JP2003107510A - Liquid crystal display element - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an active matrix type liquid crystal display device which can accelerate response speed by thinning the thickness of its liquid crystal layer. SOLUTION: In this liquid crystal display element, a cross electrode 14 for connecting a counter electrode which is formed at the outer side of a sealed part by a frame-shaped sealing material 17 is provided on a first substrate 1 on which a plurality of pixel electrodes, a plurality of TFTs (thin film transistors), a plurality of gate wirings and a plurality of drain wirings are provided, a counter electrode 27 on which a cross electrode connection part 27a which is confronted with the cross electrode 14 is formed is provided on the inner surface of a second substrate 2 and the cross electrode connection part 27a is formed on a base film 19 which is formed to have thickness corresponding to the interval d0 of the substrates on the inner surface of the second substrate 2 and this cross electrode connection part 27a is allowed to directly contact with the cross electrode 14.

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 a thin film transistor (hereinafter referred to as TFT) as an active device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An active matrix type liquid crystal display element using a TFT as an active element is bonded through a frame-shaped sealing material surrounding a display area, and a liquid crystal layer provided in a region surrounded by the sealing material is formed. 1st and 2nd which oppose on both sides
A plurality of pixel electrodes arrayed in a matrix in the display area, a plurality of TFTs respectively connected to the plurality of pixel electrodes, and a plurality of the plurality of TFTs on the inner surface of the first substrate. A plurality of gate wirings for supplying a gate signal to the TFT and a plurality of drain wirings for supplying a data signal to the plurality of TFTs are provided, and the counter electrode facing the plurality of pixel electrodes is provided on the inner surface of the second substrate. Is provided.

In this active matrix liquid crystal display element, the inner surface of the second substrate is provided outside the seal portion of the inner surface of the first substrate on which the pixel electrodes, the TFTs, the gate wirings and the drain wirings are provided. A counter electrode connecting cross electrode connected to a counter electrode provided on the counter electrode, and a cross electrode connecting portion corresponding to the cross electrode is formed on the counter electrode, and a cross electrode connecting the cross electrode and the counter electrode. The parts are connected to each other by a cloth material in which conductive particles having metal particles such as gold plated on the surface of resin particles are mixed.

[0004]

By the way, the liquid crystal layer thickness of the TN (twisted nematic) liquid crystal display element (the liquid crystal layer thickness of the pixel portion where the pixel electrode and the counter electrode face each other) is set to 4 μm to 5 μm. However, recently, in order to increase the response speed of the liquid crystal display element, it is desired to reduce the thickness of the liquid crystal layer to, for example, about 1.5 μm.

However, in the above conventional active matrix liquid crystal display device, the counter electrode connecting cross electrode provided on the inner surface of the first substrate and the counter electrode cross electrode connecting portion provided on the inner surface of the second substrate. Since and are connected by a cloth material mixed with conductive particles, the distance between the pair of substrates is restricted by the diameter of the conductive particles in the cloth material.

The conductive particles in the cloth material are
Since the surface of the resin particles is metal-plated, there is a limit to reducing the diameter of the conductive particles, and therefore the liquid crystal layer thickness could not be reduced to about 1.5 μm.

An object of the present invention is to provide an active matrix type liquid crystal display device which can reduce the liquid crystal layer thickness and increase the response speed.

[0008]

A liquid crystal display element of the present invention is bonded via a frame-shaped sealing material surrounding a display area and is opposed to each other with a liquid crystal layer provided in a region surrounded by the sealing material interposed therebetween. A plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix in the display area, and a plurality of pixel electrodes respectively connected to the plurality of pixel electrodes on the inner surface of the first substrate of the first and second pair of substrates. Thin film transistors, a plurality of gate wirings for supplying a gate signal to the plurality of thin film transistors, a plurality of drain wirings for supplying a data signal to the plurality of thin film transistors, and a counter electrode formed outside the sealing portion formed by the sealing material. A connecting cross electrode is provided, and a counter electrode having a cross electrode connecting portion corresponding to the cross electrode is provided on the inner surface of the second substrate, and The cross electrode connection portion of the counter electrode is formed on an underlayer film formed on the inner surface of the second substrate in a film thickness corresponding to the distance between the pair of substrates corresponding to the cross electrodes. The cross electrode connecting portion is in direct contact with the cross electrode.

According to this liquid crystal display element, the cross electrode connection portion of the counter electrode provided on the inner surface of the second substrate is
The cross electrode formed on the inner surface of the second substrate is formed on a base film having a film thickness corresponding to the distance between the pair of substrates, and the cross electrode connecting portion is provided on the inner surface of the first substrate. Since it is in direct contact with the liquid crystal display element, the distance between the substrates is not restricted by the diameter of the conductive particles in the cloth material unlike the conventional liquid crystal display element. Therefore, the distance between the substrates is narrowed and the liquid crystal layer thickness is reduced. It is small and can improve the response speed.

