JP2002277892A - Liquid crystal display element - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an active matrix liquid crystal display element whose liquid crystal layer thickness in a pixel part is reduced. SOLUTION: A cross electrode 18 is made of a metal film which is the same as the one used for gate wiring to reduce the film thickness of the cross electrode 18, and the gap between the cross electrode 18 and a cross electrode connection part 23a of a counter electrode is made longer than the inter- substrate gap in the pixel part, and the cross electrode 18 and the cross electrode connection part 23a on the counter electrode 23 are connected by a cross material 27 containing conductive particles 28 to reduce the inter-substrate gap in the pixel part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an active matrix type liquid crystal display device using thin film transistors (hereinafter, referred to as TFTs) as active devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an active matrix liquid crystal display element using a TFT as an active element, a liquid crystal layer is provided in a region surrounded by a sealing material between a pair of substrates joined via a frame-shaped sealing material. Of the pair of substrates, on the inner surface of one of the substrates, a plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix corresponding to a region surrounded by the sealing material, and a plurality of pixel electrodes respectively connected to the plurality of pixel electrodes A TFT, a plurality of gate wirings for supplying a gate signal to the plurality of TFTs, and a plurality of data wirings for supplying a data signal to the plurality of TFTs are provided. It has a configuration in which opposing electrodes are provided.

In this active matrix liquid crystal display device, a plurality of gate wiring terminals and data wiring terminals are formed on an inner surface of a substrate edge portion of one of the substrates provided with the pixel electrodes and the TFTs, which protrudes outside the sealing material. A counter electrode terminal is provided, and a cross electrode connected to the counter electrode terminal is provided on an inner surface of the one substrate outside a seal portion corresponding to the seal material. And a cross electrode connecting portion of the opposite electrode is connected by a cross material mixed with conductive particles.

[0004]

By the way, in the liquid crystal display element, in order to increase the response speed, the liquid crystal layer thickness of all the pixel portions where the pixel electrode and the counter electrode face each other is made uniform and as small as possible. It is desired.

The active matrix liquid crystal display element is formed by defining a distance between a pair of substrates by a spacer disposed between the substrates, joining the pair of substrates by a sealing material, and forming a frame for joining the pair of substrates. A cross electrode provided on the inner surface of one of the substrates and a counter electrode provided on the inner surface of the other substrate are connected by a cross material on the outer side of the sealing material. Therefore, the cross electrode and the cross electrode connecting portion of the counter electrode must be connected by a cross material mixed with conductive particles having a diameter corresponding to the substrate interval, and as the conductive particles of the cross material,
It has been difficult to select conductive particles having a diameter substantially equal to the distance between the pair of substrates.

In the case of a liquid crystal display element in which a color filter is provided on one of the inner surfaces of a pair of substrates so as to correspond to a plurality of pixel portions, even if the inter-substrate gap in the pixel portions is reduced to some extent, the cross The gap between the electrodes and the counter electrode is sufficiently ensured, and the cross electrode and the counter electrode can be connected while maintaining the gap between the substrates by a cross material mixed with conductive particles having a relatively large diameter. In the case of a liquid crystal display element without a filter, even if an attempt is made to reduce the gap between the substrates in the pixel portion, the distance between the cross electrode and the counter electrode is small, so the diameter of the conductive particles must be extremely small. It was extremely difficult to obtain conductive particles having such a small diameter.

In order to forcibly reduce the inter-substrate gap in the pixel portion, the pair of substrates are deformed so as to warp outward in the vicinity of the cross connection where the cross electrode and the counter electrode are connected by the cross material. Therefore, the gap between the substrates in the pixel portion near the cross connection portion is larger than the gap between the substrates in the pixel portion in the other region, and the liquid crystal layer thickness of the pixel portion near the cross connection portion is larger than the liquid crystal in the pixel portion in the other region. It becomes larger than the layer thickness, causing display unevenness.

For this reason, it is difficult for the conventional active matrix liquid crystal display device without a color filter to reduce the thickness of the liquid crystal layer in the pixel portion without causing display unevenness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an active matrix type liquid crystal display device having no color filter, which can reduce the thickness of a liquid crystal layer in a pixel portion without causing display unevenness. It is.

