substrate

Abstract

The present application provides a substrate including a spacer pattern. The present application can provide a substrate that can be applied to various optical devices to maintain a uniform and stable distance between substrates while maximizing active areas and not inducing optical defects including diffraction. The present application can also provide an optical device including the substrate.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2021-0175388, 10-2021-0175390, and 10-2021-0175391, dated December 9, 2021, and Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2022-0169064, 10-2022-0169063, and 10-2022-0169062, dated December 6, 2022, and all contents disclosed in the documents of those patent applications are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This application relates to substrates and their uses. [Background technology]

[0003] Optical devices are known that are configured to adjust the transmittance, color, and / or reflectance of light by disposing a light modulating material, such as a liquid crystal compound or a mixture of a liquid crystal compound and a dye, between two opposing substrates. In such devices, so-called spacers are disposed between the substrates to maintain the distance between the substrates.

[0004] As the spacers, so-called ball spacers and partition spacers are typically used.

[0005] The shape and arrangement of the spacers affect the performance of the optical device. For example, spacers with regular shapes and arrangements may cause optical defects such as diffraction in some optical devices, which may deteriorate the optical performance, such as visibility, of the optical device.

[0006] One approach to resolving the optical defects is to irregularly arrange column spacers, etc. However, in such a case, it is difficult to maintain a uniform distance between the substrates in the optical device. Non-uniform distance between the substrates also leads to optical defects.

[0007] Furthermore, ball or column spacers are disadvantageous in terms of durability and mechanical properties of optical devices, and are also disadvantageous in constructing optical devices in a curved shape or in constructing flexible devices.

[0008] Furthermore, ball or column spacers are also disadvantageous in terms of ensuring adhesive strength between substrates. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] The present application provides a substrate including a spacer pattern, which can be applied to various optical devices without causing optical defects such as diffraction, while maximizing active areas and maintaining a uniform and stable spacing between substrates.

[0010] Another object of the present application is to provide an optical device including the substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In the present specification, when the measurement temperature affects the results of physical properties, the relevant physical properties are measured at room temperature unless otherwise specified. The term room temperature refers to the natural temperature without heating or cooling, and is usually a temperature within the range of about 10°C to 30°C, or about 23°C or about 25°C. Unless otherwise specified in the present specification, the unit of temperature is °C.

[0012] In the present specification, when the measurement pressure affects the results of physical properties, the relevant physical properties are measured at atmospheric pressure unless otherwise specified. The term atmospheric pressure refers to the natural pressure without pressure or reduction, and typically refers to a pressure of about 1 atmosphere, for example, about 740 mmHg to 780 mmHg.

[0013] In the present specification, when the measurement humidity affects the results of a physical property, the physical property is measured at normal pressure and temperature without any additionally adjusted humidity, unless otherwise specified.

[0014] The present application relates to a substrate. The substrate of the present application can include a base layer and a spacer pattern present on the base layer.

[0015] In the present application, by controlling the shape of the spacer pattern, it is possible to provide substrates that are free of optical defects such as diffraction phenomena, and that can maintain a uniform and stable spacing between substrates while maximizing the active area of ​​the optical device.

[0016] Whether the substrate exhibits optical defects such as diffraction can be confirmed through LED (Light Emitting Diode) transmitted light analysis of the substrate. The transmitted light analysis is performed by transmitting light with a wavelength of 550 nm through the substrate using a circular LED light source with a diameter of approximately 3 mm, capturing the transmitted light with a camera to obtain an image, converting this image to a black-and-white image, and then performing a white image of the black-and-white image. The white image is obtained by irradiating the substrate with the 550 nm LED light from a distance of 30 cm, transmitting the light, capturing the transmitted light with a camera from a distance of 30 cm from the substrate, and converting the image into a black-and-white image. The method for obtaining such a white image will be described in detail in the Examples section.

[0017] The substrate may exhibit appropriate characteristics in terms of the lengths of the horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines of the white image of the black-and-white image of the 550 nm wavelength LED light transmitted through it. The horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines may intersect at a single point, and the angle between the lines may be equal, 45 degrees. The point where the horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines intersect may be the center point of the white image. The center point is a point where the four sections that appear when the white image is divided only by the horizontal and vertical lines have substantially the same area, and the angle between the horizontal and vertical lines is 90 degrees. The length is the number of pixels in the area where the white image exists on a camera receiving the transmitted light, and is dimensionless.

[0018] For example, the standard deviations of the lengths of horizontal lines, vertical lines, and diagonal lines of the white image may be within a predetermined range. For example, the upper limit of the standard deviation may be approximately 80, 75, 70, 65, 60, 55, 50, 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, or 3, and the lower limit may be approximately 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, or 45. The standard deviation may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0019] Unless otherwise specified, the term "standard deviation" as used herein is a value calculated in the following manner. For example, if there are n numbers, first add up the squares of the differences between each number and the arithmetic mean. Then, divide the sum by (n-1), and the square root of this value is defined as the standard deviation. For example, the standard deviation of 5, 6, 10, and 15 can be calculated as follows: the arithmetic mean of the above values ​​is 9, so the sum of the squares of the differences between each number and the arithmetic mean is 62 (=(5-9) 2 +(6-9) 2 +(10-9) 2 +(15-9) 2) Next, we take the square root of 62 divided by 3 (=n-1), which is approximately 20.7, and define the square root, 4.5, as the standard deviation.

[0020] Averages or mean values ​​referred to herein are arithmetic mean values ​​unless otherwise specified.

[0021] The analysis may reveal that the average (arithmetic mean) lengths of the horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines of the white image are within a predetermined range. For example, the lower limit of the average length may be approximately 200, 220, 240, 260, 280, or 300, and the upper limit may be approximately 600, 580, 560, 540, 520, 500, 480, 460, 440, 420, 400, 380, 360, 340, 320, 300, 280, 260, or 250. The average length may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0022] The diffraction area ratio of the white image in the analysis may be within a predetermined range. The diffraction area ratio is the ratio (100% x A1 / A2) of the area A1 of the white image obtained by receiving the LED light transmitted through the substrate to the area A2 of the white image of the LED light. The area A2 of the white image of the LED light refers to the white image obtained by converting the image obtained by directly receiving the LED light with the camera without transmitting it through the substrate into a black and white image.

[0023] The upper limit of the diffraction area ratio (100% x A1 / A2) may be about 300%, 280%, 260%, 240%, 220%, 200%, 180%, 160%, 140%, 120%, or 115%, and the lower limit may be about 100%, 110%, 120%, 130%, 140%, 150%, or 160%. The diffraction area ratio may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0024] In the analysis, the ratio (A / L) of the diffraction area ratio (100% × A1 / A2) (A) to the average (arithmetic mean) length (L) of the horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines of the white image of the LED light transmitted through the LED may have a lower limit of approximately 0.43, 0.44, 0.45, 0.46, 0.47, 0.48, 0.49, 0.5, 0.51, 0.52, 0.53, or 0.54, and an upper limit of approximately 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1, 0.9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, 0.5, or 0.45. The ratio (A / L) is expressed in percentages. The ratio may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0025] When a substrate exhibits the above characteristics, it can be evaluated as not exhibiting optical defects such as diffraction, etc. Such a substrate can be provided by controlling the spacer pattern.

[0026] The substrate has a spacer pattern on the base layer. The term "spacer pattern" refers to the shape of spacers that can be seen when observing the surface of the base layer on which the spacers are formed. The spacer pattern may be formed by two or more distinct spacers or by a single spacer.

[0027] The type of spacers forming the spacer pattern is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, ball spacers, column spacers, and / or barrier spacers.

[0028] By using partition spacers as spacers, it is possible to prevent and eliminate optical defects in optical devices through the configuration of various spacer patterns as described below, while more effectively and stably maintaining the desired spacing between substrates.

[0029] The partition spacer is advantageous in terms of ensuring the durability and mechanical properties of the optical device and ensuring the adhesive strength between substrates, and is also advantageous in terms of configuring optical devices in a curved shape or in configuring flexible devices, for example.

[0030] The term partition wall spacer, as is well known, refers to a spacer in the form of a partition wall.

[0031] The spacer pattern can be adjusted to achieve excellent optical performance in the optical device.

[0032] The spacer pattern according to the first aspect of the present application may include non-linear line spacers, which may be the partition spacers.

[0033] The term "line spacer" refers to a barrier rib spacer that exhibits a line shape when observed from above (specifically, when the surface of the substrate layer on which the spacer pattern is formed is observed along the normal direction of the surface).

[0034] The term "nonlinear line spacer" refers to a line spacer whose actual length is longer than the length of a straight line connecting both ends of the line. An exemplary form of such a nonlinear line spacer is shown in FIG.

[0035] In FIG. 1, the straight line connecting both ends of the line spacer is indicated by a dotted line L1.

[0036] The nonlinear line spacer may include a curved portion. The nonlinear line spacer may be entirely curved or may include a portion of a curved portion.

[0037] The nonlinear line spacer may include two or more curved portions having different curvatures.

[0038] The curved portion of the nonlinear line spacer may have a curvature within a predetermined range. For example, the lower limit of the curvature may be about 0R, 5R, 10R, 15R, 20R, 25R, 30R, 35R, 40R, 45R, 50R, 55R, 60R, 65R, 70R, 75R, 76R, 77R, 78R, 79R, or 80R, and the upper limit may be about 100R, 95R, 90R, 89R, 88R, 87R, 86R, 85R, 84R, 83R, 82R, 81R, 80R, 79R, or 80R. The curvature may be about R, 78R, 77R, 76R, 75R, 74R, 73R, 72R, 71R, 70R, 69R, 68R, 67R, 66R, 65R, 64R, 63R, 62R, 61R, 60R, 59R, 58R, 57R, 56R, 55R, 54R, 53R, 52R, 51R, 50R, 45R, 40R, 35R, 30R, 25R, 20R, 15R, 10R, or 5R. The curvature may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits. As used herein, the unit of curvature, R, refers to μm. For example, a curvature of 20R means that the curvature is the degree of curvature of a circle with a radius of 20 μm.

