JP2005274709A - Laser repair device, laser repair device operating program, and method for correcting liquid crystal display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a laser repair device that can efficiently correct a bright point defective part and is adaptive to various kinds of liquid crystal display devices, a laser repair device operating program, and a method for correcting a liquid crystal display device. <P>SOLUTION: The laser repair device is equipped with an objective lens control means 316 capable of continuously controlling the position of the focus of laser light 30 between liquid crystal 21 and an alignment layer 18 during irradiation with the laser light 30 and an attenuator unit control means 312 capable of continuously controlling the attenuation factor of the laser light 30 when the focus of the laser light 30 moves between the liquid crystal 21 and alignment layer 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser repair device and a laser repair device program for correcting a liquid crystal display device using laser light, and a method for correcting a liquid crystal display device.

  Since the liquid crystal display device has a precise structure, defects called bright spots may be formed in the manufacturing process. Here, the bright spot refers to a portion where light transmission / non-transmission cannot be correctly controlled in a pixel of the liquid crystal display device, and light is always transmitted through the pixel. A liquid crystal display device having at least one such bright spot is treated as a defective product.

  In particular, in recent years, a liquid crystal display device is a lot in which bright spots are formed in a single liquid crystal display device as the individual pixels are downsized to increase the definition and the liquid crystal display device itself is upsized. As a result, the yield of products is relatively lowered. Therefore, there is a need for a correction method and a repair device with high accuracy and efficiency when correcting bright spots of a liquid crystal display device so that defective products having bright spots can be corrected as much as possible.

  As a method of correcting such a bright spot in a liquid crystal display device, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, a laser that corrects a portion having the bright spot by irradiating the bright spot of the liquid crystal display device with a laser beam. A method of correcting using a repair device has been proposed. Such a conventional correction method will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal display device 10 as an optical element. First, the configuration of the liquid crystal display device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The liquid crystal display device 10 is a so-called liquid crystal module in which a drive circuit or the like (not shown) is provided through a module process. The liquid crystal display device 10 is provided with transparent substrates 11 and 12 made of glass or the like so as to face each other. A liquid crystal 21 is sealed between the opposing surfaces (inner side surfaces) of the substrate 11 and the substrate 12 by a sealing material 24. On the inner surface of the substrate 11, color filters 20r, 20g, and 20b are provided at predetermined intervals, and a black matrix is provided between the color filters 20r, 20g, and 20b. For example, the color filters 20r, 20g, and 20b are red, green, and blue filters that are the three primary colors of light, respectively. A common electrode 15 made of a transparent conductive thin film such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) is provided so as to cover the color filters 20r, 20g, and 20b. Further, an alignment film 18 is provided on the common electrode 15. Hereinafter, the substrate 11 provided with the color filters 20r, 20g, and 20b is referred to as a CF-side substrate 11. On the other hand, the inner surface of the substrate 12 is provided with TFTs 16r, 16g, and 16b and display electrodes 17r, 17g, and 17b as liquid crystal material driving elements so as to face the common electrode 15 of the CF side substrate 11. Further, an alignment film 19 is provided so as to cover the entire surface. Hereinafter, the substrate 12 on which the TFTs 16r, 16g, and 16b are provided is referred to as a TFT side substrate 12. The alignment film 18 and the alignment film 19 are made of, for example, a PI (Polyimide) film, and are rubbed in directions orthogonal to each other. Therefore, the liquid crystal 21 sandwiched between the alignment films 18 and 19 is aligned in a direction twisted by 90 ° spirally from the CF side substrate 11 toward the TFT side substrate 12. Polarizing plates 13 and 14 having deflection axes that coincide with the rubbing directions of the alignment films 18 and 19 are provided on the outer surfaces of the CF side substrate 11 and the TFT side substrate 12. A backlight 22 is provided together with a reflector 23 on the outer surface of the polarizing plate 14 on the TFT side substrate 12 side. In the liquid crystal display device 10 having such a configuration, light from the backlight 22 is changed into linearly polarized light by the polarizing plate 14 on the TFT side substrate 12 side, and this linearly polarized light swirls along the alignment direction of the liquid crystal 21. Then, the light is emitted from the polarizing plate 13 on the CF side substrate 11 side. When a voltage is applied to each electrode of the liquid crystal display device 10, the liquid crystal 21 is aligned perpendicular to the substrates 11 and 12 and does not transmit light. In the liquid crystal display device 10, subpixels 50r, 50g, and 50b constituting one pixel are formed for each combination of the display electrodes 17r, 17g, and 17b and the TFTs 18r, 18g, and 18b, and light is transmitted through each pixel. The rate is controlled. Since the sub-pixels 50r, 50g, and 50b are provided with the color filters 20r, 20g, and 20b, the color image is displayed on the display surface 10s of the liquid crystal display device 10 as a result of controlling the light transmittance for each pixel. Is displayed. In order to prevent surface reflection on the display surface 10s, the display surface 10s side of the polarizing plate 13 is subjected to anti-glare treatment with minute irregularities to prevent surface reflection.

