JP2013097191A - Liquid crystal display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid crystal display device with excellent display quality by preventing display unevenness which appears in the vicinity of a peripheral part of a display region.SOLUTION: A liquid crystal display device includes: an array substrate 2 including a display region 3 having a plurality of pixels 13 each having a switching element in matrix, and a lead-out wiring region 4 which is formed outside the display region 3 and which is provided with a lead-out wire 6 for supplying a signal to the switching element; a plurality of rib-like convex parts 10 extending on the array substrate 2 in parallel to each other from the boundary between the display region 3 and the lead-out wiring region 4 toward an end of the array substrate 2; an alignment film 9 covering the display region 3.

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly to a liquid crystal display device subjected to a liquid crystal alignment process.

  In a liquid crystal display device, an array substrate in which pixel electrodes and wirings are formed in a matrix and a color filter substrate are bonded to each other while maintaining a constant gap, and a liquid crystal material is sandwiched between the gaps of these substrates. Has a structure.

  An alignment film made of polyimide or the like is formed on the surface of each substrate in contact with the liquid crystal material, and the liquid crystal material is aligned in a predetermined direction by rubbing (rubbing) the alignment film surface with a rubbing cloth made of rayon or the like. Such a liquid crystal alignment treatment method is generally called a rubbing method, and imparts liquid crystal alignment regulating force to the alignment film.

  The liquid crystal alignment process by the rubbing method is performed not only on the display area of each substrate but also on the entire surface of the array substrate and the color filter substrate. Therefore, in the array substrate, the liquid crystal alignment process by the rubbing method is simultaneously performed on the entire surface of the array substrate at the same time without distinguishing between the display region and the lead-out wiring region adjacent to the display region. The lead-out wiring area of the array substrate not only has a different surface shape from the display area but also has low uniformity. Therefore, when the lead-out wiring area is rubbed, the surface state of the rubbing cloth made of rayon or the like is disturbed. As a result, when the display area is rubbed after the extraction wiring area is rubbed, in the display area near the boundary with the extraction wiring area, the liquid crystal alignment of the liquid crystal material held between the substrates due to the disturbance of the surface state of the rubbing cloth May be disturbed and display unevenness may occur.

  Therefore, dummy wirings with the same film thickness, width, and spacing as the extraction wirings are formed in the part of the extraction wiring area around the display area where the extraction wirings are not formed, thereby reducing the unevenness of the extraction wiring area around the display area. Thus, a method has been proposed in which disturbance of the surface state of the rubbing cloth is suppressed and display unevenness is eliminated in the lead-out wiring area and the display area near the boundary (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-084387

  However, only by reducing the unevenness of the lead-out wiring area around the display area by forming the dummy wiring in the lead-out wiring area around the display area where the lead-out wiring is not formed, the lead-out wiring, dummy The occurrence of fiber orientation disorder in the rubbing cloth due to the non-uniformity of the wiring formation state cannot be sufficiently suppressed. As a result, there is a problem that the liquid crystal alignment is disturbed and display unevenness is caused in the display area near the boundary with the lead-out wiring area.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display device in which the occurrence of display unevenness is suppressed even in a display region near the boundary with a lead-out wiring region. .

  The liquid crystal display device according to the present invention includes a display region in which a plurality of pixels each having a switching element are formed in a matrix, and a lead-out wiring region in which a lead-out wiring for supplying a signal to the switching element is formed outside the display region. An array substrate having a plurality of hook-shaped protrusions extending parallel to each other from the boundary between the display region and the lead-out wiring region toward the end of the array substrate, and the display region. And an alignment film for covering.

  The liquid crystal display device according to the present invention has a plurality of hook-shaped protrusions extending in parallel to each other in the lead-out wiring area around the display area, thereby suppressing the disorder of the surface state of the rubbing cloth. Display unevenness in a display region near the boundary with the region can be suppressed, and a liquid crystal display device with improved display quality can be obtained.

2 is a schematic plan view illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal panel according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal panel of Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view near the boundary between the display area and the lead-out wiring area of the array substrate according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view near the boundary between the display area and the lead-out wiring area of the array substrate according to the first embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the orientation state of the liquid crystal molecule of the liquid crystal panel using the array substrate which does not form a bowl-shaped convex part. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining an alignment state of liquid crystal molecules in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 10 is an enlarged schematic view of the vicinity of the boundary between the display area and the lead-out wiring area of the array substrate according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is an enlarged schematic view of the vicinity of the boundary between the display area and the lead-out wiring area of the array substrate according to the third embodiment.

