The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a light emitting diode (LED) display, and more particularly, relates to a method for manufacturing an LED display in which LEDs are mounted on a wiring board with elastic support members interposed therebetween so that the LEDs are arranged at a constant distance from the wiring board.
Conventionally known examples of image display devices include an image display device having an LED array in which LEDs are arranged in a matrix (see Patent Document 1, for example). The process of manufacturing such an image display device includes: providing a sapphire substrate on which LEDs formed; and mounting the LEDs onto a wiring board by peeling off the LEDs from the sapphire substrate, for example. According to Patent Document 1, in the mounting step, the electrodes of the LEDs are conductively bonded onto the wiring board with bonding conductive members interposed therebetween. The bonding conductive members, which are a type of elastic support member, are made of an elastic and electrically conductive material so as to be deformed by pressure and provide electrical connection.
However, such bonding conductive members are likely to vary in height when they are pressed. As such, in the LED display manufactured by bonding the LEDs onto the wiring board with the bonding conductive members interposed therebetween, the LEDs are less likely to be arranged at a constant distance from the wiring board. However, on the other hand, using such bonding conductive members, which deform when pressed, is desirable to achieve a good joining between each LED and the wiring board when they are pressed together.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems and has an object to provide a method for manufacturing an LED display in which LEDs are mounted on a wiring board with elastic support members interposed therebetween so that the LEDs are arranged at a constant distance from the wiring board.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing an LED display by joining an LED substrate including a light transmitting wafer and LEDs, each having LED electrodes, formed in a plurality of rows at predetermined intervals on a first surface of the wafer onto a wiring board including wiring board electrodes and a circuit layer having a circuit configured to drive the LEDs and laminated on a first surface of the wiring board, and then by irradiating the LED substrate with laser light from a second surface of the wafer and peeling off the LEDs from the LED substrate so as to mount the LEDs on the wiring board so that the LED electrodes are electrically conductively connected to the wiring board electrodes. The method includes: aligning the LED substrate with the wiring board, and pressing and joining the LED substrate onto the wiring board. Each LED has the LED electrodes and a bonding surface on an upper surface of the LED. The bonding surface is disposed in a predetermined region neighboring the LED electrodes. The wiring board further includes: a circuit layer having a circuit configured to drive the LEDs and laminated on a first surface of the wiring board; elastic support members disposed at predetermined positions on the circuit layer; stop layers disposed at positions corresponding to positions of the bonding surfaces and configured to restrict compression of the elastic support members when the LED substrate and the wiring board are pressed together; and bonding layers having photocurable and thermosetting properties and disposed on the stop layers. In the aligning step, the bonding surfaces of the LEDs are positioned on upper surfaces of the bonding layers in the wiring board in preparation for joining the LED substrate onto the wiring board. The method further includes: temporarily bonding the LEDs onto the wiring board by curing the bonding layers through ultraviolet light irradiation from a second surface of the wafer while continuing to press the LED substrate against the wiring board; peeling off the LEDs from the LED substrate after laser light irradiation from the second surface of the wafer; and permanently bonding the LEDs onto the wiring board by heating the bonding layers of the LEDs mounted on the wiring board so as to further cure the bonding layers.
According to the method for manufacturing an LED display of the present invention, the stop layers restrict the compression of the elastic support members when the LED substrate pressed and joined onto the wiring board. Thus, the LEDs are permanently bonded onto the wiring board with the LEDs arranged at a constant distance from the wiring board.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The method for manufacturing an LED display is characterized by including the steps shown in
In the method for manufacturing an LED display, the LED substrate 1 is then pressed and joined onto the wiring board 2 with a pressure P (see
This manufacturing method may further include a step of performing a lighting test on the LEDs subsequent to the step of pressing and joining the LED substrate 1 onto the wiring board 2 with the pressure P. Note that the arrow P in
Specifically, as shown in
In the LED substrate production step (step S1), the LEDs 11 are formed in multiple rows at predetermined intervals on the wafer 10 by, for example, a metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method, which is a type of vapor-phase epitaxial method. The LEDs 11 are formed using gallium nitride (GaN) as a main ingredient.
