JP2000029001A - Plasma address display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plasma address display device with which damages to an intermediate substrate does not occur. SOLUTION: This address display device is constituted by laminating and forming a plasma cell 30 and a liquid crystal cell 31 with the intermediate substrate as a common substrate. Alignment layers 18b are respectively formed on the liquid crystal cell side of a counter substrate 11 and intermediate substrate constituting the liquid crystal cell 31. At least the alignment layer formed on the intermediate substrate is subjected to an alignment treatment by irradiating the layer with light.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a plasma addressed display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a matrix type electro-optical device using a liquid crystal cell, for example, a liquid crystal display device has been improved in resolution.
As a method for increasing the contrast, a method of providing a switching element such as a thin film transistor for each pixel and driving the switching element in a line-sequential manner is generally known. However, in this case, it is necessary to provide a large number of semiconductor elements such as thin film transistors on the substrate, and there is a problem that the production yield is deteriorated particularly when a large-sized display is provided.

Therefore, as a method for solving this problem,
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-217396 proposes a plasma addressed display device using a plasma switch instead of a switching element formed of a thin film transistor or the like.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the plasma addressed display device. This is because a liquid crystal cell 100 in which a liquid crystal layer 101 which is an electro-optical material layer is sandwiched between a thin dielectric intermediate substrate 103 made of glass or the like and an opposite substrate 111, and between the intermediate substrate 103 and the glass substrate 104 Plasma cell 1 in which plasma chamber 102 in which plasma discharge is performed is formed
Reference numeral 10 denotes a laminate formed using the intermediate substrate 103 as a common substrate.

[0005] The plasma cell 110 is formed as follows. First, a plurality of plasma electrodes 105a and 105b made of a conductive paste in a band shape substantially parallel to each other are arranged on a glass substrate 104 at equal intervals.
Terminals (not shown) for applying a voltage to the plasma electrodes 105a and 105b are provided alternately at one end of each of the pair of plasma electrodes 105a and 105b. Further, the barrier ribs 106 made of glass paste are separated from each other for each pair of plasma electrodes 105a and 105b.
Are formed in parallel with each other, and each plasma electrode 105a, 1
The plasma chamber 102 is provided for every 05b. An ionizable gas is sealed in the plasma chamber 102, and each plasma electrode 105a, 105
b functions as an anode and a cathode, respectively. A lower portion of the intermediate substrate 103 is supported and fixed by a frit seal 107 provided on the upper end of the barrier rib 106 and the peripheral edge of the glass substrate 104.

[0006] Intermediate substrate 103 constituting liquid crystal cell 100
An alignment layer 108a for adjusting the alignment of the liquid crystal is formed thereon, and a plurality of data electrodes 112 and an alignment layer 108b are formed on the counter substrate 111. These alignment layers 108a, 1
A liquid crystal layer 101 made of a nematic liquid crystal or the like is provided between 08b while its periphery is supported by a liquid crystal seal 109. The data electrode 112 is orthogonal to each plasma electrode 105, and each intersection region with each plasma electrode 105 corresponds to each pixel.

In such a plasma addressed display device, the terminals for applying a voltage to the plasma electrodes 105a and 105b sequentially scan the plasma chamber 102 in which the plasma discharge is performed, and scan the data on the liquid crystal layer 101 side. By applying a signal voltage to the electrode 112 in synchronization with this, the signal voltage is held in each pixel, and the liquid crystal layer 101 is driven. Therefore, each plasma chamber 102 corresponds to one scanning line, and the discharge region is divided for each scanning unit.

[0008]

In the above-mentioned conventional plasma addressed display device, a rubbing method using a cloth has been used as an alignment treatment method for an alignment layer provided on an intermediate substrate and a counter substrate. In a liquid crystal display device using a glass having a thickness of about 1 mm, even if rubbing was performed, almost no breakage of the glass occurred, but in a plasma addressed display device, a glass having a small thickness is usually used as an intermediate substrate. When the intermediate substrate was rubbed, the intermediate substrate was often damaged.

Further, it is difficult to clean the inside of the plasma chamber after bonding the intermediate substrate, and when rubbing is performed, a lot of dust is generated and sometimes remains in the plasma chamber.

In order to increase the viewing angle of such a plasma addressed display device, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-120728 has been proposed.
It has been considered to perform an axially symmetric orientation as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-157, but such an orientation requires a wall or the like to be formed on the opposing substrate, thus complicating the process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to realize a plasma addressed display device which has a simple manufacturing process and can realize a wide viewing angle.

