LIQUID MATERIAL PLACING METHOD, MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR ELECTRO-OPTICAL DEVICE, ELECTRO-OPTICAL DEVICE AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS

Abstract

A method for placing a liquid material includes a) discharging the liquid material from a plurality of nozzles into a single region of a substrate during a scan of the substrate performed by a head having a nozzle group including the plurality of nozzles using a first electric pulse, and b) discharging the liquid material into the single region from the plurality of nozzles during the scan using a second electric pulse. The first and second electric pulses are supplied to a pressure controller to control pressure of a liquid chamber communicated with the plurality of nozzles so as to cause the plurality of nozzles to discharge the liquid material. The first and second discharge steps are performed by using the same plurality of nozzles during the same scan.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the overall structure of a droplet discharge device.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a discharge surface of a head.

FIG. 3 is a main portion sectional view showing one example of the internal structure of a head module.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the electric structure of a droplet discharge device.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing one example of a drive signal.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are main portion sectional views showing the internal structure of a head module in the process of pressure control.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing one example of distributions of discharge amounts in a nozzle row.

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view showing the main portion structure of a liquid crystal display.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing a portable information-processing device.

FIG. 10A is a plan view showing the scanning position of a head module with respect to a substrate in a first scan.

FIG. 10B is a plan view showing the scanning position of the head module with respect to the substrate in a second scan.

FIG. 11A is a plan view schematically showing the placing positions of a liquid material into partition regions in the first scan.

FIG. 11B is a plan view schematically showing the placing positions of the liquid material into the partition regions in the second scan.

FIG. 12 is a timing chart showing the structure of a drive signal according to a first modification.

FIG. 13 is a timing chart showing the structure of a drive signal according to a second modification.

Claims

1. A method for placing a liquid material, comprising: a) discharging the liquid material from a plurality of nozzles into a single region of a substrate during a scan of the substrate performed by a head having a nozzle group including the plurality of nozzles using a first one of electric pulses, the electric pulses being supplied to a pressure controller to control pressure of a liquid chamber communicated with the plurality of nozzles so as to cause the plurality of nozzles to discharge the liquid material; andb) discharging the liquid material into the single region from the plurality of nozzles that are unchanged from the plurality of nozzles in the first discharge step during the scan that is unchanged from the scan in the first discharge step using a second one of the electric pulses.

2. The method for placing a liquid material according to claim 1, wherein, in the case where a distribution width of discharge amounts in the nozzle group in a discharge using the first one of the electric pulses is defined as a1, a distribution width of discharge amounts in the nozzle group in a discharge using the second one of the electric pulses is defined as a2, and a distribution width of total discharge amounts in the nozzle group in a discharge using both the first one of the electric pulses and the second one of the electric pulses is defined as b, then a1, a2 and b satisfy a relationship: b<a1+a2.

3. The method for placing a liquid material according to claim 1, the first one of the electric pulses and the second one of the electric pulses each including a first sub-pulse for reducing pressure of the liquid chamber, a second sub-pulse maintaining an electric potential set at an end-point of the first sub-pulse, and following the second sub-pulse, a third sub-pulse for pressurizing the liquid chamber to cause the nozzles to discharge the liquid material, the first one of the electric pulses and the second one of the electric pulses differing from each other in at least a time component of the second sub-pulse.

4. A method for manufacturing an electro-optical device having a functional film as a constituent element, comprising: placing the liquid material onto the substrate using the method for placing a liquid material according to claim 1; andhardening the placed liquid material to form the functional film.

5. An electro-optical device comprising a functional film as a constituent element, the functional film being formed by, during a scan of a substrate performed by a head having a nozzle group including a plurality of nozzles, supplying electric pulses to a pressure controller to control pressure of a liquid chamber communicated with the plurality of nozzles so as to cause the plurality of nozzles to discharge the liquid material into a single region of the substrate and hardening the discharged liquid material, wherein: a first discharge and a second discharge of the liquid material into the single region are performed using a first one of the electric pulses and a second one of the electric pulses, respectively; andthe first discharge using the first one of the electric pulses and the second discharge using the second one of the electric pulses are performed by using the plurality of nozzles that are unchanged and the scan that is unchanged.

6. An electronic apparatus comprising the electro-optical device according to claim 5.