JP6455444B2 - Polarizer and method for producing polarizer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a polarizer having an excellent extinction ratio, a method for producing the same, and a photo-alignment apparatus provided with the polarizer.

A liquid crystal display device generally has a structure in which a counter substrate on which driving elements are formed and a color filter are arranged to face each other and the periphery is sealed, and a gap is filled with a liquid crystal material. The liquid crystal material has refractive index anisotropy, and the pixel is switched on and off from the difference between the state where the liquid crystal material is aligned along the direction of the voltage applied to the liquid crystal material and the state where no voltage is applied. Can be displayed. Here, the substrate sandwiching the liquid crystal material is provided with an alignment film for aligning the liquid crystal material.
In addition, alignment films are also used as materials for retardation films used in liquid crystal display devices and retardation films for 3D display.
As the alignment film, for example, a film using a polymer material typified by polyimide is known, and the alignment film has an alignment regulating force by rubbing the polymer material with a cloth or the like. Become.
However, the alignment film to which the alignment regulating force is applied by such rubbing treatment has a problem that the cloth or the like remains as a foreign substance.

On the other hand, in the alignment film that expresses the alignment regulating force by irradiating linearly polarized light, that is, the photo-alignment film, the alignment regulating force can be applied without performing the rubbing treatment with the cloth as described above. In recent years, it has attracted attention because there is no defect that remains as a foreign object.
As an irradiation method of linearly polarized light for imparting alignment regulating force to such a photo-alignment film, a method of exposing through a polarizer is generally used. As the polarizer, one having a plurality of thin wires arranged in parallel is used, and as a material constituting the thin wires, aluminum or titanium oxide is used (for example, Patent Document 1).

As a method of forming a plurality of thin lines arranged in parallel, a two-beam interference exposure method has been conventionally used (for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3).
This two-beam interference exposure method is a technique for transferring a periodic light intensity distribution (interference pattern) generated when two laser beams having the same phase and optical path length are overlapped to a resist on a substrate.
For example, a metal layer such as aluminum is formed on a glass substrate, the resist layer formed thereon is subjected to two-beam interference exposure, and developed using a periodic resist pattern as an etching mask. Is etched, and then the resist pattern is removed, whereby a plurality of fine wires arranged in parallel made of metal such as aluminum can be formed on the glass substrate.
Thereafter, the glass substrate is cut into a desired form as a polarizer, whereby a polarizer having a thin wire made of a metal such as aluminum can be obtained.

Japanese Patent No. 4968165 JP 2013-145863 A JP 2007-177873 A

Since the conventional polarizer as described above is cut from the large-area glass substrate on which the fine lines are formed, and the polarizers of a desired size and form are cut out, the obtained polarizers are shown in FIG. As shown to (a), the thin wire | line 112 is extended to the outer edge (namely, cutting | disconnection edge part) of the polarizer 110. FIG.
Therefore, when the polarizer 110 is arranged in the optical alignment device, if the region where the thin wire 112 is formed to fix the polarizer 110, the thin wire 112 is damaged in a chain manner from the sandwiched portion. There is a problem that foreign matter is generated from a broken thin line part.

  On the other hand, in order not to pinch the part where the fine line is arranged, the area where the fine line is arranged is limited to the area inside the area cut out as a polarizer by some method, and the area where the fine line is not arranged That is, it is conceivable to fix the polarizer by sandwiching the region where the glass substrate is exposed.

  However, in this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 12B, a region outside the region where the thin wire 122 is disposed in the polarizer 120 is a region where the glass substrate 121 is exposed, and the glass substrate 121 is exposed. In addition, the S wave component as well as the P wave component of the incident light is transmitted from the region where the light is emitted, so that the extinction ratio is greatly reduced.

  The extinction ratio is the transmittance of the polarization component (S wave) parallel to the thin line (S wave component in the outgoing light / S wave component in the incident light, hereinafter simply referred to as S wave transmittance). The transmittance of the polarization component (P wave) perpendicular to the thin line (P wave component in the outgoing light / P wave component in the incident light, hereinafter simply referred to as P wave transmittance). The ratio (P-wave transmittance / S-wave transmittance).

  For example, the extinction ratio value of a polarizer having a polarization characteristic with a P-wave transmittance of 50% and an S-wave transmittance of 1% is 50, and a region where the glass substrate is exposed is formed in this polarizer. When the wave transmittance and S wave transmittance are both increased by 1%, the extinction ratio, that is, the ratio of P wave transmittance / S wave transmittance is (50 + 1) / (1 + 1) = 25.5, and the extinction ratio is The value will drop to about half.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and when arranging a polarizer in a photo-alignment apparatus, a problem that a thin wire is broken in a chain and a foreign matter is generated from the broken thin wire portion. The main object is to provide a polarizer having an excellent extinction ratio while eliminating the problem of being lost.

  As a result of various studies, the present inventor has found that the above-mentioned problems can be solved by forming a light-shielding film that shields ultraviolet light outside the polarizing region where the thin wires are arranged. is there.

  That is, the present invention is a polarizer in which a plurality of fine wires are arranged in parallel on a transparent substrate having transparency to ultraviolet light, and outside the polarizing region where the fine wires are arranged, The polarizer is characterized in that a light shielding film for shielding ultraviolet light is formed.

  Further, the present invention is the polarizer, wherein the light shielding film is formed along one side constituting the outer edge of the polarizing region.

  Moreover, the present invention is the polarizer characterized in that the light shielding film is formed on the outer periphery of the polarizing region.

  Further, the present invention is the polarizer, wherein a character, a symbol, or an alignment mark is formed on the light shielding film.

  Further, the present invention is the polarizer, wherein the character, the symbol, or the alignment mark has a configuration in which a plurality of thin wires are arranged in parallel.

  In the present invention, the value of the S wave transmittance for the ultraviolet light in the character, the symbol, or the alignment mark is the same as the S wave transmittance for the ultraviolet light in the polarization region, or the polarization A polarizer having a value smaller than the S wave transmittance for the ultraviolet light in the region.

  Further, the present invention is the polarizer, wherein the thin wire is connected to the light shielding film.

  Moreover, the present invention is the polarizer, wherein the material constituting the light shielding film contains the material constituting the thin wire.

  In the polarizer according to the invention, the material constituting the light-shielding film is made of a material containing molybdenum silicide.

  The present invention also provides a method for producing a polarizer having a plurality of thin wires and a light-shielding film that shields the ultraviolet light on a transparent substrate that is transparent to ultraviolet light, the method comprising: A step of preparing a laminate having the first material layer formed thereon, a step of forming a resist layer on the first material layer, and processing the resist layer to have a fine line pattern and a light shielding film pattern A method for manufacturing a polarizer, comprising: a step of forming a resist pattern; and a step of etching the first material layer using the resist pattern as an etching mask.

  Further, in the present invention, the resist layer is composed of a positive electron beam resist, and the step of forming a resist pattern having the fine line pattern and the light shielding film pattern is a line and space that constitutes the fine line pattern. A method for manufacturing a polarizer, comprising a step of irradiating an electron beam onto a resist layer at a position to be a space pattern portion of a pattern.

  Further, the present invention is a photo-alignment device that polarizes ultraviolet light and irradiates the photo-alignment film, and includes the above-described polarizer, and transmits the light transmitted through the polarization region of the polarizer to the photo-alignment film. A photo-alignment apparatus characterized by irradiating.

  Further, the present invention is provided with a mechanism for moving the photo-alignment film, and a plurality of the polarizers are provided in both the moving direction of the photo-alignment film and the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the photo-alignment film. The boundary between the plurality of polarizers adjacent in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the photo-alignment film is not continuously connected to the moving direction of the photo-alignment film. An optical orientation device in which a child is arranged.

  The present invention is a polarizer that shields light having a polarization direction parallel to a thin line of incident ultraviolet light and transmits light having a polarization direction perpendicular to the thin line, and having transparency to the ultraviolet light. A plurality of the thin wires are arranged in parallel, and a light-shielding film that shields the ultraviolet light is provided outside the fine-line region where the fine wires are arranged, and an edge on the inner edge side of the light-shielding film The polarizer is characterized in that the forming direction is parallel or perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the thin wire.

According to the present invention, since the light shielding film is formed outside the thin line region, the region where the light shielding film is formed can be sandwiched when the polarizer is disposed in the optical alignment device. That is, in the polarizer, the polarizer can be fixed to the photo-alignment device without sandwiching the fine line region where the fine line is arranged. Therefore, the breakage of the fine line from the sandwiched part is linked. Can be solved, and a problem that foreign matter is generated from a broken thin line portion can be solved.
In addition, as described above, since a light shielding film is formed on the outer periphery of the thin line region, which is a region where the thin line is arranged, in the polarizer, incident light, in particular, incident from the region outside the thin line region. It is possible to suppress the transmission of the S wave component of the light, and it is possible to suppress the problem that the extinction ratio is greatly reduced.
Furthermore, since the inner edge side of the light shielding film is parallel or perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the thin line, it is easy to reduce the distance between the thin line region and the light shielding film, and a high extinction ratio is obtained. Because it can.