[0012]

A plasma addressed display device according to the present invention is a plasma addressed display device in which a plasma cell and a liquid crystal cell are stacked and formed using an intermediate substrate as a common substrate. An alignment layer is formed on the liquid crystal layer side of the counter substrate and the intermediate substrate, respectively, and at least the alignment layer formed on the intermediate substrate has been subjected to an alignment treatment by irradiating light. I do.

Further, the plasma addressed display device according to the present invention is characterized in that the alignment layer of the intermediate substrate has a plurality of regions, and the plurality of regions have different alignment states between two adjacent regions.

Further, in the plasma addressed display device according to the present invention, the plurality of regions are parallel to each other.

Further, the plasma addressed display device of the present invention is characterized in that the opposite substrate has been subjected to an alignment treatment by a rubbing method.

Further, in the plasma addressed display device according to the present invention, the thickness of the intermediate substrate is 70 μm or less and 20 μm or more.

Hereinafter, the operation will be described. According to the plasma addressed display device of the present invention, a force is not directly applied to a thin substrate as in the alignment treatment by the conventional rubbing method, so that the substrate is not damaged. Further, by controlling the irradiation light, the pretilt angle of 10 ° or less can be easily controlled, so that the desired pretilt angle can be easily set. Further, there is no problem that dust remains in the plasma chamber.

Further, in the plasma addressed display device according to the present invention, the alignment layer of the intermediate substrate has a plurality of regions, and the plurality of regions have different alignment states between two adjacent regions. A plasma addressed display device having a wide viewing angle can be easily realized without requiring a complicated process.

Further, in the plasma addressed display device of the present invention, since a plurality of regions of the alignment layer of the intermediate substrate are parallel to each other, it is sufficient to form a stripe-shaped opening as a mask pattern, so that the mask can be designed. It will be easier.

Further, in the plasma addressed display device of the present invention, since the opposite substrate is subjected to the alignment process by the rubbing method, a simple and more stable alignment state can be obtained by the alignment process suitable for the thickness of the substrate. be able to.

Further, in the plasma addressed display device of the present invention, since the thickness of the intermediate substrate is 70 μm or less, the voltage applied to the data electrode is small, and as a result, a plasma addressed display device with low power consumption can be realized. it can.

[0022]

(Embodiment 1) FIGS. 1 to 3 show an outline of a manufacturing process of a plasma addressed display device according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, a specific description will be given with reference to these drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, first, discharge electrodes 15a and 15b using a metal such as Ni are formed on a glass substrate 14 by screen printing, and then a barrier rib 16 is formed to a height of 200 μm by screen printing.

Next, as shown in FIG.
A frit seal 17 is applied by a dispenser to a peripheral portion of the
The plasma cell 30 is completed by bonding the glass intermediate substrate 13 so as to face the glass substrate 14.

Here, the thickness of the intermediate substrate 13 will be described. The voltage applied to the data electrodes (not shown) is divided by the capacitance of the liquid crystal layer and the capacitance of the intermediate substrate 13 and the voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer. It is desirable that the capacity of the liquid crystal layer 13 be large and the capacity of the liquid crystal layer be small. Therefore, it is desirable that the thickness of the intermediate substrate 13 is thin. However, if the thickness is too small, it becomes difficult to handle the intermediate substrate itself.

Thereafter, a photo-alignment film 18 made of a polyimide or polysiloxane material or the like which is aligned by light.
a is applied onto the intermediate substrate 13 and an alignment process is performed by irradiating light. By performing the alignment process using light in this manner, the damage of the intermediate substrate 13 that has occurred in many cases when the alignment process is performed by using the conventional rubbing method can be eliminated. In addition, since the control of the pretilt angle of 10 ° or less can be easily performed, the preferable pretilt angle can be easily set. In addition, as the alignment treatment on the alignment film 18a, a vertical alignment treatment or a horizontal alignment treatment may be performed as necessary.

Next, as shown in FIG.
Then, bonding to the counter substrate 11 is performed via the spacer 20, and then the liquid crystal material 1 is injected into the liquid crystal cell 3.
1 is completed, and the plasma addressed display device is completed in combination with the plasma cell 30 described above. At least the data electrode 10, the alignment film 18b, and a color filter (not shown) are formed on the counter substrate 11. Here, the counter substrate 11
Since glass having a thickness of about 1 mm, which is commonly used, is used, the alignment treatment of the counter substrate 11 is not limited to the optical alignment treatment, and another method such as a rubbing treatment may be used.

(Embodiment 2) Hereinafter, a second embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part of the plasma addressed display device according to the present embodiment, in which one plasma chamber and a plasma electrode 15 sandwiched between two barrier ribs 16.
a, 15b and three data electrodes 10 are shown. In this embodiment, the plasma chamber is divided along the barrier rib 16 into two regions, a region A (within a dotted line) and a region B (within a dotted line), and the regions A and B have different alignment directions. Perform processing.

