JP2011112688A - Display panel, display panel substrate, and display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display panel, a display panel substrate and a display device, suppressing corrosion of a metal. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid crystal display panel substrate includes a plurality of unit liquid crystal display panels and a cutting line 320. In a region near the cutting line 320, a common signal line 370 is composed of a transparent conductive film 372 formed on a glass substrate 375 and a copper wiring line 371 formed as a metal wiring line on the transparent conductive film 372. The copper wiring line 371 is terminated just short of the cutting line 320, and only the transparent conductive film 372 is extended over the cutting line 320, reaching a common signal line inspection region 316 and forming a part of a common signal common line 317. A copper wiring line 373 is formed on the transparent conductive film 372 in the common signal line inspection region 316, facing the copper wiring line 371 terminated and interposing the cutting line 320, so as to form a common signal common line 317 together with the transparent conductive film 372. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a display panel, a display panel substrate, and a display device, and more particularly to a display panel using a thin film transistor substrate, a display panel substrate, and a display device using the display panel.

  Liquid crystal display devices are widely used as display devices for information communication terminals such as computers and television receivers. Organic EL display devices (OLED), field emission display devices (FED), and the like are also known as display devices.

  In such a display device, a display panel including a TFT substrate in which a thin film transistor (TFT) is formed on a glass substrate is used. For example, in the case of a liquid crystal display device, a liquid crystal display panel that contains a liquid crystal composition between a TFT substrate and a color filter substrate and controls the orientation of the liquid crystal composition is used.

  A display panel is generally manufactured as a substrate (referred to as a “display panel substrate” in this specification) including a plurality of portions used for a display device on a single glass substrate, and then cut into 1 The size of the display panel used for one display device is formed. For this reason, when manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel substrate that includes parts used for a plurality of display devices, in order to prevent damage to circuits in the display panel due to static electricity, etc. It is formed (see Patent Document 1 etc.).

JP 2007-271803 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-286201

  A liquid crystal display panel including a part used for a plurality of display devices as described above may have metal appearing on the cut surface when the periphery is cut off as a single display panel, and the metal appearing on the cut surface is corroded. There is a fear. In particular, in the liquid crystal display device, when corrosion reaches the seal portion with the color filter substrate, there is a risk that the seal strength may be reduced or the liquid crystal composition may leak.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a display panel and a display device that can suppress metal corrosion.

  The display panel of the present invention includes a thin film transistor substrate in which a thin film transistor is formed on a glass substrate, and the thin film transistor substrate is formed on the glass substrate and extends to an end of the glass substrate; A display panel comprising: a metal wiring formed on the first transparent conductive film and terminated before reaching the end portion.

  Here, “transparent conductive film” means a light-transmitting conductive film formed of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) or the like.

  In the display panel of the present invention, the metal wiring may be a wiring formed simultaneously with the gate wiring of the thin film transistor.

  In the display panel of the present invention, the thin film transistor substrate includes an insulating film formed above the metal wiring, and a second transparent conductive film formed on the insulating film and extending to an end of the glass substrate. The second transparent conductive film may be electrically connected to the first transparent conductive film through at least the metal wiring.

  The display device of the present invention is a display device including any one of the display panels described above and a housing having a fixing member for fixing the display panel.

  The display panel substrate of the present invention is a display panel substrate cut along a cutting line, and includes a thin film transistor substrate in which a thin film transistor is formed on a glass substrate, the thin film transistor substrate is formed on the glass substrate, A first transparent conductive film that extends across the cutting line; and a metal wiring that is electrically connected to the first transparent conductive film and terminates oppositely across the cutting line. Among the metal wirings to be terminated, at least one of the metal wirings is formed on the transparent conductive film.

  Here, the “cut line” means a part of a line that is to be cut, and is usually not formed so as to be identifiable in appearance, but may be formed so as to be identifiable.

  In the display panel substrate of the present invention, the at least one metal wiring may be a wiring formed simultaneously with the gate wiring of the thin film transistor.

  In the display panel substrate of the present invention, the thin film transistor substrate includes an insulating film formed above the at least one metal wiring, and a second transparent conductive film formed on the insulating film and extending across the cutting line. The second transparent conductive film may be electrically connected to the first transparent conductive film through at least the metal wiring that terminates oppositely.

  Further, in the display panel substrate of the present invention, the portion cut along the cutting line is disposed adjacent to the display device portion used for the display device and the display device portion. And an inspection portion having an inspection terminal used for the inspection of the portion.

