Method for manufacturing liquid crystal device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9249496-B2
Application number	US-43411109-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 1, 2009
Priority date	May 15, 2008
Publication date	Feb 2, 2016
Grant date	Feb 2, 2016

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device that includes forming an inorganic alignment layer by emitting an alignment film material that is made of an inorganic material in an oblique direction onto a substrate, and forming an organic alignment layer that is a monomolecular film made of an organic material chemically bonded with the inorganic alignment layer on a surface of the inorganic alignment layer by treating the surface of the inorganic alignment layer with a silane coupling agent that has an alkyl group, wherein a pretilt angle of a liquid crystal molecule is set to a desired angle by selecting the silane coupling agent by the number of carbon atoms.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device that has a liquid crystal layer interposed between a pair of substrates which oppose each other and an alignment film which is formed on an inner face side of at least one of the substrates, comprising:
forming an inorganic alignment layer that has a plurality of columnar structures in which crystals grow in an oblique direction with respect to a normal line of the substrate by using sputtering equipment in which a pair of targets made of silicon oppose each other with a plasma forming region interposed therebetween, by emitting an alignment film material that is made of either an SiO or an SiO 2 material in an oblique direction onto the substrate from the targets; and
forming an organic alignment layer on a surface of the inorganic alignment layer by treating the surface of the inorganic alignment layer with a silane coupling agent having an alkyl group such that an Si atom of the silane coupling agent is directly bonded to oxygen of the SiO or SiO 2 material and the Si atom of the silane coupling agent bonds the alkyl group to the SiO or SiO 2 material,
wherein the alkyl group is an alkyl chain consisting essentially of 6 to 18 carbon atoms,
a pretilt angle of a liquid crystal molecule is set to a desired angle by selecting the silane coupling agent by the number of carbon atoms; and
the organic alignment layer is a monomolecular film.

2. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 1 , wherein the sputtering equipment emits the alignment film material at an emission angle of less than 60° with respect to the normal line direction of the substrate.

3. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 2 , wherein the emission angle with respect to the normal line direction is 45° or less.

4. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 1 , wherein the silane coupling agent with the number of the carbon atoms of 8 to 10 both inclusive is used.

5. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 1 , wherein the silane coupling agent with the number of the carbon atoms of 10 or more but less than 18 is used.

6. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 1 , wherein the pretilt angle is set to 3° or more from the normal line direction.

Assignees

• Zhang Huiping
• Nakata Hideo
• Seki Shinsuke
• Tanaka Takao
• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Zhang Huiping
• Nakata Hideo
• Seki Shinsuke
• Tanaka Takao

Classifications

• C23C14/584

  Non-reactive treatment · CPC title

• C23C14/10

  Glass or silica · CPC title

• C09K17/38

  Siloxanes · CPC title

• C23C14/226 Primary

  in order to form films with columnar structure · CPC title

• C23C14/185

  by cathodic sputtering · CPC title