JPH0556489B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a transparent electrode pattern used in manufacturing a liquid crystal display element.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, photoetching and silk screen printing have been widely used as methods for manufacturing the transparent electrode patterns.

The photoetching method involves depositing an indium oxide film 2 as a transparent electrode coating on a glass substrate 1,
(See Figure 3A) A photoresist 3 made by dissolving rubber in xylene and adding a sensitizer is coated on the indium oxide film 2 (see Figure 3B).
After the photoresist 3 is dried, it is exposed with a pattern 4 (see Figure 3C), and then developed,
(See Figure 3D) Remove unnecessary portions of the indium oxide film 2 with hydrochloric acid, etc. (See Figure 3E) Then remove unexposed portions of the photoresist 3' with a solvent.
(see Figure 3F).

In addition, the silk screen printing method is applied to the glass substrate 11.
An indium oxide film 12 is applied to the surface (see Fig. 4A), and a pattern is printed directly on the surface with resist ink 13 (see Fig. 4B).After the ink 13 is dried, it is etched with hydrochloric acid or the like. In this method, the indium oxide film 12 other than the areas printed by the resist ink 13 is removed (see FIG. 4C), and the resist ink 13 is peeled off with an alkaline solution (see FIG. 4D).

Although the former method allows the formation of precise patterns, it has the drawbacks of requiring a large number of manufacturing steps and limiting the manufacturing size.

Although the latter method reduces costs, the resolution of the pattern and dimensional accuracy deteriorate, and there is a limit to the ability to respond to the recent trend toward higher precision.

In order to compensate for both of the above-mentioned drawbacks, an offset printing method can be considered in which only the printed portion of the silk screen printing method is performed by offset printing.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) This offset printing method provides an accuracy close to that of the photoetching method, while maintaining the same cost and size as the silk screen printing method. The film on the offset printing surface in offset printing is significantly thinner than the film on the printing surface in silk screen printing.
Due to the unevenness, pinholes are formed on the ink film, and when the indium oxide film is dissolved and removed by hydrochloric acid, hydrochloric acid penetrates into the resist ink film through the pinholes, causing it to no longer function as a resist film. Put it away.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems, and involves offset printing of resist ink on the surface of a glass substrate on which a transparent electrode coating is applied. When the resist ink is not dry, a thin silicone rubber sheet is deposited over the entire printing surface, and a smooth surface is formed on the surface of the silicone rubber sheet.

(Function) As described above, in the present invention, resist ink is applied by offset printing to the surface of the glass substrate on which the transparent electrode film is applied.

At this time, pinholes are generated in the resist ink layer, and an uneven surface is formed.

In the present invention, after the offset printing, a thin silicone rubber sheet is adhered to the entire printed surface while the resist ink is still wet, and the surface is processed to be smooth.
Due to the adhesive force acting between the silicone rubber sheet and the resist ink film, the plane of the silicone rubber sheet is formed into a smooth surface, so that the ink film is also formed into a smooth surface.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the method of the present invention, although the resist ink film deposited by offset printing on the surface of the glass substrate on which the transparent electrode film is deposited is a thin layer, First, the surface is smooth and there are no pinholes, so the resist effect is fully demonstrated, and offset printing, which was previously impossible, can be used for printing the resist film.As a result, the resolution and dimensional accuracy of the pattern is higher than that of conventional photo printing. Compared to the etching method, a transparent electrode pattern having a desired size can be manufactured at a lower cost.

(Example) A resist ink 33 is printed by offset printing on the surface of a glass substrate 32 on which an indium oxide film 31 as a transparent electrode film is adhered (see Fig. 1A). 33 is not yet dry, a thin silicone rubber sheet 34 is layered over the entire printing surface. (See Figure 1B) Next, as shown in Figure 2, a pair of rollers 41,
42, and between the endless belt 43 and the conveyor belt 45 of the belt conveyor 44, which is driven and rotated at the same speed (approximately 1 m/min). The printed glass base material is inserted, and the surface of the silicone rubber sheet 34 layered on the printed surface of the glass base material is formed into a smooth surface. (See Figure 1C) The conveyor belt is made of a thick, non-stretchable material such as rubber or vinyl sheet.

In this way, according to the above method, although the resist ink film 33 printed by offset printing is a thin layer on the indium oxide film 31 on the surface of the glass substrate printed by offset printing, The surface is smooth and there are no pinholes, the resist effect is sufficient, and it is possible to print a resist film by offset printing, and the resolution and dimensional accuracy are comparable to conventional photoetching methods, making it possible to achieve the required size. A transparent electrode pattern having the above structure can be manufactured at low cost.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to embodiments, the present invention is, of course, not limited to such embodiments, and may be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention. be.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1A to 1C are enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional views showing steps of an embodiment of the method for manufacturing a transparent electrode pattern according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a processing apparatus for a surface layer of a glass substrate. Front view, Figures 3A to 3F
The figure is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the steps of an example of a conventional manufacturing method (photoetching method), and FIGS. 4A to 4D are longitudinal cross-sectional views showing the steps of another example of the silk screen printing method of the conventional manufacturing method. . 31... Indium oxide film, 32... Glass base material, 33... Resist ink, 34... Silicone rubber sheet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Apply resist ink to the surface of the glass substrate on which the transparent electrode film has been applied by offset printing, and when the resist ink is not dry, layer a thin silicone rubber sheet over the entire printed surface, and apply the same silicone rubber sheet. A method for producing a transparent electrode pattern, characterized by forming a smooth surface on the surface of a sheet.