JP3405690B2 - Plasma address display - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plasma addressed display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a matrix type electro-optical device (for example, a liquid crystal display device) using a liquid crystal cell, a switching element such as a thin film transistor is provided for each pixel as a means for achieving high resolution and high contrast. There is generally known a method of providing the above and driving it line-sequentially. However, in this method, it is necessary to provide a large number of semiconductor elements such as thin film transistors on the substrate, and therefore there is a problem that the manufacturing yield is deteriorated particularly when the area is increased.

In order to solve this problem, Buzaku et al. Propose a plasma addressed display device using a plasma switch in place of a switching element composed of a thin film transistor in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-217396.

FIG. 7 shows an example of this plasma addressed display device.

In this plasma addressed display device, a liquid crystal cell 121 having a liquid crystal layer 101 as an electro-optical material layer and a plasma cell 122 having a plasma chamber 102 for plasma discharge are laminated to form a liquid crystal layer 101 and a plasma chamber 102. Are adjacently arranged via a thin intermediate substrate 103 made of a dielectric material such as glass.

In the plasma cell 122, a plurality of a pair of plasma electrodes 105a and 105b made of strip-shaped conductive paste are arranged on a plasma substrate 104 made of glass or the like at substantially equal intervals. Terminals (not shown) for applying a voltage to the plasma electrodes 105a and 105b are alternately provided at one end of each of the pair of plasma electrodes 105a and 105b. Further, barrier ribs 106 made of glass paste are provided in parallel with each other so as to separate the pair of plasma electrodes 105a and 105b. The barrier rib 106 divides a space between the plasma substrate 104 and the intermediate substrate 103, and a plasma chamber (discharge region) 102 is provided for each of the plasma electrodes 105a and 105b. An ionizable gas is enclosed in the plasma chamber 102, and the plasma electrodes 105a and 105b function as an anode and a cathode in the plasma chamber 102, respectively. Then, the upper ends of the barrier ribs 106 and the plasma substrate 104.
The lower part of the intermediate substrate 103 is supported and fixed by a frit seal 107 provided at the peripheral edge of the.

In the liquid crystal cell 121, an alignment layer 108a for adjusting the alignment of liquid crystals is formed on the intermediate substrate 103, and a space is provided between the alignment layer 108a and the intermediate substrate 103 to form a color filter layer 112 and a plurality of data electrodes 110. And alignment layer 108
The counter substrate 111 on which b is formed is arranged. A liquid crystal layer 101 made of nematic liquid crystal or the like is provided between the intermediate substrate 103 and the counter substrate 111, with the periphery thereof being supported by a liquid crystal seal 109. Data electrode 1
10 intersects (here, is orthogonal to) the plasma electrodes 105a and 105b, and the intersection region between the plasma chamber 102 and the data electrode 112 corresponds to each pixel.

In the plasma addressed display device, the plasma chamber 102 in which plasma discharge is performed is sequentially switched and scanned by the terminals provided at one end of each of the plasma electrodes 105a and 105b, and in synchronization with this, the liquid crystal layer 101 is synchronized. A signal voltage is applied to the side data electrode 110. This holds the signal voltage in each pixel,
The liquid crystal layer 101 is driven. Therefore, each plasma chamber 10
2 corresponds to one scanning line, and the discharge region is divided for each scanning unit.

FIG. 8 shows a plan view of three pixels (R, G, B) in one plasma chamber when the plasma addressed display device shown in FIG. 7 is viewed from the counter substrate side.

As shown in FIG. 8, a barrier rib 106 and plasma electrodes 105a and 105b are formed in parallel on a plasma substrate. Data electrodes 11 are provided on the counter substrate.
0 is formed so as to be orthogonal to the barrier rib 106, and a light shielding film 115 is further formed. This light-shielding film 115
Are formed between the data electrodes 110 in order to block unnecessary light from between the adjacent data electrodes 110, and the barrier ribs 1
It is also formed at a position facing 06.

The light shielding film 115 is formed so that the protrusion width d1 on both sides of the barrier rib 106 is 5 μm or less. Further, when the overlap width d2 between the light shielding film 115 and the data electrode 110 is increased, the aperture ratio is reduced, so that d2 is formed as small as possible.

