Liquid droplet ejection apparatus, control method, and article manufacturing method

Abstract

To provide a technique advantageous for accurately supplying a droplet onto a substrate.SOLUTION: Provided is a liquid droplet ejection apparatus, including: a head having a plurality of discharge holes for discharging droplets; imaging means for imaging at least one landed droplet discharged from each of the plurality of discharge holes toward a substrate held by substrate holding means and outputting image data of the landed droplet; and control means for controlling the imaging means to cause the imaging means to output the image data in a first imaging mode for outputting the image data at a first resolution and a second imaging mode for outputting the image data at a second resolution higher than the first resolution.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a droplet ejection device, a control method, and a method for manufacturing an article. [Background technology]

[0002] In the manufacturing process of organic EL display panels, there is a method of printing an organic light-emitting layer by ejecting ink droplets containing organic light-emitting material onto a substrate using an inkjet device. High-resolution panels require uniform film thickness and film quality for each pixel to be generated, which requires high-precision control of the nozzles that eject the ink droplets. For this reason, inkjet devices are equipped with a nozzle inspection device to check the state of the nozzles and control the nozzles with high precision to ensure uniform film thickness and film quality for each pixel of the organic light-emitting layer.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a method for calculating the deviation of the droplet landing positions by ejecting droplets from nozzles onto a substrate having a reference landing grid in a process separate from the printing process of an inkjet device used in the manufacturing process of display panels, capturing an image of the droplets on the substrate as landed droplets, and calculating the deviation of the droplet landing positions. It also discloses a method for excluding non-ejecting nozzles or nozzles with landing deviations exceeding an allowable value as non-ejecting nozzles in the printing process.

[0004] Meanwhile, Patent Document 2 discloses a droplet ejection device having a movable set table on which a substrate is mounted and a movable inspection unit that judges whether there are any ejection defects in the nozzles. When the set table replaces the substrate, the droplet ejection device causes droplets from the nozzles to land on the inspection unit, and then images of the landed droplets are taken to judge whether there are any ejection defects. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-138693 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-274068 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The conventional technology described in Patent Document 1 detects misalignment of droplets landing on multiple nozzles and determines which nozzles are non-ejecting. However, because this is performed as an inspection process separate from the printing process of the inkjet device in the display panel manufacturing process, there was a problem in that it was not possible to respond if a non-ejecting nozzle occurred during the printing process.

[0007] Furthermore, in the conventional technology described in Patent Document 2, nozzle discharge defects are determined during substrate replacement. However, if a discharge defect occurs, the system transitions to maintenance processing, in which a suction unit sucks the nozzle with the discharge defect and a wiping unit wipes it. Therefore, when a discharge defect occurs, the normal printing process is interrupted, resulting in a decrease in display panel productivity. Furthermore, since there is no function to measure the deviation in the landing position, the deviation in the landing position cannot be corrected, which causes a problem in that it is impossible to produce organic light-emitting layer pixels with the uniform film thickness and quality required for high-definition panels.

[0008] In view of these points, an exemplary object of the present invention is to provide an advantageous technique for accurately supplying droplets onto a substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, one embodiment of the present invention is characterized by comprising a head having a plurality of ejection holes for ejecting droplets, an imaging means for imaging at least one landing droplet ejected from each of the plurality of ejection holes toward a substrate held by a substrate holding means and outputting image data of the landing droplet, and a control means for controlling the imaging means to cause the imaging means to output the image data in a first imaging mode in which the image data is output at a first resolution and in a second imaging mode in which the image data is output at a second resolution higher than the first resolution. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, for example, it is possible to provide an advantageous technique for supplying droplets onto a substrate with high precision. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an inkjet device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an inkjet device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a head, deposited droplets, and an imaging unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of an inspection process. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a printing area and an inspection area. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of a drawing pattern generation process. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of a printing process. [Figure 8] 5A to 5C are diagrams illustrating an example of a nozzle position / volume inspection according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing examples of the shape of an impacted droplet and a formula for calculating the volume of the impacted droplet. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an inkjet device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an imaging unit according to a second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an inkjet device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an imaging unit according to a third embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the resolution of a camera. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention claimed. Although multiple features are described in the embodiments, not all of these multiple features are necessarily essential to the invention, and multiple features may be combined arbitrarily. Furthermore, in the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0013] In this specification and the accompanying drawings, directions are indicated in an XYZ coordinate system, with the XY plane being a plane parallel to the surface on which the substrate is placed. The directions parallel to the X, Y, and Z axes in the XYZ coordinate system are the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction, respectively, and rotation around the X axis, rotation around the Y axis, and rotation around the Z axis are referred to as θX, θY, and θZ, respectively. Control and drive (movement) about the X axis, Y axis, and Z axis refer to control or drive (movement) in the direction parallel to the X axis, direction parallel to the Y axis, and direction parallel to the Z axis, respectively. Furthermore, control or drive about the θX axis, θY axis, and θZ axis refer to control or drive in the direction parallel to the X axis, rotation around the Y axis, and axis parallel to the Z axis, respectively.

[0014] First Embodiment 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an inkjet device 1 according to a first embodiment. The inkjet device 1 includes a device main body 10, a head 20, and a stage 30. The inkjet device 1 is also called a droplet ejection device or a liquid supply device.

[0015] The head 20 is a nozzle head of the inkjet device and is attached to the device body 10. The stage 30 is a substrate stage that mounts (holds) the substrate 40 and functions as a substrate holder. The stage 30 can be driven along the X, Y, and Z axes. The imaging unit 100 is attached to the device body 10 and connected to the image input unit 240 (shown in FIG. 2).

[0016] The substrate 40 is a substrate used in the manufacturing process of an organic EL display panel, and ink droplets (landed droplets 60) containing an organic light-emitting material are ejected from the inkjet device 1 onto the substrate 40 to form an organic light-emitting layer by printing.

[0017] The dimensions of the glass substrates used in the production of organic EL panels are as follows: G2.5 400mm*500mm G6 1500mm*1800mm G8.5 2200mm*2500mm G10 2880mm*3130mm While substrates are becoming larger, high-definition panels require uniform film thickness and quality for each pixel, and require more precise control of the nozzles that eject ink droplets.

[0018] Therefore, in order to achieve high-precision nozzle control that is also compatible with large substrates, the inkjet device 1 ejects droplets from the head 20 onto the inspection area 50 of the substrate 40, captures an image of the impacted droplets with the imaging unit 100, and performs image processing to measure the nozzle characteristics. Then, by carrying out the printing process based on the measurement results, it becomes possible to produce pixels of an organic light-emitting layer that are configured with the uniform film thickness and film quality required for high-definition panels.