  In the present invention, a second fine line region, which is a region where the fine lines are arranged, may be formed outside the light shielding film. The outer edge of the light shielding film is provided on the inner side of the outer edge of the polarizer, and a second fine line region, which is a region in which a thin line is arranged in the region from the outer edge of the light shielding film to the outer edge of the polarizer, is formed. If it is a form, when arranging a plurality of polarizers in a plane and arranging them in a photo-alignment apparatus, it is possible to prevent the light shielding regions from being in contact with each other by blocking the light shielding films of the polarizers adjacent to each other. It is.

  The present invention is a photo-alignment apparatus provided with a plurality of polarizers, wherein the polarizer is formed outside a fine line region, which is a region in which a plurality of fine wires are arranged in parallel and the fine lines are arranged. The plurality of polarizers are arranged so that the light shielding film is not included between the thin line regions of the polarizers arranged adjacent to each other. An optical alignment device is provided.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of the polarizers are arranged so that the light shielding film is not included between the thin line regions of the polarizers arranged adjacent to each other. Since there is no light-shielding film in between, it can be operated as if a single polarizer was provided.

  The present invention is a method for mounting a polarizer in which a plurality of polarizers are mounted on a photo-alignment device, wherein the polarizer has a plurality of thin wires arranged in parallel and a thin wire that is a region in which the thin wires are disposed. An alignment step having a light shielding film formed outside the region, and aligning the polarizer and adjusting a polarization direction of the plurality of polarizers by an alignment mark formed on the light shielding film There is provided a method for mounting a polarizer characterized by comprising:

  According to the present invention, by using the alignment mark formed on the light shielding film, the information on the position and angle of the thin line can be acquired with high accuracy and can be easily adjusted to the desired position and angle.

  According to the present invention, when disposing the polarizer in the photo-alignment apparatus, while eliminating the problem that the thin line is damaged and the problem that the foreign matter is generated from the damaged thin line part, A polarizer having an excellent extinction ratio can be provided.

  Moreover, in the photo-alignment apparatus provided with the polarizer according to the present invention, it is possible to effectively apply the alignment regulating force to the photo-alignment film, and the productivity can be improved.

It is a figure which shows an example of the polarizer which concerns on this invention, (a) is a schematic plan view, (b) is the sectional view on the AA line of (a). It is a figure explaining the plane form of the light shielding film of the polarizer which concerns on this invention shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the other plane form example of the light shielding film in the polarizer which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the polarizer which concerns on this invention, (a) is a schematic plan view, (b) is the alignment mark enlarged view of (a). It is a schematic process drawing which shows an example of the manufacturing method of the polarizer which concerns on this invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic process diagram illustrating an example of the method for manufacturing a polarizer according to the present invention, following FIG. 5. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the photo-alignment apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the other structural example of the optical orientation apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the arrangement | positioning form of the polarizer in the photo-alignment apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the arrangement | positioning form of the polarizer in the photo-alignment apparatus which concerns on this invention. 6 is a graph showing measurement results of polarization characteristics of the polarizer of Example 2. It is a schematic plan view which shows the example of the conventional polarizer.

  Hereinafter, a polarizer according to the present invention, a method for manufacturing the polarizer, a photo-alignment apparatus, and a method for mounting the polarizer will be described.

A. Polarizer First, the polarizer according to the present invention will be described.
The polarizer according to the present invention is a polarizer in which a plurality of fine wires are arranged in parallel on a transparent substrate that is transparent to ultraviolet light, and is disposed outside the polarizing region in which the fine wires are arranged. A light-shielding film that shields the ultraviolet light is formed.
1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating an example of a polarizer according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a polarizer 10 has a plurality of thin wires 2 arranged in parallel on a transparent substrate 1, and a light-shielding film 4 is formed on the outer periphery of a polarizing region 3 where the thin wires 2 are arranged. Is formed.

Since it has such a structure, in the polarizer 10, when arrange | positioning in a photo-alignment apparatus, the area | region in which the light shielding film 4 is formed can be clamped.
That is, in the polarizer 10, the polarizer 10 can be fixed to the optical alignment device without sandwiching the region where the thin wire 2 is formed (polarization region 3). It is possible to solve the problem of causing the damage to the chain and the problem that the foreign matter is generated from the broken thin line portion.

  Further, as described above, since the light shielding film 4 is formed on the outer periphery of the polarizing region 3 where the thin wire 2 is disposed, in the polarizer 10, incident light, in particular, from the region outside the polarizing region 3. Transmission of the S wave component of the incident light can be suppressed, and a problem that the extinction ratio is greatly reduced can be suppressed.

  Hereinafter, each structure of the polarizer which concerns on this invention is demonstrated in detail.

1. Transparent substrate The transparent substrate 1 is particularly limited as long as it can stably support the thin wire 2 and has excellent ultraviolet light transmission and can be less deteriorated by exposure light. Is not to be done. For example, optically polished synthetic quartz glass, fluorite, calcium fluoride, and the like can be used. Among them, synthetic quartz glass can be preferably used. This is because the quality is stable and there is little deterioration even when short wavelength light, that is, high energy exposure light is used.
The thickness of the transparent substrate 1 can be appropriately selected according to the use and size of the polarizer 10.

2. The thin line 2 is an element that efficiently transmits the P wave component of the incident light and suppresses the transmittance of the S wave component of the incident light in the polarizer 10, and is linearly formed on the transparent substrate 1. A plurality are formed and arranged in parallel.

  The material constituting the thin wire 2 is not particularly limited as long as a desired extinction ratio and P-wave transmittance can be obtained. For example, aluminum, titanium, molybdenum, silicon, chromium, tantalum, ruthenium , Niobium, Hafnium, Nickel, Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium, Cobalt, Manganese, Iron, Indium and other metals and alloys, and oxides, nitrides, or oxynitrides thereof Materials can be mentioned. Among these, it is preferable that the material is made of a material containing molybdenum silicide. This is because even at a short wavelength in the ultraviolet region, the extinction ratio and the P-wave transmittance can be excellent, and the heat resistance and light resistance are also excellent.

  Examples of the material containing molybdenum silicide include molybdenum silicide (MoSi), molybdenum silicide oxide (MoSiO), molybdenum silicide nitride (MoSiN), molybdenum silicide oxynitride (MoSiON), and the like.

  In addition, the thin wire | line 2 may be comprised from multiple types of material, and may be comprised from the several layer from which material differs.

  The thickness of the thin wire 2 is not particularly limited as long as a desired extinction ratio and P-wave transmittance can be obtained. For example, the thickness is preferably 60 nm or more, and more preferably 60 nm to 160 nm. It is preferably within the range, and particularly preferably within the range of 80 nm to 140 nm. It is because the extinction ratio and the P wave transmittance can be made excellent by being in the above range.

Note that the thickness of the thin line refers to the maximum thickness among the thicknesses in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the thin line in a cross-sectional view. It means the thickness including the layer.
The thin wires may have different thicknesses in one polarizer, but are usually formed with the same thickness.

  The number and length of the thin wires 2 are not particularly limited as long as a desired extinction ratio and P-wave transmittance can be obtained, and are appropriately set according to the use of the polarizer 10 and the like. It is.

The pitch of the thin wires 2 (P ₁ shown in FIG. 1A) is not particularly limited as long as a desired extinction ratio and P-wave transmittance can be obtained, and is used for generating linearly polarized light. Although it differs depending on the wavelength of light, etc., for example, it can be in the range of 60 nm to 140 nm, preferably in the range of 80 nm to 120 nm, particularly in the range of 90 nm to 110 nm. It is preferable to be within. This is because the pitch is excellent in extinction ratio and P-wave transmittance.

The pitch of the fine lines refers to the maximum pitch between the fine lines adjacent in the width direction. When the fine lines are composed of a plurality of layers, the pitch includes all layers.
Moreover, although the pitch of the said thin wire | line may include the thing of a different pitch in one polarizer, it is normally formed with the same pitch.

  The duty ratio of the fine wire, that is, the ratio of the width to the fine wire pitch (width / pitch) is not particularly limited as long as a desired extinction ratio and P-wave transmittance can be obtained. For example, it can be in the range of 0.3 or more and 0.6 or less, and in particular, it is preferably in the range of 0.35 or more and 0.45 or less. This is because with the duty ratio, a polarizer having an excellent extinction ratio while having a high P-wave transmittance can be obtained, and fine wire processing can be facilitated.

Note that the width of the thin line refers to the length in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the thin line in a plan view, and when the thin line includes a plurality of layers, it refers to the width including all layers. is there.
The width of the thin line may include one having different widths in one polarizer, but is usually formed with the same width.

3. Polarization Region In the polarizer 10 shown in FIG. 1, the polarization region 3 is a region surrounded by a light shielding film 4, and the thin line 2 is arranged in the polarization region 3. In other words, the polarization region 3 in the polarizer 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a region defined by the light shielding film 4 and a region through which incident light is transmitted.

