KR20060110935A - Liquid crystal display device and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An LCD and a method for manufacturing the same are provided to prevent the deterioration of picture quality caused by infiltering a ball spacer into a pixel area, by fixing the ball spacer on a substrate and curing a spacer material around the ball spacer when forming a space for maintaining cell gap. A first substrate(110) and a second substrate face each other. A fixing type ball spacer(130a) is formed on a predetermined portion of the first substrate. A spacer material(130b) is formed around the fixing type ball space, wherein a thickness of the space material is relatively smaller than a radius of the ball space. A liquid crystal layer is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The spacer material contains a binder, a monomer, and an initiator.

Description

Liquid crystal display device and method for manufacturing the same

1 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional liquid crystal display device

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid crystal display showing a column spacer formed on the gate line of FIG. 1. FIG.

3A to 3D are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a column spacer of a conventional liquid crystal display.

4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a gravity failure of a conventional liquid crystal display device.

5 is a plan view of the liquid crystal display of the present invention.

6A and 6B are plan and cross-sectional views illustrating spacers of the liquid crystal display of the present invention.

7A and 7B are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a spacer of a liquid crystal display of the present invention.

8 is a view showing an inkjet device used in the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device of the present invention and a method of discharging jetting liquid onto a recording material through the same;

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II ′ of FIG. 5.

* Description of symbols on the main parts of the drawings *

110: first substrate 111: black matrix layer

112: color filter layer 113: common electrode;

120: second substrate 121: gate line

122: data line 123: pixel electrode

124: semiconductor layer 125: gate insulating film

126: protective film 130a: ball spacer

130b: spacer material 130: column spacer

131: pressure-sensitive adhesive 140: solvent

200: inkjet equipment 220: head

250: injection liquid 260: ink supply unit

270: recording material 280: nozzle monitoring device

280a: light emitting portion 280b: light receiving portion

280c: control unit 280d: light detection area

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and in particular, to form a fixed ball spacer using inkjet equipment, and a liquid substance is dropped around the ball spacer to facilitate fixing of the ball spacer. And to a method for producing the same.

As the information society develops, the demand for display devices is increasing in various forms, and in recent years, liquid crystal display devices (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), electro luminescent displays (ELD), and vacuum fluorescent (VFD) Various flat panel display devices such as displays have been studied, and some of them are already used as display devices in various devices.

Among them, LCD is the most widely used as the substitute for CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) for mobile image display device because of its excellent image quality, light weight, thinness, and low power consumption. In addition to the use of the present invention has been developed in various ways such as a television and a computer monitor for receiving and displaying broadcast signals.

In order to use such a liquid crystal display as a general screen display device in various parts, it is a matter of how high quality images such as high definition, high brightness and large area can be realized while maintaining the characteristics of light weight, thinness and low power consumption. Can be.

A general liquid crystal display device may be largely divided into a liquid crystal panel displaying an image and a driving unit for applying a driving signal to the liquid crystal panel, wherein the liquid crystal panel includes first and second glass substrates bonded to each other with a predetermined space; It consists of a liquid crystal layer injected between the said 1st, 2nd glass substrate.

The first glass substrate (TFT array substrate) may include a plurality of gate wires arranged in one direction at a predetermined interval, a plurality of data wires arranged at regular intervals in a direction perpendicular to the respective gate wires, A plurality of pixel electrodes formed in a matrix form in each pixel region defined by crossing gate lines and data lines, and a plurality of thin film transistors switched by signals of the gate lines to transfer signals of the data lines to each pixel electrode. Is formed.

The second glass substrate (color filter substrate) includes a light shielding layer for blocking light in portions other than the pixel region, an R, G, and B color filter layers for expressing color colors, and a common electrode for implementing an image. Is formed.

The driving principle of the general liquid crystal display device uses the optical anisotropy and polarization property of the liquid crystal. Since the liquid crystal is thin and long in structure, the liquid crystal has directivity in the arrangement of molecules, and the direction of the arrangement of molecules can be controlled by artificially applying an electric field to the liquid crystal.

Such a liquid crystal display includes a process of manufacturing a lower array substrate on which thin film transistors and pixel electrodes are arranged, a process of manufacturing an upper color filter substrate including a color filter and a common electrode, an arrangement of the two substrates manufactured, and a liquid crystal material It is formed by a liquid crystal cell process consisting of injection, encapsulation, and polarizer attachment.