[0019] Next, the operation of each unit of the inkjet device 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the inkjet device 1 according to the first embodiment. The inkjet device 1 further includes an imaging unit 100, a processing unit 200, and a control unit 300.

[0020] The stage 30 carries the substrate 40, and its driving is controlled by the drive control unit 330 based on commands from the control unit 300, and the stage is driven by the stage driving unit 350 in the planar directions of the X and Y axes and in the height direction of the Z axis. In other words, the stage 30 is configured to drive the substrate 40. The stage 30 may be configured to be movable in the θZ direction (rotational direction around the Z axis), etc.

[0021] The nozzle tip 22 is provided in the head 20. The nozzle tip 22 has a plurality of ejection holes 23 (nozzles, shown in FIG. 3) that eject droplets. The nozzle tip 22 supplies ink liquid onto the substrate 40 held on the stage 30 by ejecting droplets from the ejection holes 23. The nozzle tip 22 is driven by the head driving unit 310 based on drawing data from the control unit 300, thereby ejecting droplets onto the substrate 40 held on the stage 30. The timing of droplet ejection is determined by the timing adjustment unit 340 based on signals from the control unit 300 and the drive control unit 330.

[0022] The imaging unit 100 includes cameras 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, and 110-4, a high-magnification lens 140-1, a low-magnification lens 140-2, a high-magnification lens 140-3, a low-magnification lens 140-4, and an illumination unit 150. The high-magnification lenses 140-1 and 140-3 and the low-magnification lenses 140-2 and 140-4 are attached to cameras with corresponding branch numbers. The low-magnification lenses 140-2 and 140-4 are lenses with a predetermined magnification (first magnification). The high-magnification lenses 140-1 and 140-3 are lenses with a higher magnification (second magnification) than the low-magnification lenses 140-2 and 140-4. That is, the cameras 110-1 and 110-3 are high-magnification cameras, and the cameras 110-2 and 110-4 are low-magnification cameras. Hereinafter, high-magnification camera 110-1, low-magnification camera 110-2, high-magnification camera 110-3, and low-magnification camera 110-4 will be collectively referred to as cameras 110. Although some of the illumination units 150 are omitted, imaging unit 100 is equipped with four illumination units since there is a one-to-one correspondence with the four cameras 110. The imaging timing of cameras 110 and the light emission timing of illumination units 150 are adjusted by timing adjustment unit 340.

[0023] The imaging unit 100 captures images of droplets that are ejected from each ejection hole 23 of the nozzle tip 22 and land on the substrate 40 in a first imaging mode and a second imaging mode, and outputs image data with different resolutions to the processing unit 200. The image data acquired in the first imaging mode is used for nozzle quality inspection, which will be described later. The image data acquired in the second imaging mode is used for nozzle position / volume inspection, which will be described later.

[0024] Each camera 110 includes an imaging element such as a CCD sensor, a CMOS sensor, etc. Each camera 110 also has an imaging control unit 130, which sets the imaging time, gain, etc. of the camera 110.

[0025] The processing unit 200 includes an image processing unit 210 and an image input unit 240. Image data from the camera 110 is transmitted to the processing unit 200 and received by an image input / output unit 250 of the image input unit 240. Communication between the camera 110 and the image input unit 240 may be performed using an interface such as CoaXPress, which connects the camera 110 and the image input unit 240 via a high-speed, long cable. For example, the CXP-12 standard makes it possible to supply 12.5 Gbps image data, camera setting parameters, power supply, and the like, via a coaxial cable.

[0026] For example, if camera 110 has a pixel resolution of 2.5 μm, a pixel count of 5120, and a 10-bit resolution, the field of view is 12.8 mm in both the X and Y directions, and the image is captured at a frame rate of 95 frames, the data rate will be 24.9 Gbps. In other words, by connecting two CXP-12 standard cables to camera 110, it becomes possible to output image data to image input / output unit 250.

[0027] The image input unit 240 is called an image input board or a frame grabber board, and receives image data from the camera 110 and transmits it to the image processing calculation unit 220 of the image processing unit 210 via a PCI-Express bus or the like.

[0028] The image processing unit 210 performs judgment processing for a nozzle quality inspection and a nozzle position / volume inspection, which will be described later. The image processing unit 210 includes an image processing calculation unit 220 and a correction unit 230.

[0029] The image processing and calculation unit 220 uses first image data captured in a first imaging mode described below to obtain, for example, by calculation, a first determination result indicating whether or not droplets are being normally ejected from the nozzle tip 22 onto the inspection area 50. Also, using second image data captured in a second imaging mode described below, the image processing and calculation unit 220 obtains, for example, by calculation, a second determination result indicating either or both of the position and volume of the landing droplets ejected from the nozzle tip 22 onto the inspection area 50.

[0030] The correction unit 230 holds correction parameters for the calculations performed by the image processing calculation unit 220, and corrects the calculated values ​​as appropriate.

[0031] For example, the processing unit 200 may be a personal computer (PC), the image input unit 240 may be inserted into a PCI-Express slot of the PC, and the image processing unit 210 may perform calculations using the CPU of the PC.

[0032] The control unit 300 may be configured, for example, by a computer having a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage unit such as a memory. The control unit 300 controls each unit of the inkjet device 1 (such as the stage 30, the nozzle tip 22, the imaging unit 100, and the processing unit 200). The control unit 300 may be configured, for example, by a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a general-purpose computer with a built-in program, or a combination of all or part of these. The control unit 300 controls the imaging unit 100 to output image data in a first imaging mode that outputs image data at a first resolution and a second imaging mode that outputs image data at a second resolution higher than the first resolution.

[0033] Generally, the resolution of a printer is expressed in dpi (dots per inch), which is the number of dots per inch. The higher the number, the higher the print density, enabling higher-resolution printing. For example, the distance between nozzles at a resolution of 150 dpi is 169.3 μm, and at 500 dpi it is 50.79 μm. The nozzle tip 22 is configured with multiple rows of nozzles, and for example, at 500 dpi per row, the nozzle spacing is 50.79 μm.

[0034] 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the head 20, the landed droplets 60, and the imaging unit 100 according to the first embodiment. In this diagram, the horizontal axis indicates the X drive axis of the stage 30, the vertical axis indicates the Y drive axis, and the head 20 is shown on the top row, the landed droplets 60 on the middle row, and the imaging unit 100 on the bottom row.

[0035] In the example shown in this figure, eight nozzle chips 22 each having a plurality of ejection holes 23 are arranged in the X direction and three rows in the Y direction, for a total of 24 chips configured in the head 20. For example, as mentioned above, the nozzle chips 22 have a resolution of 500 dpi per row, and the nozzle spacing is 50.79 um. For example, the substrate 40 is of the G6 generation and is 1500 mm in the X direction and 1800 mm in the Y direction. If the number of nozzles per row of the nozzle chips 22 is 3700, and eight of these are arranged in the X-axis direction, then 50.7um*3700*8=1503.384mm This makes it possible to accommodate G6 generation boards. Note that if the board is larger than G8.5 or G10, it can be accommodated by increasing the number of nozzle tips 22 in the X-axis direction.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 3, when 24 nozzle tips 22 are mounted on the head 20, the total number of nozzles is 3700*8*3=88800 This results in a very large number of nozzles.

