KR101096299B1 - Reflective transmit liquid crystal display device and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a semi-transmissive liquid crystal display device having a liquid crystal layer interposed between a lower substrate and an upper substrate, and having a transmissive portion and a reflecting portion for each unit pixel region, wherein the reflecting portion includes a reflecting plate having a stepped portion on the lower substrate and an upper portion thereof. By providing a transparent electrode for driving the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal, when the voltage is not applied, the liquid crystal alignment is disturbed to serve as an arbitrary λ / n phase delay plate, and when the voltage is applied, the liquid crystal is oriented by the voltage applied to the transparent electrode. A liquid crystal display device is provided.

Semi-transmissive liquid crystal display, transparent pixel electrode, transparent common electrode, step forming line

Description

Semi-transmissive liquid crystal display device and manufacturing method therefor {REFLECTIVE TRANSMIT LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly, to a transflective liquid crystal display device having a good contrast ratio and excellent in screen quality, and a manufacturing method thereof.

In general, liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are used for terminals or video devices of various information devices in place of cathode ray tubes (CRTs) because they have characteristics such as light weight, thinness, and low power consumption. .

The LCD may be classified into two types, a transmissive liquid crystal display using a backlight and a reflective liquid crystal display using natural light as a light source. Since the transmissive liquid crystal display uses a backlight as a light source, a bright image can be realized even in a dark environment. However, the transmissive liquid crystal display has a disadvantage of high power consumption and poor readability in the outdoor. The reflective liquid crystal display uses a backlight. Because it uses natural light of the surrounding environment, power consumption is small and can be used outdoors, but it is impossible to use when the surrounding environment is dark.

That is, the general transmissive liquid crystal display device has excellent characteristics indoors in terms of brightness, color reproducibility, and CR (contrast ratio), but outdoors, the information of the display is almost read on the screen by sunlight and light reflected by the sunlight. In the outdoor, the transmissive liquid crystal display device, which does not emit light by itself due to strong light of 100,000 LUX or more, depends on the brightness of the backlight and the panel transmittance. In order to solve this problem, the brightness of the backlight may be increased, but this may cause excessive power consumption.

Due to this problem, a semi-transmissive liquid crystal display has been proposed to solve the disadvantages of the transmissive and reflective liquid crystal display. Since the transflective liquid crystal display device can use both a reflection type and a transmissive type as needed, it has a relatively low power consumption and can be used even in a dark environment.

1 is a view showing a change in polarization corresponding to the action of a general phase delay plate, Figure 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the driving principle of the reflection portion and the transmission portion in the conventional transflective liquid crystal display device, Figure 2 (a ) Shows a transflective liquid crystal display device having a single cell gap using a delay material, and FIG. 2 (b) shows a transflective liquid crystal display device using a dual cell gap.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional transflective liquid crystal display device has to vary the manufacturing method of the reflecting unit and the transmitting unit due to opposing driving characteristics of reflection and transmission. 2 (a) has a single cell gap, but a retardation material must be coated on the transmissive part in order to obtain reflection characteristics, and thus, a λ / 4 film is attached to the lower substrate.

Here, the λ / 4 film refers to a phase delay film that converts linearly polarized light into circularly polarized light or circularly polarized light into linearly polarized light as shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, the method of FIG. 2 (a) has an increase not only in manufacturing process difficulty but also in material cost. 2 (b) is a method using a dual cell gap (Dual Cell Gap) does not increase the material cost but the situation is very difficult in the orientation process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a semi-transmissive liquid crystal display device and a method of manufacturing the same, which are easy to manufacture, have good contrast ratio, and are excellent in screen quality.

In order to achieve the above object, in a first aspect of the present invention, a liquid crystal layer is disposed between a lower substrate and an upper substrate, and the lower substrate and the upper substrate, and a transflective liquid crystal having a transmissive portion and a reflective portion for each unit pixel region. In the display device, the reflector includes a reflector having a bent portion on the lower substrate and a transparent electrode on the upper portion thereof, thereby displacing the liquid crystal orientation when no voltage is applied, thereby serving as a random λ / n phase delay plate. In addition, when the voltage is applied to provide a transflective liquid crystal display device that performs the same role as the transmission part by the voltage applied to the transparent electrode.

