JP2003131240A - Liquid crystal display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent light from leaking due to alignment defects of a liquid crystal in the periphery of spacers. SOLUTION: Of each substrate arranged to face each other via a liquid crystal in-between, a plurality of signal lines in parallel and a plurality of drain signal lines arranged in parallel crossing these gate signal lines are formed on the liquid crystal side surface of one substrate, each pixel area enclosed by each of these signal lines is provided therein with a thin film transistor operated by a scanning signal from a gate signal line, a pixel electrode supplied with a video signal from a drain signal line via this transistor, and a color filter of another color formed bordering on a color filter of an adjacent pixel area on the upper part of the drain signal line, and the other substrate is provided with columnar spacers formed on the liquid crystal side surface.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly to an active matrix type liquid crystal display device for color display.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an active matrix type liquid crystal display device, a plurality of gate signal lines arranged in parallel and a plurality of gate signal lines arranged on the liquid crystal side surface of one of the substrates arranged via liquid crystal. A pixel region surrounded by a plurality of drain signal lines arranged in parallel to intersect with each other, and in each of these pixel regions, a thin film transistor operated by a scanning signal from the gate signal line and a drain via the thin film transistor A pixel electrode to which a video signal from the signal line is supplied is formed.

This pixel electrode generates an electric field between itself and a counter electrode to which a voltage signal serving as a reference for the video signal is supplied, and the electric field controls the light transmittance of the liquid crystal in the pixel region. It is configured.

Further, it is preferable that the layer thickness of the liquid crystal is constant in order to make the brightness of the display uniform. Therefore, in order to ensure the uniform gap between one substrate and the other substrate. It is known that a pillar-shaped spacer formed on the liquid crystal side surface of one of the substrates is used. The spacers can be formed by subjecting, for example, a resin film formed on the substrate surface to selective etching by a well-known photolithography technique.

[0005]

However, it was confirmed that in the liquid crystal display device having such a structure, the alignment state of the liquid crystal around the spacer is different from that of other portions. Usually, the spacer is formed in a black matrix forming region which serves as a light-shielding film and is configured so as not to be visually observed, but the disturbance of the alignment state of the liquid crystal around the spacer is a region where the black matrix is not formed. Moreover, it will be observed, for example, by a phenomenon called light leakage.

As a result of pursuing this cause, a number of layers of patterned films have already been formed on the surface of the substrate on which the spacer is to be formed, and unevenness is revealed on the surface. It was found that the taper on the peripheral side surface was not formed at a predetermined angle. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a liquid crystal display device in which light leakage does not occur due to disordered alignment of liquid crystal around spacers.

[0007]

Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, a brief description will be given to the outline of typical ones.
It is as follows.

Means 1. The liquid crystal display device according to the present invention is, for example, a plurality of gate signal lines arranged in parallel on the liquid crystal side surface of one of the substrates opposed to each other with the liquid crystal interposed therebetween and the gate signal lines intersecting these gate signal lines. A plurality of drain signal lines arranged in parallel are formed, and in a pixel region surrounded by each of these signal lines, a thin film transistor operated by a scanning signal from the gate signal line and a video signal from the drain signal line through the thin film transistor. A pixel electrode supplied with
A color filter on the side of the pixel region adjacent above the drain signal line and a color filter of another color formed with a boundary; and the substrate on the liquid crystal side surface of the other substrate of the substrates. It is characterized in that it is provided with a pillar-shaped spacer formed on the surface.

Means 2. The liquid crystal display device according to the present invention is, for example, on the premise of the configuration of the means 1, characterized in that the drain signal line also functions as a black matrix.

Means 3. In the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, for example, on the premise of the configuration of the means 1, the pillar-shaped spacer has its apex positioned at the boundary of another color filter adjacent to another color filter formed on one substrate side. It is characterized by being present.

Means 4. The liquid crystal display device according to the present invention is, for example, a plurality of gate signal lines arranged in parallel on the liquid crystal side surface of one of the substrates opposed to each other with the liquid crystal interposed therebetween and the gate signal lines intersecting these gate signal lines. A plurality of drain signal lines arranged in parallel are formed, and in a pixel region surrounded by each of these signal lines, a thin film transistor which operates by a scanning signal from the gate signal line and a video signal from the drain signal line through the thin film transistor. A pixel electrode supplied with
A color filter on the side of the pixel region adjacent above the gate signal line and a color filter of another color formed with a boundary; and the substrate on the liquid crystal side surface of the other substrate of the substrates. It is characterized in that it is provided with a pillar-shaped spacer formed on the surface.