In the present invention, the polarization region 3 can be a region larger than the region where the thin wire 2 is disposed. More specifically, the thin wire 2 may not be connected to the light shielding film 4 in the longitudinal direction (Y direction shown in FIG. 1A).
Further, in the arrangement direction of the thin wires 2 (in a plan view, the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the thin wires 2, that is, the X direction shown in FIG. 1A), the distance between the terminal thin wire 2 and the light shielding film 4 is as follows. The size may be larger than the interval between the two. More specifically, in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the interval P ₂ between the left edge of the thin wire 2 at the right end in the drawing and the inner edge of the light shielding film 4 is the interval P between the thin wires 2. _The size may be larger than ₁ .

  However, in order to obtain a high extinction ratio, it is preferable that the thin wire 2 is connected to the light shielding film 4 in the longitudinal direction as in the polarizer 10 shown in FIG. This is because the region where the thin line 2 does not exist in the polarization region 3 can be made smaller, and the transmission of the S wave component of the incident light can be further suppressed.

Moreover, it is preferable that the space | interval of the thin wire | line 2 of the terminal in the sequence direction of the thin wire | line 2 and the light shielding film 4 is the same magnitude | size as the space | interval of the thin wire | line 2.
More specifically, in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the interval P ₂ between the left edge of the thin wire 2 at the right end in the drawing and the inner edge of the light shielding film 4 is the interval P between the thin wires 2. It is preferably the same size as ₁ . Similarly, in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the distance between the right edge of the thin wire 2 at the left end in the drawing and the edge on the inner edge side of the light shielding film 4 is the same as the space P ₁ between the thin wires 2. It is preferable that This is because a higher extinction ratio can be obtained.

  In the present invention, for example, the step of forming the thin wire 2 and the step of forming the light shielding film 4 are made the same process, so that the distance between the thin wire 2 at the end in the arrangement direction of the thin wire 2 and the light shielding film 4 is reduced. It can be the same size as the distance between them. Further, the positional relationship between the light shielding film 4 and the fine wire 2 can be produced with high accuracy, and the edge direction of the light shielding film 4 and the direction of the fine wire 2 can be produced with high accuracy in parallel or perpendicularly.

  As described above, if the thin wire 2 is connected to the light shielding film 4, the heat accumulated in the thin wire 2 due to the light applied to the polarizer is dispersed in the light shielding film 4, and the antistatic effect is prevented. There is also an effect.

  Further, if the thin line 2 is connected to the light shielding film 4, a thin resist pattern (thin line pattern) for forming the thin line 2 is formed in the manufacturing process of the polarizer 10 to form the light shielding film 4. Can be connected to a large area resist pattern (light-shielding film pattern), and suppresses a problem that the thin resist pattern (thin line pattern) for forming the thin line 2 collapses or peels off during the manufacturing process. You can also.

4). Light Shielding Film The light shielding film 4 is formed outside the polarizing region 3 and suppresses the transmission of incident light, particularly the S wave component of the incident light.
In the present invention, the light-shielding film 4 preferably has a light-shielding property with an optical density of 2.8 or more for ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 240 nm or more and 380 nm or less.
This is because a polarizer having an excellent extinction ratio can be provided when the light-shielding film 4 has a high light-shielding property in the wavelength range of ultraviolet light irradiated to impart alignment regulating force to the photo-alignment film. .

The material constituting the light shielding film 4 is not particularly limited as long as a desired optical density can be obtained. For example, aluminum, titanium, molybdenum, silicon, chromium, tantalum, ruthenium, niobium, hafnium, Examples include metals, alloys such as nickel, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium, cobalt, manganese, iron and indium, and materials containing any of these oxides, nitrides or oxynitrides. it can. Among these, a material containing molybdenum silicide can be preferably cited.
When the material constituting the light shielding film 4 is made of a material containing molybdenum silicide, if the thickness of the light shielding film 4 is 60 nm or more, the optical density is 2 with respect to ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 240 nm or more and 380 nm or less. This is because it can have a light shielding property of 8 or more.

  In addition, the light shielding film 4 may be comprised from multiple types of material, and may be comprised from the several layer from which material differs.

Moreover, it is preferable that the material which comprises the light shielding film 4 contains the material which comprises the thin wire | line 2. FIG.
In the case where the material constituting the light shielding film 4 contains the material constituting the thin wire 2, the apparatus and material used in the process of forming the thin wire 2 can be used in the process of forming the light shielding film 4, and the manufacturing cost is increased. This is because of the reduction. Furthermore, by making the process of forming the thin line 2 and the process of forming the light shielding film 4 the same process, the relative positional accuracy between the thin line 2 and the light shielding film 4 can be improved.

  Further, when both the material constituting the light shielding film 4 and the material constituting the thin wire 2 are made of a material containing molybdenum silicide, the light shielding film 4 has high light shielding properties, and has an extinction ratio and It can be set as the polarizer excellent in P wave transmittance.

Next, the planar form of the light shielding film 4 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a planar form of the light shielding film of the polarizer according to the present invention shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the light shielding film 4 in the polarizer 10 has a frame shape having an inner edge 5 and an outer edge 6, and the inner edge 5 of the light shielding film 4 usually coincides with the outer edge of the polarizing region 3. .
Further, like the polarizer 10 shown in FIG. 1, the outer edge 6 of the light-shielding film 4 usually coincides with the outer edge of the polarizer 10.
However, in the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above form, and when the polarizer is disposed in the photo-alignment apparatus, the polarizer can be sandwiched in the region where the light shielding film 4 is formed, and unnecessary S wave components are generated. Any device that can suppress transmission is applicable.

For example, when a polarizer is installed in a photo-alignment device that irradiates the photo-alignment film with linearly polarized light, the vicinity of the outer edge of the polarizer is covered with a holding mechanism or the like, and light from the vicinity of the outer edge of the polarizer is photo-aligned. In the case where the film is not irradiated, the outer edge 6 of the light shielding film 4 may be provided inside the outer edge of the polarizer.
Further, in the polarizer region other than the region where the light shielding film 4 is formed, a thin line 2 is formed, for example, the thin line 2 is also formed in a region outside the outer edge 6 of the light shielding film 4. In this case, the polarizer can be sandwiched in the region where the light shielding film 4 is formed, while the thin line 2 is formed in the region where the light shielding film is not formed. Can be suppressed as a polarizer of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing another example of the planar shape of the light shielding film in the polarizer according to the present invention. In FIG. 3, the longitudinal direction of the thin wire 2 is the vertical direction in the figure.
As described above, in the present invention, the light shielding film 4 is formed outside the polarization region 3 and suppresses the transmission of incident light, particularly the S wave component of the incident light.
Therefore, the planar form of the light shielding film 4 in the present invention is not limited to the form in which the light shielding film 4 is formed on the outer periphery of the polarizing region 3 as shown in FIG. Various forms can be used depending on the arrangement method.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the light shielding film 4 is formed along one side constituting the outer edge of the region (polarization region 3) where the thin line 2 is formed. It may be.

  3A, an example in which the longitudinal direction of the thin wire 2 and the longitudinal direction of the light-shielding film 4 are the same direction is used. In the embodiment shown in FIG. Examples are shown in which the direction and the longitudinal direction of the light shielding film 4 are orthogonal to each other.

  A plurality of light shielding films 4 may be arranged. For example, as shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D, the light-shielding film 4 is formed along a pair of opposing two sides constituting the outer edge of the region where the thin line 2 is formed (polarization region 3). It may be in the form.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3E, the light-shielding film 4 is formed along the two sides that form the outer edge of the region (polarization region 3) where the thin line 2 is formed and intersect each other. It may be in the form. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 3F and 3G, the light-shielding film 4 is formed along the three sides constituting the outer edge of the region where the thin line 2 is formed (polarization region 3). It may be.

Here, as described in the description related to FIG. 2, in the present invention, the outer edge 6 of the light shielding film 4 may be provided on the inner side of the outer edge of the polarizer 10. For example, as shown in FIG. 3H, all four sides constituting the outer edge of the light shielding film 4 (outer edge 6 shown in FIG. 2) are provided on the inner side of the outer edge of the polarizer. Although not shown, one to three of the four sides constituting the outer edge of the light shielding film 4 (outer edge 6 shown in FIG. 2) are located on the inner side of the outer edge of the polarizer. It may be provided.
Similarly, also in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3A to 3G, the outer edge of the light shielding film 4 may be provided inside the outer edge of the polarizer.
In these cases, it is preferable that the thin line 2 is formed in the region where the light shielding film 4 is not formed. This is because it is possible to suppress transmission of unnecessary S-wave components from the polarizer regardless of the configuration of the holding mechanism of the photo-alignment apparatus.