The second aspect of the present invention includes a lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the substrates, and each pixel region is defined by gate and data lines formed in a direction crossing each other on the lower substrate. In the semi-transmissive liquid crystal display device having a switching element is disposed at the intersection of the gate and the data lines, the transparent pixel electrode and the insulating in the pixel region to apply an electric field to the liquid crystal layer to control the amount of light transmission; A transparent common electrode spaced apart from the transparent pixel electrode in a non-opening region in which the pixel region and the gate line and the data line are formed with a layer interposed therebetween, and a gate over the entire lower substrate to cover the gate line; An insulating film is formed, and a plurality of through holes for forming a step are formed on the gate insulating film in the pixel region. The transparent pixel electrodes are arranged in a matrix spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval, and the transparent pixel electrodes are formed to have steps according to the shape of the through holes on the gate insulating layer, and the through holes of each column overlap partially between the insulating layer and the transparent pixel electrodes. The present invention provides a transflective liquid crystal display device, wherein a plurality of step forming lines are formed to be spaced apart from each other in parallel with the data line.

The transparent plate may be formed between the transparent common electrode and the insulating layer, and a reflecting plate may be further provided at the same position as the transparent common electrode.

Preferably, each step forming line may be formed of a metal film or an organic film for a source electrode of the switching device.

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The third aspect of the present invention includes a lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the substrates, and each pixel region is formed on the lower substrate by gate and data lines which are formed to cross each other. A transflective liquid crystal display device having a switching element disposed at an intersection of the gate and data lines, wherein the transparent pixel electrode and the transparent pixel electrode are disposed in the pixel region to apply an electric field to the liquid crystal layer to control light transmission. And a transparent common electrode spaced apart from the transparent pixel electrode in the non-opening region in which the pixel region and the gate line and the data line are formed with an insulating layer interposed therebetween, and covering the gate line. Form a gate insulating film in the data region between the gate insulating film and the lower substrate in the pixel region; And forming a plurality of step forming lines for forming a step parallel to a predetermined interval in parallel with each other, wherein the transparent common electrode is positioned between each step forming line so as to have a stepped portion inclined according to the shape of each step forming line. A semi-transmissive liquid crystal display device is provided.

The transparent plate may be formed between the transparent common electrode and the insulating layer, and a reflector may be further provided at the same position as the transparent common electrode.

Preferably, each step forming line may be formed of an organic film.

A fourth aspect of the present invention includes a lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the substrates, and each pixel region is formed on the lower substrate by gate lines and data lines formed in cross directions. A method for manufacturing a transflective liquid crystal display device having a switching element disposed at an intersection of the lines, the lower substrate comprising: (a) forming a gate line including a gate electrode on a substrate; (b) depositing a gate insulating film on the substrate to cover the gate line including the gate electrode, and then etching the gate insulating film in each pixel region to form a plurality of through holes arranged in a matrix spaced apart at regular intervals Making; (c) forming a transparent pixel electrode on the gate insulating film in each pixel region and forming a step according to the shape of each through hole; (d) forming a data line including an active pattern and a source / drain electrode on the gate insulating layer on the gate electrode to form the switching element, and simultaneously overlap a portion of the through-hole of each column on the transparent pixel electrode; Forming a plurality of step forming lines spaced apart at regular intervals in parallel with the line; And (e) applying a dielectric layer on the resulting structure after step (d), and then applying a transparent common electrode to be spaced apart from the transparent pixel electrode in the non-opening region where the pixel region, the gate line and the data line are formed. It provides a method of manufacturing a transflective liquid crystal display device comprising the step of forming.

Preferably, after applying the insulating layer on the resulting structure after the step (d), the method may further include forming a reflector on the insulating layer at the same position as the transparent common electrode.

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Preferably, in the step (d), each step forming line may be formed of a metal film or an organic film for the source electrode of the switching element.