[0010]

According to a liquid crystal display device of the present invention, a liquid crystal layer is provided in a region surrounded by a sealing material between a pair of substrates joined via a frame-shaped sealing material. A plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix corresponding to a region surrounded by the sealant on an inner surface of one of the pair of substrates, and a plurality of TFTs respectively connected to the plurality of pixel electrodes. A plurality of gate wirings for supplying a gate signal to the plurality of TFTs; a plurality of data wirings for supplying a data signal to the plurality of TFTs; a plurality of gate wiring terminals and data wiring terminals formed on an edge of the substrate And a counter electrode terminal formed at the edge of the substrate, and a metal film formed of the same metal film as the gate wiring, formed in a region outside a seal portion corresponding to the seal material, and A cross electrode connected to the electrode terminal is provided, and a counter electrode having a cross electrode connecting portion protruding outside the sealing material is provided on the inner surface of the other substrate, and a cross electrode between the cross electrode and the counter electrode is provided. The connection part is connected by a cloth material mixed with conductive particles.

In this liquid crystal display device, since the cross electrode is formed of the same metal film as the gate wiring, the thickness of the cross electrode is small, and therefore, the cross electrode connection portion between the cross electrode and the counter electrode is formed. The distance between
The connection can be performed using a cloth material mixed with the conductive particles having a relatively large diameter, and a difference between the gap between the substrates in the pixel portion near the cross connection portion and the gap between the substrates in the pixel portion in the other region. The gap between the substrates in the pixel portion can be reduced without causing the pixel portion.

Therefore, according to this liquid crystal display device,
Even with an active matrix type having no color filter, the response speed can be increased by reducing the thickness of the liquid crystal layer in the pixel portion without causing display unevenness.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As described above, the liquid crystal display element of the present invention has an active matrix type having no color filter by forming the cross electrode with the same metal film as the gate wiring. The response speed can be increased by reducing the thickness of the liquid crystal layer in the pixel portion without causing display unevenness.

In this liquid crystal display element, each of the counter electrode terminals to which the cross electrode is connected has an upper layer film made of the same metal film as the data line formed on a lower layer film made of the same metal film as the gate line. It is preferably made of a laminated film.

A light-shielding film is provided on the inner surface of the other substrate on which the counter electrode is provided, the light-shielding film corresponding to a region between a plurality of pixel portions where the plurality of pixel electrodes and the counter electrode face each other. In this case, it is preferable that the light-shielding film is formed so as to avoid the cross electrode connecting portion of the counter electrode.

[0016]

1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a part of a liquid crystal display element, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of one pixel portion of the liquid crystal display element, FIG. 3 is FIG.
4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is the liquid crystal display device. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a counter electrode terminal provided on one of the substrates.

The liquid crystal display device of this embodiment is an active matrix liquid crystal display device used in a field sequential liquid crystal display device, and is joined via a frame-shaped sealing material 26 as shown in FIGS. A liquid crystal layer 29 is provided in a region surrounded by the sealing material 26 between the pair of front and rear transparent substrates 1 and 2, and an inner surface of one of the pair of substrates 1 and 2, for example, the rear substrate 2. A plurality of transparent pixel electrodes 3 arranged in a matrix in a row direction and a column direction corresponding to a region surrounded by the sealing material 25; and a plurality of TFTs 4 respectively connected to the plurality of pixel electrodes 3. A plurality of gate lines 11 for supplying a gate signal to the plurality of TFTs; and a plurality of data lines 13 for supplying a data signal to the plurality of TFTs
And a plurality of gate wiring terminals 12 and data wiring terminals 1 formed on one end edge and one side edge of the substrate 2, respectively.
A transparent opposing electrode 23 in the form of a single film opposing the plurality of pixel electrodes 3 on the other substrate, that is, on the inner surface of the substrate 1 on the front side which is the display observation side, and the plurality of pixel electrodes 3 and a light-shielding film 24 corresponding to a region between a plurality of pixel portions in which the counter electrode 23 faces each other.

As shown in FIG. 2, the TFT 4 includes a gate electrode 5 formed on the surface of the rear substrate 2, a transparent gate insulating film 6 formed on the entire substrate so as to cover the gate electrode 5, and An i-type semiconductor film 7 formed on the gate insulating film 6 so as to face the gate electrode 5, and a source formed on both sides of the i-type semiconductor film 7 via the n-type semiconductor film 8. It comprises an electrode 9 and a drain electrode 10.

