JP4453074B2 - Method for developing substrate and method for producing member for plasma display using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for developing a substrate and a method for producing a member for a plasma display using the same, and more particularly to a technique for washing a developer used in a developing operation and a technique for removing foreign matter on a substrate.

  A plasma display panel (hereinafter also abbreviated as PDP) can display at a higher speed than a liquid crystal panel and can easily be increased in size, so that it is penetrating into the fields of OA equipment and display devices. is there. In addition, the application to the field of high-definition television is rapidly progressing.

  Along with such expansion of applications, a color PDP having fine and many display cells has been attracting attention with respect to PDPs. The PDP causes plasma discharge between electrodes facing each other in a discharge space formed between a front glass substrate and a back glass substrate, and applies ultraviolet rays generated from the enclosed gas to a phosphor in the discharge space. Display.

  Color PDP formation requires many steps for forming electrodes, barrier ribs, dielectrics, and phosphors only for the formation of the back plate. Among them, there are many steps for forming electrodes, barrier ribs, and phosphors having complicated patterns. Production methods are being tried.

  Typical production methods include screen printing, thin film etching, lift-off, and photosensitive methods for electrodes. Screen printing, photosensitive, lift-off, and sandblasting methods are used for barrier ribs. Screen printing methods and photosensitive methods are used for phosphors. Sexual methods are mentioned.

  Of the above production methods, all methods except the screen printing method have a photo process in the process, and it can be seen that the photo process is often used for PDP.

  The principle of the photo process is as follows. By irradiating the coating film and film having a light-insolubilizing type or light-solubilizing type photosensitive component with a light through a photomask having a desired pattern, a difference in molecular weight is selectively generated and This causes a difference in solubility in the liquid (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a developer). The dissolved component is dissolved in the liquid by immersing this in the liquid or spraying the liquid, thereby forming a desired pattern.

  Although the photosensitive component is eluted by this operation, it is not completely dissolved. In the case of a photosensitive paste that is peeled off by mass or a mixture of an inorganic component and a photosensitive component, the inorganic component is in the liquid. Does not dissolve in the liquid and remains as a mixture in the liquid.

  It has been a common development process to wash away these development residues by washing them with water in the next step, and to remove the water with air using an air knife or the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The developer is used repeatedly. When the concentration exceeds the limit of use, the entire amount is exchanged, or a fixed amount of solution is taken out together with the development residue mixed in the solution, and then a fixed amount of new solution is added to return the concentration to the set concentration. The method of being used is often employed. For this reason, there is a problem that the development residue tends to remain on the product and the foreign matter defect rate tends to increase (for example, see Patent Document 2).

Further, in the PDP, a display with a maximum diagonal of 60 inches is formed, and a large substrate needs to be developed. Further, for example, when forming a rib by a photosensitive method, since a coating film having a thickness of 100 to 200 μm is formed, there is a problem that unevenness occurs, the residue tends to remain in the pattern, and foreign matter defects tend to occur. . In addition, in recent years, the PDP has been changed to a cross-beam structure in order to improve luminance, and there is a problem that foreign matter is more difficult to be discharged.
JP 2003-124182 A Japanese Patent No. 319772

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate development method capable of removing a development residue foreign matter and realizing a development process with a low defect rate, and a plasma display member manufacturing method using the same.

In order to solve the above problems, a substrate development method according to the present invention is a substrate development method in which the following processes (A), (B), and (C) are sequentially performed, and after the process of (C): (B) It consists of the method characterized by repeating the process of (C) at least once.
(A) A pattern forming process (B) in which a substrate having a film is immersed in a liquid or a liquid is ejected onto the substrate to form a pattern having irregularities with a depth of 50 to 200 μm on the substrate is formed. Submerging the substrate in water or spraying water onto the substrate on which the pattern has been formed (C) In the air treatment unit provided with an exhaust pipe just above the developer, gas is ejected from the air knife onto the substrate on which the pattern has been formed Gas treatment

