JP2011215448A - Liquid crystal device and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce moisture entering the interior of a liquid crystal device.SOLUTION: A liquid crystal device (100) includes: a pair of substrates (10, 20); and a sealing material (52) disposed in a sealing area located in the periphery of pixel regions (10a) of the pair of substrates to align the pair of substrates with each other. A plurality of conducting members (102, 106) including conductive material are disposed on at least one substrate of the pair of substrates to be exposed to the surface of the one substrate, and the plurality of conducting members are respectively disposed not to overlap both the inner edge and the outer edge of the sealing area as viewed in a plane on the one substrate.

Description

The present invention relates to a technical field of a liquid crystal device and an electronic apparatus including the liquid crystal device, such as a liquid crystal projector.

In this type of device, it is possible to reduce moisture that enters the liquid crystal device (that is, the liquid crystal layer). For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a TFT (Thin Film Transistor).
The inorganic alignment film formed on each of the array substrate and the counter substrate is viewed in plan on the substrate,
An apparatus is described in which a portion of the region overlapping the sealing region where the sealing material is disposed is removed.

JP 2007-248743 A

However, according to the above-described background art, moisture that enters the liquid crystal device through, for example, exposed terminals to electrically connect the liquid crystal device and an external circuit is not considered. Then, there is a technical problem that there is a possibility that moisture or the like entering the liquid crystal device may not be sufficiently reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of, for example, the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to propose a liquid crystal device and an electronic apparatus that can reduce moisture entering the liquid crystal device.

In order to solve the above problems, a liquid crystal device according to the present invention is provided with a pair of substrates and a sealing material that is disposed in a seal region located around a pixel region of the pair of substrates and bonds the pair of substrates to each other. A plurality of conductive members including a conductive material are disposed on at least one substrate of the pair of substrates so as to be exposed on the surface of the one substrate; Each is arranged so as not to overlap with both the inner edge and the outer edge of the seal region in plan view on the one substrate.

According to the liquid crystal device of the present invention, the liquid crystal device includes a pair of substrates bonded to each other by a sealing material disposed in a sealing region positioned around the pixel region. here,"
“Pixel area” does not mean an area of individual pixels, but means an entire area in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in a plane, and typically corresponds to a “pixel display area” or a “display area”. .

On at least one of the pair of substrates, a plurality of conductive members including a conductive material are disposed so as to be exposed on the surface of the one substrate. Note that the conductive member is, for example, a terminal (so-called mounting terminal) for electrically connecting the liquid crystal device and an external circuit, a terminal for electrically connecting a pair of substrates to each other, or the like.

Particularly in the present invention, each of the plurality of conductive members is arranged so as not to overlap with both the inner edge and the outer edge of the seal region when viewed in plan on one substrate. Here, “does not overlap with both the inner edge and the outer edge of the seal region” means that one conductive member does not straddle the seal region when viewed in plan on one substrate, that is, one of the one conductive member. The portion is located on the inner side (that is, the pixel region side) than the seal region, and the other part of the conductive member is not located on the outer side (that is, the end portion side of one substrate). Meaning.

Accordingly, when viewed in plan on one substrate, (i) when one whole conductive member is arranged outside the seal region, (ii) one whole conductive member is arranged inside the seal region. (Iii) When a part of one conductive member is located outside the seal region and the remaining part of the conductive member is located within the seal region (in other words, one conductive member is And (iv) a part of one conductive member is located inside the seal area, and the remaining part of the conductive member is located in the seal area (when overlapping only with the outer edge of the seal area) (
In other words, the case where one conductive member overlaps only with the inner edge of the seal region corresponds to “does not overlap with both the inner edge and the outer edge of the seal region”.

The “inner edge of the seal region” means the boundary between the seal material and the liquid crystal layer. On the other hand, the “outer edge of the sealing material” means the boundary between the sealing material and the air layer.

According to the inventor's research, the following matters have been found. That is, moisture often enters the liquid crystal device through a conductive member stacked under the seal material, rather than a seal material in which a pair of substrates constituting the liquid crystal device are bonded to each other. In particular, when the conductive member is made of a conductive oxide such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) or ZnO, moisture can easily enter the liquid crystal device due to the replacement of the conductive oxide. In a transmissive liquid crystal device, a conductive member containing a conductive oxide is often stacked under a sealant.