[0012]

By the way, in the above plasma addressed display device, a backlight is arranged on one side. The barrier ribs are formed to have a thickness of about 200 μm, for example, by stacking and printing glass paste a plurality of times by screen printing. Alternatively, when the glass substrate is etched to form the plasma chamber, the glass substrate itself serves as a barrier rib.

As described above, since the barrier ribs are usually made of a glass material, the light emitted from the backlight is likely to be scattered by the barrier ribs, which is one of the causes of lowering the contrast of the plasma addressed display device.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and provides a plasma addressed display device which can prevent back light from being scattered by a barrier rib and can obtain a high contrast display. The purpose is to

[0015]

[0016]

In the plasma addressed display device of the present invention, a barrier rib provided on the first substrate is provided between a first substrate and a second substrate which face each other. A plasma cell having a plurality of plasma chambers,
A liquid crystal cell having a liquid crystal layer between the second substrate and a third substrate opposite to the plasma chamber, the plasma electrode provided inside the plasma chamber A plasma address display device in which a gas that can be discharged is plasma-discharged, and the liquid crystal cell is selectively driven by the plasma discharge, wherein the second substrate has:
A light-shielding film that is formed at least at a position overlapping the barrier rib and has a protrusion width of more than 5 μm on both sides of the barrier rib is provided.
Vignetting, the objects can be achieved.

It is preferable that the width of protrusion of both sides of the barrier rib of the light shielding film is 8 μm or more.

The protruding width on both sides of the barrier rib of the light shielding film is preferably 16 μm or more.

It is preferable that the light shielding film is made of an organic material.

The plasma electrode is preferably formed in contact with the barrier rib.

The barrier ribs are preferably formed in close contact with the first substrate.

The operation of the present invention will be described below.

In the present invention according to claim 1, the third aspect
The substrate (counter substrate) is provided with a light-shielding film that faces the barrier rib and has a protrusion width of more than 5 μm on both sides of the barrier rib. Since this light-shielding film can block scattered light from the barrier ribs, a display with a higher contrast can be obtained as compared with a conventional plasma addressed display device in which the width of protrusion on both sides of the barrier ribs of the light-shielding film is 5 μm or less.

In the present invention according to claim 2, the second aspect
On the substrate (intermediate substrate), a light-shielding film that overlaps with the barrier rib and has a protrusion width of more than 5 μm on both sides of the barrier rib is formed. Since this light-shielding film can block scattered light from the barrier ribs, a display with a higher contrast can be obtained as compared with a conventional plasma addressed display device in which the width of protrusion on both sides of the barrier ribs of the light-shielding film is 5 μm or less.
Furthermore, since the light shielding film is formed at a position close to the barrier rib, it is possible to more effectively block the scattered light by the barrier rib.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by setting the protruding width on both sides of the barrier rib of the light shielding film formed on the counter substrate or the intermediate substrate to be 8 μm or more, the scattered light by the barrier rib is almost blocked. Therefore, a display with higher contrast can be obtained.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, by setting the protrusion width on both sides of the barrier rib of the light-shielding film formed on the counter substrate or the intermediate substrate to be 16 μm or more, the influence of scattered light by the barrier rib almost occurs. Absent.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the light-shielding film is made of an organic material, the light emitted from the backlight hits the light-shielding film and is reflected as in the case where the light-shielding film is made of a metal material. As a result, scattered light is generated, and there is no problem that the scattered light lowers the contrast.

According to the present invention of claim 6, since the plasma electrode is in contact with the barrier rib, even if the light shielding film is largely protruded from the barrier rib, the light shielding film is normally only extended to a position in the middle of the plasma electrode. Not formed. Therefore,
The light-shielding film does not reduce the aperture ratio, and bright display is realized.

According to the present invention of claim 7, since the barrier rib is formed in close contact with the first substrate (plasma substrate), the barrier rib is adhered as in the case of forming the barrier rib on the plasma electrode. The problem that the barrier rib is peeled off due to poor performance does not occur.