  In such a liquid crystal display device 10, when a bright spot is formed, the correction is performed. The bright spot can be detected by a lighting test using the backlight 22 or another light source. Here, the portion where the bright spot is formed in the liquid crystal display device 10 is hereinafter referred to as a bright spot defect portion, but the bright spot defect portion does not mean the defective portion itself that causes the bright spot to be formed. , When viewed from the display surface 10 s of the liquid crystal display device 10, it means any region located in a direction orthogonal to the display surface 10 s of the subpixels 50 r, 50 g, 50 b.

  Here, in patent document 1, as shown in FIGS. 12-14, with respect to the liquid crystal display device 10 which has a bright spot defect part, the laser beam 30 from which an attenuation factor and a focus position each differ is used using a laser processing apparatus. By irradiating twice from the display surface 10s side, one bright spot defect portion is corrected. Specifically, when the first laser beam 30 is irradiated so that the liquid crystal 21 is in focus, the liquid crystal 21 near the focus of the laser beam 30 is vaporized and bubbles 35 are generated as shown in FIG. At the location where the bubble 35 is generated, the liquid crystal 21 is temporarily withdrawn to both sides, and the second laser beam 30 is again focused on the alignment film 18 on the CF side substrate 11 in the meantime. Irradiating. When the laser beam 30 is irradiated twice as described above, the liquid crystal 21 can be aligned without the liquid crystal 21 between the alignment films 18 and 19 as shown in FIG. As a result, the energy concentrates on the alignment film 18 that is the irradiation destination without the laser beam 30 passing through to the TFT side substrate 12 side, and the alignment film 18 can be reliably altered. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, the altered portion 18d is formed in the alignment film 18. In the altered portion 18d, the fine groove on the alignment film 18 formed by the rubbing process is broken, and the liquid crystal molecules are correctly aligned in the altered portion 18d. No longer. As a result, the light from the backlight 22 does not rotate along the alignment direction of the liquid crystal 21 at the altered portion, and the light is not transmitted. That is, since no light is emitted at the altered portion, the altered portion becomes black, and the correction of the bright spot defect portion is completed with this.

In other words, in the conventional method for correcting a liquid crystal display device as shown in the same document, it is necessary to change the attenuation factor and the irradiation area of the laser beam 30 every time each process related to the correction is completed. The attenuation factor and the irradiation area are adjusted step by step, and the laser beam 30 is irradiated again. Generally, a method based on such a procedure is used.
JP 2002-341304 A

  However, in the conventional method in which the step of generating bubbles and the step of modifying the alignment film are separately performed by irradiating the laser beam in two steps, the second laser is irradiated after the first laser beam irradiation. In order to shift to light irradiation, it is necessary to change the attenuation factor and focus once the laser light is turned off, and then irradiate the laser light again. It takes a lot of time to correct the defective part, which is extremely inefficient.

  In addition, it is rare that only one type of liquid crystal display device is produced at the manufacturing site of the liquid crystal display device, and it is usual that a plurality of types of display devices are produced. The laser processing apparatus for correcting the point defect portion can set only a limited number of steps for the attenuation rate and irradiation area of the laser beam. For this reason, there are few types of liquid crystal display devices that can be handled by one laser repair device, and in the field of manufacturing various types of liquid crystal display devices, it is necessary to prepare a laser repair device for each type of compatible liquid crystal display device. .

  The present invention pays attention to such a defect, and can correct and efficiently correct a bright spot defect portion in a liquid crystal display device, and can cope with various types of liquid crystal display devices. An object of the present invention is to provide a simple laser repair device, a program for operating such a laser repair device, and a method for correcting a liquid crystal display device.

  In order to achieve such an object, the present invention takes the following measures. That is, the laser repair device according to the present invention corrects a bright spot defect portion in a liquid crystal display device in which liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of substrates having an alignment film by irradiating a laser beam, A laser optical system that outputs laser light, a stage on which a liquid crystal display device can be mounted and movable in the surface direction of the liquid crystal display device, and a laser that irradiates the liquid crystal display device mounted on the stage A converging optical system for setting a focal position of the light, the laser optical system oscillating the laser light, an attenuator for attenuating the laser light oscillated by the laser oscillator, and irradiation of the attenuated laser light In a device having a variable slit for controlling the area, a converging optical system control means capable of steplessly controlling the position of the focal point of the laser light between the liquid crystal and the alignment film during laser light irradiation, The focus of laser light is characterized by comprising the said laser beam attenuation rate controllable in a stepless attenuator control means when moving between the liquid crystal and the alignment layer.