Means 5. The liquid crystal display device according to the present invention is, for example, characterized in that the gate signal line also has a function of a black matrix on the premise of the configuration of the means 4.

Means 6. In the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, for example, on the premise of the constitution of the means 4, the pillar-shaped spacers are positioned such that the tops thereof are positioned at the boundaries between the color filters formed on one substrate side and other adjacent color filters. It is characterized by being present.

Means 7. In the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, for example, on the premise of the constitution of the means 1 or 4, the columnar spacer has a taper angle θ ₁ of the peripheral side surface with respect to the other substrate surface on which the spacer is formed from 0 °. It is characterized in that it is set within a range of 40 °.

Means 8. The liquid crystal display device according to the present invention is, for example, a plurality of gate signal lines arranged in parallel on the liquid crystal side surface of one of the substrates opposed to each other with the liquid crystal interposed therebetween and the gate signal lines intersecting these gate signal lines. A plurality of drain signal lines arranged in parallel are formed, and in a pixel region surrounded by each of these signal lines, a thin film transistor operated by a scanning signal from the gate signal line and a video signal from the drain signal line through the thin film transistor. A pixel electrode supplied with
A color filter on the side of the pixel region adjacent above the drain signal line and a color filter of another color formed with a boundary are provided, and ions on the liquid crystal side surface of the other substrate of the substrates. It is characterized in that an alignment film is formed through a film that blocks passage.

Means 9. The liquid crystal display device according to the present invention is, for example, a plurality of gate signal lines arranged in parallel on the liquid crystal side surface of one of the substrates opposed to each other with the liquid crystal interposed therebetween and the gate signal lines intersecting these gate signal lines. A plurality of drain signal lines arranged in parallel are formed, and in a pixel region surrounded by each of these signal lines, a thin film transistor operated by a scanning signal from the gate signal line and a video signal from the drain signal line through the thin film transistor. A pixel electrode supplied with
A color filter on the side of the pixel region adjacent above the drain signal line and a color filter of another color formed with a boundary are provided, and ions on the liquid crystal side surface of the other substrate of the substrates. It is characterized in that an alignment film is formed through a film that blocks passage.

Means 10. The liquid crystal display device according to the present invention,
For example, on the premise of the constitution of the means 8 or 9, the film for blocking the passage of ions is characterized by being made of SiN, SiO ₂ or an organic material layer.

Means 11. The liquid crystal display device according to the present invention,
For example, on the premise of the configuration of the means 1 or 4, the pillar-shaped spacer is characterized in that its top is positioned in the region formed on the gate signal line of the color filter formed on one substrate side. It is a thing.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Example 1. << Equivalent Circuit >> FIG. 2 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention. Although the figure is an equivalent circuit, it is drawn corresponding to the actual geometrical arrangement.

There is a pair of transparent substrates SUB1 and SUB2 which are arranged so as to face each other with a liquid crystal interposed therebetween, and the liquid crystal is sealed by a seal material SL which also fixes one transparent substrate SUB1 to the other transparent substrate SUB2.

On the liquid crystal side surface of the one transparent substrate SUB1 surrounded by the seal material SL, the gate signal lines GL extending in the x direction and juxtaposed in the y direction and the x extending in the y direction are provided. A drain signal line DL is formed side by side in the direction.

Each gate signal line GL and each drain signal line D
The region surrounded by L and L constitutes a pixel region, and the matrix-shaped aggregate of these pixel regions is the liquid crystal display unit A.
It constitutes R.

Further, a common counter voltage signal line CL running in each of the pixel regions is formed in each of the pixel regions arranged in parallel in the x direction. The counter voltage signal line CL serves as a signal line for supplying a reference voltage for a video signal to a counter electrode CT described later in each pixel region.

In each pixel region, a thin film transistor TFT operated by a scanning signal from the gate signal line GL on one side thereof and a pixel electrode to which a video signal from the drain signal line DL on one side is supplied via the thin film transistor TFT. PX is formed.

The pixel electrode PX generates an electric field between itself and the counter electrode CT connected to the counter voltage signal line CL, and the electric field controls the light transmittance of the liquid crystal.

One end of each of the gate signal lines GL extends beyond the seal material SL, and the extended end constitutes a terminal to which the output terminal of the vertical scanning drive circuit V is connected. . Further, a signal from a printed circuit board arranged outside the liquid crystal display panel is inputted to an input terminal of the vertical scanning drive circuit V.

The vertical scanning drive circuit V comprises a plurality of semiconductor devices, a plurality of gate signal lines adjacent to each other are grouped, and one semiconductor device is applied to each of these groups. There is.

