KR100969743B1 - Liquid material applying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

In the coating device 1, the coating head 14 is moved in the main scanning direction so that the organic EL liquid discharged from the three nozzles 17 is applied on the substrate 9 in a stripe shape. In the coating device 1, the relative movement direction rear side (hereinafter, simply referred to as "front side") of the substrate 9 in the sub-scanning direction formed by the airflow forming unit 19 (hereinafter, simply referred to as simply "front side"). By the flow of air parallel to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 facing the " rear ", the atmosphere around the organic EL liquid line applied by the front and center nozzles 17 is directed to the rear side. The uniformity of the concentration of the solvent component in the atmosphere is improved around the three organic EL liquid lines spread by the three nozzles 17. Thereby, the uniformity of the drying speed of the organic EL liquid discharged from the discharge ports of the three nozzles 17 can be improved, and generation | occurrence | production of an application | coating dispersion | variation can be prevented.

Description

Coating device {LIQUID MATERIAL APPLYING APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a coating apparatus for applying a fluid material to a substrate.

Conventionally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2003-17402 (Patent 1) and 2005-13787 (Patent Documents) are apparatuses for applying a fluid material such as a resist liquid onto a semiconductor substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrate"). As disclosed in 2), a coating apparatus for applying a fluid material on a plurality of parallel lines in contact with each other over the entire main surface of the substrate by scanning a nozzle for continuously discharging the fluid material on a substrate is known.

In such a coating apparatus, various techniques for improving the uniformity of the film thickness of a flowable material have been proposed. For example, in Document 1, the solvent is attached to the coating liquid surface by exposing the substrate coated with the coating liquid by the resist coating apparatus to the solvent atmosphere of the coating liquid in the solvent atmosphere apparatus provided separately from the register coating apparatus. The technique which reduces the viscosity of a coating liquid surface, and forms an airflow in the container in which the board | substrate is accommodated, and then planarizes the surface of a coating liquid by this airflow is disclosed. Document 1 also discloses a technique of suppressing volatilization of a coating liquid by pressurizing the inside of a container in which a substrate coated with the coating liquid is accommodated.

In the coating film-forming apparatus of Document 2, the drying prevention plate which covers almost the whole board | substrate is provided in the position within 2 mm of a board | substrate, and discharges the coating liquid for insulating films in the linear clearance gap formed in the said drying prevention plate. By scanning a nozzle with respect to a board | substrate, a coating liquid is apply | coated uniformly on a board | substrate. Thereby, a high concentration solvent atmosphere is formed between a board | substrate and a drying prevention plate, and drying of the coating liquid apply | coated to the board | substrate is suppressed. Moreover, in the coating film-forming apparatus of document 2, the sponge member which infiltrated the solvent is provided on a drying prevention plate, and the solvent vapor which evaporates from a sponge member is supplied between a board | substrate and a drying prevention plate from the supply hole formed in the drying prevention plate. By this, the solvent concentration between a board | substrate and a drying prevention plate becomes higher.

By the way, the coating apparatus which apply | coats a fluid material to a board | substrate by scanning the nozzle which discharges a fluid material is used also when apply | coating the fluid material containing a pixel formation material to the board | substrate for flat panel display devices. In such an apparatus, for example, by repeating the scanning of a plurality of nozzles arranged at a predetermined pitch and the step movement of the substrate in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction, a flowable material is formed in the plurality of grooves between partitions formed on the substrate. It is applied in a stripe shape.

On the substrate, the solvent component evaporates from each line of the fluid material, so that the pixel forming material is fixed on the substrate to form a film of the pixel forming material, and the pixel forming material is formed on the substrate until the solvent evaporates. By sufficiently dispersing in the line, the film thickness of the pixel forming material becomes uniform.

However, when the fluid material is applied by the plurality of nozzles, since the fluid material is not applied to the back side of the step movement direction of the substrate, among the plurality of nozzles, the nozzle located at the rearmost side with respect to the step movement direction is used. At the periphery of the applied flowable material line, the concentration of the solvent component in the atmosphere is lower than the periphery of the flowable material line applied by another nozzle.

For this reason, the flowable material line applied by the rearmost nozzle dries faster than the flowable material line applied by the other nozzles, resulting in uneven film thickness of the pixel forming material formed on the substrate. As a result, when the whole board | substrate is seen, application | coating dispersion | variation generate | occur | produces, and there exists a possibility that the quality of the display in the flat-panel display apparatus after becoming a product may fall.