[0037] Next, the flow of each process will be described with reference to Figs. 4 to 7. Fig. 4 is a flow diagram showing an example of an inspection process. Fig. 6 is a flow diagram showing an example of a drawing pattern generation process. Fig. 7 is a flow diagram showing an example of a printing process. Note that the inspection process shown in Fig. 4 is a process that is carried out in advance at a different time period (timing) from the printing process shown in Fig. 7.

[0038] First, the inspection process shown in Fig. 4 will be described. In the inspection process, a nozzle quality inspection and a nozzle position / volume inspection are performed. Each operation (step) of the inspection process can be executed by the control of each part by the control unit 300.

[0039] In S12, the control unit 300 performs a nozzle quality inspection to check for droplet failures and misaligned landing positions. The nozzle quality inspection is an inspection that uses first image data captured in a first imaging mode to obtain a first judgment result indicating whether droplets are being normally ejected from the nozzle tip 22 into the inspection area 50. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the printing area 52 and the inspection area 50. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the substrate 40 has the printing area 52 and the inspection area 50. In the nozzle quality inspection, droplets are ejected into the inspection area 50 above or below the printing area 52 to perform the nozzle quality inspection. The imaging unit 100 captures images of the droplets ejected into the inspection area 50 using the low-magnification cameras 110-2 and 110-4, and transmits image data of the droplets to the image input / output unit 250 at a first resolution that is lower than the predetermined resolution. The image processing unit 210 uses the image data received from the image input / output unit 250 to calculate a first determination result indicating whether or not droplets are being ejected normally from the nozzle tip 22 onto the inspection area 50.

[0040] In the nozzle quality inspection (S12) in the inspection process, droplets may be ejected using the inspection area 50 of the substrate 40, or an inspection substrate having the same water repellency as the substrate 40 used for normal printing may be used.

[0041] In S14, the control unit 300 makes a maintenance determination. In the maintenance determination, the control unit 300 determines whether maintenance is required for the nozzle tip 22. Specifically, if the control unit 300 determines that there are a predetermined number or more ejection holes 23 (faulty nozzles) that are not ejecting droplets or are experiencing misaligned landing positions, and that the quality of the film thickness and film quality of the drawn pattern cannot be maintained, the control unit 300 determines that maintenance is required (Yes). Note that, for example, it may also be determined that maintenance is required (Yes) if there are faulty nozzles within a predetermined range. If it is determined that maintenance is required (Yes), the process proceeds to the maintenance step in S16.

[0042] In the maintenance step S16, it is considered that the surface of the nozzle tip 22 is dirty or clogged, making it unable to eject droplets. For this reason, the nozzle tip 22 is subjected to suction or pressure ejection, or the surface of the nozzle tip 22 is wiped by wiping or the like. This maintenance cleans the dirt from the nozzle tip 22 and eliminates clogging. Then, a nozzle quality inspection is performed again in S12, and if it is determined in the maintenance judgment in S14 that maintenance is not required (No), the process proceeds to S18.

[0043] In S18, the control unit 300 performs a nozzle position or volume inspection. The nozzle position / volume inspection is an inspection that uses second image data captured in the second imaging mode to obtain a second determination result indicating either or both of the position and volume of droplets that have landed on the inspection area 50 from the nozzle tip 22. In the nozzle position / volume inspection, droplets are ejected onto the inspection area 50 and then inspected. The imaging unit 100 captures images of the droplets ejected onto the inspection area 50 using the high-magnification cameras 110-1 and 110-3, and transmits image data of the droplets at a second resolution that is equal to or higher than the predetermined resolution to the image input unit 240. The image processing unit 210 uses the image data received from the image input unit 240 to obtain a second determination result indicating either or both of the position and volume of droplets that have landed on the inspection area 50 from the nozzle tip 22.

[0044] In S20, the control unit 300 generates nozzle characteristic data using the results of the nozzle position / volume inspection in S 18. Here, the nozzle characteristic data includes information on the position and volume of the deposited droplets.

[0045] Here, we will further explain the nozzle quality inspection and nozzle position / volume inspection. It is desirable that the nozzle quality inspection (S12) be performed in as short a time as possible, preferably on the order of seconds. On the other hand, the nozzle position / volume inspection (S18) measures the landing position and volume of the deposited droplets with high precision, and the time required for the inspection is determined based on the required precision. The inspection results here are used to generate nozzle characteristic data in the next step, S20. Furthermore, the inspection result nozzle characteristic data generated using these inspection results is used to generate drawing pattern data in the printing process. Therefore, precision is a priority, and the inspection can take on the order of several hours.

[0046] Therefore, the precision and processing time required for the nozzle quality inspection in S12 and the nozzle position / volume inspection in S18 are significantly different; the nozzle quality inspection in S12 can be performed at low precision if it is performed at high speed, while the nozzle position / volume inspection in S18 can be performed at low speed if it is performed at high precision.

[0047] Next, the drawing pattern generation process shown in Fig. 6 will be described. Each operation (step) of the drawing pattern generation process can be executed by the control of each part by the control unit 300. In S110, the control unit 300 sets drawing parameters. Specifically, the drawing parameter setting sets drawing conditions for the printing process to be performed.

[0048] In S120, the control unit 300 refers to the position and volume of the deposited droplets in the nozzle characteristic data generated in the nozzle characteristic data generation (S20) of the inspection process.

[0049] In S130, the control unit 300 generates drawing pattern data. Specifically, the control unit 300 sets the combination of nozzles to be used in the drawing process, the timing of droplet ejection, the driving conditions for droplet ejection, etc., to generate drawing pattern data that will make the drawing pattern on the substrate in the printing process have a uniform film thickness and film quality.

[0050] Next, the printing process shown in Fig. 7 will be described. Each operation (step) of the printing process can be executed by controlling each part by the control unit 300. In S210, the control unit 300 refers to the drawing pattern data generated in S130 of the drawing pattern generation process.

[0051] In S220, the control unit 300 causes a transport unit (not shown) to carry the substrate 40 into the inkjet device 1. The stage 30 holds the substrate 40 carried into the inkjet device 1.

[0052] In S230, the control unit 300 performs a nozzle quality inspection. This inspection may be the same as S12 in the inspection process, but it is desirable to perform this inspection immediately before the drawing process (S250) described below. Therefore, it is desirable to perform this inspection by ejecting droplets into the inspection area 50 above or below the printing area 52, as shown in FIG.

