JP4333502B2 - Droplet discharge device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a droplet discharge equipment having a flushing area.

  Conventionally, as a thin film forming technique, a spin coating method, which is one of thin film coating methods, is generally used. This spin coating method is a method of forming a thin film by rotating the substrate and applying the entire surface of the substrate by centrifugal force after dropping the coating solution onto the substrate. The film thickness is controlled by viscosity or the like. Such a spin coating method includes, for example, formation of a photoresist film used in a semiconductor manufacturing process or the like, an interlayer insulating film such as SOG (spin on glass), an overcoat film (planarization film) or an alignment film in a liquid crystal device manufacturing process or the like. Is widely used for forming a protective film in the manufacturing process of an optical disk or the like.

However, in this spin coating method, since most of the supplied coating solution is scattered, it is necessary to supply a large amount of coating solution, and there is a disadvantage that the production cost is increased. In addition, since the substrate is rotated, the coating liquid flows from the inside to the outside due to centrifugal force, and the film thickness in the outer peripheral region tends to be thicker than the inside. .
In recent years, a technique for forming a thin film by applying a coating solution on a substrate by a so-called inkjet method has been proposed for these measures (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this technique, an inkjet nozzle is linearly moved relative to a substrate by a relative moving means so that a coating liquid can be uniformly applied onto a square substrate.

However, the technique using the ink jet coating method has a disadvantage that the thickness of the thin film to be formed cannot be made sufficiently uniform.
That is, in the case of a liquid material (ink) generally distributed by an ink jet method, the film material which is a solid content is dissolved in a solvent in order to make it flowable so that it can be supplied to the nozzle and discharged from the nozzle. It is formed by being dispersed in a dispersion medium. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), when a liquid material containing such a solvent or dispersion medium is discharged onto the substrate 1 and arranged (applied) in a thin film, the film 2 made of the liquid material becomes Immediately after application, a force is generated in the peripheral portion (edge portion) 2a to shrink inward as indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 5A due to surface tension.

  In addition to this force, in the vicinity of the surface of the membrane 2, the concentration of the solvent or dispersion medium vapor evaporated from the membrane 2 is high immediately above the central portion 2b of the membrane 2 and is diffused immediately above the peripheral portion 2a. It is low. Accordingly, evaporation of the solvent (dispersion medium) hardly occurs in the central portion 2b near the surface where the vapor concentration is high, and evaporation easily occurs in the peripheral portion 2a where the vapor concentration is low. ) Occurs from the central part 2b side toward the peripheral part 2a side as indicated by an arrow B in FIG. 5 (b).

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 5B, the liquid (film 2) is attracted to the inside from the landing position from the nozzle, and the solute or dispersoid moves to the peripheral portion by the convection of the solvent (dispersion medium). The film thickness becomes thick. And when the film thickness of the peripheral part 2a becomes thicker than the film thickness of the center part in this way, naturally the film 2 obtained after curing loses the uniformity of the entire film thickness. Therefore, when this film 2 is used for each film of a liquid crystal device, for example, an overcoat film formed on an alignment film or a color filter, liquid crystal alignment unevenness or color unevenness may occur particularly in the edge portion 2a. .

Against this background, a droplet discharge device (thin film forming device) having a solvent vapor supply mechanism that supplies a vapor of a solvent (or dispersion medium) in the vicinity of a liquid material applied on a substrate is provided. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).
By supplying the vapor of the solvent (solvent or dispersion medium) onto the substrate by the solvent vapor supply mechanism, the difference in vapor concentration between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the coating film made of a liquid material can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the thickness of the peripheral portion from becoming thicker than the thickness of the central portion due to the difference in the vapor concentration, and the uniformity of the thickness of the entire obtained film from being impaired.
JP-A-8-250389 JP 2003-245582 A

However, in the above-described droplet discharge device (thin film forming device), by providing the solvent vapor supply mechanism, the entire device becomes large and complicated at the same time, and the device cost should be improved. There are challenges.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make the thickness of the entire film to be uniform uniform and to simplify the apparatus configuration while suppressing the increase in size and complexity of the apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid droplet ejection apparatus and a thin film forming method using the same.

