JP3656650B2 - Electro-optical device, color filter substrate, and electronic device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electro-optical device, a color filter substrate, and an electronic apparatus, and more particularly to a technique suitable as a structure of a color electro-optical device having a reflective layer.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a reflective transflective liquid crystal display panel in which both a reflective display using external light and a transmissive display using illumination light such as a backlight are visible is known. This reflective transflective liquid crystal display panel has a reflective layer for reflecting external light in the panel, and this reflective layer is configured to transmit illumination light such as a backlight. As this type of reflective layer, there is a layer provided with an opening (slit) having a predetermined area for each pixel of a liquid crystal display panel.

  FIG. 20 is a schematic cross-sectional view schematically showing a schematic structure of a conventional reflective transflective liquid crystal display panel 100. The liquid crystal display panel 100 has a structure in which a substrate 101 and a substrate 102 are bonded together with a sealant 103 and a liquid crystal 104 is sealed between the substrate 101 and the substrate 102.

  On the inner surface of the substrate 101, a reflective layer 111 having an opening 111a and a reflective portion 111b is formed for each pixel, and colored layers 112r, 112g, 112b and a surface protective layer 112p are provided on the reflective layer 111. A color filter 112 is formed. A transparent electrode 113 is formed on the surface of the surface protective layer 112 p of the color filter 112.

  On the other hand, a transparent electrode 121 is formed on the inner surface of the substrate 102 and is configured to intersect the transparent electrode 113 on the opposite substrate 101. Note that an alignment film, a hard transparent film, and the like are appropriately formed on the substrate 101 and the substrate 102 as necessary.

  In addition, a retardation plate (¼ wavelength plate) 105 and a polarizing plate 106 are sequentially arranged on the outer surface of the substrate 102, and a retardation plate (¼ wavelength plate) 107 and on the outer surface of the substrate 101. Polarizers 108 are sequentially arranged.

  When the liquid crystal display panel 100 configured as described above is installed in an electronic device such as a mobile phone or a portable information terminal, the liquid crystal display panel 100 is attached with a backlight 109 disposed behind it. In this liquid crystal display panel 100, in a bright place such as in the daytime or indoors, external light is transmitted through the liquid crystal 104 along the reflection path R, then reflected by the reflecting portion 111b, and again transmitted through the liquid crystal 104 and emitted. The reflective display is visually recognized. On the other hand, by turning on the backlight 109 in a dark place such as at night or outdoors, the light passing through the opening 111a out of the illumination light of the backlight 109 passes through the liquid crystal display panel 100 along the transmission path T and is emitted. Therefore, the transmissive display is visually recognized.

  However, in the conventional reflective transflective liquid crystal display panel 100, light passes through the color filter 112 twice in the reflection path R, whereas light passes through the color filter 112 only once in the transmission path T. Therefore, the brightness of the reflective display is lower than the brightness of the transmissive display, and the saturation in the transmissive display is worse than the saturation of the reflective display. That is, since the display brightness generally tends to be insufficient in the reflective display, it is necessary to ensure the display brightness by setting the light transmittance of the color filter 112 high. In the transmissive display, sufficient saturation cannot be obtained.

  In addition, as described above, the number of times light passes through the color filter is different between the reflective display and the transmissive display, so that the color of the reflective display and the color of the transmissive display are greatly different. There is also the problem of giving.

  Therefore, the present invention solves the above problems, and the problem is that when used in a display device that enables both reflective display and transmissive display, the brightness of the reflective display and the color of the transmissive display are displayed. An object of the present invention is to provide a color filter substrate capable of ensuring both the degree and the degree. Another object of the present invention is to provide a reflective transflective electro-optical device that can ensure both the brightness of the reflective display and the saturation of the transmissive display. It is another object of the present invention to realize a display technique capable of reducing the color difference between the reflective display and the transmissive display.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present inventor configures the colored layer so as to overlap with only a part of the reflective layer in a planar manner, and does not overlap the colored layer with the other part of the reflective layer. The present inventors have found that the brightness of reflected light reflected by the reflective layer can be ensured.

  In particular, in the case of a reflective transflective electro-optical device, a reflective layer provided with an optical aperture is provided, and a colored layer is at least partially overlapped with the optical aperture. By configuring so that the colored layer overlaps only a part of the color, it is possible to improve the saturation of the transmissive display while ensuring the brightness of the reflective display.

  More specifically, the colored layer is set to a predetermined color density in advance so that a transmissive display can be satisfactorily obtained with the colored layer superimposed on the optical aperture. The brightness of the reflective display can be ensured by adjusting the overlapping ratio.

The electro-optical device of the present invention includes an electro-optical material layer disposed between a pair of substrates, and the electro-optical material layer includes a plurality of pixels. On the surface of the reflective layer, a reflective layer provided in the reflective part that reflects the light that has passed, a colored layer that is arranged so as to overlap a part of the reflective part in each of the pixels, and A light-shielding film formed in a region between each of the pixels, a region where the reflective layer is not provided in each pixel is provided, and the colored layer is provided with the reflective layer A region where the colored layer is not provided is provided on the reflecting portion, and the region where the colored layer is not provided is a region between the light shielding film and the colored layer. It is characterized by.

  According to this invention, since the colored layer is disposed on the opening and only on a part of the reflective portion, the brightness of the reflected light is controlled according to the overlapping ratio of the colored layer to the reflective layer. While adjustments can be made, such adjustments are independent of the overlapping state of the colored layer and the optical aperture, so that the color of transmitted light can be prevented from being affected. Therefore, the influence of the colored layer on the reflected light and the influence of the colored layer on the transmitted light can be set independently of each other.

