7 106 409

7,106,409 Title:

Method for manufacturing display device

A glass substrate of a display panel onto which an organic electroluminescence (EL) element or the like is formed is sealed by affixing the glass substrate and a sealing member such as a sealing glass onto which an adhesive has been applied. During this process, the temperature of the adhesive is controlled by, for example, controlling the temperature of the nitrogen gas to fill a chamber through a temperature adjusting device, so that the viscosity of the adhesive is adjusted. In this manner, quick and precise sealing of the display substrate by the sealing member and the adhesive can be achieved.

What is claimed is:

1. A method for manufacturing a display device in which an element substrate and a sealing substrate are affixed via an adhesive therebetween, said method comprising: forminga display element on said element substrate; placing said sealing substrate to oppose said element substrate at a side onto which said display element is formed, providing said adhesive at positions to surround a formation region of said displayelement; pressing and affixing said element substrate and said sealing substrate to each other; curing said adhesive; and wherein an ultraviolet curable resin is used as said adhesive; and a temperature of said adhesive is controlled by heating gasintroduced to a chamber so that said element substrate and said sealing substrate are affixed to each other and before said adhesive is cured by irradiation of ultraviolet light, wherein said heating gas introduced to said chamber is gas sealed in asealing space formed when said element substrate and said sealing substrate are affixed.

2. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 1, wherein said adhesive is heated to a predetermined temperature before said element substrate and said sealing substrate affixed to each other via said adhesive therebetweenare pressed.

3. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 1, wherein said adhesive is heated to a predetermined temperature while said element substrate and said sealing substrate affixed to each other via said adhesive therebetween arepressed.

4. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 1, wherein said adhesive is heated to a predetermined temperature in which characteristics of an electroluminescence element formed as said display element are not degradedbefore said element substrate and said sealing substrate affixed to each other via said adhesive therebetween are pressed.

5. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 1, wherein said adhesive is heated to a predetermined temperature in which characteristics of an electroluminescence element formed as said display element are not degraded whilesaid element substrate and said sealing substrate affixed to each other via said adhesive therebetween are pressed.

6. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 1, wherein said temperature of said adhesive is controlled based on application conditions of pressure for pressing said element substrate and said sealing substrate.

7. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 6, wherein said temperature of said adhesive is set at a temperature in which the characteristics of an electroluminescence element formed as said display element are notdegraded.

8. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 1, wherein the pressure for pressing said element substrate and said sealing substrate is changed over time until a target gap is achieved between said element substrate andsealing substrate affixed to each other.

9. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 8, wherein said pressure for pressing said element substrate and said sealing substrate is changed over time by repeating a pressure changing period in which the pressure ischanged and a pressure retaining period in which a constant pressure is maintained.

10. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 9, wherein a plurality of said pressure changing periods and a plurality of said pressure retaining periods are repeated; and the duration of each of said plurality of pressureretaining periods is independently set to an arbitraiy length.

11. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 9, wherein a plurality of said pressure changing periods and a plurality of said pressure retaining periods are repeated; and the amount of change in pressure for each of saidplurality of pressure changing periods is independently set to an arbitrary value.

12. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 11, wherein said amount of change in pressure for a final pressure changing period among said plurality of pressure changing periods is smaller than the amount of change inpressure for any previous pressure changing period.

13. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 8, wherein the rate of change of pressure in at least one of said plurality of pressure changing periods differs from a rate of change of pressure in the other periods.

14. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 9, wherein said pressure is changed over time through 3 repetitions of pressure changing periods in which pressure is changed and pressure retaining periods in which a constantpressure is maintained.

15. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 1, wherein said adhesive is a cation polymerizing, ultraviolet curable epoxy resin.

16. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 1, wherein said gas is nitrogen gas.

17. A method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 1, wherein a temperature of said gas is controlled by a temperature adjusting device provided at a gas introduction port of said chamber.