It is a figure shown about the liquid crystal display device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows schematically about the liquid crystal display panel of FIG. It is the figure expanded and shown about the area | region shown by A of FIG. It is a figure which shows the cross section in the IV-IV line of FIG. The state of the cut surface shown by the VV line of FIG. 3 is shown. It is a figure shown about the liquid crystal display panel board | substrate which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure expanded and shown about the area | region shown by B of FIG. It is a figure which shows the cross section in the VIII-VIII line of FIG. It is a figure which shows roughly about the manufacturing method of a liquid crystal display panel board | substrate. It is a figure shown about the liquid crystal display panel board | substrate which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure expanded and shown about the area | region shown by C of FIG. It is a figure which shows the cross section in the XII-XII line | wire of FIG. It is a figure which shows the cross section in the XIII-XIII line | wire of FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a liquid crystal display device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, the liquid crystal display device 100 includes a liquid crystal display panel 200 and an upper frame 110 and a lower frame 120 that are fixed so as to sandwich the liquid crystal display panel 200.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows the liquid crystal display panel 200. As shown in FIG. 2, a liquid crystal display panel 200 includes a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) substrate 210, a color filter substrate 220, and a sealing agent that fixes these substrates and seals the liquid crystal composition inside. 230. A TFT substrate 210 of the liquid crystal display panel 200 includes a data signal line 250 to which a gradation voltage corresponding to a gradation to be displayed is applied, and a transistor for guiding the gradation voltage applied to the data signal line 250 to a pixel electrode. A scanning signal line 260 for controlling conduction / non-conduction of the liquid crystal and a common signal line 270 for forming an electric field for aligning the liquid crystal composition in pairs with the pixel electrode. In this figure, the number of signal lines is reduced and simplified so that the figure is not complicated.

  The liquid crystal display panel 200 is cut as a single liquid crystal display panel 200 from a liquid crystal display panel substrate on which a plurality of liquid crystal display panels are arranged. As shown in the figure, each signal line is electrically connected to an adjacent substrate. It extends to the cut surface for connection.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the TFT substrate 210 in the region indicated by A in FIG. A region indicated by A is a portion where the common signal line 270 extends to the cut surface of the liquid crystal display panel 200. 4 is a view showing a cross section taken along line IV-IV in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the common signal line 270 includes a transparent conductive film 272 formed on the glass substrate 275, and a copper wiring 271 formed as a metal wiring on the transparent conductive film 272. Among these, the copper wiring 271 terminates before the cut surface, and only the transparent conductive film 272 extends to the cut surface. The transparent conductive film 272 and the copper wiring 271 are covered with an insulating film 276. FIG. 5 shows the state of the cut surface indicated by the line VV in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, only the transparent conductive film 272 formed on the glass substrate appears on the cut surface, and the copper wiring 271 does not appear.

  The configuration of the common signal line 270 in the vicinity of the cut surface shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 is the same for the data signal line 250 and the scanning signal line 260.

  Therefore, since the copper wiring 271 which is a metal wiring does not touch air, corrosion of the metal wiring can be suppressed.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 6 is a view showing a liquid crystal display panel substrate 300 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The liquid crystal display panel substrate 300 is a substrate including a plurality of single liquid crystal display panels, and a part thereof is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the liquid crystal display panel substrate 300 includes a display device area 310 having a liquid crystal display panel similar to the liquid crystal display panel 200 of the first embodiment, and around the display device area 310. A data signal line inspection region 312 including a terminal used for electrical inspection of the liquid crystal display panel in the region 310, a scanning signal line inspection region 314, and a common signal line inspection region 316 are provided. The data signal line inspection area 312 has a data signal common line 313 that is a terminal to which each data signal line 350 of the display device area 310 is connected, and the scanning signal line inspection area 314 has each scanning signal line of the display device area 310 The common signal line inspection region 316 has a common signal common line 317 that is a terminal to which the common signal line 370 of the display device region 310 is connected. . Further, the liquid crystal display panel substrate 300 is cut along a cutting line 320 indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG.

  FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the TFT substrate 301 in the region indicated by B in FIG. A region indicated by B is a portion where the common signal line 370 extends beyond the cutting line 320 to the common signal line inspection region 316. FIG. 8 is a view showing a cross section taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7 and 8, the common signal line 370 includes a transparent conductive film 372 formed on a glass substrate 375, and a copper wiring 371 formed as a metal wiring on the transparent conductive film 372. Among them, the copper wiring 371 terminates before the cutting line 320, and only the transparent conductive film 372 extends beyond the cutting line 320 to the common signal line inspection region 316, and the data signal common line 313 Forming part. Further, a copper wiring 373 is formed on the transparent conductive film 372 in the common signal line inspection region 316 so as to face the copper wiring 371 terminated with the cutting line 320 interposed therebetween, and the data signal common line 313 together with the transparent conductive film 372. Is forming. Note that the transparent conductive film 372, the copper wiring 371, and the copper wiring 373 are covered with an insulating film 376.

  FIG. 9 schematically shows a part of the manufacturing method of the TFT substrate 301 of the liquid crystal display panel substrate 300. In each step of FIG. 9, the left side of the drawing shows a state of lamination in the vicinity of the cutting line 320 of the TFT substrate 301, and the right side of the drawing shows a state of lamination of thin film transistor portions formed at the same time. It is shown. In the following, the manufacturing method around the cutting line 320 of the TFT substrate 301 on the left side of the drawing will be mainly described.

  As shown in FIG. 9, first, in step S <b> 101, a transparent conductive film 372 is formed on the glass substrate 375. Subsequently, in step S102, a copper metal film 381 to be a copper wiring is formed, and in step S103, a resist 382 is applied. Next, in step S104, exposure is performed using the vicinity of the cutting line 320 as a half mask and the other part as a full mask, and the resist 382 is thinned only in the vicinity of the cutting line 320. Thereafter, in step S105, in the thin film transistor forming process on the right side of the drawing, the metal film 381 and the transparent conductive film 372 are further etched with respect to the portion exposed without the mask in step S104 and the resist 382 removed. These layers are removed, leaving the gate line portions separated.

  Subsequently, in step S106, the half resist is removed by etching, and in step S107, the copper wirings 371 and 373 are formed by separating the metal film 381 by etching. Finally, the resist is stripped off in step S108. As a result, the portion straddling the cutting line 320 is connected only by the transparent conductive film 372, and the other portion has the wiring formed by the transparent conductive film 372 and the copper wirings 371 and 373 formed on the transparent conductive film 372. A TFT substrate is manufactured. Note that it is desirable that the portion connected only by the transparent conductive film around the cutting line 320 is shorter in order to reduce electric resistance.

  Therefore, by connecting only the transparent conductive film 372 around the cutting line 320, it is possible to perform inspection using each signal line inspection region formed around the display device region 310 of the liquid crystal display panel. Since the copper wiring does not come into contact with air after cutting, corrosion of the metal wiring can be suppressed.

  Further, since it can be formed at the same time as a thin film transistor having a gate wiring over a transparent conductive film over a glass substrate, it can be realized without increasing the number of manufacturing steps.

[Third Embodiment]
FIG. 10 is a view showing a liquid crystal display panel substrate 400 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Similarly to the second embodiment, the liquid crystal display panel substrate 400 is a substrate including a plurality of single liquid crystal display panels, and a part of them is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the liquid crystal display panel substrate 400 is provided with a display device area 410 having a liquid crystal display panel similar to the liquid crystal display panel 200 of the first embodiment, and around the display device area 410. A data signal line inspection area 412 including a terminal used for electrical inspection of the liquid crystal display panel in the area 410, a scanning signal line inspection area 414, and a common signal line inspection area 416 are provided. The data signal line inspection region 412 has a data signal common line 413 that is a terminal to which each data signal line 450 of the display device region 410 is connected, and the scanning signal line inspection region 414 has each scanning signal line of the display device region 410 The common signal line inspection region 416 includes a common signal common line 417 that is a terminal to which the common signal line 470 of the display device region 410 is connected. . Further, the liquid crystal display panel substrate 400 is cut along a cutting line 420 shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG.

  FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the TFT substrate 401 in the region indicated by C in FIG. A region indicated by C is a portion where the data signal line 450 is electrically connected to the data signal line inspection region 412 beyond the cutting line 420. 12 is a view showing a cross section taken along line XII-XII of FIG. As shown in FIG. 10 to FIG. 12, the data signal line 450 of the display device area 410 terminates before the cutting line 420 and is electrically connected to the transparent conductive film 474 through the through hole 477, and the transparent electrode 474 is further electrically connected to the transparent conductive film 472 through the metal film 451 in the same layer as the through hole 478 and the gate signal line wiring. The transparent conductive films 472 and 474 are disposed via the insulating film 479, respectively extend beyond the cutting line 420, and continue to the data signal line inspection region 412. The data signal common line 413 in the data signal line inspection region 412 is electrically connected to the transparent conductive film 472 by being formed on the transparent conductive film 472 extending over the cutting line 420 from the display device region 410 and the transparent conductive film 472. And a copper wiring 473 that terminates near the cutting line 420, and the copper wiring 473 is further electrically connected to the transparent conductive film 474 through the through hole 476.