Thus, the liquid crystal display device of the present invention is
A first substrate of a pair of first and second substrates that are bonded to each other via a frame-shaped sealing material that surrounds the display area and face each other with a liquid crystal layer provided in a region surrounded by the sealing material interposed therebetween. A plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix in the display area, a plurality of TFTs respectively connected to the plurality of pixel electrodes, and a plurality of gates for supplying gate signals to the plurality of TFTs A wire and a plurality of drain wires for supplying a data signal to the plurality of TFTs;
A counter electrode connecting cross electrode formed outside the sealing portion made of the sealing material is provided, and a counter electrode having a cross electrode connecting portion corresponding to the cross electrode is provided on the inner surface of the second substrate, A cross electrode connecting portion of the counter electrode is formed on an underlayer film formed on the inner surface of the second substrate so as to correspond to the cross electrode and has a film thickness corresponding to a distance between the pair of substrates. By directly contacting the electrode connecting portion with the cross electrode, the liquid crystal layer thickness can be reduced and the response speed can be increased.

In the liquid crystal display element of the present invention, the liquid crystal layer thickness is preferably in the range of 0.7 μm to 2.2 μm.

Further, in this liquid crystal display element, the sealing material is formed with protrusions extending to regions on both sides of the cross electrode, and the pair of substrates are connected to the cross electrode and the counter electrode by the cross electrode. It is preferable that the both sides of the contact portion with the portion are joined via the protruding portion of the sealing material.

Further, in this liquid crystal display element, a plurality of columnar spacers formed at a predetermined pitch in the display area on the inner surface of either the first or the second substrate, and the entire area of the seal portion. It is preferable to provide a plurality of columnar spacers formed in a distributed manner, and to define the interval between the pair of substrates by these columnar spacers.

In this case, spacer support portions having the same height are formed on the inner surface of the first substrate so as to correspond to the plurality of columnar spacers in the display area and the plurality of columnar spacers of the seal portion. A plurality of columnar spacers in the display area and a plurality of columnar spacers of the seal portion are formed on one of the counter electrode and the spacer support portion provided on the inner surface of the second substrate, and on the other. It is desirable to abut.

[0015]

1 to 9 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display element, and FIG. 2 is a partial alignment of a first substrate of the liquid crystal display element. An enlarged plan view in which the film and the overcoat insulating film are omitted, FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged sectional views taken along lines III-III and IV-IV in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a V portion in FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of VI portion in FIG. 1, FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 1, FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 1, and FIG. 9 is shown in FIG. IX
-It is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line IX.

The liquid crystal display element of this embodiment is an active matrix type liquid crystal display element used in a field sequential liquid crystal display device, and is joined through a frame-shaped seal material 27 surrounding a display area.
The first of the pair of first and second transparent substrates 1 and 2 facing each other with the liquid crystal layer 30 provided therebetween in the region surrounded by
A plurality of pixel electrodes 3 arranged in a matrix in the display area on the inner surface of a rear substrate (hereinafter referred to as a rear substrate) 1 which is a light incident side, A plurality of TFTs 4 each connected to the pixel electrode 3
And a plurality of gate wirings 12 for supplying a gate signal to the plurality of TFTs 4 and a plurality of drain wirings 13 for supplying a data signal to the plurality of TFTs, which are provided on a second substrate, for example, a light emitting side. A counter electrode 18 facing the plurality of pixel electrodes 3 is provided on the inner surface of a front substrate (hereinafter referred to as the front substrate) 2.

It should be noted that the rear substrate 1 is provided with one of the left and right side edges and one of the upper and lower side edges, for example, the right side edge and the lower side edge in FIG. Of the plurality of gate wirings 12 are led out to the driver mounting portion 1a on the right side edge, and one ends of the plurality of drain wirings 13 are arranged on the lower side. It is led out to the driver mounting portion 1b at the edge.

In FIG. 1, a region A indicated by a chain double-dashed line
Indicates a display area in which the plurality of pixel electrodes 3 are arranged in a matrix, and regions B and C indicated by a chain double-dashed line.
And a lead-out region of the plurality of gate wirings 12, respectively,
The lead-out region of the plurality of drain wirings 13 is shown.

The plurality of TFTs 4 provided on the inner surface of the rear substrate 1 are, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a gate electrode 5 formed on the substrate surface of the rear substrate 2 and the gate electrodes 5. A gate insulating film 6 formed over the entire substrate to cover the
An i-type semiconductor film 7 formed on the gate insulating film 6 so as to face the gate electrode 5, and a blocking insulating film 8 provided on a central portion of the i-type semiconductor film 7 which is a channel region. , N on both sides of the i-type semiconductor film 7.
It is composed of a source electrode 19 and a drain electrode 11 which are formed via the type semiconductor film 9.

Although the source electrode 10 and the drain electrode 11 are shown as a single layer film in FIG. 2, the source electrode 10 and the drain electrode 11 are a chromium film which is a contact layer with the n-type semiconductor film 9. And an aluminum-based alloy film formed thereon.

The plurality of gate wirings 12 are formed on the substrate surface of the rear substrate 2 along one side of each pixel electrode row, and one end of each of the gate wirings 12 has two sides. It is divided into wiring groups and led out to the driver mounting portion 1a on the right side edge of the rear substrate 2, and at its ends, a plurality of output terminals of a gate driver (for example, LSI) (not shown) mounted on the driver mounting portion 1a are respectively provided. Corresponding terminal portions (not shown) are formed.