[0030]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a plan view of a plasma addressed display device of this embodiment, showing three pixels (R, G, B) in one plasma chamber. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the counter substrate taken along the line AA ′ of FIG.

In this plasma addressed display device,
Barrier ribs 6 are formed on the plasma substrate at regular intervals,
A pair of plasma electrodes 5a, 5 is provided between the adjacent barrier ribs 6.
b is formed. The barrier rib 6 divides the space between the plasma substrate and the intermediate substrate arranged thereon into a pair of plasma electrodes 5a and 5b, and an ionizable gas is enclosed in each of the divided plasma chambers. .

In the counter substrate, R, G, B color filter layers 17, 18, 19 and a light shielding layer 15 are formed on a substrate 11 made of glass or the like, and a protective film 2 is formed so as to cover them.
0 is formed. The light shielding film 15 is formed between the data electrodes 10 in order to block unnecessary light from between the adjacent data electrodes 10, and is also formed at a position facing the barrier ribs 6 and protrudes on both sides of the barrier ribs 6. . The data electrode 10 is formed on it in a direction intersecting (here, orthogonal to) the plasma electrode. The counter substrate is arranged with a space between it and the intermediate substrate, and a liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between the two substrates.

In this plasma addressed display device,
The counter substrate can be manufactured, for example, as follows.

First, the light-shielding film 15 is formed on the substrate 11 by using a non-light-transmitting metal or a black organic material, and the R, G, B color filter layers are formed in the pixel portions between the light-shielding films 15. 1
7, 18 and 19 are sequentially formed using a color resist or the like. At this time, if the light-shielding film 15 is formed using a black organic material having a low reflectance, the light from the backlight is not reflected by this light-shielding film, and the contrast of the plasma addressed display device is caused by the scattered light due to this reflection. Is never reduced.

Next, a protective film 20 for reducing the step of the color filter layer is formed, and ITO (Indi) is formed on the protective film 20.
The data electrode 10 is formed using a transparent conductive film such as um tin oxide).

In the plasma addressed display device of this embodiment, the light-shielding film 15 is formed between the data electrodes 10 and in a region overlapping the data electrodes 10 with an overlap width D2 of 5 μm or less. Further, the light-shielding film 15 is also formed at a position facing the barrier rib 6 and in a region protruding on both sides of the barrier rib 6 with a protrusion width D1.

In the conventional plasma addressed display device, the protrusion width d1 on both sides of the barrier rib of the light shielding film is 5 μm.
As described below, in the present embodiment, the protrusion width D1 on both sides of the barrier rib 6 of the light shielding film 15 is increased to prevent light from the backlight from being scattered by the barrier rib 6 and becoming unnecessary light.

FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the protrusion width D1 of the light shielding film and the contrast C. Here, the barrier rib 6
The experiment was conducted with a pitch of 200 μm. The backlight was arranged below the plasma substrate, and the light of the backlight was irradiated from the plasma substrate side. The overlap width D2 between the light shielding film and the data electrode was set to 5 μm.

As shown in FIG. 3, the contrast increases as D1 increases, and a contrast of 100: 1 is achieved by setting D1 to 8 μm or more. Therefore, in order to obtain a high contrast display, set D1 to 8
It is preferably at least μm. Furthermore, D1 is 16 μm
With the above, the contrast becomes almost constant, and the influence of scattered light from the barrier ribs can be almost eliminated.

In a normal plasma addressed display device, the barrier rib pitch is 100 μm to 500 μm.
Therefore, if the protrusion width D1 is too large, the aperture ratio decreases and the screen becomes dark. Therefore, the protrusion width D1 is preferably 24 μm or less.

Therefore, the preferable range of D1 is 8 μm to 2
It can be said that the thickness is 4 μm, and more preferably 16 μm to 24 μm.

According to this embodiment, only by forming the pattern of the light-shielding film formed on the counter substrate, it is possible to realize a plasma address display device having a high contrast without increasing the manufacturing process and increasing the cost.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 4 is a plan view of a plasma addressed display device of this embodiment, showing three pixels in one plasma chamber.

