JPH04343302A - Color filter manufacturing method and film forming equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize a large-size high precision color filter in which a transparent electrode film can be made to have low resistivity and can be subjected to fine etching, with this transparent electrode film provided on a protective film which consists of an org. polymer resin and covers a color filter layer containing a light shielding film. CONSTITUTION:An org. polymer resin protective film 4 which covers color filter layers 3a, 3b, 3c which gives red, blue, and green colors and contains a light shielding film 2 is formed on a transparent substrate 1 to flatten the surface. Then in the same chamber of a film forming device and in a same gas atmosphere, an inorg. film 5 and transparent electrode film 7 are successively and continuously deposited on the protective film 4 in a simultaneous plasma discharge state with using targets 11 and 12 for inorg. thin film and transparent electrode, respectively. During this deposition, a diffusion layer 6 is formed on the interface between the inorg. thin film 5 and the transparent electrode film 7.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a color filter used in a liquid crystal color display device and a film forming apparatus.

0002

[Prior Art] Generally, color filters used in liquid crystal color display devices have pixels of three colors, red, blue, and green, arranged in a predetermined pattern in a mosaic, stripe, or triangle shape. In order to increase the contrast, a light-shielding film is arranged between pixels of each color in a grid or stripe pattern, and a protective film made of organic polymer resin is interposed to cover the color filter layer including the light-shielding film. After performing a flattening treatment to flatten the uneven portions, an inorganic thin film and a transparent electrode film are laminated, and then the transparent electrode film is patterned in a predetermined manner to form a color filter. (Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-1
98131, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 61-233720)

00
03]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional method, when a color filter layer including a light-shielding film is laminated with an inorganic thin film and a transparent electrode film in this order through a protective film made of an organic polymer resin, the inorganic The adhesion condition at the interface between the thin film and the transparent electrode film is poor, and when the transparent electrode film is patterned in a specified manner, the amount of side etching of the transparent electrode film becomes large, making fine patterning difficult and making it impossible to create high-definition color filters. was there. On the other hand, after forming an inorganic thin film on a protective film made of organic polymer resin,
In order to form a transparent electrode film, it was necessary to set the substrate heating temperature lower than the substrate heating temperature when forming the inorganic thin film. This is because the solvent remaining in the protective film made of organic polymer resin forms an inorganic thin film, and the inorganic thin film acts as a passivation film for the protective film, and when forming a transparent electrode film. When the substrate heating temperature is set to be the same as or higher than the substrate heating temperature for forming the inorganic thin film, the solvent remaining in the protective film tries to evaporate, destroying the protective film including the color filter layer or forming a cavity. This may result in missing pixels.

In particular, in color filters for large-sized liquid crystal color display devices, it is essential to reduce the resistance of the transparent electrode film due to the wiring resistance of the transparent electrode film.

On the other hand, when transparent electrode films are formed at low temperatures (below 200 degrees Celsius), electrolytic corrosion tends to occur due to poor crystallinity of the transparent electrode films, resulting in disconnection of the transparent electrode films and display defects. It was causing it to happen.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a film forming apparatus for easily manufacturing a color filter having a stable pattern without defects.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention flattens a color filter formed with red, blue, and green colors including a light shielding film on a transparent substrate with a protective film made of an organic polymer resin. In a color filter manufacturing method in which an inorganic thin film and a transparent electrode film are formed on the protective film in this order, the inorganic thin film and the transparent electrode film are formed in the same gas atmosphere in the same chamber of a film forming apparatus. A method for manufacturing a color filter characterized by forming the color filter continuously in this order, and a shielding structure for forming a diffusion layer,
The shielding structure is placed before and after each target,
The same chamber has a substrate heating zone and a substrate heating zone during film formation, and the inorganic thin film target and the transparent electrode target are simultaneously in a plasma discharge state in the same gas atmosphere. An in-line type film forming apparatus capable of continuously forming layers in this order is obtained.

[0008] That is, in the above-described method of manufacturing a color filter in a conventional liquid crystal color display device, on a protective film made of an organic polymer resin that covers red, blue, and green color filters including a light-shielding film on a transparent substrate, Inorganic thin film/
In order to deposit the transparent electrode films in this order, the inorganic thin film and the transparent electrode film are deposited separately in different gas atmospheres in the same chamber of the film deposition apparatus, so the In contrast, the color filter manufacturing method of the present invention is limited by the substrate heating temperature and takes a long time to form a film.However, the method for producing a color filter of the present invention allows the inorganic thin film and transparent electrode film to be formed in the same chamber of a film forming apparatus and in the same gas atmosphere. By continuously forming a layered film, the film forming process time is short, and the substrate heating temperature can be set to a high temperature, so it has the characteristic of realizing a low resistance transparent electrode film with good crystallinity. .

Furthermore, by sequentially laminating the inorganic thin film and the transparent electrode film in this order, a diffusion layer of 30 to 100 angstroms is formed at the interface between the inorganic thin film and the transparent electrode. It has the characteristic that fine etching processing can be easily performed.

[0010] If the thickness of the diffusion layer is less than 30 angstroms, the adhesion between the inorganic thin film and the transparent electrode film is poor;
The amount of side etching of the transparent electrode film becomes large, making it difficult to process fine patterns. In addition, when the diffusion layer is 100 angstroms or more, the adhesion between the inorganic thin film and the transparent electrode film is good, but there is a possibility that short circuit defects may occur between the transparent electrode patterns during the transparent electrode patterning process. There is. Therefore, the optimum film thickness of the above diffusion layer is 30
Good adhesion and prevention of short-circuit defects between transparent electrode patterns can be achieved within a range of from 100 angstroms to 100 angstroms.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a method of manufacturing a color filter according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a light shielding film 2 made of Cr metal is formed on a transparent substrate 1 using photolithography to form a predetermined pattern, and then red 3b, blue 3a, and green are formed using a pigment-dispersed colored resist. 3c, a color filter layer is formed by photolithography using a predetermined photomask. The film thickness of the color filter layer at this time was 2 microns for red 3b, blue 3a, and green 3c, and the firing temperature was 250 degrees Celsius.
The test was conducted at 30°C for 30 minutes in a N2 atmosphere.