The gate wiring 12 is formed of an aluminum alloy film having a low resistance so as to have a very small thickness in order to reduce a step with the substrate surface. The gate electrode 5 of the TFT 4 is formed by the gate wiring. 12 is integrally formed.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the portion of the gate wiring 12 corresponding to each pixel electrode 3 is used as the gate electrode 5 of the TFT 4, and the i
The TFT 4 having a large channel width is formed by horizontally forming the type semiconductor film 7, the n-type semiconductor film 9 and the source and drain electrodes 10 and 11 along the length direction of the gate wiring 11.

On the other hand, the plurality of drain wirings 13 are respectively formed on the gate insulating film 6 formed on the entire inner surface of the rear substrate 2 along one side of each pixel electrode column. One end of these drain wirings 13 is divided into two wiring groups and led out to the driver mounting portion 1b at the lower edge of the rear substrate 2, and at the end thereof, the driver mounting portion 1b is mounted. A plurality of terminal portions (not shown) corresponding to the plurality of output terminals of the drain driver (for example, LSI) are formed.

The drain wiring 13 is formed of the same metal film as the source and drain electrodes 10 and 11 of the TFT 4 (a laminated film of a chromium film and an aluminum-based alloy film formed thereon). The drain electrode 11 is integrally formed with the drain wiring 13.

The source and drain electrodes 10 and 11 of the TFT 4 and the drain wiring 13 are thicker than the gate wiring 12 in order to minimize the potential drop of the data signal due to the resistance thereof. It is formed thick.

The plurality of pixel electrodes 3 are formed of a transparent conductive film such as an ITO film on the gate insulating film 6, and the source electrode 10 of the TFT 4 is connected to the edge of the pixel electrode 3. Has been done.

Further, on the inner surface of the rear substrate 1, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, there are provided a plurality of counter electrode connecting cross electrodes 14 formed outside the respective corners of the sealing portion formed by the sealing material 27. On the substrate surface of the rear substrate 1, the same metal film as the gate wiring 12 (a metal film made of an aluminum alloy film and having the same thickness as the gate wiring 12) is formed.

Although not shown in the drawing, the driver mounting portions 1a and 1b of the rear substrate 1 are provided with a plurality of external circuit connecting terminals formed on the edges thereof and these external circuit connecting terminals. A plurality of wirings for connecting the terminals and a plurality of input terminals of a gate driver and a drain driver (not shown) mounted on the driver mounting portions 1a and 1b are provided, and among these wirings, a reference of an external circuit is provided. The wiring connected to the potential is connected to a reference potential wiring (not shown) formed on the inner surface of the rear substrate 1 along the outer periphery of the sealing material 27.

The plurality of cross electrodes 14 provided outside the respective corners of the sealing material 27 are connected to the reference potential wiring via the lead portions 14a led from the cross electrodes 14. ing.

Further, on the inner surface of the rear substrate 1, an overcoat insulating film 15 having openings formed in portions corresponding to the plurality of pixel electrodes 3 is provided over the entire substrate, and the plurality of TFTs 4 are provided. The drain wirings 13 are covered with the overcoat insulating film 15.

The ends of the plurality of drain wirings 13 led out to the driver mounting portion 1b are exposed by forming an opening in the overcoat insulating film 15, and the driver mounting of the plurality of gate wirings 12 is performed. The end portion led out to the portion 1a and the cross electrode 14 are exposed by providing openings in the overcoat insulating film 15 and the gate insulating film 6.

Then, in the region surrounded by the sealing material 27 on the innermost surface of the rear substrate 1, the alignment film 16 made of polyimide or the like is provided over the entire display area A.
Is provided.

On the other hand, the inner surface of the front substrate 2 has a structure shown in FIGS.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the light shielding film 17 corresponding to the region between the plurality of pixel electrodes 3 is provided,
A counter electrode 18 facing the plurality of pixel electrodes 3 is provided on the light shielding film 17.

The light shielding film 17 is formed by the plurality of pixel electrodes 3
The light-shielding film 1 is a lattice-like film having openings in regions corresponding to
Reference numeral 7 is a chromium oxide film formed on the substrate surface of the front substrate 2 and a chromium film formed thereon.

The counter electrode 18 is a single film electrode made of a transparent conductive film such as an ITO film.
The light-shielding film 17 has a peripheral portion formed in an outer shape corresponding to the sealing material 27.

At each corner of the counter electrode 18,
As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 9, the plurality of cross electrodes 14 extend outside the sealing portion formed by the sealing material 27.
The cross electrode connecting portions 18a corresponding to the above are integrally formed.

The cross electrode connecting portion 18 of the counter electrode 18
a corresponds to the distance d ₀ between the pair of substrates 1 and 2 (distance between the substrate surfaces) defined by columnar spacers 21 and 22 to be described later on the inner surface of the front substrate 1 facing the cross electrode 14. It is formed on the base film 19 having a predetermined film thickness.