In this plasma addressed display device,
The counter substrate is similar to that shown in FIGS. Then, the plasma substrate was formed in the lower region of the barrier rib 6 and the region near the barrier rib for exposing the plasma electrode 5a, 5b to the plasma chamber. This plasma electrode 5
Electric discharge is generated in the plasma chamber by a and 5b.

Also in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the protrusion width D1 on both sides of the barrier rib 6 of the light shielding film 15 is set to exceed 5 μm, preferably 8 μm or more, more preferably 16 μm or more, so that the plasma address display is performed. The contrast of the device could be improved.

Further, in the pattern of the plasma electrode as in the present embodiment, even if the protruding width on both sides of the barrier rib 6 of the light shielding film 15 is D1 as in the case of the first embodiment, the barrier rib 6 side is closer to the barrier rib 6 side than the ends of the plasma electrodes 5a and 5b. Can be formed. For example, since there is a space D3 between the light-shielding film 15 and the edge of the plasma electrode 5b, even if the protrusion width D1 on both sides of the barrier rib 6 of the light-shielding film 15 is made larger than in the conventional case, the aperture ratio by the light-shielding film 15 is increased. No decrease occurs. Even if the light-shielding film 15 is formed so as to protrude from the plasma electrodes 5a and 5b, only the protruding portion affects the reduction in the aperture ratio. Therefore, the increase in D1 as in the first embodiment directly reduces the aperture ratio. Does not affect. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, a brighter plasma addressed display device can be realized.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 5 is a plan view of the plasma addressed display device of this embodiment, showing three pixels in one plasma chamber.

In this plasma addressed display device,
The counter substrate is similar to that shown in FIGS. The plasma substrate is formed so that the plasma electrodes 5a, 5b and the barrier rib 6 are in contact with each other without a gap, and the barrier rib 6 is formed in close contact with the substrate 11 not on the plasma electrodes 5a, 5b.

Also in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the protrusion width D1 of the light-shielding film 15 on both sides of the barrier rib 6 is more than 5 μm, preferably 8 μm or more, more preferably 16 μm or more. The contrast of the device could be improved.

Further, in the pattern of the plasma electrode as in this embodiment, even if the protruding width on both sides of the barrier rib 6 of the light shielding film 15 is set to D1 as in the case of the second embodiment, the barrier rib 6 side is closer to the barrier rib 6 side than the ends of the plasma electrodes 5a and 5b. Can be formed. For example, since there is a space D3 between the light-shielding film 15 and the edge of the plasma electrode 5b, even if the protrusion width D1 on both sides of the barrier rib 6 of the light-shielding film 15 is made larger than in the conventional case, the aperture ratio by the light-shielding film 15 is increased. No decrease occurs. what if,
Even if the light-shielding film 15 is formed so as to protrude from the plasma electrodes 5a and 5b, only the protruding portion affects the reduction in the aperture ratio, so that increasing D1 as in Embodiment 1 directly affects the reduction in the aperture ratio. There is nothing to do. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, a brighter plasma addressed display device can be realized.

Further, in the plasma electrode pattern as in the present embodiment, the plasma electrode pattern does not exist below the barrier rib 6 as in the second embodiment. Therefore, the adhesion of the barrier rib 6 to the substrate is improved, and the problem of display failure due to peeling of the barrier rib 6 does not occur.

(Embodiment 4) In the present embodiment, the one shown in FIG. 6 is used as the intermediate substrate of the plasma addressed display device.

This intermediate substrate is a thin plate 30 made of glass.
The light-shielding film 31 is formed on the above, and the light-shielding film 31 is not formed on the portion corresponding to the pixel. The pattern of the light-shielding film is similar to the pattern of the light-shielding film 15 formed on the counter substrate in Embodiments 1 to 3, and the pattern of the light-shielding film between the data electrodes is also formed on the intermediate substrate.

Also in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the protrusion width D1 of the light shielding film 31 on both sides of the barrier rib 6 exceeds 5 μm, preferably 8 μm or more, more preferably 16 μm or more, so that the plasma address display is performed. The contrast of the device could be improved.

