufactured by a flexible element manufacturing apparatus. The layered structure 1 includes a rectangular flexible film 11 that is formed in close contact with a main surface of a rectangular and rigid support substrate 10; an element layer 12 that is formed on the flexible film 11 and has A structure for realizing the function of a flexible element as an electronic element; and a rectangular protective film 14 that is adhered to cover the element layer 12 through an adhesive 13. The four edges of the protective film 14 are attached to the main surface of the support substrate 10 via the adhesive 13 (see also FIG. 5).

The flexible film 11 is provided to support the element layer 12, and the protective film 14 is provided to protect the element layer 12 from external influences. The flexible film 11 is formed so as to be in close contact with the main surface of the layered structure 1, and is formed of a flexible material whose adhesion to the support substrate 10 is reduced by irradiating laser light, for example. The support substrate 10 is formed of a material that transmits laser light.

The flexible element manufactured by the flexible element manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment is, for example, an organic EL element used as a display element in various electronic devices. The element layer 12 of the layered structure 1 includes a lower electrode, an organic EL layer, and Upper electrode (none shown). The flexible film 11 is a polyimide film, and the protective film 14 is a transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film. As the adhesive 13, an acrylic or epoxy-based adhesive having thermosetting or ultraviolet curing properties is used. The adhesive 13 is placed on the support substrate 10 so as to cover the element layer 12 in a sheet-like state, and then the protective film 14 is disposed so as to cover the adhesive 13, and the adhesive 13 is hardened. As the support substrate 10, for example, a transparent glass substrate is used.

A method and an apparatus for forming such a multi-chamfered layered structure 1 for use in an organic EL element on a support substrate 10 are well known, and further descriptions related to them are omitted in this specification. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the manufacture of organic EL elements, and can be applied to the manufacture of any flexible element that can be manufactured based on the layered structure 1 having the structure shown in FIG. 2.

The flexible device manufacturing apparatus includes a holding unit 2 that receives and holds a support substrate 10 on which a layered structure 1 is formed from a forming apparatus (not shown). The holding unit 2 includes a suction chuck 21 formed in a U shape, a support portion 22, and a lifting guide portion 23. The base end side of the suction chuck 21 is rotatably mounted on the support portion 22 about a horizontal rotation axis R (see FIG. 8), and the support portion 22 is rotatably mounted on the lifting guide portion 23 in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the support substrate 10 on which the layered structure 1 is formed is held or adsorbed on the suction chuck 21 with the layered structure 1 facing upward. The holding unit 2 uses a driving means (not shown) such as a ball screw mechanism or a rack and pinion mechanism, and is freely provided along the first guide rail 24 provided horizontally. As shown in FIG. 1, if the holding unit 2 receives the support substrate 10 on one end side of the first guide rail 24, it walks in a direction toward the other end side of the first guide rail 24 (in FIG. 1, the direction in which the holding unit 2 moves is The arrows indicate that arrows are also shown in other figures, but these arrows indicate the movement of the constituent elements of the flexible element manufacturing apparatus in this embodiment, and do not indicate the constituent elements of the flexible element manufacturing apparatus itself) .

The flexible device manufacturing apparatus includes a half-cut station 3, a transfer unit 4 for transferring the support substrate 10 between the holding unit 2 and the half-cut station 3, and a first moving mechanism 5 for moving the transfer unit 4. The half-cutting station 3 is provided with a laser cutter 31, and performs a half-cutting step of dividing the layered structure 1 of the support substrate 10 into each element portion 15 serving as a flexible element and the remaining portion 16.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the condition of the flexible device manufacturing apparatus in the half-cutting step (the illustration of the laser cutter 31 is omitted in FIG. 3). FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the half-cut step performed by the flexible device manufacturing apparatus. The transport unit 4 includes a base portion 41 and a pillar portion 42 provided below the base portion 41. In this embodiment, the pillar portion 42 includes nine pillars erected on the base (viewed from above) in a lattice shape, and through holes 43 corresponding to the pillars are provided in the base portion 41 along the vertical direction.