On the other hand, it is conceivable to cover the conductive member with, for example, an insulating film so that the conductive member is not exposed on the substrate surface. For example, mounting terminals, terminals for electrically connecting a pair of substrates to each other, etc. Due to its nature, it must be formed so as to be exposed on the substrate surface. For this reason, all the conductive members cannot be covered with an insulating film, for example.

However, in the present invention, as described above, each of the plurality of conductive members is arranged so as not to overlap with both the inner edge and the outer edge of the seal region when viewed in plan on one substrate. For this reason,
For example, moisture in the atmosphere or the like can be prevented from entering the liquid crystal device through the conductive member.

In order to solve the above problems, an electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes the above-described liquid crystal device according to the present invention.

According to the electronic apparatus of the present invention, the liquid crystal device of the present invention described above is provided, so that moisture entering the liquid crystal device can be reduced. As a result, projection display devices with high device reliability and capable of displaying high-quality images, mobile phones, electronic notebooks, word processors, viewfinder type or monitor direct-view type video tape recorders, workstations, videophones, POS terminals Various electronic devices such as touch panels can be realized.

  The effect | action and other gain of this invention are clarified from the form for implementing demonstrated below.

It is the top view which looked at the liquid crystal device concerning the embodiment of the present invention from the counter substrate side with each component formed on the TFT array substrate. It is the HH 'sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is an enlarged plan view which expands and shows the seal | sticker area | region vicinity of the liquid crystal device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is process sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the structure of the projector which is an example of the electronic device to which a liquid crystal device is applied.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a liquid crystal device and an electronic apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following drawings, the scales are different for each layer and each member so that each layer and each member can be confirmed on the drawing.

<Liquid crystal device>
First, an embodiment of a liquid crystal device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, an active matrix driving type liquid crystal device with a built-in driving circuit is taken as an example of the liquid crystal device.

The overall configuration of the liquid crystal device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the liquid crystal device according to the present embodiment as viewed from the side of the counter substrate together with each component formed on the TFT array substrate, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line HH ′ of FIG. FIG.

1 and 2, the liquid crystal device 100 includes a TFT array substrate 10 and a counter substrate 20.
Are arranged opposite to each other. The TFT array substrate 10 is made of a substrate such as a quartz substrate, a glass substrate, or a silicon substrate, and the counter substrate 20 is made of a substrate such as a quartz substrate or a glass substrate. A liquid crystal layer 50 is sealed between the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20.
The FT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 are bonded to each other by a seal material 52 provided in a seal region located around the image display region 10a.

The sealing material 52 is, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin or a thermosetting resin for bonding both substrates.
Alternatively, it is made of a UV / heat combination type curable resin, and the TFT array substrate 10 in the manufacturing process.
After being applied on top, it is cured by ultraviolet irradiation, heating, or the like. Sealing material 52
Inside, a gap material such as glass fiber or glass beads for dispersing the distance (that is, the gap) between the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 to a predetermined value is dispersed. In addition to or instead of the gap material mixed in the sealing material 52, the image display region 10a is used.
Or you may make it arrange | position to the peripheral area located in the periphery of the image display area 10a.

In FIG. 1, a light-shielding frame light-shielding film 53 that defines the image display region 10 a is provided on the counter substrate 20 side in parallel with the inside of the seal region where the sealing material 52 is disposed. However,
A part or all of the frame light shielding film 53 may be provided as a built-in light shielding film on the TFT array substrate 10 side.

A data line driving circuit 101 and an external circuit connection terminal 102 are provided along one side of the TFT array substrate 10 in a region located outside the sealing region in which the sealing material 52 is disposed in the peripheral region. The sampling circuit 7 is provided so as to be covered with the frame light shielding film 53 on the inner side of the seal region along the one side. The scanning line driving circuit 104 is provided in a frame area inside the seal area along two sides adjacent to the one side so as to be covered with the frame light shielding film 53.

On the TFT array substrate 10, vertical conduction terminals 106 for connecting the two substrates with the vertical conduction material 107 are arranged in regions facing the four corner portions of the counter substrate 20. Thus, electrical conduction can be established between the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20. Further, an external circuit connection terminal 102, a data line driving circuit 101, and a scanning line driving circuit 104.
A lead wiring 90 for electrically connecting the vertical conduction terminal 106 and the like is formed.

Here, each of the external circuit connection terminal 102 and the vertical conduction terminal 106 is, for example, ITO, Z
A transparent conductive oxide such as nO is included. Further, each of the external circuit connection terminal 102 and the vertical conduction terminal 106 is disposed so as to be exposed on the surface of the TFT array substrate 10.

