Patent ID: 7727577

Claim:
A method for fabricating a liquid crystal display panel, comprising the steps of: aligning an ink-jet device filled with a spacer material relative to a substrate of a liquid crystal display device; heating the spacer material in the ink-jet device; jetting the spacer material from the ink-jet device across a space onto the substrate to form a bead having rounded edges that form a first contact angle with a horizontal surface of the substrate on which the bead is formed, the bead of the spacer material being in a partially cured state on the substrate; and fully curing the bead of the spacer material to form a beaded spacer, wherein rounded edges of the beaded spacer form a second contact angle with the horizontal surface of the substrate on which the beaded spacer is formed, the second contact angle being substantially the same as the first contact angle; wherein said step of heating is performed by positioning a heater around a nozzle of the ink-jet device and heating the spacer material in the nozzle to a first temperature, which is greater than a second temperature of the space; and wherein the substrate has a third temperature that is less than the second temperature during said jetting of the spacer material.