JP2004320003A - Pattern forming method by droplet discharge device and droplet discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for forming a liquid pattern on a base material using an ink jet head having a plurality of nozzles is disclosed. provide.
When a droplet is ejected to the same position on a substrate two or more times, different nozzles of the inkjet head are used each time. In order to realize this, the BMD (bitmap data) creation / storage unit 54 creates and stores different bitmap data for each ejection cycle.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention is based on a droplet discharge device (device for discharging a droplet of ink from a nozzle toward a substrate while controlling it by an electric signal to form a pattern made of particles contained in the ink on the substrate). The present invention relates to a pattern forming method.

As a conventional example of a droplet discharge device, an ink jet head provided with a plurality of nozzles at equal intervals in the X direction is moved in the X direction, and the base material is moved in the Y direction to change the ink discharge position on the base material. There is an ink jet device that performs discharge while performing the discharge. In this apparatus, a discharge position with respect to a base material is input as bitmap data, and discharge is performed based on this.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 13, assuming a bitmap 7 composed of grids composed of rows corresponding to the X direction and columns corresponding to the Y direction, the column interval of the bitmap 7 is adjusted to the nozzle interval. , The row interval of the bitmap 7 is adjusted to the interval of movement of the base material in the Y direction. Then, by combining each column of the bitmap 7 with each nozzle 11 of the inkjet head 1 and performing ink ejection according to the bitmap data for each row of the bitmap 7, a pattern as shown in FIG. 14 is formed. .

  In this example, the inkjet head 1 having eight nozzles 11 in the X direction is used, and the columns of the bitmap 7 are divided into units of eight columns. Then, after performing the ejection to the first unit row while moving the base material in the Y direction, the inkjet head 1 is moved in the X direction, and the nozzles 11 are arranged in each row of the second unit row. Discharging is performed while moving the base material in the Y direction. The discharge is performed on all the unit rows.

  In this pattern forming method, one nozzle is responsible for one row of the bitmap and performs ejection, so if ink clogging occurs in a nozzle, no droplet is ejected to the row assigned to that nozzle. Even when ink is ejected at the same position on the base material, droplets are not ejected to the row assigned to that nozzle unless the operation of the inkjet device is temporarily stopped and the nozzle is cleaned or replaced. It becomes.

Since ink clogging is likely to occur with a reduction in the diameter of the nozzle, measures against such a discharge failure are required. For example, in Patent Document 1, the amount of ink discharged from a nozzle is made variable, and a normal amount of ink is discharged from a normal nozzle adjacent to a nozzle where an abnormality such as ink clogging occurs. It has been proposed that ink be ejected also to the ejection position of an abnormal nozzle.
JP-A-11-348246

However, the method described in Patent Literature 1 cannot be adopted when patterning a thin line.
The present invention has been made to solve such an unsolved problem of the related art, and discharges droplets from the nozzles toward the base material using a droplet discharge head having a plurality of nozzles. In the method of forming a liquid pattern on a base material, a method is used in which a pattern can be prevented from falling out even if a discharge failure occurs in any nozzle, and a narrow line is patterned. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method that can be adopted in cases such as the above.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is to move a droplet discharge head having a plurality of nozzles relative to a substrate and discharge droplets from the nozzles toward the substrate. In a pattern forming method using a droplet discharge device that forms a pattern made of a liquid on a substrate, when discharging droplets at the same position on the substrate two or more times, different nozzles of the droplet discharge head are used each time. Provided is a method for forming a pattern using a droplet discharge device, which is used. This method is referred to as the first method of the present invention.

  The present invention also moves a droplet discharge head having a plurality of nozzles in the X direction relative to the substrate in the X direction and moves the substrate relative to the droplet discharge head in the Y direction. By this, in a pattern forming method by a droplet discharging apparatus that discharges droplets from the nozzle toward the substrate while changing the droplet discharging position on the substrate, and forms a pattern of liquid on the substrate, While maintaining the relative position of the droplet discharge head and the substrate in the X direction, the droplet is discharged to a predetermined region of the substrate while the substrate is relatively moved in the Y direction with respect to the droplet discharge head. Is performed, the droplet discharge head is relatively moved in the X direction with respect to the substrate, and while maintaining the relative position in the X direction between the droplet discharge head and the substrate after this relative movement, In the Y direction relative to the droplet discharge head, A pattern formation method using a droplet discharge device, characterized in that droplets are discharged again to at least a part of the region to discharge droplets to the same position on the substrate with a different nozzle from the last time. . This method is referred to as the second method of the present invention.

  The present invention also uses a droplet discharge head provided with a plurality of nozzles at equal intervals in the X direction, and holds the substrate in the Y direction while maintaining the relative position of the droplet discharge head and the substrate in the X direction. A step of ejecting droplets from the nozzles to a predetermined region of the substrate while moving the nozzles relative to the droplet ejection head in a direction, wherein a row corresponding to the X direction and a column corresponding to the Y direction are provided. Using a bitmap composed of grids formed, the column interval of the bitmap is adjusted to the nozzle interval, and a droplet discharge position is set according to bitmap data in which a pattern is expressed by bits in this bitmap. In a pattern forming method using a droplet discharge apparatus that performs droplet discharge according to bitmap data for each row of a bitmap by combining each column of a bitmap with each nozzle of a droplet discharge head, of The nozzle numbers are given in correspondence with the positions, all the columns of the bitmap data indicating the entire pattern are divided into units for each number of nozzles in the X direction, and the column numbers corresponding to the nozzle numbers are given for each unit column. The bitmap data given the column number is set as the first bitmap data in each unit column, and the bitmap data at the (n + 1) th droplet ejection for the same unit column is set as the nth bitmap data. Bitmap data in which the column number of the ejection bitmap data is shifted by a predetermined number is set. In the first unit row, the bits added to the “bitmap data indicating the entire pattern” by shifting the bitmap data during the setting are set. A droplet characterized by performing a process of inserting a bit meaning “do not eject” into a map row, and performing ejection by combining a nozzle number and a column number of bitmap data. Providing a pattern forming method by detection apparatus. This method is referred to as the third method of the present invention.