However, in the above-described droplet discharge device (thin film forming device), by providing the solvent vapor supply mechanism, the entire device becomes large and complicated at the same time, and the device cost should be improved. There are challenges.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make the thickness of the entire film to be uniform uniform and to simplify the apparatus configuration while suppressing the increase in size and complexity of the apparatus. phased, it is to provide a liquid droplet ejection equipment.

According to this droplet discharge device, the second container for storing the same solvent or dispersion medium as the solvent or dispersion medium in the droplets is usually provided in the first container in the flushing area provided as a part of the device. Since only connecting means is provided to transfer the solvent or dispersion medium in the second container into the first container, the apparatus can be prevented from being enlarged and complicated, and the apparatus configuration can be simplified. It will be a thing.
Further, by this transfer means, the solvent or dispersion medium stored here is transferred from the second container into the first container, and the solvent or dispersion medium transferred in the first container is evaporated. The difference in the solvent (or dispersion medium) vapor concentration between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the coating film composed of droplets discharged onto the substrate can be reduced, and therefore, this difference in vapor concentration It becomes possible to prevent the thickness of the peripheral part from becoming thicker than the film thickness of the central part and to prevent the uniformity of the thickness of the entire film to be obtained.

In the droplet discharge device, it is preferable that the transfer means is constituted by an elevating means that can raise and lower the second container above the first container.
In this way, the solvent (or dispersion medium) stored in the second container can be transferred into the first container by its own weight, and thus the apparatus configuration of the transfer means is extremely simplified.

In the droplet discharge device, the flushing area is provided on both sides with respect to the moving axis of the stage, and the first container is provided in each of these flushing areas. Each of the containers is preferably connected to the second container.
In this way, since the flushing areas are provided on both sides of the substrate placed on the stage, the vapor of the solvent (or dispersion medium) is sent almost evenly from both sides of the substrate. By making the vapor concentration substantially uniform, the thickness of the entire film obtained becomes more uniform.

In the droplet discharge device, it is preferable that the stage, the flushing area, and the droplet discharge head are arranged in the same closed space.
In this way, the solvent (or dispersion medium) is transferred into the first container in the flushing area and evaporated there, whereby the inside of the closed space can be made to have a substantially uniform vapor concentration, and thus the obtained film The overall thickness can be made more uniform.

In the droplet discharge device, the first container may be provided with a heating unit.
In this way, the evaporation rate of the solvent (or dispersion medium) transferred into the first container can be increased by heating with the heating means, and thus the solvent (or dispersion medium) on the substrate can be accelerated. The vapor concentration can be quickly increased to the desired concentration.

  The thin film forming method of the present invention is a method of forming a thin film at a desired position on a substrate by discharging droplets of a thin film forming material onto the substrate from a droplet discharge head provided above a stage on which the substrate is placed. In the flushing area, a first container for receiving liquid droplets from the liquid droplet ejection head is provided, and a second container is connected to the first container, and the second container is connected to the second container, The same solvent or dispersion medium as the solvent or dispersion medium in the droplets ejected from the droplet ejection head is stored, and the second container is communicated with the first container, and the base body Prior to or between the discharge of the droplets on the top, the solvent or dispersion medium stored here is transferred from the second container into the first container, and the inside of the first container The solvent or dispersion medium transferred in It is characterized by causing emitted.

According to this thin film forming method, the solvent or dispersion medium stored here is transferred from the second container into the first container, and the solvent or dispersion medium transferred in the first container is evaporated. This makes it possible to reduce the difference in the vapor concentration of the solvent (or dispersion medium) in the coating film composed of the droplets discharged on the substrate immediately above the central portion and immediately above the peripheral portion. Thus, the film thickness of the peripheral part becomes thicker than the film thickness of the central part, and it is possible to prevent the uniformity of the thickness of the entire film obtained from being impaired.
In addition, a second container for storing the same solvent or dispersion medium as the solvent or dispersion medium in the droplets is usually connected to a first container in a flushing area provided as a part of the droplet discharge device. Since the solvent or dispersion medium in the second container is transferred into the first container and evaporated, the increase in size and complexity of the droplet discharge device used for carrying out this method is suppressed, The apparatus configuration can be simplified.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a droplet discharge device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 30 denotes a droplet discharge device. The droplet discharge device 30 includes a base 31, a substrate moving unit 32, a head moving unit 33, a droplet discharge head 34, a liquid supply unit 35, a control device 40, and the like. The base 31 has the substrate moving means 32 and the head moving means 33 installed thereon.