The base film 19 is formed on the inner surface of the front substrate 2 after the light shielding film 17 is formed on the inner surface of the front substrate 2.
For example, a resin material made of photoresist is applied by a spin coating method to a predetermined film thickness according to a substrate distance d ₀ defined by columnar spacers 21 and 22 described later, and the resin film is patterned by a photography method. The counter electrode 18 is formed on the inner surface of the front substrate 2 after the base film 19 is formed.
It is formed by depositing a transparent conductive film such as an O film by a sputtering device using a mask having openings corresponding to the shapes of the counter electrode 18 and the cross electrode connection portion 18a thereof.

The display area A is provided in the innermost area of the front substrate 2 surrounded by the sealing material 27.
An alignment film 20 made of polyimide or the like is provided over the entire area.

Further, on one of the pair of substrates 1 and 2, for example, the inner surface of the front substrate 2, a plurality of columnar spacers 21 formed in the display area A at a predetermined pitch.
And a plurality of columnar spacers 22 formed so as to be distributed over the entire sealing portion formed by the sealing material 27. Hereinafter, the plurality of columnar spacers 2 in the display area A will be described.
1 is called an intra-area spacer, and the plurality of columnar spacers 22 of the seal part are called seal part spacers.

The plurality of in-area spacers 21 are shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the TFTs 4 are provided on the sides of the plurality of TFTs 4 provided in the display area A of the rear substrate 1 at the same pitch as the arrangement pitch of the TFTs 4 corresponding to the plurality of gate wirings 12, respectively.

The plurality of seal portion spacers 22 are also provided.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the TFT 4 is provided along the length direction of the wirings 12 and 13 in the portion of the seal portion where the plurality of gate wirings 12 and drain wirings 13 pass. Of the TFTs 4 in the width direction and the circumferential direction of the seal portion in the region other than the region through which the gate wiring 12 and the drain wiring 13 pass, respectively. It is provided so as to be distributed at intervals similar to the array pitch.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the sealing material 27 is integrally formed with protrusions 27a extending to both sides of the cross electrode 14 on the outside of each corner. The plurality of seal spacers are formed on a side portion that does not correspond to the driver mounting portions 1a and 1b, for example, on the left side portion, so that the side portion is partially cut off to form the liquid crystal injection port 28. 22 are provided in a portion of the sealing material 27 excluding the projecting portion 27a and the liquid crystal injection port 28 so as to be distributed over the entire area.

The plurality of in-area spacers 21 and the plurality of seal spacers 22 are both opposed electrodes 18 provided on the inner surface of the front substrate 2 so as to overlap with each other on the light shielding film 17.
In addition, the liquid crystal layer thickness (the liquid crystal layer thickness of the pixel portion where the pixel electrode 3 and the counter electrode 18 face each other) d has the same height according to the substrate spacing d ₀ required to have a predetermined value. Has been formed.

These spacers 21 and 22 are formed by forming the light shielding film 17 and the counter electrode 18 on the inner surface of the front substrate 2 and then forming a resin material such as a photoresist on the inner surface of the front substrate 2. It is formed by applying a film thickness according to the height of the spacers 21 and 22 by spin coating and patterning the resin film by photography.

The alignment film 20 on the innermost surface of the front substrate 2 is formed over the entire display area A after the spacers 21 and 22 are formed. Therefore, the spacer 21 in the area and the seal portion are formed. Spacer 2
Of the two, the intra-area spacer 21 is covered with the alignment film 20.

1, FIG. 2, FIG. 6 and FIG. 6 are formed on the inner surface of the rear substrate 1, which is the substrate opposite to the front substrate 2 on which the in-area spacer 21 and the seal spacer 22 are formed. As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of intra-area spacer support portions 23 corresponding to the plurality of intra-area spacers 21 are formed in the display area A, and the plurality of seal portion spacers 22 are provided in the seal portion. Of the seal portion spacer support portions 24 and 25 corresponding to the seal portion spacer 22 of the portion through which the gate wiring 12 and the drain wiring 13 pass, and the seal portion spacer 22 of the other portion.
The seal part spacer support part 26 corresponding to the above is formed at the same height as the in-area spacer support part 23.

Of the plurality of seal part spacers 22, the seal part spacer support parts 26 corresponding to the seal part spacers 22 other than the parts through which the gate wiring 12 and the drain wiring 13 pass are two as described above. Portions between the two wiring groups of the plurality of gate wirings 12 which are divided into wiring groups and are led to the driver mounting portion 1a, and a plurality of drain wirings 12 which are divided into two wiring groups and are led to the driver mounting portion 1b. Between the two wiring groups, the leading area B of the gate wiring 12 and the leading area C of the drain wiring 13, and one side edge of the liquid crystal injection port 28 to the gate wiring 12 It is formed in a portion extending in the vicinity of the lead-out region B and in a portion extending from the other side edge of the liquid crystal injection port 28 in the vicinity of the lead-out region C of the drain wiring 13.