This invention relates to the coating device which apply | coats a fluid material to a board | substrate, It aims at improving the uniformity of the drying speed of the fluid material discharged from the some discharge port of a coating device.

The coating device includes a substrate holding part for holding a substrate and a discharge for discharging the flowable material toward the coating area on the main surface of the substrate from a plurality of discharge ports arranged at equal intervals in the sub-scan direction parallel to the main surface of the substrate. The ejection mechanism is moved relative to the substrate in the main scanning direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction and parallel to the main scanning direction, and the substrate is ejected each time the movement in the main scanning direction is performed. A discharge mechanism that moves relatively in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the sub-scanning direction, and a flow of gas approximately parallel to the main surface of the substrate that is directed from the relative moving direction front side of the substrate in the sub-scanning direction toward the rear side of the relative moving direction. And an airflow forming portion formed between the mechanism and the substrate. According to the present invention, the uniformity of the concentration of the solvent component in the atmosphere around the flowable material discharged from the plurality of discharge ports can be improved, thereby improving the uniformity of the drying speed of the flowable material discharged from the plurality of discharge ports.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the relative position in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the discharge mechanism of the airflow forming portion is fixed.

In another preferable embodiment of this invention, the said airflow formation part is equipped with the outlet port which delivers the said gas, More preferably, the said outlet port is the said relative movement of the said board | substrate with respect to the said some discharge port of the said discharge mechanism. It is arrange | positioned in the front direction, and the said gas is sent out substantially parallel to the said main surface of the said board | substrate from the said delivery port.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the coating apparatus further includes a gas heating unit for heating the gas directed to the discharge mechanism.

The above objects and other objects, features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1: is a top view which shows the coating device 1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the coating device 1. As shown in FIG. The coating device 1 is a device for applying a fluid material including a pixel forming material for a flat panel display device to the glass substrate 9 (hereinafter, simply referred to as the “substrate 9”) for a flat panel display device. In this embodiment, in the coating device 1, a volatile solvent (4-methyl which is one of aromatic organic solvents in this embodiment) is applied to the substrate 9 for an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device of an active matrix drive system. A fluid material (hereinafter referred to as "organic EL liquid") including an anisole and an organic EL material provided on the substrate 9 is applied.

The coating apparatus 1 is provided with the board | substrate holding part 11 which hold | maintains the board | substrate 9, as shown in FIG. 2, and shows the board | substrate holding part 11 as shown in FIG. A horizontal axis is moved in a predetermined direction parallel to the main surface of the substrate 9 (that is, referred to as a "sub-scan direction" in Fig. 1, hereinafter). It is provided with the substrate movement mechanism 12 which rotates. The board | substrate holding part 11 is equipped with the heater 111 which is a board | substrate heating part which heats the board | substrate 9 from below as shown in FIG.

The coating device 1 further includes a substrate supported by an alignment mark detection unit 13 and a substrate holding unit 11 (see FIG. 2) for imaging and detecting an alignment mark (not shown) formed on the substrate 9. The discharge which discharges organic EL liquid toward the application area | region 91 (it encloses with a broken line in FIG. 1) on the (+ Z) side main surface 90 (henceforth "upper surface 90") of 9). The application head 14 and the application head 14 which are mechanisms are parallel to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 and perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction (that is, X direction in FIG. 1, hereinafter referred to as "scanning direction"). And the organic EL from the coating head 14 while being installed on both sides of the substrate holding part 11 with respect to the moving direction of the head moving mechanism 15 and the coating head 14 (that is, the X direction). Two liquid receiving parts 16 which receive a liquid, and a fluid material supply part 18 which supplies an organic EL liquid which is a fluid material to the application head 14 are provided. As it is shown in Figure 1, a control unit (2) for controlling such a configuration.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the coating head 14 is provided with a plurality of nozzles 17 (three in this embodiment) for continuously discharging organic EL liquids of the same kind. The three nozzles 17 are arranged in a substantially straight line shape in the X direction (ie, the main scanning direction) and are disposed slightly off the Y direction (ie, the sub scanning direction). The discharge ports of the three nozzles 17 are arranged at equal intervals with respect to the sub-scan direction, and the distance between the adjacent two nozzles 17 with respect to the sub-scan direction is previously formed on the application region 91 of the substrate 9. The pitch is equal to three times the pitch between the partition walls extending in the main scanning direction (hereinafter referred to as the "partition pitch").