A fifth aspect of the present invention includes a lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the substrates, and each pixel region is formed on the lower substrate by gate lines and data lines formed in cross directions. In the method of manufacturing a transflective liquid crystal display device, in which a switching element is arranged at an intersection of the lines, the lower substrate is (a) forming a gate line including a gate electrode on a substrate and simultaneously Forming a plurality of step forming lines for forming a step in parallel with the data lines in the pixel area so as to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance; (b ') After the gate insulating film is formed on the substrate to cover the gate line including the gate electrode and each step forming line, the gate insulating film is disposed on the gate insulating film in each pixel region and is formed according to the shape of each step forming line. Forming a transparent pixel electrode to have a photo stepped portion; (c ') forming a data line including an active pattern and a source / drain electrode on the gate insulating layer on the gate electrode to configure the switching device, and then applying an insulating layer on the resulting structure; And (d ') spaced apart from the transparent pixel electrode in each pixel region and the non-opening region where the gate line and the data line are formed, and positioned between each step forming line so as to have a stepped portion inclined according to the shape of each step forming line. To provide a method for manufacturing a transflective liquid crystal display device comprising the step of forming a transparent common electrode.

Preferably, in the step (c '), after applying the insulating layer on the resultant structure, the method may further include forming a reflecting plate on the insulating layer at the same position as the transparent common electrode.

Preferably, in step (a '), each step forming line may be formed of an organic film.

According to the transflective liquid crystal display device and the manufacturing method thereof of the present invention as described above, the manufacturing process is easy, has a good contrast ratio, is excellent in screen quality, and the internal light source is turned off during the day when the external light is strong Since the power consumption of the display device can be reduced, it is advantageous to the liquid crystal display device for mobile, portable, and low power consumption, and there is an advantage that the cost can be reduced by simplifying the manufacturing method.

In addition, according to the present invention, it has a good contrast ratio under strong external light, can reduce the difference in screen color with a dark place, has a high brightness panel characteristics, the manufacturing process is simple and the material cost is transmissive liquid crystal display Compared to the device, there is a significant difference.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the following embodiments of the present invention may be modified into various other forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. The embodiments of the present invention are provided to enable those skilled in the art to more fully understand the present invention.

3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a structure and driving principle of a transflective liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 (a) illustrates light passing through the reflecting unit and the transmitting unit when the voltage is ON / OFF. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing the efficiency of light through the reflecting unit and the transmitting unit when the voltage is turned on / off.

In the transflective liquid crystal display of FIG. 3, the liquid crystal layer 30 is disposed between the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20, and between the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20, and the transmissive portion for each pixel area. (B) and the reflection part A are provided. At this time, the reflecting portion A includes the reflecting plate 15 having the stepped portion C and the transparent electrode 13 for driving the liquid crystal on the upper portion thereof, thereby displacing the liquid crystal alignment when the voltage is not applied, to arbitrary? /. n serves as a phase delay plate, and when voltage is applied, the liquid crystal is aligned (aligned) by a voltage applied to the transparent electrode 13. The liquid crystal alignment of the reflecting portion is aligned (aligned) by the transparent electrode applied thereon even though the step portion C is provided.

The stepped portion C formed in the reflective portion A is a portion where steep bends are formed, and in a situation where voltage is not applied, the liquid crystal alignment is already disturbed and thus serves as an arbitrary λ / n phase delay plate. When the light passes through the liquid crystal layer 30 twice, the light becomes almost dark gray.
Of course, the transmission part B, as the conventional case, the cell (Cell) acts as a 0 or λ phase delay plate, and the dark (Dark) as the light of the back light passes through the two upper and lower polarizing plates (11, 21) vertical Becomes

The specific method of forming the stepped portion C may be various ways that are not particularly limited, and may form a step by etching a part of the stacked layers, and the size of the step may be, for example, about 3000 Å for each step. Flexure may be formed at an angle of about 10 to 60 degrees with respect to the ground.
However, the stepped portion C may be adjusted to act as an arbitrary λ / n phase delay plate because the liquid crystal alignment is already disturbed in a situation where no voltage is applied.
Meanwhile, the structure of the stepped portion C in FIG. 3 shows only a basic configuration and a production example will be described again.

Although the reflecting portion A of the present invention does not have a full dark, it has a large outdoor visibility difference from when totally reflecting external light as it is by surface reflection and internal reflection.

On the other hand, when a voltage is applied, the reflecting portion A, which lost its orientation, is also oriented again by the electric field, thereby displaying white. Of course, the transmissive portion A is white with a λ / 2 phase delay plate.

As shown in (b) of FIG. 3, when using a general polarizing plate, surface reflection of about 4% is present with respect to the amount of light ① and has a difference between the values of light amounts ② and ④. Accordingly, in the transverse electric field mode, even if a reflecting plate is placed on the declination line generated along the electrode center in the transmissive part in the pixel, the screen can be driven with the reflection efficiency in the present invention.
In this case, since a vertical electric field is generated on the declination and the liquid crystals are vertically aligned, the liquid crystal is white in the reflection mode.