  In the description of the embodiments and the respective drawings, the portions denoted by the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding portions.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
<Configuration and manufacturing of LCD panel>
The structure of the liquid crystal panel 1 which is Embodiment 1 of the liquid crystal display device of this invention and its manufacturing process are demonstrated using FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a configuration of the liquid crystal panel 1, and FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal panel 1, showing a cross section taken along line AA of the liquid crystal panel 1 of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view of the vicinity of the boundary between the display area 3 and the lead-out wiring area 4 of the array substrate 2 constituting the liquid crystal panel 1, and is an enlarged view of the area surrounded by the dashed ellipse in FIG. is there. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view in the vicinity of the boundary between the display area 3 and the lead-out wiring area 4 of the array substrate 2, and shows a cross section taken along the line BB in FIG.

  The liquid crystal panel 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 employs an active matrix driving method, and a TFT (thin film transistor) array is formed on the surface of the array substrate 2. As this TFT, for example, a field effect transistor formed of a semiconductor such as amorphous silicon or polysilicon is used. Further, a plurality of pixels 13 (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 but shown in FIG. 3) are arranged on the surface of the array substrate 2 in a matrix. Each pixel 13 is provided with a TFT, and each pixel 13 is driven by a TFT operating as a switching element. On the other hand, a CF is formed on the surface of a color filter (hereinafter referred to as CF) substrate 5 that is disposed to face the array substrate 2. The array substrate 2 and the CF substrate 5 are disposed so that the surfaces on which the TFT and the CF are formed are opposed to each other.

  The liquid crystal panel 1 is formed with a display region 3 in which a plurality of pixels 13 are arranged in a matrix, and lead lines 6 for inputting source signals and gate signals for driving TFTs provided in the pixels 13. And a lead-out wiring region 4. Furthermore, the lead-out wiring region 4 has a part where the lead-out wiring 6 is formed and a part where the lead-out wiring 6 between them is not formed.

  As schematically shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pitch at which the lead-out wirings 6 are arranged is on the side close to the display region 3 for inputting the source signal and the gate signal to the TFT provided in each pixel 13. And the pitch of the lead-out wiring at the end of the array substrate 2 that receives signals from the outside are different.

  Although not shown in FIG. 1, a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) is mounted on the lead-out wiring 6 through an anisotropic conductive film (ACF) at the end of the array substrate 2, and a source signal and gate are supplied from an external control device. A signal is input to the liquid crystal panel 1. Accordingly, the lead-out wiring 6 on the side close to the display region 3 has a large pitch to match the arrangement of the pixels 13 in the display region 3, and the lead-out wiring 6 at the end of the array substrate 2 has a small pitch to match the ACF size. . Therefore, the lead-out wiring region 4 has a portion where the lead-out wiring 6 is formed and a portion where the lead-out wiring 6 is not formed therebetween.

  The liquid crystal panel described in the first embodiment is, for example, a 5-type QVGA (320 × 240 pixels) liquid crystal panel to which an IPS (In-Plane Switching) mode is applied. Typically, the lead wiring pitch on the display area 3 side is However, it is about 100 μm on the long side (lateral direction) side and about 300 μm on the short side (vertical direction) side. The lead wiring pitch at the end of the array substrate 2 is about 50 μm on both the long side and the short side.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the array substrate 2 and the CF substrate 5 face each other, the liquid crystal material 7 is held between these substrates, and the sealing material 8 holds these substrates. As shown in FIG. 1, the array substrate 2 is provided with a display area 3 and a lead-out wiring area 4. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, an alignment film 9 made of polyimide is formed on the surfaces of the array substrate 2 and the CF substrate 5. The alignment film 9 is subjected to a liquid crystal alignment process (hereinafter referred to as a rubbing process) by a rubbing method using a rayon cloth in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view of a region surrounded by a dashed ellipse shown in FIG. 1, and shows an enlarged vicinity of the boundary between the display region 3 and the lead-out wiring region 4 of the array substrate 2. A plurality of hook-shaped protrusions 10 are formed in a direction in which the source signal wiring 11 extends so as to overlap with the lead-out wiring 6, and each of the hook-shaped protrusions 10 is formed in parallel to each other. In FIG. 3, as an example, most of the bowl-shaped convex portion 10 is formed on the lower layer side of the lead-out wiring 6. The ridge-like convex portion 10 has a width of 10 μm and an interval equal to the pixel pitch. The display area 3 is composed of a plurality of pixels 13 surrounded by a source signal line 11 and a gate signal line 12.