Hereinafter, a conventional liquid crystal display and a method of manufacturing the same will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a plan view illustrating a conventional liquid crystal display, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid crystal display showing a column spacer formed on the gate line of FIG. 1.

1 and 2, a liquid crystal display having a conventional column spacer includes a first substrate 1 and a second substrate 2 bonded to each other with a predetermined space, and the first substrate 1 and the second substrate. It consists of liquid crystals 3 injected between the substrates 2. In this case, all of the first and second substrates 2 and the liquid crystal layer 3 are referred to as a liquid crystal panel 10.

In the conventional liquid crystal display shown, the column spacer 20 is formed to correspond to the wiring area on the first substrate 1 to support the first and second substrates 1 and 2. In a typical liquid crystal display device, a ball spacer (not shown in FIG. 1) instead of the column spacer functions to support the first and second substrates 1 and 2.

More specifically, in the array area on the first substrate 1 of the conventional liquid crystal display device, the gate line 4 and the data line 5 are arranged perpendicularly to each other so as to define the pixel area. A thin film transistor TFT is formed at a portion where each gate line 4 and the data line 5 cross each other, and a pixel electrode 6 is formed in each pixel area.

The thin film transistor corresponds to a gate electrode 4a protruding from the gate line 4, a semiconductor layer 17 having a shape covering the gate electrode 4a, and both sides of the semiconductor layer 17. A source electrode 5a protruding from the data line 5 and a drain electrode 5b spaced apart from the source electrode 5a by a predetermined interval are included.

The gate line 4 is formed on the first substrate 1 to insulate the metal lines, and a gate insulating film 15 is formed on the entire surface of the substrate including the gate line 4. A protective film 16 is formed on (15). A predetermined portion of the upper portion of the drain electrode 5b of the protective layer 16 is removed to form a contact hole for electrically connecting the pixel electrode 16 and the drain electrode 5b.

On the second substrate 2 facing the first substrate 1, a black matrix layer 7 for covering non-pixel regions (gate lines, data lines, and thin film transistor regions) other than the pixel region, and The second substrate including the color filter layer 8 and the color filter layer 8 formed on the second substrate 2 including the black matrix layer 7 in correspondence with the R, G, and B pigments in order for each pixel region ( 2) The common electrode 9 formed on the front surface is formed. In addition, a plurality of column spacers 20 for maintaining a cell gap are formed in a predetermined portion above the common electrode 9.

Here, the column spacer 20 is formed to correspond to the upper portion of the gate line 4.

The plurality of formed column spacers 20 are equally spaced apart from each other, and after bonding, serve as a support function between the first and second substrates 1 and 2.

3A to 3D are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a column spacer of a conventional liquid crystal display device.

As shown in FIG. 3A, a black matrix layer 7 is formed by depositing a metal or a block resin capable of blocking light on the second substrate 2 and selectively removing a portion corresponding to the pixel region.

Subsequently, the process of depositing a pigment-colored resin and patterning the patterned resin so as to remain only in a portion corresponding to the pixel region to form the R, G, and B color filter layers 8 in each pixel region, and the color filter layer 8 An overcoat layer 11 is formed on the entire surface of the substrate. In the case of the IPS mode, the overcoat layer is formed. In the case of the TN mode, the common electrode (see 9 in FIG. 1) is formed instead of the overcoat layer.

As shown in FIG. 3B, a negative photosensitive resin 12 for column spacers is formed on the overcoat layer 11.

As shown in FIG. 3C, an exposed portion of the negative photosensitive resin 12 on the black matrix layer is selectively exposed by an exposure process using the photo mask 13.

As shown in FIG. 3D, the light irradiated portion remains and the non-light irradiated portion is developed to form a column spacer 20.

As described above, the rubbing process is performed by depositing an alignment layer (not shown) on the second substrate 2 having the column spacer 20 and the first substrate 1 having the thin film transistor array formed therein as described above. The next two substrates are bonded together.

4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a gravity failure of a conventional liquid crystal display.

As shown in FIG. 4, when a liquid crystal is excessively filled in a region between the first and second substrates 1 and 2 in the conventional liquid crystal display device, gravity failure is observed at a high temperature.