In addition, the semi-transmissive liquid crystal display device of the present invention to solve the problems of the conventional semi-transmissive liquid crystal display device means for solving the light leakage defect due to the abnormal alignment on the inclined plane of the lines that have been generated in the conventional transmissive liquid crystal display device Can be used as

Usually, after forming signal lines, pixel electrodes, etc., a steep step is generated in the edge part. In this case, the orientation of the substrate according to the rubbing process is performed in a different direction from the inclined surface of the step part and the flat surface of the electrodes.

In particular, the light leakage is more severe than other places as it is uneven and severely distorted on the downward slope of the line with respect to the rubbing traveling direction. Therefore, as in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-59532 (liquid crystal display device and its manufacturing method), studies have been made on how to solve light leakage generated on the inclined surfaces of such electrode lines. However, in the present invention, the light leakage defect in the transmissive part can be reversed to the dark forming mode of the reflecting part, thereby maximizing the occurrence of light leakage phenomenon only in the reflecting part, thereby making the manufacturing cost cheaper, the manufacturing process easy, and the semi-transmissive type having excellent image quality. A liquid crystal display device can be manufactured.

The present invention is not limited to the specific structure and the like as long as the transflective liquid crystal display device is applicable to various structures. However, in the following embodiments of the present invention, a semi-transmissive mode, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described in detail with reference to an example in which a FFS mode liquid crystal display device is applied, but is not limited thereto.

For example, according to preferred embodiments to which the present invention is applied, a gate line and a data line may include a lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a liquid crystal layer inserted into the substrates, and the lower substrate may be formed to cross each other. Each pixel region is defined by the plurality of pixels, and a switching element is disposed at the intersection of the gate line and the data line, and the first electrode electrode and the first electrode electrode are formed in the pixel region to apply a voltage to the liquid crystal layer to adjust the light transmission amount. A second electrode is disposed to be spaced apart from each other by overlapping a predetermined region with the first electrode and the insulating layer therebetween. It is preferable that a 2nd electrode is a transparent electrode. In this structure, the pixel region may include a transmissive portion and a reflecting portion, and the reflecting portion may include a reflecting plate having a stepped portion and a second electrode thereon.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described by applying a transflective mode, which is a feature of the present invention, to a FFS mode liquid crystal display.

(First embodiment)

4 is a plan view of a portion of a pixel region formed in accordance with a manufacturing process in a lower substrate of the transflective liquid crystal display according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views taken along line AA and line B-B 'of FIG. 4, respectively.

4 to 7, in the lower substrate 100, gate lines (GLs) made of opaque metal and data lines 600 are arranged to vertically intersect to form unit pixels, and in such unit pixel regions. The transparent common electrode 800 and the transparent pixel electrode 400 are disposed under the insulating layer 700, and the transparent pixel electrode 400 is disposed on the same layer as the data line 600 in the form of a plate, for example. In addition, the transparent common electrode 800 is formed in the form of a plurality of combs by patterning the transparent conductive layer deposited on the insulating layer 700 and overlaps a predetermined region with the transparent pixel electrode 400.

In addition, the transparent pixel electrode 400 is formed to have a step according to the shape of the plurality of through holes H formed on the gate insulating layer 300 to be described later.

In addition, the transparent common electrode 800 is spaced apart from the transparent pixel electrode 400 in an unopened region where the unit pixel region, the gate line GL, and the data line 600 are formed with the insulating layer 700 therebetween. .

The active pattern 500 in which an a-Si film and an n + a-Si film are sequentially deposited on the gate electrode 200 among the gate lines GL under the gate insulating film 300, and the source / drain electrodes 600a and 600b. ) Is formed to form a thin film transistor (TFT) (T). The drain electrode 600b is electrically connected to the transparent pixel electrode 400 to apply a data signal to the unit pixel.

Particularly, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of through holes H for forming the steps are spaced at regular intervals on the gate insulating layer 300 in the unit pixel area so that a plurality of sudden steps may be formed in the reflecting part. It is arranged in a matrix form. Each of the through holes H is formed to be positioned inside the transparent common electrode 800 in the pixel area.