When the organic EL liquid is applied to the application region 91 of the substrate 9, the organic EL liquid is discharged and applied to three groove portions formed between the three nozzles 17 between the partition walls. Between the two groove portions to which the organic EL liquid is applied by the coating device 1, two groove portions to which different kinds of organic EL liquid are applied by another coating device or the like are sandwiched.

In the coating device 1, the head moving mechanism 15 and the substrate moving mechanism 12 move the coating head 14 relative to the substrate 9 in the main scanning direction and simultaneously move the substrate 9 to the coating head. It becomes a moving mechanism which moves relatively to (14) in a sub scanning direction. As described later, in the coating apparatus 1, the substrate 9 is in the sub-scanning direction together with the substrate holding part 11 in the sub-scanning direction (-Y) in the application of the organic EL liquid to the substrate 9. It moves toward the (+ Y) side from the side. That is, the (+ Y) side in FIG. 1 becomes the relative movement direction front side of the board | substrate 9 in a sub-scanning direction, and the (-Y) side becomes the rear of the relative movement direction of the board | substrate 9 in a sub-scanning direction. In other words, the (+ Y) side in FIG. 1 is the movement downstream side in the sub-scanning direction of the substrate 9, and the (-Y) side is the movement upstream side of the substrate 9.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the coating device 1 is formed on the (+ Y) side of the discharge port of the plurality of nozzles 17 of the coating head 14 (that is, the substrate 9 in the sub-scan direction). Gas which is arrange | positioned across the board | substrate holding part 11 and the board | substrate movement mechanism 12 in the relative movement direction), and conveys a gas toward (-Y) side, and is directed toward (-Y) side from (+ Y) side. The airflow forming unit 19 is further provided to form a flow of air (that is, airflow from the front side of the relative movement direction of the substrate 9 in the sub-scanning direction to the rear side of the relative movement direction).

Since the airflow forming unit 19 is fixed to the base (not shown) together with the substrate moving mechanism 12 and the head moving mechanism 15, the sub-scan direction of the airflow forming unit 19 with respect to the application head 14. The relative position is fixed. The airflow forming unit 19 is disposed close to the plurality of nozzles 17 of the application head 14 in the subscanning direction, and the subscanning between the airflow forming unit 19 and the plurality of nozzles 17 is performed. The direction distance is several cm. In addition, the airflow forming unit 19 is disposed above the substrate 9 in proximity to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9.

3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the vicinity of the airflow forming unit 19. As shown in FIG.2 and FIG.3, the airflow formation part 19 has the air outlet 191 which sends out gas to the (-Y) side which opposes the some nozzle 17 of the application head 14. As shown in FIG. The discharge port 191 has a slit shape whose total length in the main scanning direction is longer than the total length in the main scanning direction of the application region 91 (see FIG. 1) of the substrate 9.

In the coating device 1, the airflow forming unit 19 is connected to a compressor (not shown), and air (dry air having a lower humidity than normal air) is supplied from the compressor to the airflow forming unit 19, thereby applying the coating head. The plurality of nozzles 17 of 14 are parallel to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 from the outlet 191 disposed on the (+ Y) side (that is, the relative movement direction front side of the substrate 9). Air is sent out toward the (-Y) side. As a result, a flow of air parallel to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 is formed between the front ends (that is, the ejection openings) of the plurality of nozzles 17 and the substrate 9. In the airflow forming unit 19, since the air outlet 191 is provided over the entire length of the main scanning direction of the coating area 91 of the substrate 9, the air flow is the main scanning of the coating area 91. Formed over the entire length of the direction.

The speed (that is, flow velocity) of the flow of air formed by the airflow forming unit 19 is preferably between 0.15 m and 0.35 m (more preferably in the initial velocity between the nozzle 17 and the substrate 9). More preferably, 0.2 m or more per second at 0.3 m or less per second, and in this embodiment, 0.21 m per second. In addition, the flow of air formed by the airflow forming unit 19 may be slightly inclined with respect to the upper surface 90 as long as it is substantially parallel to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9.

Next, application | coating of the organic EL liquid by the coating device 1 is demonstrated. 4 is a diagram illustrating a flow of application of the organic EL liquid. When the application of the organic EL liquid is carried out by the coating device 1, the substrate 9 is first placed and held on the substrate holding unit 11, and based on the output from the alignment mark detection unit 13, the substrate moving mechanism ( 12 is driven, the substrate 9 moves and rotates, and is positioned at the coating start position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1 (step S11). In other words, the application head 14 is located at the start end of relative movement in the sub-scan direction with respect to the substrate 9. Moreover, the application head 14 is previously located in the standby position (namely, the upper part of the liquid receiving part 16 on the (-X) side in FIG. 1) shown by a solid line in FIGS. 1 and 2 in the main scanning direction. .