The first moving mechanism 5 is constituted by a single-axis robot mechanism having a second guide rail 52 that slidably guides the slider portion 51. The base portion 41 is fixed to the slider portion 51. In addition, the pillar portion 42 is configured to be freely movable up and down with respect to the slider portion 51.

When the holding unit 2 receiving the support substrate 10 is stopped on the conveying unit 4 in a state of being disposed on the side of the first guide rail 24, the pillar portion 42 rises. When the pillar portion 42 rises, each pillar of the pillar portion 42 protrudes from the upper surface of the base portion 41 through the through hole 43 of the base portion 41. Each pillar of the pillar portion 42 and the suction chuck 21 of the holding unit 2 are arranged so as not to interfere with each other. Therefore, when the pillar portion 42 rises, the support substrate 10 held on the suction chuck 21 is pressed from below and self-sucks. The chuck 21 is removed.

When the support substrate 10 is detached from the suction chuck 21, the conveyance unit 4 starts walking toward the half-cut station 3 and descends by the pillar portion 42 to arrange the support substrate 10 on the base portion 41. The upper surface of the base portion 41 is a horizontal plane, and the support substrate 10 is placed on the upper surface of the base portion 41 with the layered structure 1 facing upward.

The laser cutter 31 includes a laser head 32 capable of moving in a horizontal plane. When the transport unit 4 reaches the half-cut station 3, the laser light emitted from the laser head 32 irradiates the layered structure 1 on the support substrate 10, The layered structure 1 is cut in the thickness direction. The output of the laser light is adjusted so that the support substrate 10 is not cut.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the layered structure 1 after the half-cutting step, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the layered structure 1 and the support substrate 10 after the half-cutting step broken by the A-A line shown in FIG. 5. By controlling the position of the laser head 32 and the on / off of the laser light, the plurality of element portions 15 are cut off or divided from the remaining portion 16 of the layered structure 1. The element portion 15 is a portion formed in the layered structure 1 so as to have a structure used for a flexible element. In this embodiment, rectangular element parts 15 are arranged in five columns and five rows in the layered structure 1, but in the present invention, the number and arrangement of the element parts 15 included in the layered structure 1 are not the same. It is limited to the number and arrangement of the embodiments. Further, in a region indicated by diagonal lines in FIG. 5, the protective film 14 is adhered to the support substrate 10 by the adhesive 13.

When all the element portions 15 in the layered structure 1 are cut off from the remaining portion 16, the conveying unit 4 starts to walk toward the holding unit 2 and rises by the pillar portion 42, and the support substrate 10 is lifted from the upper surface of the base portion 41. go away. The support substrate 10 is disposed at a position higher than the suction chuck 21. When the support substrate 10 reaches the suction chuck 21, the transport unit 4 stops. Then, the support portion 10 is lowered, and the support substrate 10 is placed on the suction chuck 21, and the suction chuck 21 holds or suction-holds the support substrate 10.

The flexible device manufacturing apparatus includes an LLO station 6 that performs a laser peeling step. The LLO station 6 is disposed adjacent to the half-cut station 3, and has a beam head 61 capable of radiating laser light downward in a band shape or a line shape. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, on the other end side of the first guide rail 24, the first mobile conveyor unit 8 capable of placing the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 can walk freely in a direction orthogonal to the first guide rail 24. Settings. The second moving mechanism 9 that drives the first moving conveyor unit 8 is constituted by a single-axis robot mechanism having a third guide rail 91 (see Fig. 8) for slidingly guiding the first moving conveyor unit 8. The third guide rail 91 defines a movement path of the first moving conveyor belt unit 8, and extends through the lower side of the first guide rail 24 so as to be orthogonal to the first guide rail 24.