If it is a form as shown to said FIG.3 (a)-(d), for example, when arranging a plurality of polarizers in the shape of a plane and arranging in a photo-alignment device, light shielding film 4 of each polarizer is formed. By arranging the sides that are not arranged next to each other, the light shielding film 4 can be prevented from affecting the joint portion between the polarizers.
Further, for example, when arranging a plurality of polarizers so that the outer edge portions overlap each other in the vertical direction, the light shielding film 4 is polarized by overlapping the outer edge portions of the sides where the light shielding film 4 is not formed. It is possible not to affect the joint portion between the children.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3E to 3H, if the light shielding film 4 is formed in both the direction parallel to the thin line 2 and the direction perpendicular thereto, the polarization direction is rotated by 90 degrees. Even when it is desired to arrange the optical polarizers in the optical alignment apparatus, the same polarizer can be used without requiring separate polarizers.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3H, the outer edge of the light shielding film 4 is provided inside the outer edge of the polarizer, and the thin line 2 is also formed in the region from the outer edge of the light shielding film 4 to the outer edge of the polarizer. In this configuration, when a plurality of polarizers are arranged in a plane and arranged in the optical alignment device, the light shielding regions 4 of the polarizers adjacent to each other do not come into contact with each other and the light shielding region is not widened. .

  When arranging a plurality of polarizers in the photo-alignment device, various types of polarizers shown in FIGS. 1 and 3A to 3H may be used in combination.

4A and 4B are diagrams showing another example of the polarizer according to the present invention. FIG. 4A is a schematic plan view, and FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of the alignment mark in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the polarizer 20 has alignment marks 7 on the light shielding film 4 near the four corners.
In the present invention, the light shielding film 4 may be formed with characters, symbols, or alignment marks. For example, by forming characters, symbols, and the like on the light shielding film 4, information about the polarizer such as a model number can be given. It can also be used to determine the orientation of up / down / left / right, front / back, etc., and for rough alignment.

In addition, as described above, in the present invention, the relative position accuracy between the thin line 2 and the light shielding film 4 can be improved by making the process of forming the thin line 2 and the process of forming the light shielding film 4 the same process. . Therefore, by forming the alignment mark 7 on the light shielding film 4, information on the position and angle of the thin wire 2 can be acquired from the alignment mark 7.
Furthermore, when the polarizer 20 is equipped in a photo-alignment apparatus that irradiates the photo-alignment film with linearly polarized light, the alignment mark 7 is used to easily adjust the position and angle of the thin wire 2 to a desired position and angle. You can also

In the present invention, the form of the alignment mark is not particularly limited, and various forms such as a cross shape and an L shape can be used. The alignment mark has a direction parallel to or perpendicular to the direction of the thin wire 2. It is preferable to form an edge in at least one direction. Moreover, you may have an edge which makes an angle, such as 45 degree | times, with respect to the direction of the thin wire | line 2 according to a use.
The number and arrangement positions of the alignment marks are not particularly limited, and the alignment marks can be provided in necessary numbers and necessary positions.

  The above characters, symbols, or alignment marks may be made of a material different from that of the light shielding film 4, or may have a structure in which the transparent substrate 1 is exposed by providing an opening in the light shielding film 4. .

  However, in the case where the character, symbol, or alignment mark has a configuration in which the transparent substrate 1 is exposed by providing an opening in the light-shielding film 4, in order to prevent the extinction ratio from being lowered, It is preferable that the exposed area of the transparent substrate 1 be reduced.

On the other hand, in the present invention, the above-described character, symbol, or alignment mark may have a configuration in which a plurality of thin lines are arranged in parallel.
For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the alignment mark 7 may be configured such that a plurality of thin wires 8 are arranged in parallel. Although not shown in the drawings, the above-described characters and symbols can be similarly configured by arranging a plurality of thin wires 8 in parallel. The direction of the plurality of fine lines is preferably the same as the direction of the fine lines in the polarizing region.
Then, by designing the conditions of the material, thickness, pitch, duty ratio, etc. of the thin wire 8 so that the alignment mark 7 and the polarizer 20 having the above characters and symbols have a desired extinction ratio, the ultraviolet light is shielded. Alternatively, even if the polarization mark is provided and the alignment mark 7 and the above characters and symbols are formed on the light shielding film 4, it is possible to prevent the extinction ratio of the polarizer 20 from being lowered.

In the present invention, the material, thickness, pitch, duty ratio, and the like of the fine wire 8 constituting the alignment mark 7 and the above characters and symbols can be used as long as they have a desired S wave transmittance. The material and thickness of the thin wire 8 are preferably the same as the material and thickness of the thin wire 2 arranged in the polarizing region 3, and the longitudinal direction, pitch and duty ratio of the thin wire 8 are arranged in the polarizing region 3. It is preferable that it is the same as the longitudinal direction, pitch, and duty ratio of the thin wire 2.
This is because the extinction ratio does not change even if the alignment mark 7 and the above-described characters and symbols are formed, so that the design and the number and arrangement of the alignment marks 7 and the above-described characters and symbols can be made more freely.

In the polarizer according to the present invention, the thin wire 2 arranged in the polarization region 3 is required to have a high extinction ratio, that is, a high P wave transmittance and a low S wave transmittance. However, although the S-wave transmittance is required to be low for the above-described characters, symbols, or fine wires 8 constituting the alignment mark formed on the light-shielding film 4, the P-wave transmittance is high. Not necessarily required.
That is, the above characters, symbols, or alignment marks need to avoid irradiating the photo-alignment film with the S wave component of the incident light, but with respect to the transmittance of the P wave component, the above characters, It is sufficient that the symbol or the alignment mark can be identified, and high transmittance is not necessarily required.
Therefore, in the present invention, the value of the S wave transmittance in the above letters, symbols, or alignment marks is the same value as the S wave transmittance in the polarization region 3 for the ultraviolet light irradiated on the polarizer. Or it is preferable that it is a smaller value.

B. Next, a method for manufacturing a polarizer according to the present invention will be described.
A method of manufacturing a polarizer according to the present invention is a method of manufacturing a polarizer having a plurality of thin wires and a light-shielding film that blocks ultraviolet light on a transparent substrate that is transparent to ultraviolet light. A step of preparing a laminate in which a first material layer is formed on the transparent substrate; a step of forming a resist layer on the first material layer; and processing the resist layer to form a fine line pattern And a step of forming a resist pattern having a light shielding film pattern, and a step of etching the first material layer using the resist pattern as an etching mask.

In the present invention, the manufacturing process can be shortened and the relative positional accuracy between the thin line 2 and the light shielding film 4 can be improved by making the process of forming the thin wire 2 and the process of forming the light shielding film 4 the same process. Can be made.
Moreover, manufacturing cost can also be restrained low by comprising the thin wire | line 2 and the light shielding film 4 from the same material.

5 and 6 are schematic process diagrams showing an example of a method for producing a polarizer according to the present invention.
For example, in order to manufacture the polarizer 10 using the method for manufacturing a polarizer according to the present invention, first, a thin wire 2 and a light shielding film 4 are formed on a transparent substrate 1 as shown in FIG. A laminated body is prepared in which a polarizing material layer 31 made of a material to be used and a hard mask material layer 32 that functions as a hard mask when the polarizing material layer 31 is etched are sequentially formed.
In this example, the hard mask material layer 32 corresponds to the first material layer.

Next, a resist layer 33 is formed on the hard mask material layer 32 (FIG. 5B), irradiated with an electron beam 40 or the like (FIG. 5C), developed, and the fine line pattern 34a. Then, a resist pattern 34 having a light shielding film pattern 34b is formed (FIG. 5D).
In the present invention, for example, by using an electron beam drawing apparatus used for manufacturing a photomask for semiconductor lithography, the fine line pattern 34a and the light-shielding film pattern 34b, and the alignment mark and the like described above are manufactured in the same process, so that the electron Their relative positions can be controlled under the high-precision positional accuracy management of the line drawing apparatus.

  Next, the hard mask material layer 32 is etched using the resist pattern 34 as an etching mask to form a hard mask pattern 32P (FIG. 6E). For example, when chromium is used as the material of the hard mask material layer 32, the hard mask pattern 32P can be formed by dry etching using a mixed gas of chlorine and oxygen.

Next, using the resist pattern 34 and the hard mask pattern 32P as an etching mask, the polarizing material layer 31 is etched to form the polarizing material pattern 31P having the fine lines 2 and the light shielding film 4 (FIG. 6F). . For example, when molybdenum silicide is used as the material of the polarizing material layer 31, the polarizing material pattern 31P can be formed by dry etching using SF ₆ gas.

Next, the resist pattern 34 is removed (FIG. 6G), and then the hard mask pattern 32P is removed, and the polarizer 10 having a plurality of thin wires 2 and the light-shielding film 4 is formed on the transparent substrate 1. Is obtained (FIG. 6 (h)).
Although omitted in the examples shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in the present invention, a plurality of fine wires 2 and a light-shielding film 4 are formed on a transparent substrate 1 having a large area, and then the fine wires 2 are arranged. The polarizer 10 cut out to a desired size and shape may be obtained by cutting the outside of the polarized region 3.

  In the above description, the polarizing material layer 31 is etched while leaving the resist pattern 34. In the present invention, after the step of forming the hard mask pattern 32P shown in FIG. The polarizing material layer 31 may be formed by removing the pattern 34 and etching the polarizing material layer 31 using only the hard mask pattern 32P as an etching mask.