  Moreover, the method for manufacturing a member for a plasma display according to the present invention comprises a method characterized by using such a substrate developing method. In this case, examples of the pattern forming process include an electrode forming process, a rib forming process, a phosphor layer forming process, a black matrix or black stripe forming process, and a color filter process.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to effectively remove the development residue foreign matter during the development of the substrate, to realize a developing process with a low defect rate, and to improve the product defect rate and improve the yield. . In particular, quality and productivity can be improved for plasma display members, especially large ones.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail together with preferred embodiments.
An outline of the steps in the substrate developing method according to the present invention is shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a development processing unit that ejects a developing solution 4 onto a substrate 3 transported via a transport roller 2 to remove unnecessary portions. The transported substrate 3 from the development processing unit 1 is spouted and immersed in water in the water washing processing unit 1 5 to stop the development reaction and to wash it. In this embodiment, the washing water 7 is ejected from the shower pipe 6. Thereafter, in the air treatment 1 part 8, a gas (air in this embodiment) is ejected from the air knife 9 to the substrate 3, and water and foreign matters inside the developer are removed by the ejected air. The foreign matter referred to here is one in which an unnecessary composition that should be removed by development is reattached to a desired pattern or the like. Subsequently, the washing water 12 is again ejected from the shower tube 11 and washed in the water washing treatment 2 part 10, and finally, in the air treatment 2 part 13, the gas from the air knife 14 to the substrate 3 (in this embodiment, air ) Is ejected, and water is removed by the ejected air. Thus, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the water washing process and the air treatment are repeated after the water washing process and the air treatment.

  The intermediate air treatment 1 part 8 in the above works more effectively for removing foreign matters than for the purpose of removing water. This is particularly preferable because it works effectively when developing a developer having an uneven pattern.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the water-washing treatment unit and the air treatment unit that are repeated can be provided at one or more places, which is preferable in order to further reduce the foreign matter rate. In FIG. 2, as compared with the mode of FIG. 1, the washing water 17 is again ejected from the shower pipe 16 and washed in the washing treatment 3 part 15, and finally, in the air treatment 3 part 18, from the air knife 19 to the substrate 3. On the other hand, gas (air in this embodiment) is ejected, and water is removed by the ejected air. Since each water washing process part which spouts water is provided before each air treatment part, a foreign material is splashed effectively with a water | moisture content.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of steps in a conventional developing method for comparison. In this example, the example in which the water washing processing unit 5 is provided is shown, but the water washing treatment and the gas treatment are performed only once substantially.

In the present invention, as a means for ejecting air , for example , a so-called air knife that sends air using a slit of about 0.1 to 2 mm or a blower such as compressed air or a ring blower from many small holes is used . By using an air knife, foreign matters can be uniformly removed without causing unevenness in the pattern.

  The amount of air is preferably specified by pressure when using compressed air as supply air and by flow rate when using a ring blower.

  In the case of using compressed air, it is preferable to maintain a pressure of 0.1 MPa or more at the air knife inlet in terms of removing foreign matters. When the pattern has irregularities of 50 μm or more, it is more preferably 0.2 MPa or more, and it becomes possible to remove moisture and foreign matters satisfactorily.

When a ring blower is used, the air flow rate is desirably 5 m ³ / min or more per 1 m of air knife.

  The distance between the substrate and the air knife is preferably 10 mm or less because it can be sprayed onto the substrate with a high air flow rate. More preferably, the thickness is 5 mm or less because air can be blown more strongly onto the substrate and foreign matters can be removed better. More preferably, if it is too close to the substrate, the substrate and the air knife come into contact with each other, and the pattern may be damaged.

  The chamber pressure of the air treatment unit is preferably a reduced pressure. When the pressure is applied, the flow of air in the room cannot be controlled, and there is a possibility that the removed foreign matter will adhere to the pattern again and cause a reduction in the foreign matter rate.

Further, in the present invention, an exhaust pipe is provided in the air processing portion at a portion immediately above the developer . As a result, the foreign matter that has risen with air can be effectively removed by the exhaust pipe, and reattachment of the foreign matter can be prevented.

  In addition, installing a shower pipe for watering on the lower surface or side surface in the air treatment unit is also effective for preventing the foreign matter from rising. Further, by draining the water, the removed foreign matter can be steadily discarded outside the apparatus.