On the upper surface of the porous vacuum chuck platform 7, a rectangular adsorbent body 71 having a plurality of pores formed by sintering porous ceramic particles is provided. By performing vacuum suction through a vacuum guide path (not shown) communicating with the adsorbent body 71, the workpiece can be adsorbed over the entire upper surface of the adsorbent body 71.

The first moving conveyor belt unit 8 includes a first conveyor belt 81 having two rows of roller rows supporting a lower side of the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 and a first movable member 82 provided with the first conveyor belt 81. The first movable member 82 is connected to the first slider 92 (see FIG. 8) of the second moving mechanism 9 that slides along the third guide rail 91. The first conveyor belt 81 can operate so as to convey the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the first moving conveyor unit 8. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the first mobile conveyor unit 8 is a state where the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 is placed at the first position as its initial position, and is arranged on the first guide rail 24 and the LLO station 6. between.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a flexible device manufacturing apparatus in a state where an LLO step is performed using the LLO station 6 (beam head 61 is not shown), and FIG. 8 is an illustration of LLO performed by the flexible device manufacturing apparatus An illustration of the operation of the steps (on the left side of FIG. 8, the return steps of the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 described below are also illustrated). After the half-cutting step is completed, the holding unit 2 holding the supporting substrate 10 is stopped in a state where the supporting substrate 10 is arranged on the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 at the first position shown in FIG. 1. Then, the support portion 22 of the holding unit 2 rises along the elevating guide portion 23.

As shown in the center of FIG. 8, after the support portion 22 of the holding unit 2 is raised to a predetermined height, the support substrate 10 is arranged in a layered structure by rotating the suction chuck 21 about its rotation axis R 180 degrees. 1 becomes the lower side. Then, the support portion 22 of the holding unit 2 is lowered, and the support substrate 10 is placed on the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 placed on the first moving conveyor unit 8 with the layered structure 1 as the lower side. The upper surface of the body 71.

If the support substrate 10 is disposed on the upper surface of the adsorption body 71 of the porous vacuum chuck platform 7, the holding of the support chuck 21 by the adsorption chuck 21 is released, and the vacuum pump is omitted by driving a vacuum pump (not shown), and the porous substrate The mass vacuum chuck platform 7 and the adsorption body 71 of the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 are adsorbed on the layered structure 1 formed on the support substrate 10.

When the adsorbent body 71 adsorbs the layered structure 1, the second moving mechanism 9 operates, and the first moving conveyor unit 8 moves toward the LLO station 6. A check valve (not shown) is provided in the vacuum guide path where the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 communicates with the vacuum pump, and the check body 71 and the layered structure of the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 are maintained by the check valve. Adsorption state of the structure 1. On the other hand, the holding unit 2 moves to the initial position shown in FIG. 1, the support portion 22 returns to the original height, and the suction chuck 21 returns to the original position by reversing 180 degrees about the rotation axis R.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 6, showing a state of the layered structure 1 and the support substrate 10 in the LLO step. The first moving conveyor unit 8 stops at the LLO station 6 after reaching it. A beam head 61 is disposed above the first moving conveyor unit 8 and the support substrate 10. In the present embodiment, the beam head 61 is configured to irradiate a strip-shaped or linear laser light along the short-side direction of the rectangular layered structure 1 and the support substrate 10 downward, and the long-side direction can be irradiated. Move up. The irradiated laser light is irradiated to the flexible film 11 through the support substrate 10. The beam head 61 is moved from one end side to the other end side of the support substrate 10 while irradiating laser light, and the adhesion between the flexible film 11 of the layered structure 1 and the support substrate 10 is reduced.

In this embodiment, it can be understood from FIG. 9 that the entire surface of the flexible film 11 of the layered structure 1 is irradiated with the laser light of the beam head 61, and the entire surface of the flexible film 11 and the support substrate are irradiated. The adhesion between 10 is reduced. Furthermore, the laser light may be irradiated in a manner other than the outer edge portion of the remaining portion 16 of the layered structure 1 between the region of the flexible film 11 constituting the outer edge portion and the support substrate 10. Maintain tightness. In the present invention, in the LLO step, there is no need to arrange a mask on the supporting substrate 10 to limit the irradiation range of the laser light.