The gate wiring 11 is formed on the rear substrate 2.
One end of each of the gate wirings 11 is connected to a plurality of gate wiring terminals 12 arranged on one edge of the rear substrate 2. Have been.

The gate electrode 5 of the TFT 4 is
It is formed integrally with the gate wiring 11 corresponding to the TFT 4. The gate electrode 5 and the gate wiring 11 are
It is formed of an aluminum-based alloy film, and although not shown in the figure, its surface is anodized except for the portion that becomes the gate wiring terminal 12.

The gate wiring 11 is made of a low-resistance metal film of an aluminum-based alloy so as to reduce the level difference from the substrate surface. In this embodiment, the gate wiring 11 and the gate electrode 5 are formed to an extremely thin film thickness of 0.23 μm.

On the other hand, the data lines 13 are formed on the gate insulating film 6 along one side of each pixel electrode column, and one ends of these data lines 13 are connected to the rear substrate 2. Each is connected to a plurality of data wiring terminals 14 arranged and formed on one side edge.

The data wiring 13 is formed of the same metal film as the source electrode 9 and the drain electrode 10 of the TFT 4 and is integrally connected to the drain electrode 10 of the TFT 4.

In FIG. 2, the source electrode 9 and the drain electrode 10 of the TFT 4 and the data wiring 13 are shown as single-layer films.
The 0 and data lines 13 are composed of a chromium film, which is a contact layer with the n-type semiconductor film 8, and an aluminum-based alloy film formed thereon.

The data line 13 is a signal of a data signal potential corresponding to image data,
4, a current for accumulating charges in a capacitor formed between the pixel electrode and the counter electrode flows through the gate electrode 4. In this embodiment, the potential drop of the data signal due to the resistance of the data line 13 is minimized. The data wiring 1
3 is formed to a thickness of 0.425 μm sufficiently thicker than the thickness (0.23 μm) of the gate wiring 11.

On the other hand, the pixel electrodes 3 are formed on the gate insulating film 6, and these pixel electrodes 3 are connected to the source electrode 9 of the TFT 4 at one side edge. . The pixel electrode 3 has a thickness of 0.1 mm.
It is made of a 05 μm ITO film.

On the inner surface of the rear substrate 2, an overcoat insulating film 15 having a thickness of 0.20 μm and having openings in regions respectively corresponding to the plurality of pixel electrodes 3 is provided over the entire substrate. On the overcoat insulating film 15, an alignment film 16 made of a polyimide film having a thickness of 0.04 μm is provided over almost the entire region surrounded by the sealing material.

Further, an arrangement edge of one of the gate wiring terminal 12 and the data wiring terminal 14 on the rear substrate 2 (one side edge on which the data wiring terminals 14 are arranged and formed in this embodiment). The counter electrode terminal 17 corresponding to the counter electrode 23 provided on the inner surface of the front substrate 1 is provided on the inner surface of
A cross electrode 18 formed to be connected to the counter electrode terminal 17 is provided on an inner surface of a region outside the seal portion corresponding to the above.

The sealing material 26 is formed in a rectangular frame shape in which each corner is obliquely chamfered, and the cross electrode 18 is, as shown in FIG. The counter electrode terminal 17 is provided outside the chamfered corner corresponding to the edge of the substrate on which the counter electrode terminal 17 is provided.

The cross electrode 18 is provided on the rear substrate 2 surface.
The same metal film (thickness: 0.23 μm) as the thin gate wiring 11 of the gate wiring 11 and the data wiring 13
And is connected to the counter electrode terminal 17 via a lead portion 19 formed integrally with the cross electrode 18.

Further, the cross electrode 16, the counter electrode terminal 17, and the gate wiring terminal 12 are provided on the gate insulating film 6.
The overcoat insulating film 15 has openings corresponding to the cross electrode 16, the counter electrode terminal 17, the gate wiring terminal 12, and the data wiring terminal 14, respectively. I have.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the gate wiring terminal 12 and the counter electrode terminal 17 are formed of the same metal film as the gate wiring 11, respectively.
The data wiring terminal 14 is formed of a laminated film in which upper layers 12b and 17b made of the same metal film as the data wiring 13 are formed on the data wiring 13 and the data wiring terminal 14, as shown in FIG. 13 is a single-layer film made of the same metal film.