  The laser repair device operation program according to the present invention is a laser repair device operation program stored in a computer that controls the operation of the laser repair device as described above, and is converged through the computer during laser light irradiation. The optical system is caused to execute a converging optical system control process for shifting the focus position of the laser beam between the liquid crystal and the alignment film, and the attenuator causes the focus of the laser beam to move between the liquid crystal and the alignment film. An attenuator control process for changing the attenuation rate of the laser beam steplessly when moving is performed.

  With such a laser repair device and a laser repair device operation program, it is possible to continuously change the attenuation rate and the focal position during laser light irradiation, so that bubbles are generated in the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal display device. Since the process from the generation of defects to the modification of the alignment film can be performed continuously, it is not necessary to stop and irradiate the laser beam once again, greatly reducing the time required for correcting the bright spot defects. It becomes possible to do. In addition, since the laser light attenuation factor and focus position can be controlled steplessly, it can be applied to various types of liquid crystal display devices by setting optimum values for various liquid crystal display devices. it can. Here, the focal position of the laser light not only indicates the intersection where the laser light is converged, but also includes the irradiation position when the laser light irradiates a predetermined irradiation area with a power density of a certain level or more. .

  The liquid crystal display device correction method according to the present invention is a method for correcting a bright spot defect in a liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal display device in which liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of substrates having an alignment film is irradiated with laser light. In the liquid crystal, a bubble generation step for generating bubbles by irradiating a laser beam to a location corresponding to a bright spot defect portion, and an alignment film alteration for changing the location of the alignment film in contact with the bubbles by laser irradiation. The step of generating bubbles from the bubble generation step while continuously changing the attenuation rate of the laser light while continuously moving the focus of the laser light between the alignment film and the liquid crystal during the irradiation of the laser light. It is characterized by continuously shifting to the alteration step.

  Therefore, in such a method, it is possible to continuously shift from the bubble generation step to the alignment film alteration step regardless of whether the laser repair device and the laser repair device operation program described above are used. Since it is not necessary to stop the light once and irradiate it again, it is possible to greatly reduce the time required for correcting the bright spot defect portion.

  Further, the laser repair device according to the present invention is a variable that can control the irradiation area of the laser light steplessly when the focusing optical control means moves the focal position of the laser light between the liquid crystal and the alignment film. When the slit control means is provided, the power density at the focal point of the laser beam provided in the liquid crystal can be adjusted as appropriate in one laser beam irradiation, and the laser beam is irradiated when the alignment film is irradiated with the laser beam. An optimum value can be set for the light irradiation area. In order to perform such control, a laser repair device operation program is transmitted to the variable slit through the computer during the convergence optical system control process and the attenuator control process. It is desirable to execute variable slit control processing for controlling the irradiation area steplessly.

  A corresponding method for correcting a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention is to continuously shift from the bubble generation step to the alignment film alteration step while continuously changing the irradiation area of the laser beam. By doing so, the alignment film alteration step can be performed more efficiently.

  Furthermore, in order to reliably process a bright spot defect portion having an area larger than the laser light irradiation area with the laser light, the laser repair device is placed on the stage while the laser light is being irradiated. It is preferable that the movement of the stage is controlled so as to scan the bright spot defect portion on the liquid crystal display device placed on a predetermined path. Further, as a laser repair apparatus operation program according to the present invention, a coordinate data receiving process for causing a computer to receive input of coordinate data related to the bright spot defect portion is executed, and the laser is sent to the stage through the computer. A stage for controlling the movement of the stage based on the coordinate data so that the position of the focal point of the laser beam is scanned on the bright spot defect portion in a predetermined path in the liquid crystal display device placed on the stage during light irradiation The thing which performs control processing can be mentioned.

  Then, with respect to the method for correcting a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, in order to alter the alignment film within one bright spot defect portion without any gap, regardless of the size of the bright spot defect portion, the alignment film alteration In the step, it is desirable that the position of the focal point of the laser beam is scanned on the bright spot defect portion along a predetermined path.

  In addition, in order to achieve high peak power stably, easy operation, easy maintenance, and high practicality, a laser oscillator used in the laser repair apparatus according to the present invention Is preferably one that oscillates a YAG laser.

  According to the laser repair device and the laser repair device operation program according to the present invention described in detail above, the attenuation rate and the focal position can be controlled and continuously changed during the irradiation of the laser beam. The processing from the generation of bubbles in the liquid crystal of the display device to the alteration of the alignment film can be continuously performed. That is, since it is not necessary to stop the laser beam and irradiate it again, it is possible to greatly reduce the time required for correcting the bright spot defect portion. In addition, since the laser light attenuation factor and focus position can be controlled steplessly, it can be applied to various types of liquid crystal display devices by setting optimum values for various liquid crystal display devices. it can.