In the above description, the hard mask pattern 32P is removed as the polarizer 10 to be obtained. However, in the present invention, the hard mask pattern 32P may be left entirely or partially as necessary. good.
For example, a form in which the hard mask pattern 32P is left on the entire surface as shown in FIG. 6G may be used as a finally obtained polarizer. In this case, the process of removing the hard mask pattern 32P can be omitted, and the effect of shortening the process can be achieved.

In the above description, the hard mask material layer 32 is provided on the polarizing material layer 31. However, in the present invention, the resist layer is provided on the polarizing material layer 31 without providing the hard mask material layer 32. 33 may be formed, and the polarizing material layer 31 may be etched using the resist pattern 34 as an etching mask to form a polarizing material pattern 31P having the fine wire 2 and the light shielding film 4.
In this case, the polarizing material layer 31 corresponds to the first material layer.

Here, the method used to form the resist pattern 34 shown in FIG. 5C is any method that can form the resist pattern 34 having the desired fine line pattern 34a and the light-shielding film pattern 34b. Among them, the method of irradiating with an electron beam is preferable.
The resist pattern formation by the electron beam irradiation method has a track record in manufacturing semiconductor photomasks and the like. For example, a fine line pattern with a pitch in the range of 60 nm to 140 nm can be accurately formed in a desired region. Because. In addition, the relative positional accuracy between the thin line pattern 34a and the light shielding film pattern 34b can be set to the nanometer level accuracy required for manufacturing a photomask for a semiconductor.

Further, in the present invention, the resist layer 33 is composed of a positive electron beam resist, and the step of forming the resist pattern 34 having the fine line pattern 34a and the light shielding film pattern 34b includes the desired fine line and the desired light shielding. A step of irradiating the resist layer 33 other than the position where the film is formed with an electron beam is preferable.
More specifically, the thin line pattern 34a constitutes a line and space pattern, and it is preferable to irradiate the resist layer 33 at a position to be the space pattern portion of the line and space pattern with an electron beam.
This is because the area where the electron beam is irradiated can be reduced by the method of irradiating the electron beam to the above position, and the time of the electron beam irradiation process can be shortened.

The above will be described in more detail.
For example, when the width of the thin wire 2 of the polarizer 10 shown in FIG. 1 is half the pitch of the thin wire 2, the fine wire pattern and the light shielding film pattern of the polarizer 10 are changed using a negative electron beam resist. When trying to obtain, the area which irradiates an electron beam becomes an area which added the area of the light shielding film 4 to the area which put all the thin wires 2 together.
On the other hand, if the above method is used, the area irradiated with the electron beam may be an area obtained by adding all the space portions of the thin wire 2, that is, an area obtained by adding all the thin wires 2. Save time.

C. Next, the optical alignment apparatus according to the present invention will be described.
The photo-alignment device according to the present invention is a photo-alignment device that polarizes ultraviolet light and irradiates the photo-alignment film, and includes the polarizer according to the present invention, and transmits light that passes through the polarization region of the polarizer. Irradiates the photo-alignment film.
In the optical alignment apparatus according to the present invention, by including the polarizer according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress transmission of unnecessary S wave components of the ultraviolet light irradiated from the ultraviolet light lamp. Therefore, the alignment regulating force can be effectively applied to the photo-alignment film, and the productivity can be improved.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a photo-alignment apparatus according to the present invention.
7 includes a polarizer unit 51 in which the polarizer of the present invention is housed and an ultraviolet light lamp 52, and the ultraviolet light irradiated from the ultraviolet light lamp 52 is housed in the polarizer unit 51. Polarized light is applied by the polarizer 10, and this polarized light (polarized light 54) is applied to the photo-alignment film 55 formed on the work 56, thereby imparting alignment regulating force to the photo-alignment film 55. It is.
Further, the photo-alignment device 50 is provided with a mechanism for moving the work 56 on which the photo-alignment film 55 is formed. By moving the work 56, the entire surface of the photo-alignment film 55 is irradiated with the polarized light 54. Can do. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 6, the work 56 moves in the right direction in the figure (the arrow direction in FIG. 6).

  In the example shown in FIG. 7, the work 56 is shown as a rectangular flat plate. However, in the present invention, the form of the work 56 is not particularly limited as long as it can irradiate the polarized light 54. For example, the work 56 may be in the form of a film, or may be in the form of a strip (web) so that it can be wound.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the ultraviolet lamp 52 is capable of irradiating ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 240 nm or more and 380 nm or less, and the photo-alignment film 55 applies ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 240 nm or more and 380 nm or less. It is preferable that it has sensitivity to it.
Since the photo-alignment device 50 includes the polarizer 10 having the light-shielding film 4 having a high light-shielding property with respect to the ultraviolet light in the above-mentioned wavelength range, it is possible to efficiently transmit unnecessary S-wave components. Can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently apply the alignment regulating force to the photo-alignment film having sensitivity to the ultraviolet light in the above wavelength range, and the productivity can be improved.

  In order to efficiently irradiate the polarizer with the light from the ultraviolet lamp 52, the photo-alignment device 50 applies ultraviolet light to the back side (the side opposite to the polarizer unit 51) or the side of the ultraviolet lamp 52. It is preferable to have a reflecting mirror 53 that reflects.

  Further, in order to efficiently apply the alignment regulating force to the large-area photo-alignment film 55, as shown in FIG. 7, a rod-like lamp is used as the ultraviolet light lamp 52 to move the workpiece 56 (see FIG. It is preferable to configure the photo-alignment device 50 so that the polarized light 54 that is a long irradiation region is irradiated in a direction orthogonal to the arrow direction in FIG.

  In this case, the polarizer unit 51 is also suitable for irradiating the large-area photo-alignment film 55 with the polarized light 54, but it is difficult to manufacture a large-area polarizer. It is technically and economically preferable to arrange a plurality of polarizers in the polarizer unit 51.

Moreover, the structure provided with a some ultraviolet light lamp may be sufficient as the photo-alignment apparatus based on this invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the photo-alignment apparatus according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 8, the photo-alignment device 60 includes two ultraviolet light lamps 62, and polarized light in which the polarizer of the present invention is accommodated between each ultraviolet light lamp 62 and the work 66. A child unit 61 is provided. Each ultraviolet lamp 62 is provided with a reflecting mirror 63.

  As described above, by providing a plurality of ultraviolet lamps 62, the irradiation amount of the polarized light 64 applied to the photo-alignment film 65 formed on the workpiece 66 is increased as compared with the case of providing one ultraviolet lamp 62. Can be made. Therefore, the moving speed of the workpiece 66 can be increased as compared with the case where one ultraviolet light lamp 62 is provided, and as a result, productivity can be improved.

  8 shows a configuration in which two ultraviolet lamps 62 are arranged in parallel in the moving direction of the workpiece 66 (the arrow direction in FIG. 8), the present invention is not limited to this. For example, In addition, a plurality of ultraviolet light lamps may be arranged in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the work 66, and a plurality of ultraviolet light lamps may be provided in both the moving direction of the work 66 and the direction perpendicular thereto. It may be a configuration in which is arranged.

  Further, in the example shown in FIG. 8, a configuration in which one polarizer unit 61 is provided for one ultraviolet lamp 62 is shown. The configuration may be such that one polarizer unit is provided for each ultraviolet lamp. In this case, it is sufficient that one polarizer unit has a size that can include irradiation regions of a plurality of ultraviolet lamps.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of polarizers in the photo-alignment apparatus according to the present invention. The polarizers shown in FIGS. 9A to 9D are all arranged in a plane in which the plate-like polarizers 10 are opposed to the film surface of the photo-alignment film. Yes.

  For example, in the photo-alignment apparatus 50 shown in FIG. 7, when the band-like polarized light 54 is irradiated in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the workpiece 56, the polarizer unit 51 has the configuration shown in FIG. Thus, it is efficient to arrange a plurality of polarizers 10 in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction (arrow direction) of the workpiece 56. This is because the number of polarizers 10 can be reduced.

  On the other hand, when the area of the polarizer 10 is small, or when the photo-alignment device includes a plurality of ultraviolet light lamps, as shown in FIG. 9B, it is orthogonal to the moving direction (arrow direction) of the workpiece. In addition to the direction to perform, it is preferable to arrange a plurality of polarizers 10 in the direction along the moving direction (arrow direction). This is because the light from the ultraviolet lamp can be irradiated to the photo-alignment film without waste, and the productivity can be improved.

Here, in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 9 (c) and 9 (d), a plurality of polarizers are arranged so that they are not aligned in a line along the movement direction (arrow direction) of the workpiece. It is preferable that the positions of the adjacent polarizers are shifted and arranged in a direction (vertical direction in the drawing) orthogonal to the moving direction of the workpiece.
More specifically, a plurality of light-shielding films sandwiching boundaries between a plurality of adjacent polarizers in a direction orthogonal to the direction of movement of the photo-alignment film are not linearly connected to the direction of movement of the photo-alignment film. It is preferable that a polarizer is disposed.
This is because polarized light is not generated in the region where the light shielding film 4 is formed, so that the adverse effect of the light shielding film 4 on the photo-alignment film is suppressed.