[0053] In S240, the control unit 300 checks the nozzles (used nozzles) to be used in the drawing process (S250) described below. If it is determined that the used nozzles include a faulty nozzle (having an ejection defect) (NG), the process proceeds to S290.

[0054] In S290, the control unit 300 determines whether maintenance is necessary. Specifically, if it is determined that there are a predetermined number or more nozzles (faulty nozzles) that are not ejecting droplets or that are misaligned in their landing positions, and that the quality of the film thickness and film quality of the drawn pattern cannot be maintained, it determines that maintenance is necessary (Yes). Then, the process proceeds to the maintenance step of S310, where the nozzles are cleaned as described above. On the other hand, if it is determined that maintenance is not necessary (No), the process proceeds to S300. In S300, the control unit 300 corrects the drawn pattern data. Specifically, the control unit 300 selects a substitute nozzle for the faulty nozzle, corrects the drawn pattern data, and proceeds to the printing step of S250.

[0055] In S240, if the nozzle usage check reveals no defective nozzles (OK), the process proceeds directly to the drawing process (S250). When the drawing process in S250 is completed, in S260, the substrate 40 is carried out from the inkjet device 1, and the printing process for the substrate 40 is completed.

[0056] The nozzle quality inspection (S230) may also be performed immediately before the substrate is removed (S260), thereby confirming whether the printing step (S250) has been performed correctly. After the maintenance step (S310), the process may return to the nozzle quality inspection (S230). Furthermore, if all nozzle defects (ejection defects) have been resolved by the maintenance step (S310), the process may proceed directly to the printing step (S250).

[0057] As described above, nozzle quality inspection and nozzle position / volume inspection are performed at different times, and the required accuracy and processing speed are significantly different, so appropriate settings are required for each inspection. For example, in a nozzle quality inspection, as shown in the center of Figure 3, landing droplets 60 are ejected onto an inspection area 50 of a substrate 40 mounted on a stage 30. This is generated by scanning the stage 30 at a constant speed in the Y-axis direction and ejecting droplets from the nozzle tip 22 at predetermined positions. If the imaging unit 100 is fixed and the width of the substrate 40 in the X-direction is long, multiple cameras 110 are required, and the stage 30 must be driven in the X-direction to capture images of the landing droplets 60.

[0058] The lower part of Fig. 3 shows a schematic configuration example of the imaging unit 100. From right to left, high-magnification camera 110-1, low-magnification camera 110-2, high-magnification camera 110-3, and low-magnification camera 110-4 are attached. The low-magnification and high-magnification cameras are arranged in no particular order. Here, high-magnification cameras 110-1 and 110-3 are cameras with magnifications equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Low-magnification cameras 110-2 and 110-4 are cameras with magnifications lower than a predetermined value.

[0059] For example, let us assume that the substrate 40 is of G6 generation and has an X-direction distance of 1500 mm, and the X-direction stroke of the stage 30 is ±375 mm±α. In this case, the imaging unit 100 has a low-magnification camera and a high-magnification camera on the left and right sides of FIG. 3 , i.e., the -X and +X directions, respectively. The stage 30 scans the inspection area 50 in the X direction, capturing images of the droplets deposited by each camera. This allows the imaging unit 100 to capture images of droplets deposited from all nozzle tips 22 configured in the head 20. ±α is the stroke determined by the size of each camera and the area required for accelerating and decelerating the stage 30. Note that the number of cameras configured in the imaging unit 100 is not limited to this. Increasing the number of cameras can speed up processing. However, since increasing the number of cameras increases the size of the device, it is desirable to limit the number of cameras to within the stroke of the stage 30.

[0060] When inspecting the quality of nozzles, high speed is required, but high accuracy is not necessary. For this reason, low-magnification cameras 110-2 and 110-4 are used. For example, if low-magnification cameras 110-2 and 110-4 use a 1x magnification lens and image sensor, and the image sensor pixels are 2.5 um per pixel, 5120 pixels, and 10 bits as mentioned above, the field of view will be 12.8 mm in both the X and Y directions.

[0061] Assuming the size of the landing droplets is several microns to several tens of microns, low-magnification cameras 110-2 and 110-4 capture the droplets with several to several tens of pixels. If there are no droplets in a predetermined area, the nozzle is determined to be non-ejecting. Furthermore, if the landing position exceeds a predetermined position, the nozzle is determined to be unusable. For example, if the droplet ejection interval in the Y-axis direction is 100 microns and the Y-direction area of ​​one landing droplet is ±50 microns, the nozzle is determined to be non-ejecting if there are no droplets in an area of ​​±50 microns. Furthermore, if the droplet lands in a location beyond ±10 microns, the nozzle is determined to be unusable. These are levels that can be fully determined even with a pixel resolution of 2.5 microns. In other words, in nozzle quality inspection, the image data of the landing droplets only needs to have a resolution that can determine whether the landing droplets are being ejected at positions within a predetermined range.

[0062] Furthermore, high speed is required for nozzle quality inspections, and for example, if the processing time from image capture to quality determination is to be 10 seconds or less, image capture with X-direction scan drive at a high first speed is required. For example, if the area captured by one camera is 750 mm, half of the total length of 1500 mm, and this is to be captured in about 3 seconds, the X-direction scan speed is 250 mm / s. If the camera's X-direction field of view is 12.8 mm, 20 images are required to capture an area of ​​750 mm. The camera frame rate at this time is 20 fps. In this case, if the camera's X and Y pixel counts are 5120 and output at 10 bits, then 5120*5120*10*20=5.24Gbps This becomes:

[0063] Here, when the droplet discharge interval in the Y-axis direction is set to 100 μm, and three nozzle tips are configured in the Y direction shown in FIG. 3 to discharge droplets onto the inspection area 50, the area of ​​the landing droplets 60 in the Y direction is as follows: 100um*3=0.3mm The camera's field of view in the Y direction is 12.8 mm, but the required image data is 0.3 mm. Therefore, the imaging control unit 130 sets an imaging target area, excludes the area that does not include the impacted droplets from the imaging target area, and limits the imaging target area to 0.3 mm. 5120*5120*10*20*0.3 / 12.8=122.88Mbps This reduces the data volume of the image data to 1 / 42.6, which significantly reduces the calculation time in the image input unit 240 and image processing unit 210, making it possible to determine whether the nozzle is good or bad in a short time.

[0064] Next, the nozzle position / volume inspection (S18) of the inspection process shown in Fig. 4 will be described. Nozzle characteristic data generation (S20) is a very important process in performing the drawing pattern generation process shown in Fig. 6. It is also an essential process for ensuring that the pattern drawn on the substrate 40 has a uniform film thickness and quality in the printing process shown in Fig. 7. Therefore, the measurement of the landing position in the nozzle position / volume inspection (S18) requires an accuracy of 1 µm or less.