After the laser light irradiation is completed, the first mobile conveyor unit 8 returns to the first position shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the flexible element manufacturing apparatus includes a first chuck unit 100 which is provided in parallel to the first guide rail 24 and is movable along a fourth guide rail 101 which is arranged horizontally. . In this embodiment, the first guide rail 24 and the fourth guide rail 101 are aligned. One end side of the fourth guide rail 101 is disposed on the other end side of the first guide rail 24 side, and a support substrate recovery station 110 is provided on the other end side of the fourth guide rail 101. In the state shown in FIG. 1, the first chuck unit 100 stands by at the supporting substrate recovery station 110.

As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, a second movable conveyor unit 120 capable of placing the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 on one end side of the fourth guide rail 101 is provided so as to walk freely in a direction orthogonal to the fourth guide rail 101. The third moving mechanism 130 that drives the second moving conveyor unit 120 is a single-axis robot mechanism having a fifth guide 131 (see FIG. 12) for slidingly guiding the second moving conveyor unit 120. The fifth guide rail 131 defines a movement path of the second moving conveyor unit 120, and extends below the fourth guide rail 101 so as to be orthogonal to the fourth guide rail 101.

The second mobile conveyor belt unit 120 is configured in the same manner as the first mobile conveyor belt unit 8 and includes a second conveyor belt 121 having two rows of roller rows supporting the lower side of the porous vacuum chuck platform 7; and a second The movable member 122 is provided with a second conveyor belt 121. The second movable member 122 is connected to a second slider 132 (see FIG. 12) of the third moving mechanism 130 that slides along the fifth guide rail 131. The second conveyor belt 121 operates to convey the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the second moving conveyor unit 120.

In FIG. 1, both the first mobile conveyor belt unit 8 and the second mobile conveyor belt unit 120 are arranged at a first position as an initial position or a standby position. The flexible element manufacturing apparatus includes a first intermediate conveyor belt 141 that connects the first conveyor belt 81 of the first mobile conveyor belt unit 8 and the second conveyor belt 121 of the second mobile conveyor belt unit 120 in this state. The first intermediate conveyor belt 141 includes two rows of roller rows supporting the porous vacuum chuck platform 7.

After the LLO step is completed, the first moving conveyor unit 8 returns to the first position shown in FIG. 1. Then, the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 in a state where the layered structure 1 is adsorbed is moved by the first conveyor belt 81, the first intermediate conveyor belt 141, and the second conveyor belt 121, and the first moving conveyor belt unit 8 is moved. It is conveyed to the 2nd mobile conveyor unit 120 arrange | positioned at the 1st position shown in FIG. After the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 moves to the second moving conveyor unit 120, the empty first moving conveyor unit 8 moves along the third guide rail 91 in a direction away from the LLO station 6 and exceeds the first guide rail 24. , Stop at the second position near the end of the third guide rail 91 (see FIG. 10 and the like).

After the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 is transferred to the second moving conveyor unit 120, a support substrate recovery step of recovering the support substrate 10 is performed. FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a state of a flexible device manufacturing apparatus in a supporting substrate recovery step. Figs. 11 (a) and 11 (b) are sectional views showing the state of the layered structure 1 and the support substrate 10 in the support substrate recovery step. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a support substrate recovery step (and a support film attaching step and a flexible element take-out step described below) performed by a flexible device manufacturing apparatus.

In the support substrate recovery step, first, the first chuck unit 100 which is waiting at the support substrate recovery station 110 moves toward the second moving conveyor unit 120. In this embodiment, the first chuck unit 100 includes a chuck head 103 having a total of four suction pads 102 and a first arm portion 104. The chuck head 103 is provided on one end side of the first arm portion 104 so as to be able to move up and down, and the other end side of the first arm portion 104 is slidably mounted on the fourth guide rail 101.