Each LED 11 may be an LED configured to emit near-ultraviolet light having a wavelength of, for example, 200 nm to 380 nm, or an LED configured to emit blue light having a wavelength of, for example, 380 nm to 500 nm. In other words, each LED 11 is a micro LED configured to emit light in a blue wavelength band or a near-ultraviolet wavelength band, for example. In view of light emission from miniaturized LEDs, when an LED display is manufactured using micro LEDs, it is preferable to use micro LEDs each configured to emit light in either of the above wavelength bands. This provides the resultant LED display with favorable light emission profiles.
In the example shown in
As shown in
Next, the wiring board production step (step S2) will be described.
The wiring board 2 shown in
The structures 27 are arranged in a matrix with three rows and six columns in the example shown in
The support 21 is preferably a transparent glass or a film made of polyimide or the like. When the manufacturing method according this embodiment is used to manufacture a flexible LED display, a film made of polyimide or the like may be used. In the following description, the support 21 is assumed to be made of quartz glass, as an example.
Referring to the B-B cross-sectional view in
Referring to
Next, specific processing for producing the wiring board 2 (steps S21 to S25) will be described (see
In the step of forming stop layers (step S22), the stop layers 25a, 25b are formed in a matrix on the circuit layer 22. The stop layers 25a, 25b are configured to control a gap formed between the LED substrate 1 and the wiring board 2 when they are pressed together. In other words, the stop layers 25a, 25b are pressure-resistant members with a function of maintaining a constant distance (gap) between the upper surface (the surface, facing the LED substrate 1) of the circuit layer 22 and the upper surface of each LED 11 when the LED substrate 1 and the wiring board 2 are pressed together.
Specifically, the stop layers 25a, 25b are made, for example, of a photosensitive photoresist material, which is typically used in a substrate in a liquid crystal display (LCD). The photosensitive photoresist material used in the stop layers 25a, 25b is a resist material which is pressure-resistant and harder than that used in the photo spacers 23.
In the step of forming stop layers (step S22), the photosensitive photoresist material is applied to the entire upper surface of the circuit layer 22, and it is then exposed and developed using a photomask. Thereby, the stop layers 25a, 25b are formed on the circuit layer 22 by patterning. All the stop layers 25a, 25b are formed to have the same thickness in the height direction.
The height of the stop layers 25a, 25b may be 5 μm, for example. The stop layers 25a, 25b are designed to have a height lower than that of the photo spacers 23 so that the stop layers 25a, 25b maintain a predetermined distance (gap) between the LED substrate 1 and the wiring board 2 when they are pressed and joined together and the photo spacers 23 are deformed.
Then, in the photo spacer forming step (step S23), an elastic, insulative resist material is deposited on the wiring board 2 so as to form the photo spacers 23 that bring the circuit terminals on the wiring board 2 into contact with the LED electrodes 13a, 13b. The height of the photo spacers 23 may be 8 μm, for example.
In the PS electrode forming step (step S24), metal patterns to serve as connectors to the LED electrodes 13a, 13b are formed on the photo spacers 23. Specifically, the metal patterns, to serve as the PS electrodes 24a, 24b, are formed by sputtering, vapor deposition, plating, or the like. Thus, a material with good electrical conductivity such as gold or aluminum is deposited on the photo spacers 23 and some portions of the circuit layer 22 so as to serve as the PS electrodes 24a, 24b (see
Then, in the bonding layer forming step (step S25), the bonding layers 26a are formed on the stop layers 25a of the wiring board 2 and the bonding layers 26b are formed on the stop layers 25b of the wiring board 2. Specifically, in the bonding layer forming step (step S25), an adhesive resist material with ultraviolet curable and thermosetting properties is deposited, exposed, and developed so as to be formed into the bonding layers 26a on the stop layers 25a and the bonding layers 26b on the stop layers 25b. Through the above steps S21 to S25, the wiring board 2 is produced. The adhesive material with ultraviolet curable and thermosetting properties is an example of a material for “bonding layer having photocurable and thermosetting properties”.