Similarly, one end of each of the drain signal lines DL extends beyond the sealing material SL, and the extended end constitutes a terminal to which the output terminal of the video signal drive circuit He is connected. Has become. Further, a signal from a printed circuit board arranged outside the liquid crystal display panel is input to the input terminal of the video signal drive circuit He.

The video signal driving circuit He is also composed of a plurality of semiconductor devices, and a plurality of drain signal lines adjacent to each other are grouped, and one semiconductor device is applied to each of these groups. ing.

Further, the counter voltage signal lines CL common to the respective pixel regions juxtaposed in the x direction are commonly connected at the end portion on the right side in the drawing, and the connection lines extend beyond the sealing material SL, A terminal CLT is formed at the extending end. From this terminal CLT, a reference voltage for the video signal is supplied.

One of the gate signal lines GL is sequentially selected by the scanning signal from the vertical scanning circuit V. Further, a video signal is supplied to each of the drain signal lines DL by a video signal drive circuit He at the timing of selecting the gate signal line GL.

<< Pixel Configuration >> FIG. 3 shows a transparent substrate SUB1.
It is a top view showing an example of composition in the above-mentioned pixel field of the side. In addition, a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG.
FIG. 4 shows a sectional view taken along line IV-IV.

First, on the liquid crystal side surface of the transparent substrate SUB1,
A pair of gate signal lines GL (one of which is omitted in the drawing) extending in the x direction and arranged side by side in the y direction is formed.
These gate signal lines GL surround a rectangular area together with a pair of drain signal lines DL described later, and this area is configured as a pixel area.

An insulating film GI made of, for example, SiN is formed on the surface of the transparent substrate SUB1 on which the gate signal lines GL have been formed as described above so as to cover the gate signal lines GL as well. The insulating film GI functions as an interlayer insulating film for the gate signal line GL in the formation region of the drain signal line DL and the counter voltage signal line CL described later, and the gate insulation film in the formation region of the thin film transistor TFT described later. The above function as a part of the dielectric film in the formation region of the capacitive element Cstg described later.

On the surface of the insulating film GI,
A semiconductor layer AS made of, for example, amorphous Si is formed so as to overlap a part of the gate signal line GL. This semiconductor layer AS is a thin film transistor TFT.
In addition, by forming the drain electrode SD1 and the source electrode SD2 on the upper surface thereof, it is possible to configure the MIS transistor having the inverted stagger structure in which a part of the gate signal line GL is used as the gate electrode.

Here, the drain electrode SD1 and the source electrode SD2 are formed at the same time when the drain signal line DL is formed. That is, the drain signal line DL extending in the y direction and arranged in parallel in the x direction is formed, and a part of the drain signal line DL extends to the upper surface of the semiconductor layer AS to form the drain electrode SD1. A source electrode SD2 is formed apart from the electrode SD1 by the channel length of the thin film transistor TFT.

The source electrode SD2 extends slightly from the surface of the semiconductor layer AS to the upper surface of the insulating film GI on the pixel region side, and a contact portion CN for connecting to a pixel electrode PX described later is formed. .

The semiconductor layer AS and the drain electrode SD1
A thin layer doped with a high concentration of impurities is formed at the interface with the source electrode SD2, and this layer functions as a contact layer.

This contact layer is, for example, the semiconductor layer A.
When S is formed, a high-concentration impurity layer is already formed on the surface thereof, and the drain electrode SD1 formed on the upper surface of the impurity layer is formed.
And the impurity layer exposed from the pattern of the source electrode SD2 as a mask may be etched.

A protective film PSV made of, for example, a SiN film is formed on the surface of the transparent substrate SUB1 thus configured. This protective film PSV is formed in order to avoid direct contact of the thin film transistor TFT with the liquid crystal and prevent the characteristic deterioration of the thin film transistor TFT.

A color filter FIL is formed on the upper surface of the protective film PSV. The color filter FIL is formed, for example, by mixing a pigment in a resin material, and is made of, for example, each color of red (R), green (G), and blue (B).

For example, the red color filter FIL is y
Formed in common in one pixel region group consisting of the respective pixel regions arranged in the same direction, and in common with other pixel region groups arranged in the (+) x direction with respect to the pixel region group, green and blue. , Red, green, and so on.

For this reason, the color filters FIL (1) in the image treatment area shown in FIG. 1 are the color filters FIL (0), FIL in the other pixel areas adjacent in the x direction.
(2) has a boundary on the drain signal line DL. Then, the color filter F for each color described above
On the upper surface of IL, a counter voltage signal line CL and a counter electrode CT formed integrally with the counter voltage signal line CL are formed.