  The present invention also uses a droplet discharge head provided with a plurality of nozzles at equal intervals in the X direction, and holds the substrate in the Y direction while maintaining the relative position of the droplet discharge head and the substrate in the X direction. A step of ejecting droplets from the nozzles to a predetermined region of the substrate while moving the nozzles relative to the droplet ejection head in a direction, wherein a row corresponding to the X direction and a column corresponding to the Y direction are provided. Using a bitmap consisting of a grid of configured grids, aligning the column interval of the bitmap with the nozzle interval, setting a droplet discharge position according to bitmap data in which a pattern is represented by bits in this bitmap, In a pattern forming method using a droplet discharge apparatus that performs droplet discharge according to bitmap data for each row of a bitmap by combining each column of a bitmap with each nozzle of a droplet discharge head, Round In the droplet discharge (n + 1) th and the droplet discharge provides a pattern forming method by the droplet discharge device which is characterized in that by arranging the discharge in the same nozzle different bit map column. This method is referred to as the fourth method of the present invention.

According to the first to fourth methods of the present invention, even if a certain nozzle of the droplet discharge head has a discharge failure, discharge is performed from a different nozzle to the discharge position of the nozzle at the next and subsequent discharges. , Is prevented from occurring in the pattern. In addition, this method does not need to increase the discharge amount from the nozzle, and therefore can be employed when patterning a thin line.
The present invention also provides a droplet discharge head having a plurality of nozzles at equal intervals in the X direction, and a grid having rows corresponding to the X direction and columns corresponding to the Y direction. A droplet discharge control means for controlling the droplet discharge from the droplet discharge head in accordance with the bitmap data in which the pattern is represented by the bits in the bitmap having the same interval, and the droplet discharge head is moved in the X direction. In a droplet discharge device including an X-direction moving unit for moving the substrate and a Y-direction moving unit for moving the base material in the Y direction, a bitmap data setting unit for setting bitmap data for each discharge cycle is provided. The bitmap data setting means assigns a nozzle number to the nozzle corresponding to the position in the X direction, and divides all columns of the bitmap data indicating the entire pattern into units for each number of nozzles in the X direction. A column number corresponding to the nozzle number is given for each unit column, each bitmap data given the column number is set as the first bitmap data in each unit column, and (n + 1) for the same unit column Bitmap data in which the column number of the bitmap data for the n-th ejection is shifted by a predetermined number is set in the bitmap data at the time of the second droplet ejection, and the bitmap data is shifted at the time of the setting in the first unit column. Performs a process of adding a bit meaning “do not eject” to a bitmap column added to “bitmap data indicating the entire pattern”, and the X-direction moving means matches the nozzle number with the column number of the bitmap data. Thus, the present invention provides a droplet discharge device characterized by moving the droplet discharge head in the X direction. According to the droplet discharge device, the third method of the present invention can be easily performed.

  The present invention also provides a droplet discharge head having a plurality of nozzles at equal intervals in the X direction, and a grid having rows corresponding to the X direction and columns corresponding to the Y direction. A droplet discharge control means for controlling the droplet discharge from the droplet discharge head in accordance with the bitmap data in which the pattern is represented by the bits in the bitmap having the same interval, and the droplet discharge head is moved in the X direction. And a Y-direction moving unit for moving the base material in the Y-direction. There is provided a droplet discharging apparatus characterized in that a droplet discharging head is moved so that the same nozzle is arranged in a different bitmap row at the time of (n + 1) th droplet discharging. According to this droplet discharge device, the fourth method of the present invention can be easily performed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
[First Embodiment]
An ink jet device (droplet discharging device) according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet apparatus includes an ink jet head 1, a head moving device (X direction moving means) 2 for moving the ink jet head 1 in the X direction, and a table 31 on which the base material is placed can be moved in the Y direction. Is provided with a stage moving device (Y direction moving means) 3.

The ink jet head 1 has eight nozzles 11 at equal intervals in the X direction. The number of nozzles in the Y direction is one. The head moving device 2 has a driving unit 21 that moves the inkjet head 1 in the X direction. The stage moving device 3 includes a pair of rails 32 slidably provided below the table 31, and a driving unit 33 that drives both rails 32.
As shown in FIG. 2, the inkjet device also includes a drive circuit 25 of the head moving device 2, a drive circuit 35 of the stage moving device 3, and a discharge mechanism (droplet discharge control) for discharging droplets from the inkjet head 1. Means) 4, a drive circuit 45 thereof, a controller 5 composed of a microcomputer, and an information input device 6.

The controller 5 includes an X-direction movement control unit 51, a Y-direction movement control unit 52, a droplet discharge control unit 53, a BMD (bitmap data) creation / storage unit (bitmap data setting unit)) 54, And a control unit 55.
The information input device 6 is a device for inputting information P of a pattern to be formed by the ink jet device, the number N of nozzles of the ink jet head 1 in the X direction, and the number of times T of recoating. It is connected. Then, the information input device 6 outputs the values P, N, and T to the BMD creation / storage unit 54. The BMD creation / storage unit 54 creates and stores bitmap data for each ejection cycle based on the values P, N, and T.