  Here, the ratio of the area of the reflective portion that overlaps the colored layer to the area of the reflective layer (hereinafter simply referred to as “reflective color ratio”) is the opening that overlaps the colored layer relative to the area of the opening. It is preferably smaller than the ratio of the area of the portion (hereinafter simply referred to as “transmission coloring ratio”). Reflected light is transmitted through the colored layer twice, whereas transmitted light passing through the optical aperture is transmitted only once through the colored layer. Therefore, normally, the brightness of the reflected light is lower than the transmitted light. The saturation of the reflected light is lower than the saturation of the reflected light, but the brightness of the reflected light can be increased and the saturation of the transmitted light can be relatively improved by making the reflective color ratio smaller than the transmitted color ratio. And the color difference between the reflected light and the transmitted light can be reduced.

  The colored layer is preferably disposed so as to completely cover a region where the reflective layer is not provided. By arranging the colored layer so as to completely cover the optical aperture, the saturation of the transmitted light can be further increased.

  Here, the reflective layer and the colored layer may be disposed on one of the pair of substrates, and the reflective layer is disposed on one of the pair of substrates. The colored layer may be disposed on the other substrate of the pair of substrates. In either case, optically similar effects can be obtained.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said colored layer is arrange | positioned so that it may protrude on the said reflection part around the area | region where the said reflective layer is not provided from the area | region where the said reflective layer is not provided. Since the colored layer is disposed so as to protrude from the region where the reflective layer is not provided to the surrounding reflective portion, the colored layer can be formed as a single body. Therefore, it is not necessary to form the pattern of the colored layer so finely, and it can be manufactured more easily and with a high yield.

  The electro-optical device according to the aspect of the invention is characterized in that the light shielding film is made of a black resin. Further, the light shielding film is characterized in that three colorants of R (red), G (green) and B (blue) are mixed together and dispersed in a transparent resin.

  Here, in each of the pixels, the ratio of the area of the reflective portion that overlaps the colored layer to the total area of the reflective portion is the ratio of the portion of the opening that overlaps the colored layer to the total area of the opening. It is preferably smaller than the area ratio. Reflected light is transmitted through the colored layer twice while transmitted light passing through the optical aperture is transmitted only once through the colored layer. Therefore, normally, the brightness of the reflected light is lower than that of the transmitted light. Although the saturation of the reflected light is lower than the saturation of the reflected light, the brightness of the reflected light can be increased for each pixel by making the reflective coloring ratio smaller than the transmitted coloring ratio, and the transmitted light is relatively saturated. The difference in color between reflected light and transmitted light can be reduced for each pixel.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said colored layer is arrange | positioned so that the said opening part may be covered completely. By arranging the colored layer so as to completely cover the optical aperture, the saturation of the transmitted light can be further increased.

  The electro-optical material layer may further include a pair of substrates, and the reflective layer and the colored layer may be disposed on one of the pair of substrates. In some cases, the colored layer is disposed on one of the pair of substrates, and the colored layer is disposed on the other of the pair of substrates. In either case, optically similar effects can be obtained.

  In each of the pixels, it is preferable that the colored layer is disposed so as to protrude from the opening to the reflection part around the opening. According to this, since the colored layer can be provided for each pixel so as to have an integrated structure projecting from the region overlapping the opening in a planar manner onto the surrounding reflection layer, the pattern of the colored layer is formed so finely. Therefore, it is possible to manufacture more easily and with a high yield.

The areas of the regions where the reflective layer corresponding to each of the plurality of pixels is not provided are substantially the same, and the areas of the colored layers corresponding to at least one of the plurality of pixels are other than It is preferable that the area of the colored layer corresponding to the plurality of pixels is different.

The area of the region where the reflective layer is not provided is preferably configured to be the same between the pixels provided with the colored layers of different colors. Color adjustment of transmissive display because the incident light quantity can be made equal in pixels of each color because the area of the region where the reflective layer is not provided has the same configuration between pixels having colored layers of different colors Can be performed relatively easily. In addition, since the area of the reflective portion is configured identically between pixels having different colored layers, it is easy to adjust the area on the reflective portion of the colored layer for each color when performing color adjustment of reflective display. Become.

In the present invention, the colored layer includes a plurality of types of colored layers having different colors, and the coverage area ratio (equivalent to the reflective color ratio) of the colored layer on the reflective portion is at least two different colors. It is preferable that the pixels provided with the colored layer are different. This adjusts the optical characteristics of the colored layer of each color so as to optimize the color of the transmissive display realized by the transmitted light in the region where the reflective layer is not provided, and covers the colored layer of each color that overlaps the reflective part. It is possible to optimize the color of the reflective display by adjusting the area ratio. Therefore, the color of transmissive display and the color of reflective display can be adjusted independently for each color.

In the present invention, the colored layer includes a colored layer of each color of red, green, and blue, and the coverage area ratio of the green colored layer is smaller than the coverage area ratio of the red and blue colored layers. preferable. The transmissive display is composed of light that has been transmitted through the colored layer only once in the region that overlaps the region where the reflective layer is not provided, but the reflective display is based on light that is transmitted twice through the colored layer in the region that overlaps the reflective portion. It is also influenced by the reflected light from the colored layer in a region that is mainly configured and partially overlaps the region where the reflective layer is not provided. Therefore, in general, the reflective display has higher saturation than the transmissive display, but tends to be dark. By the way, since the specific visibility has a peak in the yellow-green wavelength region, it becomes dark when the saturation of red and blue light is increased, but it is difficult to become dark even if the saturation of green light is increased. Thereby, if it is going to raise the brightness in reflective display, especially the saturation of red and blue will fall easily. Therefore, in the red and blue pixels, the saturation is ensured by increasing the coverage area ratio (that is, eliminating or reducing the area of the reflective portion that does not overlap the colored layer), and in the green pixels. If the amount of reflected light is increased by lowering the coverage area ratio (that is, increasing the area of the reflective portion that does not overlap with the colored layer), the brightness is greatly increased while ensuring the color reproducibility of the reflective display. It becomes possible.