The substrate moving means 32 is provided on the base 31 and has guide rails 36 arranged along the Y-axis direction. The substrate moving means 32 is configured to move the slider 37 along the guide rail 36 by, for example, a linear motor (not shown).
A stage 39 is fixed on the slider 37. Therefore, the substrate moving means 32 becomes the moving axis of the stage 39. This stage 39 is for positioning and holding the substrate (base) S. That is, this stage 39 has a known suction holding means (not shown), and the suction holding means is operated to hold the substrate S on the stage 39 by suction. The substrate S is accurately positioned and held at a predetermined position on the stage 39 by a positioning pin (not shown) of the stage 39, for example.

  A flushing area F for causing the droplet discharge head 34 to perform flushing on both sides of the substrate S on the stage 39, that is, on both sides in the movement direction (X-axis direction) of the droplet discharge head 34 described later, F is provided. In these flushing areas F, F, a first container 50 for receiving droplets from the droplet discharge head 34 by flushing is provided.

  The first container 50 is a rectangular parallelepiped formed long along the moving direction (Y-axis direction) of the stage 39, and accommodates therein a member (not shown) for absorbing droplets such as a sponge. Is. Further, the first container 50 is provided with heating means such as a heater, so that the liquid (ink) accommodated in the first container 50 promotes evaporation of the solvent (or dispersion medium) component. It has become. Further, the first container 50 is formed so as to be inclined so that the bottom surface thereof is on one side, and in this embodiment, the side opposite to the droplet discharge head 34 is low. Then, the side surface (or bottom surface) on the lower side is connected to the second container 52 via the flexible tube 51.

  Since the second container 52 is connected to the first container 50 via the flexible tube 51, the inside thereof communicates with the first container 50. In addition, the second container 52 is placed on an elevating device 53 provided on the base 31 and can be moved up and down. In the present embodiment, the lifting device 53 includes an air cylinder 54, a rod 55 movably provided on the air cylinder 54, and a mounting plate 56 that is connected to the rod 55 and on which the second container 52 is mounted. Thus, the rod 55 can be moved up and down, so that the mounting plate 56 connected thereto can be moved up and down.

Based on such a configuration, the lifting device 53 holds the second container 52 so as to be lifted and lowered. Then, by raising the second container 52 higher than the first container 50, the liquid in the second container 52 can be transferred into the first container 50 via the flexible tube 51. . Thereby, the raising / lowering apparatus 53 functions as a transfer means in this invention.
In this embodiment, a part of the upper surface of the base 31 is cut away to form an opening, and the lifting device 53 is configured so that the mounting plate 56 moves up and down in the opening.

  The head moving means 33 includes a pair of mounts 33a and 33a standing on the rear side of the base 31, and a travel path 33b provided on the mounts 33a and 33a. It is arranged along the axial direction, that is, the direction orthogonal to the Y-axis direction of the substrate moving means 32. The travel path 33b is formed by having a holding plate 33c passed between the gantry 33a and 33a and a pair of guide rails 33d and 33d provided on the holding plate 33c. A carriage 42 on which the droplet discharge head 34 is mounted is movably held in the length direction 33d. The carriage 42 is configured to run on the guide rails 33d and 33d by the operation of a linear motor (not shown) or the like, thereby moving the droplet discharge head 34 in the X-axis direction.

  Here, the carriage 42 can move in the length direction of the guide rails 33d, 33d, that is, in the X-axis direction, for example, in units of 1 μm, and such movement is controlled by the control device 40. ing. Therefore, as described above, the positions of the first containers 50 and 50 are stored in the control device 40, so that the discharge of the liquid droplets for flushing by the liquid droplet discharge head 34, as described later, is performed in the first container. It is made surely on 50.