The counter voltage signal line CL runs in the center of the pixel region in parallel with the gate signal line GL, and the counter electrode CT is composed of, for example, three electrode groups extending in the y direction in the pixel region. Further, the distances of the respective counter electrodes CT are equal.

Here, in each counter electrode group, the pair of counter electrodes CT positioned on both sides, in other words, the counter electrode CT adjacent to the drain signal line DL, has a slightly larger width than the other counter electrodes CT. Has been formed.

The reason for this is to make it easier for the lines of electric force from the drain signal line DL to terminate at the counter electrode CT adjacent thereto, and to prevent the line of electric force from terminating beyond the counter electrode CT and terminating at the pixel electrode PX described later. is there. This is because when the line of electric force terminates at the pixel electrode PX, it becomes noise.

Counter voltage signal line CL and counter electrode C
On the color filter FIL formed with T, the counter voltage signal line CL and the counter electrode CT are also covered, for example, Si.
An insulating film made of N is formed. This insulating film serves as an interlayer insulating film IN for insulating the pixel electrode PX described later.

A pixel electrode PX is formed on the upper surface of the interlayer insulating film IN. This pixel electrode PX is composed of a plurality (two in the figure) of electrode groups that extend in the y direction and are juxtaposed in the x direction similarly to the above-described counter electrode CT, and these pixel electrodes PX are planar. When viewed from above, it is positioned with a gap between the counter electrodes CT and the counter electrodes CT. That is, each of these electrodes extends from the drain signal line DL on one side to the drain signal line DL on the other side, and the counter electrode CT and the pixel electrode P are provided.
X, counter electrode CT, pixel electrode PX, ..., Counter electrode CT
Are arranged at equal intervals in this order.

Further, the pixel electrodes PX, which are made up of the electrode group as described above, are electrically connected to each other at the portion where they overlap the counter voltage signal line CL. This portion has a relatively large area, and the capacitive element Cst having the protective film PSV as a dielectric film is formed between the portion and the counter voltage signal line CL.
g is formed. This capacitive element Cst
g has a function of, for example, accumulating the video signal supplied to the pixel electrode PX for a relatively long time.

An alignment film ORI1 is formed on the upper surface of the transparent substrate SUB1 on which the pixel electrodes PX are formed so as to cover the pixel electrodes PX as well. This alignment film OR
I1 is a film that directly contacts the liquid crystal, and the rubbing formed on the surface thereof determines the initial alignment direction of the molecules of the liquid crystal. A retardation film PF1 and a polarizing plate POL1 are sequentially attached to the surface of the transparent substrate SUB1 opposite to the liquid crystal.

<< Method of Manufacturing Transparent Substrate SUB1 >> FIG.
FIG. 6 is a process diagram showing an example of a method of manufacturing the transparent substrate SUB1. The steps will be described below in order.

Step 1. (FIG. 5A) A transparent substrate SUB1 is prepared, and its liquid crystal side surface (main surface)
Then, for example, a sequentially laminated body of Cr and a Cr-Mo alloy is formed. A gate signal line GL (not shown) is formed on the stacked body by a well-known photolithography selective etching method. Then, the gate signal line GL
And the main surface of the transparent substrate SUB1 is covered with, for example, Si.
An insulating film GI made of N is formed.

Subsequent to the formation of the insulating film GI, a semiconductor film AS made of Si and a doped semiconductor layer in which a small amount of P (phosphorus) is added to the surface of the semiconductor film AS are sequentially formed.

The semiconductor layer AS is etched together with the doped semiconductor layer by the well-known photolithographic selective etching method to leave it in the formation region of the thin film transistor TFT (not shown). In this case, the insulating film GI is left without being etched.

Step 2. (FIG. 5B) A sequentially laminated body of Cr and a Cr—Mo alloy is formed on the entire main surface of the transparent substrate SUB1, and the laminated body is etched by a known selective etching method using a photolithography technique to form a drain signal line DL, The drain electrode SD1 and the source electrode SD2 of the thin film transistor TFT are formed.
Note that only the drain signal line DL is shown in the figure. Then, the doped semiconductor layer formed on the surface of the semiconductor layer AS is removed by etching using the drain electrode SD1 and the source electrode SD2 as a mask.

Step 3. (FIG. 5C) Then, for example, S is formed on the entire main surface of the transparent substrate SUB1.
A protective film PSV made of iN is formed. Although not shown, the protective film PSV is patterned so that a part of the extending portion of the source electrode SD2, the terminal portion of the gate signal line GL, and the terminal portion of the drain signal line DL are exposed. A hole is also formed in the insulating film GI exposed from the hole thus formed.