[0039] The nonlinear line spacer may have L1 / X in the following equation (1) within a predetermined range. [Formula 1] L1 / X In Equation 1, L1 is the length of the line connecting both ends of the nonlinear line spacer, and X is the distance between two lines parallel to the line of length L1 that contact the most protruding portions of the nonlinear line spacer in the left and right directions. In Equation 1, L1 and X have the same unit, and there is no limitation on the type of unit as long as the units are the same.

[0040] The line of length L1 that confirms Equation 1 and two lines that are parallel to the line and contact the most protruding portions of the nonlinear line spacer in the left and right directions are exemplarily shown as dotted lines in FIG.

[0041] In Figure 1, the straight line connecting both ends of the line spacer is indicated by a dotted line L1, the straight line parallel to the straight line L1 and tangent to the left protruding portion of the spacer is indicated by a dotted line LL1, the straight line parallel to the straight line L1 and tangent to the right protruding portion of the spacer is indicated by a dotted line RL1, and the distance between the straight lines LL1 and RL1 is indicated by X.

[0042] The lower limit of L1 / X in Formula 1 may be about 250, 260, 270, 280, 290, 300, 310, or 320, and the upper limit may be about 1000, 950, 900, 850, 800, 750, 700, 650, 600, 550, 500, 490, 480, 460, 440, 420, 400, 380, 360, or 340. L1 / X may be less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits.

[0043] The lower limit of the distance (X in Formula 1) between two straight lines parallel to the straight line connecting both ends of the nonlinear line spacer (the straight line with length L1 in Formula 1) and contacting the most protruding parts of the nonlinear line spacer in the left and right directions may be approximately 10 μm, 15 μm, 20 μm, 25 μm, 30 μm, 35 μm, 40 μm, 45 μm, 50 μm, or 55 μm, and the upper limit may be approximately 200 μm, 190 μm, 180 μm, 170 μm, 160 μm, 150 μm, 140 μm, 130 μm, 120 μm, 110 μm, 100 μm, 95 μm, 90 μm, 85 μm, 80 μm, 75 μm, 70 μm, or 65 μm. The interval (X) may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits mentioned above, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits mentioned above, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits mentioned above but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits mentioned above.

[0044] The value of the distance (X in Equation 1) between two lines parallel to the line connecting both ends of the nonlinear line spacer (the line with length L1 in Equation 1) and contacting the most protruding portions of the nonlinear line spacer in the left and right directions may be an average value. That is, when the spacer pattern includes a plurality of nonlinear line spacers, the total distance (X in Equation 1) between the plurality of nonlinear line spacers may be within the above-mentioned numerical range, or the average value of the total distance (X in Equation 1) between the plurality of nonlinear line spacers may be within the above-mentioned numerical range.

[0045] The terms mean or average value referred to herein refer to the well-known arithmetic mean.

[0046] When the numerical range is an average value, the upper limit of the standard deviation of the interval (X in Equation 1) may be about 5, 4.5, 4, 3.5, 2.5, or 2, and the lower limit may be 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, or 2. The standard deviation may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits. The definition of standard deviation is as described above.

[0047] When the nonlinear spacers are included in the spacer pattern, the pitch between them can be designed within an appropriate range depending on the purpose. The pitch between the nonlinear line spacers is the pitch between the straight lines (straight lines with a length L1 in Equation 1) connecting both ends of the nonlinear line spacer, and this is illustrated in Figure 2 as an example. In Figure 2, the pitch is represented by P. If the straight lines connecting both ends of the nonlinear line spacer are not parallel to each other, the pitch can be defined as the average L of the shortest distance S and the longest distance L between the straight lines, i.e., (S + L) / 2.

[0048] The lower limit of the pitch may be about 100 μm, 150 μm, 200 μm, 250 μm, 300 μm, or 350 μm, and the upper limit may be about 600 μm, 550 μm, 500 μm, 450 μm, or 400 μm. The pitch may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0049] By configuring the spacer pattern with nonlinear line spacers of the same type as above, the desired effect can be efficiently achieved.

[0050] The design method of the nonlinear line spacer will be described with reference to the drawings as follows. The following description will be given with reference to FIG. 3. To design the nonlinear line spacer, a so-called honeycomb shape in which regular hexagons are regularly arranged is first designed as shown in FIG. 3(a). The length of each side of the regular hexagon can be determined taking into account the desired pitch, etc. Then, the sides of the regular hexagons are removed to generate a line shape, thereby designing the shape shown in FIG. 3(b).

[0051] As shown in Figure 3(c), each point of the line shape is moved to have a predetermined irregularity, and in Figure 3(c), the movement of each point is indicated by a dotted arrow.

[0052] The above-mentioned movement with a predetermined degree of irregularity will be explained with reference to FIG.

[0053] FIG. 4 shows only two adjacent points belonging to one of the line-shaped points (points indicated by dotted circles in the line-shaped portion of FIG. 4) in FIG. 3(c), with the line connecting the two points omitted. If the length of the line connecting the two points is P, a circular area having a radius that is a constant ratio of 0.5 times the length P is designated based on the point where the point is located. The program is set to allow the point to move randomly within the area, and the point is moved. For example, FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a circular area having a radius of 0.5P, which is 0.5 times the length P, and the point moving to a random point within the area. In this case, if the radius of the circular area into which the point moves is 0.5P, the point is defined as having moved with 100% randomness. In other words, the randomness is determined by the radius of the designated circular area. Specifically, if the radius of the circular region is kP (where P is the length of the line connecting the two points), the irregularity is calculated as 100×(kP) / (0.5P).

[0054] In kP, k is an arbitrary number determined by the length of the radius. For example, if the radius is 1 / 4 of the linear length P, k is 0.25, and if the radius is 1 / 2 of the linear length P, k is 0.5.

[0055] In this manner, all points belonging to one line are moved to have a predetermined irregularity, and the moved lines are reconnected, thereby designing the nonlinear line spacer.

[0056] The lower limit of the degree of disorder may be about 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, or 90%, and the upper limit may be about 95%, 90%, 85%, 80%, 75%, or 70%. The degree of disorder may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits. However, if the irregularity is too large due to the spacer pattern, the spacer pattern may not be able to maintain the spacing between the substrates effectively, which may result in defects in the appearance of the substrates or the optical device to which the substrates are applied. Therefore, an appropriate irregularity may be selected depending on the spacer pattern.

[0057] In the process of designing a nonlinear line spacer, a curvature may be imparted to a line connecting adjacent points as the points are moved, and this curvature may also be performed to have a predetermined degree of irregularity. The meaning of imparting a curvature to a line to have a predetermined degree of irregularity is as follows: First, the lower limit of the curvature is set to 0R and the upper limit to 100R in the program. Then, the degree of irregularity is specified, and the program is set to impart any curvature between the lower limit (0R) and the upper limit, with the specified degree of irregularity as the upper limit, to the line. For example, if a curvature is imparted with 80% irregularity, the lower limit of the curvature is set to 0R and the upper limit of the curvature is set to 80R within the range of 0R to 100R, and the line is curved to have any one of the curvature values ​​within the range of 0R to 80R.

[0058] In FIG. 3(c), the process of forming the curve is illustrated by solid arrows.

[0059] The range of the degree of irregularity imparting the curvature can also be selected according to the purpose. For example, the lower limit of the degree of irregularity can be approximately 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, or 80%, and the upper limit can be approximately 89%, 88%, 87%, 86%, 85%, 84%, 83%, 82%, 81%, 80%, 75%, 70%, 65%, 60%, or 55%. The degree of irregularity can be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0060] The means for designing the spacer in the above manner is not particularly limited, and known random coordinate programs, such as Minitab, CAD, MATLAB (registered trademark), STELLA, or Excel random coordinate programs, can be used.

[0061] In one example, the spacer pattern including the nonlinear line spacers may further include a bridge connecting adjacent nonlinear line spacers among the plurality of nonlinear line spacers. The bridge also corresponds to a barrier line spacer. For example, when there is another line spacer connecting two line spacers, the line spacer with the shortest length among the three line spacers may be defined as the bridge.

[0062] The same spacer pattern is shown in FIGS.

[0063] There can be one or more of said bridges.

[0064] When a plurality of bridges are present, they may exist so as to satisfy, for example, the following formula 2. [Formula 2] 0mm <G1≦0.4×L1 In Equation 2, G1 is the distance between adjacent bridges (specifically, the distance between adjacent bridges within the distance between two adjacent nonlinear line spacers, in mm), and L1 is the length of the straight line connecting both ends of the nonlinear line spacer (same as L1 in Equation 1 (in mm)).

[0065] The method for calculating the gap G1 between bridges in Equation 2 is the same as the method for calculating the pitch between nonlinear line spacers. That is, the pitch between the straight lines connecting both ends of the bridge can be determined by the gap G1.

[0066] If the bridge exists (for example, if a bridge exists to satisfy Equation 2), the number of the bridges can be adjusted so that a in Equation 3 below falls within a predetermined range. [Formula 3] L1×(m-1)=a×n In Equation 3, L1 is the length (unit: mm) of the straight line connecting both ends of the nonlinear line spacer or its average value (unit: mm), m is the number of the nonlinear line spacers, and n is the number of bridges.

[0067] The lower limit of a that satisfies Equation 3 may be about 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, or 18, and the upper limit may be about 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, or 3. The value of a may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0068] In another example, the bridge may exist so that b in the following formula 4 satisfies a predetermined range. [Formula 4] 0mm <G1≦b×L1 In Equation 4, G1 is the distance between adjacent bridges among the plurality of bridges, and L1 is the length (unit: mm) of the straight line connecting both ends of the nonlinear line spacer or its average value (unit: mm).