  The present invention can be used in any process including a developing process. Specifically, it is preferable to use it in a method for producing a member for PDP having a development step because it is advantageous in terms of improving the foreign matter defect rate and reducing the repair rate. In particular, it is more preferably used for electrode formation on the front plate, black stripe formation, dielectric rib formation, electrodes on the back plate, barrier ribs, and phosphor layer formation. Specific methods for producing these members include photosensitive methods, sandblasting methods, lift-off methods, and thin-film etching methods. However, since any method uses large, thick film paste materials and film materials, a large amount of residue can be obtained in a short time. Will occur. For this reason, the probability of reattachment of foreign matter is high, and the method according to the present invention is particularly preferable and effective.

  Of the pattern forming process (pattern forming process), the electrode forming process (electrode forming process) is preferably used. By reattaching silver or the like used for electrode formation, an increase in the short-circuit rate can be prevented.

  Moreover, it is also preferable to use for a rib formation process. For example, in the photosensitive method, a photosensitive paste is applied to a thick film near 200 μm. On a substrate that forms a diagonal 60-inch cross-girder partition, about 400 g of paste is applied to each sheet during rib formation. In the case of the negative type, about 60% is eluted by development, and about 240 g of paste is mixed into the developer. This large amount of residue is difficult to be reattached or discharged from the cell and easily becomes a foreign matter defect. However, by using the present invention, the foreign matter defect rate can be reduced.

  It is also preferable to use it for forming the phosphor layer. When forming a phosphor by a photosensitive method, a phosphor paste for one color is solid-printed on the entire surface, dried, exposed, and developed to form one color. In other words, in order to form one color, 2/3 of the total area initially applied must be removed by development, but a residue containing a phosphor remains, and a different color is produced in places other than the desired color. Defects that cause color mixing occur.

  It is also preferable to use for forming other than electrodes in the front plate forming step, specifically, black matrix or black stripe formed to improve contrast, color filter formation to improve color purity, etc. Can be mentioned. In black matrix or black matrix formation, the defect rate can be reduced by removing foreign matters, and color filter formation is preferable in terms of yield and cost reduction, such as color mixing due to residue.

  The present invention will be specifically described below based on examples. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, the density | concentration in an Example is weight% unless there is particular notice.

Example 1
As shown in FIG. 1, the developing device is composed of five parts: a development processing unit 1, a water washing treatment 1 part 5, an air treatment 1 part 8, a water washing treatment 2 part 10, and an air treatment 2 part 13. In the development processing unit 1, the nozzle is attached to one shower tube and is directed downward at a pitch of 150 mm. The developer (substrate) moves underneath at a constant speed, the developer is ejected from the nozzle, and unnecessary portions are removed by a chemical reaction.

  Next, in the water washing treatment part 1 5, the nozzles are installed downward with a pitch of 100 mm per shower tube. Below that, the developer from which unnecessary portions have been removed by the development processing unit 1 is moved at a constant speed. Water is jetted onto the developer from the nozzle, and the developer that has become soiled in the developer is washed away with water to wash away the developer.

  Further, the air treatment 1 part 8 once removes moisture and foreign matters, the water washing process 2 part 10 sprays water again, and finally the air treatment 2 part 13 removes water. So-called air knives for blowing air onto the slits are installed in the two air treatment units. The developer washed by the water washing passes below, and the water is blown off by the force of the air from the air knife to serve to cut the water.

  Using this apparatus, a cross-girder partition pattern having a height of 170 μm before firing was formed on a 42-inch substrate by a photosensitive paste method. By development, 150 g of paste per sheet is mixed as a residue in the developer, and 100 sheets were developed in 2 minutes.

As conditions for the developing apparatus, development is performed at a developing portion at a shower pressure of 0.05 MPa for 200 seconds, and water washing treatment at 1 portion is performed at a water pressure of 0.1 MPa for 100 seconds. Next, water was cut with an air knife at an air flow rate of 10 m ³ / min in 1 part of air treatment, water was washed again at 2 parts with a water pressure of 0.1 MPa for 10 seconds, water was cut off with an air knife at an air flow rate of 15 m ³ / min in 2 parts of the air treatment. .