The gate insulating film 6 has a lower layer film 12 of the gate wiring terminal 12 and the counter electrode terminal 17.
a, 17a and an opening for exposing the cross electrode 16 are formed. In the overcoat insulating film 15, upper layers 12b, 17b of the gate wiring terminal 12 and the counter electrode terminal 17, the cross electrode 16, and An opening for exposing the data wiring terminal 14 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, among the seal portions corresponding to the seal material 26 on the inner surface of the rear substrate 2, the seal portions along the arrangement edges of the gate wiring terminals 12 are provided as shown in FIG. Pseudo electrodes 20 made of the same metal film as the data wiring 13 are provided on the plurality of gate wirings 11 so as to correspond to the gate wirings 11, respectively. As described above, the pseudo electrodes 21 made of the same metal film as the gate wiring 11 are provided below the plurality of data wirings 13, respectively.

The pseudo electrodes 20 respectively corresponding to the plurality of gate wirings 11 are formed by extending the upper film 12b of the gate wiring terminal 12 on the gate insulating film 6, and the plurality of data wirings 11 are formed. Are formed on the surface of the substrate 2.

Further, a sealing portion along the substrate edge and the side edge of the rear substrate 2 opposite to the arrangement edge of the gate wiring terminals 13 and the data wiring terminals 13, and each corner of the sealing material 26. As shown in FIG. 5, a first pseudo electrode 22a formed of the same metal film as the gate wiring 11 on the surface of the substrate 2 and the data wiring on the gate insulating film 6, as shown in FIG. 13 and a second pseudo electrode 22b formed of the same metal film are provided facing up and down.

The pseudo electrodes 22a, 22 shown in FIG.
“b” is provided on a sealing portion corresponding to each corner of the sealing material 26, and is a substrate end of the rear substrate 2 opposite to the arrangement edge of the gate wiring terminals 13 and the data wiring terminals 13. Although not shown, the first and second pseudo electrodes provided on the seal portion along the edge and the side edge are provided at the same pitch as the pitch of the gate wiring 11 and the data wiring 13.

On the other hand, the light shielding film 24 provided on the inner surface of the front substrate 1 is formed on the front substrate 1
3 is formed on the inner surface of the front substrate 1 so as to cover the light shielding film 24.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the light shielding film 24 is used.
Is shown as a single-layer film, but the light-shielding film 24 is a multilayer film having a film thickness of 0.17 μm including a chromium oxide film formed on the front substrate 1 and a chromium film formed thereon. ing.

The counter electrode 23 has a thickness of 0.1.
An alignment film 25 made of a polyimide film having a thickness of 0.04 μm is provided on the counter electrode 23 over almost the entire region surrounded by the sealing material 26. .

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the counter electrode 23 is formed in a rectangular film shape having an area whose outer edge is located slightly inside the outer edge of the sealing material 26. A corner portion of the counter electrode 23 corresponding to the chamfered corner portion of the sealing material 26 is a cross electrode connecting portion 23a protruding outside the sealing material 26.

The light-shielding film 24 is provided on the opposite electrode 2.
The outer shape of the region excluding the cross electrode connection portion 23a of No. 3 is substantially the same as that of the region. That is, the light shielding film 24
Are formed so as to avoid the cross electrode connecting portion 23a of the counter electrode 23. Therefore, the cross electrode connecting portion 23a of the counter electrode 23 is formed directly on the front substrate 1 surface.

Then, the cross electrode 18 formed in a region of the rear substrate 2 outside the seal portion, and the front substrate 2
Electrode connecting portion 2 of counter electrode 23 provided on the inner surface of
As shown in FIG. 3, it is connected to 3a by a cloth material 27 made of a thermosetting resin into which conductive particles 28 are mixed.

2 and 3, the distance between the pair of substrates 1 and 2 and the diameter of the conductive particles 28 in the cloth material 27 are greatly exaggerated for convenience.
2 and the diameter of the conductive particles 28 are extremely small. Therefore, the number of the conductive particles 28 in the cloth material 27 is as shown in FIG.
The number is larger than the number shown.