[0069] The lower limit of b satisfying Equation 4 may be about 0.001, 0.005, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, or 0.045, and the upper limit may be about 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, 0.1, 0.09, 0.08, 0.07, 0.06, 0.05, 0.04, 0.03, 0.02, or 0.015. The b may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0070] The method for calculating the distance G1 between bridges in Equation 4 is the same as that for Equation 2. Also, if the bridges exist (for example, if bridges exist to satisfy Equation 4), the number of bridges can be adjusted so that f in Equation 5 below falls within a predetermined range. [Formula 5] L1×(m-1)=f×n In Equation 5, L1 is the length (unit: mm) of the straight line connecting both ends of the nonlinear line spacer or its average value (unit: mm), m is the number of the nonlinear line spacers, and n is the number of bridges.

[0071] The lower limit of f that satisfies Equation 5 may be about 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, or 2.5, and the upper limit may be about 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, or 3. f may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits mentioned above, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits mentioned above, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits mentioned above but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits mentioned above.

[0072] By arranging the bridges in accordance with the above rules, the intended performance of the substrate can be ensured.

[0073] The bridge may be in the form of a straight line, or in the form of a curve having a curvature, or may be in the form of a curved portion and a straight portion.

[0074] When the bridge is curved or includes a curved portion, the lower limit of the curvature (e.g., maximum curvature) of the curved form or curved portion may be about 20R, 25R, 30R, 35R, 40R, 45R, 50R, 55R, 60R, 65R, 70R, 75R, 80R, or 85R, and the upper limit may be about 90R, 85R, 80R, 75R, 70R, 65R, 60R, 55R, 50R, 45R, 40R, 35R, 30R, or 25R. The curvature (e.g., maximum curvature) may be less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits.

[0075] The spacer pattern with the bridge formed thereon can also be designed in the above-described manner, and examples thereof are described in the examples of this specification.

[0076] The spacer pattern according to the second aspect of the present application may include a plurality of line spacers, and the plurality of line spacers may cross each other to form one or more closed figures. For example, the plurality of line spacers may cross each other to form a net shape, thereby forming the closed figure.

[0077] The spacer pattern may be formed of one or more closed figures.

[0078] In this case, the line spacers intersecting to form a closed figure or a net shape may be the nonlinear line spacers of the first aspect described above, or may be line spacers of a different shape from the above.

[0079] Spacer patterns of the same type are exemplified in Figures 7 to 10. Of the above, the pattern in Figure 7 is a type in which the nonlinear line spacers of the first mode intersect.

[0080] In one aspect of the spacer pattern in which the closed figure is formed, the line spacers may have a curved shape at at least some of the intersections of the plurality of line spacers that form the closed figure (Condition 1). Examples of spacer patterns with this shape are shown in Figures 8 and 10. The line spacers may have a curved shape at all of the intersections, or at least some of the intersections.

[0081] For example, the lower limit of the ratio of the number of vertices (intersections) of the line spacer that form a curve among all vertices (intersections) of one closed figure may be about 5%, 15%, 20%, or 23%, and the upper limit may be about 100%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, or 20%. The ratio may be less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits.

[0082] Each closed figure formed by the spacer pattern shown in Figure 8 has four vertices (intersection points of line spacers), and the line spacers that meet at one of the vertices are curved (i.e., the ratio is 25%).

[0083] In such cases, the upper limit of the curvature of the curved shape may be about 70R, 65R, 60R, 55R, or 50R, and the lower limit may be about 30R, 35R, 40R, 45R, or 50R. The curvature may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits mentioned above, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits mentioned above, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits mentioned above but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits mentioned above.

[0084] In one aspect of the spacer pattern in which the closed figure is formed, the length of the line spacers connecting at least some of the adjacent intersections among the intersections of the plurality of line spacers may be longer than the length of the straight line connecting the adjacent intersections (Condition 2). That is, there may be a relationship of (length of the line spacer connecting the adjacent intersections)>(length of the imaginary straight line connecting the adjacent intersections).

[0085] Examples of spacer patterns of the same type are shown in FIGS.

[0086] For example, referring to Figure 11, adjacent vertices (intersections) of each closed figure are indicated by V1 and V2, and imaginary lines connecting the intersections (V1, V2) are indicated by dotted lines. In Figure 11, the length of the line spacer connecting adjacent intersections is longer than the length of the imaginary line connecting the adjacent intersections.

[0087] In one embodiment where condition 2 is satisfied, the line spacers connecting adjacent intersections in the spacer pattern, i.e., the line spacers forming the sides of the closed figure, may be curved. In this case, the curvature of the curved shape is adjusted according to the purpose and is not particularly limited. For example, the upper limit of the curvature may be approximately 95R, 90R, 85R, 80R, 75R, 70R, 65R, 60R, 55R, or 50R, and the lower limit may be approximately 5R, 10R, 15R, 20R, 25R, 30R, 35R, 40R, 45R, 50R, 55R, 60R, 65R, 70R, 75R, 80R, 85R, or 90R. The curvature may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits. In order to form a curved shape at the vertex as described above, a design method to be described later is applied.

[0088] In a spacer pattern including the closed figure, the closed figure may satisfy the following formula 6 (condition 3). In another aspect, in a spacer pattern including the closed figure, the closed figure may not satisfy the following formula 6 (condition 4). [Formula 6] A≠180×(n-2) / n In Equation 6, A is an interior angle of the closed figure formed by three adjacent intersections among the intersections that form the closed figure, and n is the number of intersections that form the closed figure.

[0089] The interior angle of the closed figure formed by three adjacent intersections among the intersections forming the closed figure in Equation 6 is the interior angle that can be found when the three intersections are connected by straight lines.

[0090] If a closed figure satisfies the above formula 6, it means that the figure formed by connecting the vertices of the closed figure with straight lines is not a regular polygon (in the case of a quadrilateral, it means that it is not a regular square or rectangle), and if it does not satisfy the above formula 6, it means that the figure formed by connecting the vertices of the closed figure with straight lines is a regular polygon.

[0091] For example, referring to FIG. 12, (a) of FIG. 12 shows a case where the closed figure does not satisfy formula 6, and (b) of FIG. 12 shows a case where formula 6 is satisfied.

[0092] In an embodiment that satisfies condition 3 or 4, the lower limit of the interior angle (A in Equation 6) may be approximately 10 degrees, 20 degrees, 30 degrees, 40 degrees, 50 degrees, 60 degrees, 70 degrees, 80 degrees, 90 degrees, 100 degrees, 110 degrees, 120 degrees, 130 degrees, 140 degrees, 150 degrees, 160 degrees, 170 degrees, 180 degrees, or 190 degrees, and the upper limit may be approximately 200 degrees, 190 degrees, 180 degrees, 170 degrees, 160 degrees, 150 degrees, 140 degrees, 130 degrees, 120 degrees, 110 degrees, 100 degrees, 90 degrees, 80 degrees, 70 degrees, 60 degrees, 50 degrees, 40 degrees, 30 degrees, or 20 degrees. The interior angle may be less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits.

[0093] A spacer pattern including a closed figure can satisfy at least one of the above conditions 1 to 4.

[0094] For example, the spacer pattern may satisfy at least the condition 1. The spacer pattern satisfying the condition 1 may additionally satisfy the condition 2 as needed.

[0095] For example, the spacer pattern may satisfy at least the condition 3. The spacer pattern satisfying the condition 3 may additionally satisfy the condition 2 as needed.

[0096] For example, the spacer pattern can satisfy the conditions 1 and 2. An embodiment that satisfies the conditions 1 and 2 can additionally satisfy the condition 3 or 4. An embodiment that satisfies the conditions 1 to 3 is exemplified in FIG. 10, and an embodiment that satisfies the conditions 1, 2, and 4 is exemplified in FIG.

[0097] For example, the spacer pattern can satisfy at least the condition 3, and such an embodiment is illustrated in FIGS.

[0098] For example, the spacer pattern can satisfy at least conditions 2 and 4, and such an embodiment is illustrated in FIG.

[0099] In one example, in a spacer pattern including the closed figure (a pattern satisfying one or more of conditions 1 to 4), opposing sides of the closed figure may be curved in the same direction (condition 5). This is usually the case when the number of intersections is even, but is not limited to this. In particular, by designing an embodiment satisfying conditions 1 and 2, and particularly an embodiment satisfying conditions 1, 2, and 4, as described above, the desired effect can be more appropriately achieved.

[0100] If Condition 5 is satisfied, the difference in curvature between the curved line spacers formed by the opposing sides curved in the same direction may be within an appropriate range. The difference in curvature is the absolute value calculated by the formula 100% × (R1 - R2) / R2, where R1 is the curvature of one of the opposing spacers and R2 is the curvature of the other. The upper limit of the absolute value of the difference in curvature may be approximately 5%, 4.5%, 4%, 3.5%, 3%, 2.5%, 2%, 1.5%, 1%, or 0.5%, and the lower limit may be approximately 0%. The absolute value of the difference may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0101] When Condition 5 is satisfied, the upper limit of the standard deviation of the linear distances between the vertices constituting the sides of the single closed figure may be about 2, 1.5, 1, 0.5, 0.1, or 0.05, and the lower limit may be 0. The absolute value of the standard deviation may be less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits.

[0102] If Condition 5 is satisfied, the line spacers connecting adjacent intersections in the spacer pattern, i.e., the line spacers forming the edges of the closed figure, may be curved. In this case, the curvature of the curved shape may be adjusted according to the purpose and is not particularly limited. For example, the upper limit of the curvature may be approximately 70R, 65R, 60R, 55R, or 50R, and the lower limit may be approximately 30R, 35R, 40R, 45R, or 50R. The curvature may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0103] In this case, the curved line spacer may have one center of curvature or may have curves with centers of curvature in the same direction based on the line spacer.