  And, according to the correction method of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, since it is possible to continuously shift from the bubble generation step to the alignment film alteration step, it is not necessary to stop and irradiate the laser beam once again, It is possible to significantly reduce the time required for correcting the bright spot defect portion.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1 to FIG. 10, the same reference numerals are given to portions common to FIG. 11 to FIG. 14, and description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a laser repair apparatus 1 for carrying out the present invention. The laser repair apparatus 1 is configured by connecting the laser processing apparatus 100 and a computer 200 via an interface cable 400, and the CPU 201 executes a laser repair apparatus operation program 209 stored in an auxiliary storage device 206 of the computer 200. By doing so, the operation of the laser processing apparatus 100 is controlled.

  The laser processing apparatus 100 includes a laser optical system 110 that outputs a laser beam 30, an XY stage 130 that is a stage on which the liquid crystal display device is mounted and can move in the surface direction, and a liquid crystal display that is disposed on the XY stage 130. A converging optical system 120 that processes the apparatus 10 with the laser beam 30 and a control unit 140 that manages the exchange of various data with the computer 200 to control these operations are provided.

  The computer 200 executes the laser repair device operation program 209 to transfer various data with the CPU 201 that controls the operation of the entire laser repair device, the main memory 202 that the CPU 201 uses as a work memory as necessary, and the laser processing device 100. An interface unit 203 that manages images, a display device 204 that displays images and various types of information acquired by the laser processing apparatus 100, an input device 205 such as a keyboard and mouse that acquires instructions from the user to the computer 200, A drive for reading data from an auxiliary storage device 206 such as a hard disk device for storing programs and image data, and a recording medium 210 such as a flexible disk, CD-ROM, and MO disk (magneto-optical disk). It is configured to include a location 207. The CPU 201, the main memory 202, the interface unit 203, the display device 204, the input device 205, the auxiliary storage device 206, and the drive device 207 are all connected to the CPU 201, and exchange data with each other under the management of the CPU 201. Yes.

  The auxiliary storage device 206 is provided for each model or manufacturer of the operating system 208 and the laser processing apparatus 100 that allows the CPU 201 to execute a plurality of programs in parallel for the control of the laser processing apparatus 100. A laser repair device operation program 209 that is used and manages the operation of the entire laser repair device is stored in advance. In addition, repair data RD including coordinate data related to the bright spot defect portion of each liquid crystal display device 10 is stored in a storage medium 210 that can be read by the drive device 207. Here, the repair data RD is, for example, data for specifying the liquid crystal display device 10 such as the type and ID of the liquid crystal display device 10 to be repaired and the liquid crystal display device to be repaired in addition to the coordinate data of the bright spot defect portion. Data on the state of the liquid crystal display device 10 such as whether 10 is a cell process or a module process is included.

  In the laser repair apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, the laser repair apparatus operation program 209 is recorded on a recording medium such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, and an MO disk (magneto-optical disk) in the same manner as the repair data RD. It is also possible to control the drive device 207 to read and execute these programs from the recording medium.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a laser processing apparatus 100 used for correcting the liquid crystal display device 10 according to the present embodiment. The laser processing apparatus 100 includes, as a laser optical system 110, an oscillator 111 that is a laser oscillator that oscillates a fundamental wave (1064 nm) of a YAG laser that is near infrared light, an attenuator unit 112, a beam expander 113, and a variable slit 114. Yes. Further, in order to detect the position of the bright spot defect portion, as the converging optical system 120, a CCD camera 121, an eyepiece lens 122, a pentaprism 123, an imaging lens 122, an epi-illumination 123, a half mirror 124, a dichroic mirror 125, an objective lens 126 and an electric revolver 127. Furthermore, an XY table 130 on which the liquid crystal display device 10 is placed is provided. The laser optical system 110, the converging optical system 120, and the XY table 130 are connected to the control unit 140, respectively.

  In the laser optical system 110, the laser light 30 emitted from the oscillator 111 by being excited by a laser diode (not shown) is attenuated by an attenuator 121 a built in the attenuator unit 112. Here, if the liquid crystal display device 10 is irradiated with the attenuated laser beam 30 as it is, the light is further attenuated when passing through the polarizing plate 13 of the liquid crystal display device 10. Therefore, the attenuator unit 112 not only attenuates the laser beam 30 by providing the polarizing plate 121b, but also polarizes the laser beam 30 in a polarization direction that transmits the polarizing plate 13 of the liquid crystal display device 10. . The laser beam 30 is expanded by the beam expander 113. The enlarged laser beam 30 is adjusted in the irradiation area (laser spot size) of the laser beam 30 by the variable slit 114.

  The laser light 30 whose irradiation area is adjusted by the variable slit 114 in this manner is reflected by the dichroic mirror 125, condensed by the objective lens 126, and applied to the liquid crystal display device 10 placed on the XY table 130. Irradiated. The XY table 130 is provided with a moving mechanism (not shown) so that the XY table 130 can be horizontally moved on the XY plane and the position of the liquid crystal display device 10 placed on the XY table 130 can be controlled. ing.