In general, the gravity failure phenomenon is observed at the edge of the liquid crystal panel 10 close to the ground. Gravity failure is due to the property of the liquid crystal being concentrated close to the ground when the liquid crystal panel 10 is erected perpendicularly to the ground and the liquid crystal panel is in a condition of high temperature, and the liquid crystal expands at a high temperature. The area near the bulging swelling phenomenon.

Such a gravity failure becomes worse as the amount of liquid crystal filled between the first and second substrates increases, or as the temperature of the environment in which the liquid crystal panel is placed is high.

As described above, when the temperature of the environment in which the liquid crystal panel is placed rises, the liquid crystal 3 flows to the edge of the liquid crystal panel 10 close to the ground and becomes saturated, and as the temperature rises to a high temperature, the liquid crystal 3 increases. Because of this expansion, the cell gap is increased due to thermal expansion of the liquid crystal 3 present in the saturated region. When such a gravity failure occurs, an optical path difference occurs between a portion having a normal cell gap and a portion having a bulging cell gap, such as an edge of the liquid crystal panel 10 close to the ground. In this case, opaque spots are observed at the edges of the liquid crystal panel in which the cell gap is increased.

On the other hand, when such a gravity failure, as shown in Figure 4, by cutting the first and second substrates 1, 2 of the liquid crystal panel 10, the column spacer 20 located at the edge of the lower portion of the liquid crystal panel 10 ) Does not reach the thermal expansion force of the liquid crystal 3, and due to the cell gap extended at the edge of the liquid crystal panel 10, the column spacers 20 located at the lower edge of the liquid crystal panel 10 It is not supported between the first and second substrates 1 and 2, and a phenomenon occurs that falls from the first substrate 1 (in this case, the column spacer 20 is formed on the second substrate 2 home).

The conventional liquid crystal display as described above has the following problems.

A method of forming a liquid crystal layer between upper and lower substrates in a liquid crystal panel is injection or dropping. Among them, liquid crystal injection is a method in which a liquid crystal is sucked into the panel due to capillary force acting in the panel in a vacuum state and the liquid crystal is filled. The liquid crystal dropping is a method of filling a liquid crystal in a panel by dropping a certain amount of liquid crystal.

By the way, in the enlarged panel, the problem of a productivity shortage and a speed fall arises by liquid crystal injection, and the liquid crystal dropping system is applied predominantly. In this case, the liquid crystal dropping method drops the amount of liquid crystal calculated as an appropriate amount to one substrate of the panel, but if the amount of liquid crystal incorrectly calculated by internal variation in the panel is injected, a problem of deterioration of display quality of the panel occurs when the amount of liquid crystal is small. In addition, when there is much liquid crystal amount, the problem of gravity failure will arise.

In particular, when an excessive amount of liquid crystal is dropped on the panel, a gravity failure occurs at a high temperature, which causes disposal. Such a gravity failure is currently being left without a solution.

Gravity failure refers to a phenomenon in which an area close to the ground swells at a high temperature when the liquid crystal panel is erected in a direction perpendicular to the ground. It is observed that this phenomenon is aggravated by the use of pillar-type spacers, for example, column spacers, which are considered to be due to thermal expansion of liquid crystals.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, the liquid crystal display device to form a fixed ball spacer using the inkjet equipment, and to drop the liquid material around the ball spacer to facilitate the fixing of the ball spacer And to provide a method for producing the same.

In order to achieve the above object, a liquid crystal display of the present invention includes a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other, a fixed ball spacer formed at a predetermined portion on the first substrate, and a relative portion of the fixed ball spacer. As a result, it comprises a spacer material formed to have a smaller thickness than the diameter of the ball spacer and a liquid crystal layer filled between the first substrate and the second substrate.

The spacer material comprises a binder, a monomer and an initiator.

A color filter array is formed on the first substrate, and a thin film transistor array is formed on the second substrate.

The second substrate includes a gate line and a data line crossing each other to define a pixel region, a thin film transistor formed at an intersection of the gate line and the data line, and a pixel electrode formed in the pixel region.

Alternatively, the common electrode may be further formed in the pixel area in an alternate shape with the pixel electrode.

On the first substrate, a black matrix layer formed corresponding to portions other than the pixel region, a color filter layer formed on the first substrate including the black matrix layer, and a front surface of the first substrate including the black matrix layer and the color filter layer. It may be made including a common electrode formed on.