Next, the steps from the aligning step (step S3) to the permanent LED bonding step (step S9) will be described. In the aligning step (step S3), an aligning mechanism (not shown) is used to align the LED substrate 1 with the wiring board 2 (see
In the joining step (step S4), the LED substrate 1 is joined onto the wiring board 2. Specifically, according to this embodiment, after the LED substrate 1 is aligned with the wiring board 2 in the aligning step (step S3), the LED substrate 1 is pressed and joined onto the wiring board 2 (see
That is, when the LED substrate 1 is strongly pressed against the wiring board 2, the photo spacers 23 are compressed and the bonding surfaces 15a, 15b of the LEDs 11 come in close contact with the bonding layers 26a and 26b on the wiring board 2. In this event, the gap formed between each LED 11 and the wiring board 2 is controlled by the thickness of the stop layers 25a, 25b in the height direction, and furthermore, the curvature and unevenness of the wafer 10 of the LED substrate 1 are reduced and the flatness of the wafer 10 is improved by such pressing.
Next, the lighting test, temporary bonding, and LLO step (step S5) will be described. The main purpose of this step is to remove defective LEDs 11 before permanently bonding the LEDs 11 onto the wiring board 2.
In the LED lighting test step (step S51), which is performed after the LED substrate 1 and the wiring board 2 are pressed and joined together, the LEDs 11 are individually energized through the LED electrodes 13a, 13b of the LED substrate 1 and the PS electrodes 24a, 24b of the wiring board 2 to determine whether the respective LEDs 11 are defective or non-defective. Specifically, the LED lighting test (step S51) may be performed by applying a voltage to the circuit in the wiring board 2, and measuring the resultant resistance of the circuit or capturing an image of the LEDs 11 with a camera to observe the resultant light emissions of the LEDs 11, for example. In the LED lighting test step (step S51), the test object 3 shown in
In this embodiment, it is assumed that the conveying direction of the test object 3 is the same as the conveying direction D of the LED substrate 1 shown in
In
When all the LEDs 11 in the inspection-target row are determined to be non-defective, these LEDs 11 are temporarily bonded onto the wiring board 2 (step S53) by curing the bonding layers 26a, 26b thereof by irradiation with ultraviolet light UV using an ultraviolet light irradiation means (not shown). Note that, in the temporary bonding step, the LEDs 11 determined to be non-defective are temporary fixed (subjected to a first-stage bonding) onto the wiring board 2 to the extent that the LEDs 11 will be transferred on the wiring board 2 after the laser lift-off of the wafer 10. A preferable example of the source of ultraviolet light UV suitable for this purpose is a laser diode (LD) or a light-emitting diode having a wavelength of 300 to 420 nm. In other words, in the temporary LED bonding step (step S53), a single row of the LEDs 11 that have been determined as “normal” in the last lighting test are irradiated with a linear beam of ultraviolet light UV from the back surface of the wafer 10 so that the bonding layers 26a, 26b of these the LEDs 11 are cured.
In the temporary LED bonding step (step S53), the area irradiated by ultraviolet light UV for curing the bonding layers 26a, 26b may be controlled so that the bonding layers 26a, 26b of a single LED 11 are cured or so that the bonding layers 26a, 26b of multiple LEDs 11 are cured. Thus, according to this embodiment, in which an adhesive material with ultraviolet curable and thermosetting properties is used in the bonding layers 26a, 26b, the temporary LED bonding step (step S53) may be locally performed by controlling irradiation with ultraviolet light UV. Thus, according to this embodiment, it is possible to perform selective temporary bonding so that the LEDs 11 determined to be non-defective are temporarily bonded, but the LEDs 11 determined to be defective are not temporarily bonded, for example.