Step 4. (FIG. 5D) A color filter FIL is formed on the upper surface of the protective film PSV. In this case, for example, the color filter FIL colored in green and the color filter FI colored in red.
L and a color filter FIL colored in blue are sequentially formed. In this case, the color filter FI for each color
A hole is formed in each L to expose a part of the extending portion of the source electrode SD2.

Further, with respect to the color filter FIL of one color, the color filters FI of the other colors arranged on both sides of the color filter FIL.
The boundary with L is formed so as to be positioned on the drain signal line DL. In this case, the boundary between the color filter FIL of one color and the color filter FIL of another color may be configured such that they are overlapped with each other with a slight width. In this case, the overlapping portion has a function of a light shielding film on the drain signal line DL, and the transparent substrate SU
The same effect can be obtained as when the black matrix BM is formed on B1.

Step 5. (FIG. 5E) A sequentially laminated body of Cr and a Cr—Mo alloy is formed on the entire main surface of the transparent substrate SUB1, and the pixel electrode PX is formed by selective etching by a well-known photolithography technique. In this case, the pixel electrode PX has the color filter FIL.
Also, the source electrode SD2 of the thin film transistor TFT can be electrically connected through the hole formed in the protective film PSV.

Step 6. (FIG. 5F) An acrylic organic insulating film is formed on the entire main surface of the transparent substrate SUB1. The acrylic organic insulating film has a function as an interlayer insulating film IN for performing interlayer insulation between the pixel electrode PX and a counter electrode CT described later.

Step 7. (FIG. 5G) A laminated body of Cr and a Cr—Mo alloy is sequentially formed, and the counter electrode CT and the counter voltage signal line CL are formed by selective etching by a well-known photolithography technique.

Step 8. (FIG. 5 (h)) For example, a polyimide organic insulating film is formed on the entire main surface of the transparent substrate SUB1, and the surface is rubbed to form an alignment film ORI1. In addition, the transparent substrate S
A retardation film and a polarizing plate are sequentially attached to the surface of UB1 opposite to the liquid crystal side.

<< Structure of Transparent Substrate SUB2 >> As shown in FIG. 1, a black matrix BM and a color filter FIL are formed on the surface of the transparent substrate SUB2 facing the transparent substrate SUB1 with the liquid crystal interposed therebetween on the liquid crystal side. Not configured. As described above, the color filter FI
This is because L is formed on the transparent substrate SUB1 side, and the black matrix BM has the same function in the drain signal line DL and the gate signal line GL.

A pillar-like spacer SP is formed on the liquid crystal side surface of the transparent substrate SUB2. The spacer SP is formed by, for example, selective etching of a resin film formed on the surface of the transparent substrate SUB2, and is formed by setting an arbitrary number in the pixel region and an arbitrary number in the liquid crystal display section AR. You can Further, as long as the resin film is formed to have a uniform film thickness, each spacer SP can be formed to have a uniform height.

In this embodiment, for example, one spacer SP is provided for each pixel region, and the top thereof faces above the drain signal line DL, in other words, faces the boundary of each color filter FIL having different colors. It is positioned to do so.

Since the drain signal line DL also has the function of the black matrix BM, the spacer S
This is because P is formed in the light-shielded area and does not have to affect the reduction of the aperture ratio of the pixel.

Further, since the gate signal line GL also has the function of the black matrix BM, the spacer SP may be formed above the gate signal line GL, in other words, on the color filter FIL of the same color.

The spacers SP in the other pixel regions (not shown) are also formed at the locations shown in FIG. 1 to make the gaps between the transparent substrates SUB1 and SUB2 uniform.

Here, considering the shape of the spacer SP which is taken in a plane including the central axis thereof, when the taper angle on the right side is θ ₁ and the taper angle on the left side is θ ₂ , θ ₁ can be suppressed within the range of θ ₂ −10 <θ ₁ <θ ₂ +10. That is, the spacer S
In P, the taper angle of the entire circumference at the spacer bottom with respect to the plane serving as the fixed portion can be made substantially uniform, and the taper angle in one specific direction is extremely different from the taper angle in the other direction. Will disappear.

The reason why this structure is possible is that the spacer S is
The surface of the transparent substrate SUB2 forming P is the spacer SP.
This is because the flatness is ensured over a wide area centered on.

Moreover, by setting the value of θ ₁ within the range of 0 ° to 40 °, the alignment state of the liquid crystal around the spacer SP covered with the alignment film ORI2 described later can be improved, and further By setting the angle in the range of 0 ° to 30 °, it is possible to improve the level to a level that is practically not necessary to be distinguished from that of the liquid crystal display section AR. Further, it was confirmed that by setting the angle within the range of 0 ° to 10 °, it became almost the same as that of the liquid crystal display section AR.