In this liquid crystal display element, a sealing material 26 made of a thermosetting resin is printed in a frame shape on one of the inner surfaces of a pair of substrates 1 and 2, and the cross electrode formed on the rear substrate 2 is formed. 18 and the counter electrode 2 provided on the inner surface of the front substrate 2
A cross material 27 mixed with conductive particles 28 is printed on one of the cross electrode connecting portions 23a of No. 3 and
A pixel-to-substrate gap (the alignment films 25 and 16 provided on the innermost surfaces of the pair of substrates 1 and 2) is formed on the inner surface of the region of the front substrate 1 or the rear substrate 2 surrounded by the sealing material 26.
Spacers (not shown) made of insulating particles for regulating the distance between the surfaces) are evenly dispersed and dispersed.
The pair of substrates 1 and 2 are overlapped and pressurized to adjust the inter-substrate gap of the pixel portion to a value regulated by the spacer, and to reduce the conductive particles 28 in the cloth material 27 to the cross electrode 18. And the cross electrode connecting portion 23a of the counter electrode 23, and the assembly is performed by curing the sealing material 26 and the cloth material 27 in that state. After that, the sealing material 26 is printed when the sealing material 26 is printed. Liquid crystal is injected into a region of the pair of substrates 1 and 2 surrounded by the sealing material 26 from a liquid crystal injection port (not shown) formed by partially removing the liquid crystal 26, and the liquid crystal injection port is sealed. It is manufactured by stopping.

The liquid crystal display device of this embodiment is a homogeneous alignment type liquid crystal display device in which the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 29 are homogeneously aligned in one direction. Although not shown in FIG. In order to increase the display contrast and widen the viewing angle between one of the pair of substrates 1 and 2 and the polarizing plate on the substrate side, a polarizing plate is disposed on each outer surface of the pair. Are arranged.

In the assembling of the liquid crystal display element, the sealing material 26 is brought into a predetermined value in which the gap between the substrates in the pixel portion is regulated by the spacer by pressing the pair of substrates 1 and 2 on each other. Crushed,
In this embodiment, a plurality of gate wirings 11 are provided in the seal portion corresponding to the seal material 26 on the inner surface of the rear substrate 2 along the edge of the arrangement of the gate wiring terminals 12. Data wiring 1 corresponding to
The pseudo electrode 20 made of the same metal film as that of the gate wiring 11 is provided below the plurality of data wirings 13 at the seal portion along the edge of the arrangement of the data wiring terminals 13. 21 and a sealing portion along the edge and side edge of the rear substrate 2 opposite to the arrangement edge of the gate wiring terminals 13 and the data wiring terminals 13 and each corner of the sealing material 26. The first pseudo electrode 22a formed of the same metal film as the gate wiring 11 and the second raised film 22b formed of the same metal film as the data wiring 13 are provided on the seal portion corresponding to Therefore, the inner surface heights of the portions of the seal portion of the rear substrate 2 where the pseudo electrodes 20, 21, 22a and 22b are provided are all the same (the gate wiring 11, the gate insulating film 6, and the data Wire 13 is the total thickness of the laminated film of the overcoat insulating film), therefore, the sealing member 2
6 can be evenly crushed in the entire area of the seal portion, and the inter-substrate gap of the pixel portion can be made uniform in all the pixel portions.

In this embodiment, the gap between the substrates in the pixel portion is regulated by spacers (not shown) dispersed on the inner surface of the front substrate 1 or the rear substrate 2. The spacer for regulating the gap is formed of the sealing material 26 of the front substrate 1 or the rear substrate 2.
May be formed in a pillar shape or a wall shape with an insulating film on the inner surface of the region surrounded by.

In this embodiment, since the cross electrode 18 is formed of the same metal film as the gate wiring 11, the thickness of the cross electrode 18 is small. The cross material 2 mixed with the conductive particles 28
7, the gap between the substrates in the pixel portion can be reduced without causing a difference between the gap between the substrates in the pixel portion near the cross connection portion and the gap between the substrates in the pixel portion in another region.

As described above, the thickness of the gate wiring 11 is 0.23 μm, and the thickness of the data wiring 13 is 0.4
Since the height is 25 μm, the height from the rear substrate 2 surface to the surface of the cross electrode 18 is equal to the height when the cross electrode 18 is formed of the same metal film as the gate wiring 11 as in this embodiment. When the cross electrode 18 is formed of a single-layer film made of the same metal film as the data wiring 13, it is 0.425 μm, and the cross electrode 18 is formed of the same metal film as the gate wiring 11 and the same metal as the data wiring 13. When it is formed by a laminated film with a film, the thickness is 0.655 μm.