  As described above, the liquid crystal panel 1 uses the IPS mode as the liquid crystal display mode. Although not shown in this figure, each pixel 13 is provided with a pair of comb-type electrodes, and a voltage applied between the comb-type electrodes causes the liquid crystal material 7 to respond and display. In the IPS mode liquid crystal panel 1, a rubbing process is performed in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 3, and the liquid crystal material 7 is oriented in the direction of the arrow.

  FIG. 4 schematically shows a cross-section of the BB portion of FIG. 3, and is a schematic cross-sectional view near the boundary between the display area 3 and the lead-out wiring area 4 of the array substrate 2. An aluminum (Al) layer having a thickness of 200 nm is formed on the surface of the array substrate 2, and the gate signal wiring 12 and the ridge-shaped protrusion 10 having a width of 10 μm are formed by photolithography. Since the gate signal wiring 12 is not in electrical contact with other electrode wirings or the like thereon, a 300 nm silicon nitride (SiN) layer is formed as the interlayer insulating film 14, and a 200 nm copper (Cu) layer is further formed. . After the source signal wiring 11 and the lead-out wiring 6 are formed by photolithography, an overcoat layer 15 made of SiN is formed to a thickness of 300 nm as the uppermost layer. Further, an alignment film 9 made of polyimide is applied on the overcoat layer 15.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the FPC is mounted via the ACF and the source signal and the gate signal are input to the array substrate 2, but the source signal and the gate signal are input. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and a configuration capable of stably inputting signals can be used. For example, a drive IC or the like may be mounted directly on the lead-out wiring 6 of the array substrate 2 by bare chip mounting.

  In this embodiment, a rayon cloth is used for the rubbing treatment, but other rubbing cloths such as a cotton cloth can also be used.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the liquid crystal panel 1 uses the IPS mode as its liquid crystal display mode, but the present invention is not limited to this, and any liquid crystal display mode that aligns the liquid crystal material 7 by rubbing treatment may be used. Can do. For example, a TN (Twisted Nematic) mode, a STN (Super Twisted Nematic) mode, and an ECB (Electrically Controlled Birefringence) mode can be used.

  Further, the pitch of the lead-out wiring 6 on the display region 3 side and the pitch of the lead-out wiring 6 at the end of the array substrate 2 are not particularly limited, and are arbitrarily set according to the pitch of the pixels 13 and the mounting pitch of the FPC. I can do things. When the pitch of the extraction wiring 6 on the display area 3 side is equal to the pitch of the extraction wiring 6 at the end of the array substrate 2, the extraction wiring 6 is linearly connected from the display area 3 to the end of the array substrate 2. As a result, the degree of non-uniformity of the lead-out wiring region 4 is reduced. For this reason, the display unevenness in the peripheral portion of the display area 3 is somewhat reduced, but there is non-uniformity in the lead-out wiring area 4 due to the film formation state or the like. Therefore, it goes without saying that a further effect of suppressing display unevenness can be obtained by providing a plurality of ridge-like convex portions 10 in parallel with each other.

  The film thickness of the Al layer for forming the bowl-shaped protrusion 10 is 200 nm, but is not particularly limited, and any film can be used as long as it is 50 nm or more and 500 nm or less. If the thickness of the Al layer is less than 50 nm, the effect of improving display unevenness is insufficient, and the effect of the present invention cannot be achieved. If the thickness exceeds 500 nm, the effect of improving display unevenness can be obtained, but the unevenness of the stepped portions of the source signal wiring 11 and the lead-out wiring 6 produced in the upper layer of the Al layer becomes too large, and the wiring is likely to be cut off. Furthermore, the panel gap of the liquid crystal panel 1 may be uneven, which is inappropriate. Therefore, the film thickness of the Al layer for forming the bowl-shaped convex part 10 needs to be 50 nm or more and 500 nm or less, and is preferably 100 nm or more and 400 nm or less for the same reason.

  The width of the ridge-shaped convex portion 10 is 10 μm, but can be set to an arbitrary width as long as it is in the range of 2 μm or more and 100 μm or less. If it is less than 2 μm, the width of the ridge-like convex portion 10 is too narrow, and the effect of improving display unevenness becomes insufficient. On the other hand, when the thickness exceeds 100 μm, the width of the ridge-like convex portion 10 is too wide and almost entirely becomes a convex portion and becomes flat, so that the effect of improving display unevenness is insufficient.