Subsequently, the airflow forming unit 19 is controlled by the control unit 2 to start the delivery of air from the discharge port 191, and a flow of air parallel to the upper surface 90 is formed on the substrate 9. (Step S12). Next, the coating head 14 is controlled by the control unit 2 to start discharging the organic EL liquid from the three nozzles 17 (step S13), and the head moving mechanism 15 is controlled to apply the coating head 14. Movement of the head 14 in the main scanning direction (that is, movement from the (-X) side to the (+ X) side in FIG. 1) is started.

In the coating device 1, the organic EL liquid is continuously discharged from the nozzle 17 toward the substrate 9 at the relative movement of the coating head 14 in the main scanning direction, thereby applying the coating region 91 of the substrate 9. The organic EL liquid is applied in three stripe grooves in a stripe shape (step S14). In addition, since the non-coating area | region of the (+ X) side and (-X) side of the application | coating area | region 91 in FIG. 1 is covered by the mask not shown, organic electroluminescent liquid is not apply | coated.

When the application head 14 moves to the standby position indicated by the dashed-dotted line in FIGS. 1 and 2 (that is, above the liquid receiver 16 on the (+ X) side), the substrate moving mechanism 12 is moved. It drives, and the board | substrate 9 moves with the board | substrate holding part 11 by the distance equal to 9 times of a partition pitch in (+ Y) direction (namely, sub-scanning direction) (step S15). At this time, in the coating head 14, the organic EL liquid is continuously discharged from the three nozzles 17 toward the liquid receiving portion 16.

In the coating device 1, a fast-drying thing is used as a solvent of the organic EL liquid, and the substrate 9 is heated by the heater 111 of the substrate holding part 11, so that the nozzle ( The organic EL liquid applied to the application region 91 by 17 is rapidly dried during the movement in the sub-scanning direction of the substrate 9 in step S15 immediately after the application (that is, from the organic EL liquid). The solvent evaporates) and the organic EL material is left on the substrate 9 in a semi-dry state to form a film of the organic EL material.

When the movement of the substrate 9 in the sub-scanning direction ends, the control unit 2 determines whether the substrate 9 and the substrate holding unit 11 have moved to the application end position indicated by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 1. It is confirmed (step S16). And when it does not move to the application | coating end position, it returns to step S14 and the application | coating head 14 discharges the organic EL liquid from three nozzles 17 from (+ X) side of the board | substrate 9 (- By moving in the X) direction (that is, the main scanning direction), the organic EL liquid is applied to the groove of the application region 91 of the substrate 9 (step S14). Thereafter, the substrate 9 moves in the sub-scanning direction, and it is checked whether or not the substrate 9 has moved to the application end position (steps S15 and S16).

In the coating device 1, the movement in the main scanning direction of the coating head 14 and the (+ Y) side of the substrate 9 until the substrate holding portion 11 and the substrate 9 are positioned at the coating end position. When the step movement of is repeated (that is, each time the relative movement in the main scanning direction of the application head 14 with respect to the substrate 9 is performed, the substrate 9 is relatively in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the application head 14. In this way, in the coating area 91 of the substrate 9, the organic EL liquid is applied in a stripe shape arranged at the same pitch as three times the partition pitch (steps S14 to S16). In the coating device 1, the direction in which the application of the organic EL liquid proceeds on the substrate 9 with respect to the sub-scanning direction (that is, the relative movement direction with respect to the substrate 9 of the coating head 14), The direction of movement of the substrate 9 by the substrate movement mechanism 12 is opposite.

And when the board | substrate 9 moves to the application | coating end position, discharge of the organic EL liquid from three nozzles 17 will stop (step S17), and air delivery from the airflow forming part 19 will stop. It stops (step S18), and application | coating of the organic EL liquid to the board | substrate 9 by the coating device 1 is complete | finished. The board | substrate 9 in which application | coating by the coating device 1 was complete | finished is conveyed to another coating device etc., and the organic EL liquid of 2 colors other than the organic EL liquid apply | coated by the coating device 1 is apply | coated. In addition, in the coating device 1, application of the organic EL liquid is performed continuously on the plurality of substrates 9 in practice. In this case, the airflow forming unit 19 is not stopped until the application of the organic EL liquid to the plurality of substrates 9 is terminated without sending air from the airflow forming unit 19 in step S18. Air may be continuously supplied from the