Then, on the surface of the transparent substrate SUB2 on which the spacer SP is formed, an alignment film ORI2 is formed so as to cover the spacer SP as well. In addition, the transparent substrate SUB
A retardation film PF2 and a polarizing plate POL2 are sequentially attached to the surface of 2 opposite to the liquid crystal.

<< Method of Manufacturing Transparent Substrate SUB2 >> FIG.
FIG. 6 is a process diagram showing an example of a method of manufacturing the transparent substrate SUB2. The steps will be described below in order. Step 1. (FIG. 6A) First, the transparent substrate SUB2 is prepared.

Step 2. (FIG. 6 (b)) A resin material made of, for example, acrylic is applied to the surface of the transparent substrate SUB2 on the liquid crystal side by, for example, spin coating, and a desired gap having a film thickness of 0.5 to 6 μm is formed. A resin layer having a different thickness is selectively etched by using a well-known selective etching method using a photolithography technique. The remaining resin layer constitutes a pillar-shaped spacer SP, and the side wall surface thereof is tapered toward the transparent substrate SUB2 side so as to widen toward the end. This taper has a substantially uniform angle with respect to the entire circumference of the central axis of the spacer SP, and therefore, when several cross sections including the central axis of the spacer SP are taken, their shapes are all the same. It is formed to have a cross-sectional shape. This is because the spacer SP can be formed on the transparent substrate SUB2 having a completely flat surface.

Step 3. (FIG. 6C) A resin material made of, for example, polyimide is formed on the liquid crystal side surface of the transparent substrate SUB2 so as to cover the spacers SP on the pillars, for example, by a printing method, and the resin film thus formed is oriented. It is configured as a film ORI2.

Step 4. (FIG. 6D) The retardation film PF2 and the polarizing plate POL2 are sequentially attached to the surface of the transparent substrate SUB2 opposite to the liquid crystal.

Example 2. FIG. 7 is a constitutional view showing another embodiment of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention and corresponds to FIG. The configuration different from that of FIG. 1 is that in the transparent substrate SUB2, a thin film TH made of, for example, SiN is formed on at least the region of the liquid crystal display portion AR on the liquid crystal side surface thereof.
F is formed, and the pillar-shaped spacer SP and the alignment film ORI2 are formed on the upper surface of the thin film THF. The thin film THF is formed in view of the fact that only the alignment film ORI2 is formed in most regions of the liquid crystal side surface of the transparent substrate SUB2.

That is, when a defect occurs in a partial region of the alignment film ORI2 and the surface of the transparent substrate SUB2 is exposed from the defect, alkali ions are leached from the transparent substrate SUB2 to the liquid crystal side. This lowers the specific resistance of the liquid crystal, which causes uneven brightness and reduced brightness in the display.

The thin film is formed to eliminate such inconvenience, and has a function of preventing alkali ions in the transparent substrate SUB2 from seeping out to the liquid crystal side. Therefore, the material of this thin film is not necessarily S
The material is not limited to iN, and may be SiO ₂ or may be composed of an organic material layer. Further, the thin film may be formed on the pillar-shaped spacer SP. This is because the contaminants can be structurally prevented from seeping out from the spacer SP.

Example 3. FIG. 8 is based on the configuration of the first embodiment, and includes a transparent substrate SUB1 and a transparent substrate S.
Alignment marks AM1 and AM2 on UB2 respectively
And the alignment marks AM1 and AM2 improve the alignment accuracy of the transparent substrate SUB1 to the transparent substrate SUB2.

As a result, the pillar-shaped spacer SP formed on the transparent substrate SUB2 side has the top of the transparent substrate SU.
It is possible to exactly face a predetermined portion of each pixel region of B1, in other words, to arrange the spacer SP on the drain signal line DL also having the function of the black matrix BM without displacement.

FIG. 9 shows the positions of the respective alignment marks on the transparent substrate SUB2 and transparent substrate SUB1 (FIG. 9 (a)), and the alignment mark AM2 on the transparent substrate SUB2 side has a cross-shaped pattern (see FIG. 9).
(B)), on the other hand, as a cross-shaped frame pattern in which the alignment mark AM1 on the transparent substrate SUB1 side is surrounded by the above-mentioned cross-shaped pattern with a constant distance (FIG. 9).
(C)) It shows that it is configured.