In the test completion determining step (step S54), it is determined whether the lighting test has been completed for all the LEDs 11. When it is determined that the lighting test has not been completed (No in step S54), the operation returns to step S51 so as to inspect the next row of the LEDs 11. When it is determined that the lighting test has been completed for all the LEDs 11 (Yes in step S54), the operation proceeds to step S55.
In the laser lift-off step (step S55), the temporarily bonded LEDs 11 are separated from the LED substrate 1 by laser lift-off (LLO). To perform this laser lift-off step, the test target 3 is further conveyed to a laser lift-off device. The laser lift-off device used in the laser lift-off step (step S55) may have a configuration as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-007342 filed by the same applicant of the present application, for example. In the laser lift-off step (step S55), when the test object 3 is conveyed to the laser lift-off device, the LEDs 11 in the first row are positioned at laser irradiation positions, first. Then, only when the LEDs 11 in the first row have passed the lighting test in step S51, the LEDs 11 in the first row are separated from the LED substrate 1 by laser lift-off by irradiating the release layers 14 of these irradiation-target LEDs 11 with a linear beam of the laser light L focused thereon through mask patterns (see
On the other hand, when the LEDs 11 in the first row have failed the lighting test in step S51, the LEDs 11 in the first row are not subjected to laser lift-off, and the LEDs 11 in the second row are then positioned at the laser irradiation positions. After that, the second to 14th rows the LEDs 11 are sequentially processed by repeating the same procedures. When all the LEDs 11 have been processed in step S55, the operation proceeds to the LED peeling off step (step S6) of
A preferable example of the laser light source for laser lift-off is an ultraviolet picosecond laser (with a wavelength four times longer than that of a YAG laser and with a pulse width of 10 psec). Specifically, a laser with a wavelength of 263 nm or 266 nm and with a pulse width of a picosecond order is preferable, for example. Appropriate selection of the laser light source, such as listed above, prevents the laser irradiation from adversely affecting the LEDs 11.
As described above, in the laser lift-off step (step S55), the LEDs 11 that are not subjected to the temporary bonding (i.e., defective LEDs 11) are excluded from the irradiation targets of the laser light L so as to remain on the LED substrate 1. Thus, according to the present invention, the LEDs 11 determined to be non-defective are selectively subjected to the temporary bonding and laser lift-off, so that the non-defective LEDs 11 are selectively mounted on the wiring board 2 in the LED peeling off step (step S6).
In the LED peeling off step (step S6), the LEDs 11 having been separated from the LED substrate 1 of the test object 3 by laser lift-off are peeled off from the LED substrate 1. The laser lift-off step (step S55) and the LED peeling off step (step S6) collectively correspond to the step of peeling off the LEDs 11 from the LED substrate 1 after laser light irradiation from the back surface of the wafer 10.
Assume a case in which all the LEDs 11 are determined to be non-defective in the lighting test, temporary bonding, and LLO step (step S5), for example. In this case, all the LEDs 11 are peeled off from the LED substrate 1 and thereby finally mounted (transferred) on the wiring board 2 in step S6 (see
Then, it is determined whether there is any defective portion to be corrected with supplemental LEDs. When it is determined that there is any defective portion to be corrected with supplemental LEDs (Yes in step S7), the operation proceeds to the correction step (step S8). When it is determined that there is no defective portion to be corrected with supplemental LEDs (No in step S7), the operation proceeds to the permanent LED bonding step (step S9).
In the LED aligning step for correction (step S81), the correction LED substrate 1a is aligned with a vacancy due to the absence of the ninth row of the LEDs 11 in preparation for pressing and joining the correction LED substrate 1a against the wiring board 2. Then, in the LED joining step for correction (step S82), the correction LED substrate 1a is lowered and pressed and joined onto the wiring board 2. Thereafter, in the same manner as in step S51 described above, the lighting test is performed on the correction LEDs (step S83).