Here, an example of the processing performed by the BMD creation / storage unit 54 will be described for a case where the pattern information P is the pattern information shown in FIG. 4, the number of nozzles N is eight, and the number N of overpaintings is four. .
First, bitmap data of the entire pattern is created based on the pattern information P. The bitmap data shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to the pattern shown in FIG. 4, and a bit () is stored in a bitmap 7 composed of a grid in a row corresponding to the X direction and a column corresponding to the Y direction. The pattern is represented by “1” and “0”). The column interval of the bit map 7 is adjusted to the interval between the adjacent nozzles 11 of the inkjet head 1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the columns of the bitmap 7 are divided into units of eight columns in accordance with “8” which is the number of nozzles in the X direction of the inkjet head 1. That is, the columns with reference column numbers 1 to 8 are the first unit columns, the columns with reference column numbers 9 to 16 are the second unit columns, and the columns with reference column numbers 17 to 18 are the third unit columns.
Next, bitmap data for each ejection cycle is created based on the bitmap data shown in FIG.

  For this purpose, first, nozzle numbers 1 to 8 are assigned to the nozzles 11 from the left side in FIG. 5, and column numbers 1 to 8 corresponding to the nozzle numbers 1 to 8 are assigned to each unit row. The bitmap data divided into eight columns and given column numbers 1 to 8 is stored as the first bitmap data in each unit column. That is, the first ejection is the first ejection for the first unit row. The second ejection is the first ejection for the second unit row. The third ejection is the first ejection for the third unit row. Note that the first bitmap data in the third unit column includes only two columns of column numbers 1 and 2.

  The fourth ejection is the second ejection for the first unit row, and the column number of the bitmap at the time of the first ejection for the first unit row is shifted by one, and the bitmap row added by shifting is added to the bitmap row. This is performed based on the bitmap data in which "0" is inserted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, as the bitmap data for the fourth ejection, the reference column numbers 1 to 7 are replaced with the column numbers 2 to 8, and “0” is inserted in all the rows of the column number 1. Created bitmap data and store it.

The fifth ejection is the second ejection for the second unit row, and is performed based on bitmap data in which the column number of the bitmap at the time of the first ejection for the second unit row is shifted by one. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, bitmap data in which the reference column numbers 8 to 15 are replaced with column numbers 1 to 8 is created and stored as bitmap data for the fifth ejection.
The sixth ejection is the second ejection for the third unit column, and is performed based on bitmap data in which the column number of the bitmap at the time of the first ejection for the third unit column is shifted by one. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, bitmap data in which reference column numbers 16 to 18 are replaced with column numbers 1 to 3 is created and stored as bitmap data for the sixth ejection.

  The seventh ejection is the third ejection for the first unit row, and the column number of the bitmap at the time of the second ejection for the first unit row is shifted by one, and " This is performed based on the bitmap data in which "0" is inserted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, as the bitmap data for the seventh ejection, the reference column numbers 1 to 6 are replaced with column numbers 3 to 8, and “0” is set in all the rows of column numbers 1 and 2. Is created and stored.

The eighth ejection is the third ejection for the second unit column, and is performed based on bitmap data in which the column number of the bitmap at the time of the second ejection for the second unit column is shifted by one. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, bitmap data in which reference column numbers 7-14 are replaced with column numbers 1 to 8 is created and stored as bitmap data for the eighth ejection.
The ninth ejection is the third ejection for the third unit row, and is performed based on the bitmap data obtained by shifting the column number of the bitmap at the time of the second ejection for the third unit row by one. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, bitmap data in which the reference column numbers 15 to 18 are replaced with column numbers 1 to 4 is created and stored as the ninth ejection bitmap data.

  The tenth ejection is the fourth ejection for the first unit row, and the column number of the bitmap at the time of the third ejection for the first unit row is shifted by one, and " This is performed based on the bitmap data in which "0" is inserted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the reference column numbers 1 to 5 are replaced with column numbers 4 to 8 as bit map data for the tenth ejection, and “0” is set in all the rows of column numbers 1 to 3. Is created and stored.

The eleventh ejection is the fourth ejection for the second unit row, and is performed based on bitmap data obtained by shifting the column number of the bitmap at the time of the third ejection for the second unit row by one. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, bitmap data in which reference column numbers 6 to 13 are replaced with column numbers 1 to 8 is created and stored as bitmap data for the eleventh ejection.
The twelfth ejection is the fourth ejection for the third unit row, and is performed based on bitmap data obtained by shifting the column number of the bitmap at the time of the third ejection for the third unit row by one. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, bitmap data in which the reference column numbers 14 to 18 are replaced with column numbers 1 to 5 is created and stored as bitmap data for the twelfth ejection.

The central control unit 55 reads the bitmap data Bn for each ejection cycle from the BMD creation / storage unit 54 for each ejection, performs a predetermined calculation process, and performs control for each control unit based on the bitmap data Bn. Of the control signals C _{1 to} C ₃ are generated. Then, it outputs control signals C _{1 to} C ₃ to the X-direction movement control unit 51, the Y-direction movement control unit 52, and the droplet discharge control unit 53, respectively.
X direction movement control unit 51, in response to the control signal C ₁ that is created on the basis of the bitmap data Bn, so that the nozzle and the bit map sequence of the same number matches the (number "1" nozzle number "1" to be placed in bitmap column), to create a signal S _X to move the ink jet head 1 in the X direction, and outputs toward this to driving circuit 25.