  The droplet discharge head 34 is rotatably attached to the carriage 42 via an attachment portion 43. The mounting portion 43 is provided with a motor 44, and a support shaft (not shown) of the droplet discharge head 34 is connected to the motor 44. Based on such a configuration, the droplet discharge head 34 is rotatable in the circumferential direction. The motor 44 is also connected to the control device 40, whereby the droplet ejection head 34 is controlled by the control device 40 to rotate in the circumferential direction.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2A, the droplet discharge head 34 is provided with, for example, a stainless steel nozzle plate 12 and a vibration plate 13, which are joined via a partition member (reservoir plate) 14. is there. A plurality of spaces 15 and a liquid reservoir 16 are formed between the nozzle plate 12 and the diaphragm 13 by the partition member 14. Each space 15 and the liquid reservoir 16 are filled with a liquid material, and each space 15 and the liquid reservoir 16 communicate with each other via a supply port 17. The nozzle plate 12 is formed with a plurality of nozzle holes 18 for injecting the liquid material from the space 15 in a state of being aligned vertically and horizontally. On the other hand, a hole 19 for supplying a liquid material to the liquid reservoir 16 is formed in the diaphragm 13.

  Further, a piezoelectric element (piezo element) 20 is joined to the surface of the diaphragm 13 opposite to the surface facing the space 15 as shown in FIG. The piezoelectric element 20 has a pair of electrodes 21 and is configured to bend and project outward when energized between the electrodes 21 and 21. The diaphragm 13 to which the piezoelectric element 20 is bonded in such a configuration is bent integrally with the piezoelectric element 20 at the same time so that the volume of the space 15 is increased. It is going to increase. Therefore, the liquid corresponding to the increased volume flows into the space 15 from the liquid reservoir 16 through the supply port 17. Further, when energization to the piezoelectric element 20 is released from such a state, both the piezoelectric element 20 and the diaphragm 13 return to their original shapes. Therefore, since the space 15 also returns to its original volume, the pressure of the liquid material inside the space 15 rises, and the liquid droplet 22 is ejected from the nozzle hole 18 toward the substrate.

In addition, the droplet discharge head 34 having such a configuration has a substantially rectangular bottom surface, and the nozzles 18 are aligned and arranged so that, for example, the length × width is 2 × 180. Here, although only one droplet discharge head 34 is shown in FIG. 1, the droplet discharge apparatus of the present invention is not limited to this, and may include a plurality of droplet discharge heads 34. Twelve droplet discharge heads 34 may be provided in parallel.
In addition to the piezo jet type using the piezoelectric element 20, for example, a method using an electrothermal transducer as an energy generating element can be adopted as the droplet discharge head 34.

The liquid supply means 35 includes a liquid supply source 45 that supplies a liquid material to the droplet discharge head 34, and a liquid supply tube 46 that supplies liquid from the liquid supply source 45 to the droplet discharge head 34. .
The control device 40 is constituted by a CPU such as a microprocessor for controlling the entire device, a computer having various signal input / output functions, and the like. The moving operation is controlled. Further, as described above, the position of the first container 50, specifically, the X coordinates of both side edges parallel to the Y axis are stored, and the position information of the droplet discharge head 34, that is, the droplet discharge head. The position (X coordinate) of 34 on the guide rails 33d and 33d and the position (X coordinate) of each nozzle at that time are detected and stored. Further, the lifting device 53 is also electrically connected to the control device 40, and the lifting and lowering of the mounting plate 56 of the lifting device 53 is also controlled by the control device 40.

  Such a droplet discharge device 30 is provided in a chamber 41 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The chamber 41 is closed from the outside to be a closed space, and is provided with a pressure reducing means such as a vacuum pump so that the internal pressure can be controlled. Needless to say, the chamber 41 is provided with a door so that it can enter and exit.

Next, a thin film forming method using the droplet discharge device 30 having such a configuration will be described.
First, the substrate (base body) S is set at a predetermined position on the stage 39. Here, the substrate S serves as a base for forming various functional thin films, and various substrates such as glass and silicon are employed depending on the type of the thin film. Moreover, what formed various components, such as TFT, wiring, and an insulating layer, on such a board | substrate can be used. In the present invention, including such a substrate and those on which various components are formed, these are referred to as a substrate.

  Next, flushing is performed prior to discharging the liquid material as a thin film forming material from the droplet discharge head 34 onto the substrate S. This flushing is performed particularly in a case where the liquid or the dispersion medium in the liquid to be discharged is highly volatile, and the liquid staying in the opening of the nozzle in which the liquid is not continuously discharged is the solvent (dispersion medium). Volatilization causes an increase in viscosity. In severe cases, the liquid material solidifies, dust adheres to it, and the nozzle opening is clogged due to air bubbles and other problems. Is to do.