  The coverage area ratio of the green colored layer is preferably 30 to 50%, and the coverage area ratio of the red and blue colored layers is preferably 60 to 100%. By setting the green coverage area ratio and the red and blue coverage area ratios within the above ranges, the color reproducibility and brightness of the reflective display can be improved while ensuring the color reproducibility of the transmissive display. In particular, the coverage area ratio of the green colored layer is most preferably in the range of 35 to 45%, and the coverage area ratio of the red and blue colored layers is most preferably in the range of 85 to 100%.

In this invention, it is preferable that the said reflection part is arrange | positioned in the perimeter of the area | region where the said reflection layer is not provided. As a result, since the region where the reflective layer is not provided is formed in a state surrounded by the reflective portion, even if a slight misalignment occurs between the colored layer and the reflective layer, the colored layer It is possible to prevent a region that is not covered with from being generated in a region where the reflective layer is not provided. In particular, it is desirable that the region where the reflective layer is not provided is formed in the approximate center of the reflective portion.

In this invention, it is preferable that the ratio of the area of the area | region in which the said reflection layer is not provided with respect to the area of the said reflection part is 30 to 70%. In general, when the ratio of the area of the reflective layer to the area of the reflective layer where the reflective layer is not provided increases, the transmissive display becomes brighter, but the reflective display becomes darker, so the balance between the transmissive display and the reflective display is taken. Thus, it is necessary to set the ratio of the area of the region where the reflective layer is not provided to the area of the reflective portion of the reflective layer. More specifically, if the ratio of the area of the region where the reflective layer is not provided to the area of the reflective portion is too small, it is necessary to increase the illuminance of the backlight, and the power consumption of the backlight increases. Moreover, when the ratio of the area of the area | region where the reflective layer is not provided with respect to the area of a reflection part is too large, a reflective display will become dark and it will become difficult to visually recognize. In the present embodiment, since the brightness of the reflective display can be increased by providing a region that does not overlap the colored layer in a part of the reflective portion, compared with the case where a structure in which the colored layer is superimposed on the entire reflective layer is employed. Therefore, it is possible to balance the transmissive display and the reflective display in the above range where the ratio of the area of the area where the reflective layer is not provided to the area of the reflective part is large, and a good color in both the transmissive display and the reflective display. Quality can be realized. Adopted in portable electronic devices such as mobile phones because the power consumption increases because the ratio of the area of the area where the reflective layer is not provided to the area of the reflective part is below the above range, because it is necessary to ensure the brightness of the transmissive display. It becomes difficult to do. Further, if the ratio of the area of the area where the reflective layer is not provided to the area of the reflective part exceeds the above range, it becomes difficult to achieve both brightness and saturation in the reflective display, and it is possible to ensure color quality in the reflective display. It becomes difficult.

  An electronic apparatus according to an aspect of the invention includes any one of the above electro-optical devices and a control unit that controls the electro-optical device. In particular, an electronic device including a liquid crystal display device capable of color display as an electro-optical device, such as a mobile phone, a portable information terminal, and an imaging device having a liquid crystal display function can be given. Accordingly, when an electro-optical device is used as a display unit of an electronic device, a difference in color between the reflective display and the transmissive display can be reduced, and high display quality can be realized.

  Note that the reflective display and the transmissive display have color development modes suitable for each, and it is sufficient if a separate color filter can be provided for each. Display must be realized. In the present invention, the reflective coloring ratio and the transparent coloring ratio are changed as described above, so that the coloring mode of the reflective display and the coloring mode of the transmissive display are set separately even if the colored layer is common. It becomes possible to do.

Next, a color filter substrate according to the present invention overlaps a substrate on which a plurality of pixels are set, a reflective layer disposed on the substrate and reflecting the light, and a part of the reflective portion. And a light-shielding film formed in a region between the pixels on the surface of the reflective layer, and the reflective layer is not provided in each of the pixels A region is provided, the colored layer overlaps a region where the reflective layer is not provided, a region where the colored layer is not provided on the reflective portion, and a region where the colored layer is not provided A region between the light-shielding film and the colored layer.

  According to the present invention, since the colored layer is disposed on the opening and only on a part of the reflective portion, the brightness of the reflected light is adjusted according to the overlapping ratio of the colored layer to the reflective layer. While adjustments can be made, such adjustments are independent of the overlapping state of the colored layer and the optical aperture, so that the color of transmitted light can be prevented from being affected. Therefore, the influence of the colored layer on the reflected light and the influence of the colored layer on the transmitted light can be set independently of each other.

  Here, the ratio of the area of the reflective part in which the colored layer is arranged to the total area of the reflective part is based on the ratio of the area of the opening in which the colored layer is arranged to the total area of the opening. Is preferably small. Reflected light is transmitted through the colored layer twice while transmitted light passing through the optical aperture is transmitted only once through the colored layer. Therefore, normally, the brightness of the reflected light is lower than that of the transmitted light. Although the saturation of the reflected light is lower than the saturation of the reflected light, the brightness of the reflected light can be increased for each pixel by making the reflective coloring ratio smaller than the transmitted coloring ratio, and the transmitted light is relatively saturated. The difference in color between reflected light and transmitted light can be reduced for each pixel.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the colored layer is disposed so as to completely cover the target opening. By arranging the colored layer so as to completely cover the optical aperture, the saturation of the transmitted light can be further increased.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the colored layer is disposed so as to protrude from the opening to the reflection part around the opening. Since the colored layer is disposed so as to protrude from the opening onto the surrounding reflecting portion, the colored layer can be formed as a single body. Therefore, it is not necessary to form the pattern of the colored layer so finely, and it can be manufactured more easily and with a high yield.