Or a black matrix layer formed on the first substrate corresponding to portions other than the pixel region, a color filter layer formed on the first substrate including the black matrix layer, and a first substrate including the black matrix layer and the color filter layer. It may include an overcoat layer formed on the front surface.

The fixed ball spacer has a diameter of 2 to 5 mu m.

The critical dimension of the spacer material is 10 to 40 μm.

The fixable ball spacer is formed at least one inside the spacer material.

The fixed ball spacers are formed to correspond to the gate lines.

The fixed ball spacers are formed corresponding to the data lines.

The spacer material is formed in the longitudinal direction of the gate line or the data line.

The application of the fixed ball spacer and the spacer material is accomplished using ink jet equipment having a separate head for each forming material.

In addition, the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device of the present invention for achieving the same object comprises the steps of preparing a first substrate and a second substrate, forming a thin film transistor array on the first substrate, on the second substrate Forming a color filter array, forming a fixed ball spacer at a predetermined portion on the second substrate, applying a liquid spacer material around the fixed ball spacer, and a spacer including the ball spacer. And curing the material and bonding the first substrate and the second substrate to each other.

The application of the fixed ball spacer and liquid spacer material are each done using ink jet equipment.

The inkjet equipment has a first head and a second head for the fixed ball spacer and liquid spacer material, respectively.

The first head is filled with a solution including a ball spacer having an adhesive formed on the surface thereof.

The second head is filled with a liquid spacer material comprising a binder, a monomer and an initiator.

Hereinafter, a liquid crystal display and a manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

5 is a plan view of the liquid crystal display of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II ′ of FIG. 5.

5 and 9, the liquid crystal display of the present invention is largely opposed to each other, and includes a first substrate 110 and a second substrate 120 having a color filter array and a thin film transistor array, respectively, and the first substrate ( And a liquid crystal (not shown) filled between the 110 and the second substrate 120.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the thin film transistor array formed on the second substrate 120 includes the following. That is, the thin film formed at the intersection of the gate line 121 and the data line 122 and the gate line 121 and the data line 122 formed on the second substrate 120 to define a pixel area crossing each other. And a transistor TFT and a pixel electrode 123 formed in the pixel region.

The thin film transistor TFT may be spaced apart from the gate electrode 121a protruding from the gate line 121, the source electrode 122a protruding from the data line 122, and the source electrode 122a. And a semiconductor layer 124 formed between the drain electrode 122b and the gate electrode 121a and the drain electrode 122b / source electrode 122a. In this case, the semiconductor layer 124 is formed between the gate electrode 121a and the interlayer between the gate insulating layer 125, and the source electrode 122a and the drain electrode 122b are formed on the semiconductor layer 124. Is formed in contact with both sides.

In addition, a gate insulating layer 125 is formed between the gate line 121 and the data line 122, and a passivation layer 126 is formed between the data line 122 and the pixel electrode 123. Here, a contact hole 126a is provided in the passivation layer 126 to expose a predetermined portion of the drain electrode 122b, and the pixel electrode 123 is connected to the drain electrode through the contact hole 126a. Electrical connection with 122b).

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the black matrix layer 111 is formed on the first substrate 110 facing the second substrate 120 to cover portions other than the pixel region and the thin film transistor. R, G, and B color filter layers 112 are formed on the first substrate 110 including the layer 111, and are disposed on the entire surface of the first substrate 110 including the black matrix layer 111 and the color filter layer 112. The common electrode 113 is formed.

The above-described plan view (FIG. 5) and cross-sectional view (FIG. 9) have been described with reference to a liquid crystal display device applied in twisted nematic (TN) mode, and when applied to in-plane switching (IPS), the common electrode 113 is overcoat. The pixel electrode 123 formed in the pixel region is replaced by a layer and a pixel electrode and a common electrode which are alternately formed.

Meanwhile, in the liquid crystal display of the present invention, the spacer 130 maintaining the cell gap between the first and second substrates 110 and 120 is positioned at the position on the gate line 121 or the data line 122. Correspondingly, it is formed on the first substrate 110. In this case, the spacer 130 is formed on the common electrode 113 or the overcoat layer which is the last material formed in the color filter array forming process of the first substrate 110.

