Method of manufacturing a device, device, and electronic apparatus

• US 20040081768A1
• Filed: 04/10/2003
• Published: 04/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Furusawa, Masahiro, Hirai, Toshimitsu
• Granted Patent: US 7,198,821 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/891
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/001 General methods for coating; Devices therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/12 Active-matrix OLED [AMOLED] displays
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/00 Manufacture or treatment specially adapted for the organic devices covered by this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/135 using ink-jet printing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12604 Film [e.g., glaze, etc.]

Abstract

In this method of manufacturing a device, when discharging the liquid drops upon the substrate, a bit map made up from a plurality of pixels against which liquid drops are discharged is established upon the substrate. When establishing the pixels, when the interval of the discharge nozzles of the liquid drop discharge head 1 is taken as “a”, and the size in the Y axis direction of the pixels is taken as b_y, the pixels are established so that the condition b_y=a/n is satisfied, where n is a positive integer.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a device, comprising a process of making a film in a predetermined pattern upon a substrate by shifting a liquid drop discharge head and said substrate relatively in a predetermined direction, and discharging a material in liquid form against said substrate from a plurality of discharge nozzles which are formed in said liquid drop discharge head and which are arranged at predetermined intervals in the direction orthogonal to said predetermined direction, comprising:

a process of setting upon said substrate a plurality of unit regions in the form of a lattice against which liquid drops of said material in liquid form are discharged; and

a process of forming said pattern by discharging said liquid drops from said discharge nozzles against predetermined unit regions among said plurality of unit regions;

wherein said unit regions are set so that, when the interval of said discharge nozzles of said liquid drop discharge head is termed a, and the size of said unit regions in the direction orthogonal to said predetermined direction is termed b_y, the condition;

b_y=a/n (where n is a positive integer)

is satisfied.

2. A method of manufacturing a device according to claim 1, wherein said unit regions are set so that, when the size of said unit regions in said predetermined direction is termed b_x1, the condition:

b_x1=a/n (where n is a positive integer)

is satisfied.

3. A method of manufacturing a device according to claim 1, wherein said unit regions are set so that, when the size of said unit regions in said predetermined direction is termed b_x1, the condition:

b_x1=b_y=a/n (where n is a positive integer)

is satisfied.

4. A method of manufacturing a device according to claim 1, wherein, during said discharge while performing said relative shifting, said liquid drops are discharged in said predetermined direction so that the liquid drops disposed upon said substrate do not mutually overlap, or so that an overlap of less than or equal to 10% of the diameter of the liquid drops when they are disposed upon said substrate is generated.

5. A method of manufacturing a device according to claim 1, wherein said discharge is performed during said relative shifting and said discharge is performed after having relatively step shifted said liquid drop discharge head and said substrate by just a positive integer multiple of the size b_y in the direction orthogonal to said predetermined direction.

6. A method of manufacturing a device according to claim 5, wherein, after said step shift has been performed, during said discharge, said liquid drops are discharged in the direction orthogonal to said predetermined direction so that the liquid drops disposed upon said substrate do not mutually overlap or so that an overlap of less than or equal to 10% of the diameter of the liquid drops when they are disposed upon said substrate is generated.

7. A method of manufacturing a device according to claim 1, wherein the interval a of said discharge nozzles or 1/n-th thereof (where n is an integer greater than or equal to 2) is taken as a basic unit, and design is performed of a pattern other than the pattern formed by said discharge.

8. A method of manufacturing a device according to claim 1, wherein, in performing design of a pattern other than the pattern formed by said discharge, the design is performed based upon said unit regions which have been set.

9. A device manufactured by a method of manufacturing a device according to claim 1.

10. An electronic apparatus comprising a device according to claim 9.

11. A method of manufacturing a device comprising a process of making a film in a predetermined pattern upon a substrate by shifting a liquid drop discharge head and said substrate relatively in a predetermined direction, and discharging a material in liquid form against said substrate from a plurality of discharge nozzles which are formed in said liquid drop discharge head and which are arranged in a row or rows in the direction orthogonal to said predetermined direction, comprising:

a process of setting upon said substrate a plurality of unit regions in the form of a lattice against which liquid drops of said material in liquid form are discharged; and

a process of forming said pattern by discharging said liquid drops from said discharge nozzles against predetermined unit regions among said plurality of unit regions;

wherein, when;

the specified value for said direction orthogonal to said predetermined direction which is specified in advance is termed b_ky,

the interval of said discharge nozzles of said liquid drop discharge head is termed a,

the size of said unit regions in the direction orthogonal to said predetermined direction is termed b_y2,

the size of said unit regions in said predetermined direction is termed b_x2,

and said relative shifting said liquid drop discharge head slopes at an angle θ

with respect to said direction orthogonal to said predetermined direction,

said unit regions are set so that the conditions

b_y2=b_ky/n (where n is a positive integer)

and

b_x2=(a·

sin θ

)/m (where m is a positive integer)

are satisfied.

12. A method of manufacturing a device according to claim 11, wherein the interval a of said discharge nozzles or 1/n-th thereof (where n is an integer greater than or equal to 2) is taken as a basic unit, and design is performed of a pattern other than the pattern formed by said discharge.

13. A method of manufacturing a device according to claim 11, wherein, in performing design of a pattern other than the pattern formed by said discharge, the design is performed based upon said unit regions which have been set.

14. A device manufactured by a method of manufacturing a device according to claim 11.

15. An electronic apparatus comprising a device according to claim 14.