When the chuck head 103 is disposed (via the layered structure 1) on the support substrate 10 of the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 disposed on the second moving conveyor unit 120, the first chuck unit 100 is stopped. Then, the chuck head 103 is lowered, and if the suction pad 102 is in contact with the support substrate 10 as shown in FIG. 11 (a), the suction pad 102 suctions the support substrate 10.

In a state where the adhesion between the layered structure 1 and the support substrate 10 is impaired by the LLO step, and the four edges of the protective film 14 of the layered structure 1 are attached to the support substrate 10 through the adhesive 13, the layer The protective film 14 of the structure 1 is adsorbed on the upper surface of the adsorbent 71 of the porous vacuum chuck platform 7. Furthermore, each element portion 15 in the layered structure 1 is cut off from the remaining portion 16 of the layered structure 1 by the LLO step. Therefore, after the adsorption pad 102 is adsorbed on the support substrate 10, the chuck head 103 is sufficiently raised relative to the porous vacuum chuck platform 7. As shown in FIG. 11 (b), Each element portion 15 remains on the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 in an adsorbed state. On the other hand, the remaining portion 16 of the layered structure 1 is stretched upward while being attached to the support substrate 10. The remaining portion 16 of the layered structure 1 is separated from the porous vacuum chuck table 7 together with the support substrate 10. In this manner, a plurality of element portions 15 each serving as a flexible element are taken out from the large-scale layered structure 1.

If there is a foreign matter between the flexible film 11 and the support substrate 10, after the LLO step, the adhesion between the flexible film 11 and the support substrate 10 may be partially maintained. As the chuck head 103 ascends, the affected element portion 15 is separated from the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 or cracked together with the support substrate 10. However, in the present invention, the element portion 15 affected by the foreign matter is limited. In the conventional method for manufacturing an organic EL device, the influence of such foreign matter has caused a severe situation in which the entire layered structure 1 formed on the support substrate 10 cannot be properly peeled off.

When the support substrate 10 with the remaining portion 16 of the layered structure 1 is separated from the porous vacuum chuck table 7, the first chuck unit 100 is moved along the first chuck unit 103 in a state where the chuck head 103 has adsorbed the support substrate 10. The four guide rails 101 move toward the supporting substrate recovery station 110. After reaching the supporting substrate recycling station 110, the first chuck unit 100 is lowered, and the suction substrate 10 is released from the chuck head 103 and the supporting substrate 10, and the supporting substrate 10 is arranged in the stacker of the supporting substrate recycling station 110 (not shown).示). Then, the chuck head 103 is raised, and the first chuck unit 100 returns to the standby state. The recovered support substrate 10 can be reused by removing the remaining portion 16 of the attached layered structure 1.

As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the flexible device manufacturing apparatus includes a support film attaching station 150 on the side of the LLO station 6. As shown in FIG. 12, one end of the fifth guide rail 131 of the third moving mechanism 130 reaches the support film attachment station 150. After the support substrate 10 is removed from the porous vacuum chuck table 7 together with the remaining portion 16 of the layered structure 1, the second moving conveyor unit 120 moves the third moving mechanism 130 along the fifth moving conveyor 130. The guide rail 131 moves and is sent to the support film attachment station 150 (refer to the right part of FIG. 12). After reaching the support film attachment station 150, the suction state of the suction body 71 and the element portion 15 of the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 is strengthened by operating a vacuum pump (not shown).

In the supporting film attaching station 150, the supporting film attaching step of attaching the supporting film 17 to the flexible film 11 of each element portion 15 adsorbed by the adsorbent 71 of the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 is performed. The support film 17 is a copper foil sheet or a graphite sheet included in the flexible element of the finished product, and is completely different from the second protective film described in connection with the conventional technology. In this embodiment, three stackers 151 are provided in the support film attaching station 150, and each stacker 151 stores a plurality of support films 17 in a stacked state. One main surface of the support film 17 serves as an adhesive layer, and the support film 17 is stored in a state where a release paper (not shown) is attached to the adhesive layer.