6A and 6B are plan views and cross-sectional views illustrating spacers of the liquid crystal display of the present invention.

6A and 6B, the spacer 130 is included in one or more ball spacers 130a in the spacer forming material 130b of the polymer organic layer. At this time, the surface of the ball spacer (130a) is provided with an adhesive (131), it is first rolled around on the first substrate 110 on the first substrate 110 before the formation of the spacer forming material (130b). Will stick to it.

Here, the ball spacer 130a may have a diameter corresponding to a cell gap of the liquid crystal display device, and the first and second substrates 110, The ball spacer 130a is supported by the support 120. In this case, a seal pattern (not shown) is formed in the non-display area of the liquid crystal display device to be responsible for supporting and bonding between the first and second substrates 110 and 120. For example, the diameter of the ball spacer 130a will correspond to 2 ~ 5㎛. In addition, the thickness of the spacer material 130b may be smaller than that of the ball spacer 130a, and the spacer material 130b may be formed in various polygons including a quadrangle in cross section. The spacer material 130b is formed to correspond to the gate line 121 and the data line 122, so that a critical dimension thereof may correspond to 10 to 40 μm. Here, the above-described diameter of the ball spacer 130a and the critical dimension of the spacer material 130b may be changed according to the model of the liquid crystal display device to be formed, and the present invention is not limited to the larger screen, but tends to become larger.

Hereinafter, the formation method of the said spacer is demonstrated.

7A and 7B are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a spacer of a liquid crystal display of the present invention.

First, a first substrate 110 on which a color filter array is formed and a second substrate (see 120 in FIG. 9) on which a thin film transistor array is formed are prepared.

The color filter array may include a black matrix layer 111 formed on the first substrate 110 corresponding to a region (gate line or data line) except for the pixel region, and the color formed on the first substrate 110. And a common electrode 113 formed on the entire surface of the first substrate 110 including the filter layer 112, the black matrix layer 111, and the color filter layer 112.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the ball spacer 130a is dropped onto a predetermined portion of the first substrate 110 using the inkjet equipment 200 on the second substrate 100 including the color filter array. Here, the portion where the ball spacer 130a is dropped is on the black matrix layer 111, that is, the region excluding the pixel region.

The head 140 of the inkjet device 200 includes a solvent 140 including a ball spacer 130a having an adhesive 131 formed on a surface thereof. The ball spacer 130a is discharged together with the solvent from the head of the inkjet device 200, wherein the solvent is discharged to the air after being discharged into the liquid material of the volatile component. Only the ball spacer 130a is attached to the uppermost layer (common electrode 113 or overcoat layer) of the first substrate 110 by the adhesive 131 formed on the surface thereof. In this case, the ball spacers 130a are not adhered to each other in the solvent 140 even though the adhesive 131 is formed on the surface of the head of the inkjet device 200. This is because the solvent 140 includes components that do not react with each other due to the adhesive 131. Here, the adhesive 131 reacts with the first substrate 110 when it meets the first substrate 110 in the air after being discharged from the inkjet equipment 200.

In the above-described ball spacer dropping process, one or more ball spacers dropped into the predetermined region may be dropped.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the liquid spacer forming material 130b is dropped on the periphery where the ball spacer 130a is formed so that the ball spacer 130a is included in the spacer forming material 130b.

The height of the spacer forming material 130b is smaller than the diameter of the ball spacer 130a. Accordingly, when the first and second substrates 110 and 120 are bonded together, only the ball spacers 130a come into contact with the second substrate 120, which is an opposing substrate, so that the ball spacers 130a and the spacer forming material 130b may be in contact with each other. The material responsible for the actual cell gap is the spacer forming material 130b.

In this case, the spacer forming material 130b includes a binder, a thermal or photoreactive monomer, a thermal initiator or a photo-initiator, or the like. The spacer forming material 130b is present in the liquid phase in the head of the inkjet apparatus 200, and is dropped onto the first substrate 110, and then cured into a solid having a slight elasticity through a curing process. .

As described above, the cross-section of the spacer 130 formed of the spanner forming material 130b including the ball spacer 130a through the primary dropping process using the inkjet equipment 200 is in the shape of a polygon including a rectangle. If the cross section of the spacer 130 is rectangular, the long side is formed to correspond to the gate line or the data line in the longitudinal direction of the gate line or the longitudinal direction of the data line.