In FIG. 2, on the TFT array substrate 10, a laminated structure in which wirings such as pixel switching transistors, scanning lines, and data lines as drive elements are formed is formed. The detailed structure of this laminated structure is not shown in FIG. 2, but the IT
Pixel electrodes 9a made of a transparent material such as O are formed in an island shape in a predetermined pattern for each pixel.

The pixel electrode 9a is formed in the image display region 10a on the TFT array substrate 10 so as to face a counter electrode 21 described later. On the surface of the TFT array substrate 10 facing the liquid crystal layer 50, that is, on the pixel electrode 9a, a passivation film containing an inorganic insulating material (
(Not shown) is formed so as to cover the pixel electrode 9a. On the passivation film, an inorganic alignment film 16 including an inorganic material such as SiO ₂ is formed.

If the inorganic alignment film is directly formed on the pixel electrode 9a, the surface of the inorganic alignment film may be uneven due to the pixel electrode 9a. However, in this embodiment, since the inorganic alignment film 16 is formed on the passivation film formed on the pixel electrode 9a, the surface of the inorganic alignment film 16 can be planarized. As a result, the quality of the display image of the liquid crystal device 100 can be improved.

A light shielding film 23 is formed on the surface of the counter substrate 20 facing the TFT array substrate 10. For example, the light shielding film 23 is formed in a lattice shape when viewed in plan on the facing surface of the facing substrate 20. In the counter substrate 20, a non-opening area is defined by the light shielding film 23, and an area partitioned by the light shielding film 23 is an opening area through which light emitted from, for example, a projector lamp or a direct viewing backlight is transmitted. The light shielding film 23 may be formed in a stripe shape, and the non-opening region may be defined by the light shielding film 23 and various components such as data lines provided on the TFT array substrate 10 side.

On the light shielding film 23, a counter electrode 21 made of a transparent material such as ITO is formed so as to face the plurality of pixel electrodes 9a. In order to perform color display in the image display region 10a on the light shielding film 23, a color filter (not shown in FIG. 2) may be formed in a region including a part of the opening region and the non-opening region. An inorganic alignment film 22 containing an inorganic material such as SiO ₂ is formed on the counter electrode 21 on the counter surface of the counter substrate 20. A passivation film containing an inorganic insulating material may be formed between the counter electrode 21 and the inorganic alignment film 22.

The data line driving circuit 1 is provided on the TFT array substrate 10 shown in FIGS.
01, a scanning line driving circuit 104, a sampling circuit 7, and the like, a precharge circuit for supplying a precharge signal of a predetermined voltage level to a plurality of data lines in advance of an image signal, and the liquid crystal in the middle of manufacture or at the time of shipment You may form the inspection circuit etc. for inspecting the quality of a device, a defect, etc.

Particularly in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the external circuit connection terminal 102 and the vertical conduction terminal 1
Each of 06 is arranged so as not to overlap with both the inner edge 52a and the outer edge 52b of the seal region (the region between the one-dot chain line and the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3) in plan view on the TFT array substrate 10. Has been.

More specifically, the external circuit connection terminal 102 is disposed outside the seal region (that is, on the end side of the TFT array substrate 10) when viewed in plan on the TFT array substrate 10. A part of the vertical conduction terminal 106 is disposed in the seal region as viewed in plan on the TFT array substrate 10, and the remaining portion is disposed outside the seal region.

As described above, in this embodiment, both the external circuit connection terminal 102 and the vertical conduction terminal 106 that are exposed on the surface of the TFT array substrate 10 are at least sealed when viewed in plan on the TFT array substrate 10. It arrange | positions so that it may not overlap with the inner edge 52a of a area | region.

For this reason, for example, moisture in the atmosphere causes the external circuit connection terminal 102 or the vertical conduction terminal 106 to
Intrusion into the liquid crystal device 100 (that is, the liquid crystal layer 50) can be suppressed via the.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing the vicinity of the seal region of the liquid crystal device according to this embodiment. The “TFT array substrate 10” and the “counter substrate 20” according to the present embodiment are examples of the “pair of substrates” according to the present invention, and the “external circuit connection terminal 102” and the “vertical conduction terminal” according to the present embodiment. "106" is an example of the "conductive member" according to the present invention.