Y direction movement control unit 52, in response to the control signal C ₂ that is created on the basis of the bitmap data Bn, the signal to move the platform 31 of the stage movement device 3 in Y direction at the same intervals as the line spacing of the bitmap 7 S _Y is generated and output to the drive circuit 35.
Droplet ejection control unit 53, in response to the control signal C ₃ created on the basis of the bitmap data Bn, bitmap data Bn of each nozzle 11 of the inkjet head 1 ejects the nozzles "1", "0 , A signal SH not to be _ejected is created and output to the drive circuit 45. It should be noted that ejection is not performed from nozzles arranged at positions where there is no bitmap data.

Next, the operation of the ink jet device will be described.
First, after inputting the information P of the pattern shown in FIG. 4, the number of nozzles N in the X direction N = 8, and the number of times of overcoating T = 4 to the information input device 6, the pattern is displayed on the table 31 of the stage moving device 3. The substrate to be formed is placed.
Accordingly, as described above, the bitmap data Bn for each ejection cycle is created and stored in the BMD creation / storage unit 54. In addition, the central control unit 55 reads the bitmap data Bn for each ejection from the BMD creation / storage unit 54 for each ejection, and sends a control signal C ₁ based on the bitmap data Bn to the X-direction movement control unit 51. Then, the control signal C ₂ is output to the Y-direction movement control unit 52, and the control signal C ₃ is output to the droplet discharge control unit 53. Accordingly, the movement of the head moving device 2 by the driving circuit 25, the movement of the stage moving device 3 by the driving circuit 35, and the driving of the ejection mechanism 4 by the driving circuit 45 are performed. As a result, droplet ejection from each nozzle 11 of the inkjet head 1 is performed in accordance with different bitmap data for each ejection.

That is, in this example, the first ejection is performed using the arrangement of the ink jet heads indicated by “1” in FIG. 5 and “reference column numbers 1 to 8 × row numbers 1 to 20 (provided in the bitmap data 7 of the entire pattern)”. Is performed in the region of the substrate corresponding to the range of "."
The second ejection is performed on the area of the base material corresponding to the range of “reference column number 9 to 16 × row number 1 to 20” in the arrangement of the inkjet heads indicated by “1” in FIG.

The third ejection is performed in the area of the base material corresponding to the range of “reference column number 17 to 18 × row number 1 to 20” in the arrangement of the inkjet heads indicated by “1” in FIG.
The fourth ejection is performed in the area of the base material corresponding to the range of "reference column number -1 to 7 x row number 1 to 20" with the arrangement of the ink jet head indicated by "1A" in FIG. The reference column numbers “−1” to “−3” in FIG. 5 are numbers provided for convenience.

The fifth ejection is performed in the area of the base material corresponding to the range of “reference column number 8 to 15 × row number 1 to 20” in the arrangement of the inkjet heads indicated by “1A” in FIG.
The sixth discharge is performed on the area of the base material corresponding to the range of “reference column number 16 to 18 × row number 1 to 20” with the arrangement of the inkjet heads indicated by “1A” in FIG.
The seventh discharge is performed in the area of the base material corresponding to the range of “reference column number −2 to 6 × row number 1 to 20” in the arrangement of the inkjet heads indicated by “1B” in FIG.

The eighth ejection is performed on the area of the base material corresponding to the range of “reference column number 7-14 × row number 1-20” with the arrangement of the inkjet heads indicated by “1B” in FIG.
The ninth ejection is performed in the area of the base material corresponding to the range of “reference column number 15 to 18 × row number 1 to 20” in the arrangement of the inkjet heads indicated by “1B” in FIG.
The tenth ejection is performed in the area of the base material corresponding to the range of “reference column number−3 to 5 × row number 1 to 20” in the arrangement of the inkjet heads indicated by “1C” in FIG.

The eleventh ejection is performed on the area of the base material corresponding to the range of “reference column number 6 to 13 × row number 1 to 20” with the arrangement of the inkjet heads indicated by “1C” in FIG.
The twelfth ejection is performed in the area of the base material corresponding to the range of “reference column number 14 to 18 × row number 1 to 20” with the arrangement of the inkjet heads indicated by “1C” in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the first column of the bitmap data for the fourth time, the first and second columns of the bitmap data for the seventh time, and the first to third columns of the bitmap data for the tenth time. Are not added to the bitmap data of the entire pattern but are newly added. However, since the bits of these columns are all “0”, the discharges at these times cause It will not be ejected.

As can be understood from the above description, in the method of this embodiment, droplets are ejected from different nozzles 11 each time four times of coating the base material. Therefore, even if any of the nozzles of the nozzle numbers 1 to 3 has a discharge failure from the first discharge to the fourth discharge, the pattern does not drop out after the fourth overcoating.
Therefore, by performing the overpainting using the bitmap data in which the column number is shifted one by one in the same direction each time one ejection is performed, even if any of the nozzles has an ejection failure, after the overpainting is completed, A pattern can be prevented from being omitted.
[Second embodiment]
The ink jet device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 4, and 8 to 12. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet apparatus includes an ink jet head 1, a head moving device (X direction moving means) 2 for moving the ink jet head 1 in the X direction, and a table 31 on which the base material is placed can be moved in the Y direction. Is provided with a stage moving device (Y direction moving means) 3.
The ink jet head 1 has eight nozzles 11 at equal intervals in the X direction. The number of nozzles in the Y direction is one. The head moving device 2 has a driving unit 21 that moves the inkjet head 1 in the X direction. The stage moving device 3 includes a pair of rails 32 slidably provided below the table 31, and a driving unit 33 that drives both rails 32.