On the other hand, each through hole (H) is preferably formed in a square shape when looking at the gate insulating film 300, for example, but is not limited thereto, for example, may be formed in a circular, elliptical, rectangular or polygonal shape. have.

Furthermore, a plurality of stepped formation lines 900 are disposed between the insulating layer 700 and the transparent pixel electrode 400 and parallel to the data line 600 so that a part of the through-holes H of each column overlap. It is formed spaced apart.

Each of the step difference forming lines 900 may be formed of a metal film or an organic film for the source electrode 600a of the thin film transistor TFT.

In addition, a reflective plate 950 may be further provided between the insulating layer 700 and the transparent common electrode 800 to separate the transmissive portion and the reflective portion at the same position as the transparent common electrode 800. An alignment layer 1000 for aligning the liquid crystal may be formed on the entire upper surface of the insulating layer 700.

The alignment layer 1000 may have a step according to the shape of the transparent common electrode 800. The alignment layer 1000 may include an inclined part having a step and a flat part parallel to the surface of the lower substrate 100.

On the other hand, the alignment layer 1000 is typically made of a polyimide-based polymer material, the rubbing process is performed after being applied to the substrate. When a force is applied in a predetermined direction by using a rubbing cloth during the rubbing process, a direction in which the liquid crystal can be aligned is formed in the alignment layer.

Next, a method of manufacturing a transflective liquid crystal display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7.

4 to 7, a gate line GL including the gate electrode 200 is formed on the lower substrate 100. That is, the gate line GL including the gate electrode 200 is formed on a portion of the lower substrate 100 of the TFT (T) formation part by depositing and patterning an opaque metal film on the lower substrate 100. Form.

Thereafter, the gate insulating film 300 is deposited on the entire upper substrate 100 so as to cover the gate line GL including the gate electrode 200, and then the gate insulating film 300 in each pixel region is etched. A plurality of through-holes (H) for forming are formed to be arranged in a matrix spaced apart at regular intervals. At this time, in the planar arrangement on the substrate, each through hole H is formed to be located inside the transparent common electrode 800 in the pixel area.

Subsequently, the plate-shaped transparent pixel electrode 400 is formed on the gate insulating layer 300 to be disposed in each pixel region through deposition and patterning of the transparent conductive layer on the gate insulating layer 300 so as to have a step according to the shape of each through hole H.

Next, the a-Si film and the n + a-Si film are sequentially deposited on the substrate resultant, and then patterned to form an active pattern 500 on a portion of the gate insulating film 300 on the gate electrode 200.

Thereafter, a source / drain metal film is deposited, and then patterned to form a data line 600 including the source / drain electrodes 600a and 600b, and through this, a thin film transistor TFT ( Constitute T). In this case, the drain electrode 600b is formed to be electrically connected to the pixel electrode 400.

At the same time, a plurality of step forming lines 900 are formed to be spaced apart at regular intervals in parallel with the data line 600 such that a part of the through holes H of each column overlaps the transparent pixel electrode 400. At this time, each step forming line 900 is preferably formed of a metal film or an organic film for the source electrode of the thin film transistor (T) which is a switching element.

Subsequently, after the insulating layer 700 of SiNx material is coated on the resulting structure on which the thin film transistor T and the step forming line 900 are formed, each pixel region, the gate line GL, and the data line 600 are formed. A transparent common electrode 800 having a comb-tooth shape is formed on the formed non-opening region to be spaced apart from the transparent pixel electrode 400 to overlap at least a portion of the transparent pixel electrode 400.

That is, in the transparent common electrode 800 layer, the stepped patterns are formed as a small waterfall, and the number of steps becomes a dark mode region in the reflector and further increases the contrast ratio. Is given.

In addition, after applying the insulating layer 700, the reflective plate 750 may be further formed on the insulating layer 700 at the same position as the transparent common electrode 800.

Subsequently, the alignment layer 1000 is applied on the top of the substrate resultant on which the transparent common electrode 800 is formed to complete the fabrication of the array substrate.

As described above, the present invention can minimize the number of processes by making it possible to use a convex organic film (Embossing treatment) to form a stepped reflection method in the reflection part in order to diffusely reflect light in the conventional semi-transmissive.

