JP2001083528A - Liquid crystal device, its production, substrate with spacer and its production - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for the production of a liquid crystal device having excellent display quality without increasing the cost. SOLUTION: In the method of producing a liquid crystal device, a pair of substrates are disposed facing each other through a spacer and a liquid crystal compound is held between the substrates. The method includes a spacer forming process in which a spacer forming material 9 is applied for a plurality of times in the same region on one substrate 6 of a pair of substrates and hardened to form a spacer which regulates the gap between the pair of substrates, a disposing process of a pair of substrates facing each other through the spacer 10, and a sealing process to seal a liquid crystal compound between the pair of substrates facing each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal element used for a color television, a personal computer, a pachinko game board, and the like, and a method of manufacturing the same. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the development of personal computers,
In particular, with the development of portable personal computers, the demand for color liquid crystal displays tends to increase. However, cost reduction is indispensable for further spread.

Conventionally, as a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal element, a liquid crystal driving element such as a TFT (thin film transistor) or a coloring optical element such as a color filter is provided on a pair of transparent insulating substrates on a glass substrate. After the provision, a transparent electrode and an alignment film are formed. Next, generally spherical or cylindrical particles of silica, alumina, synthetic resin or the like having a size of about 3 to 10 μm are dispersed as spacers over the entire surface of the glass substrate on which the transparent electrode and the alignment film are formed. A liquid crystal element is formed by stacking the pair of glass substrates with the transparent electrodes facing each other via the spacers and sealing a liquid crystal in a gap therebetween.

However, in the effective pixel portion, the transparent / light-shielded state changes depending on the display state. Therefore, when the spacer is formed of a colorless and transparent material, it is used as a bright point at the time of light-shielding, and when the spacer is colored black. There is a problem that black spots are observed at the time of transmission and display quality is deteriorated.

In order to solve the above problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
As shown in 173221, JP-A-2-223922, etc., after performing an alignment treatment on an alignment film, a photosensitive polyimide or a photoresist is applied, and exposed through a mask to obtain a polyimide other than an effective pixel portion. And a method of forming a spacer made of resist. According to these methods, a spacer can be formed at an arbitrary density at an arbitrary place, and therefore, the non-uniformity of a liquid crystal cell gap when a liquid crystal is sealed can be improved. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-94230 describes a method of fixing a bead spacer on a photosensitive layer in a region other than an effective pixel portion.

Another method is to use a black matrix having a large thickness as a spacer (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-23703).
No. 2, JP-A-3-184022, JP-A-4-184
122914), a method of using a colored resist overlapped as a spacer (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-82405), and a method of forming a colored pattern on a black matrix and using it as a spacer (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-237032). ) Has been proposed.

[0007]

However, all of the improvement methods proposed in the above publications use photolithography, so that an expensive exposure machine is required, and a wet process such as development is required. With the introduction,
There is a problem that the production line becomes long.

In each of the above-mentioned improvement methods, a photosensitive polyimide or a photoresist is applied directly on an alignment film such as a polyimide film which has been subjected to an alignment treatment by a rubbing method or the like, and after exposure, unnecessary portions are exposed to a solvent or the like. Need to be removed. These steps may significantly contaminate or destroy the alignment treatment state applied to the alignment film, and there is a concern that the alignment of the liquid crystal injected into the liquid crystal cell may be non-uniform.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to prevent the effect of the spacer on the display by both the effective pixel portion and the non-effective pixel portion without increasing the cost. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal element having excellent display quality and a liquid crystal element manufactured by the method.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate with a spacer, which is a constituent member of a liquid crystal element, and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0011]

Means for Solving the Problems To solve the above-mentioned problems,
In order to achieve the object, a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element according to the present invention includes disposing a pair of substrates to face each other via a spacer,
A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element having a liquid crystal compound sandwiched between the substrates, wherein on one of the pair of substrates,
A spacer forming material is applied to the same place in a plurality of times and cured, and a spacer forming step of forming a spacer that defines the interval between the pair of substrates, and the pair of substrates are arranged to face each other with the spacer interposed therebetween. Placement process,
And a sealing step of sealing a liquid crystal compound between the pair of substrates arranged opposite to each other.

In the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal element according to the present invention, when the spacer forming material is applied to the same place a plurality of times, the amount of the spacer forming material applied after the second time is smaller than the first applied amount. It is characterized by doing.

In the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal element according to the present invention, when the spacer forming material is applied to the same place a plurality of times, the spacer forming material which has been previously applied is cured to a certain extent, and then the subsequent spacer forming material is cured. Is provided.