As shown in FIG. 12 and the like, the support film attaching station 150 includes a peeling mechanism 152 that peels off the release paper of the support film 17 and a movable attachment head 153 that receives support from the peeling mechanism 152 after the release paper is peeled off. The thin film 17 is attached to the flexible film 11 of each element portion 15; and the suction head 154 is transferred from the stacker 151 to the peeling mechanism 152. The application head 153 includes a suction section 155 and a pressing roller 156.

At the end of the stacker 151 side in the self-peeling mechanism 152, the tape 157 having an adhesive surface can be rolled out while walking in its longitudinal direction. The supporting film 17 carried by the suction head 154 is connected to the adhesive surface of the tape 157 by a release paper. This arrangement is arranged in the peeling mechanism 152. In addition, the suction portion 155 of the attachment head 153 sucks the upper surface of the support film 17 and moves with the support film 17 as the belt 157 moves. At the end on the side of the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 in the peeling mechanism 152, the band 157 is bent downward, thereby attracting the absorbing portion 155 of the attachment head 153 while moving toward the porous vacuum chuck platform 7. The release paper of the support film 17 is peeled from the support film 17.

In a state where the release paper is peeled from the support film 17 and the adhesive surface of the support film 17 is exposed downward, the application head 153 moves above the element portion 15 to which the support film 17 is attached. The support film attachment station 150 is provided with an imaging device 158 that images the component portion 15 disposed on the porous vacuum chuck platform 7. Based on an image obtained from the image pickup device 158, the suction head 154 is directed to the target component portion. 15 position control. The application head 153 is configured to be tiltable with the pressing roller 156 as the lower side. In this state, one end side of the support film 17 is brought into contact with one end side of the element portion 15, and the application head 153 is directed to the other end of the element portion 15. By moving sideways, the support film 17 is gradually pressed against the flexible film 11 of the element portion 15 while being pressed against by the pressing roller 156. The flexible element 18 is completed by attaching the support film 17 to the element portion 15.

A support film 17 is attached to all the component parts 15 adsorbed on the porous vacuum chuck platform 7. After these component parts 15 become flexible elements 18, the third moving mechanism 130 is driven and the second moving conveyor belt is driven. The unit 120 moves in a direction away from the support film attaching station 150. In the state where the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 is placed on the second moving conveyor belt unit 120, the second moving conveyor unit 120 moves beyond the fourth guide rail 101 and moves to the second position on the other end side of the fifth guide rail 131. With the second moving conveyor unit 120 in the second position, the step of taking out the flexible element of the flexible element 18 is performed.

As can be understood from FIGS. 1 and 12, a flexible element recovery station 160 is provided on the other end side of the fifth rail 131. In addition, the flexible element manufacturing apparatus includes a second chuck unit 170 that can move along the fifth guide rail 131 or a sixth guide rail 171 provided in parallel with the moving direction of the second moving conveyor unit 120. In the present embodiment, the second chuck unit 170 includes a suction chuck 172 and a second arm portion 173. The suction chuck 172 is provided on one end side of the second arm portion 173 so as to be able to move up and down, and the other end side of the second arm portion 173 is slidably mounted on the sixth rail 171.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing a state of a flexible element manufacturing apparatus in a flexible element taking-out step. As can be understood from FIG. 1, FIG. 14, and FIG. 12, if the second moving conveyor unit 120 moves to a second position on the other end side of the fifth guide rail 131, the second moving conveyor unit 120 stands by at the second place where the flexible component recycling station 160 stands by. The chuck unit 170 moves toward the second moving conveyor unit 120. When the suction chuck 172 of the second chuck unit 170 reaches the porous vacuum chuck platform 7, the second chuck unit 170 stops.