(2nd Example)

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a portion of a pixel region formed in accordance with a manufacturing process in a lower substrate of a transflective liquid crystal display according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 10 and 11 are cross-sectional views taken along lines CC and D-D ′ of FIG. 8, respectively.

8 to 11, in the lower substrate 100, gate lines (GLs) made of opaque metal and data lines 600 are arranged to vertically intersect to form unit pixels, and in such unit pixel regions. The transparent common electrode 800 and the transparent pixel electrode 400 are disposed under the insulating layer 700, and the transparent pixel electrode 400 is disposed on the same layer as the data line 600 in the form of a plate, for example. The transparent common electrode 800 is formed in a form having a plurality of combs by patterning the transparent conductive layer deposited on the insulating layer 700 and overlaps a predetermined region with the transparent pixel electrode 400.

In addition, the transparent pixel electrode 400 is formed on the gate insulating layer 300 to have a step according to the shapes of the plurality of step forming lines 900 to be described later.

In addition, the transparent common electrode 800 is spaced apart from the transparent pixel electrode 400 in an unopened region where the unit pixel region, the gate line GL, and the data line 600 are formed with the insulating layer 700 therebetween. . In particular, the transparent common electrode 800 may be disposed between the step forming lines 900 to have the stepped portion 800a inclined according to the shape of each step forming line 900.

The active pattern 500 in which an a-Si film and an n + a-Si film are sequentially deposited on the gate electrode 200 among the gate lines GL under the gate insulating film 300, and the source / drain electrodes 600a and 600b. ) Is formed to form a thin film transistor (TFT) (T). The drain electrode 600b is electrically connected to the transparent pixel electrode 400 to apply a data signal to the unit pixel.

In particular, in the second embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of step forming lines 900 for forming a step on the lower substrate 100 in the unit pixel area are spaced at regular intervals so that a plurality of sharp steps may be formed in the reflecting unit. In addition, it is formed parallel to the data line 600. Each of the step forming lines 900 is preferably formed of, for example, an organic film.

In addition, a reflective plate 950 may be further provided between the insulating layer 700 and the transparent common electrode 800 to separate the transmissive portion and the reflective portion at the same position as the transparent common electrode 800. An alignment layer 1000 for aligning the liquid crystal may be formed on the entire upper surface of the insulating layer 700.

The alignment layer 1000 may have a step according to the shape of the transparent common electrode 800. The alignment layer 1000 may include an inclined part having a step and a flat part parallel to the surface of the lower substrate 100.

On the other hand, the alignment layer 1000 is typically made of a polyimide-based polymer material, the rubbing process is performed after being applied to the substrate. When a force is applied in a predetermined direction by using a rubbing cloth during the rubbing process, a direction in which the liquid crystal can be aligned is formed in the alignment layer.

Next, a method of manufacturing a transflective liquid crystal display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11.

8 to 11, a gate line GL including the gate electrode 200 is formed on the lower substrate 100. That is, the gate line GL including the gate electrode 200 is formed on a portion of the lower substrate 100 of the TFT (T) formation part by depositing and patterning an opaque metal film on the lower substrate 100. Form.

At the same time, a plurality of step forming lines 900 for forming a step in parallel to the data line 600 are formed in the unit pixel area so as to be spaced at regular intervals. At this time, each step forming line 900 is preferably formed of, for example, an organic film.

Thereafter, the gate insulating layer 300 is deposited on the entire upper substrate 100 so as to cover the gate line GL including the gate electrode 200 and each step forming line 900, and then, gates in each pixel region. The transparent pixel electrode 400 is formed on the insulating layer 300 to be disposed in each pixel region through deposition and patterning of the transparent conductive layer and to have a stepped portion inclined according to the shape of each step forming line 900.

At the same time, the a-Si film and the n + a-Si film are sequentially deposited on the substrate resultant, and then patterned to form an active pattern 500 on the gate insulating film 300 on the gate electrode 200.

Thereafter, a source / drain metal film is deposited, and then patterned to form a data line 600 including the source / drain electrodes 600a and 600b, and through this, a thin film transistor TFT ( Constitute T). In this case, the drain electrode 600b is formed to be electrically connected to the pixel electrode 400.