  Further, during such flushing, the mounting plate 56 is lowered in advance by the elevating device 53 so that the second container 52 becomes lower than the first container 50 as shown in FIG. Keep it. Then, the liquid L discharged into the first container 50 by the flushing is absorbed by a member such as a sponge provided in the first container 50, and a part of the solvent (dispersion medium) is volatilized (evaporated). ) And the remainder reaches the bottom of the first container 50. The liquid material reaching the bottom is transferred to the second container 52 through the flexible tube 51.

  It should be noted that the amount of liquid discharged by flushing is not so large, and is therefore usually not sufficient for the vapor generation of a solvent (dispersion medium) described later. In such a case, only the liquid L as a thin film forming material or only the solvent (dispersion medium) component in the liquid is placed in the second container 52 in advance.

  When flushing is performed in this manner and all of the nozzles of the droplet discharge head 34 can perform good discharge, discharge for forming a thin film on the substrate S is performed. At this time, the liquid material is simply discharged and dried as it is to form a thin film as in the conventional case, because of the difference in the vapor concentration of the solvent (dispersion medium) between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the thin film to be formed. Unevenness occurs in the film thickness. Therefore, in the present invention, the liquid thickness or its solvent (dispersion medium) is placed in the first container 50 in advance, and the solvent (dispersion medium) is sufficiently evaporated to prevent the film thickness unevenness. To do.

That is, prior to the discharge from the droplet discharge head 34 or between the discharges, the lifting device 53 is operated to raise the mounting plate 56, as shown in FIG. 3B. The second container 52 is set higher than the first container 50. Then, the liquid or the solvent (dispersion medium) component stored in the second container 52 is transferred into the first container 50 through the flexible tube 51. In particular, the solvent (dispersion medium) evaporates in the first container 50, thereby increasing the vapor concentration of the solvent (dispersion medium) on the substrate S.
Here, when the volatility of the solvent (dispersion medium) in the liquid used is low, the liquid or the solvent (dispersion medium) is heated by the heating means provided in the first container 50, and the solvent (or The evaporation rate of the dispersion medium) may be increased.

When the solvent (dispersion medium) is evaporated from the first container 50 in this way and the vapor concentration of the solvent (dispersion medium) on the substrate S is sufficiently increased, the liquid material discharged onto the substrate S is discharged. On the thin film made of, as described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the difference in vapor concentration between the central portion 2b and the peripheral portion 2a of the film 2 is almost negligible. Becomes smaller.
Therefore, by forming a thin film in such an environment with a high vapor concentration, it is possible to prevent film thickness unevenness of the thin film obtained after curing due to the difference in the vapor concentration of the solvent (dispersion medium). .

As described above, in the droplet discharge device 30, the lifting device 53 (transfer means) transfers the solvent (dispersion medium) from the second container 53 into the first container 50 and the first container 50. By evaporating the solvent (dispersion medium) transferred in the container 50, it is possible to prevent film thickness unevenness of the coating film (thin film) made of droplets discharged onto the substrate S.
Further, in this droplet discharge device 30, a second container 52 is usually connected to a first container 50 in a flushing area provided as a part of the apparatus, and a solvent ( Since only the transfer means (elevating device 53) for transferring the dispersion medium) into the first container 50 is provided, the apparatus configuration is simplified by suppressing the increase in size and complexity of the apparatus, and the apparatus cost is reduced. It can suppress becoming high.

The droplet discharge device of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the elevating device 53 that elevates and lowers the second container 52 is used as the transfer means. Instead, the liquid in the second container 52 is transferred to the first container 50 using a liquid feed pump. It may be.
In addition, the first container 50 is provided in the flushing area on both sides of the moving axis of the stage, and the second container 52 is connected to the first container 50. However, the first container 50 is provided only in the flushing area on one side. You may do it.