Such alignment marks are shown in FIG.
By arranging the cross-shaped patterns in the cross-shaped frame pattern so that their centers coincide with each other as shown by 0, it is indicated that the alignment of the transparent substrate SUB1 with the transparent substrate SUB2 is not displaced. .

Here, the alignment mark on the transparent substrate SUB1 side is formed of the same material as the gate signal line GL at the same time when the gate signal line GL is formed.
The alignment mark on the UB2 side is made of, for example, the same material as the pillar-shaped spacer SP.

The alignment mark on the transparent substrate SUB1 side may be formed of either the material of the gate signal line GL or the material of the drain signal line DL. In the present embodiment, in particular, since the alignment mark is formed outside the formation region of the color filter FIL, the alignment mark having excellent recognizability can be obtained by forming the alignment mark with the material of the gate signal line GL or the drain signal line DL, and the transparent substrate SUB2. Optical discrimination from the alignment mark made of the material of the pillar-shaped spacer SP on the side can be sufficiently achieved.

Note that FIG. 11 is based on the configuration of the second embodiment, and includes a transparent substrate SUB1 and a transparent substrate SUB.
2 shows that alignment marks AM1 and AM2 are formed on each of the two.

Example 4. Each of the liquid crystal display devices of the above-described embodiments is a so-called horizontal electric field type, and the pixel electrodes PX adjacent to one transparent substrate side are arranged.
There is shown a structure in which the liquid crystal behaves by an electric field of a component substantially parallel to the transparent substrate between and the counter electrode CT.

However, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a so-called vertical electric field system. In the vertical electric field method, for example, the pixel electrode PX formed of a translucent conductive material is formed in most of the central region of the transparent substrate SUB1 excluding the periphery of the pixel region, and the pixel electrode PX has been described above. Similar to each embodiment, it is connected to the source electrode SD2 of the thin film transistor TFT.

On the other hand, on the surface of the transparent substrate SUB2 on the liquid crystal side, a counter electrode CT formed of a light-transmitting conductive material is formed in common in each pixel region, and the counter electrode CT for the video signal is formed. A reference voltage signal is supplied.

The liquid crystal interposed between the transparent substrates is an electric field generated between the pixel electrode PX and a counter electrode facing the pixel electrode PX (electric field in the direction perpendicular to the transparent substrate).
Behaved by.

In the liquid crystal display device having such a structure,
By forming the color filter FIL on the transparent substrate SUB1 side, the situation is exactly the same as in the above-described embodiments. In this case, the counter electrode CT is formed on the liquid crystal side surface of the transparent substrate SUB2.
Is commonly formed in each pixel region and is formed as a flat film having no unevenness. Therefore, the pillar-shaped spacer SP is formed on the transparent substrate SUB2 having a flat surface without unevenness, even if the counter electrode CT is formed, as in the case of each of the above-described embodiments. .

Example 5. In each of the above-described embodiments, each color filter FIL is commonly formed in each pixel region arranged in parallel along the longitudinal direction of the drain signal line DL. However, the color filter FI is not limited to this.
It goes without saying that L may be formed commonly to the pixel regions arranged in parallel along the longitudinal direction of the gate signal line GL. In this case, the spacer SP can bring about the same effect as described above by disposing the top of the spacer SP so as to face the gate signal line GL.

[0093]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the liquid crystal display device of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the light leakage due to the alignment disorder of the liquid crystal around the spacer.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a pixel of a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG.

FIG. 2 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing an embodiment of a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a pixel of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

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

FIG. 5 is a transparent substrate SUB of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a process chart showing an example of the manufacturing method of No. 1;

FIG. 6 is a transparent substrate SUB of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.
It is a flowchart showing an example of a manufacturing method of No. 2.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the pixel of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an effect of another embodiment of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an effect of another embodiment of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

SP ... Spacer, ORI2 ... Alignment film, SUB2 ... Transparent substrate, SUB1 ... Transparent substrate, GL ... Gate signal line, DL ...
Drain signal line, PSV ... Protective film, FIL ... Color filter, PX ... Pixel electrode, CT ... Counter electrode, TFT ... Thin film transistor, ORI1 ... Alignment film.