When the second chuck unit 170 is stopped, the suction chuck 172 of the second chuck unit 170 is lowered, and its suction surface comes into contact with all the flexible elements 18 that are adsorbed on the porous vacuum chuck platform 7. Then, the adsorption state of the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 and the flexible element 18 is released, and a vacuum pump (not shown) communicating with the adsorption chuck 172 is driven, and the adsorption chuck 172 adsorbs all the flexible elements 18. After the suction chuck 172 on which the flexible element 18 is suctioned has been raised to a predetermined position, the second chuck unit 170 moves to the flexible element recovery station 160.

When the second chuck unit 170 reaches the flexible element recovery station 160, the suction chuck 172 is lowered until the flexible element 18 approaches the upper surface of the recovery platform 161. Then, the adsorption state between the suction chuck 172 and the flexible element 18 is released, and the flexible element 18 is placed on the recovery platform 161 (refer to the left part of FIG. 12). Then, the suction chuck 172 rises, and the second chuck unit 170 returns to the standby state.

As shown in FIG. 14 and the like, the flexible element manufacturing apparatus includes a first moving belt unit 81 that puts the first moving belt unit 8 in a second position, and a second moving belt unit that puts the second position. The second intermediate conveyor belt 142 is connected to the second conveyor belt 121 of 120. The second intermediate conveyor belt 142 includes two rows of roller rows supporting the porous vacuum chuck platform 7. After the step of taking out the flexible component is completed, the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 without driving the workpiece in the empty state is driven by driving the first conveyor belt 81, the second intermediate conveyor belt 142, and the second conveyor belt 121. The 2 moving conveyor unit 120 moves to the first moving conveyor unit 8.

As can be understood from FIGS. 14 and 8, when the porous vacuum chuck platform 7 is received from the second mobile conveyor belt unit 120, the first mobile conveyor belt unit 8 is driven from the second position to the second position by driving the second moving mechanism 9. Return to position 1. Thereby, the flexible device manufacturing apparatus is shifted to the initial state shown in FIG. 1, and a series of steps as described above is performed on the new support substrate 10 in which the layered structure 1 is formed by the forming apparatus (not shown). .

The above description is for explaining the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention described in the scope of patent application, or reducing the scope. It is needless to say that the configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the technical scope described in the scope of the patent application.

Claims (7)