As shown in FIG. 8, this ink jet apparatus further includes a driving circuit 25 for the head moving device 2, a driving circuit 35 for the stage moving device 3, and a discharge mechanism (droplet discharge control) for discharging droplets from the inkjet head 1. Means) 4, a drive circuit 45 thereof, a controller 50 composed of a microcomputer, and an information input device 6.
The controller 50 includes an X-direction movement control unit 51, a Y-direction movement control unit 52, a droplet discharge control unit 53, a BMD (bitmap data) creation / storage unit 56, and a central control unit 57. I have.

  The information input device 6 is a device for inputting information P of a pattern to be formed by the ink jet device, the number N of nozzles of the ink jet head 1 in the X direction, and the number of times of recoating T. It is connected to the central control unit 57. Then, the information input device 6 outputs the pattern information P to the BMD creation / storage unit 56 and outputs the values N and T to the central control unit 57. The BMD creation / storage unit 56 creates and stores the bitmap data B based on the pattern information P, and outputs it to the central control unit 57.

The central control unit 57 performs a predetermined calculation process using the bitmap data B input from the BMD creation / storage unit 56, the number of nozzles N and the number of overpaintings T input from the information input device 6, and to create a control signal _C 11 _{-C 31} of the control unit. Then, it outputs control signals C _{11 to} C ₃₁ to the X-direction movement control unit 51, the Y-direction movement control unit 52, and the droplet discharge control unit 53, respectively.

The central control unit 57 includes a nozzle position setting unit 57a. Control signal _{C 11} of the X direction movement control unit 51 is output from the nozzle position setting unit 57a.
The nozzle position setting unit 57a determines the following (1) when the number of nozzles N, the number of a unit row obtained by dividing the bitmap row into N rows is m, and the current number of ejections in each unit row is n. The column number M of the bitmap is calculated by the formula), and the nozzle of the nozzle number (the number sequentially assigned with the nozzle at one end in the X direction of the inkjet head as “1”) n is arranged in the bitmap column of the column number M. Set the nozzle position so that

M = 1 + N (m-1) (1)
Accordingly, the n-th ejection for the same unit row is performed by arranging the nozzles 11 having the same number as the ejection number n for the same unit row (that is, a different number each time) in the bitmap row of the row number M.
Here, a case where the pattern information P is the pattern information shown in FIG. 4, the number of nozzles N is eight, and the number of times of overcoating T is four will be described.

  In this case, the bit map data 7 shown in FIG. 9 is created by the BMD creation / storage unit 56 based on the pattern information P. This bitmap data 7 corresponds to the pattern shown in FIG. 4, and the bit (“1”) is stored in the bitmap 7 composed of grids composed of rows corresponding to the X direction and columns corresponding to the Y direction. And "0") represent a pattern. The column interval of the bit map 7 is adjusted to the interval between the adjacent nozzles 11 of the inkjet head 1.

  The nozzle position setting unit 57a first divides the columns of the bitmap 7 into units of eight columns, as shown in FIG. 9, according to the number of nozzles "8" in the X direction of the inkjet head 1. That is, the columns with column numbers 1 to 8 are the first unit columns, the columns with column numbers 9 to 16 are the second unit columns, and the columns with column numbers 17 to 18 are the third unit columns. In addition, nozzle numbers 1 to 8 are assigned to the nozzles 11 of the inkjet head 1 from the left side in FIG.

  Next, the number M of the bitmap row to be matched with the nozzle n at the time of the n-th ejection for each unit row is calculated. In the case of this example, in the first unit column, the column number M = 1 is obtained by substituting N = 8 and m = 1 into the above equation (1). In the second unit column, a column number M = 9 is obtained by substituting N = 8 and m = 2 into the above equation (1). In the third unit column, a column number M = 17 is obtained by substituting N = 8 and m = 3 into the equation (1).

Next, the nozzle positions at each of the first to twelfth ejections are set as follows.
At the time of the first ejection, the column number 1 of the bitmap data and the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 1 of the inkjet head 1 are matched in order to perform the first ejection for the first unit row.
At the time of the second ejection, the column number 9 of the bitmap data is matched with the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 1 of the inkjet head 1 in order to perform the first ejection for the second unit row.

At the time of the third ejection, the column number 17 of the bitmap data and the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 1 of the inkjet head 1 are matched in order to perform the first ejection for the third unit row.
At the time of the fourth ejection, the column number 1 of the bitmap data and the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 2 of the inkjet head 1 are matched to perform the second ejection for the first unit row.
At the time of the fifth ejection, the column number 9 of the bitmap data and the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 2 of the inkjet head 1 are matched in order to perform the second ejection for the second unit row.

At the time of the sixth ejection, the column number 17 of the bitmap data and the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 2 of the inkjet head 1 are matched to perform the second ejection for the third unit row.
At the time of the seventh ejection, the column number 1 of the bitmap data and the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 3 of the inkjet head 1 are matched in order to perform the third ejection for the first unit row.
At the time of the eighth discharge, the column number 9 of the bitmap data and the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 3 of the inkjet head 1 are matched to perform the third discharge to the second unit row.