Subsequently, after the insulating layer 700 of SiNx material is coated on the resulting structure on which the thin film transistor T and the step forming line 900 are formed, each pixel region, the gate line GL, and the data line 600 are formed. The transparent pixel electrode is spaced apart from the transparent pixel electrode 400 in the formed non-opening region and positioned between each step forming line 900 to have a stepped part 800a inclined according to the shape of each step forming line 900. The transparent common electrode 800 having a comb tooth shape is formed to overlap at least a portion 400.

In this case, after applying the insulating layer 700, the reflective plate 750 may be further formed on the insulating layer 700 at the same position as the transparent common electrode 800.

Subsequently, the alignment layer 1000 is applied on the top of the substrate resultant on which the transparent common electrode 800 is formed to complete the fabrication of the array substrate.

As described above, in the second embodiment of the present invention, since the thick organic layers coated several times make the slope of the inclined surface or the reflective surface more steep in the final transparent common electrode 800 forming step, This will make the gradation and reflection efficiency better.

Although a preferred embodiment of the transflective liquid crystal display device and a method of manufacturing the same according to the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various claims are made within the scope of the claims and the detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings. It is possible to carry out the transformation to this also belongs to the present invention.

1 is a view for explaining the change in polarization corresponding to the action of the phase delay plate.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual view illustrating driving principles of a reflecting unit and a transmitting unit in a conventional transflective liquid crystal display.

3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the structure and driving principle of a transflective liquid crystal display according to the present invention.

4 is a partial plan view of a pixel area formed on a lower substrate of a transflective liquid crystal display according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

5A through 5D are plan views illustrating a situation in which a part of a pixel region is formed in each lower layer of the lower substrate of the transflective liquid crystal display according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention according to a manufacturing process.

6 and 7 are cross-sectional views taken along line A-A 'and line B-B' of FIG. 4, respectively.

8 is a partial plan view of a pixel area formed on a lower substrate of a transflective liquid crystal display according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

9A to 9C are plan views illustrating a situation in which a part of a pixel area is formed in each layer according to a manufacturing process in a lower substrate of a transflective liquid crystal display according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

10 and 11 are cross-sectional views taken along lines C-C 'and D-D' of FIG. 8, respectively.

Claims (15)

A lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the substrates, wherein the unit pixel region defined by the gate line and the data line intersecting with each other on the lower substrate includes a transmissive portion and a reflective portion. A transflective liquid crystal display device having substantially the same cell height as that of the reflector. The reflector includes a reflective plate having a stepped portion on the lower substrate and a transparent pixel electrode and a transparent common electrode for driving a liquid crystal thereon, During the rubbing process for the initial alignment of the liquid crystal layer, the level difference causes rubbing defects on the upper portion of the reflective part, thereby causing the initial alignment of the upper liquid crystals to be irregularly disturbed, and thus the respective liquid crystals with irregular initial dispersion. By having a phase difference of λ / n (n is a positive real number), When the voltage is not applied, the liquid crystals in which the initial orientation is irregularly scattered serve as a λ / n phase delay plate (n is a positive real number), The liquid crystal display of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystals are aligned by a voltage applied to the transparent pixel electrode and the transparent common electrode when a voltage is applied. delete delete delete delete A lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the substrates, wherein the unit pixel region defined by the gate lines and the data lines that cross each other has a transmissive portion and a reflective portion, and the transmissive portion A transflective liquid crystal display device having substantially the same cell height as that of the reflector. A plurality of step forming lines spaced apart from each other at regular intervals in parallel with the data lines to form a step on the lower substrate in the pixel area; A gate insulating film formed over the lower substrate so as to cover the gate line and the step forming line; A transparent pixel electrode formed on the gate insulating film in the pixel region; And, And a transparent common electrode formed on the transparent pixel electrode with an insulating layer interposed therebetween, the transparent common electrode having an inclined step according to the shape of the step forming line. In the reflecting unit, rubbing defects are caused by the step by the step forming line during the rubbing process for the initial alignment, thereby causing the initial alignment of the liquid crystals on the reflecting unit to be irregularly distorted. When no voltage is applied, the liquid crystals on the reflector are distorted in an arbitrary direction to serve a λ / n phase delay plate having an arbitrary phase difference (n is a positive real number), and when the voltage is applied, the transparent common electrode And the liquid crystals on the reflective part are aligned (orientated) by a voltage applied to the transparent pixel electrode. The method according to claim 6, The transflective liquid crystal display device is formed between the transparent common electrode and the insulating layer, and further includes a reflector at the same position as the transparent common electrode. The method according to claim 6, And wherein each step forming line is formed of a metal film or an organic film for a source electrode of a switching element. A lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the substrates, wherein the unit pixel region defined by the gate lines and the data lines that cross each other has a transmissive portion and a reflective portion, and the transmissive portion In the manufacturing method of the transflective liquid crystal display device having substantially the same celsius as that of the reflecting unit, The lower substrate, (a) forming a gate line including the gate electrode on the substrate; (b) depositing a gate insulating film on the substrate to cover the gate line including the gate electrode, and then etching the gate insulating film in each pixel region so that a plurality of through holes for forming a step are arranged in a matrix at predetermined intervals. Making; (c) forming a transparent pixel electrode on the gate insulating layer in each pixel region to have a step according to the shape of the through hole; (d) forming a data line including an active pattern and a source / drain electrode on the gate insulating layer on the gate electrode to form a switching element, Forming a plurality of step forming lines spaced apart at regular intervals in parallel with the data lines on the transparent pixel electrode so that a part of each column of the through holes overlaps with each other; And (e) after applying the insulating layer on the resulting structure after the step (d), and in the non-opening region where the pixel region, the gate line and the data line are formed Forming a transparent common electrode to be spaced apart from the transparent pixel electrode; In the reflecting unit, rubbing defects are caused by the step by the step forming line during the rubbing process for the initial alignment, thereby causing the initial alignment of the liquid crystals on the reflecting unit to be irregularly distorted. When no voltage is applied, the liquid crystals on the reflector are distorted in an arbitrary direction to serve a λ / n phase delay plate having an arbitrary phase difference (n is a positive real number), and when the voltage is applied, the transparent common electrode And liquid crystals aligned above the reflective part by a voltage applied to the transparent pixel electrode. The method of claim 9, After applying the insulating layer on the resulting structure after the step (d), and further comprising the step of forming a reflective plate on the insulating layer at the same position as the transparent common electrode manufacturing of a transflective liquid crystal display device Way. The method of claim 9, In the step (b), when viewed in a planar arrangement on the substrate, each through hole is formed so as to be located inside the transparent common electrode in the pixel region. The method of claim 9, In the step (d), each of the step forming line is a semi-transmissive liquid crystal display device, characterized in that formed in the source electrode metal film or organic film of the switching element. A lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the substrates, wherein the unit pixel region defined by the gate lines and the data lines that cross each other has a transmissive portion and a reflective portion, and the transmissive portion In the manufacturing method of the transflective liquid crystal display device having substantially the same celsius as that of the reflecting unit, The lower substrate, (a ') forming a gate line including a gate electrode on the substrate, and forming a plurality of step forming lines for forming a step in parallel to the data line in each pixel area at regular intervals; (b ') a gate insulating film is formed on the substrate to cover the gate line including the gate electrode and each step forming line, and then a stepped portion inclined according to the shape of the step forming line is formed on the gate insulating film in each pixel region. Forming a transparent pixel electrode; (c ') forming a switching element by forming a data line including an active pattern and a source / drain electrode on the gate insulating layer on the gate electrode, and applying an insulating layer on the resulting structure on which the switching element is formed; And (d ') A transparent common electrode is formed in each pixel region and a non-opening region where the gate line and the data line are formed so as to be spaced apart from the transparent pixel electrode, and the transparent common electrode in the pixel region is formed according to the shape of each step forming line. Forming a position between each step forming line to have an inclined step portion, including, In the reflecting unit, rubbing defects are caused by the stepped portion during the rubbing process for the initial alignment so that the initial alignment of the liquid crystals on the upper portion of the reflector is irregularly disturbed. When no voltage is applied, the liquid crystals on the reflector are distorted in an arbitrary direction to serve a λ / n phase delay plate having an arbitrary phase difference (n is a positive real number), and when the voltage is applied, the transparent common electrode And liquid crystals aligned above the reflective part by a voltage applied to the transparent pixel electrode. The method of claim 13, In the step (c '), after applying the insulating layer on the resulting structure, and further comprising the step of forming a reflective plate on the insulating layer at the same position as the transparent common electrode, the semi-transmissive liquid crystal display device Manufacturing method. The method of claim 13, In the step (a '), each step forming line is a semi-transmissive liquid crystal display device characterized in that the organic film is formed.

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