  On the other hand, the incident light emitted from the incident illumination 123 is branched by the half mirror 124, passes through the dichroic mirror 125, is collected by the objective lens 126, and is applied to the liquid crystal display device 10. The reflected light of the irradiated light is received by the CCD camera 110 through the objective lens 126, the dichroic mirror 125, the half mirror 124, the imaging lens 122, the pentaprism 123, and the eyepiece lens. In this way, the liquid crystal display device 10 is photographed by the CCD camera 110. Here, in the present embodiment, the objective lens 126 is provided in the electric revolver 127, and the objective lens 126 having different magnifications can be applied by rotating the electric revolver 127.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the laser repair apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment causes the CPU 201 to read and sequentially execute the operating system 208 and the laser repair apparatus operation program 209 stored in the auxiliary storage device 106 of the computer 100 described above. As a result, these programs, the auxiliary storage device 206, the interface unit 203, the control unit 140, and the like cooperate, and the repair data receiving unit 301, the device information database 302, the repair data processing unit 303, the control information transmitting unit 304, and the manual operation receiving unit. Means 305, control information receiving means 310, oscillator control means 311, attenuator control means 312, variable slit control means 313, CCD camera control means 314, epi-illumination control means 315, objective lens control as convergence optical system control means Stage 316 functions as an electric revolver control unit 317 and the XY stage control unit 318.

  The repair data receiving unit 301 reads the repair data RD stored in the storage medium 210 into the drive device 207 according to the instruction of the CPU 201 that has read the operating system 208 and the laser repair device operation program 209, and the repair data is stored in the auxiliary storage device. A function of temporarily storing the data in a predetermined location 206 is provided.

  The device information database 302 is composed of external dimensions, the number of display pixels, display pixel dimensions, and other information related to all the liquid crystal display devices 10 to which the laser repair device can be applied, which are stored in the auxiliary storage device 206. is there.

  The repair data processing unit 303 causes the CPU 201 to read the repair data RD temporarily stored in the auxiliary storage device 206 by the repair data accepting unit 301, and also causes the CPU 201 to read necessary information from the device information database 302 to perform arithmetic processing. By performing the calculation, the control information C to be transmitted to the laser processing apparatus 100 is calculated, and the control information C is temporarily stored in the auxiliary storage device 206.

  The control information transmission unit 304 causes the CPU 201 to read the control information C temporarily stored in the auxiliary storage device 206 and causes the interface unit 203 to receive control information in the control unit 140 of the laser processing apparatus 100 via the interface cable 400. The function to transmit to 310 is provided.

  It should be noted that the user can arbitrarily operate the laser repair apparatus by the manual control receiving means 305 when the repair data receiving means 301 and the repair data processing means 303 described above are not operating. Specifically, in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 201 that has read the operating system 208 and the laser repair device operation program 209, a predetermined screen is displayed on the display device 204, and the user performs a predetermined input using the input device. The control information C ′ is calculated, and the control information C ′ is temporarily stored in the auxiliary storage device 206.

  The control information receiving unit 310 receives the control information C and C ′ from the control information transmitting unit 304 and causes the control unit 140 to read the control information C and C ′ into the control unit 140, respectively. Oscillator control information C1, attenuator control information C2, variable slit control information C3, CCD camera control information C4, epi-illumination control information C5, objective lens control information C6, electric revolver control information C7, XY stage control information C8 , Oscillator control means 311, attenuator control means 312, variable slit control means 313, CCD camera control means 314, epi-illumination control means 315, objective lens control means 316 as a converging optical system control means, electric revolver control means 317 and XY stage Has a function to transmit to the control means 318. .

  The oscillator control means 311 has a function of receiving the oscillator control information C1 from the control unit 140 and controlling the oscillator 111 according to the oscillator control information C1. Specifically, a process for controlling the intensity or frequency of the oscillated laser beam 30 is performed by adjusting the amount of current applied to the laser diode that excites the laser.

  The attenuator unit control means 312 which is an attenuator control means has a function of receiving the attenuator unit control information C2 from the control unit 140 and controlling the attenuator unit 112 according to the attenuator unit control information C2. Specifically, the attenuator unit 112 has an attenuator control process for continuously controlling the attenuation rate of the attenuator 112a and continuously setting the direction of the polarizing plate 121b.

  The variable slit control means 313 has a function of receiving the variable slit control information C3 from the control unit 140 and controlling the variable slit 114 according to the variable slit control information C3. In detail, while performing the process which adjusts the irradiation area of the laser beam 30 emitted from the attenuator unit steplessly and continuously, the slit shape of the irradiation surface is, for example, a rectangular shape in the X direction or a rectangular shape in the Y direction. Or a process of changing to a rectangular shape in the θ direction.