At the time of the ninth ejection, the column number 17 of the bitmap data and the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 3 of the inkjet head 1 are matched in order to perform the third ejection for the third unit row.
At the time of the tenth ejection, the column number 1 of the bitmap data and the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 4 of the inkjet head 1 are matched in order to perform the fourth ejection for the first unit row.
At the time of the eleventh ejection, the column number 9 of the bitmap data is matched with the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 4 of the inkjet head 1 in order to perform the fourth ejection for the second unit row.

At the time of the twelfth ejection, the column number 17 of the bitmap data and the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 4 of the inkjet head 1 are matched in order to perform the fourth ejection for the third unit row.
Nozzle position setting unit 57a outputs a control signal C ₁₁ which indicates the nozzle positions at the time of the discharge, which is set in this manner, in the X direction movement control unit 51.

X direction movement control unit 51, in response to the control signal C _11, "the combination of the nozzle number of the column number and the inkjet head of the bit map data" is carried out for each discharge times set by the nozzle position setting unit 57a As a result, a signal S _X for moving the inkjet head 1 in the X direction is generated and output to the drive circuit 25.
In response to a control signal C ₂₁ generated based on the bitmap data B, the Y-direction movement control unit 52 generates a signal S for moving the stage 31 of the stage moving device 3 in the Y direction at the same interval as the row interval of the bitmap 7. _Y is generated and output to the drive circuit 35.

Droplet ejection control unit 53, in response to the control signal C ₃₁ which is created on the basis of the bitmap data B, the bit map data B of each nozzle 11 of the inkjet head 1 ejects the nozzles "1", "0 , A signal SH not to be _ejected is created and output to the drive circuit 45. It should be noted that ejection is not performed from nozzles arranged at positions where there is no bitmap data.

Next, the operation of the ink jet device will be described.
First, after inputting the information P of the pattern shown in FIG. 4, the number of nozzles N in the X direction N = 8, and the number of times of overcoating T = 4 to the information input device 6, the pattern is displayed on the table 31 of the stage moving device 3. The substrate to be formed is placed.
Accordingly, the bit map data B is created and stored in the BMD creation / storage unit 56. Further, each of the single discharge, the nozzle position setting portion 57a of the central control unit 57, the control indicates "bitmap combination with the nozzle number of the column number and the inkjet head of the data" signal C ₁₁ is the X direction movement control unit 51, the control signal _{C 21} from the central control unit 57 in the Y direction movement control unit 52, the control signal _{C 31} is output to the droplet ejection control unit 53.

  Accordingly, the movement of the head moving device 2 by the driving circuit 25, the movement of the stage moving device 3 by the driving circuit 35, and the driving of the ejection mechanism 4 by the driving circuit 45 are performed. As a result, droplet ejection from each nozzle 11 of the inkjet head 1 is performed by disposing the same nozzle in different bitmap rows for the n-th ejection and the (n + 1) -th ejection for the same unit row.

That is, in this example, the first ejection is performed by combining the column number 1 of the bitmap data 7 with the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 1 of the inkjet head 1. Along with this, with the arrangement of the ink jet heads indicated by “1” in FIG. 10, the process is performed on the region of the base material corresponding to the range of “column number 1 to 8 × row number 1 to 20”.
The second ejection is performed by combining the column number 9 of the bitmap data 7 with the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 1 of the inkjet head 1. Along with this, with the arrangement of the ink jet heads indicated by “1” in FIG. 11, the operation is performed on the region of the base material corresponding to the range of “column number 9 to 16 × row number 1 to 20”.

The third ejection is performed by combining the column number 17 of the bitmap data 7 with the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 1 of the inkjet head 1. Along with this, with the arrangement of the ink jet heads indicated by “1” in FIG. 12, the printing is performed on the region of the base material corresponding to the range of “column number 17 to 18 × row number 1 to 20”.
The fourth ejection is performed by combining the column number 1 of the bitmap data 7 with the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 2 of the inkjet head 1. Along with this, with the arrangement of the ink jet heads indicated by “1A” in FIG. 10, the operation is performed on the region of the base material corresponding to the range of “column number 1 to 7 × row number 1 to 20”.

The fifth ejection is performed by combining the column number 9 of the bitmap data 7 with the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 2 of the inkjet head 1. Along with this, with the arrangement of the ink jet heads indicated by “1A” in FIG. 11, the operation is performed on the region of the base material corresponding to the range of “column number 8 to 15 × row number 1 to 20”.
The sixth ejection is performed by combining the column number 17 of the bitmap data 7 with the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 2 of the inkjet head 1. Along with this, with the arrangement of the inkjet heads indicated by “1A” in FIG. 12, the operation is performed on the region of the base material corresponding to the range of “column number 16 to 18 × row number 1 to 20”.

The seventh ejection is performed by combining the column number 1 of the bitmap data 7 with the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 3 of the inkjet head 1. Along with this, with the arrangement of the ink jet heads indicated by “1B” in FIG. 10, the process is performed on the region of the base material corresponding to the range of “column number 1 to 6 × row number 1 to 20”.
The eighth ejection is performed by combining the column number 9 of the bitmap data 7 with the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 3 of the inkjet head 1. Along with this, with the arrangement of the inkjet heads indicated by “1B” in FIG. 11, the operation is performed on the region of the base material corresponding to the range of “column number 7-14 × row number 1-20”.