  13 is a view showing a cross section taken along line XIII-XIII of FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, only the transparent conductive films 472 and 474 formed on the glass substrate appear in the cross section along the cutting line 420, and the copper wiring of the data signal line 450 does not appear.

  Accordingly, by connecting only the transparent conductive films 472 and 474 around the cutting line 420, it is possible to perform inspection using the data signal line inspection region formed around the display device region 410 of the liquid crystal display panel. At the same time, since the copper wiring does not come into contact with air after cutting, corrosion can be suppressed.

  Also in the third embodiment, as in the second embodiment, it can be formed at the same time as the thin film transistor having the gate wiring on the transparent conductive film on the glass substrate. be able to.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the metal wiring is a copper wiring, but other metal wiring using aluminum, an alloy thereof, or the like may be used.

  100 liquid crystal display device, 110 upper frame, 120 lower frame, 200 liquid crystal display panel, 210 TFT substrate, 220 color filter substrate, 230 sealant, 250 data signal line, 260 scanning signal line, 270 common signal line, 271 copper wiring, 272 Transparent conductive film, 275 glass substrate, 276 insulating film, 300 liquid crystal display panel substrate, 301 TFT substrate, 310 display device region, 312 data signal line inspection region, 313 data signal common line, 314 scanning signal line inspection region, 315 scanning Signal common line, 316 common signal line inspection area, 317 common signal common line, 320 cut line, 350 data signal line, 360 scanning signal line, 370 common signal line, 371 copper wiring, 372 transparent conductive film, 373 copper wiring, 375 Glass substrate, 376 insulating film , 381 Metal film, 382 Resist, 400 Liquid crystal display panel substrate, 401 TFT substrate, 410 Display device area, 412 Data signal line inspection area, 413 Data signal common line, 414 Scan signal line inspection area, 415 Scan signal common line, 416 Common signal line inspection area, 417 common signal common line, 420 cutting line, 450 data signal line, 451 metal film, 460 scanning signal line, 470 common signal line, 472 transparent conductive film, 473 copper wiring, 474 transparent conductive film, 476 , 477 through hole, 479 insulating film.

Claims (8)

A thin film transistor substrate having a thin film transistor formed on a glass substrate,
The thin film transistor substrate is
A first transparent conductive film formed on the glass substrate and extending to an end of the glass substrate;
A display panel comprising: a metal wiring formed on the first transparent conductive film and terminating before reaching the end portion.   The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the metal wiring is a wiring formed simultaneously with a gate wiring of the thin film transistor. The thin film transistor substrate is
An insulating film formed in an upper layer than the metal wiring;
A second transparent conductive film formed on the insulating film and extending to an end of the glass substrate;
The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the second transparent conductive film is electrically connected to the first transparent conductive film through at least the metal wiring. The display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
And a housing having a fixing member for fixing the display panel. A display panel substrate cut along a cutting line,
A thin film transistor substrate having a thin film transistor formed on a glass substrate,
The thin film transistor substrate is
A first transparent conductive film formed on the glass substrate and extending across the cutting line;
A metal wiring that is electrically connected to the first transparent conductive film and terminates oppositely across the cutting line;
The display panel substrate according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the opposing metal wirings is formed on the transparent conductive film.   6. The display panel substrate according to claim 5, wherein the at least one metal wiring is a wiring formed simultaneously with the gate wiring of the thin film transistor. The thin film transistor substrate is
An insulating film formed in a layer above the at least one metal wiring;
A second transparent conductive film formed on the insulating film and extending across the cutting line,
The display panel substrate according to claim 5, wherein the second transparent conductive film is electrically connected to the first transparent conductive film through at least the metal wiring that terminates oppositely. . The portion cut along the cutting line is
A display device part used in the display device;
The display panel according to claim 5, further comprising: an inspection portion that is disposed adjacent to the display device portion and includes an inspection terminal used for inspecting the display device portion. substrate.

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