Further, in the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element according to the present invention, the substrate on which the spacer is formed is formed using a color filter having a colored layer on a transparent substrate.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal element according to the present invention, the substrate on which the spacer is formed is an active matrix substrate provided with an active element for each pixel.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal element according to the present invention, the spacer forming material is made of a curable resin.

Further, in the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element according to the present invention, the spacer forming material is applied by an ink jet method.

Further, a liquid crystal element of the present invention is characterized by being manufactured by the above-described method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element.

Further, the method of manufacturing a substrate with a spacer according to the present invention is characterized in that a substrate with a spacer is formed on a substrate by applying a spacer-forming material to the same portion in a plurality of times and curing the same. I have.

In the method of manufacturing a substrate with a spacer according to the present invention, when the spacer forming material is applied to the same place a plurality of times, the amount of the spacer forming material to be applied for the second and subsequent times is smaller than that of the first time. The feature is to reduce it.

In the method of manufacturing a substrate with spacers according to the present invention, when the spacer-forming material is applied to the same place a plurality of times, the spacer-forming material previously applied is cured to some extent, and then the spacer-forming material is applied. It is characterized in that material is applied.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a substrate with a spacer according to the present invention, the substrate on which the spacer is formed is configured using a color filter having a colored layer on a transparent substrate.

In the method for manufacturing a substrate with spacers according to the present invention, the substrate on which the spacers are formed is an active matrix substrate having an active element for each pixel.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a substrate with a spacer according to the present invention, the spacer forming material is made of a curable resin.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a substrate with a spacer according to the present invention, the spacer forming material is applied by an ink jet method.

Further, a substrate with a spacer according to the present invention is characterized by being manufactured by the above-described method for manufacturing a substrate with a spacer.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the present specification, a conventionally known ink jet system which discharges a spacer material instead of ink is referred to as an ink jet system for convenience.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the steps up to the formation of a substrate with spacers in the steps of one embodiment of the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element of the present invention. This embodiment is an example in which one substrate is formed using a color filter provided with a coloring layer and a protective layer on a transparent substrate, and a spacer is formed on the substrate. In the figure, 1 is a transparent substrate, 2 is a black matrix, 3 is a colored layer, 4 is a protective layer, 5 is a transparent electrode, 6 is an alignment film, 8 is an inkjet head, 9 is a curable ink,
0 is a spacer. 1A to 1G are schematic sectional views respectively corresponding to the following steps (a) to (g).

Step (a) A black matrix 2 is formed on a transparent substrate 1 as required. In the present invention, a glass substrate is generally used as the transparent substrate 1; however, transparency as a liquid crystal element,
The substrate is not limited to a glass substrate as long as it has necessary characteristics such as mechanical strength, and a plastic substrate or the like can be used.

The black matrix 2 is not particularly limited, and a known one can be used. For example, it can be formed by etching a laminated film of a metal such as Cr or a metal oxide formed on the transparent substrate 1 into a pattern, or patterning a black resist applied on the transparent substrate 1.

Step (b) R (red), G (green), and B color filters on a transparent substrate
A colored layer 3 of three primary colors (blue) is formed. In the present invention, the method for forming the colored layer 3 is not particularly limited, and a known technique is used. For example, a method of dispersing a pigment using a photocurable resin composition in which a pigment is dispersed, a method of dyeing a resin film formed on a substrate with a dye, and a method of applying a colored composition while supplying electricity to a conductive substrate. Examples include an electrodeposition method in which a colored layer is formed by applying a color, a printing method using a printing technique, and a thermal transfer method using a thermal transfer technique. Further, from the viewpoint of cost, it is preferable to use an ink jet system which can simultaneously form three colored layers in one step.

The coloring layer 3 need not be provided on the substrate on which the spacer 10 according to the present invention is formed, but may be formed on one of the pair of substrates constituting the liquid crystal element.

Step (c) If necessary, a protective layer 4 is formed. As the protective layer 4,
A resin layer curable by light irradiation or heat treatment, or both, or an inorganic film formed by vapor deposition or sputtering can be used, and has transparency as a color filter. Any material that can withstand the alignment film forming step or the like can be used.

Step (d) A transparent conductive film 5 is formed if necessary. The transparent conductive film 5 is usually formed by depositing ITO by sputtering or the like, but is not particularly limited to ITO, and the forming method is not limited.

Step (e) If necessary, the alignment film 6 is formed first. The method and material for forming the alignment film 6 are not particularly limited, and known materials can be used. Rubbing may be appropriately performed by a known method.