As described above, in the coating device 1, the organic EL liquid discharged from the three nozzles 17 moves to the coating region 91 of the substrate 9 by moving the coating head 14 in the main scanning direction. It is applied in a stripe shape. At this time, among the three nozzles 17, the organic EL liquid line coated by the center nozzle 17 was applied in parallel by the nozzles 17 on the (+ Y) side and the (-Y) side. The organic EL liquid line sandwiched by the liquid line and coated by the nozzle 17 on the (+ Y) side is applied to the organic EL liquid line applied in parallel by the nozzle 17 on the center, and already on the substrate 9. It is pinched by the organic EL liquid line group apply | coated to. For this reason, the density | concentration of the solvent component of the organic EL liquid in atmosphere is increasing around the organic EL liquid line apply | coated by the nozzle 17 of the center and (+ Y) side.

Moreover, in the coating device 1, (+ Y) by the flow of air which goes to the (-Y) direction from the (+ Y) side parallel to the upper surface 90 of the board | substrate 9 formed by the airflow formation part 19. The atmosphere around the organic EL liquid line coated by the nozzle 17 on the) side and the center is widened in the (-Y) direction. Thereby, even if it is around the organic EL liquid line apply | coated by the nozzle 17 of the (-Y) side, the density | concentration of the solvent component of the organic EL liquid in atmosphere becomes high, and it coats with three nozzles 17. Around three organic EL liquid lines, the uniformity of the concentration of the solvent component in the atmosphere is improved.

Here, if the coating device in which the airflow formation part is not provided is made into a comparative example, in the coating device of the comparative example, the nozzle on the (+ Y) side (that is, the relative movement direction front side of the substrate in the sub-scanning direction) and the nozzle in the center will be described. In the circumference | surroundings of the organic EL liquid line apply | coated by this, the density | concentration of the solvent component of the organic EL liquid in atmosphere is increasing similarly to the above. However, another organic EL liquid line is not applied to the (-Y) side of the organic EL liquid line applied by the nozzle on the (-Y) side (that is, the rear side of the relative movement direction of the substrate in the sub-scanning direction). Only on the + Y) side, the organic EL liquid lines applied in parallel by the central nozzle are arranged.

For this reason, in the circumference | surroundings of the organic EL liquid line apply | coated by the nozzle of the (-Y) side, compared with the circumference of the organic EL liquid line | coated applied by the nozzle of the (+ Y) side and the center, The concentration is lowered, and the drying rate of the organic EL liquid line on the (-Y) side is larger than the two organic EL liquid lines on the (+ Y) side. In addition, around the organic EL liquid line on the (-Y) side, the concentration of the solvent component of the organic EL liquid in the atmosphere on the (-Y) side of the line is higher than the concentration on the (+ Y) side of the line. It lowers and the site | part on the (-Y) side of a line dries earlier than the site | part on the (+ Y) side.

FIG. 5A shows three films 93a of organic EL materials formed in the application region 91a on the substrate 9a by evaporating the solvent from the organic EL liquid applied by the three nozzles of the coating apparatus of the comparative example. It is a cross section. In FIG. 5A, illustration of the partition formed in the application area 91a of the board | substrate 9a is abbreviate | omitted for the convenience of illustration, and the height of the film 93a is drawn larger than actually (same also in FIG. 5B). ).

In the coating apparatus of a comparative example, since the site | part on the (-Y) side of the organic EL liquid line of the (-Y) side dries earlier than the site | part of the (+ Y) side as mentioned above, as shown to FIG. 5A, In the film 93a on the (-Y) side, the film thickness of the site on the (-Y) side is larger than the film thickness of the site on the (+ Y) side. In this way, the film 93a of the organic EL material having a deflection in thickness is formed in the application region 91a periodically (that is, every three) so that application variation occurs and thus becomes a flat display device after becoming a product. There is a fear that the quality of the display in the display may decrease.

On the other hand, in the coating device 1 which concerns on this embodiment, as mentioned above, the uniformity of the density | concentration of the solvent component in an atmosphere around the three organic EL liquid lines apply | coated by the three nozzles 17. As shown in FIG. This is improved. Moreover, the concentration of the solvent component of the organic EL liquid in the atmosphere at the (+ Y) side and the (-Y) side of the organic EL liquid line applied by the nozzle 17 on the (-Y) side among the three nozzles 17. The difference is small.