The plurality of in-area spacer support portions 23
4, as shown in FIG. 4, a portion of the gate wiring 12 corresponding to the intra-area spacer 21, a gate insulating film 6 covering the gate wiring 12, and the gate wiring on the gate insulating film 6. The same metal film as the drain wiring 13 (corresponding to the portion corresponding to the in-area spacer 21 of 12) and the same film thickness as the drain wiring 13 made of a laminated film of a chromium film and an aluminum-based alloy film formed thereon. Of the overcoat insulating film 15 and the pseudo electrode 13a formed of the above metal film).

Further, the seal portion spacer supporting portion 24 corresponding to the seal portion spacer 22 in the portion through which the gate wiring 12 passes is provided with the gate wiring 1 as shown in FIG.
2 is formed of the same metal film as the drain wiring 13 corresponding to the portion of the gate wiring 12 passing through the sealing portion, the gate insulating film 6 and the portion of the gate insulating film 6 passing through the sealing portion. The pseudo electrode 13b and the overcoat insulating film 15 are formed.

The pseudo electrode 13b of the seal portion spacer support portion 24 is led out to the driver mounting portion 1a of the gate wiring 12 formed to have an extremely thin film thickness in order to reduce the step difference from the substrate surface. In order to reduce the resistance of the end portion, the gate wiring 12 is formed over the entire length thereof in a portion extending from the portion passing through the seal portion to the driver mounting portion 1a and exposed in the opening provided in the gate insulating film 6. The gate wiring 12 is laminated on the leading end portion of the gate wiring 12.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the seal portion spacer supporting portion 25 corresponding to the seal portion spacer 22 in the portion through which the drain wiring 13 passes is formed on the substrate surface of the rear substrate 1 by the drain wiring. A pseudo electrode 12a formed of the same metal film as the gate wiring 12 (a metal film having the same film thickness as the gate wiring 12 made of an aluminum alloy film) corresponding to the portion passing through the seal portion of 13, and the gate insulating film. 6, the portion passing through the seal portion of the drain wiring 13, and the overcoat insulating film 15.

Further, the seal portion spacer 2 other than the portion through which the gate wiring 12 and the drain wiring 13 pass
As shown in FIG. 9, the seal portion spacer supporting portion 26 corresponding to No. 2 corresponds to the gate wiring 12 on the substrate surface of the rear substrate 1.
Pseudo electrode 12b formed of the same metal film as the above, the gate insulating film 6, and the pseudo electrode 1 formed of the same metal film as the drain wiring 13 on the gate insulating film 6
3c and the overcoat insulating film 15 are formed.

That is, the in-area spacer support portion 2
3 and the seal portion spacer support portions 24, 25, 26 are all provided with the gate wiring 12 or pseudo electrodes 12a, 12b formed of the same metal film as the gate wiring 12 and the gate insulating film 6
And a dummy film 13a, 13b, 13c formed of the drain wiring 13 or the same metal film as the drain wiring 13, and an overcoat insulating film 15. Therefore, the in-area spacer support portion 23 and the seal portion spacer are formed. The heights of the support portions 24, 25, 26 are the same.

The pair of substrates 1 and 2 include a plurality of in-area spacers 21 and seal portion spacers 22 formed at the same height on the counter electrode 18 on the inner surface of the front substrate 2, and the rear substrate. These spacers 21 and 22 define the substrate spacing d ₀ by contacting the in-area spacer support portion 23 and the seal portion spacer support portions 24, 25, and 26, which are formed at the same height on the inner surface of 1, respectively. And a base film formed on the inner surface of the front substrate 1 to extend to the outside of the seal portion from the counter electrode 18 and have a film thickness corresponding to the substrate distance d ₀ defined by the spacers 21 and 22. By directly contacting the cross electrode connecting portion 18a formed on the counter electrode 19 with the cross electrode 14 provided on the inner surface of the rear substrate 1, the cross electrode connecting portion 18a of the counter electrode 18 is electrically connected. The connecting portion 18a in a state of being connected the to the cross electrode 14 electrically, are joined via the sealing member 27.

In this liquid crystal display element, the sealing material 27 is printed on the inner surface of one of the substrates, for example, the rear substrate 1, by a screen printing method, and the pair of substrates 1 and 2 are superposed and pressed, thereby A plurality of area spacers 21 and seal portion spacers 22 formed on the inner surface of the substrate 2
Are brought into contact with the in-area spacer support portion 23 and the seal portion spacer support portions 24, 25, 26 on the inner surface of the rear substrate 1, respectively, and the cross electrode connection portion 18a of the counter electrode 18 is attached to the inner surface of the rear substrate 1. Is directly contacted with the cross electrode 14 and the sealing material 27 is cured in this state to bond the pair of substrates 1 and 2 via the sealing material 27, and then, the pair of substrates 1 and 1.
Liquid crystal is injected from a liquid crystal injection port 28 into a region surrounded by the sealing material 27 between the two liquid crystal layers 30 by a vacuum injection method.
And the liquid crystal injection port 28 is sealed with a sealing resin 29.