Step (f) The present substrate is placed on a spacer drawing machine, the substrate is aligned using an alignment mark (not shown) used when forming the colored layer 3 of the color filter, and the inkjet head 8 is used. Then, the curable ink 9 is discharged to the effective pixel portion.

At this time, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the curable ink 9 is ejected to the same place on the substrate a plurality of times by the ink jet head 8 to form the spacer 10. This is because the curable ink 9 spreads on the alignment film 6 by only one ejection, and it is difficult to obtain a height required as a spacer. When the curable ink 9 is ejected to the same place a plurality of times as described above, the amount of the curable ink ejected later is reduced, or the curable ink ejected earlier is cured to some extent, Further, by discharging the curable ink, the required height of the spacer can be more easily obtained.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing an example of a target shape of the spacer in the present embodiment. As already shown in FIG. 3, it is preferable to reduce the amount of the curable ink discharged later and to make the spacer a trapezoidal shape as shown in FIG. 4 from the viewpoint of increasing the height of the spacer.

Although FIG. 3 shows an example in which the curable ink 9 is ejected three times to the same place on the substrate to form the spacers 10, the present invention is limited to the three ejections. Instead, the spacer may be formed by two or four or more discharges as necessary.

The curable ink 9 contains the spacer 1 after curing.
It is a spacer forming material that becomes 0, contains a curable component, and can be discharged using an inkjet head,
In addition, any material may be used as long as it can be cured by post-processing. Preferably, the ink contains a homopolymer of the monomers listed below or a copolymer of the monomer and another vinyl monomer in the ink, and the content is 0.01 to 30% by weight is preferred, especially 0.1%.
-15% by weight is desirable.

Examples of the monomer that is a component of the polymer or copolymer contained in the curable ink 9 include, for example,
N, N-dimethylolacrylamide, N, N-dimethoxymethylacrylamide, N, N-diethoxymethylacrylamide, N, N-dimethylolmethacrylamide, N, N-dimethoxymethylmethacrylamide,
Examples include, but are not limited to, N-diethoxymethyl methacrylamide. These monomers are used as homopolymers or copolymers with other vinyl monomers. Other vinyl monomers, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, methyl acrylate, acrylates such as ethyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, methacrylates such as ethyl methacrylate, hydroxymethyl methacrylate, hydroxyethyl methacrylate, Hydroxymethyl acrylate, vinyl monomers containing a hydroxyl group such as hydroxyethyl acrylate, other styrene, α-methylstyrene, acrylamide,
Methacrylamide, acrylonitrile, allylamine,
Examples thereof include vinylamine, vinyl acetate, and vinyl propionate.

In the above copolymer, the copolymerization ratio (% by weight) of the above monomer and another vinyl monomer is 100%.
%: 0% to 5%: 95%, preferably 90%: 10%
% To 10%: 90% is desirable.

Further, in the case of photocuring, various photocurable resins and photopolymerization initiators may be added. In addition, various commercially available resins and additives may be added as other components unless a problem such as fixation occurs in the curing agent ink. Specifically, an acrylic resin or an epoxy resin is preferably used.

In preparing the curable ink 9, the above components are mixed and dissolved with water and / or a known solvent. For this operation, a known operation can be used. Preferably,
By adjusting the diameter of the dots formed by the curable ink 9 ejected by adding an additive such as an additive solvent or a surfactant depending on the material of the substrate surface forming the spacer 10 (the alignment film 6 in the present embodiment). The diameter of the spacer can be adjusted.

As the ink jet system used in the present invention, a bubble jet type using an electrothermal converter as an energy generating element, a piezo jet type using a piezoelectric element, or the like can be used. The setting position and the setting amount of the curable ink can be arbitrarily set.

Step (g) Light irradiation, heat treatment, or both light irradiation and heat treatment are performed to cure the curable ink 9 to form the spacer 10,
The substrate with a spacer of the present invention is obtained. Light irradiation or heat treatment is performed by a known method. In the step (f), when the curable ink 9 previously discharged is cured to some extent and then the curable ink is discharged, light irradiation, heat treatment, and the like are performed immediately after the discharge of the curable ink. Etc. may be performed.

If particularly strict flatness is required, the surface of the spacer 10 may be polished using a polishing tape or the like.

Next, if the alignment film 6 has not been formed beforehand, an alignment film is formed.

Thereafter, the above-mentioned substrate with spacers and a separately prepared counter substrate are attached to each other using a sealing material to form a cell, and a liquid crystal is sealed therein, whereby a liquid crystal element of the present invention is obtained.