Thereby, the uniformity of the drying speed of the organic EL liquid discharged from the discharge ports of the three nozzles 17 can be improved, and at the same time, the relative of the substrate 9 in the (-Y) side (that is, in the sub-scan direction) The drying speed of the organic EL liquid discharged from the discharge port of the nozzle 17 on the rear side in the moving direction can be made almost uniform in the sub-scanning direction. As a result, as shown in Fig. 5B, the cross-sections of the three films 93 of adjacent organic EL materials can be made almost the same shape, and the occurrence of coating variation in the coating area 91 on the substrate 9 can be avoided. You can prevent it.

By the way, in application | coating to the board | substrate of the fluid material containing the pixel formation material for flat panel display devices, when application | coating dispersion | variation generate | occur | produces, there exists a possibility that the quality of the display of a flat panel display device after a product may fall. In the coating device 1 according to the present embodiment, as described above, the occurrence of coating variation can be prevented, so that the coating device 1 is particularly suitable for the application of a fluid material including a pixel forming material for a flat panel display device. It can be said that it is suitable.

In the coating device 1, the flow of air parallel to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 is formed over the entire length of the main scanning direction of the coating area 91, whereby the organic film applied by the coating head 14 is applied. In the entire length of the EL liquid line, the flow of air is maintained from the application of the organic EL liquid to the drying. Thereby, the uniformity of the drying speed of the organic electroluminescent liquid apply | coated by the three nozzles 17 can be improved more over the full length of the said organic electroluminescent liquid line extended in a main scanning direction, and the on the board | substrate 9 Generation | occurrence | production of the application | coating variance in the application | coating area | region 91 can be prevented more reliably.

In the coating device 1, if the flow rate of the air from the airflow forming unit 19 is too small, the solvent component in the atmosphere does not sufficiently spread to the (-Y) side. If the flow rate is too large, the solvent component diffuses in a wide range. Since the density | concentration falls large, from the airflow formation part 19 so that the flow velocity of air in the position (namely, application | coating position) of the nozzle 17 of the application | coating head 14 in a sub-scanning direction may become an appropriate range. The amount of air discharged is determined. If the air flow forming portion is relatively moved in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the application head (for example, the air flow forming portion is fixed on the substrate holding portion), the air flow forming portion is located at a distance in the sub-scan direction between the air flow forming portion and the application head. Accordingly, the air delivery amount from the air flow forming portion needs to be changed. On the other hand, in the coating device 1, since the relative position in the sub-scan direction with respect to the application head 14 of the airflow forming unit 19 is fixed, the amount of air discharged from the airflow forming unit 19 is changed. no need. As a result, the apparatus structure of the coating device 1 can be simplified.

In the airflow forming unit 19, air is discharged from the air outlet 191 to form a flow of air parallel to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9, whereby air is sucked on the substrate 9 by air suction or the like. In comparison with the case of forming a flow, the flow of air having a desired direction or flow rate can be easily formed. As a result, the structure of the coating device 1 can be simplified. Moreover, the air flows out by sending air in parallel to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 from the air outlet 191 disposed on the (+ Y) side of the plurality of nozzles 17 of the coating head 14. It can form more easily, and the structure of the coating device 1 can be simplified more.

In the airflow forming unit 19, since air is used as a gas for forming airflow on the substrate 9, there is no need to provide an airtight structure around the substrate holding unit 11 and the coating device 1, so that application is performed. The structure of the device 1 can also be simplified. In addition, the gas can be easily supplied to the airflow forming unit 19 by using an existing facility such as a factory in which the coating device 1 is installed.

In the coating device 1, the drying speed of the organic EL liquid applied to the application region 91 of the substrate 9 by the heater 111 that heats the substrate 9 is increased. The difference in the drying speed of the organic EL liquid discharged from the discharge port can be made smaller. As a result, the uniformity of the drying speed of the organic EL liquid discharged from the three nozzles 17 can also be improved, and the occurrence of coating variation in the coating region 91 on the substrate 9 can be more surely prevented. can do.

Next, the coating apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 6: is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the vicinity of the airflow forming part 19 of the coating device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, in the coating device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, the gas heating part 192 which heats the air which goes to the application | coating head 14 inside the airflow formation part 19 is provided. In this embodiment, a rod-shaped heater extending in the X direction is used as the gas heating unit 192. The other structure is the same as that of the coating device 1 shown to FIGS. 1-3, and attaches | subjects the same code | symbol in the following description.