Next, an example in which such a thin film forming method using the droplet discharge device 30 is applied to a method for manufacturing an organic EL device will be described.
FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of an organic EL device in which some components are manufactured by the droplet discharge device 30. First, a schematic configuration of the organic EL device will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the organic EL device 301 includes an organic substrate composed of a substrate 311, a circuit element portion 321, a pixel electrode 331, a bank portion 341, a light emitting element 351, a cathode 361 (counter electrode), and a sealing substrate 371. A wiring of a flexible substrate (not shown) and a driving IC (not shown) are connected to the EL element 302. The circuit element portion 321 is formed on the substrate 311, and a plurality of pixel electrodes 331 are aligned on the circuit element portion 321. Bank portions 341 are formed in a lattice shape between the pixel electrodes 331, and light emitting elements 351 are formed in the recess openings 344 generated by the bank portions 341. The cathode 361 is formed on the entire upper surface of the bank portion 341 and the light emitting element 351, and a sealing substrate 371 is laminated on the cathode 361.

  The manufacturing process of the organic EL device 301 including the organic EL element includes a bank part forming step for forming the bank part 341, a plasma processing step for appropriately forming the light emitting element 351, and a light emitting element formation for forming the light emitting element 351. A process, a counter electrode forming process for forming the cathode 361, and a sealing process for stacking and sealing the sealing substrate 371 on the cathode 361.

  The light emitting element forming step is to form the light emitting element 351 by forming the hole injection layer 352 and the light emitting layer 353 on the concave opening 344, that is, the pixel electrode 331. The hole injection layer forming step and the light emitting layer forming step It is equipped with. The hole injection layer forming step includes a first discharge step of discharging a first composition (liquid material) for forming the hole injection layer 352 onto each pixel electrode 331, and the discharged first composition. And the first drying step of forming the hole injection layer 352, and the light emitting layer forming step includes supplying the second composition (liquid material) for forming the light emitting layer 353 to the hole injection layer 352. It has the 2nd discharge process discharged above, and the 2nd drying process which forms the light emitting layer 353 by drying the discharged 2nd composition.

In the light emitting element forming step, the droplet discharge device 30 is used in the first discharging step in the hole injection layer forming step and the second discharging step in the light emitting layer forming step.
Also in the manufacture of the organic EL device 301, the vapor concentration on the substrate 311 is sufficiently increased by evaporating the solvent (dispersion medium) from the first container 50 in advance prior to ejection for forming each component. Thus, the film thickness unevenness of the hole injection layer 352 and the light emitting layer 353 obtained as a thin film can be prevented. Therefore, the organic EL device 301 with favorable light emission characteristics can be manufactured by making the film thickness uniform.

The organic EL device 301 manufactured in this way is suitably used as a display unit of various electronic devices such as a mobile phone, a notebook personal computer, a PDA (Personal Data Assistance), and a wristwatch type electronic device.
In addition to the hole injection layer and the light emitting layer in the organic EL device, the thin film formation method of the present invention is applied to the formation of various thin films such as a color filter, an overcoat film, and a planarization film in a liquid crystal display device. Is possible.

It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the droplet discharge apparatus of this invention. (A), (b) is a figure for demonstrating schematic structure of a droplet discharge head. (A), (b) is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of a 2nd container. It is a sectional side view of an organic EL device. (A), (b) is a side view for demonstrating the conventional subject.

Explanation of symbols

30 ... Droplet ejection device, 34 ... Droplet ejection head, 39 ... Stage, 41 ... Chamber,
50 ... 1st container, 51 ... Flexible tube, 52 ... 2nd container,
53 ... Lifting device (transfer means), F ... Flushing area, S ... Substrate (base)

Claims (1)

A liquid having a droplet discharge head provided above a stage on which a substrate is placed and discharging droplets onto the substrate, and a flushing area provided on at least one side of the moving axis of the stage A droplet discharge device,
In the flushing area, a first container that receives droplets from the droplet discharge head is provided, and a second container is connected to the first container.
The second container stores the same solvent or dispersion medium as the solvent or dispersion medium in the liquid droplets ejected from the liquid droplet ejection head, and communicates with the first container,
The second container is provided with transfer means for transferring the solvent or dispersion medium in the second container into the first container ,
Heating means is provided in the first container;
The transfer means is constituted by elevating means capable of raising and lowering the second container above the first container,
The flushing areas are provided on both sides with respect to the moving axis of the stage, the first containers are provided in the flushing areas, and the second containers are respectively provided in the first containers. Is connected,
The stage, the flushing area, and the droplet discharge head are disposed in the same closed space,
The first container contains a member that absorbs liquid droplets, so that the liquid droplets collected by flushing in the first container are evaporated. A droplet discharge device.

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