    A flexible device manufacturing device is a device for manufacturing a plurality of flexible devices by processing a layered structure formed on a support substrate. The layered structure includes a flexible film, which is similar to the support substrate. One of the main surfaces is formed in close contact; an element layer is formed on the flexible film to provide the plurality of flexible elements with a function as an electronic element; and a protective film covers the above via an adhesive. The element layer is attached; the edge portion of the protective film is attached to one main surface of the support substrate via the adhesive, and the flexible element manufacturing apparatus includes a first processing station that performs the following processing, that is, The laser light is used to cut the layered structure, and the layered structure is divided into a plurality of element parts and residual parts corresponding to the plurality of flexible elements, respectively; the second processing station performs the following processing, That is, after processing the layered structure using the first processing station, the flexible film is irradiated with laser light from the other main surface side of the support substrate. Reducing the adhesion between the flexible film and the support substrate, or reducing the adhesion between the flexible film and the support substrate except for the edge portion of the flexible film; and a chuck unit, which performs After the layered structure is processed by the second processing station, the layered structure is adsorbed on a porous vacuum chuck having an adsorbent formed of porous particles, and the layered structure is processed. The support substrate is separated from the porous vacuum chuck, thereby separating the remaining portion together with the support substrate from the plurality of element portions adsorbed by the porous vacuum chuck.         If the flexible device manufacturing apparatus of claim 1 further includes a third processing station, the third processing station performs processing in which the film is attached after the layered structure is processed using the chuck unit. Each of the plurality of element parts adsorbed on the porous vacuum chuck.         A flexible device manufacturing device is a device for manufacturing a plurality of flexible devices by processing a layered structure formed on a support substrate. The layered structure includes a flexible film, which is similar to the support substrate. One of the main surfaces is formed in close contact; an element layer is formed on the flexible film to provide the plurality of flexible elements with a function as an electronic element; and a protective film covers the above via an adhesive. Element layer is attached; the edge portion of the protective film is attached to one main surface of the support substrate via the adhesive, and the flexible device manufacturing device includes a porous vacuum chuck for laminating the layer. The structure is divided into a plurality of element parts corresponding to the plurality of flexible elements and a residual part, and the layered structure is adsorbed. The first processing station performs the following processing, that is, on the porous material In a state in which the layered structure is adsorbed by the vacuum chuck, the flexible film is irradiated with laser light from the other main surface side of the support substrate, so that the The adhesion between the flexible film and the support substrate is reduced, or the adhesion between the flexible film and the support substrate is reduced except for the edge portion of the flexible film; and the chuck unit is processed as follows, That is, after the layered structure is processed by the first processing station, the support substrate is separated from the porous vacuum chuck, and the remaining portion is removed from the porous vacuum chuck together with the support substrate. The plurality of components adsorbed are separated.         If the flexible device manufacturing apparatus of claim 3 further includes a second processing station, the second processing station performs a process in which the film is attached after the layered structure is processed using the chuck unit. Each of the plurality of element parts adsorbed on the porous vacuum chuck.         A flexible device manufacturing apparatus for processing a layered structure formed on a support substrate to manufacture a plurality of flexible devices, comprising: one or a plurality of processing stations; The first mobile conveyor belt unit is capable of placing a porous vacuum chuck having an adsorbent formed of porous particles, and is provided to move freely along the first movement path; and the second mobile conveyor belt unit It can mount the porous vacuum chuck and move along the second moving path; it can be installed freely; between the first mobile conveyor belt unit and the second mobile conveyor belt unit, the porous vacuum can be performed The chuck is configured to move. The porous vacuum chuck receives the layered structure in a state of being placed on the first moving conveyor unit. The porous vacuum chuck is configured to hold the layer. The structure is moved from the first mobile conveyor unit to the second mobile conveyor unit in the state of the structure, and the porous vacuum chuck is in a state of not holding the layered structure. The second moving conveyor unit returns to the first moving conveyor unit.         A method for manufacturing a flexible element is a method of manufacturing a plurality of flexible elements by processing a layered structure formed on a support substrate. The layered structure includes: a flexible film, which is in accordance with the above support. One main surface of the substrate is formed in close contact; an element layer is formed on the flexible film to give the plurality of flexible elements functions as electronic components; and a protective film is covered by an adhesive The above-mentioned element layer is attached; the edge portion of the protective film is attached to one main surface of the supporting substrate via the above-mentioned adhesive. The method for manufacturing the flexible element includes: a first step, which uses laser light to The layered structure is cut, and the layered structure is divided into a plurality of element parts and residual parts corresponding to the plurality of flexible elements, respectively. The second step is after the first step, and The flexible film is irradiated with laser light from the other main surface side of the support substrate, so that the adhesion between the flexible film and the support substrate is reduced, or, in addition to the above, The third step is to reduce the adhesion between the flexible film and the support substrate other than the edges of the flexible film, and the third step is to provide a porous body having an adsorbent formed of porous particles after the second step. A state in which the layered structure is adsorbed by the mass vacuum chuck, the support substrate is separated from the porous vacuum chuck, and the remaining portion is adsorbed from the porous vacuum chuck together with the support substrate. The components are partially separated.         For example, the method for manufacturing a flexible element according to claim 6, further comprising a fourth step. The fourth step is after the third step, and the film is attached to the plurality of element portions adsorbed by the porous vacuum chuck. Each of them.