In the coating device according to the second embodiment, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, the (-Y) direction is directed from the (+ Y) side parallel to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 formed by the airflow forming unit 19. By the flow of air, around the three organic EL liquid lines applied by the three nozzles 17, the uniformity of the concentration of the solvent component in the atmosphere is improved. As a result, the uniformity of the drying speed of the organic EL liquid discharged from the discharge ports of the three nozzles 17 of the coating head 14 can be improved, and the coating area 91 on the substrate 9 (see FIG. 1). Generation | occurrence | production of the coating | deviation deviation in the can be prevented.

In the applicator according to the second embodiment, an air stream parallel to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 is formed by air heated by the gas heating unit 192, whereby the application region 91 of the substrate 9 is formed. The drying rate of the organic EL liquid applied to) can be increased. As a result, the difference in the drying speed of the organic EL liquid discharged from the discharge ports of the three nozzles 17 can be made smaller, and as a result, the uniformity of the drying speed of the organic EL liquid discharged from the three nozzles 17 is achieved. It can also be improved.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible.

In the coating device according to the second embodiment, the gas heating part 192 does not necessarily need to be provided inside the air flow forming part 19, but is applied on the (-Y) side of the air flow forming part 19 and further applied. The head 14 may be provided on the (+ Y) side of the nozzle 17 independently of the airflow forming unit 19. In this case, the air sent out from the airflow forming unit 19 is heated by passing near the gas heating unit 192, and the airflow parallel to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 is formed by the heated air.

In the coating device according to the embodiment described above, the flow rate of air at the position of the nozzle 17 of the coating head 14 in the sub-scanning direction is not necessarily limited to the above-mentioned range, but the solvent of the organic EL liquid The speed is appropriate depending on the type and evaporation rate.

The air outlet 191 of the airflow forming unit 19 does not necessarily need to have a slit shape extending over the entire length of the main scanning direction of the application region 91, and is, for example, in the main scanning direction of the application region 91. A plurality of small air outlets arranged over the entire length may be provided in the airflow forming unit 19. In addition, the air outlet 191 of the airflow forming unit 19 does not necessarily need to be provided over the entire length of the main scanning direction of the application region 91, and, for example, the width of the main scanning direction is applied to the application head 14. The airflow forming unit having only one outlet port, which is approximately equal to the width of, is provided on the (+ Y) side of the plurality of nozzles 17 so as to be movable in the main scanning direction, and the coating head ( By moving in the main scanning direction in synchronization with 14, a flow of air parallel to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 may be formed between the application head 14 and the substrate 9.

In the coating device according to the above embodiment, air parallel to the upper surface 90 of the substrate 9 does not necessarily need to be discharged from the delivery port 191 of the airflow forming unit 19, but, for example, the coating head ( Air is blown out from the airflow forming portion 19 disposed on the (+ Y) side of the 14) (i.e., the (-Z) direction), and the air collides with the main surface 90 and the other structure of the substrate 9 to change the direction. By the changed air, the airflow parallel to the main surface 90 of the board | substrate 9 may be formed.

In the coating device, the gas sent from the air flow forming unit 19 is not limited to air, and may be an inert gas such as nitrogen (N ₂ ), for example. Moreover, the air which contains the solvent component of organic electroluminescent liquid a little may be sent, and the gas flow parallel to the upper surface 90 of the board | substrate 9 may be formed.

In addition, in the coating device, it is disposed on the (-Y) side of the coating head 14 instead of the airflow forming unit 19 that sends gas from the (+ Y) side of the coating head 14 to suck the ambient atmosphere. Thereby, the airflow forming part which forms the flow of gas on the board | substrate 9 may be provided. Moreover, the airflow forming part which forms a flow of gas on the board | substrate 9 may be provided by sucking a gas from the (-Y) side, sending out gas from the (+ Y) side of the application head 14.

In the coating device according to the embodiment described above, the application head 14 moves in the sub-scanning direction instead of the movement of the substrate 9 and the substrate holding unit 11 by the substrate moving mechanism 12. The relative movement of the substrate 9 with respect to the application head 14 may be performed. Moreover, instead of the movement of the application | coating head 14 by the head movement mechanism 15, the board | substrate 9 and the board | substrate holding part 11 move to the main scanning direction, and the board | substrate of the application | coating head 14 in the main scanning direction is moved. You may perform relative movement with respect to (9).