Next, an example of the liquid crystal element of the present invention is shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of a liquid crystal element configured using the substrate with a spacer of the present embodiment shown in FIG. In the figure, 11 is a counter substrate, 12 is a pixel electrode, 13
Is an alignment film, and 14 is a liquid crystal. The present liquid crystal element is an example of an active matrix type (so-called TFT type) liquid crystal element in which a TFT (thin film transistor) is arranged for each pixel.

A liquid crystal element for color display is generally formed by combining the substrate 1 on the color filter side with the counter substrate 11 and sealing the liquid crystal 14. Inside a counter substrate 11, a TFT (not shown) and a transparent pixel electrode 12 are formed in a matrix. A colored layer 3 of a color filter is arranged inside the transparent substrate 1 at a position facing the pixel electrode 12 so that R, G, and B are arranged, and a transparent electrode film 5 (common electrode) is formed thereon. Are formed on one surface. The black matrix 2 is usually formed on the color filter side, but is formed on the counter substrate 11 side in a BM-on-array type liquid crystal element. Further, alignment films 6 and 13 are formed in the planes of both substrates, and by subjecting them to rubbing treatment, liquid crystal molecules can be aligned in a certain direction. These substrates are opposed to each other with a spacer 10 interposed therebetween, are adhered by a sealing material (not shown), and the gap is filled with a liquid crystal 14. As the liquid crystal, any of the commonly used TN type liquid crystal and ferroelectric liquid crystal can be used.

In the case of the transmissive type, the liquid crystal element is provided with a polarizing plate outside the two substrates, and generally uses a backlight combining a fluorescent lamp and a scattering plate. In the case of the reflective type, the transparent substrate 1 is used. The display is performed by disposing a polarizing plate on the outside of the device and making each liquid crystal 14 function as an optical shutter for changing the transmittance of light.

In the above embodiment, a TFT type liquid crystal element has been described, but the present invention is preferably applied to other driving type liquid crystal elements such as a simple matrix type. Further, the liquid crystal element of the present invention is suitably used in both a direct view type and a projection type.

Next, a specific example of the method for manufacturing the liquid crystal element of the present embodiment will be described.

(Example) A chromium metal film having a thickness of 0.1 μm was formed on a glass substrate by sputtering, and was etched using a photoresist to obtain a lattice-like black matrix. R, G, and B colored layers were formed using a color filter forming method. An acrylic resin protective layer was formed thereon using a spin coater, and planarization was performed. Further, an ITO film as a transparent electrode was formed thereon by sputtering. On this substrate, as shown in FIG. 1F, a curable ink having the following composition was ejected from an inkjet head onto a black matrix. After the spacer was formed, an alignment film made of polyimide was formed.

[Composition of curable ink] Copolymer 10% by weight Water 80% by weight Ethylene glycol 10% by weight However, the above copolymer is a binary copolymer of N, N-dimethylolacrylamide and methyl methacrylate. (Copolymerization ratio, 40:60 (weight ratio)).

In this embodiment, the spacer is formed by discharging the curable ink three times. In this case, in this embodiment, 20 ng is used for the first ejection and 15 ng for the second ejection.
ng, and the third time, 10 ng of curable ink was ejected onto the substrate. Thus, a spacer having a substantially trapezoidal cross section was formed as shown in FIG.

The substrate was heated at 100 ° C. for 15 minutes and then at 200 ° C. for 30 minutes to cure the curable ink to form a spacer. Spacer is 5μ thick
m and a diameter of about 20 μm.

Next, the substrate on which the spacers were formed and the substrate on which the opposing electrodes were formed were attached to each other by using a sealing material to form a cell, and liquid crystal was injected to obtain a liquid crystal element of the present invention. The obtained liquid crystal element had no color unevenness and was excellent in contrast as compared with the conventional liquid crystal element in which spacers having a diameter of 6 μm were dispersed.

The present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for causing ink to be ejected, particularly in an ink jet recording system. The printing apparatus of the type that causes a change in the state of the ink has been described.
High definition can be achieved.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding the film boiling to the electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or the liquid path holding the Since thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer and film boiling occurs on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis can be formed. It is valid. By discharging the liquid (ink) through the discharge opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble, at least one droplet is formed. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of the liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, A configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting surface is arranged in a bent region, is also included in the present invention. In addition, for multiple electrothermal transducers,
JP-A-59-123670 which discloses a configuration in which a common slot is used as a discharge part of an electrothermal transducer, and JP-A-59-123670 which discloses a configuration in which an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy corresponds to a discharge part. A configuration based on 138461 may be adopted.

Further, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length is determined by combining a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. This may be either a configuration satisfying the above requirements or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally.