Therefore, the diameter of the conductive particles 26 mixed into the cloth material 25 can be increased, and the selection of the conductive particles is facilitated, and the pair of substrates 1 and 2 are moved outward in the vicinity of the cross connection portion. Forming a liquid crystal display element with a uniform narrow gap without warping, that is, without causing a difference between the inter-substrate gap in the pixel portion near the cross connection portion and the inter-substrate gap in the pixel portion in another region. Can be.

Further, in this embodiment, the light shielding film 24 provided on the inner surface of the front substrate 1 is formed so as to avoid the cross electrode connecting portion 20a of the counter electrode 23. The gap between the substrates in the pixel portion can be further reduced by the thickness (0.17 μm) of the light-shielding film 24 as compared with the case where it is formed over the cross electrode connecting portion 20a.

Therefore, this liquid crystal display device is an active matrix liquid crystal display device without a color filter used in a field sequential liquid crystal display device, but without causing display unevenness, the liquid crystal layer thickness d of the pixel portion (FIG. 2). Ref.) Can be reduced.

The substrate gap in the pixel portion of this liquid crystal display element is, for example, a conductive particle 26 having a diameter (diameter) of 1.65 μm.
By connecting the cross electrode 18 and the cross electrode connecting portion 20a of the counter electrode 23 with the cross material 25 mixed with, the thickness can be reduced to 1.5 μm.

That is, as described above, the gate wiring 1
Since the thickness of the cross electrode 18 and the thickness of the opposing electrode 23 formed of the same metal film as in FIG. 1 are 0.23 μm and 0.14 μm, respectively, the diameter of the conductive particles in the cloth material 25 is 1.
The distance d ₀ between the substrate surfaces of the pair of substrates 1 and 2 at 65 μm (see FIG. 5) is 2.02 μm.

On the other hand, the gap between the substrates in the pixel portion, that is, the alignment films 25 and 1 provided on the innermost surfaces of the pair of substrates 1 and 2.
The distance between the surfaces of the gate insulating film 6, the pixel electrode 3, and the counter electrode 2 is larger than the distance between the substrate surfaces of the pair of substrates 1 and 2.
3 and the film thickness of the alignment films 15 and 22.

As described above, the thickness of the gate insulating film 6 is 0.25 μm, and the thickness of the pixel electrode 3 is 0.05 μm.
5 μm, the thickness of the counter electrode 23 is 0.14 μm,
Since the film thickness of each of the substrates 5 and 22 is 0.04 μm, the distance d ₀ between the substrate surfaces of the pair of substrates 1 and 2 is 2.02 μm.
If m, the gap between the substrates in the pixel portion, that is, the liquid crystal layer thickness d in the pixel portion is 1.5 μm.

The minimum value of the diameter (diameter) of the conductive particles 28 currently available is 1.5 μm.
By the diameter of the conductive particles 26 cloth material 25 that is mixed for connecting the cross electrode connecting portion 20a of the cross electrode 18 and the counter electrode 23, the distance d ₀ between the substrate surfaces of the pair of substrates 1 and 2 Is set to 1.87 μm, and the substrate gap of the pixel portion can be reduced to 1.35 μm.

Further, in the liquid crystal display element of the above embodiment, the cross electrode 18 is a single-layer film made of the same metal film as the gate wiring 11, but the counter electrode terminal 17 to which the cross electrode 18 is connected is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, since the upper layer film 17b made of the same metal film as the data wiring 13 is formed on the lower layer film 17a made of the same metal film as the gate wiring 11, the display film is not shown. The connection resistance between the drive circuit and the counter electrode terminal 17 is reduced, and the display drive circuit and the counter electrode terminal are connected via the counter electrode terminal 17, the cross electrode 18, and the conductive particles 28 in the cross material 27. 17 can be sufficiently reduced.