[0104] The line spacer having one center of curvature means that the degree of curvature of the line spacer between the adjacent vertices is constant and only one center of curvature is formed.

[0105] The curved shape of a line spacer having centers of curvature in the same direction based on the line spacer means that only one center of curvature is formed, and even if two or more centers of curvature exist because the degree of curvature of the line spacer is not constant between adjacent vertices, all of the centers of curvature exist on any one of the left side, right side, top, and bottom of the line spacer based on the line spacer.

[0106] For example, (a) in Figure 13 shows a case where there is one curvature, and (b) in Figure 13 shows a case where the curved directions of the line spacer are different between the adjacent vertices, so that two centers of curvature are formed, one on the left axis and one on the right axis of the line spacer.

[0107] By configuring the same configuration, the desired effect can be more effectively secured.

[0108] In a spacer pattern including a closed figure (a pattern satisfying one or more of the conditions 1 to 5), the lower limit of the number of intersections (i.e., vertices of the closed figure) forming a single closed figure in the form of a net may be 3, 4, 5, or 6, and the upper limit may be 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, or 4. The number of intersections (i.e., vertices of the closed figure) may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0109] In a spacer pattern including a closed figure (a pattern satisfying one or more of the conditions 1 to 5), the lower limit of the distance between adjacent intersections (e.g., the distance between two intersections forming a side of the closed figure) may be about 100 μm, 150 μm, 200 μm, 250 μm, 300 μm, or 350 μm, and the upper limit may be about 1000 μm, 950 μm, 900 μm, 850 μm, 800 μm, 750 μm, 700 μm, 650 μm, 600 μm, 550 μm, 500 μm, 450 μm, 400 μm, or 350 μm. The distance may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0110] The spacer pattern may be formed to have a predetermined area relationship with the closed figure (Condition 6).

[0111] For example, under condition 6, the lower limit of the average area of ​​the closed figure of the spacer pattern is 0.01 mm 2 , 0.05mm2 , 0.1mm 2 , 0.15mm 2 , 0.2mm 2 , 0.25mm 2 , 0.3mm 2 , 0.35mm 2 , 0.4mm 2 , 0.45mm 2 , 0.5mm 2 , 0.55mm 2 , 0.6mm 2 , 0.65mm 2 , 0.7mm 2 , 0.75mm 2 , 0.8mm 2 or 0.85 mm 2 The upper limit is about 2 mm. 2 , 1.9mm 2 , 1.8mm 2 , 1.7mm 2 , 1.6mm 2 , 1.5mm 2 , 1.4mm 2 , 1.3mm 2 , 1.2mm 2 , 1.1mm 2 , 1mm 2 , 0.95mm 2 , 0.9mm 2 , 0.85mm 2 , 0.8mm 2 , 0.75mm 2 , 0.7mm 2 , 0.65mm 2 , 0.60mm 2 , 0.55mm 2 , 0.50mm 2 , 0.45mm 2 , 0.4mm 2 , 0.35mm 2 , 0.3mm 2 , 0.25mm 2 or 0.2 mm 2The average area may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits. The average area is the arithmetic mean of the areas of all closed figures included in the spacer pattern. When the spacer pattern is formed according to a design method described below, the arithmetic mean of the areas of some closed figures arbitrarily selected from the closed figures present in the pattern may be replaced with the arithmetic mean of the areas of all the closed figures according to a spacer pattern formation logic. For example, when the spacer pattern formed according to the design method described below includes at least 10,000 closed figures, the arithmetic mean of the areas of 1% (100) of the closed figures may be arbitrarily selected from the closed figures, and the arithmetic mean of the areas of the closed figures may be replaced with the arithmetic mean of the areas of all the closed figures.

[0112] When the average area of ​​the closed figure is within the above range, the upper limit of the standard deviation of the area of ​​the closed figure may be about 4, 3.5, 3, 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1, 0.8, 0.6, 0.4, 0.2, 0.1, 0.08, 0.06, or 0.04, and the lower limit may be about 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, 0.09, 0.1, or 0.15. The standard deviation may be less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits.

[0113] In a spacer pattern satisfying condition 6, the average area (arithmetic mean) of nine adjacent closed figures among the closed figures included in the pattern can be adjusted within a certain range. The nine adjacent closed figures are any one closed figure (central closed figure) selected in the spacer pattern and eight closed figures directly surrounding the closed figure. "Directly surrounding a closed figure" means that there are no other closed figures between the eight closed figures and the central closed figure.

[0114] The method for selecting the nine adjacent closed figures will be described with reference to Figure 14. Figure 14 shows an example of a spacer pattern including closed figures in a net form formed by intersecting line spacers, and each closed figure in the pattern is numbered in order. Among the closed figures numbered in Figure 14, the nine closed figures selected by the above method are the closed figures 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 21, 22, and 23, the closed figures 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16, 25, 26, and 27, or the closed figures 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20, 28, 29, and 30.

[0115] The lower limit of the average area of ​​the nine adjacent closed shapes is 0.01 mm 2 , 0.05mm 2 , 0.1mm 2 , 0.15mm 2 , 0.2mm 2 , 0.25mm 2 , 0.3mm 2 , 0.35mm 2 , 0.4mm 2 , 0.45mm 2 , 0.5mm 2 , 0.55mm 2 , 0.6mm 2 , 0.65mm 2 , 0.7mm 2 , 0.75mm 2 , 0.8mm 2 or 0.85 mm 2 The upper limit is about 2 mm. 2 , 1.9mm 2 , 1.8mm 2 , 1.7mm 2 , 1.6mm 2, 1.5mm 2 , 1.4mm 2 , 1.3mm 2 , 1.2mm 2 , 1.1mm 2 , 1mm 2 , 0.95mm 2 , 0.9mm 2 , 0.85mm 2 , 0.8mm 2 , 0.75mm 2 , 0.7mm 2 , 0.65mm 2 , 0.60mm 2 , 0.55mm 2 , 0.50mm 2 , 0.45mm 2 , 0.4mm 2 , 0.35mm 2 , 0.3mm 2 , 0.25mm 2 or 0.2 mm 2 The average area may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits recited above, or greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits recited above, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits recited above but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits recited above.

[0116] The upper limit of the standard deviation of the nine adjacent closed lungs may be about 4, 3.5, 3, 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1, 0.8, 0.6, 0.4, 0.2, 0.1, 0.08, 0.06, or 0.04, and the lower limit may be about 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, 0.09, 0.1, or 0.15. The standard deviation may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0117] When Condition 6 is satisfied, the lower limit of the ratio (B / A) of the average area (B) of the entire closed figure to the average area (A) of the nine adjacent closed figures may be 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, or 0.95, and the upper limit may be about 1.5, 1.4, 1.3, 1.2, 1.1, or 1.05. The ratio may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0118] The spacer pattern satisfying the condition 6 may be a spacer pattern satisfying any one or more of the conditions 1 to 5.

[0119] The spacer pattern including the closed figure can be designed in the following manner.

[0120] For example, to form the pattern shown in Fig. 8, a pattern as shown in Fig. 15 is first formed using linear line spacers, and then the desired pattern can be formed by curving the edges of each closed figure of the pattern while imparting the irregularity described above to the edges and imparting curvature to the edges. In this case, the irregularity is determined taking into account the desired curvature.

[0121] This process is shown in Figure 16. The left-hand pattern in Figure 16 is the pattern in Figure 15, and the right-hand pattern is an example in which curvature is imparted to each side of the left-hand pattern. The direction in which the sides bend when curvature is imparted is indicated by an arrow in Figure 16. In this process, by using one vertex as a reference and making both sides connected to the vertex bend in the same direction, and imparting the same curvature at this time, a pattern in which a curve is imparted to the line spacer at the vertex can be obtained, but the method of imparting a curve is not limited to this.

[0122] For example, the spacer pattern shown in Figure 7 can be designed by designing two nonlinear line spacer patterns as shown in Figures 1 and 2 and then crossing the two patterns. An actual photograph of the line spacer designed in the manner shown in Figures 1 and 2 is shown in Figure 17.

[0123] For example, the spacer pattern shown in FIG. 9 can be formed by forming a pattern including regular rectangles as shown in FIG. 15, and then reconstructing the pattern by moving each vertex of the rectangle in the manner that provides the irregularity described above (as exemplified in FIG. 4), thereby forming the desired pattern.

[0124] In this case, the lower limit of the degree of disorder may be about 5%, about 10%, about 15%, about 20%, about 25%, about 30%, about 35%, about 40%, about 45%, about 50%, about 55%, about 60%, about 65%, about 70%, about 75%, about 80%, about 85%, or about 90%, and the upper limit may be about 95%, about 90%, about 85%, about 80%, about 75%, or about 70%. The degree of disorder may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits. If the degree of disorder is excessively large in this process, it may be difficult to form a closed figure that satisfies Condition 6.

[0125] For example, the spacer pattern illustrated in FIG. 10 can be formed by designing a honeycomb pattern in which regular hexagonal closed figures are regularly arranged, as shown in FIG. 18, and then curving the edges of each regular hexagonal closed figure in a manner that imparts any of the irregularities described above. While the initial shape is illustrated as a regular hexagon above, the shape does not necessarily have to be a regular hexagon; other shapes such as an equilateral triangle, a regular square, or a regular pentagon can also be used. If necessary, the vertices of the hexagons can also be moved to impart the irregularity described above along with the irregularity for the curvature. FIG. 19 illustrates such a design method, where the movement of vertices is indicated by dotted arrows and the curvature is indicated by solid arrows.