  Here, the ratio of the area of the reflective part in which the colored layer is arranged to the total area of the reflective part is smaller than the ratio of the area of the opening in which the colored layer is arranged to the total area of the opening. It is preferable. Reflected light is transmitted through the colored layer twice while transmitted light passing through the optical aperture is transmitted only once through the colored layer. Therefore, normally, the brightness of the reflected light is lower than that of the transmitted light. Although the saturation of the reflected light is lower than the saturation of the reflected light, the brightness of the reflected light can be increased for each pixel by making the reflective coloring ratio smaller than the transmitted coloring ratio, and the transmitted light is relatively saturated. The difference in color between reflected light and transmitted light can be reduced for each pixel.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said colored layer is arrange | positioned so that the said opening part may be covered completely. By arranging the colored layer so as to completely cover the optical aperture, the saturation of the transmitted light can be further increased.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the colored layer is disposed so as to protrude from the opening to the reflection part around the opening. Since the colored layer is disposed so as to protrude from the opening onto the surrounding reflecting portion, the colored layer can be formed as a single body. Therefore, it is not necessary to form the pattern of the colored layer so finely, and it can be manufactured more easily and with a high yield.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the coverage area ratio on the reflective part of the colored layer is different between the pixels including the colored layer of at least two different colors. As a result, the optical characteristics of the colored layers of the respective colors are adjusted so as to optimize the color of the transmissive display realized by the transmitted light of the opening, and the coverage area ratio of the colored layers of the respective colors overlapping with the reflective portion is adjusted. This makes it possible to optimize the color of the reflective display. Therefore, the color of transmissive display and the color of reflective display can be adjusted independently for each color.

  In this case, it is preferable that the colored layer of each color of red, green, and blue is provided, and the coverage area ratio of the green colored layer is smaller than the coverage area ratio of the colored layers of red and blue. The transmissive display is composed of light that has passed through the colored layer only once in the region overlapping with the opening, whereas the reflective display is mainly composed of light that is transmitted twice through the colored layer in the region overlapping with the reflective portion. It is also affected by the light reflected by the colored layer in the region overlapping the opening. Therefore, in general, the reflective display has higher saturation than the transmissive display, but tends to be dark. By the way, since the specific visibility has a peak in the yellow-green wavelength region, it becomes dark when the saturation of red and blue light is increased, but it is difficult to become dark even if the saturation of green light is increased. Thereby, if it is going to raise the brightness in reflective display, especially the saturation of red and blue will fall easily. Therefore, in the red and blue pixels, the saturation is ensured by increasing the coverage area ratio (that is, eliminating or reducing the area of the reflective portion that does not overlap the colored layer), and in the green pixels. If the amount of reflected light is increased by reducing the coverage area ratio (that is, increasing the area of the reflective portion that does not overlap the colored layer), the brightness is greatly increased while ensuring the color reproducibility of the reflective display. It becomes possible.

Furthermore, the coverage area ratio of the green colored layer is preferably 30 to 50%, and the coverage area ratio of the red and blue colored layers is preferably 60 to 100%. By setting the green coverage area ratio and the red and blue coverage area ratios within the above ranges, the color reproducibility and brightness of the reflective display can be improved while ensuring the color reproducibility of the transmissive display.
In particular, the coverage area ratio of the green colored layer is most preferably in the range of 35 to 45%, and the coverage area ratio of the red and blue colored layers is most preferably in the range of 85 to 100%.

Moreover, it is preferable that the said reflection part is arrange | positioned at the perimeter of the said opening part. As a result, the opening is formed in the reflective layer so as to be surrounded by the reflective part, so even if a slight misalignment occurs between the colored layer and the reflective layer, it is covered with the colored layer. It is possible to prevent no area from occurring in the opening. In particular, it is desirable that the opening is formed at substantially the center of the reflective layer.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the aperture ratio with respect to the said reflection layer by the said opening part is 30 to 70%. In general, when the aperture ratio of the reflective layer increases, the transmissive display becomes brighter, but the reflective display becomes darker. Therefore, it is necessary to set the aperture ratio of the reflective layer so as to balance the transmissive display and the reflective display. More specifically, if the aperture ratio is too small, it is necessary to increase the illuminance of the backlight, and the power consumption of the backlight increases. On the other hand, if the aperture ratio is too large, the reflective display becomes dark and difficult to view. In this embodiment, since the brightness of the reflective display can be increased by providing a region that does not overlap the colored layer in a part of the reflective portion, when adopting a structure in which the colored layer is superimposed on the entire reflective layer, Compared to the case where a colored layer having different optical characteristics is formed between the portion overlapping the reflective portion and the portion overlapping the opening portion, it becomes possible to balance transmission display and reflection display in the above range where the aperture ratio is large, Good color quality can be realized in both transmissive display and reflective display. If the aperture ratio is less than the above range, power consumption increases because it is necessary to ensure the brightness of the transmissive display, so that it is difficult to adopt it for portable electronic devices such as mobile phones. If the aperture ratio exceeds the above range, it becomes difficult to achieve both brightness and saturation in reflective display, and it becomes difficult to ensure color quality in reflective display.