Then, it is determined whether the correction LEDs are “normal” (step S84). When it is determined that the correction LEDs arranged in a row are non-defective (Yes in step S84), the correction LEDs are determined to be “normal” and the operation proceeds to the temporary bonding step for correction (step S85). When it is determined that at least one of the correction LEDs arranged in the row is defective (No in step S84), the correction LEDs are determined to be “abnormal” and the operation skips the temporary bonding step and the laser lift-off step for correction and proceeds to step S87. Then, in the peeling off step for correction (step S87), the LED substrate 1a for correction is released from the pressure and removed, and the operation proceeds to step S88.
When the operation proceeds from step S84 to the temporary bonding step for correction (step S85), the correction LED substrate 1a is irradiated with ultraviolet light UV to cure the bonding layers 26a, 26b in step S85. In the laser lift-off step for correction (step S86), the correction LED substrate 1a is detached from the correction LEDs by laser lift-off. Then, in the peeling off step for correction (step S87), the correction LEDs, which have been determined to be non-defective, are peeled off from the correction LED substrate 1a, so that the LEDs are supplementally mounted on the wiring board 2.
Then, it is determined whether no more defective portions remain to be corrected with supplemental LEDs 11 (step S88). When at least one LED 11 has been determined to be defective in step S84, a defective portion remains to be corrected with supplemental LEDs 11 in step S88 (No in step S88), and the operation returns to step S81 so that a new correction LED substrate 1a is aligned with the defective portion. When the correction LEDs have been determined to be “normal” in step S84, and thus, steps S84 to S86 have been performed, there is no defective portion remains to be corrected with supplemental LEDs 11 in step S88 (Yes in step S88), and the operation proceeds to step S9 of
The processing in the correction step (step S8) described above may be summarized as follows. First, the wiring board 2 on which non-defective LEDs are mounted and which has a vacancy due to the absence of a row of the LEDs 11 containing the LED 11 determined to be defective (such a wiring board 2 will be referred to as “wiring board 2 that lacks a row of LEDs 11”) is aligned with the correction LED substrate (replacement LED substrate) 1a that includes a single row of correction LEDs (replacement LEDs) (step S81). Specifically, in step S81, the bonding surfaces of the correction LEDs arranged in a row are aligned with the upper surfaces of the bonding layers in the portion, on which the LEDs 11 are not mounted, of the wiring board 2 that lacks a row of LEDs 11. Then, in the LED joining step for correction (step S82), the correction LED substrate 1a is pressed onto the wiring board 2 that lacks a row of LEDs 11. Then, the lighting test is performed on the correction LEDs (step S83), and only when determined to be non-defective, the correction LEDs are temporarily bonded onto the wiring board 2 in the temporary bonding step for correction (step S85). Then, in the laser lift-off step for correction (step S86), the correction LED substrate 1a is detached from the correction LEDs by laser lift-off. Subsequently, in the peeling off step for correction (step S87), the correction LEDs, which have been determined to be non-defective, are peeled off from the correction LED substrate 1a, so that the correction LEDs 11 are supplementally mounted on the wiring board 2 that lacks a row of LEDs 11. Thereby, defective LEDs 11 are prevented from being mounted on the wiring board 2 in the correction step (step S8).
Then, in the permanent LED bonding step (step S9), the LED array board 4 having the LEDs 11 temporarily bonded on the wiring board 2 is heated by an external heater h to further cure the bonding layers 26a, 26b by thermosetting and thus, permanently bond the LEDs 11 onto the wiring board 2 (see
In the step of forming ribs (step S10), ribs (light-shielding partitions) for defining cells to be filled with fluorescent materials for the respective LEDs 11 are formed.
In the subsequent step of applying fluorescent materials (step S11), R, G, and B fluorescent materials are injected (applied) between the ribs. Steps S10, S11 may be performed by using a technique as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-232743 filed by the same applicant of the present application, for example.
In the subsequent step of attaching protective film and glass (step S12), a protective film and a protective glass are attached to the resultant structure. Through the steps described above, an LED display is manufactured.