If the light-shielding film 31 is formed of a black organic material having a low reflectance, the light from the backlight will not be reflected by this light-shielding film, and the plasma-addressed display device will be scattered by this reflection. The contrast does not decrease.

Further, if the plasma electrode is formed so as to be in contact with the barrier rib, the aperture ratio due to the light-shielding film does not decrease even if the protrusion width D1 on both sides of the barrier rib of the light-shielding film is made larger than in the conventional case. Therefore, a brighter plasma address display device can be realized.

Further, by forming the barrier rib in close contact with the substrate without providing a plasma electrode below the barrier rib, the adhesion of the barrier rib to the substrate is improved, and the problem of display failure due to peeling of the barrier rib does not occur.

Further, according to this embodiment, the first embodiment
Since the light-shielding film 31 is formed at a position closer to the barrier rib than 3 to 3, the scattered light by the barrier rib can be blocked more effectively.

[0060]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
The light-shielding film provided on the counter substrate blocks the light scattered by the barrier ribs, so that a plasma-addressed display device with high contrast can be obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain a high contrast plasma addressed display device by blocking the light scattered by the barrier ribs by the light shielding film provided on the intermediate substrate. Further, since the light shielding film is formed at a position closer to the barrier rib, it is possible to more effectively block the scattered light by the barrier rib.

According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the light-shielding film provided on the counter substrate or the intermediate substrate substantially blocks the light scattered by the barrier ribs so that the influence thereof hardly occurs. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a plasma addressed display device having higher contrast.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the light-shielding film is made of an organic material, the light emitted from the backlight hits the light-shielding film and is reflected, as in the case where the light-shielding film is made of a metal material. It does not become scattered light. Therefore, a plasma addressed display device with high contrast can be obtained.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, even if the light-shielding film is largely protruded from the barrier rib, the aperture ratio is not reduced by the light-shielding film, and a bright display plasma address display device can be obtained.

According to the present invention as set forth in claim 7, since the barrier rib is formed in close contact with the plasma substrate, the barrier rib is peeled off due to poor adhesion as in the case where the barrier rib is formed on the plasma electrode. Therefore, the manufacturing yield can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a plasma addressed display device of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a counter substrate in the plasma addressed display device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a plasma address display device of the present invention.
6 is a graph showing the relationship between the protrusion width on both sides of the barrier rib of the light shielding film and the contrast.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a plasma addressed display device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a plasma addressed display device of a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an intermediate substrate in a plasma addressed display device of Embodiment 4.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional plasma addressed display device.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a conventional plasma addressed display device.

[Explanation of symbols]

5a, 5b Plasma electrode 6 Barrier rib 10 data electrodes 11 Substrate (counter substrate) 15, 31 Light-shielding film 17, 18, 19 Color filter layer 20 Protective film 30 Thin plate (intermediate substrate)

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Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plasma cell having a plurality of plasma chambers, which are partitioned by barrier ribs provided on the first substrate, between a first substrate and a second substrate which are opposed to each other,
A liquid crystal cell having a liquid crystal layer between the second substrate and a third substrate opposite to the plasma chamber, the plasma electrode provided inside the plasma chamber A plasma-addressed display device in which a gas that can be discharged is plasma-discharged, and the liquid crystal cell is selectively driven by the plasma discharge, the plasma-addressed display device being formed on the second substrate at least at a position overlapping the barrier ribs. The protruding width on both sides of the barrier rib is 5 μm
A plasma addressed display device having a light-shielding film exceeding the above. 2. The plasma addressed display device according to claim 1 , wherein the protrusion width of both sides of the barrier rib of the light shielding film is 8 μm or more. 3. The plasma addressed display device according to claim 1 , wherein the protrusion width on both sides of the barrier rib of the light shielding film is 16 μm or more. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the light-shielding film made of an organic material
4. The plasma addressed display device according to claim 3 . Wherein said plasma electrode is a plasma addressed display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is formed in contact with the barrier ribs. Wherein said barrier rib plasma addressed display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 are formed in close contact with the first substrate.