About 100 substrates, as a foreign matter inspection evaluation, a SATURN 9000 manufactured by V Technology Co., Ltd. was used to set the detection condition to detect 20 μm square or more, and the foreign matter generation rate was 5%. Here, the foreign substance generation rate (%) is obtained by the following equation.
Foreign matter generation rate (%) = (number of substrates on which foreign matter is detected / total number of inspections) × 100

Example 2
As shown in FIG. 2, when examination was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 2 parts of water treatment and 3 parts of air treatment under the same conditions were provided after 2 parts of air treatment, the foreign matter generation rate was 0. It became 5%.

Example 3
Except that an exhaust pipe was installed at 200 mm directly above the substrate in the air treatment and the pressure in the room was -8 kPa, the examination was conducted in the same manner as in Example 1, and the foreign matter generation rate was 3%.

Example 4
Except that an exhaust pipe was installed 100 mm above the substrate in the air knife part, the pressure inside the air knife part was set to -3 kPa, and the shower pipe was installed on the lower and side surfaces of the air knife. The rate was 4%.

Example 5
Except that the phosphor was formed by the photosensitive paste method, examination was made in the same manner as in Example 1, and the foreign matter generation rate was 2%.

Example 6
Except that the electrode was formed by the photosensitive paste method, examination was made in the same manner as in Example 1. As a result, the foreign matter generation rate was 1%.

Example 7
Except that black stripes were formed by the photosensitive paste method, examination was made in the same manner as in Example 1, and the foreign matter generation rate was 0.5%.

Example 8
Except that the color filter was formed by the photolithography method, examination was made in the same manner as in Example 1, and the foreign matter generation rate was 0.3%.

Comparative Example 1
When the same operation as in Example 1 was performed except that 2 parts of water washing and 2 parts of air treatment were removed as shown in FIG. 3, the foreign matter generation rate deteriorated to 50%.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the image development apparatus for enforcing the image development method concerning one embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the image development apparatus for enforcing the image development method concerning another embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the conventional developing device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Development processing part 2 Conveyance roller 3 Substrate 4 Developer 5 Water washing process 1 part 6, 11, 16 Shower pipe 7, 12, 17 Washing water 8 Air treatment 1 part 9, 14, 19 Air knife 10 Water washing process 2 part 13 Air treatment 2 parts 15 water washing 3 parts 18 air treatment 3 parts

Claims (9)

A development processing method for a substrate that sequentially performs the following processes (A), (B), and (C), wherein the processes (B) and (C) are repeated one or more times after the process (C). A method for developing a substrate.
(A) A pattern forming process (B) in which a substrate having a film is immersed in a liquid or a liquid is ejected onto the substrate to form a pattern having irregularities with a depth of 50 to 200 μm on the substrate is formed. Submerging the substrate in water or spraying water onto the substrate on which the pattern has been formed (C) In the air treatment unit provided with an exhaust pipe just above the developer, gas is ejected from the air knife onto the substrate on which the pattern has been formed Gas treatment 2. The method for developing a substrate according to claim 1, wherein in the gas treatment, a ring blower is used as means for ejecting air, and the gas is ejected at an air flow rate of 5 m < ³ > / min or more per 1 m of the air knife. 3. The method for developing a substrate according to claim 1, wherein the pattern formed on the substrate has a matrix structure. A method for producing a member for a plasma display, wherein the method for developing a substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is used. The method for producing a member for a plasma display according to claim 4 , wherein the pattern forming process includes an electrode forming process. 6. The method for manufacturing a member for a plasma display according to claim 4 , wherein the pattern forming process includes a rib forming process. The method for manufacturing a member for a plasma display according to any one of claims 4 to 6 , wherein the pattern forming process includes a phosphor layer forming process. The method for manufacturing a member for a plasma display according to any one of claims 4 to 7 , wherein the pattern forming process includes a black matrix or black stripe forming process. The method for producing a member for a plasma display according to claim 4 , wherein the pattern forming process includes a color filter process.

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