[0126] The lower limit of the irregularity for the curvature may be about 5%, about 10%, about 15%, about 20%, about 25%, about 30%, about 35%, about 40%, about 45%, about 50%, about 55%, about 60%, about 65%, about 70%, about 75%, about 80%, about 85%, or about 90%, and the upper limit may be about 95%, about 90%, about 85%, about 80%, about 75%, or about 70%. The irregularity may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0127] The lower limit of the degree of irregularity provided for the movement of the vertices may be about 5%, about 10%, about 15%, about 20%, about 25%, about 30%, about 35%, about 40%, about 45%, about 50%, about 55%, about 60%, about 65%, about 70%, about 75%, about 80%, about 85%, or about 90%, and the upper limit may be about 95%, about 90%, about 85%, about 80%, about 75%, or about 70%. The degree of irregularity may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0128] If excessive irregularity is given in the above process, it is difficult to form a closed figure that satisfies the above condition 6.

[0129] The line width and height of the line spacers forming the spacer patterns (patterns of the first and second embodiments) are controlled depending on the purpose, and are not particularly limited.

[0130] For example, the lower limit of the height of the line spacer may be about 0.5 μm, 1 μm, 1.5 μm, 2 μm, 2.5 μm, 3 μm, 3.5 μm, 4 μm, 4.5 μm, 5 μm, 5.5 μm, or 6 μm, and the upper limit may be about 100 μm, 90 μm, 80 μm, 70 μm, 60 μm, 50 μm, 40 μm, 30 μm, 20 μm, or 10 μm. The height may be less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits.

[0131] For example, the lower limit of the line width of the line spacer may be about 2 μm, 4 μm, 6 μm, 8 μm, 10 μm, 12 μm, or 14 μm, and the upper limit may be about 200 μm, 180 μm, 160 μm, 140 μm, 120 μm, 100 μm, 80 μm, 60 μm, 40 μm, or 20 μm. The line width may be less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the above upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the above lower limits.

[0132] In the substrate of the present application, all of the spacer patterns formed on the base layer may be the spacer patterns of the first or second aspect, or at least a portion of the spacer patterns may be the spacer patterns of the first or second aspect. For example, the lower limit of the ratio of the area of ​​the spacer patterns of the first or second aspect to the total area occupied by the spacer patterns formed on the base layer may be about 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, or 95%, and the upper limit may be about 100%. The ratio may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, or may be greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or may be within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits.

[0133] The spacer pattern of the present application can maximize the active area of ​​the optical device while maintaining a uniform and stable distance between the substrates without causing optical defects.

[0134] The active region generally refers to a portion of the entire surface area of ​​the substrate layer where the spacer pattern is not formed. Since a light modulating material such as a liquid crystal material is present in such a portion, the active region of an optical device may be a region where the spacer pattern is not present and the light modulating material such as a liquid crystal material is present.

[0135] For example, the lower limit of the ratio of the area occupied by the spacer pattern to the area of ​​the entire substrate (base layer) in the present application may be about 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, 3%, 3.5%, 4%, 4.5%, 5%, 5.5%, 6%, 6.5%, 7%, 7.5%, 8%, 8.5%, 9%, 9.5%, or 10%, and the upper limit may be about 50%, 45%, 40%, 35%, 30%, 25%, 20%, 15%, or 10%. The ratio may be less than or equal to any one of the upper limits, greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits, or within a range that is less than or equal to any one of the upper limits but greater than or equal to any one of the lower limits. This area ratio may also be referred to as aperture ratio in this specification.

[0136] The spacer pattern on the substrate of the present application may be any one of the above-mentioned patterns or a combination of two or more of them, and other types of spacers and spacer patterns of other shapes may also be present on the substrate as long as the above-mentioned occupation area is achieved.

[0137] In one example, the spacer pattern may include ball spacers in addition to the barrier spacers. The ball spacers may be attached to the barrier spacers or embedded therein. The ball spacers are circular spacers as generally known in the art.

[0138] The spacer pattern of this type can be fabricated by the method described below, which allows for the formation of a spacer pattern that exhibits excellent dimensional uniformity and adhesion to the substrate layer at the same time, although the ball spacers are not an essential component of the present application.

[0139] The spacer pattern may be manufactured using, for example, a conventional binder used to manufacture barrier rib-shaped spacers. Conventional barrier rib-shaped spacers are manufactured by patternwise exposing a photosensitive binder, which is a mixture of a UV-curable compound and an initiator that initiates curing of the compound, to light. Such materials may also be used in the present application. In this case, the barrier ribs may be formed from a cured product of the UV-curable compound. The specific type of UV-curable compound is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, an acrylate-based polymer material or an epoxy-based polymer, but is not limited thereto. Various types of binders that can be used to manufacture barrier ribs are known in the art.

[0140] When a ball spacer is applied in the present application, the type of the ball spacer is not particularly limited, and an appropriate type may be selected from known ball spacers and used.

[0141] The specific range of the average particle size of the ball spacers is not particularly limited, and the average particle size may be within a range that satisfies the above-mentioned ratio range depending on the size of the partition wall.

[0142] The spacer pattern may be a black pattern or a transparent pattern.

[0143] The term "transparent" as used herein refers to a material having a transmittance of at least a certain level. For example, the term "transparent" refers to a material having a transmittance of approximately 70% or more, 75% or more, 80% or more, 85% or more, or 90% or more. The upper limit of the transmittance in the transparent state is not particularly limited and may be, for example, approximately 100% or less or approximately 99% or less. The transmittance is the transmittance for visible light, and may be, for example, the transmittance for any one wavelength within the wavelength range of approximately 380 nm to 700 nm, or the average transmittance for all light within the range.

[0144] The term black spacer pattern may refer to a pattern whose optical density is measured within a range of 1.5 to 4. The optical density is determined by measuring the transmittance (unit: %) of the spacer pattern or the transmittance (unit: %) of a layer containing the same components, and then applying this to the optical density formula (optical density = -log 10 (T), where T is the transmittance. The layer containing the same components as the spacer pattern may be formed by, for example, coating, vapor deposition, or plating. In this case, the thickness of the formed layer may be about 12 μm. For example, the category of a black spacer pattern may include a case where the optical density of the approximately 12 μm thick layer formed with the same components is within the above-mentioned range, the optical density of an actual spacer pattern is within the above-mentioned range, or the optical density of the approximately 12 μm thick layer converted to the thickness of an actual black spacer pattern is within the above-mentioned range.

[0145] Various materials capable of forming a black or transparent spacer pattern are known, and all such known materials can be applied in the present application.

[0146] For example, the black spacer pattern can be fabricated by adding a component capable of realizing black (darkening material) to the above-mentioned materials (e.g., the above-mentioned binders) that are typically used to form spacers.

[0147] Therefore, the spacer pattern may include a pigment or dye capable of darkening, and more specifically, may include a metal oxide, a metal nitride, a metal oxynitride, carbon black, graphite, an azo pigment, a phthalocyanine pigment, or a carbon-based material. As the darkening material that can be applied, metal oxides include chromium oxide (Cr x O y ) or copper oxide (Cu x O y Examples of metal oxynitrides include aluminum oxynitride (Al x O y N z Examples of the carbon-based material include, but are not limited to, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, and porous carbon such as activated carbon.

[0148] For example, the black spacer pattern can be fabricated by mixing the material (e.g., carbon-based material) with the binder and then curing it, or by applying the material itself by vapor deposition or plating in an appropriate manner.

[0149] The types of pigments or dyes that can be used in the present application are not limited to those described above, and appropriate types can be selected depending on the desired darkening (optical density), and the ratio thereof can also be selected taking into consideration the desired darkening, etc.

[0150] The substrate layer of the substrate is not particularly limited and may be any substrate layer used as a substrate in the construction of known optical devices such as LCDs (Liquid Crystal Displays) and OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Devices). For example, the substrate layer may be an inorganic substrate layer or an organic substrate layer. Examples of inorganic substrate layers include glass substrate layers, and examples of organic substrate layers include various plastic films. Examples of plastic films include, but are not limited to, TAC (triacetyl cellulose) film; COP (cycloolefin copolymer) film such as norbornene derivatives; acrylic films such as PMMA (poly(methyl methacrylate)); PC (polycarbonate) film; polyolefin films such as PE (polyethylene) and PP (polypropylene); PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) film; DAC (diacetyl cellulose) film; PAC (Polyacrylate) film; PES (poly ether sulfone) film; PEEK (polyetheretherketon) film; PPS (polyphenylsulfone) film, PEI (polyetherimide) film; PEN (polyethylene maphthate) film; PET (polyethyleneterephthalate) film; PI (polyimide) film; PSF (polysulfone) film, and PAR (polyarylate) film.

[0151] In the present application, the thickness of the substrate layer is not particularly limited, and an appropriate range can be selected depending on the application.

[0152] The substrate of the present application may include other elements required for driving an optical device in addition to the base layer and spacer pattern. Various known elements, typically an electrode layer, may be included. In one example, the substrate may further include an electrode layer between the base layer and the spacer pattern. Known materials may be used for the electrode layer. For example, the electrode layer may include a metal alloy, an electrically conductive compound, or a mixture of two or more of the above. Examples of such materials include metals such as gold, CuI, ITO (indium tin oxide), IZO (indium zinc oxide), ZTO (zinc tin oxide), zinc oxide doped with aluminum or indium, magnesium indium oxide, nickel tungsten oxide, ZnO, SnO2, or In2O3, and other oxide materials; metal nitrides such as gallium nitride, metal selenides such as zinc selenide, and metal sulfides such as zinc sulfide. The transparent hole-injecting electrode layer can also be formed using a laminate of a thin metal film such as Au, Ag or Cu and a highly refractive transparent material such as ZnS, TiO2 or ITO.

[0153] The electrode layer may be formed by any method such as vapor deposition, sputtering, chemical vapor deposition, or electrochemical means. The electrode layer may be patterned by any known method without any particular limitation, for example, by known processes using photolithography or a shadow mask.

[0154] The substrate of the present application may also additionally include an alignment layer present on the base layer and the spacer pattern.

[0155] Another exemplary substrate of the present application may include a base layer; the spacer pattern present on the base layer; and an alignment layer formed on the base layer and the spacer pattern.