The ninth ejection is performed by combining the column number 17 of the bitmap data 7 with the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 3 of the inkjet head 1. Along with this, with the arrangement of the ink jet heads indicated by “1B” in FIG. 12, the operation is performed on the region of the base material corresponding to the range of “column number 15 to 18 × row number 1 to 20”.
The tenth ejection is performed by combining the column number 1 of the bitmap data 7 with the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 4 of the inkjet head 1. Along with this, with the arrangement of the ink jet heads indicated by “1C” in FIG. 10, the operation is performed on the region of the base material corresponding to the range of “column number 1 to 5 × row number 1 to 20”.

The eleventh ejection is performed by combining the column number 9 of the bitmap data 7 with the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 4 of the inkjet head 1. Along with this, with the arrangement of the ink jet heads indicated by “1C” in FIG. 11, the operation is performed on the region of the base material corresponding to the range of “column number 6 to 13 × row number 1 to 20”.
The twelfth ejection is performed by combining the column number 17 of the bitmap data 7 with the nozzle 11 of the nozzle number 4 of the inkjet head 1. Along with this, with the arrangement of the ink jet heads indicated by “1C” in FIG. 12, the operation is performed on the region of the base material corresponding to the range of “column number 14 to 18 × row number 1 to 20”.

In this way, in the region of the base material corresponding to each unit column, droplets are ejected from different nozzles 11 every four times in the portion of the base material corresponding to each column of the bitmap 7 by four times of coating. Therefore, even if any of the nozzles of the nozzle numbers 1 to 3 has a discharge failure from the first discharge to the fourth discharge, the pattern does not drop out after the fourth overcoating.
In this embodiment, the inkjet head 1 is moved so that the nozzles 11 are shifted one by one between the n-th droplet ejection and the (n + 1) -th droplet ejection to a region corresponding to the same unit row. However, the number of nozzles 11 to be shifted may be two or more. Further, if droplets are ejected from different nozzles 11 each time in the overcoating, the number of nozzles 11 to be ejected may be changed each time.

  In a droplet discharge device for forming wiring, for example, a pattern corresponding to 1800 columns of bitmap data is formed using a droplet discharge head in which 180 nozzles are arranged in the X direction. In this case, droplets in which metal particles are dispersed in a solvent are ejected. Then, in order to form a wiring, it is necessary to apply a plurality of times to the same region to prevent disconnection. Therefore, the droplet discharge device of the present invention is suitable as a droplet discharge device for forming a wiring, and the pattern forming method of the present invention is suitable as a wiring formation method using the droplet discharge device.

The droplet discharge device of the present invention is also suitable as a droplet discharge device for forming an insulating pattern and for forming a semiconductor pattern (a component of a semiconductor element, for example, a source / drain of a transistor). The forming method is also suitable as an insulating pattern forming method and a semiconductor pattern forming method using a droplet discharge device.
When a liquid is applied to the entire surface of a predetermined area by a droplet discharge device to form a coating film, when the nozzle position in the X direction is fixed and the unit line is overcoated, a boundary between a plurality of unit lines is obtained. Although the phenomenon that the film thickness of the portion becomes remarkably large occurs, such a phenomenon hardly occurs by employing the method of the present invention in which the nozzle position in the X direction is changed to perform the ejection.

  In addition, the droplet discharge device includes a device equipped with a droplet discharge head of a type in which a piezoelectric element expands and contracts by applying a voltage, and a diaphragm moves in a concavo-convex manner in accordance with this, thereby expelling a droplet from a nozzle. There is an apparatus provided with a droplet discharge head of a type in which ink near a heater is bumped by instantaneously heating a heater above a nozzle, and an ink droplet is ejected from the nozzle with the pressure. The droplet discharge head of the droplet discharge device of the present invention may be of any type.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the ink jet device according to the first and second embodiments. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an inkjet apparatus according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram of bitmap data showing the entire pattern of the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a view showing a pattern formed in the first and second embodiments. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating column numbers of bitmap data at the time of ejection for a first unit column in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating column numbers of bitmap data at the time of ejection for a second unit row in the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating column numbers of bitmap data at the time of ejection for a third unit row in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an inkjet apparatus according to a second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing bitmap data created in the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a column number of bitmap data at the time of ejection with respect to a first unit column and a nozzle number of an inkjet head in the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a column number of bitmap data at the time of ejection for a second unit column and a nozzle number of an inkjet head in the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a column number of bitmap data at the time of ejection with respect to a third unit column and a nozzle number of an inkjet head in the second embodiment. The figure explaining the conventional method. The figure explaining the conventional method.

Explanation of reference numerals

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ink jet head, 11 ... Nozzle, 2 ... Head moving device (X direction moving means), 25 ... Drive circuit of head moving device, 3 ... Stage moving device (Y direction moving means), 31 ... Base on which base material is placed, 35: drive circuit of stage moving device, 4: discharge mechanism (droplet discharge control means), 45: drive circuit of discharge mechanism, 5: controller, 50: controller, 51: X direction movement control section 51, 52: Y direction Movement control unit, 53: droplet discharge control unit, 54: BMD (bitmap data) creation / storage unit (bitmap data setting means), 56: BMD (bitmap data) creation unit / storage unit, 55: central control Unit, 57 central control unit, 57a nozzle position setting unit, 6 information input device.