[0065] If the image sensor of the camera used in the nozzle position / volume inspection (S18) has a pixel resolution of 2.5 μm, 5120 pixels, and 10 bits, as mentioned above, measuring the position with an accuracy of 1 μm or less may result in insufficient accuracy. Therefore, for example, high-magnification cameras 110-1 and 110-3 employ lenses and image sensors with a magnification of 5x, a resolution per pixel of 0.5 μm, and a field of view of 2.56 mm in both the X and Y directions, thereby enlarging and capturing the droplets. In other words, for the nozzle position / volume inspection, the image data of the droplets must have a resolution sufficient to determine at least one of the position and volume of the droplets ejected from the nozzles onto the substrate. In this case, if the field of view in the X direction of high-magnification cameras 110-1 and 110-3 is 2.56 mm, capturing an area of ​​750 mm requires 293 images.

[0066] Furthermore, if the X-direction scanning speed is too fast, the shape of the impacted droplets may be distorted during imaging, which may result in errors, so the scanning speed must be kept low. That is, in the second imaging mode, the impacted droplets are imaged while the high-magnification cameras 110-1 and 110-3 and the stage 30 are moved relative to each other at a second speed slower than that in the first imaging mode. For example, if the camera imaging time is 1 us and the X-direction scanning speed is 10 mm / s, the impacted droplets will move 10 nm during the imaging time, which is sufficient to reduce shape distortion for detection with 1 μm accuracy.

[0067] The time required to capture an image of an area of ​​750 mm in this case is 75 seconds, and the frame rates of the high-magnification camera 110-1 and the high-magnification camera 110-3 are as follows: 5120*5120*10*293 / 75=1.02Gbps is.

[0068] In Figure 3, high-magnification cameras 110-1 and 110-3 are shown in the lower row. When performing high-precision landing position inspection, it is undesirable to simultaneously eject and generate landing droplets 60 from all nozzle tips 22 of the object to be imaged (inspected) as shown in the center (middle row) of Figure 3. As mentioned above, when inspecting nozzle quality, it is possible to image the landing droplets in a few seconds using high-speed scanning. However, when measuring the landing position, the imaging time increases because low-speed scanning is required, which is also slow for nozzle quality inspection. In this case, the drying of the landed droplets becomes significant, and the shape of the droplets captured first and last may differ, possibly resulting in misalignment. Therefore, the ejection pattern used for the landing inspection must be modified.

[0069] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the nozzle position / volume inspection (S18) according to the first embodiment. In this diagram, the head 20 is shown in the upper row, the landing droplets 60-11 and 60-21 are shown in the middle row, and the high-magnification cameras 110-1 and 110-3 are shown in the lower row. Here, the upper row shows the head 20 and the nozzle tip 22, but the only nozzles that initially eject droplets are the designated nozzle tip 22-1 and the designated nozzle tip 22-2. The droplets ejected from the nozzles of the designated nozzle tip 22-1 and the designated nozzle tip 22-2 are ejected at the positions shown in the diagram as landing droplets 60-11 and 60-21, as shown in the middle row. Images of this are captured by the high-magnification cameras 110-1 and 110-3 shown in the lower diagram, while the stage 30 is scanned at a low speed in the X direction. In this example, the time required to capture images of the impacted droplets 60-11 and 60-21 by the designated nozzle chips 22-1 and 22-2 is reduced to one-fourth that of nozzle chips configured in the X-axis direction. If the effect of drying is significant, the range of designated nozzle chips may be further narrowed to shorten the capture time. Note that some of the nozzles (ejection holes) of the designated nozzle chips may also be designated.

[0070] Next, the designated nozzle tip is changed, droplets are caused to land in the same way, X-direction scan imaging is performed, and the designated nozzles are changed sequentially to image the landed droplets from all nozzles. That is, in the nozzle position / volume inspection, control unit 300 causes droplets to be discharged from some designated nozzle tips (designated ejection holes) of the nozzles to be inspected (imaged), and the designated nozzle tips are changed sequentially to cause cameras 110-1 and 110-3 to image the landed droplets.

[0071] The landing position may be calculated from the center of gravity of the landing droplet in the calculation in the image processing calculation unit 220. In addition, when calculating the volume from the landing droplet, it can be obtained using FIG. 9 and the following formula (1).

number

[0072] FIG. 9 shows an example of the shape of an impacted droplet and a formula for calculating the volume of the impacted droplet. In FIG. 9, φ is the diameter of the impacted droplet, and θ is the contact angle between the substrate 40 and the droplet 60. The contact angle θ is determined by the surface condition of the substrate 40 and the components of the droplet 60. For example, the contact angle for a water-repellent substrate 40 is approximately 40° to 70°. Regarding the contact angle θ, the water repellency of the substrate used for the nozzle position / volume inspection may be confirmed, and the actual contact angle may be measured by ejecting droplets in advance, or a theoretical value may be used. The image processing and calculation unit 220 calculates the diameter of the impacted droplet from the impact image of each droplet, and the volume of the droplet can be calculated by substituting the previously calculated contact angle into formula (1).

[0073] To measure the landing position or volume with high precision, it is necessary to repeatedly perform droplet ejection and capture images of the landing droplets, increase the number of measurements, and average the results.

[0074] As described above, according to this embodiment, droplets ejected from all nozzles onto a target during the printing process are captured and a quality determination of the nozzles is performed at high speed. In this case, a low-magnification camera is used to perform high-speed scanning and imaging, achieving high-speed processing. Because the quality determination of the nozzles is performed in a short time, it does not affect the processing time of the printing process, and it is possible to avoid using defective nozzles when printing, thereby improving print quality.

[0075] Furthermore, in the inspection process, the position and / or volume of the deposited droplets are calculated with high precision. In this case, the nozzle tip that ejects the droplets is specified to limit the imaging area, and a high-magnification camera is used to perform slow-speed scanning imaging, sequentially changing the nozzle tip that ejects the droplets and capturing images. This makes it possible to image droplets from all nozzles and calculate the position and / or volume of the deposited droplets with high precision. Nozzle characteristic data is generated through this high-precision inspection process, and this is used to generate a drawing pattern. These operations make it possible to ensure that the pattern drawn on the substrate in the printing process has a uniform film thickness and quality.

[0076] In this embodiment, all nozzles are subject to the nozzle quality inspection and nozzle position / volume inspection, but only some of the nozzles may be subject to the nozzle quality inspection and nozzle position / volume inspection. In this case, if the nozzles to be inspected fall within the field of view of camera 110, there is no need to move camera 110 and stage 30 relative to each other when capturing images of the impacted droplets.