The liquid crystal device 100 described above is manufactured through the following processes, for example. That is, TFT
After the pixel electrode 9a is formed in an island shape with a predetermined pattern for each pixel on the array substrate 10 (see FIG. 4A), so as to cover the pixel electrode 9a, that is, on the pixel electrode 9a, As shown in FIG. 4B, an inorganic insulating layer 150 containing an inorganic insulating material is formed by, for example, plasma CVD (C
It is formed by a method such as (Health Vapor Deposition). FIG. 4
These are process sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal device which concerns on this embodiment.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, a resist 210 is formed on the inorganic insulating layer 150 in a predetermined pattern, and the inorganic insulating layer 150 is patterned using the resist 210 as a mask, thereby forming a passivation film. 151 is formed.

After the mask 210 is peeled off, as shown in FIG.
A conductive layer 160 including a transparent conductive oxide such as ITO or ZnO is formed so as to cover the surface.

Next, a resist 220 is formed in a predetermined pattern on the conductive layer 160, and the conductive layer 160 is patterned using the resist 220 as a mask, so that external connection terminals are provided as shown in FIG. The protective film 102a and the vertical conduction terminal 106 are formed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4F, the inorganic alignment film 16 is formed on the passivation film 151 by, for example, an oblique deposition method, and patterned into a predetermined shape. Next, FIG.
), The TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 are bonded to each other by the seal material 52, and the vertical conductive terminal 106 and the counter electrode 21 are electrically connected by the vertical conductive material 107. Thereafter, liquid crystal is sealed between the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20.

<Electronic equipment>
Next, an embodiment of an electronic apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, as an example of an electronic apparatus according to the present invention, a projector using the above-described liquid crystal device as a light valve is given. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a configuration example of the projector.

As shown in FIG. 5, a lamp unit 1102 including a white light source such as a halogen lamp is provided inside the projector 1100. The projection light emitted from the lamp unit 1102 is separated into three primary colors of RGB by four mirrors 1106 and two dichroic mirrors 1108 arranged in the light guide 1104, and serves as a light valve corresponding to each primary color. The light enters the liquid crystal panels 1110R, 1110B, and 1110G.

The configurations of the liquid crystal panels 1110R, 1110B, and 1110G are the same as those of the liquid crystal device 10 described above.
It has a configuration equivalent to 0 and is driven by R, G, and B primary color signals supplied from an image signal processing circuit. And the light modulated by these liquid crystal panels is
The light enters the dichroic prism 1112 from three directions. In this dichroic prism 1112, R and B light is refracted at 90 degrees, while G light travels straight. Accordingly, as a result of the synthesis of the images of the respective colors, a color image is projected onto the screen or the like via the projection lens 1114.

Here, when attention is paid to the display images by the liquid crystal panels 1110R, 1110B, and 1110G, the display images by the liquid crystal panels 1110R and 1110B are the liquid crystal panels 1110G.
Therefore, it is necessary to flip the display image horizontally.

Since light corresponding to the primary colors R, G, and B is incident on the liquid crystal panels 1110R, 1110B, and 1110G by the dichroic mirror 1108, it is not necessary to provide a color filter.

In addition to the electronic device described with reference to FIG. 5, a mobile personal computer, a mobile phone, an LCD TV, a viewfinder type or a monitor direct-view type video tape recorder, a car navigation device, a pager, and an electronic notebook , Calculators, word processors, workstations, videophones, POS terminals, devices with touch panels, and the like. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to these various electronic devices.

In addition to the liquid crystal device described in the above embodiment, the present invention can be applied to, for example, a reflective liquid crystal device (LCOS) that forms elements on a silicon substrate.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification. Electronic devices are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

9a ... Pixel electrode, 10 ... TFT array substrate, 10a ... Image display region, 16, 22 ... Inorganic alignment film, 20 ... Counter substrate, 21 ... Counter electrode, 50 ... Liquid crystal layer, 52 ... Sealing material, 52a ... Sealing region Inner edge, 52b ... Outer edge of seal region, 100 ... Liquid crystal device, 102 ... External circuit connection terminal, 106 ... Vertical conduction terminal, 107 ... Vertical conduction material

Claims (2)

A pair of substrates;
A seal material that is disposed in a seal region located around a pixel region of the pair of substrates, and that seals the pair of substrates together, and
On at least one of the pair of substrates, a plurality of conductive members including a conductive material are disposed so as to be exposed on the surface of the one substrate,
Each of the plurality of conductive members is arranged so as not to overlap with both the inner edge and the outer edge of the seal region when viewed in plan on the one substrate.   An electronic apparatus comprising the liquid crystal device according to claim 1.

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