In this embodiment, the sealing material 27 is used.
In addition, since the protrusions 27a extending to the regions on both sides of the cross electrode 14 are formed, the pair of substrates 1 and 2 are
Both sides of the contact portion between the cross electrode 14 and the cross electrode connecting portion 18a of the counter electrode 18 are also joined to each other via the protruding portion 27a of the sealing material 27.

The liquid crystal display device of this embodiment is, for example, a homogeneous alignment type liquid crystal display device in which the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 30 are aligned in a uniform direction with the major axes of the molecules aligned in one direction. Polarization plates are arranged on the outer surfaces of the second and the phase plates for increasing the display contrast and widening the viewing angle, respectively, between one of the substrates and the polarizing plate on the side of the substrate. To be done.

According to this liquid crystal display element, the cross electrode connecting portion 27 of the counter electrode 27 provided on the inner surface of the front substrate 2 is provided.
a on the inner surface of the front substrate 2 and the spacers 2 in the area.
1 and the seal portion spacer 22 formed on the base film 19 having a film thickness corresponding to the substrate distance d ₀ defined, and the cross electrode connection portion 27a was provided on the inner surface of the rear substrate 1. Since the cloth electrode is in direct contact with the cloth electrode 14, the distance between the pair of substrates is not restricted by the diameter of the conductive particles in the cloth material unlike the conventional liquid crystal display element.

Since the base film 19 is formed by applying a resin material to the inner surface of the front substrate 2 and patterning the resin film as described above, the application thickness of the resin material is controlled. As a result, the base film 19
Can be formed to an arbitrary film thickness. Therefore, even when the substrate distance d ₀ is narrowed to reduce the liquid crystal layer thickness d, the base film 19 is formed to a film thickness corresponding to the substrate distance d _0. However, the cross electrode connection portion 27 a formed on the base film 19 can be brought into direct contact with the cross electrode 14.

Therefore, according to this liquid crystal display device, it is possible to narrow the substrate distance d ₀ and reduce the liquid crystal layer thickness d to increase the response speed.

The liquid crystal layer thickness d is 0.7 μm to 2.2 μm.
The range of m is preferable, and if the liquid crystal layer thickness d is in this range,
In order to make the response speed sufficiently fast, and because the liquid crystal layer thickness d is not too small, the value of Δnd (the product of the refractive index anisotropy Δn of the liquid crystal and the liquid crystal layer thickness d) of the liquid crystal display element is set to a predetermined value. It is easy to select an appropriate liquid crystal material and to manufacture a liquid crystal display device.

In this embodiment, the sealing material 27 is also used.
And a pair of substrates 1 and 2 are formed on both sides of a contact portion between the cross electrode 14 and the cross electrode connecting portion 18a of the counter electrode 18. Also in the above, the protruding portion 27 of the sealing material 27
Since they are joined via a, the cross electrode 14 and the cross electrode connecting portion 18a of the counter electrode 18 can be surely brought into contact with each other.

Further, in this liquid crystal display element, a plurality of area inner columnar spacers 21 formed at a predetermined pitch in the display area A on the inner surface of the front substrate 2 and the entire area of the sealing portion formed by the sealing material 27. A plurality of seal portion spacers 22 formed in a distributed manner are provided, and the spacing d ₀ between the pair of substrates 1 and 2 is defined by these spacers 21 and 22. Therefore, the substrate spacing d _{0 is set} to the display area. A
Therefore, it can be made uniform over the sealing portion.

In this embodiment, the intra-area spacer 21 and the intra-area spacer support portion 23 corresponding to the intra-area spacer 21 are respectively a pair of substrates 1 and 2.
While the innermost area surrounded by the seal material 27 is covered with the alignment films 16 and 20 provided over the entire display area A, the seal portion spacer 22 is provided.
The alignment film 16 and the alignment film 16 are provided on the seal part spacer support parts 24, 25 and 26 corresponding to the seal part spacer 22.
Since there is no 20, the substrate spacing defined by the seal spacer 22 is smaller than the substrate spacing defined by the in-area spacer 21 by the film thickness of both the alignment films 16 and 20.

However, since the film thicknesses of the alignment films 16 and 20 are both extremely thin, about 0.05 μm, the substrate spacing defined by the seal spacer 22 and the substrate spacing defined by the in-area spacer 21. The difference from the distance is about 0.1 μm, and with this difference, it can be considered that the substrate distance d ₀ is uniform from the display area A to the seal portion.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the in-area spacer 21 and the seal spacer 22 are formed at the same height on the counter electrode 27 provided on the inner surface of the front substrate 2, and the rear substrate 2 of the rear substrate 2 is formed. On the inner surface, the spacer 2 in the area
1 and the spacer spacer 22 are formed so as to correspond to the spacer spacers 23, 24, 25 and 26 having the same height, respectively, and the in-area spacer 21 and the seal spacer 22 are formed.
The spacer support portions 23, 24, 25, 26, respectively.
Since they are brought into contact with each other, the spacer 21 in the area and the spacer 22 of the seal portion can be formed in the same step, and the spacer support portions 23, 24, 25, 26 can be formed in the same step, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Can be reduced.