In the coating device, three kinds of organic materials each containing three kinds of organic EL materials having different colors from red (R), green (G), and blue (B) from three nozzles 17 of the coating head 14 are used. The EL liquid may be discharged at the same time and applied to the substrate 9. In this case, in the application head 14, the distance with respect to the sub scanning direction between two adjacent nozzles 17 becomes equal to a partition pitch. In the application head 14, the number of nozzles 17 for discharging the organic EL liquid is not necessarily limited to three, and two or four or more nozzles 17 are provided in the application head 14. You may be. Moreover, the organic EL liquid discharged from such a nozzle 17 may be apply | coated in stripe shape to the coating area 91 in which the partition is not provided.

By the way, in the organic EL liquid line continuously discharged on the substrate 9, since the organic EL material in the organic EL liquid is relatively easy to move in the main scanning direction, the organic EL material is greatly shifted due to the difference in drying time, and FIG. 5A. As shown in Fig. 2, the difference in thickness is likely to occur. As described above, the coating apparatus according to the above embodiment can improve the uniformity of the drying time of the organic EL liquid, and therefore is particularly suitable for an apparatus for continuously discharging the organic EL liquid to apply it to a substrate. As described above, the present invention can also be applied to an apparatus for discharging a fluid material intermittently and applying it onto a substrate.

In the coating device according to the above embodiment, a fluid material including a hole transport material may be applied to the substrate 9. Here, the "hole transporting material" is a material for forming the hole transporting layer of the organic EL display device, and the "hole transporting layer" means only a narrow hole transporting layer for transporting holes to the organic EL layer formed of the organic EL material. It does not mean, but also includes the hole injection layer which injects holes.

The coating device can also be used in the case of manufacturing a plurality of organic EL display devices (so-called multifaceted taking) from one substrate. In addition, the said coating apparatus is not necessarily used only for application | coating of the liquid material containing the organic electroluminescent material or hole transport material for organic electroluminescent display apparatuses, For example, board | substrates for flat panel display apparatuses, such as a liquid crystal display device and a plasma display device, for example. It may be used in the case of coating a fluid material including other kinds of pixel forming materials such as a coloring material and a fluorescent material.

As described above, since the coating apparatus can prevent the occurrence of the coating deviation in the coating area 91 on the substrate 9, the flat surface where the coating deviation is likely to be concealed as the quality of the display when the product is obtained. Although it is especially suitable for application | coating of the fluid material containing the pixel forming material for display devices (organic EL material for organic electroluminescence display in the said embodiment), the said coating device is various board | substrates, such as a board | substrate for flat panel display devices and a semiconductor substrate. It may be used for the application of various kinds of flowable materials for.

Although this invention was described in detail and demonstrated, description of the technique is not limitative as an illustration. Accordingly, it is understood that many variations and aspects are possible without departing from the scope of this invention.

1 is a plan view showing a coating device according to a first embodiment;

2 is a front view of the coating device;

3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the vicinity of an air flow forming unit;

4 is a view showing a flow of coating of an organic EL liquid;

5A is a cross-sectional view showing a film of an organic EL material formed on a substrate by the coating apparatus of Comparative Example;

5B is a cross-sectional view showing a film of an organic EL material formed on a substrate by the coating apparatus according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 6: is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the vicinity of the airflow formation part of the coating device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Claims (9)

An applicator for applying a fluid material to a substrate, A substrate holding part for holding a substrate, A discharge mechanism for discharging the flowable material toward the application area on the main surface of the substrate from a plurality of discharge ports arranged at equal intervals in the sub-scan direction parallel to the main surface of the substrate; The substrate is moved relative to the discharge mechanism whenever the discharge mechanism is moved relative to the substrate in the main scanning direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction and parallel to the main surface. A moving mechanism for relatively moving in the scanning direction, And an airflow forming portion for forming a flow of gas parallel to the main surface of the substrate from the front side of the relative movement direction of the substrate in the sub-scanning direction to the rear side of the relative movement direction, between the discharge mechanism and the substrate, The said airflow forming part is equipped with the sending port which is arrange | positioned in the said relative movement direction front side of the said board | substrate with respect to the said some discharge port of the said discharge mechanism, and delivers the said gas parallel to the said main surface of the said board | substrate. The method according to claim 1, And the gas flow is formed by the air flow forming unit over the entire length of the main scanning direction of the application region. The method according to claim 1, A coating device in which the relative position in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the discharge mechanism of the air flow forming unit is fixed. The method according to claim 1, And the gas is air. The method according to claim 1, And said substrate holding part is provided with a substrate heating part for heating said substrate. The method according to claim 1, And the flowable material comprises a pixel forming material for a flat panel display. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, And a gas heating unit for heating the gas directed to the discharge mechanism. delete delete

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