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G02F 1/1368 G02F 1/1368 G09F 9/30 320 G09F 9/30 320 338 338 349 349B 349Z 9/35 9/35 ( 72) Inventor Ryutaro Oke, 3300 Hayano, Mobara, Chiba Prefecture, Hitachi, Ltd., Display Group (72) Inventor, Yoshiaki Nakayoshi 3300, Hayano, Mobara, Chiba Prefecture, Hitachi, Ltd., Display Group, (72) Inventor, Kurahashi, Seiji Chiba 3300 Hayano, Mobara-shi Hitachi Ltd. Display group F-term (reference) 2H089 HA15 LA02 LA09 LA10 LA16 MA03X NA05 NA14 QA15 TA02 TA04 TA05 TA09 TA12 TA13 2H090 HA01 HA11 HB03X HB04X HB07X HD02 LA01 LA02 LA04 LA15 2H091 FA04Y0202 GA07 GA08 GA13 LA16 2H092 GA14 JA26 JB24 JB33 JB58 KB24 NA04 PA02 PA03 PA08 PA09 5C094 AA07 AA08 AA12 AA16 AA31 AA36 AA43 AA48 AA53 BA03 BA43 CA19 CA24 DA12 DA13 DB01 EA04 E A07 EB02 EC03 ED03 ED15 ED20 FA01 FA02 FA03 FB12 FB15 GB10 JA09

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of gate signal lines arranged in parallel on a liquid crystal side surface of one of the substrates opposed to each other with a liquid crystal interposed therebetween and a plurality of gate signal lines arranged so as to intersect these gate signal lines. Drain signal lines are formed, and a pixel region surrounded by each of these signal lines is provided with a thin film transistor which operates by a scanning signal from the gate signal line and a pixel to which a video signal from the drain signal line is supplied via the thin film transistor. An electrode and a color filter of another color formed having a boundary with a color filter on the pixel region side adjacent above the drain signal line, and a liquid crystal side surface of the other substrate of the respective substrates. A liquid crystal display device comprising: a pillar-shaped spacer formed on the surface of the substrate. 2. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the drain signal line also has a function of a black matrix. 3. The liquid crystal according to claim 1, wherein the pillar-shaped spacer has a top portion positioned at a boundary between another color filter adjacent to another color filter formed on one substrate side. Display device. 4. A plurality of gate signal lines arranged in parallel on a liquid crystal side surface of one of the substrates opposed to each other with a liquid crystal interposed therebetween and a plurality of gate signal lines arranged so as to intersect these gate signal lines. Drain signal lines are formed, and a pixel region surrounded by each of these signal lines is provided with a thin film transistor which operates by a scanning signal from the gate signal line and a pixel to which a video signal from the drain signal line is supplied via the thin film transistor. An electrode and a color filter of another color formed having a boundary with a color filter on the pixel area side adjacent above the gate signal line, and a surface of the other substrate on the liquid crystal side of the respective substrates. A liquid crystal display device comprising: a pillar-shaped spacer formed on the surface of the substrate. 5. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 4, wherein the gate signal line also has a function of a black matrix. 6. The liquid crystal according to claim 4, wherein the pillar-shaped spacer has a top portion positioned at a boundary between another color filter adjacent to another color filter formed on one substrate side. Display device. 7. The pillar-shaped spacer is characterized in that the value of the taper angle θ ₁ of the peripheral side surface with respect to the other substrate surface on which it is formed is set within the range of 0 ° to 40 °. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1. 8. A plurality of gate signal lines arranged in parallel on a liquid crystal side surface of one of the substrates opposed to each other with a liquid crystal interposed therebetween, and a plurality of gate signal lines arranged crossing these gate signal lines. Drain signal lines are formed, and a pixel region surrounded by each of these signal lines is provided with a thin film transistor which operates by a scanning signal from the gate signal line and a pixel to which a video signal from the drain signal line is supplied via the thin film transistor. An electrode and a color filter of another color formed having a boundary with a color filter on the pixel region side adjacent above the drain signal line, and a liquid crystal side surface of the other substrate of the respective substrates. A liquid crystal display device characterized in that an alignment film is formed on the substrate through a film that blocks the passage of ions. 9. A plurality of gate signal lines arranged in parallel on the liquid crystal side surface of one of the substrates opposed to each other with a liquid crystal in between, and a plurality of gate signal lines arranged crossing these gate signal lines. Drain signal lines are formed, and a pixel region surrounded by each of these signal lines is provided with a thin film transistor which operates by a scanning signal from the gate signal line and a pixel to which a video signal from the drain signal line is supplied via the thin film transistor. An electrode and a color filter of another color formed having a boundary with a color filter on the pixel region side adjacent above the drain signal line, and a liquid crystal side surface of the other substrate of the respective substrates. A liquid crystal display device characterized in that an alignment film is formed on the substrate through a film that blocks the passage of ions. 10. The film for blocking the passage of ions is SiN,
10. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 8, wherein the liquid crystal display device is made of SiO ₂ or an organic material layer. 11. The pillar-shaped spacer has a top portion thereof positioned in a region formed on the gate signal line of the color filter formed on one substrate side. Liquid crystal display device.