Al is used for the material of the ridge-shaped convex portion 10, but the material is not limited to this, and other electrode materials such as amorphous silicon (αSi) can be used. Although Cu is used as the material and Al as the material of the gate signal wiring 12, these materials are not particularly limited, and a normal electrode material such as an AlNd alloy can be used in addition to Al and Cu. The materials used for the interlayer insulating film 14 and the overcoat layer 15 for preventing electrical contact between the source signal wiring 11 and other wirings are not particularly limited as long as they have insulating properties and can protect the electrode layers. In addition to SiN, an ordinary interlayer insulating film 14 such as SiO ₂ is used.

<Display characteristics>
A liquid crystal panel 1 was manufactured by injecting a liquid crystal material 7 into the gap between the array substrate 2 and the CF substrate 5 manufactured in the present embodiment. Although not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, polarizing plates are placed on the front and back surfaces of the liquid crystal panel 1 so that the transmission axes are orthogonal to each other, and the presence or absence of display unevenness is observed. It was.

  The alignment state of the liquid crystal molecules 16 of the liquid crystal panel 1 and the occurrence of display unevenness will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, and the effect of providing the ridge-shaped convex portion 10 of the present invention on the array substrate 2 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is for comparison, and is a schematic diagram of the alignment state of the liquid crystal molecules 16 of the liquid crystal panel using the array substrate that does not form the ridge-shaped protrusions 10, and FIG. 6 is the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules 16 of the first embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of a state.

  The arrows in FIGS. 5 and 6 indicate the fiber directions of the rubbing cloth when the rubbing treatment is performed from the top to the bottom of the drawings. When the rubbing treatment is performed, an alignment regulating force for aligning the liquid crystal molecules 16 in the direction of the fibers of the rubbing cloth is generated in the alignment film 9. Therefore, the direction of this arrow is the liquid crystal alignment treatment direction, and indicates the direction of the alignment regulating force of the alignment film 9.

  First, consider a case where the conventional array substrate 2 in which the hook-shaped protrusions 10 are not formed in the lead-out wiring region 4 where the lead-out wiring 6 is formed is rubbed from the top to the bottom of FIG.

  In the portion where the lead wiring 6 is formed obliquely, the direction of the fibers of the rubbing cloth is disturbed, and the fibers of the rubbing cloth are arranged slightly inclined in the direction of the lead wiring 6. For this reason, the alignment regulating force of the alignment film 9 is also slightly inclined in the direction of the lead-out wiring 6. On the other hand, in the portion where the lead wiring 6 is formed in the direction in which the source signal wiring 11 extends, the fiber direction of the rubbing cloth is not disturbed and is arranged in the rubbing treatment direction as it is. The force is also straight up and down in the figure.

  In a portion that slightly enters the display area 3 from the lead-out wiring area 4 where the lead-out wiring 6 is formed, the distribution of the fibers of the rubbing cloth is maintained as it is. That is, in the vicinity of a region where the lead wiring 6 is formed in an oblique direction, the lead wiring 6 is rubbed in a direction slightly inclined in the direction of the lead wiring 6 and the lead wiring 6 is formed in a direction in which the source signal wiring 11 extends. In the vicinity of the region, rubbing is performed straight in the vertical direction. At this time, since the alignment regulating force of the alignment film 9 is generated in the rubbing process direction, the alignment film 9 is slightly inclined in the vicinity of the region where the extraction wiring 6 is formed obliquely, and in the vicinity of the region where the extraction wiring 6 is formed in the direction of the source signal wiring 11. Then, the liquid crystal molecules 16 are aligned straight in the vertical direction.

  Furthermore, in the area (lower part of FIG. 5) that is in the display area 3, the source signal wiring 11 is formed straight in the vertical direction. At this time, the fiber direction of the rubbing cloth arranged in a tilted state is returned to the original by the influence of the source signal wiring 11 due to the influence of the lead-out wiring 6, and becomes the vertical direction, so that the liquid crystal molecules 16 are straight in the vertical direction of the figure. Orient.

  As a result of the rubbing process, the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules 16 is slightly inclined in the region surrounded by the broken line in FIG. 5, and is observed as display unevenness when the liquid crystal panel 1 is observed.