  Next, embodiments of an electro-optical device, a color filter substrate, and an electronic apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an appearance of a liquid crystal panel 200 constituting the electro-optical device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a schematic schematic cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal panel 200. FIG. 2B is an enlarged partial plan view of the color filter substrate 210 constituting the liquid crystal panel 200.

  In this electro-optical device, a lighting device such as a backlight or a front light, a case body, and the like (not shown) are appropriately attached to a liquid crystal panel 200 having a so-called reflective transflective passive matrix structure. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, a liquid crystal panel 200 includes a color filter substrate 210 having a transparent first substrate 211 made of a glass plate, a synthetic resin plate, or the like as a base, and a similar second substrate 221 opposite thereto as a base. The counter substrate 220 is bonded to each other through the sealant 230, and after the liquid crystal 232 is injected from the injection port 230a into the sealant 230, the cell structure is sealed with the sealant 231. Yes.

  A plurality of parallel striped transparent electrodes 216 are formed on the inner surface of the first substrate 211 (the surface facing the second substrate 221), and a plurality of parallel striped transparent electrodes 222 are formed on the inner surface of the second substrate 221. Is formed. The transparent electrode 216 is conductively connected to the wiring 218 </ b> A, and the transparent electrode 222 is conductively connected to the wiring 228. The transparent electrode 216 and the transparent electrode 222 are orthogonal to each other, and the intersection region thereof constitutes a large number of pixels arranged in a matrix, and these pixel arrangements constitute a liquid crystal display region A.

  The first substrate 211 has a substrate overhanging portion 210T that projects outward from the outer shape of the second substrate 221, and the sealing material 230 is provided on the substrate overhanging portion 210T with respect to the wiring 218A and the wiring 228. A wiring 218 </ b> B that is conductively connected through a vertical conduction portion constituted by a part of the wiring pattern and an input terminal portion 219 including a plurality of wiring patterns formed independently are formed. A semiconductor IC 261 with a built-in liquid crystal driving circuit and the like is mounted on the substrate overhanging portion 210T so as to be conductively connected to the wirings 218A and 218B and the input terminal portion 219. In addition, a flexible wiring board 263 is mounted on the end of the board extension part 210T so as to be conductively connected to the input terminal part 219.

  In this liquid crystal panel 200, as shown in FIG. 2, a phase difference plate (¼ wavelength plate) 240 and a polarizing plate 241 are disposed on the outer surface of the first substrate 211, and a phase difference is disposed on the outer surface of the second substrate 221. A plate (¼ wavelength plate) 250 and a polarizing plate 251 are arranged.

<Structure of color filter substrate 210>
Next, referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the structure of the color filter substrate 210 will be described in detail. A reflective layer 212 is formed on the surface of the first substrate 211, and an opening 212a is provided for each pixel. Of the reflective layer 212, a portion other than the opening 212a is a reflective portion 212b that substantially reflects light. In the present embodiment, a reflective layer 212 having an opening 212a and a reflective portion 212b is formed for each pixel. However, the reflective layer 212 may be formed over the entire liquid crystal display region A, and only the opening 212a may be formed for each pixel.

  A colored layer 214 is formed on the reflective layer 212, and a surface protective layer (overcoat layer) 215 made of a transparent resin or the like is coated thereon. The colored layer 214 and the surface protective layer 215 form a color filter.

  The colored layer 214 normally has a predetermined color tone by dispersing a coloring material such as a pigment or a dye in a transparent resin. An example of the color tone of the colored layer is a primary color filter composed of a combination of three colors of R (red), G (green), and B (blue), but is not limited to this. Can be formed in various colors. Usually, a colored resist having a predetermined color pattern is formed by applying a colored resist made of a photosensitive resin containing a coloring material such as a pigment or a dye on the surface of the substrate and removing unnecessary portions by a photolithography method. Here, the above process is repeated when forming a colored layer of a plurality of tones.

  As the arrangement pattern of the colored layers, a stripe arrangement is adopted in the illustrated example shown in FIG. 2B, but various pattern shapes such as a delta arrangement and a diagonal mosaic arrangement are adopted in addition to the stripe arrangement. be able to. In addition, a light-shielding film (black matrix or black mask) for shielding light in the inter-pixel region can be formed around each of the RGB colored layers as part of the colored layer.

  A transparent electrode 216 made of a transparent conductor such as ITO (indium tin oxide) is formed on the surface protective layer 215. The transparent electrode 216 is formed in a strip shape extending in the vertical direction in FIG. 2B, and a plurality of transparent electrodes 216 are arranged in parallel with each other in a stripe shape. An alignment film 217 made of polyimide resin or the like is formed on the transparent electrode 216.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2B, the colored layer 214 constituting the color filter overlaps in a plane so as to completely cover the opening 212a of the reflective layer 212 in each pixel. , And is integrally formed so as to project on the reflection portion 212b around the opening 212a from the region overlapping the opening 212a to the periphery.

  Further, the colored layer 214 is not formed on the entire pixel, but is formed so as to overlap only part of the reflective layer 212. That is, the reflective layer 212 includes a region that overlaps with the colored layer 214 in a plane (in the illustrated example, an inner peripheral region that faces the opening 212a) and a region that does not overlap with the colored layer 214 in a planar manner (an outer peripheral region in the illustrated example). Exists.

On the other hand, in the liquid crystal panel 200, the counter substrate 220 facing the color filter substrate 210 is provided on the second substrate 221 made of glass or the like, the transparent electrode 222 similar to the above, and the hard protection made of SiO ₂ or TiO _2. A film 223 and an alignment film 224 similar to the above are sequentially stacked.