In addition, the print head is exchangeable with a print head of a chip type which is electrically connected to the main body of the apparatus and can supply ink from the main body of the apparatus, or is integrated with the print head itself. Alternatively, a cartridge type recording head provided with an ink tank may be used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the printhead, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like provided as components of the printing apparatus of the present invention, since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. . If these are specifically mentioned, capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, preheating means using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof, and recording Performing a preliminary ejection mode for performing another ejection is also effective for performing stable printing.

In the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, any ink that solidifies at room temperature or below, or one that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. It is only necessary that the ink be in a liquid state when the recording signal is applied.

In addition, in order to positively prevent the temperature rise due to thermal energy as energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, the temperature is positively prevented.
Alternatively, in order to prevent evaporation of the ink, an ink which solidifies in a standing state and liquefies by heating may be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by application of the heat energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink to be ejected, or to start to solidify when reaching the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of liquefying for the first time is used. In such a case, as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, the ink is held in a liquid state or a solid state in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. It is good also as a form which opposes an electrothermal transducer. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

[0070]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the spacer can be formed at an arbitrary position without performing an expensive photolithography process, the spacer can be formed at low cost without affecting other components. Further, since the spacer can be formed only in the ineffective pixel portion, the use of the spacer can be prevented from affecting the display. Therefore, according to the present invention, a liquid crystal element having excellent display quality as compared with a conventional liquid crystal element in which spacers are dispersed is compared with a liquid crystal element in which spacers are formed using a coating process and a photolithography process. It can be provided at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a process chart of one embodiment of a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of one embodiment of the liquid crystal element of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a spacer is formed by discharging the curable ink a plurality of times.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a target shape of a spacer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transparent substrate 2 Black matrix 3 Coloring layer 4 Protective layer 5 Transparent electrode 6 Alignment film 8 Inkjet head 9 Curable ink 10 Spacer 11 Opposite substrate 12 Pixel electrode 13 Alignment film 14 Liquid crystal

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Akio Kashiwazaki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yoshihisa Yamashita 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inside (72) Inventor Koichiro Nakazawa 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Masafumi Hirose 3-30-2, Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. F Term (reference) 2H089 LA09 MA04X NA05 NA15 NA17 NA24 2H091 FA02Y FA35Y FB08 FC05 FC06 FC22 FC23 FC26 GA06 GA08 GA13 GA16 LA12

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element, comprising: a pair of substrates disposed to face each other with a spacer interposed therebetween, and a liquid crystal compound sandwiched between the substrates. The spacer forming material is applied to the same place in a plurality of times and cured,
A spacer forming step of forming a spacer that defines the distance between the pair of substrates; an arranging step of arranging the pair of substrates to face each other with the spacer interposed therebetween; and enclosing a liquid crystal compound between the pair of opposing substrates. And an encapsulating step. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the spacer forming material is applied to the same location a plurality of times, the amount of the spacer forming material applied for the second and subsequent times is smaller than the amount applied for the first time. Of manufacturing a liquid crystal element. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the spacer forming material is applied to the same place a plurality of times, the spacer forming material applied first is cured to a certain extent, and then the subsequent spacer forming material is applied. 2. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element according to item 1. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate on which the spacer is formed is formed using a color filter having a colored layer on a transparent substrate. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate on which the spacer is formed is an active matrix substrate having an active element for each pixel. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the spacer forming material is made of a curable resin. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the spacer forming material is applied by an ink-jet method. 8. A liquid crystal device manufactured by the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 1. Description: 9. A method for manufacturing a substrate with spacers, comprising forming a substrate with spacers by applying a spacer forming material to the same portion a plurality of times and curing the substrate. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein when the spacer forming material is applied to the same location a plurality of times, the applied amount of the spacer forming material after the second time is smaller than the applied amount of the first time. Of manufacturing a substrate with a spacer. 11. When the spacer forming material is applied to the same place a plurality of times, after the spacer forming material previously applied is cured to some extent, the subsequent spacer forming material is applied. 10. The method for producing a substrate with a spacer according to item 9. 12. The substrate on which the spacer is formed,
The method for manufacturing a substrate with spacers according to claim 9, wherein the substrate is configured using a color filter having a colored layer on a transparent substrate. 13. The substrate on which the spacer is formed,
The method according to claim 9, wherein the substrate is an active matrix substrate including an active element for each pixel. 14. The method according to claim 9, wherein the spacer forming material is made of a curable resin. 15. The method according to claim 9, wherein the spacer forming material is applied by an ink-jet method. 16. A substrate with a spacer manufactured by the method for manufacturing a substrate with a spacer according to any one of claims 9 to 15.