Next, the alignment process will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, a photo-alignment film 51 of polysiloxane or the like to be aligned by light is formed on the intermediate substrate 13. Next, the mask 50 is arranged above the photo-alignment film 51 and is irradiated with light 54. By forming an opening 52 in the mask 50, an alignment process is performed only on the region A in FIG. The alignment process is not performed on the region B.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, an opening 56 is formed in the mask 55, and light 57 is irradiated from a direction different from that of the light 54, so that only the region B is subjected to an alignment process.
The alignment treatment is not performed on the region A. Thus, the regions A and B have different alignment states.

In FIG. 4, the area between the barrier ribs 16 and 16 is vertically divided into areas A and B, but as shown in FIG. A configuration in which a region D (within a dotted line) (in a dotted line) may be formed. In this way, by dividing the region into upper and lower or left and right, a stripe-shaped opening may be formed as a mask pattern for irradiating light to one region, so that mask design is facilitated. .

Next, as in the first embodiment (FIG. 3), bonding to the opposing substrate 11 is performed via the sealing material 19 and the spacer 20, and thereafter, a liquid crystal material is injected, whereby a plasma addressed display device is formed. Is completed. At least the data electrode 10, the alignment film 18b,
A color filter (not shown) is formed. Here, since a glass having a thickness of about 1 mm, which is commonly used, is usually used for the counter substrate 11, the alignment process of the counter substrate 11 is not limited to the optical alignment process, and other methods such as a rubbing process may be used. It doesn't matter.

As described above, in the plasma addressed display device according to the second embodiment, the plasma region is divided into a plurality of regions, and two adjacent regions are subjected to alignment processing in different alignment directions. A plasma addressed display device with a wide viewing angle can be realized.

In the second embodiment, the case where the region is divided into two is described, but it goes without saying that the plasma region may be divided into three or more. Further, the area of each divided region may be changed.

[0034]

According to the present invention, there is provided a plasma addressed display device comprising:
Since no direct force is applied to a thin substrate as in the alignment treatment by the conventional rubbing method, the substrate is not damaged. In addition, by controlling the light to be irradiated, 10 °
Since the following control of the pretilt angle can be easily performed, the desired pretilt angle can be easily set. Further, there is no problem that dust remains in the plasma chamber.

In the plasma addressed display device of the present invention, since the alignment layer of the intermediate substrate has a plurality of regions and the plurality of regions have different alignment states, for example, a complicated process for performing axially symmetric alignment is required. Thus, a plasma addressed display device having a wide viewing angle can be easily realized.

In the plasma addressed display device according to the present invention, since a plurality of regions of the alignment layer of the intermediate substrate are parallel to each other, a stripe-shaped opening may be formed as a mask pattern, and the mask can be easily designed. Becomes

In the plasma addressed display device of the present invention, since the opposite substrate has been subjected to the alignment treatment by the rubbing method, it is possible to obtain a simple and more stable alignment state by the alignment treatment suitable for the thickness of the substrate. it can.

In the plasma addressed display device of the present invention, since the thickness of the intermediate substrate is 70 μm or less, the voltage applied to the data electrode is small, and as a result, a plasma addressed display device with low power consumption can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a part of a manufacturing process of a plasma addressed display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a part of the manufacturing process of the first embodiment of the plasma addressed display device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a plasma addressed display device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a main part of a second embodiment of the plasma addressed display device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a part of a manufacturing process of a second embodiment of the plasma addressed display device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a part of a manufacturing process of the plasma addressed display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a main part of a modification of the second embodiment of the plasma addressed display device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional plasma addressed display device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 liquid crystal layer 12 plasma chamber 13 intermediate substrate 14 glass substrate 15a, 15b discharge electrode 16 barrier rib 17 frit seal 19 liquid crystal sealant 11 counter substrate

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A plasma addressed display device comprising a plasma cell and a liquid crystal cell laminated with an intermediate substrate as a common substrate, wherein a liquid crystal layer side of the opposing substrate and the intermediate substrate constituting the liquid crystal cell is provided. A plasma addressed display device, wherein an alignment layer is formed, and at least the alignment layer formed on the intermediate substrate has been subjected to an alignment process by irradiating light. 2. The plasma addressed display device according to claim 1, wherein the alignment layer of the intermediate substrate has a plurality of regions, and the plurality of regions have different alignment states between two adjacent regions. 3. The plasma addressed display device according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of regions are parallel to each other. 4. The plasma addressed display device according to claim 1, wherein the counter substrate has been subjected to an alignment process by a rubbing method. 5. The intermediate substrate has a thickness of 70 μm or less.
The plasma addressed display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the thickness is 0 µm or more.