In this liquid crystal display element, the gate wiring 13 has a thickness of 0.23 μm, the gate insulating film 6 has a thickness of 0.25 μm, the pixel electrode 3 has a thickness of 0.05 μm, and the drain wiring 13 has a thickness. Is 0.425 μm, the film thickness of the overcoat insulating film 15 is 0.20 μm, the film thickness of the light shielding film 17 is 0.17 μm, the film thickness of the counter electrode 18 is 0.14 μm, and the film thicknesses of the alignment films 16 and 20 are If the liquid crystal layer thickness d is set to, for example, 1.5 μm, the substrate spacing d ₀ may be set to 2.04 μm.

In this embodiment, the light-shielding film 17 and the counter electrode 18 provided on the inner surface of the front substrate 2 are formed so that their peripheral portions have an outer shape corresponding to the sealing material 27, and are formed on the counter electrode 18. The in-area spacer 21 and the seal part spacer 22 are formed, and the in-area spacer support part 23 and the seal part spacer support parts 24, 25, 26 are
Gate wiring 12 or pseudo electrodes 12a and 12b formed of the same metal film as that, gate insulating film 6, drain wiring 13 or pseudo electrodes 13a, 13b and 13c formed of the same metal film as that, and overcoat insulating film Since it is formed of a laminated film with No. 15, in order to regulate the substrate distance d ₀ to 2.13 μm, the in-area spacer 21 and the seal part spacer 22 are 0.525 μm.
It may be formed at a height of m.

In this embodiment, since the cross electrode 14 is formed of the same metal film as the gate wiring 12, the intra-area spacer 21 and the seal portion spacer 22 have a height of 0.525 μm as described above. When the substrate spacing d ₀ is defined to be 2.04 μm by forming the base film 19 of the cross electrode connecting portion 27a of the counter electrode 27,
It may be formed to a film thickness of 7 μm, and by forming the base film 19 in such a film thickness, the cross electrode connecting portion 27 a of the counter electrode 27 is brought into direct contact with the cross electrode 14 to be electrically connected. can do.

In the above embodiment, the in-area spacer 21 and the seal spacer 22 are formed on the counter electrode 18 provided on the inner surface of the front substrate 2. 22 is a spacer supporting portion 23, 24, 25, 2 provided on the inner surface of the rear substrate 1.
6, the spacers 21 and 22 may be brought into contact with the counter electrode 18 provided on the inner surface of the front substrate 2 to define the substrate distance d ₀ .

Further, in the above embodiment, the spacer support portions 23, 24, 25 and 26 are replaced by the pseudo electrodes 12a and 12 formed of the gate wiring 12 or the same metal film as the gate wiring 12.
b, the gate insulating film 6, and the drain wiring 13 or the pseudo electrodes 13a and 13 formed of the same metal film as that.
It is formed of a laminated film of b, 13c and the overcoat insulating film 15, but the spacer supporting portions 23, 24,
25 and 26 may have a structure in which a part of the laminated film is omitted, or the substrate surface may be used as the spacer supporting portion by forming an opening in the film provided on the inner surface of the substrate.

Further, in the above embodiment, the intra-area spacer 21 is provided corresponding to the gate wiring 12,
The in-area spacer 21 may be provided so as to correspond to the TFT 4, and in that case, the TFT 4 serves as an in-area spacer support portion corresponding to the in-area spacer 21 and the seal spacer corresponding to the seal spacer 22. The supporting portion may be formed of a laminated film having the same laminated structure as the TFT 4.

Further, the liquid crystal display element of the above-mentioned embodiment is a homogeneous alignment type liquid crystal display element, but the present invention is a TN type liquid crystal display element in which liquid crystal molecules are twist aligned, or a ferroelectric or antiferroelectric property. The present invention can be applied to a liquid crystal display device and the like, and can be applied not only to a field sequential liquid crystal display device but also to a liquid crystal display device of a liquid crystal display device that displays a monochrome image.

[0076]

According to the liquid crystal display element of the present invention, the first and second liquid crystal display elements are bonded to each other via a frame-shaped sealing material surrounding the display area and are opposed to each other with the liquid crystal layer provided in the area surrounded by the sealing material interposed therebetween. A plurality of pixel electrodes arrayed in a matrix in the display area, and a plurality of TFTs respectively connected to the plurality of pixel electrodes on the inner surface of the first substrate of the second pair of substrates; A plurality of gate wirings for supplying a gate signal to the plurality of TFTs, a plurality of drain wirings for supplying a data signal to the plurality of TFTs, and a counter electrode connecting cross electrode formed outside the sealing portion made of the sealing material. And a counter electrode having a cross electrode connecting portion corresponding to the cross electrode is provided on the inner surface of the second substrate, and the cross electrode connecting portion of the counter electrode is provided on the inner surface of the second substrate. Since the surface is formed on a base film having a film thickness corresponding to the distance between the pair of substrates corresponding to the cross electrodes, and the cross electrode connecting portion is brought into direct contact with the cross electrodes. The thickness of the liquid crystal layer is small so that the response speed can be increased.