  Next, consider a case where the array substrate 2 in which a plurality of ridge-like convex portions 10 are formed in parallel to each other in the lead-out wiring region 4 is rubbed from the top to the bottom in FIG.

  When the extraction wiring region 4 is rubbed, the fiber direction of the rubbing cloth is disturbed in the portion where the extraction wiring 6 is formed obliquely with respect to the rubbing processing direction, and the fibers of the rubbing cloth are inclined due to the inclination of the extraction wiring 6. Try to align. However, since a plurality of ridge-like convex portions 10 are formed in parallel to each other in the lead-out wiring region 4 in the direction of the source signal wiring 11, the fibers of the rubbing cloth are inclined in the direction of the lead-out wiring 6. The fibers are arranged in the rubbing direction as they are.

  In this state, when the region that has entered the display region 3 from the lead-out wiring region 4 is rubbed, the fibers of the rubbing cloth are aligned straight in the rubbing direction, so the liquid crystal molecules 16 are also aligned in the vertical direction in the figure. The alignment is straight and the alignment is not disturbed. Therefore, it is possible to achieve a good display quality without display unevenness.

  In the present embodiment, the rubbing processing direction is the vertical direction of the liquid crystal panel 1 (the direction of the source signal wiring 11), and a plurality of hook-shaped protrusions 10 are parallel to each other in the direction in which the source signal wiring 11 extends. In the case where the rubbing processing direction is the horizontal direction of the liquid crystal panel 1 (the direction of the gate signal wiring 12), a plurality of ridge-like convex portions 10 are provided in parallel to the direction in which the gate signal wiring 12 extends. Even if formed, the same effect can be obtained.

  Such a liquid crystal panel 1 extends in either direction of the source signal wiring 11 or the gate signal wiring 12 in the lead-out wiring region 4 and has a plurality of ridge-shaped projections 10 parallel to each other. Display unevenness near the boundary between the display area 3 and the lead-out wiring area 4 can be prevented, and a liquid crystal display device in which display quality does not deteriorate can be obtained.

  Further, since the bowl-shaped convex portion 10 is formed at the same time as the gate signal wiring 12, it can be formed without using a new process and a manufacturing apparatus, so that display unevenness can be suppressed without an increase in manufacturing cost. And a liquid crystal display device in which display quality is not deteriorated can be obtained.

  In the above description, the case where the hook-shaped protrusion 10 is formed simultaneously with the gate signal wiring 12 has been described. However, the hook-shaped protrusion 10 is formed in a process different from the process of forming the gate signal wiring 12. However, it is needless to say that a liquid crystal display device in which display unevenness is suppressed and display quality does not deteriorate can be obtained.

  Further, it is needless to say that even if the bowl-shaped convex portion 10 is provided on the upper layer side than the lead-out wiring 6, it is possible to obtain the effects that display unevenness is suppressed and display quality is not deteriorated.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
<Configuration and manufacturing of array substrate>
The configuration and manufacturing process of the array substrate 2 used in the present embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment unless otherwise specified.

  The structure of the array substrate 2 of the liquid crystal panel 1 which is the liquid crystal display device of this Embodiment is demonstrated using FIG. FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic view of the vicinity of the boundary between the display area 3 and the lead-out wiring area 4 of the array substrate 2 of the liquid crystal panel 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic view of the second embodiment corresponding to FIG. 3, which is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by a dashed ellipse in the schematic plan view of the liquid crystal panel 1 (FIG. 1). However, the positions in the liquid crystal panel 1 are different in that FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion where the lead wires 6 are gathered, whereas FIG. 7 is an enlarged view between the portions where the lead wires 6 are gathered. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of hook-shaped protrusions 10 are formed in parallel to each other in the direction in which the source signal wiring 11 extends. However, the hook-shaped convex portion 10 is not formed in a portion where the direction of the source signal wiring 11 and the arrangement direction of the lead-out wiring 6 coincide with each other, and the direction of the source signal wiring 11 and the lead-out wiring 6 It is formed in a part where the direction is different and a part where the lead-out wiring 6 is not formed. In other words, the hook-shaped convex portion 10 is formed in a portion where the arrangement direction of the formed lead-out wiring 6 is different from the extending direction of the hook-shaped convex portion 10 and a portion where the lead-out wiring 6 is not formed. ing.