[0077] <Second embodiment> Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 10. Note that the same or similar configurations or steps as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an inkjet device 2 according to the second embodiment. The main difference from the first embodiment is the lenses 140a-1 and 140a-2 in the imaging unit 100a; the rest are the same as those in the first embodiment, so descriptions will be omitted.

[0078] The lenses 140a-1 and 140a-2 are variable magnification lenses that can change the lens magnification between a low magnification lower than a predetermined magnification and a high magnification equal to or higher than the predetermined magnification. The magnification can be changed manually or electrically.

[0079] For example, when the magnification is changed electrically, the magnification is changed by a setting / switching signal from the control unit 300. Specifically, the control unit 300 sets the lens to a low magnification when inspecting the quality of the nozzle, and switches to a high magnification when inspecting the nozzle position / volume.

[0080] In this case, the number of cameras 110a corresponds one to one with the number of variable magnification lenses, so it is possible to configure one camera for each of low and high magnification lenses, which means that the number of cameras can be reduced to half compared to the first embodiment.

[0081] Next, the configuration of the imaging unit 100a according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the imaging unit 100a according to the second embodiment. In this figure, the horizontal axis indicates the X drive axis of the stage 30, the vertical axis indicates the Y drive axis, the head 20 is shown in the upper row, the landed droplets 60 are shown in the middle row, and the imaging unit 100a is shown in the lower row. The difference from the first embodiment is the imaging unit 100a shown in the lower row of FIG. 11. The other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0082] The imaging unit 100a is equipped with a variable magnification camera 110a-1 and a variable magnification camera 110a-2, from the right as viewed in FIG. 11. In the first embodiment, a camera with a high-magnification lens and a camera with a low-magnification lens were required. However, in this embodiment, the variable magnification lens is used to switch between high and low magnification, so a single camera can be used for both high-magnification and low-magnification imaging. This reduces the space occupied by the imaging unit 100a within the inkjet device 2, and also reduces the ±α value corresponding to the size of each camera in the X-direction stroke of ±375 mm ±α of the stage 30 described in the first embodiment.

[0083] As described above, in the second embodiment, a variable magnification lens that can be changed between low and high magnification is used for capturing images of impacted droplets. When performing a nozzle quality inspection, the lens magnification is set to low magnification, and when performing a nozzle position / volume inspection, the lens magnification is set to high magnification. This allows the number of cameras to be reduced by half compared to the first embodiment, thereby enabling cost reduction. Furthermore, by eliminating the camera 110a, the stroke required for X-direction scan imaging can also be reduced, allowing for a more compact device.

[0084] <Third embodiment> Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 12. Note that the same or similar configurations or steps as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an inkjet device 3 according to the third embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is the cameras 110b-1, 110b-2, lenses 140b-1, and 140b-2 in the imaging unit 100b. The other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, so descriptions will be omitted here.

[0085] In this embodiment, the cameras 110b-1 and 110b-2 each have a pixel adjustment unit 120. The pixel adjustment unit 120 can change the resolution of the image data. Specifically, when performing a nozzle position / volume inspection, the pixel adjustment unit 120 outputs image data for each pixel in order to set the image data output from the camera 110b to high resolution (normal resolution output). On the other hand, when performing a nozzle quality inspection, the pixel adjustment unit 120 outputs image data for multiple pixels together in order to set the image data output from the camera 110b to low resolution (low resolution output).

[0086] In the third embodiment, lenses 140b-1 and 140b-2 are high-magnification lenses with a predetermined magnification or higher, which are necessary for nozzle position / volume inspection. The number of cameras 110b corresponds one-to-one with the number of high-magnification lenses 140b, so two cameras are sufficient. In the first embodiment, low-magnification lenses and cameras were required for nozzle quality inspection. However, in this embodiment, high-magnification lenses are also used for nozzle quality inspection, eliminating the need for low-magnification lenses and cameras, thereby reducing the number of cameras required.

[0087] Next, an imaging unit 100b according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the imaging unit 100b according to the third embodiment. In this figure, the horizontal axis indicates the X drive axis of the stage 30, the vertical axis indicates the Y drive axis, the head 20 is shown in the upper row, the landed droplets 60 are shown in the middle row, and the imaging unit 100b is shown in the lower row. The difference from the first embodiment is the imaging unit 100b shown in the lower row of FIG. 13. The other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0088] In this embodiment, high-magnification cameras 110b-1 and 110b-2 are attached to the imaging unit 100b from the right as viewed in FIG. 13. In the first embodiment, a camera was required for each high-magnification lens and each low-magnification lens. However, in this embodiment, only a high-magnification lens is used to perform nozzle quality inspection and nozzle position / volume inspection, so only one type of camera is required. This reduces the space occupied by the imaging unit 100b within the inkjet device 3, and can reduce the ±α value corresponding to the size of each camera in the X-direction stroke of ±375 mm ±α of the stage 30 described in the first embodiment.

[0089] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the resolution of the camera 110b. The circle in the center of this figure represents the impacted droplet 60a. The Xc and Yc axes in the upper left corner represent the X and Y axes of the camera 110b. The finely divided grids, each divided by solid gray lines, represent the pixels 111 of the camera 110b, with each grid corresponding to one pixel. In the case of normal resolution output, the number of pixels and the resolution of the output image data are the same. For example, in the example described in the first embodiment, the height and width of one pixel are 2.5 μm. Furthermore, if the high-magnification cameras 110b-1 and 110b-2 are configured with 5x magnification lenses, as in the first embodiment, the resolution per pixel is 0.5 μm, and the field of view is 2.56 mm in both the X and Y directions.

[0090] Here, the camera 110b in this embodiment has a pixel adjustment unit 120, and the control unit 300 can change the resolution of the camera 110b by controlling the pixel adjustment unit 120. Specifically, when performing a nozzle position / volume inspection, the pixel adjustment unit 120 outputs image data for each pixel to achieve a high resolution image output from the camera 110b, and a high-magnification lens is used to set the resolution per pixel to 0.5 μm. That is, when performing a nozzle position / volume inspection, the control unit 300 sets the pixel adjustment unit 120 to normal resolution output. On the other hand, when performing a nozzle quality inspection, the pixel adjustment unit 120 sets the image output from the camera 110b to low resolution, and outputs image data for multiple pixels together. That is, when performing a nozzle quality inspection, the control unit 300 sets the pixel adjustment unit 120 to low resolution output.

[0091] For example, the portion delimited by the thick dashed line in Fig. 14 is the imaging area 112 with low resolution output. In this example, an area of ​​5 pixels vertically and horizontally is collected as one output. In other words, image data for an area equivalent to 5 pixels * 5 pixels = 25 pixels is output as one image data.