  In the present embodiment configured as described above, a part of the external light incident on the reflecting portion 212b from the counter substrate 220 side is reflected by the reflecting portion 212b after passing through the colored layer 214, and a part of the outside light is reflected by the colored layer 214. The light is reflected by the reflection part 212b without passing through the light, passes through the counter substrate 220 again, and is emitted. At this time, external light that passes through the colored layer 214 passes through the colored layer 214 twice, but external light that does not pass through the colored layer 214 is emitted without passing through the colored layer 214. Therefore, the brightness of the reflective display can be improved as compared with the case where the colored layer 214 covers the entire reflective layer 212 in the pixel.

  On the other hand, since the colored layer 214 covers all the openings 212a of the reflective layer 212, for example, when a backlight or the like is arranged behind the color filter substrate 210 and illumination light is irradiated from behind, the illumination light Part of the light passes through the opening 212a, passes through the colored layer 214, and passes through the liquid crystal 232 and the counter substrate 220 to be emitted. Therefore, since the transmitted light is transmitted through the colored layer 214 only once, the color of the transmissive display according to the color density of the colored layer 214 (the degree to which the spectral distribution in the visible light region is biased when the light is transmitted). Is obtained. At this time, since the saturation of the reflected light is reduced because the reflected light component that does not pass through the colored layer is included as described above, the saturation of the transmissive display is relatively increased.

  In the present embodiment, the optical characteristics of the colored layer 214 are formed so as to correspond to the transmissive display, and the reflective area of the reflective portion 212b that overlaps the colored layer 214 in a planar manner is adjusted, whereby the color of the reflective display, In particular, brightness can be ensured. Therefore, it is possible to increase the saturation of the transmissive display while ensuring the brightness of the reflective display. In addition, a difference in color (particularly saturation and brightness) between the reflective display and the transmissive display can be reduced.

  The above effect is similar to the manufacturing process of a normal color filter, and the colored layer is formed to have a substantially uniform color density as a whole (for example, the density of a coloring material such as pigment or dye is substantially uniform) This is particularly suitable when the colored layer is formed with a substantially uniform thickness as a whole. In this case, since the optical characteristics of the region overlapping the opening 212a in the colored layer 214 and the region overlapping the reflecting portion 212b in the colored layer 214 are substantially the same, the conventional structure has a reflective display. The effect of the present invention is particularly remarkable because a large difference in saturation and lightness inevitably occurs between the colors of the color and the color of the transmissive display.

  Reflective display and transmissive display have colors suitable for each color, and it is only necessary to provide separate color filters for each. However, in practice, both displays are performed with a common color filter. Realization is preferable in terms of manufacturing. In the present embodiment, the reflective coloring ratio and the transparent coloring ratio are changed as described above, so that the coloring mode of the reflective display and the coloring aspect of the transmissive display are set separately even if the colored layer is common. It became possible to do.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the liquid crystal panel 300 of this embodiment, the same first substrate 311, second substrate 321, colored layer 314, surface protective layer 315, transparent electrode 316, alignment film 317, transparent electrode 322, and hard protection as in the first embodiment. Since the film 323, the alignment film 324, the sealing material 330, the liquid crystal 332, the phase difference plates 340 and 350, and the polarizing plates 341 and 351 are included, description thereof will be omitted.

  In the liquid crystal panel 300 of the present embodiment, the reflective layer 312 is integrally formed almost entirely in the liquid crystal display region, and an opening 312a is provided for each pixel. Of the reflective layer 312, the portion other than the opening 312a is a reflective portion 312b that substantially reflects light. A black light shielding film 314BM made of black resin or the like is formed in the inter-pixel region. As the black resin, a colorant such as a black pigment or dye is dispersed in a transparent resin, or three colorants of R (red), G (green) and B (blue) are mixed together. And those dispersed in a transparent resin.

  In the present embodiment, the reflective layer 312 is integrally formed over a plurality of pixels. However, as in the first embodiment, a reflective layer is formed for each pixel, and the black light shielding film is interposed between the reflective layers. It may be formed.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). The liquid crystal panel 400 of this embodiment includes a first substrate 411, a second substrate 421, a reflective layer 412 having an opening 412a and a reflective portion 412b, a transparent electrode 416, an alignment film 417, and a transparent substrate, as in the second embodiment. Since the electrode 422, the alignment film 423, the sealant 430, the liquid crystal 432, the retardation plates 440 and 450, and the polarizing plates 441 and 451 are included, description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, a color filter is formed on the second substrate 421 instead of the first substrate 421 on which the reflective layer 412 is formed. More specifically, a colored layer 424 is formed for each pixel on the second substrate 421, and a black light shielding film 424BM similar to that of the second embodiment is formed in an inter-pixel region. A transparent surface protective layer 425 is formed on the colored layer 424 and the black light shielding film 424BM.

  A transparent electrode 422 is formed on the surface protective layer 425, and an alignment film 423 is formed on the transparent electrode 422.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the colored layer 424 (indicated by a one-dot chain line in the drawing) of the color filter substrate 420 is planar with the opening 412a of the reflective layer 412 with respect to the reflective substrate 410 on which the reflective layer 412 is formed. It overlaps and it is comprised so that the opening part 412a may be covered completely. Further, the colored layer 424 is integrally configured so as to project from a region overlapping the opening 412a in a plan view to a region overlapping the reflecting portion 412b of the reflecting layer 412 toward the periphery. In other words, the reflective layer 412 includes a region that overlaps the colored layer 424 in a plan view (an inner peripheral region in the illustrated example) and a region that does not overlap the color layer 424 in a planar manner (an outer peripheral region in the illustrated example).

  Even if the reflective layer 412 and the colored layer 424 are formed on different substrates as in the present embodiment, if the reflective overlapping layer 412 and the colored layer 424 are configured as described above, The same effect as 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment can be show | played.