Here, in the arrangement form shown in FIG. 9C, the plurality of arranged polarizers all have the same shape and the same size, and the positions of the polarizers adjacent in the left-right direction are polarized. In this arrangement, the child is shifted in the vertical direction in steps of 1/2 the size of the child in the vertical direction.
Further, in the arrangement form shown in FIG. 9D, the plurality of arranged polarizers all have the same shape and the same size, and the positions in the vertical direction of the adjacent polarizers in the left-right direction are the polarizers. In this arrangement, the vertical shift is performed in steps smaller than ½ of the vertical size.

The above will be described in more detail.
In the arrangement shown in FIG. 9C, the boundary 71 between the polarizer 10 (10p) and the polarizer 10 (10q) arranged adjacent to each other in the vertical direction is the same as the polarizer 10 (10r) arranged in the horizontal direction. The polarizer 10 (10s) prevents it from extending in the left-right direction.
That is, in the arrangement form shown in FIG. 9C, the light shielding films sandwiching the boundary between the polarizers adjacently arranged in the vertical direction are prevented from being linearly connected in the horizontal direction.
Therefore, in the case where the arrangement form shown in FIG. 9C is adopted to irradiate the photo-alignment film with polarized light, it is possible to prevent the adverse effects caused by the light-shielding film from continuously reaching the photo-alignment film. it can.

Similarly, also in the arrangement form shown in FIG. 9D, the light shielding film that sandwiches the boundary between the polarizers arranged adjacently in the vertical direction is prevented from being linearly connected in the horizontal direction. .
Therefore, in the case where the arrangement form shown in FIG. 9D is adopted to irradiate the photo-alignment film with polarized light, it is possible to prevent the adverse effects caused by the light-shielding film from continuously reaching the photo-alignment film. it can.

In the arrangement shown in FIG. 9C, since the vertical shift is performed in steps of 1/2 the size of the polarizer in the vertical direction, the horizontal direction (workpiece movement direction). On the other hand, the vertical position of the boundary portion 71 is aligned for every two polarizers.
On the other hand, in the arrangement form shown in FIG. 9D, the vertical position of the boundary portion 72 is shifted in the vertical direction by a step smaller than ½ of the vertical size of the polarizer. It becomes harder to align.
Therefore, in the arrangement form shown in FIG. 9D, it is possible to further suppress the adverse effects caused by the light-shielding film from continuously affecting the photo-alignment film.

  In the examples shown in FIGS. 9A to 9D, the individual polarizers are arranged so that the side surfaces thereof are in contact with each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this mode, and adjacent polarized light beams are used. The form which the clearance gap between children has a clearance gap may be sufficient.

  Moreover, it is good also as a form by which the clearance gap does not arise in the boundary part between polarizers by overlapping the edge part of adjacent polarizers mutually.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the arrangement of polarizers in the photo-alignment device according to the present invention.
In the present invention, instead of the arrangement form shown in FIG. 9A, for example, the polarizer 10c shown in FIG. 3C and the polarizer 10f shown in FIG. As shown to a), you may arrange | position so that the outer edge part of the sides in which the light shielding film is not formed in each polarizer may overlap.

  With such an arrangement, since there is no light shielding film between the polarizers in the vertical direction in the drawing and no gap is formed between the polarizers, the polarizer 10f from the upper direction to the lower direction in the drawing, The three polarizers arranged in the order of 10c and 10f can be operated as if a single polarizer long in the vertical direction in the figure is provided.

  And each polarizer can be arrange | positioned in a photo-alignment apparatus by the method of pinching the part of each light shielding film. Therefore, it is possible to fix each polarizer to the photo-alignment device without sandwiching the region where the thin line is formed (polarization region), and cause the chain to break the thin line from the sandwiched part. In addition, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a problem that foreign matter is generated from a broken thin line portion.

  In FIG. 10A, in order to avoid complication, the form of the three polarizers arranged in the order of the polarizers 10f, 10c, and 10f is illustrated. However, in the above form, the polarizer 10c is replaced with the polarizer 10c. Two or more sheets may be used and arranged longer in the vertical direction in the figure.

Similarly, using the polarizer 10a shown in FIG. 3 (a) and the polarizer 10e shown in FIG. 3 (e), a light shielding film is formed in each polarizer as shown in FIG. 10 (b). You may arrange | position so that the outer edge part of the sides which are not carried out may overlap. Also in this case, it can be operated as if a single polarizer is provided.
Also in this case, each polarizer can be arranged in the photo-alignment device by a method of sandwiching the respective light shielding films. Therefore, it is possible to fix the polarizer to the photo-alignment device without sandwiching the region where the thin line is formed (polarization region), and to cause the failure of the thin line in a chain from the sandwiched part. Thus, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a problem that foreign matter is generated from the broken thin line portion.

  In FIG. 10B as well, two or more polarizers 10a may be used in the vertical direction in the figure, and the arrangement may be longer in the vertical direction in the figure.

D. Next, the polarizer of the present invention will be described.
The polarizer of the present invention is a polarizer that shields light having a polarization direction parallel to the thin line of incident ultraviolet light and transmits light having a polarization direction perpendicular to the thin line, and is transparent to the ultraviolet light. A plurality of the thin wires are arranged in parallel on a substrate having a light shielding film that shields the ultraviolet light outside the thin wire region where the thin wires are disposed. The edge forming direction is parallel or perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the thin line.

Such a polarizer of the present invention can be, for example, as shown in FIG.
FIG. 1 shows a case where the polarization region 3 is the same as the thin line region where the thin line 2 is disposed.
Further, in FIG. 1, the light shielding film 4 is formed outside a fine line region where the fine line 2 is arranged, and the inner edge side of the light shielding film 4 is parallel or perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fine line. It shows what is.

According to the present invention, since the light shielding film is formed outside the thin line region, the region where the light shielding film is formed can be sandwiched when the polarizer is disposed in the optical alignment device. That is, in the polarizer, the polarizer can be fixed to the photo-alignment device without sandwiching the fine line region where the fine line is arranged. Therefore, the breakage of the fine line from the sandwiched part is linked. Can be solved, and a problem that foreign matter is generated from a broken thin line portion can be solved.
In addition, as described above, since a light shielding film is formed on the outer periphery of the thin line region, which is a region where the thin line is arranged, in the polarizer, incident light, in particular, incident from the region outside the thin line region. It is possible to suppress the transmission of the S wave component of the light, and it is possible to suppress the problem that the extinction ratio is greatly reduced.
Furthermore, since the inner edge side of the light shielding film is parallel or perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the thin line, it is easy to reduce the distance between the thin line region and the light shielding film, and a high extinction ratio is obtained. Because it can.

  The polarizer of the present invention has a substrate, a fine line region, and a light shielding film.

1. Substrate The substrate in the present invention is transparent to the ultraviolet light.
In the present invention, “having transparency to ultraviolet light” specifically means that light having a wavelength of 240 nm to 380 nm can be transmitted.
The material and thickness constituting such a substrate can be the same as those described in the section “1. Transparent substrate” of “A. Polarizer”.

2. Thin line area | region The thin line area | region in this invention is an area | region where the thin line is arrange | positioned.
More specifically, the fine line region refers to a region in which a plurality of fine lines are arranged in parallel.
The fine line region is a main region for generating linearly polarized light by shielding light having a polarization direction parallel to the fine line and transmitting light having a polarization direction perpendicular to the fine line.

In the present invention, a plurality of thin wires are arranged in parallel on the substrate.
The material, thickness, number and length, pitch, duty ratio and width constituting such a thin wire can be the same as those described in the section “2. Thin wire” of “A. Polarizer”. .

When the light shielding film is formed outside the fine wire in the longitudinal direction of the fine wire region, it is preferable that the end of the fine wire in the longitudinal direction and the light shielding film are connected.
In the case where the light shielding film is formed outside the fine line in the fine line region, the distance between the terminal thin line and the light shielding film in the fine line arrangement direction is preferably the same as the distance between the fine lines.
More specifically, in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the interval P ₂ between the left edge of the thin wire 2 at the right end in the drawing and the inner edge of the light shielding film 4 is the interval P between the thin wires 2. It is preferably the same size as ₁ . Similarly, in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the distance between the right edge of the thin wire 2 at the left end in the drawing and the edge on the inner edge side of the light shielding film 4 is the same as the space P ₁ between the thin wires 2. It is preferable that
In addition, about the form etc. by which the end of the longitudinal direction of the said fine wire and the light shielding film are connected, and the effect by the space | interval of a thin wire and a light shielding film of a terminal being a space | interval of thin wires, said "A. Polarizer" Therefore, the description is omitted here.

3. Light Shielding Film The light shielding film in the present invention shields the ultraviolet light.
The light shielding film is formed outside a fine line region where the fine line is disposed.
In the light shielding film, the formation direction of the inner edge of the light shielding film is parallel or perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the thin line.