Hereinafter, the inkjet apparatus 200 will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 8 is a view showing an inkjet device used in the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device of the present invention and a method of discharging jetting liquid onto a recording material through the same.

As shown in FIG. 8, the inkjet equipment 200 used in the method of manufacturing the liquid crystal display device of the present invention is directly sprayed onto the recording material 270 (corresponding to the first substrate 110 of the liquid crystal display device of the present invention). At least one head 220 for dropping 250 and the injection liquid supply unit 260 for supplying the injection liquid 250 to the head 220 and the head 220 and the injection liquid supply unit 260 mechanically It is composed of an injection liquid supply pipe 261 to connect the injection liquid 250 to the head 220. The head 220 is provided with a plurality of nozzles (not shown), the supply amount of the injection liquid 250 to be applied to the recording material 270 by the opening and closing of the nozzle and the dropping position of the injection liquid 250 Is adjusted. In addition, the inkjet device 200 of the present invention includes a nozzle monitoring device 280 that inspects in real time whether the nozzle is in normal operation.

The inkjet printing process is performed while the stage 270a or the head 220 on which the recording material 270 is located moves, and the printing 230 is selectively performed on the area of the recording material 270 through which the head 220 has passed. . At this time, by closing a part of the nozzle formed on the head 220 during the movement of the head 220 or the stage 270a, printing can be selectively performed on the recording material 270.

The inkjet printing process using the inkjet equipment 200 as described above is performed by mixing a liquid substance or a solid substance to be dropped into a predetermined non-reactive solvent, dropping them together, and then volatilizing the non-reactive solvent.

The head of the inkjet printing apparatus 200 is composed of at least one head 220 having a plurality of nozzles to freely adjust the dropping area of the jetting liquid 250 according to the size of the recording material 270. . That is, as the recording material 270 is enlarged, the number of the heads 220 or the number of nozzles is increased to easily cope with the enlargement of the recording material 270, and the printing process time can be adjusted.

In the liquid crystal display of the present invention, in forming the spacer, an inkjet printing process is sequentially performed by separately providing a head corresponding to a ball spacer and a head 220 including a spacer forming material.

The nozzle monitoring device 280 of the inkjet device 200 used to manufacture the spacer of the liquid crystal display device of the present invention is a special optical sensor (280a, 280b) and defective to one-to-one correspond to each nozzle constituting the head 220 And a controller 280c for driving the head to print by replacing the nozzle determined to be a normal nozzle. The light sensors 280a and 280b are mounted on one side of the head 220 again to irradiate light onto a moving path of the jetting liquid discharged from the nozzle, and the inkjet head 220 The light receiving unit 280b mounted on the other side and detecting the light emitted from the light emitting unit 280a and inspecting the injection liquid and the spraying state sprayed from the nozzle according to the light intensity, and converting the data into the light receiving unit 280b and the data The nozzle received and determined to be defective is configured to include a controller 280c which transmits a signal to the inkjet head 220 so that a normal nozzle is replaced and printed.

Meanwhile, as described above, after the inkjet printing process of forming the spacer 130 is completed, a seal pattern (not shown) is formed outside the display area of the first substrate 110 and the opposite substrate is formed of the opposite substrate. After dropping the liquid crystal onto the thin film transistor array on the second substrate 120, the respective arrays of the first and second substrates 110 and 120 are bonded to face each other.

9 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the first and second substrates are bonded to the liquid crystal display of the present invention. In the embodiment of the present invention, the first substrate 110 is inverted after spacers are formed, and then the second substrate is inverted. Face 120. In this case, the spacer material 130b is inverted after the temporary curing or the complete curing after the inkjet printing process, so that the spacer material 130b does not flow but is fixed to the inkjet printing site.

As described above, in the liquid crystal display device of the present invention, in forming a spacer, a fixed ball spacer is formed, and a peripheral portion thereof is formed and cured by forming a spacer forming material, whereby the ball spacers that cover the actual cell gap are introduced into the pixel region. It is possible to eliminate the source of the invasion causing the poor image quality.