The fluorescence emission layer array 40 is provided on the LEDs 11. The fluorescence emission layer array 40 includes red, green and blue fluorescence emission layers 41. The fluorescence emission layers 41 are provided on (the display surface of) the LED array board 4 and separated from each other by the partitions (ribs), not shown, in
Specifically, corresponding to the three primary colors of red, green and blue, the fluorescence emission layers 41 include red fluorescence emission layers 41R, green fluorescence emission layers 41G, and blue fluorescence emission layers 41B, which are arranged side by side on the LEDs 11. Each of the red, green and blue fluorescence emission layers 41R, 41G, 41B is made of a fluorescent resist containing a fluorescent colorant (pigment or die) of the specified color.
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an LED display that includes the LEDs 11 arranged at a constant distance from the wiring board 2 and thus has favorable light emission profiles. Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform a lighting test on the LEDs 11 without removing the LEDs 11 from the wafer 10, as necessary, during the manufacturing process of the LED display. This allows only non-defective LEDs 11 to be temporarily bonded, separated by laser lift-off, and thereby mounted on the wiring board 2 while preventing defective LEDs 11 from being mounted on the wiring board 2. Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the manufacturing efficiency of the LED display.
Next, a modification of the above embodiment will be described. The modification differs from the above embodiment in the structures of the LED substrate 1 and the wiring board 2, but is the same in other respects. Accordingly, the flowcharts used in the above description may also be applied to the modification. The same components as those described above will be indicated by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted if unnecessary. Thus, in the following description, among other features, differences from the above embodiment will be discussed in detail.
The LEDs 11a, each of which includes a compound semiconductor body 12 and LED electrodes 13c, 13d, are arranged in a matrix with columns (extending in they direction) spaced at intervals of w1 and rows (extending in the x direction) spaced at intervals of w2.
As shown in
The wiring board 2a shown in
More specifically, in the wiring board 2a, the photo spacers 23a, 23b and the stop layers 25c are provided on the circuit layer 22a having a circuit configured to drive the LEDs 11a. The PS electrodes 24c are laminated on the photo spacers 23a and the PS electrodes 24d are laminated on the photo spacers 23b. The stop layers 25c, provided at predetermined positions corresponding to the positions of the bonding surfaces 15c of the LEDs 11a, are configured to restrict the compression of the photo spacers 23a, 23b when the LED substrate 1a and the wiring board 2a are pressed together. The bonding layers 26c having photocurable and thermosetting properties are provided on the stop layers 25c. The PS electrodes 24c, 24d are an example of “wiring board electrode”, and each photo spacer 23a, 23b is an example of “elastic support member”. The photo spacers 23a, 23b may be electrically conductive.
In this modification, a portion, laminated on an uppermost portion of the photo spacer 23a, of the PS electrode 24c is adapted to be bonded to the LED electrode 13c, and a portion, laminated on an uppermost portion of the photo spacer 23b, of the PS electrode 24d is adapted to be bonded to the LED electrode 13d.
When the photo spacers 23a, 23b are electrically conductive, the PS electrodes 24c, 24d are not necessarily formed on the photo spacers 23a, 23b, and the photo spacers 23a, 23b may serve as wiring board electrodes, instead. For example, the LED substrate 1a and the wiring board 2a may be configured so that the LED electrodes 13c of the LEDs 11a are directly connected to the photo spacers 23a and the LED electrodes 13d of the LEDs 11a are directly connected to the photo spacers 23d. As yet another alternative, the photo spacers 23a, 23b may be electrically insulative depending on the intended application.
Note that the order of the steps in the method for manufacturing an LED display according to the present invention are not limited to that described in the above embodiment. For example, the LED substrate production step (step S1) and the wiring board production step (step S2) may be performed in the reverse order to the above. Furthermore, in the method for manufacturing an LED display according to the present invention, the LED substrate 1 and the wiring board 2 may be prepared in advance, and the processing of the flowchart of
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2018-019500 | Feb 2018 | JP | national |
This application is a continuation application of PCT/JP2019/001419, filed on Jan. 18, 2019.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2019/001419 | Jan 2019 | US |
Child | 16931772 | US |