[Other configuration examples]
Next, with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5D and FIGS. 6A to 6D, other configuration examples applicable to the above embodiments will be described. In each configuration example described below, only the planar positional relationship between the reflective layer and the colored layer is illustrated and described.

  Configuration Example 1 In the configuration example 1 illustrated in FIG. 5A, a colored layer 514 r exhibiting a hue of R (red) and G (green) are formed on the reflective layer 512 including the opening 512 a in each pixel. The colored layer 514g exhibiting the hue of B and the colored layer 514b exhibiting the hue of B (blue) are formed so as to overlap each other in a planar manner. In this configuration example, similarly to the above embodiments, the colored layers 514r, 514g, and 514b in each pixel are configured to completely cover the opening 512a, and the surrounding area from the region overlapping the opening 512a is It is configured integrally so as to project to a region overlapping with the reflecting surface in a plane.

  Configuration Example 2 In the configuration example 2 shown in FIG. 5B, in each pixel, a colored layer 614r exhibiting a hue of R (red) and a G (green) on the reflective layer 612 provided with the opening 612a. ) Color layer 614g exhibiting a hue of B) and a color layer 614b exhibiting a hue of B (blue) are formed so as to overlap each other in a planar manner. In this configuration example, the colored layers 614r, 614g, and 614b do not completely cover the opening 612a, and there is a region that does not overlap the colored layer in a part of the opening 612a.

  In this configuration example 2, in order to reduce the difference in color between the reflective display and the transmissive display, the reflective coloring ratio (the area ratio of the region overlapping the colored layer with respect to the total reflective area of the reflective layer 612) is transmitted. It is configured to be smaller than the coloring ratio (area ratio of a region overlapping the colored layer in a plane with respect to the total opening area of the opening 612a). As a result, the brightness of the reflective display is improved and the saturation of the transmissive display is relatively increased.

  (Configuration Example 3) In the configuration example 3 shown in FIG. 5C, each pixel has a plurality of R (red) so as to overlap each other on the reflective layer 712 provided with the opening 712a. Colored layers 714r, 715r, 716r exhibiting a hue, colored layers 714g, 715g, 716g exhibiting a G (green) hue, and colored layers 714b, 715b, 716b exhibiting a B (blue) hue are formed. .

  In this configuration example, the colored layers 714r, 714g, and 714b overlap the opening 712a in a planar manner, and the other colored layers 715r, 715g, 715b, 716r, 716g, and 716b are planar only on the reflective surface of the reflective layer 712. It is comprised so that it may overlap. In this way, a plurality of colored layers may be configured so as to overlap each other in each pixel.

  (Configuration Example 4) In the configuration example 4 shown in FIG. 5D, a colored layer 814r that exhibits a hue of R (red) and a hue of G (green) are formed on the reflective layer 812 that includes the opening 812a. The colored layer 814g to be exhibited and the colored layer 814b having a B (blue) hue are formed so as to overlap each other in a planar manner. In this configuration example, the colored layers 812r, 812g, and 812b are configured to have different areas from each other. As a result, the reflection coloring ratio (the reflection area overlapping the coloring layer with respect to the total reflection area in the pixel in a plane) is reduced. Ratio) are different from each other depending on the hues R (red), G (green), and B (blue) of the colored layer. More generally speaking, the ratio between the reflection coloring ratio and the transmission coloring ratio (ratio of the opening area overlapping the coloring layer in a plane with respect to the total opening area in the pixel) is different from each other for each color. It has become.

  According to this configuration example 4, not only the colors of the reflective display and the transmissive display can be set separately as in the above-described embodiment and other configuration examples, but also the reflection color ratio (or the reflection color ratio and the transmission color ratio) Ratio) for each color, an appropriate color can be obtained according to the material of the colored layer of each color.

  Configuration Example 5 In Configuration Example 5 shown in FIG. 6A, a plurality of (two in the illustrated example) openings 912 a are provided for each pixel in the reflective layer 912. Of the reflective layer 912, a portion other than the opening 912a is a reflective portion 912b that substantially reflects light. The colored layers 914r, 914g, and 914b that overlap the reflection layer 912 in a plan view are configured to cover the plurality of openings 912a and overlap only a part of the reflection portion 912b in a plane.

  (Configuration Example 6) In the configuration example 6 shown in FIG. 6B, a plurality of (three in the illustrated example) colored layers 1014r and 1014g that planarly overlap the reflective layer 1012 having the opening 1012a and the reflective portion 1012b. , 1014b, 1015r, 1015g, 1015b, 1016r, 1016g, 1016b. Here, the colored layers 1014r, 1014g, and 1014b are configured to overlap the opening 1012a in a planar manner, and the colored layers 1015r, 1015g, 1015b, 1016r, 1016g, and 1016b are planarly overlapped only on a part of the reflective portion. It is configured. The colored layers 1014r, 1014g, and 1014b have a higher color density than the colored layers 1015r, 1015g, 1015b, 1016r, 1016g, and 1016b, that is, contain a higher concentration of coloring materials such as pigments and dyes. ,It is configured.

  In this configuration example 6, the colored layers 1014r, 1014g, and 1014b that overlap the opening 1012a in a planar manner have high light density, and the colored layers 1015r, 1015g, and the like that are configured to overlap only a part of the reflecting portion 1012b in a planar manner. Since the light densities of 1015b, 1016r, 1016g, and 1016b are low, the saturation of the transmitted light is relatively higher and the reflected light is brighter than in the above embodiments.

  As described above, in the present invention, the case where the colored layers are configured so that the light densities thereof are partially different is not excluded. In particular, for the colored layer, it is desirable to increase the light density in a region that overlaps with the optical opening of the reflective layer in a plane, and to decrease the light density in a region that overlaps with the other reflective layer in a plane.