Claims (6)

A liquid for forming a liquid pattern on a substrate by moving a droplet discharge head having a plurality of nozzles relative to the substrate and discharging droplets from the nozzles toward the substrate. In a pattern forming method using a droplet discharge device,
A method for forming a pattern by a droplet discharging apparatus, wherein when discharging a droplet at the same position on a substrate two or more times, different nozzles of the droplet discharging head are used each time. By moving a droplet discharge head having a plurality of nozzles in the X direction relative to the substrate in the X direction, and moving the substrate relative to the droplet discharge head in the Y direction, the substrate In a pattern forming method by a droplet discharging apparatus that discharges droplets from the nozzle toward a substrate while changing a droplet discharging position on the substrate to form a pattern made of liquid on the substrate,
While maintaining the relative position of the droplet discharge head and the substrate in the X direction, the droplet is discharged to a predetermined region of the substrate while the substrate is relatively moved in the Y direction with respect to the droplet discharge head. After doing
The droplet discharge head is moved relative to the substrate in the X direction, and the substrate is moved in the Y direction while maintaining the relative position in the X direction between the droplet discharge head and the substrate after the relative movement. By relatively moving with respect to the droplet discharge head, by discharging droplets again to at least a part of the region,
A pattern forming method using a droplet discharge device, wherein droplets are discharged at the same position on a substrate by a nozzle different from the previous one. Using a droplet discharge head provided with a plurality of nozzles at equal intervals in the X direction, and holding the relative position of the droplet discharge head and the substrate in the X direction, the substrate is dropped in the Y direction. While relatively moving with respect to the discharge head, comprising a step of discharging droplets from the nozzle to a predetermined region of the substrate,
Using a bitmap consisting of grids composed of rows corresponding to the X direction and columns corresponding to the Y direction, a column interval of the bitmap is adjusted to the nozzle interval, and a pattern is expressed by bits in the bitmap. Set the droplet discharge position according to the bitmap data,
In a pattern forming method by a droplet discharge device that performs droplet discharge according to bitmap data for each row of the bitmap by combining each column of the bitmap with each nozzle of the droplet discharge head,
A nozzle number is given to the nozzle corresponding to the position in the X direction,
All columns of the bitmap data indicating the entire pattern are divided into units for each number of nozzles in the X direction, and a column number corresponding to the nozzle number is given for each unit column, and each bit to which the column number is given While setting the map data as the first bitmap data in each unit column,
Bitmap data in which the column number of the bitmap data for the nth discharge is shifted by a predetermined number is set as the bitmap data at the time of the (n + 1) th droplet discharge for the same unit column. At the time of setting, a process of inserting a bit meaning "do not eject" into the bitmap row added to "bitmap data indicating the entire pattern" by shifting,
A pattern formation method using a droplet discharge device, wherein discharge is performed in accordance with a nozzle number and a column number of bitmap data. Using a droplet discharge head provided with a plurality of nozzles at equal intervals in the X direction, and holding the relative position of the droplet discharge head and the substrate in the X direction, the substrate is dropped in the Y direction. While relatively moving with respect to the discharge head, comprising a step of discharging droplets from the nozzle to a predetermined region of the substrate,
Using a bitmap consisting of grids composed of rows corresponding to the X direction and columns corresponding to the Y direction, a column interval of the bitmap is adjusted to the nozzle interval, and a pattern is expressed by bits in the bitmap. Set the droplet discharge position according to the bitmap data,
In a pattern forming method by a droplet discharge device that performs droplet discharge according to bitmap data for each row of the bitmap by combining each column of the bitmap with each nozzle of the droplet discharge head,
A pattern in which the same nozzles are arranged in different bitmap rows in the n-th droplet discharge and the (n + 1) -th droplet discharge to the predetermined area, and are performed. Forming method. A droplet discharge head having a plurality of nozzles at equal intervals in the X direction;
According to bitmap data in which a pattern is represented by bits in a bitmap composed of grids composed of rows corresponding to the X direction and columns corresponding to the Y direction and having a column interval corresponding to the nozzle interval, Droplet discharge control means for controlling the droplet discharge from the droplet discharge head,
X direction moving means for moving the droplet discharge head in the X direction;
Y direction moving means for moving the substrate in the Y direction,
In the droplet discharge device provided with
A bitmap data setting means for setting bitmap data for each ejection cycle is provided,
This bitmap data setting means:
A nozzle number is given to the nozzle corresponding to the position in the X direction,
All columns of the bitmap data indicating the entire pattern are divided into units for each number of nozzles in the X direction, and a column number corresponding to the nozzle number is given for each unit column, and each bit to which the column number is given Set the map data as the first bitmap data in each unit column,
Bitmap data in which the column number of the bitmap data for the nth discharge is shifted by a predetermined number is set as the bitmap data at the time of the (n + 1) th droplet discharge for the same unit column. At the time of setting, a process of inserting a bit meaning "do not eject" into the bitmap row added to "bitmap data indicating the entire pattern" by shifting,
The X-direction moving means moves the droplet discharge head in the X-direction so that the nozzle number matches the column number of the bitmap data. A droplet discharge head having a plurality of nozzles at equal intervals in the X direction;
According to bitmap data in which a pattern is represented by bits in a bitmap composed of grids composed of rows corresponding to the X direction and columns corresponding to the Y direction and having a column interval corresponding to the nozzle interval, Droplet discharge control means for controlling the droplet discharge from the droplet discharge head,
X direction moving means for moving the droplet discharge head in the X direction;
Y direction moving means for moving the substrate in the Y direction,
In the droplet discharge device provided with
The X-direction moving means moves the droplet discharge head so that the same nozzle is arranged in a different bitmap row between the n-th droplet discharge and the (n + 1) -th droplet discharge to a predetermined area. A droplet discharge device that is moved.

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