In the liquid crystal display device of the present invention, the liquid crystal layer thickness is preferably in the range of 0.7 μm to 2.2 μm,
When the thickness of the liquid crystal layer is within this range, it is easy to select an appropriate liquid crystal material for making the response value Δnd of the liquid crystal display element a predetermined value and to manufacture the liquid crystal display element, while making the response speed sufficiently high. .

Further, in this liquid crystal display element, the sealing material is formed with protrusions extending to regions on both sides of the cross electrode, and the pair of substrates are connected to the cross electrode of the cross electrode and the counter electrode. It is preferable to join the both sides of the contact portion with the portion via the protruding portion of the sealing material,
By doing so, the cross electrode and the cross electrode connecting portion of the counter electrode can be surely brought into contact with each other.

Further, in this liquid crystal display element, a plurality of columnar spacers formed at a predetermined pitch in the display area on the inner surface of either the first or second substrate and the entire seal portion are provided. It is preferable to provide a plurality of columnar spacers formed in a distributed manner, and to define the interval between the pair of substrates by these columnar spacers. By doing so, the substrate interval is changed from the display area to the seal portion. Can be made uniform.

In this case, spacer support portions of the same height are formed on the inner surface of the first substrate so as to correspond to the plurality of columnar spacers in the display area and the plurality of columnar spacers of the seal portion. A plurality of columnar spacers in the display area and a plurality of columnar spacers of the seal portion are formed on one of the counter electrode and the spacer support portion provided on the inner surface of the second substrate, and on the other. It is desirable to bring them into contact. By doing so, the plurality of columnar spacers in the display area and the plurality of columnar spacers of the seal portion are formed in the same step, and the spacer support portion is formed in the same step. However, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display element showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view in which an alignment film and an overcoat insulating film of a part of the first substrate of the liquid crystal display device are omitted.

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

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

5 is an enlarged view of a V portion of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a VI portion in FIG.

7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG.

9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line IX-IX in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2 ... substrate A ... Display area 3 ... Pixel electrode 4 ... TFT 6 ... Gate insulating film 12 ... Gate wiring B: Gate wiring derivation area 13 ... Drain wiring C ... Drain wiring derivation area 14 ... Cross electrode 15 ... Overcoat insulating film 16, 20 ... Alignment film 17 ... Shading film 18 ... Counter electrode 18a ... Cross electrode connection part 19 ... Base film 21, 22 ... Columnar spacer 23, 24, 25, 26 ... Spacer supporting portion 27 ... Sealing material 27a ... Projection 30 ... Liquid crystal layer

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme coat (reference) G09F 9/35 G09F 9/35 F term (reference) 2H089 HA15 LA02 LA04 LA09 LA10 QA16 SA01 2H092 GA31 GA33 GA35 GA37 GA38 GA39 GA40 GA42 GA44 GA46 JA24 JB13 JB21 JB23 JB24 JB31 JB32 JB33 NA01 NA05 NA21 PA03 5C094 AA02 AA13 AA43 BA03 BA43 CA19 DA07 DA14 DA15 DB04 EA02 EA04 EA07 EA10 EB02 EC03 FB12 FB15

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A pair of first and second substrates which are bonded to each other through a frame-shaped sealing material surrounding a display area and face each other with a liquid crystal layer provided in a region surrounded by the sealing material interposed therebetween. , A plurality of pixel electrodes arrayed in a matrix in the display area, a plurality of thin film transistors connected to the plurality of pixel electrodes, and a gate signal to the plurality of thin film transistors on the inner surface of the first substrate. A plurality of gate wirings to be supplied, a plurality of drain wirings to supply a data signal to the plurality of thin film transistors, and a counter electrode connecting cross electrode formed outside the sealing portion made of the sealing material are provided, and the second substrate is provided. A counter electrode having a cross electrode connecting portion corresponding to the cross electrode is provided on an inner surface of the counter electrode, and the cross electrode connecting portion of the counter electrode is the second electrode. The inner surface of the substrate is formed on a base film formed in a film thickness corresponding to the distance between the pair of substrates corresponding to the cross electrodes, and the cross electrode connecting portion directly contacts the cross electrodes. A liquid crystal display device characterized in that 2. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal layer thickness is in the range of 0.7 μm to 2.2 μm. 3. A sealant is formed with protrusions extending to both sides of the cross electrode, and the pair of substrates are also provided on both sides of a contact portion between the cross electrode and a cross electrode connecting portion of a counter electrode. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display element is bonded through a protruding portion of a sealing material. 4. A plurality of columnar spacers formed on the inner surface of one of the first and second substrates at a predetermined pitch in a display area, and a plurality of columnar spacers formed over the entire seal portion. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 1, wherein a columnar spacer is provided, and an interval between the pair of substrates is defined by the columnar spacer. 5. A spacer supporting portion of the same height is formed on the inner surface of the first substrate so as to correspond to the plurality of columnar spacers in the display area and the plurality of columnar spacers of the seal portion, respectively. A plurality of columnar spacers in the area and a plurality of columnar spacers of the seal portion are respectively formed on one of the counter electrode provided on the inner surface of the second substrate and the spacer support portion and are in contact with the other. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 4, wherein