  Similar to the first embodiment, the ridge-shaped convex portion 10 is manufactured by forming an Al layer with a thickness of 200 nm simultaneously with the gate signal wiring 12 and patterning it using a photolithographic method. In the liquid crystal panel 1, the array substrate 2 and the CF substrate 5 are held by a sealing material 8. The hook-shaped convex portion 10 is formed in an area inside the sealing material 8 from the boundary between the display area 3 and the lead-out wiring area 4.

<Display characteristics>
An alignment film 9 is formed on the array substrate 2 manufactured in the present embodiment, and a rubbing process is performed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 7, and the liquid crystal material 7 is sandwiched by bonding with the similarly rubbed CF substrate 5, A liquid crystal panel 1 was produced. A polarizing plate is attached to the front and back surfaces of the liquid crystal panel 1 so that the transmission axes are orthogonal to each other, and the presence or absence of display unevenness is observed.

  In the liquid crystal panel 1, a plurality of parallel portions of the lead-out wiring region 4 are formed in a part where the lead-out direction of the lead-out line 6 is different from the direction of the source signal line 11 and a part where the lead-out line 6 is not formed. A bowl-shaped convex portion 10 is formed. That is, in the entire extraction wiring region 6, either the extraction wiring 6 or the hook-shaped protrusion 10 is formed in the direction in which the source signal wiring 11 extends. Therefore, the rubbing treatment does not incline the fibers of the rubbing cloth, and the direction of the alignment regulating force of the alignment film 9 is disturbed even in the portion that slightly enters the display area 3 from the lead-out wiring area 4. The liquid crystal material 7 is also aligned straight in the rubbing process direction.

  In such a liquid crystal panel 1, the lead-out direction of the lead-out wiring 6 is mutually connected to a portion where the source signal wiring 11 or the gate signal wiring 12 does not coincide with the direction where the lead-out wiring 6 is not formed. A liquid crystal display that has a plurality of ridge-like convex portions 10 in parallel, can prevent display unevenness near the boundary between the display area 3 and the lead-out wiring area 4 around the display area 3, and does not deteriorate display quality A device can be obtained.

  Further, since the bowl-shaped convex portion 10 is produced at the same time as the gate signal wiring 12, it can be produced without using a new process and a production apparatus, so that display unevenness can be prevented without an increase in production cost. And a liquid crystal display device in which display quality is not deteriorated can be obtained.

  Furthermore, the bowl-shaped convex part 10 is formed in a region inside the sealing material 8, and is not formed in the part of the sealing material 8. Accordingly, the gap between the array substrate 2 and the CF substrate 5 due to the overlap of the bowl-shaped convex portion 10 and the sealing material 8 does not occur, and the liquid crystal display device has a good display quality without display unevenness due to the gap unevenness. Can be obtained.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
<Configuration and manufacturing of array substrate>
The configuration and manufacturing process of the array substrate 2 used in the present embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment unless otherwise specified.

  The configuration of the array substrate 2a of the liquid crystal panel 1a which is the liquid crystal display device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is an enlarged schematic view of the vicinity of the boundary between the display area 3 and the lead-out wiring area 4a of the array substrate 2a of the liquid crystal panel 1a which is the liquid crystal display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure equivalent to FIG. 3 which is an enlarged view of the part shown with the ellipse of the broken line in the plane schematic diagram (FIG. 1).

  In this embodiment, the TN mode liquid crystal display mode is used, and the rubbing process is performed on the surface of the array substrate 2a from the upper left to the lower right at a 45 ° angle as shown by the arrows in FIG. The CF substrate 5 to be rubbed in a direction orthogonal thereto.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of hook-shaped protrusions 10a are formed in the lead-out wiring region 4a, and the hook-shaped protrusions 10a are formed in parallel to each other. In the first and second embodiments, the ridge-shaped convex portion 10 is formed in the direction in which the source signal wiring 11 extends. However, in the present embodiment, the direction in which the liquid crystal material 7 is aligned, that is, from the upper left in FIG. A hook-shaped convex portion 10a is formed in the direction of 45 ° to the lower right.

  The saddle-like convex portion 10a is formed by depositing 200 nm of amorphous silicon (αSi) simultaneously with the TFT semiconductor layer of the array substrate 2a and patterning it using a photolithographic method. Further, the ridge-shaped convex portion 10a is formed in a region inside the portion of the sealing material 8 from the boundary portion between the display region 3 and the lead-out wiring region 4a.