  The CCD camera control means 314 has a function of receiving the CCD camera control information C4 from the control unit 140 and controlling the CCD camera 121 according to the CCD camera control information C4. Specifically, processing for adjusting the exposure of the CCD camera, the number of pixels on the display screen, brightness, color, and the like is executed.

  The epi-illumination control means 315 has a function of receiving epi-illumination control information C5 from the control unit 140 and controlling the epi-illumination 123 according to the epi-illumination control information C4. Specifically, a process for adjusting the illuminance adjustment or the like of the epi-illumination 123 is executed.

  The objective lens control means 316 serving as the converging optical system control means receives the objective lens control information C6 from the control unit 140 and controls the objective lens 126 according to the objective lens control information C4, thereby changing the shape of the beam of the laser light 30. It has a function to control. Specifically, a converging optical system that adjusts the focus or irradiation area, power density, etc. of the laser beam 30 by appropriately controlling the shape of the beam of the laser beam 30 by controlling the objective lens 126 steplessly and continuously. Execute control processing. Here, the focal point of the laser beam 30 not only indicates the intersection where the laser beam 30 is converged, but also the irradiation position when the laser beam 30 irradiates a predetermined irradiation area with a power density of a certain level or more. Is included.

  The electric revolver control means 317 has a function of receiving the electric revolver control information C7 from the control unit 140 and controlling the electric revolver 127 according to the electric revolver control information C7. Specifically, a process of selecting the objective lens 126 by rotating the electric revolver 127 is executed.

  The XY stage control means 318 has a function of receiving the XY stage control information C8 from the control unit 140 and controlling the XY stage 129 according to the XY stage control information C8. Specifically, the laser beam 30 is focused on the position of the bright spot defect portion, and the laser beam 30 is scanned in the focal point or irradiation surface within the range of the bright spot defect portion. A stage control process for moving the XY stage 130 in the direction is executed.

  Thereafter, in the laser repair device according to the present embodiment, the bright spot defect portion in the liquid crystal display device 10 corrected by the cooperation of the laser repair device operation program read by the CPU 201 in the computer 200 and the laser processing device 100 is corrected. The procedure is described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4, and the situation of the liquid crystal display device 10 at that time is also described with reference to FIGS.

  Here, the bright spot defect portion of the liquid crystal display device 10 is detected in advance, and the data relating to the detected position of the bright spot defect portion is stored in the storage medium 210 together with other data relating to the liquid crystal display device 10 as repair data RD. It is assumed that the CPU 201 can read the data via the drive device 207. Prior to correcting the bright spot defect portion of the liquid crystal display device 10, alignment (positioning) is performed on the liquid crystal display device 10 in which the bright spot defect portion is detected. Specifically, the liquid crystal display device 10 is placed on the XY table 130 of the laser processing apparatus 100. At this time, for example, two alignment points set in advance are detected by the CCD camera 121. When the alignment point is detected, the XY table 130 can be driven so that the bright spot defect portion is accurately positioned at the irradiation target of the laser beam 30.

  First, when it is confirmed that the alignment point is normally detected (alignment confirmation step S1), the XY stage controller 318 moves the XY stage 130, and the focus of the laser beam 30 is shown in FIGS. 10 (a) to 10 (b). ) So as to come to a predetermined position in the region k corresponding to the bright spot defect portion shown in () (stage adjustment step S2). When the alignment is not performed, the process ends. Then, the oscillator control unit 311, the attenuator unit control unit 312, the variable slit control unit 313, and the objective lens control unit 316 are activated, and the focus of the laser beam 30 is irradiated in accordance with the liquid crystal 21, thereby FIG. 5 and FIG. As shown in a), bubbles 35 are generated in the liquid crystal 21 (bubble generation step S3). After the bubble 35 is generated, the attenuation factor of the laser beam 30 is continuously controlled by the attenuator unit control unit 312, the irradiation area of the laser beam 30 is continuously controlled by the variable slit control unit 313, and the focal point of the laser beam 30 is continuously controlled by the objective lens control unit 316. The alignment film 18 is irradiated with the laser light 30 while adjusting the focus (focus transfer step S4). Then, while the irradiation surface of the laser beam 30 is aligned with the alignment film 18 by the objective lens control unit 316, the irradiation surface of the laser beam 30 is moved within the region k on the alignment film 18 by the XY stage control unit 318. Alternatively, the XY stage 130 is moved in the plane direction of the liquid crystal display device 10 so as to scan as shown in FIGS. 6 and 10B along a predetermined path r determined in advance by the repair data RD. (Alignment film alteration step S5). The XY stage control means determines whether or not the laser beam 30 has scanned all of the above-described predetermined path r when the irradiation surface of the laser beam 30 is scanned a predetermined distance that does not protrude from the position within the range of the bubble 35 described above. If the laser beam 30 is not scanning the predetermined path as shown in FIGS. 10B and 10C, the process returns to the bubble generation step S3 as shown in FIGS. 10B and 10C. 35 is generated, and the process from the focus shift step S4 and the alignment film alteration step S5 to the irradiation confirmation step S6 is performed as shown in FIG. If the laser beam 30 has scanned the entire predetermined path r, the alignment film 18 in the region k becomes all the altered portion 18d as shown in FIG. 10D, and the irradiation of the laser beam 30 is stopped at that time ( Irradiation stop step S7), it is confirmed by the XY stage control means 318 whether there is any other bright spot defect portion that has not been corrected (bright spot defect portion confirmation step S8), and there are other bright spot defect portions. If so, the process proceeds to stage adjustment step S2. If there are no other bright spot defects, the process is terminated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the objective lens control unit 316 serving as the converging optical system control unit performs the position of the focal point of the laser beam 30 between the liquid crystal 21 and the alignment film 18 during the irradiation of the laser beam 30. As a process for controlling the steplessly, the converging optical system control process is performed, and when the attenuator unit control means 312 as the attenuator control means moves the focus of the laser light 30 between the liquid crystal 21 and the alignment film 18, the laser An attenuator control process for controlling the attenuation rate of the light 30 steplessly is executed. In other words, during the irradiation of the laser beam 30, the bubble generation step is performed while continuously changing the attenuation rate of the laser beam 30 while moving the focus of the laser beam 30 between the alignment film 18 and the liquid crystal 21 steplessly. The correction method of the liquid crystal display device 10 that continuously shifts from S3 to the alignment film alteration step S5 is realized.