[0092] In this case, even if the lens magnification is a high 5x, the vertical and horizontal resolutions are each 1 / 5 the original resolution due to the low resolution output by the pixel adjustment unit 120 of camera 110b. This results in the output of camera 110b having the same resolution as a 1x lens. As a result, the low resolution required for nozzle quality inspection can be achieved.

[0093] The resolution of the pixel adjustment unit 120 may be changed by a setting / switching signal from the control unit 300 in accordance with the imaging mode.

[0094] On the other hand, with a 5x magnification lens, the field of view range is 2.56mm in both the X and Y directions. As in the first embodiment, the area imaged by one camera 110b is set to 750mm, half of the total length of 1500mm, and to image this in about 3 seconds, the X-direction scan speed is 250mm / s. With the X-direction field of view range of camera 110b set to 2.56mm, 293 images are required to image the 750mm area. The frame rate of camera 110b at this time is 97.7fps. In this case, if the number of pixels in X and Y of camera 110b is 5120, 10 bit, and 1 / 5 low resolution, the output will be 5120*5120*(1 / 5*1 / 5)*10*97.7=1.024Gbps This becomes:

[0095] For example, as in the first embodiment, if the droplet discharge interval in the Y-axis direction is 100 μm, and three nozzle tips are configured in the Y direction as shown in FIG. 13 to discharge droplets onto the inspection area 50, the area of ​​the impacted droplets 60 in the Y direction will be 100um*3=0.3mm Here, if the imaging control unit 130 sets an imaging target area, excludes the portion that does not include the impacted droplets from the imaging target area, and limits the imaging target area to 0.3 mm, the image data rate from the camera 110b will be 5120*5120*(1 / 5*1 / 5)*10*97.7*0.3 / 2.56=120.05Mbps This reduces the amount of data to 1 / 8.53. This significantly reduces the calculation time in the image input unit 240 and image processing unit 210, making it possible to determine whether the nozzle is good or bad in a short time.

[0096] As described above, in this embodiment, a high-magnification lens is used as the lens for capturing images of impacted droplets, and when performing a nozzle quality inspection, the pixel adjustment unit 120 sets the resolution of camera 110b to low resolution. Furthermore, when performing a nozzle position / volume inspection, the resolution of camera 110b is set to normal resolution. By switching the resolution of camera 110b, it becomes possible to use a high-magnification lens and configure the system using only one type of camera, which allows the number of cameras to be reduced by half and enables cost reductions.

[0097] Furthermore, by reducing the number of cameras, the stroke required for X-direction scan imaging can be reduced, allowing for a more compact device. Furthermore, the pixel adjustment unit 120 sets the imaging target area, excluding areas that do not contain impacted droplets from the imaging target area, thereby narrowing the imaging target area and reducing the image data rate from the camera. This makes it possible to perform nozzle quality inspections, which require high-speed processing, in a short time.

[0098] <Embodiment of an article manufacturing method> The article manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention is suitable for manufacturing articles such as display panels for organic electroluminescence (EL) displays, microdevices such as semiconductor devices, and elements having microstructures. The article manufacturing method according to this embodiment includes a supplying step of supplying a liquid onto a substrate using the liquid supply device (liquid supplying method) described above, a processing step of processing the substrate to which the liquid has been supplied in the supplying step, and a step of manufacturing an article from the substrate processed in the processing step. Furthermore, this article manufacturing method includes other well-known processes (such as baking, cooling, cleaning, oxidation, film formation, vapor deposition, doping, planarization, etching, resist stripping, dicing, bonding, and packaging). The article manufacturing method according to this embodiment is advantageous over conventional methods in at least one of article performance, quality, productivity, and production cost.

[0099] <Other embodiments> Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0100] The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0101] The disclosure of this embodiment includes the following methods and configurations. (Configuration 1) a head having a plurality of ejection holes for ejecting droplets; an imaging unit that captures an image of at least one landing droplet ejected from each of the plurality of ejection holes toward the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, and outputs image data of the landing droplet; A droplet ejection device comprising: a control means for controlling the imaging means to output the image data in a first imaging mode in which the imaging means outputs the image data at a first resolution, and a control means for causing the imaging means to output the image data in a second imaging mode in which the image data is output at a second resolution higher than the first resolution.

[0102] (Configuration 2) The droplet ejection device described in configuration 1, characterized in that in the first imaging mode, the control means causes the imaging means to image the deposited droplets while moving the imaging means and the substrate holding means relatively at a first speed, and in the second imaging mode, causes the imaging means to image the deposited droplets while moving the imaging means and the substrate holding means relatively at a second speed slower than the first speed.

[0103] (Configuration 3) The droplet ejection device described in configuration 1 or 2, characterized in that the first resolution is a resolution that can determine whether the droplet is ejected from the ejection hole to a position within a predetermined range, and the second resolution is a resolution that can determine at least one of the position and volume of the landing droplet ejected from the ejection hole onto the substrate.

[0104] (Configuration 4) image processing means for acquiring and processing the image data from the imaging means; The control means controls the image processing means to obtain a first judgment result indicating whether the droplets are ejected from the ejection holes within a predetermined range using first image data output in the first imaging mode, and to obtain a second judgment result indicating at least one of the position and volume of the landing droplets ejected from the ejection holes onto the substrate using second image data output in the second imaging mode.

[0105] (Configuration 5) The droplet ejection device according to configuration 4, wherein the second determination result by the image processing means is a result of calculating the landing position from the center of gravity of the landing droplet from each of the plurality of ejection holes, and the volume of the landing droplet from the diameter of the landing droplet and the contact angle between the landing droplet and the substrate.

[0106] (Configuration 6) The droplet ejection device described in configuration 4 or 5, characterized in that the control means executes the first imaging mode before or after a drawing process for drawing a pattern on the substrate, and does not allow any ejection hole in which a droplet ejection defect is detected in the first judgment result to be used in the drawing process.

[0107] (Configuration 7) The droplet ejection device described in any one of configurations 4 to 6, characterized in that the control means executes the second imaging mode at a timing different from a printing process including a drawing process for drawing a pattern on the substrate, and generates drawing pattern data to be used in the drawing process based on the second judgment result.

[0108] (Configuration 8) The droplet ejection device described in any one of configurations 1 to 7, characterized in that the control means controls the timing of ejecting the droplets from the ejection holes, and in the first imaging mode, causes the droplets to be ejected from all of the ejection holes to be imaged and causes the imaging means to image the landing droplets, and in the second imaging mode, causes the droplets to be ejected from designated ejection holes among the ejection holes to be imaged, sequentially changes the designated ejection holes, and causes the imaging means to image the landing droplets.