  In the present embodiment, the hook-shaped protrusion 10a of the lead-out wiring region 4a is formed in a 45 ° direction from the upper left to the lower right, but the direction in which the hook-shaped protrusion 10a is formed is particularly limited. The effect of the present invention can be obtained by making the direction coincident with a suitable liquid crystal alignment direction depending on the applied liquid crystal display mode and the like.

  In the present embodiment, the bowl-shaped convex portion 10a is formed using αSi. However, as in the first and second embodiments, the bowl-shaped convex portion 10a is formed using an electrode material such as Al. Can also be formed. In addition, the ridge-shaped convex portion 10a can be formed by using two layers of an electrode material such as Al and a semiconductor such as αSi through the interlayer insulating film 14.

<Display characteristics>
An alignment film 9 is formed on the array substrate 2a manufactured in the present embodiment, and the rubbing process is performed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The liquid crystal panel 1 was produced by pinching. A polarizing plate was placed on the front and back surfaces of the liquid crystal panel 1 so that the transmission axis coincided with the liquid crystal alignment direction of each substrate, and the presence or absence of display unevenness was observed.

  In the liquid crystal panel 1a, a plurality of ridge-shaped convex portions 10a are formed in parallel to each other in the lead-out wiring region 4a so as to coincide with the liquid crystal alignment direction. Accordingly, the rubbing treatment does not cause the fibers of the rubbing cloth to be inclined and the rubbing treatment direction is not disturbed even in a portion that slightly enters the display area 3 from the lead-out wiring region 4a. The liquid crystal molecules 16 are aligned in the direction without being disturbed.

  Such a liquid crystal panel 1a has a plurality of ridge-like convex portions 10a parallel to each other in the liquid crystal alignment direction, and can prevent display unevenness near the boundary between the display region 3 and the lead-out wiring region 4a. A liquid crystal display device in which display quality is not deteriorated can be obtained.

  In addition, since the ridge-like convex portion 10a is formed using αSi constituting the TFT, it can be created without using a new process and a manufacturing apparatus, thereby preventing display unevenness without an increase in manufacturing cost. Thus, a liquid crystal display device in which display quality is not deteriorated can be obtained.

  Within the scope of the present invention, the present invention can be freely combined with each other, or can be appropriately modified or omitted.

  1 liquid crystal panel, 1a liquid crystal panel, 2 array substrate, 2a array substrate, 3 display area, 4 lead wiring area, 4a lead wiring area, 5 CF substrate, 6 lead wiring, 7 liquid crystal material, 8 sealing material, 9 alignment film, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ridge-shaped convex part, 10a ridge-shaped convex part, 11 source signal wiring, 12 gate signal wiring, 13 pixels, 14 interlayer insulation film, 15 overcoat film, 16 liquid crystal molecule

Claims (11)

An array substrate having a display region in which a plurality of pixels each having a switching element are formed in a matrix, and a lead-out wiring region on the outside of the display region in which lead-out wiring for supplying a signal to the switching element is formed When,
On the array substrate, a plurality of hook-shaped protrusions extending in parallel with each other toward the end of the array substrate from the boundary between the display area and the lead-out wiring area,
An alignment film covering the display region;
A liquid crystal display device comprising:   The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the hook-shaped convex portion is formed in a direction extending in a pixel arrangement direction.   3. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the hook-shaped convex portion is formed in a direction extending in a direction of the alignment regulating force of the alignment film. The hook-shaped convex part
A portion where the lead-out direction of the lead-out wiring is different from the direction in which the hook-shaped convex portion extends,
A portion where the lead wiring is not formed;
The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display device is formed in the two types of parts.   The hook-shaped convex part is formed in the lead-out wiring region inside the sealing material that holds the array substrate and the filter substrate provided to face the array substrate. The liquid crystal display device according to item.   The liquid crystal display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a thickness of the bowl-shaped convex portion is 50 nm or more and 500 nm or less.   The liquid crystal display device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a width of the bowl-shaped convex portion is 2 µm or more and 100 µm or less.   The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the switching element is a field effect transistor, and the lead-out line is led out from a gate signal line of the field effect transistor.   The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the switching element is a field effect transistor, and the lead-out wiring is led out from a source signal wiring of the field effect transistor.   The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein a ridge-shaped convex portion is formed by the same process as that of the gate signal wiring.   The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the ridge-shaped convex portion is formed in the same process as the semiconductor film.

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