In addition, by using the ball spacer material, the ball spacer having a higher elasticity than the liquid spacer material (a polymer material including a reactive monomer, etc.) may be used for the first and second substrates even if the liquid crystal flows down to the area close to the ground in case of gravity failure. In the present invention, the ball spacers hold the swelling degree by the liquid crystal, thereby minimizing the cell gap difference between the other part and the part close to the ground. Thus, gravity failure can be reduced.

In addition, only the ball spacer 130a of the spacer 130 comes into contact with the second substrate, which is an opposing substrate, and its contact area is very small compared to that of the general column spacer, and thus the touch panel is moved to the original state after the shift when the liquid crystal panel is pushed in one direction. Restoration is fast and light leakage is minimized by touch.

The liquid crystal display of the present invention as described above and a method of manufacturing the same have the following effects.

First, in forming the spacer, by forming a fixed ball spacer, and the peripheral portion of the spacer forming material to form and harden, the source of ball quality, which is responsible for the actual cell gap, invades into the pixel area and causes poor image quality. Can be removed.

Second, by using the ball spacer material to cover the cell gap, even if the liquid crystal flows down to the area close to the ground in the case of gravity failure, the ball spacer with high elasticity supports the upper and lower substrates, so that the liquid crystal at the portion of the liquid crystal panel close to the ground The bulging by the ball spacers are held to minimize the cell gap difference between the other part and the area close to the ground. Therefore, the gravity failure can be prevented.

Third, only the ball spacers of the components constituting the spacer come into contact with the second substrate, which is the opposite substrate, and the contact area thereof is minimized among the structures in which the contact gap is maintained. Fast recovery of the furnace minimizes light leakage by touch.

Claims (19)

A first substrate and a second substrate facing each other; A fixed ball spacer formed on a predetermined portion on the first substrate; A spacer material hardened to a thickness smaller than a diameter of the ball spacer relative to the fixed ball spacer periphery; And And a liquid crystal layer filled between the first substrate and the second substrate. The method of claim 1, And the spacer material comprises a binder, a monomer, and an initiator. The method of claim 1, A color filter array is formed on the first substrate, and a thin film transistor array is formed on the second substrate. The method of claim 3, wherein On the second substrate A gate line and a data line crossing each other to define a pixel area; A thin film transistor formed at an intersection of the gate line and the data line; And And a pixel electrode formed in the pixel area. The method of claim 4, wherein And a common electrode in the pixel region in an alternating shape with the pixel electrode. The method of claim 4, wherein On the first substrate A black matrix layer formed corresponding to portions other than the pixel region; A color filter layer formed on the first substrate including the black matrix layer; And And a common electrode formed on an entire surface of the first substrate including the black matrix layer and the color filter layer. The method of claim 4, wherein On the first substrate A black matrix layer formed corresponding to portions other than the pixel region; A color filter layer formed on the first substrate including the black matrix layer; And And an overcoat layer formed on the entire surface of the first substrate including the black matrix layer and the color filter layer. The method of claim 1, The fixed ball spacer has a diameter of 2 to 5㎛ liquid crystal display device. The method of claim 1, The critical dimension of the spacer material is 10 to 40㎛. The method of claim 1, And at least one fixed ball spacer is formed inside the spacer material. The method of claim 4, wherein The fixed ball spacer is formed on the gate line corresponding to the liquid crystal display. The method of claim 4, wherein The fixed ball spacer is formed on the data line corresponding to the liquid crystal display. The method of claim 4, wherein And the spacer material is formed in a length direction of a gate line or a data line. The method of claim 1, The application of the fixed ball spacer and the spacer material is performed using inkjet equipment having a separate head for each forming material. Preparing a first substrate and a second substrate; Forming a thin film transistor array on the first substrate and forming a color filter array on the second substrate; Forming a fixed ball spacer at a predetermined portion on the second substrate; Applying a liquid spacer material around the fixed ball spacer; Curing the spacer material including the ball spacers; And And bonding the first substrate and the second substrate to each other. The method of claim 15, And applying the fixed ball spacer and the liquid spacer material to each other using ink jet equipment. The method of claim 16, And the inkjet equipment includes a first head and a second head for the fixed ball spacer and the liquid spacer material, respectively. The method of claim 17, And a solution including a ball spacer having an adhesive formed on the surface of the first head. The method of claim 17, And a liquid spacer material including a binder, a monomer, and an initiator is filled in the second head.

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