[0156] The type of alignment film formed on the substrate layer and the spacer pattern is not particularly limited, and a known alignment film, for example, a known rubbing alignment film or a photo-alignment film, may be used.

[0157] The alignment film is formed on the substrate layer and the spacer pattern, and the alignment treatment is performed according to a known method.

[0158] In one embodiment, the substrate may further include a protective film. For example, the substrate may further include a protective adhesive film attached to the surface of the base layer on which the spacer pattern is formed. In this configuration, the adhesive film is not particularly limited and may be any known protective adhesive film.

[0159] When applied to optical devices, the substrate does not induce unwanted diffraction phenomena and can ensure uniform and excellent optical performance.

[0160] The present application also relates to optical devices formed using the substrates.

[0161] An exemplary optical device of the present application can include the substrate and a second substrate disposed opposite the substrate and spaced apart from the substrate by a spacer of the substrate.

[0162] In the optical device, a light modulating layer may be present in the space between the two substrates. In this application, the term light modulating layer may include any known layer that can change at least one of the polarization state, transmittance, color, and reflectance of incident light according to a purpose.

[0163] For example, the light modulation layer may be a layer containing a liquid crystal material, and may be a liquid crystal layer that switches between a diffusion mode and a transmission mode by turning on and off a voltage, for example, a vertical electric field or a horizontal electric field, or a liquid crystal layer that switches between a transmission mode and a blocking mode, or a liquid crystal layer that switches between a transmission mode and a color mode, or a liquid crystal layer that switches between color modes of different colors.

[0164] Various light modulation layers, such as liquid crystal layers, capable of performing the above functions are known. One example of a light modulation layer is a liquid crystal layer used in conventional liquid crystal displays. In other examples, the light modulation layer may be a guest-host liquid crystal layer, a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal layer, a pixel-isolated liquid crystal layer, a suspended particle device, an electrochromic device, or the like.

[0165] The polymer dispersed liquid crystal layer (PDLC) is a general concept that includes so-called pixel isolated liquid crystal (PILC), polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC), polymer network liquid crystal (PNLC), or polymer stabilized liquid crystal (PSLC), etc. The polymer dispersed liquid crystal layer (PDLC) may include, for example, a polymer network and a liquid crystal region containing a liquid crystal compound dispersed in a phase-separated state with the polymer network.

[0166] The method and form of the light modulation layer are not particularly limited, and any known method may be adopted according to the purpose.

[0167] Furthermore, if necessary, the optical device may further include additional known functional layers, such as a polarizing layer, a hard coat layer, and / or an anti-reflection layer. [Effects of the Invention]

[0168] The present application provides a substrate including a spacer pattern.

[0169] The present application provides a substrate that can be applied to various optical devices without inducing optical defects, including diffraction, and that can maximize active areas while maintaining a uniform and stable distance between substrates. The present application also provides an optical device including the substrate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0170] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram for an exemplary spacer pattern of the present application. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram for an exemplary spacer pattern of the present application. [Figure 3] 18 is an exemplary view showing a process of forming the spacer pattern of FIG. 17; [Figure 4] 1 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a process of forming a spacer pattern according to the present application; [Figure 5] 1 is a diagram for an exemplary spacer pattern of the present application. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram for an exemplary spacer pattern of the present application. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram for an exemplary spacer pattern of the present application. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram for an exemplary spacer pattern of the present application. [Figure 9] 1 is a diagram for an exemplary spacer pattern of the present application. [Figure 10] 1 is a diagram for an exemplary spacer pattern of the present application. [Figure 11]10 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a spacer pattern that satisfies condition 2. [Figure 12] 10 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a spacer pattern that satisfies condition 3 or 4. [Figure 13] 10 is an exemplary diagram for explaining condition 5. [Figure 14] 1 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a process for calculating the area of ​​a closed shape of an exemplary spacer pattern according to the present application; [Figure 15] 10 is a diagram illustrating a spacer pattern of a comparative example. [Figure 16] 10 is an illustration of a curving process for forming a spacer pattern. [Figure 17] 1 is a diagram for an exemplary spacer pattern of the present application. [Figure 18] 11 is an exemplary view illustrating a process of forming the spacer pattern of FIG. 10; [Figure 19] 1 is an exemplary view illustrating a process of forming a spacer pattern; [Figure 20] 1 is a diagram for schematically explaining a diffraction test performed on a substrate of the present application. [Figure 21] 1 is a diagram showing a method for measuring the size of a diffraction pattern of a white image. [Figure 22] 10 is a diagram illustrating a spacer pattern of a comparative example. [Figure 23] 10 is a diagram illustrating a spacer pattern of a comparative example. [Figure 24] 4 shows the results of a diffraction test carried out on the example. [Figure 25] 4 shows the results of a diffraction test carried out on the example. [Figure 26] 4 shows the results of a diffraction test carried out on the example. [Figure 27] 4 shows the results of a diffraction test carried out on the example. [Figure 28] 10 shows the results of a diffraction test carried out on a comparative example. [Figure 29]10 shows the results of a diffraction test carried out on a comparative example. [Figure 30] 10 shows the results of a diffraction test carried out on a comparative example. [Figure 31] 10 shows the results of a diffraction test carried out on a comparative example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0171] The present application will be described in detail below through examples, but the scope of the present application is not limited to the following examples.

[0172] 1. Substrate diffraction pattern analysis (LED light transmission analysis) The diffraction pattern of each substrate (structure of substrate layer / ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) electrode layer / spacer pattern) manufactured in the examples and comparative examples was analyzed. The diffraction pattern analysis was performed on a substrate having a width and length of 100 mm.

[0173] The process of the analysis is shown in FIG.

[0174] As shown in Fig. 20, a circular LED light source 100 and a camera 200 capable of receiving light from the light source were placed at a distance of about 60 cm. Then, the substrate 10 was placed between the light source 100 and the camera 200. As shown in Fig. 20, the substrate 10 was placed at a distance of 30 cm from both the light source 100 and the camera 200.

[0175] The light source 100 was placed so as to irradiate light onto the center of gravity of the substrate 10, and the camera 200 was placed at a position where the light irradiated from the light source 100 could directly enter if the substrate 10 were not present. In addition, the substrate 10 was placed so that the surface on which the spacers were formed faced the light source 100.

[0176] The light source 100 was an LED (Light Emitting Diode) light source 100 that emitted light with a wavelength of about 550 nm, and had a circular shape with a diameter of about 3 mm. The camera 200 used was a Nikon product (product name: COOLPIX S8200).

[0177] In this state, light was irradiated from the light source 100 toward the substrate 10, and an image formed by the light transmitted through the substrate 10 was recorded by the camera 200. At this time, the photographing mode of the camera 200 was set to landscape mode.

[0178] The recorded images (analyzed images) were converted to black and white images using the Image J program (ImageJ bundled with 64-bit Java 1.8.0_172).

[0179] The Threshold function of the Image J program was used to analyze the received light. With no substrate present, light was irradiated from the LED light source 100 in Figure 20, and the image received by the camera 200 was converted to a black and white image, resulting in a white image that was used as the reference image. The threshold value automatically specified through the Threshold function of the Image J program when the reference image was changed was also input in the same way when analyzing other images.

[0180] For the obtained image (the image in which the image to be analyzed was changed to a black and white image), as shown in Figure 21, two diagonal lines (L3 and L4) were specified in a direction that bisects the angle (90 degrees) formed by horizontal line L1 and vertical line L2, and the length of the pixels of the white image along each line was calculated, and the area of ​​the white image was also calculated.

[0181] FIG. 21 is a schematic representation of the black and white image, and the portion indicated by B in FIG. 21 is the black area of ​​the black and white image, and the portion indicated by W is the white area (white image).

[0182] The pixel length of the white image is the number of pixels in the area where the white image exists, which is dimensionless. That is, the pixel lengths of the horizontal line L1, vertical line L2, and diagonal lines L3 and L4 are the number of pixels in the area occupied by the horizontal line L1, vertical line L2, and diagonal lines L3 and L4, respectively.

[0183] The length of the horizontal line L1 is the length of a line passing through the center of the white image in the vertical direction of the black-and-white image, and the length of the vertical line L2 is the length of a line passing through the center of the white image in the horizontal direction of the black-and-white image. The point (center point) where the horizontal line L1 and the vertical line L2 intersect is set at a position where the four regions of the white image divided by the horizontal line L1 and the vertical line L2 have substantially the same area. In addition, the left and right diagonal lines L3 and L4 pass through the center point of the white image and form 45 degrees with the vertical line L2 and the horizontal line L1, respectively. In other words, the directions of the horizontal line L1, the vertical line L2, and the diagonal lines L3 and L4 form 45 degrees with each other.

[0184] The smaller the deviation between the area of ​​the white image in the black and white image of the analysis target image obtained in the above manner and the area of ​​the white image in the reference image, the less the diffraction phenomenon.

[0185] As mentioned above, the reference image is a white image obtained by irradiating light from the LED light source 100 without the substrate 10 and converting the image received by the camera 200 into a black and white image, so the area of ​​that image is the area A2 of the white image of the black and white image of the LED light in this specification.

[0186] In the table below, the area A1 (area ratio to the area of ​​the light source (unit: %)) of the white image in the analysis target image, i.e., the black and white image obtained by transmitting LED light through the substrate, is shown when the area A2 of the white image, which is the reference image, is considered to be 100%, and the ratio (A1 / A2) is also shown.

[0187] When the standard deviation of the lengths of the four lines (L1 to L4) obtained for the white image in the black and white image of the analysis target image obtained in the above manner is 50 or less, it can be evaluated that there is little diffraction.