[0109] (Configuration 9) the imaging means includes a first imaging means including a first lens having a predetermined magnification, and a second imaging means including a second lens having a magnification higher than that of the first lens; The droplet ejection device described in any one of configurations 1 to 8, characterized in that the control means causes the first imaging means to take an image in the first imaging mode, and causes the second imaging means to take an image in the second imaging mode.

[0110] (Configuration 10) The imaging means has a lens whose magnification can be changed, The droplet ejection device described in any one of configurations 1 to 8, characterized in that the control means controls the change of the magnification, and in the first imaging mode, sets the magnification of the lens to a first magnification, and in the second imaging mode, sets the magnification of the lens to a second magnification that is equal to or greater than the first magnification.

[0111] (Configuration 11) the imaging means has a high-magnification lens having a magnification equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and pixel adjustment means; the pixel adjustment means is capable of setting a normal resolution output for outputting each pixel of the acquired image data, and a low resolution output for outputting a plurality of pixels together, The droplet ejection device according to any one of configurations 1 to 8, characterized in that the control means sets the pixel adjustment means to the low resolution output in the first imaging mode, and sets the pixel adjustment means to the normal resolution output in the second imaging mode.

[0112] (Configuration 12) The droplet ejection device described in any one of configurations 1 to 11, characterized in that the control means sets an imaging target area in the first imaging mode and the second imaging mode, limits the output from the imaging means to the image data of the imaging target area, and reduces the data volume of the image data.

[0113] (Control method) A control method for a droplet ejection device having a head with a plurality of ejection holes for ejecting droplets, and an imaging means for imaging at least one landing droplet ejected from each of the plurality of ejection holes toward a substrate held by a substrate holding means, and outputting image data of the landing droplet, comprising: A control method comprising controlling the imaging means to cause the imaging means to output the image data in a first imaging mode in which the image data is output at a first resolution and in a second imaging mode in which the image data is output at a second resolution higher than the first resolution.

[0114] (Article manufacturing method) a supplying step of supplying the liquid onto a substrate using the droplet ejection device according to any one of configurations 1 to 12; a processing step of processing the substrate to which the liquid has been supplied in the supplying step; a manufacturing step of manufacturing an article from the substrate processed in the processing step. [Explanation of symbols]

[0115] 1,2,3 Inkjet device 20 heads 22 Nozzle Tip 23 Discharge hole 30 stages 40 boards 60 Droplets 100, 100a, 100b, 110a Imaging unit 120 Pixel adjustment unit 200 Processing section 300 control section

Claims

1. a head having a plurality of ejection holes for ejecting droplets; an imaging unit that captures an image of at least one landing droplet ejected from each of the plurality of ejection holes toward the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, and outputs image data of the landing droplet; A droplet ejection device characterized by comprising: a control means for controlling the imaging means to output the image data in a first imaging mode in which the imaging means outputs the image data at a first resolution, and a control means for causing the imaging means to output the image data in a second imaging mode in which the image data is output at a second resolution higher than the first resolution.

2. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1, characterized in that in the first imaging mode, the control means causes the imaging means to image the deposited droplets while moving the imaging means and the substrate holding means relative to each other at a first speed, and in the second imaging mode, causes the imaging means to image the deposited droplets while moving the imaging means and the substrate holding means relative to each other at a second speed slower than the first speed.

3. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the first resolution is a resolution capable of determining whether the droplet is ejected from the ejection hole to a position within a predetermined range, and the second resolution is a resolution capable of determining at least one of the position and volume of the landing droplet ejected from the ejection hole onto the substrate.

4. image processing means for acquiring and processing the image data from the imaging means; The droplet ejection device described in claim 1, characterized in that the control means controls the image processing means to obtain a first judgment result indicating whether the droplets are ejected from the ejection holes within a predetermined range using first image data output in the first imaging mode, and to obtain a second judgment result indicating at least one of the position and volume of the landing droplets ejected from the ejection holes onto the substrate using second image data output in the second imaging mode.

5. The droplet ejection device according to claim 4, characterized in that the second judgment result by the image processing means is a result of calculating the landing position from the center of gravity position of the landing droplet from each of the plurality of ejection holes, and the volume of the landing droplet from the diameter of the landing droplet and the contact angle between the landing droplet and the substrate.

6. The droplet ejection device described in claim 4, characterized in that the control means executes the first imaging mode before or after a drawing process for drawing a pattern on the substrate, and does not allow an ejection hole in which a droplet ejection defect is detected in the first judgment result to be used in the drawing process.

7. The droplet ejection device according to claim 4, characterized in that the control means executes the second imaging mode at a timing different from a printing process including a drawing process for drawing a pattern on the substrate, and generates drawing pattern data to be used in the drawing process based on the second judgment result.

8. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls the timing at which the droplets are ejected from the ejection holes, and in the first imaging mode, the droplets are ejected from all of the ejection holes to be imaged and the imaging means images the landing droplets, and in the second imaging mode, the droplets are ejected from designated ejection holes among the ejection holes to be imaged, and the designated ejection holes are sequentially changed and the imaging means images the landing droplets.

9. the imaging means includes a first imaging means including a first lens having a predetermined magnification, and a second imaging means including a second lens having a magnification higher than that of the first lens; 2. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls the first imaging means to take an image in the first imaging mode, and the control means controls the second imaging means to take an image in the second imaging mode.

10. The imaging means has a lens whose magnification can be changed, The droplet ejection device described in claim 1, characterized in that the control means controls the change in magnification, setting the magnification of the lens to a first magnification in the first imaging mode, and setting the magnification of the lens to a second magnification higher than the first magnification in the second imaging mode.

11. the imaging means has a high-magnification lens having a magnification equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and pixel adjustment means; the pixel adjustment means is capable of setting a normal resolution output for outputting each pixel of the acquired image data, and a low resolution output for outputting a plurality of pixels together, 2. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the control means sets the pixel adjustment means to the low resolution output in the first imaging mode, and sets the pixel adjustment means to the normal resolution output in the second imaging mode.

12. The droplet ejection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control means sets an imaging target area in the first imaging mode and the second imaging mode, limits the output from the imaging means to the image data of the imaging target area, and reduces the data volume of the image data.

13. A control method for a droplet ejection device having a head having a plurality of ejection holes for ejecting droplets, and an imaging means for imaging at least one landing droplet ejected from each of the plurality of ejection holes toward a substrate held by a substrate holding means, and outputting image data of the landing droplet, comprising: A control method comprising controlling the imaging means to cause the imaging means to output the image data in a first imaging mode in which the image data is output at a first resolution and in a second imaging mode in which the image data is output at a second resolution higher than the first resolution.

14. a supplying step of supplying droplets onto a substrate using the droplet ejection device according to claim 1; a processing step of processing the substrate to which the liquid has been supplied in the supplying step; a manufacturing step of manufacturing an article from the substrate processed in the processing step.

Images