The planar shape of the light-shielding film may be any shape as long as it is formed outside the fine line region that is the region where the fine line is arranged.
Specifically, such a planar form can be the same as that described in the section “4. Light-shielding film” of “A. Polarizer”.
In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3 (h), the outer edge of the light shielding film is provided inside the outer edge of the polarizer, and a thin line is also formed in the region from the outer edge of the light shielding film to the outer edge of the polarizer. In other words, the second fine line region, which is the region where the fine lines are arranged, may be formed outside the light shielding film. By forming the thin line region, the light shielding film, and the second thin line region in this order, the light shielding films of the polarizers that are adjacent to each other when the polarizers are arranged in a plane and arranged in the photo-alignment device. It is possible to prevent the light shielding area from becoming wide in contact.
The longitudinal direction of the thin line included in the second thin line region is usually the same direction as the longitudinal direction of the thin line included in the thin line region.
Further, when a plurality of polarizers are arranged in the photo-alignment apparatus, various types of polarizers having different planar forms of the light shielding film may be used in combination.

The formation direction of the inner edge side of the light shielding film may be any as long as it is parallel or perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the thin line.
Here, the formation direction of the edge on the inner edge side of the light shielding film is parallel or perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fine line means that the formation direction of the edge on the inner edge side is parallel or perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fine line In the case where the light-shielding film has a plurality of edges on the inner edge side, it may include both a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the thin line and a direction perpendicular thereto.
1 and 3 (e), 3 (f), 3 (g), and 3 (h) that have already been described, the direction in which the inner edge of the light shielding film is formed is parallel to and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the thin line. The case where both are included is shown.
FIGS. 3A and 3C show a case where the edge formation direction of the light shielding film is only in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the thin line.
FIGS. 3B and 3D show the case where the edge formation direction of the light shielding film is only the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the thin line.

  When the second thin line region is formed outside the light shielding film, an edge forming direction of the outer edge side of the light shielding film may be parallel or perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the thin line included in the second thin line region. preferable. This is because a higher extinction ratio can be obtained.

Characters, symbols, or alignment marks may be formed on the light shielding film. For example, information about a polarizer such as a model number can be provided by forming characters, symbols, and the like on the light shielding film. It can also be used to determine the orientation of up / down / left / right, front / back, etc., and for rough alignment.
Specifically, such characters, symbols, or alignment marks can be the same as those described in the section “4. Light-shielding film” of “A. Polarizer”.

  The light shielding property of the light shielding film with respect to ultraviolet light and the constituent materials can be the same as those described in the section “4. Light shielding film” of “A. Polarizer”.

4). Polarizer The polarizer of the present invention has a substrate, a thin line region, and a light shielding film, but may have other configurations as necessary.

E. Next, the optical alignment apparatus of the present invention will be described.
The photo-alignment apparatus of the present invention is provided with a plurality of polarizers, and the polarizer has a plurality of fine wires arranged in parallel and outside the fine wire region, which is a region where the fine wires are arranged. The light-shielding film is formed, and the plurality of polarizers are arranged so that the light-shielding film is not included between the thin line regions of the polarizers arranged adjacent to each other. It is characterized by.

As such a photo-alignment apparatus of the present invention, for example, those shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 already described can be used.
In addition, the arrangement of the plurality of polarizers, that is, the arrangement in which the light shielding film is not included between the thin line regions of the polarizers arranged adjacent to each other, has already been described in detail. 10 (a) and 10 (b).

According to the present invention, a plurality of the polarizers are arranged so that the light shielding film is not included between the thin line regions of the polarizers arranged adjacent to each other. Since there is no light-shielding film in between, it can be operated as if a single polarizer was provided.
Moreover, each polarizer can be arrange | positioned in a photo-alignment apparatus by the method of pinching the part of each light shielding film. Therefore, each of the polarizers can be fixed to the optical alignment device without sandwiching the fine line region where the fine line is formed, and the broken line is chained from the sandwiched part. In addition, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a problem that foreign matter is generated from a broken thin line portion.

The present invention has at least a polarizer.
Hereinafter, each structure of the polarizer of this invention is demonstrated in detail.

1. Polarizer The polarizer in the present invention has a light-shielding film formed on the outside of a fine line region in which a plurality of fine wires are arranged in parallel and the fine wires are arranged.
Such a polarizer can be the same as the content described in the section “D. Polarizer”, for example, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

2. Arrangement of Polarizer The arrangement of the polarizer in the present invention is such that a plurality of the polarizers are not included between the thin line regions of the polarizers arranged adjacent to each other.

Such an arrangement of the polarizers can be, for example, an arrangement in which the polarizers arranged adjacent to each other are adjacent to each other where the light shielding film of each polarizer is not formed.
More specifically, the arrangement shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B described above can be employed.

The arrangement of the polarizers may be such that adjacent polarizers are arranged such that their side surfaces are in contact with each other, but the boundary between adjacent polarizers has a gap. May be.
The arrangement of the polarizers may be such that no gap is generated at the boundary between the polarizers by overlapping the end portions of adjacent polarizers.
The polarizers are arranged so that the polarizers arranged adjacent to each other are adjacent to each other where the light-shielding film of each polarizer is not formed, and the ends of the polarizers adjacent to each other are overlapped with each other. The arrangement, that is, the arrangement in which the outer edge portions of the sides where the light shielding film is not formed in each polarizer is overlapped, for example, can be the same as the contents described in the above section “C. Photo-alignment device”.

  About the arrangement | positioning with respect to the moving direction of the said workpiece | work of the said polarizer, it can be made to be the same as that of the content as described in the term of the said "C.

In the present invention, a plurality of the polarizers arranged so that the light shielding film is not included between the thin line regions of the polarizers arranged adjacent to each other are provided as a single polarizer (hereinafter referred to as a polarizer). In some cases, a plurality of the above-mentioned combined polarizers may be arranged and used.
The arrangement form of such a combined polarizer can be the same as the arrangement form of the plurality of polarizers described in the section “C. Photo-alignment device”.

3. Photo-alignment device The photo-alignment device of the present invention has a plurality of polarizers, but may have other configurations as required.
Such other configurations may include, for example, a polarizer unit in which a polarizer is housed, an ultraviolet light lamp, a reflecting mirror, a mechanism for moving a workpiece, and the like.
The other configurations can be the same as those described in the section “C. Photo-alignment device”.

F. Next, a method for mounting the polarizer of the present invention will be described.
The method of mounting the polarizer of the present invention is a method of mounting a plurality of polarizers on a photo-alignment device, wherein the polarizer is a region in which a plurality of fine wires are arranged in parallel and the fine wires are arranged. A position having a light shielding film formed outside a certain thin line region, and aligning the polarizer and adjusting a polarization direction of the plurality of polarizers by an alignment mark formed on the light shielding film It is characterized by having an alignment step.

According to the present invention, by using the alignment mark formed on the light shielding film, the information on the position and angle of the thin line can be acquired with high accuracy and can be easily adjusted to the desired position and angle.
More specifically, the relative position accuracy of the thin line and the light shielding film can be improved by making the process of forming the thin line and the process of forming the light shielding film the same process. Therefore, by forming the alignment mark on the light shielding film, information on the position and angle of the thin line can be obtained from the alignment mark with high accuracy. For this reason, by using the alignment mark formed on the light shielding film, it is possible to accurately perform alignment and confirm the longitudinal direction of the fine line in the fine line region that determines the polarization direction of the polarizer. It becomes.

The method for mounting the polarizer of the present invention includes at least an alignment step.
Hereafter, each process of the mounting method of the polarizer of this invention is demonstrated in detail.

1. Positioning Step The positioning step in the present invention is a step of aligning the polarizer and adjusting the polarization direction of the plurality of polarizers by using the alignment mark formed on the light shielding film.
The alignment marks formed on the polarizer and the light shielding film used in this step can be the same as the contents described in the above section “A. Polarizer”, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

The method of aligning the polarizer in this step and adjusting the polarization direction of the plurality of polarizers is not particularly limited as long as it is a method using alignment marks formed on the light shielding film, A general alignment method using alignment marks can be used.
In the optical alignment apparatus, for example, an arrangement-side alignment mark corresponding to the alignment mark is formed at an arrangement location of a plurality of polarizers in an optical alignment apparatus, and the alignment mark of the polarizer overlaps the arrangement-side alignment mark in plan view. The method of arrange | positioning to can be mentioned.

2. Polarizer Mounting Method The polarizer mounting method of the present invention includes the above alignment step, but may include other steps as necessary.

  As mentioned above, although each embodiment was described about the polarizer which concerns on this invention, the manufacturing method of a polarizer, the optical orientation apparatus, and the mounting method of a polarizer, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. The above-described embodiment is an exemplification, and the present invention has substantially the same configuration as the technical idea described in the claims of the present invention and exhibits the same function and effect regardless of the case. Are included in the technical scope.

  The present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the following examples.