  By doing so, the attenuation rate and the focal position can be controlled and continuously changed during irradiation of the laser beam 30, so that the laser beam 30 is conventionally applied to one bright spot defect portion. It is possible to correct the bright spot defect portion by applying the number of times of irradiation that has been divided into a plurality of times as a single irradiation, and it is possible to significantly reduce the time required for correcting the bright spot defect portion. . In addition, by controlling the attenuation rate of the laser beam 30 and the focus position steplessly, the attenuation rate of the laser beam 30, the focus position, and the irradiation area can be set to optimum values. The liquid crystal display device 10 can be applied.

  The laser repair device 1 and the laser repair device operation program 209 according to this embodiment execute variable slit control processing in which the variable slit control unit 313 controls the irradiation area of the laser beam 30 steplessly. Thus, the bright spot defect portion of the liquid crystal display device 10 is corrected by continuously shifting from the bubble generation step S3 to the alignment film alteration step S5 while continuously changing the irradiation area of the laser beam 30 steplessly. Therefore, the size of bubbles generated can be adjusted by appropriately adjusting the power density at the focal point of the laser beam 30 provided in the liquid crystal 21 in one irradiation of the laser beam 30, and the alignment film 18 can be adjusted. In the case of irradiating the laser beam 30, the irradiation area of the laser beam 30 can be set as appropriate.

  Further, in the alignment film alteration step S5, the position of the focal point of the laser beam 30 is scanned on the bright spot defect portion along a predetermined path, so that the laser beam 30 falls within the range of the bright spot defect portion in one irradiation of the laser beam 30. Therefore, regardless of the size of the luminescent spot defect portion, the alignment film 18 in the range of one luminescent spot defect portion is altered without any gap to form the altered portion 18d, thereby further improving the accuracy. It is possible to correct a bright spot defect portion having a high height.

  In addition, since the oscillator 111, which is a laser oscillator used in the laser repair apparatus according to the present embodiment, oscillates a YAG laser, high peak power can be stably obtained, operation is easy, and maintenance is simple. It has a high practicality.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the specific configuration of each unit is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the step of generating bubbles and the step of scanning the alignment film are alternately performed, but other than that, for example, the bubbles may be generated in several times first, or the bubbles may be generated. You may make it operate | move a laser beam, generating. In the above-described embodiment, only the fundamental wave of the YAG laser is used as the laser beam. However, the laser beam may be capable of emitting the second harmonic.