[0188] 2. Optical Density Assessment The optical density was measured as follows: A laminate in which a transparent layer (ITO (indium tin oxide) layer) was formed on a transparent PET (poly(ethylene terephthalate)) substrate film was coated with a curable composition for forming a spacer pattern on the transparent layer, and the curable composition was irradiated with ultraviolet light (wavelength: about 365 nm, ultraviolet light dose: 2,200 mJ / cm). 2 ~4,400mJ / cm 2 ) and harden to form a layer with a thickness of about 6 μm. In this specification, the thickness is measured using an optical profiler measuring device (manufacturer: Nano System, product name: Nano View-E1000). Subsequently, the transmittance and optical density of the formed layer are measured using a measuring device (manufacturer: x-rite, product name: 341C). The measuring device measures the transmittance (T, unit: %) for light within the visible light wavelength range (400 to 700 nm) and calculates the optical density (OD) from the measured transmittance T using the formula (optical density (OD) = -log 10 (T, T is the transmittance) and calculate the value for the corresponding thickness (6 μm).

[0189] 3. Measuring the height and width of the partition wall The spacer heights described below were confirmed using a measurement device (Optical profiler, Nano System, Nano View-E1000). The spacer line widths were confirmed using an optical microscope (Olympus BX 51).

[0190] Example 1 Spacer pattern design The spacer net pattern shown in FIG. 8 was designed in the following manner. First, a spacer net pattern with the same shape as that shown in FIG. 15 was formed. The pattern in FIG. 15 was formed by crossing straight lines arranged at regular intervals, and each single closed square was a regular square with a side length of approximately 350 μm. Next, each side of the regular square was curved with a curvature of approximately 50°. When the curvature was imparted, two opposing sides of the regular square were curved in the same direction. As a result, one vertex of one closed square was curved where it met the vertex of another closed square, and the remaining three vertices were not curved where they met the vertices of the other closed squares.

[0191] The spacer was designed using Minitab, a random coordinate program, and the same program was used in all the following examples.

[0192] As a result of the design, the aperture ratio of the finally formed spacer pattern was about 8%. The distance between each vertex of the finally formed closed figure was the same as the side of the regular rectangle.

[0193] Manufacturing of circuit boards, etc. A curable composition for fabricating a spacer pattern was prepared as follows. Ball spacers were mixed with a binder commonly used in the fabrication of column spacers, including a UV-curable acrylate compound, a polymerization initiator, and a dispersant. Black ball spacers with an average particle size of approximately 6 μm were used as the ball spacers. The ball spacers were mixed at approximately 2.5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder (total weight of the acrylate compound, initiator, dispersant, etc.). The ball spacers were black ball spacers, and the curable composition contained approximately 3.5% by weight of carbon black as a darkening material. The optical density (OD) of the prepared composition was measured using the method described above and found to be approximately 0.9 at a thickness of approximately 6 μm. Approximately 2 mL to 3 mL of the composition was dropped onto a uniaxially stretched PET (poly(ethylene terephthalate)) film having an amorphous ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) electrode layer formed on the surface of the film, and the curable composition layer was cured by irradiating it with ultraviolet light through a mask (ultraviolet light irradiation dose: 14,400 mJ / cm). 2 The mask used was a conventional photomask, in which openings having the same shape as the designed spacer pattern were formed.

[0194] After UV irradiation, the uncured curable composition was removed (developed) to form a spacer pattern as shown in Figure 3. The formed spacer pattern had the same shape as designed, with a line width of approximately 15 μm and a height of approximately 6 μm. The aperture ratio (the percentage of the spacer pattern's area relative to the total area of ​​the substrate) was approximately 8%. An optical device was manufactured using the thus-manufactured substrate in a known manner. Specifically, a liquid crystal material was injected into the spacer pattern of the substrate, and a second substrate was attached on the spacer pattern of the substrate opposite the first substrate to manufacture the optical device. In this optical device, the gap between the two substrates was stably maintained, and no defects in appearance due to uneven gaps between the substrates were observed.

[0195] Comparative Example 1 A substrate was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1, except that a spacer pattern was formed in which linear line spacers were regularly arranged at intervals of about 350 μm, as shown in Figure 22. The line width, height, and aperture ratio of the line spacers were the same as in Example 1. An optical device was manufactured using the substrate of Comparative Example 1 in the same manner as in Example 1. In the manufactured optical device, the gap between the two substrates was stably maintained, and no defects in appearance due to uneven gaps between the substrates were observed.

[0196] Example 2. Spacer pattern design In order to form a spacer pattern having the same shape as that shown in FIG. 7, a nonlinear line spacer pattern having the same shape as that shown in FIG. 17 was first formed.

[0197] The pattern in Figure 17 was designed in the following manner. Figure 17 is an image of the spacer pattern taken with an optical microscope (magnification: x10). To design the spacer pattern, a so-called honeycomb shape was designed, in which regular hexagons were regularly arranged, as shown in Figure 3(a). In this case, the length of one side of the regular hexagon was set to about 350 μm. Subsequently, as shown in Figure 3(b), the sides of the regular hexagon were removed to form a line spacer pattern.

[0198] Thereafter, each point of the formed line spacer (movement illustrated by dotted arrows in FIG. 3(c), which applies to other spacers as well) was moved with a randomness of 90%, and a curvature was imparted to the line connecting adjacent points among the points with a randomness of about 80%, changing it into a curve (curving illustrated by solid arrows in FIG. 3(c)). Moving a point with a randomness of 90% means that, if the length of the line connecting adjacent points in one line spacer is P, each of the two points forming the line length P is used as the center of a circle, and a circular region having a radius of 90% of the length (0.45P) of 0.5P, which is 0.5 times the length P, is set, and then the point was moved to any point within the set circle.

[0199] Furthermore, the above description of imparting a curvature with an irregularity of 80% means that the lower limit of the curvature is set to 0R and the upper limit to 100R, and then the straight line is curved to have any one of the curvature values ​​within the range of 0R to 80R.

[0200] The length (L1) of the straight line connecting both ends of the nonlinear line spacer in Figure 17, which is the result of the above design (the length corresponding to L1 in Figure 1), was approximately in the range of 18 mm to 22 mm, with an average of about 20 mm.

[0201] In addition, the distance between two lines parallel to the line connecting both ends of each nonlinear line spacer and contacting the most protruding parts of the spacer to the left and right (the distance corresponding to X in Figure 1) was approximately 58 μm to 65 μm, with an average of approximately 61 μm and a standard deviation of approximately 2.

[0202] In addition, the pitch between the lines connecting both ends of each of the plurality of nonlinear line spacers (corresponding to P in FIG. 2) was approximately 350 μm.

[0203] Next, the pattern including the designed nonlinear line spacer was crossed at an angle of about 90 degrees to form a net-shaped pattern as shown in Figure 7. The number of closed figures present in the net-shaped pattern formed in this manner was about 10,000, and when 100 closed figures were selected from these and their areas were calculated, the average area was about 0.195 mm. 2 The area of ​​the 100 closed figures was approximately 0.031, with a standard deviation of approximately 0.031. The 100 closed figures were selected so that they would form a rectangle with 10 closed figures horizontally and 10 closed figures vertically (see Figure 14). The closed figures were numbered as shown in Figure 14, and 9 closed figures were selected by selecting 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 21, 22, and 23, 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16, 25, 26, and 27, and 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20, 28, 29, and 30. The average area was approximately 0.191 mm. 2 The standard deviation was approximately 0.040.

[0204] Manufacturing of circuit boards, etc. A spacer pattern was formed in the same manner as in Example 1, except that a photomask with openings of the same shape as the designed spacer pattern was used. The formed spacer pattern had the same shape as the designed one, with a line width of approximately 15 μm and a height of approximately 6 μm. The aperture ratio (the percentage of the area occupied by the spacer pattern relative to the total area of ​​the substrate) was approximately 8%. An optical device was fabricated using the fabricated substrates in the same manner as in Example 1. In the fabricated optical device, the gap between the two substrates was stably maintained, and no defects in appearance due to uneven gaps between the substrates were observed.

[0205] Example 3. Spacer pattern design The spacer net pattern shown in FIG. 9 was designed in the following manner. First, a spacer net pattern with the same shape as that shown in FIG. 15 was formed. This shape was formed by crossing straight lines arranged at regular intervals, and each square, which was a single closed figure, was a regular square with a side length of approximately 350 μm. Then, each vertex of the single closed figure, the square, was moved with a randomness of 70% to form a pattern. Moving a point with a randomness of 70% means that, assuming that the length of the line connecting each vertex (in this example, the side length of the regular square) is P, a circular region having a radius of 70% (0.35P) of a length 0.5 times the length P was set as the center of a circle at each of the two vertices forming the line length P, and then the point was moved to any point within the circle (see FIG. 4).

[0206] The number of closed figures present in the net shape formed by this method is about 10,000, and when 100 closed figures are selected from these and their areas are calculated, the average area is about 0.192 mm 2 The standard deviation was about 0.14. The 100 closed figures were selected so that they were rectangular, with 10 closed figures horizontally and 10 closed figures vertically (see Figure 14). The closed figures were numbered as shown in Figure 14, and nine closed figures were selected and their areas were checked by selecting closed figures 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 21, 22, and 23, closed figures 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16, 25, 26, and 27, and closed figures 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20, 28, 29, and 30. The average area was about 0.190 mm. 2 The average side length of each closed figure finally formed by the pattern was about 350 μm, with a standard deviation of about 0.171.

[0207] Manufacturing of circuit boards, etc. A spacer pattern was formed in the same manner as in Example 1, except that a photomask with openings of the same shape as the designed spacer pattern was used. The formed spacer pattern had the same shape as the designed one, with a line width of approximately 15 μm and a height of approximately 6 μm. The aperture ratio (the percentage of the area occupied by the spacer pattern relative to the total area of ​​the substrate) was approximately 8%. An optical device was fabricated using the fabricated substrates in the same manner as in Example 1. In the fabricated optical device, the gap between the two substrates was stably maintained, and no defects in appearance due to uneven gaps between the substrates were observed.