Next, in order to modify the surface of the color filter layer and treat colored resist residue on the surface of the transparent substrate 1, deep
- After UV treatment, a Si-modified polyimide resin made of organic polymer resin is applied to the entire surface using a spin coater, and then baked at 250 degrees Celsius for 1 hour in a N2 atmosphere to form a protective film 4 with good flatness. was formed.

[0014] The material for the protective film made of organic polymer resin may be any material as long as it has heat resistance.

Next, the inorganic thin film 5 and transparent electrode film 7 shown in FIG. 1 are successively layered in this order on the transparent substrate 1 including the protective film 4 using an in-line film forming apparatus 15 shown in FIG. do. Note that FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an in-line film forming apparatus 15 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The transparent substrate 1 including the protective film 4 is placed on a tray 13 shown in FIG. 2 so that the protective film 4 faces the inorganic thin film target 11. The transparent substrate 1
is placed on the tray 13, and after the chamber reaches a predetermined degree of vacuum, the substrate heating zone heater 8 and the substrate heating heaters 9a and 9b during film formation are turned on. The substrate heating temperature setting at this time is 250 degrees Celsius.

Next, when the substrate heating zone heater 8 and the substrate heating heaters 9a and 9b during film formation are stabilized at the set temperature by PID control, the Ar gas and O2 necessary for film formation are
Introduce each gas and set the film-forming pressure to 2.0×10-3T.
It is controlled by orr.

At this time, the chamber 14 is maintained in a mixed state of Ar gas and O2 gas, the inorganic thin film 5 (FIG. 1) is made of SiO2, and the transparent electrode film 7 (FIG. 1) is made of ITO.

Note that the inorganic thin film may be made of a material other than SiO2 as long as it has insulating properties and is transparent.

Next, the SiO2 target 11 and I
After simultaneously controlling the TO target 12 in a plasma discharge state, the inorganic thin film 5 of Si is moved while moving the tray 13.
The O2 film and the ITO film serving as the transparent electrode film 7 are successively deposited in this order. The tray speed at this time was 254 m.
in/min, and moves in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

[0021] In order to prevent contamination on the SiO2 and ITO targets due to simultaneous plasma discharge, a shielding structure 10 is installed between each target, and a structure to prevent contamination is provided on the surface of each target. It becomes.

Next, as can be seen from FIG. 2, since there is a gap between the shielding structure 10 and the tray 13, after forming the inorganic thin film 5 (FIG. 1), the transparent electrode film 6 (FIG. 1) is formed. Until the formation of the inorganic thin film 6 (Fig. 1) and the transparent electrode film 7 (Fig. 1), the plasma state in which the inorganic thin film 5 (Fig. 1) and the transparent electrode film 7 (Fig. 1) are mixed is maintained. Since the diffusion layer 6 (FIG. 1) is formed between 1), the adhesion at the interface between the inorganic thin film 5 (FIG. 1) and the transparent electrode film 7 (FIG. 1) is significantly improved.

Therefore, when forming the transparent electrode film 7 (FIG. 1) into a predetermined pattern, the amount of side etching of the transparent electrode film is kept small, making it possible to perform fine etching processing of the transparent electrode film 7 (FIG. 1). Moreover, since the substrate heating temperature can be set to a high temperature by continuously forming layers, a transparent electrode film 7 (Fig. 1) with good crystallinity can be obtained, and the resistance of the transparent electrode film on the color filter can be reduced. It has become possible.

[0024]

Effects of the Invention As described in detail above, the color filter manufacturing method and film forming apparatus of the present invention are capable of producing color filters containing a light-shielding film in the same chamber and in the same gas atmosphere.
By sequentially layering a green color filter layer with an inorganic thin film and a transparent electrode film in this order via a protective film made of organic polymer resin, the resistance of the transparent electrode film on the color filter can be reduced. It is possible to provide a manufacturing method and a film forming apparatus for a highly reliable low-cost color filter that can be realized and is useful for a liquid crystal display device in which a large, high-definition color filter can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a method for manufacturing a color filter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an in-line film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. Flattening treatment is performed with a protective film made of an organic polymer resin that covers a color filter layer of red, blue, and green including a light-shielding film formed on a transparent substrate, and an inorganic thin film and transparent In a color filter manufacturing method in which electrode films are formed in this order, an inorganic thin film and a transparent electrode film are successively formed in this order in the same gas atmosphere in the same chamber of a film forming apparatus. Characteristic color filter manufacturing method. 2. The method of manufacturing a color filter according to claim 1, further comprising a diffusion layer having a thickness of 30 to 100 angstroms at the interface between the inorganic thin film and the transparent electrode film. 3. In an in-line film forming apparatus for forming an inorganic thin film and a transparent electrode film, a shielding structure for forming a diffusion layer is arranged between the inorganic thin film target and the transparent electrode film target. The film forming apparatus has a substrate heating zone heater and a substrate heating heater during film formation in the same chamber, and the inorganic thin film target and the transparent electrode film target are in a simultaneous plasma discharge state in the same gas atmosphere. A film forming apparatus characterized by continuously forming an inorganic thin film and a transparent electrode film in this order.