  In addition, the specific configuration of each part is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The figure which shows the structure of the laser repair apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the laser processing apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. The functional block diagram of the laser repair apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. The flowchart which shows the flow of the data which concern on the same embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the correction method of the liquid crystal display device which concerns on the same embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the correction method of the liquid crystal display device which concerns on the same embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the correction method of the liquid crystal display device which concerns on the same embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the correction method of the liquid crystal display device which concerns on the same embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the correction method of the liquid crystal display device which concerns on the same embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the correction method of the liquid crystal display device which concerns on the same embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal display device. Schematic which shows the correction method of the conventional liquid crystal display device. Schematic which shows the correction method of the conventional liquid crystal display device. Schematic which shows the correction method of the conventional liquid crystal display device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Laser repair apparatus 10 ... Liquid crystal display device 11 ... Substrate (CF side substrate)
12 ... Substrate (TFT side substrate)
18, 19 ... Alignment film 18d ... Altered portion 21 ... Liquid crystal 30 ... Laser light 110 ... Laser optical system 111 ... Laser oscillator (oscillator)
112a ... Attenuator 114 ... Variable slit 120 ... Converging optical system 130 ... Stage (XY stage)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 200 ... Computer 209 ... Laser repair apparatus operation program 312 ... Attenuator control means (attenuator unit control means)
313: Variable slit control means 316: Converging optical system control means (objective lens control means)
318 ... Stage control means (XY stage control means)
r ... predetermined path S3 ... bubble generation step S5 ... alignment film alteration step

Claims (10)

By irradiating a laser beam, a bright spot defect portion in a liquid crystal display device in which liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of substrates having an alignment film,
A laser optical system for outputting laser light, a stage on which the liquid crystal display device can be mounted and movable in the surface direction of the liquid crystal display device, and irradiation on the liquid crystal display device mounted on the stage And a converging optical system for setting a focal position of the laser beam, wherein the laser optical system is attenuated by a laser oscillator that oscillates the laser beam, and an attenuator that attenuates the laser beam oscillated by the laser oscillator. Having a variable slit for controlling the irradiation area of the laser beam,
A converging optical system control means capable of steplessly controlling the position of the focal point of the laser light between the liquid crystal and the alignment film during the irradiation of the laser light;
A laser repair device comprising: an attenuator control means capable of controlling the attenuation rate of the laser light steplessly when the focal point of the laser light moves between the liquid crystal and the alignment film. A variable slit control unit capable of steplessly controlling an irradiation area of the laser beam when the focusing optical control unit moves the focal position of the laser beam between the liquid crystal and the alignment film. Item 2. The laser repair device according to Item 1. During the irradiation of the laser beam, the movement of the stage is controlled so that the position of the focal point of the laser beam scans on the bright spot defect portion in the liquid crystal display device mounted on the stage along a predetermined path. The laser repair apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a stage control unit. 4. The laser repair apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the laser oscillator oscillates a YAG laser. A laser optical system for outputting laser light, a stage on which a liquid crystal display device can be mounted and movable in the surface direction of the liquid crystal display device, and the liquid crystal display device disposed on the stage are irradiated with the laser light A converging optical system for setting a focal position of laser light, wherein the laser optical system oscillates laser light, an attenuator that attenuates laser light oscillated by the laser oscillator, and an attenuated laser The bright spot is obtained by irradiating a laser beam from the laser optical system to a liquid crystal display device having a variable slit for controlling an irradiation area of light and having a liquid crystal sealed between a pair of substrates having an alignment film. A laser repair device operation program stored in a computer for controlling the operation of the laser repair device for correcting a defective part,
During the irradiation of the laser light, the converging optical system is caused to execute a converging optical system control process for shifting the position of the focal point of the laser light between the liquid crystal and the alignment film through the computer through the computer. A laser that causes the attenuator to execute an attenuator control process that changes the attenuation rate of the laser light steplessly when the focal point of the laser light moves between the liquid crystal and the alignment film. Repair device operation program. 6. The variable slit control process for controlling the irradiation area of the laser beam steplessly for the variable slit during the execution of the convergence optical system control process and the attenuator control process through the computer. Laser repair device operation program. The coordinate data receiving process for causing the computer to receive input of coordinate data related to the bright spot defect portion is executed, and the position of the focal point of the laser beam is set with respect to the stage through the computer during the irradiation of the laser beam. The stage control process which controls the movement of the said stage is performed based on the said coordinate data so that the said bright spot defect part in the said liquid crystal display device mounted on the said stage may be scanned by a predetermined path | route. The laser repair device operation program described. A method for correcting a bright spot defect in a liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal display device in which liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of substrates having an alignment film is irradiated with laser light,
A bubble generation step of generating bubbles by irradiating the laser beam to a location corresponding to a bright spot defect in the liquid crystal;
An alignment film alteration step that alters the location of the alignment film in contact with the bubbles by irradiation with the laser beam,
While the laser beam is irradiated, the focus of the laser beam is continuously moved between the alignment film and the liquid crystal while continuously changing the attenuation rate of the laser beam, and the orientation from the bubble generation step. A method of correcting a liquid crystal display device, characterized by continuously shifting to a film alteration step. 9. The method of correcting a liquid crystal display device according to claim 8, wherein the bubble generation step is continuously shifted to the alignment film alteration step while continuously changing the irradiation area of the laser beam. 10. The method for correcting a liquid crystal display device according to claim 8, wherein in the alignment film alteration step, the focal point of the laser beam is scanned on the bright spot defect portion along a predetermined path.

Images