The liquid crystal display device of the above embodiment is of the homogeneous alignment type in which the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 29 are homogeneously aligned in one direction. In the present invention, the TN (twisted liquid crystal molecules are twisted) is used. It can be applied to a twisted nematic) type active matrix liquid crystal display device, an active matrix liquid crystal display device using a ferroelectric liquid crystal or an antiferroelectric liquid crystal, and further used for a field sequential liquid crystal display device. The present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to an active matrix liquid crystal display element that displays a black and white image.

[0061]

According to the liquid crystal display element of the present invention, since the cross electrode is formed of the same metal film as the gate wiring, the thickness of the cross electrode is reduced, and the cross electrode is thinner than the gap between the substrates in the pixel portion. The gap between the cross-electrode connecting part of the counter electrode and the cross-electrode becomes large, so that a cloth material mixed with conductive particles having a relatively large diameter can be used. The gap between the substrates in the pixel portion in the other region can be reduced uniformly over the entire liquid crystal display element. Therefore, even in the case of an active matrix type having no color filter, the response speed can be increased by reducing the thickness of the liquid crystal layer in the pixel portion without causing display unevenness.

In this liquid crystal display element, the counter electrode terminals to which the cross electrodes are connected are each formed of a laminated film in which the same metal film as the data wiring is formed on the same metal film as the gate wiring. It is preferable that by doing so, the connection resistance between the display drive circuit and the counter electrode terminal is reduced, and the counter electrode terminal, the cross electrode, and the conductive particles in the cross material are connected via the conductive particles. The resistance value between the display drive circuit and the counter electrode terminal can be sufficiently reduced.

In this liquid crystal display device, a light-shielding portion corresponding to a region between a plurality of pixel portions where a plurality of pixel electrodes and the counter electrode face each other is formed on the inner surface of the other substrate provided with the counter electrode. When a film is provided, it is preferable that the light-shielding film is formed so as to avoid the cross-electrode connection portion of the counter electrode. In this way, the gap between the substrate and the pixel portion near the cross-connection portion is reduced. The inter-substrate gap of the pixel portion, which can be obtained without causing a difference in the inter-substrate gap of the pixel portion in another region, can be further reduced by the thickness of the light shielding film.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a part of a liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of one pixel portion of the liquid crystal display element.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a counter electrode terminal provided on one substrate of the liquid crystal display element.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2, substrate 3, pixel electrode 4, TFT 11, gate wiring 12, gate wiring terminal 13, data wiring 14, data wiring wiring terminal 17, counter electrode terminal 17a, lower film 17b made of the same metal film as gate wiring 17b Upper layer film made of the same metal film as data wiring 18 Cross electrode 23 Counter electrode 23 a Cross electrode connection part 24 Light-shielding film 26 Seal material 27 Cross material 28 Conductive particles 29 Liquid crystal layer d Liquid crystal layer thickness

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A liquid crystal layer is provided in a region surrounded by the sealant between a pair of substrates joined via a frame-like sealant, and a liquid crystal layer is provided on an inner surface of one of the pair of substrates. Supplying a plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix corresponding to a region surrounded by the sealing material, a plurality of thin film transistors respectively connected to the plurality of pixel electrodes, and supplying a gate signal to the plurality of thin film transistors A plurality of gate wirings, a plurality of data wirings for supplying data signals to the plurality of thin film transistors, a plurality of gate wiring terminals and data wiring terminals formed on an edge of the substrate, and a counter electrode formed on the edge of the substrate Terminals and
A cross electrode formed of the same metal film as the gate wiring and formed in a region outside a seal portion corresponding to the seal material and connected to the counter electrode terminal;
On the inner surface of the other substrate, a counter electrode having a cross electrode connecting portion protruding outside the sealing material is provided, and the cross electrode and the cross electrode connecting portion of the counter electrode are crossed with conductive particles mixed therein. A liquid crystal display element characterized by being connected by a material. 2. The counter electrode terminal to which the cross electrode is connected,
2. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display element comprises a laminated film in which an upper layer film made of the same metal film as the data wiring is formed on a lower layer film made of the same metal film as the gate wiring. 3. A light-shielding film corresponding to a region between a plurality of pixel electrodes in which a plurality of pixel electrodes and the counter electrode face each other is provided on an inner surface of the other substrate provided with the counter electrode. 2. The light-shielding film is formed so as to avoid a cross electrode connecting portion of the counter electrode.
Or the liquid crystal display element according to 2.