[Example 1]
First, the following test substrate was manufactured, the refractive index (n) and the extinction coefficient (k) at each wavelength were measured, and the optical density at a predetermined film thickness was calculated.
(Shading film formation)
A synthetic quartz glass having a thickness of 6.35 mm is prepared on a transparent substrate, and molybdenum silicide having a film thickness of 60 nm is formed by reactive sputtering in an argon gas atmosphere using a mixed target of molybdenum and silicon (Mo: Si = 1: 2 mol%). A film was formed and a test substrate was manufactured.
The film thickness was measured with an AFM apparatus DIMENSION-X3D manufactured by VEECO.
(Measurement of refractive index and extinction coefficient)
About the test board | substrate, the refractive index (n) and extinction coefficient (k) with respect to the ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 190 nm-380 nm were measured with the transmission-type ellipsometer (VUV-VASE by Woollam Co., Ltd.). The results are shown in Table 1.

(Optical density)
Based on the refractive index (n) and extinction coefficient (k) shown in Table 1, the optical density (OD) when the molybdenum silicide film thicknesses were 60 nm and 100 nm was calculated. The results are shown in Table 2.

(Evaluation of Example 1)
As shown in Table 2, when the light shielding film of the polarizer according to the present invention has a molybdenum silicide film having a film thickness of 60 nm or more, the optical density is 2.8 with respect to ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 190 nm or more and 380 nm or less. It was confirmed that the above light-shielding properties were obtained.
In addition, when the light shielding film is composed of a molybdenum silicide film having a thickness of 100 nm or more, it was confirmed that the light shielding property has an optical density of 4.4 or more against ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 190 nm or more and 380 nm or less. .

[Example 2]
Next, the following polarizer was manufactured, P wave transmittance and S wave transmittance at each wavelength were measured, and an extinction ratio was calculated.

(Manufacture of polarizers)
A synthetic quartz glass having a planar size of 152 mm × 152 mm and a thickness of 6.35 mm is prepared as a transparent substrate, and reactive sputtering is performed in an argon gas atmosphere using a mixed target of molybdenum and silicon (Mo: Si = 1: 2 mol%). A molybdenum silicide film having a thickness of 100 nm was formed by the method.
Next, a chromium film having a thickness of 5 nm was formed on the molybdenum silicide film by a reactive sputtering method in an argon gas atmosphere using a chromium target.

Next, a positive electron beam resist (ZEP520 manufactured by Nippon Zeon Co., Ltd.) was applied on the chromium film, and electron beam drawing was performed to form a resist pattern having a fine line pattern and a light shielding film pattern.
Here, the fine line pattern is a line and space pattern with a pitch of 100 nm, and the entire plane size of the line and space pattern is 90 mm × 100 mm. In other words, the planar size of the polarizing region of the polarizer was set to 90 mm × 100 mm. The length of the fine wire in the longitudinal direction is 90 mm, and the fine wire and the light shielding film are connected.
The light shielding film pattern is such that the inner edge coincides with the outer edge of the polarizing region, and the outer edge has a size of 152 mm × 152 mm.
The inner edge of the light shielding film pattern is formed to have both an edge parallel to and perpendicular to the direction of the line and space pattern constituting the fine line pattern, and further, the space pattern of the above line and space pattern Was formed to have a uniform width until reaching the inner edge (edge) of the light shielding film parallel to the direction of the line and space pattern.

Next, using the resist pattern as an etching mask, the chromium film is first etched by dry etching using a mixed gas of chlorine and oxygen to form a chromium film pattern, and then the chromium film pattern is formed. The molybdenum silicide film exposed from is processed by dry etching using SF ₆ gas, and then the resist pattern and the chromium film pattern are removed, and a light shielding film is formed on the outer periphery of the polarizing region where the fine lines are arranged. The polarizer of Example 2 was obtained.
The width, thickness, and pitch of the thin wire of the polarizer of Example 2 were measured by a STEM measuring device LWM9000 manufactured by Vistec and an AFM device DIMENSION-X3D manufactured by VEECO, respectively, and were 36 nm, 100 nm, and 100 nm, respectively.

(Structural evaluation of thin wires)
The structure of the fine wire and the light shielding film of the polarizer of Example 2 was evaluated by a transmission ellipsometer (VUV-VASE manufactured by Woollam).
As a result, the thin line is oxidized with a molybdenum silicide film having a width and a thickness of 31.8 nm and 95.8 nm, respectively, and an upper film thickness and a side film thickness of the molybdenum silicide film being 4.2 nm and 4.2 nm nm, respectively. And having an oxide film made of silicon.
It was also confirmed that the light shielding film had a molybdenum silicide film having a thickness of 95.8 nm and an oxide film made of silicon oxide having a thickness of 4.2 nm on the upper surface of the molybdenum silicide film.

(Measurement of P wave transmittance and S wave transmittance)
About the polarizer of Example 2, P wave transmittance of ultraviolet light within a wavelength range of 200 nm to 400 nm (P wave component in outgoing light / P wave component in incident light) using a transmission ellipsometer (VUV-VASE manufactured by Woollam) ) And S wave transmittance (S wave component in outgoing light / S wave component in incident light) were measured, and the extinction ratio (P wave transmittance / S wave transmittance) was calculated. The results are shown in Table 3 and FIG.
As shown in Table 3 and FIG. 11, in the wavelength range of 240 nm to 400 nm, the P-wave transmittance of the polarizer of Example 2 was 64.3% or more, and the extinction ratio was 55.1 or more.
In the wavelength range of 240 nm to 260 nm, the P-wave transmittance of the polarizer of Example 2 was 64.3% or more, and the extinction ratio was 55.1 or more. Moreover, in the wavelength range of 355 nm to 375 nm, the P-wave transmittance of the polarizer of Example 2 was 77.1% or more, and the extinction ratio was 277.9 or more.

(Evaluation of Example 2)
As shown in Table 3 and FIG. 11, the polarizer of Example 2 had a high P-wave transmittance and an excellent extinction ratio.
Further, from the result of the above-mentioned Example 1, if a molybdenum silicide film having a film thickness of 60 nm or more is provided, it has a light shielding property with an optical density of 2.8 or more with respect to ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 190 nm or more and 380 nm or less. It can be confirmed that the light-shielding film of the polarizer of Example 2 has a molybdenum silicide film having a thickness of at least 95.8 nm. Therefore, it can be evaluated that the light-shielding property is sufficiently high.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transparent substrate 2 Fine wire 3 Polarizing region 4 Light shielding film 5 Inner edge 6 Outer edge 7 Alignment mark 8 Fine wire 10, 20 Polarizer 31 Polarizing material layer 31P Polarizing material pattern 32 Hard mask material layer 32P Hard mask pattern 33 Resist layer 34 Resist pattern 34a Fine wire Pattern 34b Light-shielding film pattern 50, 60 Photo-alignment device 51, 61 Polarizer unit 52, 62 Ultraviolet lamp 53, 63 Reflector 54, 64 Polarized light 55, 65 Photo-alignment film 56, 66 Work piece 71, 72 Border 110, 120 Polarizer 112, 122 Fine wire 121 Glass substrate

Claims (8)

A polarizer in which a plurality of thin wires are arranged in parallel on a transparent substrate having transparency to ultraviolet light,
A light-shielding film that shields the ultraviolet light is formed outside the polarizing region where the fine lines are arranged, and the material constituting the thin lines and the light-shielding film is composed of a material containing molybdenum silicide. A polarizer characterized by.   The polarizer according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding film is formed along one side constituting an outer edge of the polarizing region.   The polarizer according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding film is formed on an outer periphery of the polarizing region. The polarizer according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the thin wire is connected to the light shielding film. On a transparent substrate having transparency to ultraviolet light, a method for producing a polarizer having a plurality of thin wires and a light-shielding film that shields the ultraviolet light,
Preparing a laminate in which a first material layer is formed on the transparent substrate;
Forming a resist layer on the first material layer;
Processing the resist layer to form a resist pattern having a fine line pattern and a light-shielding film pattern;
Etching the first material layer using the resist pattern as an etching mask;
With
The method for manufacturing a polarizer, wherein the first material layer is made of a material containing molybdenum silicide . The resist layer is composed of a positive electron beam resist, and the step of forming a resist pattern having the fine line pattern and the light shielding film pattern includes a space pattern portion of a line-and-space pattern constituting the fine line pattern; The method for producing a polarizer according to claim 5 , comprising a step of irradiating an electron beam onto a resist layer at a certain position. A polarizer that blocks light in a polarization direction parallel to an incident ultraviolet light thin line and transmits light in a polarization direction perpendicular to the thin wire,
On the substrate having transparency to the ultraviolet light, a plurality of the thin wires are arranged in parallel,
A light-shielding film that shields the ultraviolet light outside the fine-line region, which is a region where the fine lines are disposed,
The formation direction of the edge of the inner side of the light-shielding film, the material constituting the longitudinal direction parallel to or perpendicular der is, the fine lines and the light shielding film of the thin line, and a material containing molybdenum silicide A polarizer characterized by. The polarizer according to claim 7 , wherein a second fine line region, which is a region where the fine lines are arranged, is formed outside the light shielding film.

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