[0208] Comparative Example 2 23, a substrate was fabricated in the same manner as in Example 1, except that a spacer pattern was formed in which linear line spacers were regularly arranged at intervals of about 350 μm and the intervals between adjacent line spacers were connected by linear bridges. The line width, height, and aperture ratio of the line spacers were the same as in Example 2.

[0209] 23, there were approximately 140 bridges per 20 line spacers, and the distance between the bridges was approximately 700 μm. An optical device was manufactured using the manufactured substrates in the same manner as in Example 1. In the manufactured optical device, the distance between the two substrates was stably maintained, and no defects in appearance due to unevenness in the distance between the substrates were observed.

[0210] Comparative Example 3 A substrate was formed in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the net-shaped spacer pattern of FIG. 15, which was used to form the spacer pattern in Example 1, was used. The length of one side of the regular square, which is a single closed figure in the pattern, was the same as in Example 1. An optical device was manufactured using the substrate in the same manner as in Example 1. In the manufactured optical device, the gap between the two substrates was stably maintained, and no defects in appearance due to uneven gaps between the substrates were observed.

[0211] Example 4. Spacer pattern design The spacer net pattern shown in Figure 10 was designed as follows: First, a spacer net pattern with the same shape as that shown in Figure 18 was formed. This shape is a so-called honeycomb pattern in which regular hexagonal closed figures are regularly arranged, and each hexagon, which is a single closed figure, is a regular square with a side length of about 350 μm.

[0212] Next, as shown in FIG. 19, the vertices of the hexagon were moved (movement illustrated by dotted arrows in FIG. 19) and simultaneously the sides of the hexagon were curved (curving illustrated by solid arrows in FIG. 19). The vertex movement was performed with a randomness of 70%. Moving a point with a randomness of 70% means that, when the length of the line connecting the vertices (in this embodiment, the length of the side of the hexagon) is P, a circular area having a radius of 70% (0.35P) of the length 0.5P, which is 0.5 times the length P, was set as the center of a circle at each of the two vertices that form the line length P, and then the point was moved to any point within the area of ​​the set circle (see FIG. 4).

[0213] The sides of the hexagon were curved by imparting a curvature with an irregularity of about 80%. That is, the curvature was first set to be within the range of 0R to 100R, and then the lower limit of the curvature within the range was set to 0R and the upper limit to 80R, and each side of the hexagon was curved to have any one of the curvature values ​​within the range of 0R to 80R. When imparting the curvature, the direction of curvature of each side of the hexagon was set to be selected arbitrarily.

[0214] The number of closed figures present in the net shape formed by this method is about 10,000, and when 100 closed figures are selected from these and their areas are calculated, the average area is about 0.306 mm 2The standard deviation was about 0.0899. The 100 closed figures were selected so that they were rectangular, with 10 closed figures horizontally and 10 closed figures vertically (see Figure 14). The closed figures were numbered as shown in Figure 14, and 9 closed figures were selected by selecting 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 21, 22, and 23, 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16, 25, 26, and 27, and 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20, 28, 29, and 30. The average area was about 0.314 mm. 2 The standard deviation was approximately 0.093.

[0215] Manufacturing of circuit boards, etc. A spacer pattern was formed in the same manner as in Example 1, except that a photomask with openings of the same shape as the designed spacer pattern was used. The formed spacer pattern had the same shape as the designed one, with a line width of approximately 15 μm and a height of approximately 6 μm. The aperture ratio (the percentage of the area occupied by the spacer pattern relative to the total area of ​​the substrate) was approximately 8%. An optical device was fabricated using the fabricated substrates in the same manner as in Example 1. In the fabricated optical device, the gap between the two substrates was stably maintained, and no defects in appearance due to uneven gaps between the substrates were observed.

[0216] Comparative Example 4 A substrate was formed in the same manner as in Example 4, except that a honeycomb-shaped spacer pattern was used, the same as in Figure 18 used to form the spacer pattern in Example 4. The length of one side of the regular hexagon, which is a single closed figure in the pattern, was the same as in Example 4. An optical device was fabricated using the fabricated substrate in the same manner as in Example 1. In the fabricated optical device, the gap between the two substrates was stably maintained, and no defects in appearance due to uneven gaps between the substrates were observed.

[0217] The analysis results of the diffraction patterns of the Examples and Comparative Examples are summarized and shown in Table 1 below.

[0218] [Table 1]

[0219] 24 to 27 are images for Examples 1 to 4, respectively, and Figs. 28 to 31 are images for Comparative Examples 1 to 4, respectively. In each drawing, the image on the left is the image before black and white conversion, and the image on the right is the image after black and white conversion.

[0220] Reference example 1. The spacer pattern was designed in the same manner as in Example 3. However, when moving each vertex of a square, which is a single closed figure in the spacer net pattern, the irregularity was set to 100%. Therefore, in this case, if the length of the line connecting the vertices of the closed figure (in this example, the length of the side of the regular square) is P, each of the two vertices forming the line length P was used as the center of a circle, and a circular area with a radius of 0.5 times the length P (0.5P) was set, and then the point was moved to any point within the set circle. When formed in this manner, the number of closed figures present in the net form was approximately 10,000, and when 100 closed figures were selected from these and their areas were calculated, the average area was approximately 0.181 mm. 2 The standard deviation was about 5. The 100 closed figures were selected so that they would have a rectangular shape with 10 closed figures horizontally and 10 closed figures vertically (see Figure 14). The closed figures formed were numbered in the manner shown in Figure 14, and nine closed figures were selected and their areas were checked by selecting closed figures 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 21, 22, and 23, closed figures 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16, 25, 26, and 27, and closed figures 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20, 28, 29, and 30. The average area was about 0.25 mm. 2 The standard deviation was about 4.5.

[0221] A spacer pattern was formed in the same manner as in Example 1, except that a photomask having openings of the same shape as the designed spacer pattern was used. The formed spacer pattern had the same shape as the designed one, with a line width of approximately 15 μm and a height of approximately 6 μm. An optical device was fabricated using the fabricated substrates in the same manner as in Example 1. In the optical device fabricated in this manner, excessively large irregularities in the spacer pattern prevented the spacing between the two substrates from being stably maintained, resulting in different spacings in different regions. As a result, poor appearance due to uneven spacing between the substrates was observed during visual inspection. From these results, it can be concluded that excessively large irregularities in the movement of vertices increase the probability of vertex overlap, resulting in an excessively large standard deviation in the area of ​​the closed figure, resulting in the above-mentioned problem.

[0222] Reference example 2. A spacer pattern was designed using the same method as in Example 4. However, when moving each vertex of a hexagon, which is a single closed figure in the spacer net pattern, the degree of irregularity was specified as 100%. Therefore, in this case, if the length of the line connecting the vertices of the closed figure (in this example, the length of the side of the regular square) is P, each of the two vertices forming the line length P was used as the center of a circle, and a circular area with a radius of 0.5 times the length P (0.5P) was set, and then the point was moved to any point within the set circle. When formed using this method, the number of closed figures present in the net form was approximately 10,000, and when 100 closed figures were selected from these and their areas were calculated, the average area was approximately 0.456 mm. 2The standard deviation was about 5.5. The 100 closed figures were selected so that they were rectangular, with 10 closed figures horizontally and 10 closed figures vertically (see Figure 14). The closed figures were numbered as shown in Figure 14, and nine closed figures were selected and their areas were checked by selecting closed figures 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 21, 22, and 23, closed figures 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16, 25, 26, and 27, and closed figures 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20, 28, 29, and 30. The average area was about 0.214 mm. 2 The standard deviation was about 5.

[0223] A spacer pattern was formed in the same manner as in Example 1, except that a photomask with openings of the same shape as the designed spacer pattern was used. The formed spacer pattern had the same shape as the designed one, with a line width of approximately 15 μm and a height of approximately 6 μm. An optical device was fabricated using the fabricated substrates in the same manner as in Example 1. In the optical device fabricated in this manner, excessively large irregularities in the spacer pattern prevented the spacing between the two substrates from being stably maintained, resulting in different spacings in different regions. As a result, poor appearance due to uneven spacing between the substrates was observed during visual inspection. From these results, it can be concluded that excessively large irregularities in the movement of vertices increase the probability of vertex overlap, resulting in an excessively large standard deviation in the area of ​​the closed figure, resulting in the above-mentioned problem.

Claims

1. a base layer; and a plurality of line spacers formed on the base layer and intersecting each other to form a plurality of closed figures; The following formula 6 is satisfied: Among the intersections forming the closed figure, the line spacer connecting adjacent intersections has a curved shape having a curvature in the range of 5R to 95R, the plurality of line spacers include curves having different curvatures; [Formula 6] A≠180×(n-2) / n In Equation 6, A is an interior angle of the closed figure formed by three adjacent intersections among the intersections forming the closed figure, and n is the number of intersections forming the closed figure.

2. 2. The substrate according to claim 1, wherein in formula 6, A is in the range of 10 degrees to 200 degrees.

3. The substrate of claim 1, wherein the curved shape is formed by giving a degree of irregularity in the range of 5% to 95% to straight line spacers connecting adjacent intersections among the intersections that form the closed figure.

4. 2. The substrate according to claim 1, wherein the number of intersections forming the closed figure is in the range of 3 to 10.

5. The average area of ​​the plurality of closed figures is 0.01 mm ２ ~2mm ２ is within the range of The substrate according to claim 1 , wherein the standard deviation of the areas of the plurality of closed figures is 4 mm 2 or less.

6. The substrate of claim 1 , further comprising an electrode layer between the base layer and the spacer pattern, the spacer pattern being in contact with the electrode layer.

7. An optical device comprising: the substrate according to claim 1; and a second substrate disposed opposite the substrate and spaced apart from the substrate by a spacer pattern on the substrate.

8. 8. The optical device of claim 7, wherein a liquid crystal material is present in the space between the substrate and the second substrate.

Images