  Configuration Example 7 In the configuration example 7 shown in FIG. 6C, a plurality (two in the illustrated example) of colored layers 1114r and 1114g that overlap in a plane with the reflective layer 1112 having the opening 1112a and the reflective portion 1112b. , 1114b, 1115r, 1115g, and 1115b. The colored layers 1114r, 1114g, and 1114b and the colored layers 1115r, 1115g, and 1115b are stacked on each other, or are separately disposed so as to overlap each other in a plane. FIG. 6D shows a cross-sectional view in the case where the reflective layer 1112, the colored layers 1114r, 1114g, and 1114b and the colored layers 1115r, 1115g, and 1115b are stacked on each other in the configuration example 7. It is.

  In the configuration example 7, in the region where the colored layers 1114r, 1114g, and 1114b and the colored layers 1115r, 1115g, and 1115b overlap in a plane, that is, in the region that overlaps in a plane with the opening 1112a, the thickness of the colored layer is In a region that is substantially thick and does not overlap with the colored layers 1115r, 1115g, and 1115b in a region where the colored layers 1114r, 1114g, and 1114b are formed, that is, a region that overlaps with the reflective portion 1112b in a plane. The colored layer is configured to be substantially thin. Therefore, the saturation of the transmitted light is further improved by the thick colored layer, and the brightness of the reflected light is further improved by partially forming the thin colored layer.

  As described above, in the present invention, the case where the colored layer is formed by partially changing the thickness is not excluded. In particular, it is desirable that the colored layer is formed to be substantially thick in a region overlapping with the optical aperture of the reflective layer in a plane and substantially thin in a region overlapping with the other reflective layer.

  Here, in order to further enhance the above effect, the color density of the colored layers 1115r, 1115g, and 1115b overlapping the opening 1112a in a plane is increased, and the region overlapping the opening 1012a in a plane is partially planarized from the region overlapping the opening 1012a. The color density of the colored layers 1114r, 1114g, and 1114b configured to overhang the region may be lowered.

  (Configuration Example 8) FIG. 7 schematically illustrates the configuration of Configuration Example 8. In the configuration example 8, in the R pixel and the B pixel, the colored layers 1214r and 1214b are entirely formed on the reflective layer 1212. However, in the G pixel, the colored layer is overlapped with only a part of the reflective layer 1212. 1214g is formed. The colored layer 1214g covers the entire opening 1212a and spreads so as to protrude from the opening edge, whereby the colored layer 1214g is configured to overlap only a part of the reflecting portion 1212b.

  In Configuration Example 8, the aperture ratio of the reflective layer 1212 (ratio of the area of the opening 1212a to the total area of the reflective layer 1212) is 30 to 70% common to each of the RGB pixels. Further, the coverage area ratio of the G pixel (ratio of the area of the colored layer 1214g to the area of the reflection portion 1212b) is 40 to 80%.

  With the above configuration, in the R pixel and the B pixel, the coverage area ratio of the colored layers 1214r and 1214b with respect to the reflective portion 1212b (the ratio of the area of the colored layer overlapping the reflective portion 1212 to the area of the reflective portion 1212, that is, the reflective The saturation is ensured by setting the coloring ratio to 100%, and in the G pixel, the brightness is increased by lowering the coverage area ratio of the colored layer 1214g with respect to the reflecting portion 1212b. This makes it possible to increase the brightness of the reflective display without substantially reducing the saturation of R and B.

  (Configuration Example 9) FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a configuration of Configuration Example 9. In this configuration example 9, in the B pixel, the reflective layer 1312 is entirely covered with the colored layer 1314b (covering area ratio 100%), and in the R pixel, the colored layer 1314r exposes a part of the reflective layer 1312. 1314ra is provided. Further, in the G pixel, the colored layer 1314g completely overlaps with the opening 1312a of the reflective layer 1312, and is configured to protrude to the periphery thereof and overlaps only a part on the reflective portion 1312b.

  Further, in Configuration Example 9, the aperture ratio of the reflective layer 1312 is 30 to 70% common to the RGB pixels. The coverage area ratio of the R pixel is 60 to 100%, and the coverage area ratio of the G pixel is 40 to 80%.

  (Configuration Example 10) FIG. 9 schematically illustrates the configuration of Configuration Example 10. In this configuration example 10, in the B pixel, the reflective layer 1412 is entirely covered with the colored layer 1414b (covering area ratio 100%), and in the R pixel, the colored layer 1414r exposes a part of the reflective layer 1412. 1414ra is provided. In this example, two openings 1414ra are provided. Further, in the G pixel, the colored layer 1414g completely overlaps with the opening 1412a of the reflective layer 1412, and is configured to protrude to the periphery thereof and overlaps only a part on the reflective portion 1412b.

  In Configuration Example 10, the aperture ratio of the reflective layer 1412 is 30 to 70% common to the RGB pixels. The coverage area ratio of the R pixel is 60 to 100%, and the coverage area ratio of the G pixel is 40 to 80%.

  (Configuration Example 11) FIG. 10 schematically illustrates the configuration of Configuration Example 11. In this configuration example 11, in the B pixel, the colored layer 1514b includes an opening 1514ba from which a part of the reflective layer 1512 is exposed. In this example, two openings 1514ba are provided. In the R pixel, the colored layer 1514r includes an opening 1514ra that exposes a part of the reflective layer 1512. In this example, two openings 1514ra are provided. Further, in the G pixel, the colored layer 1514g completely overlaps with the opening 1512a of the reflective layer 1512, and is configured to project around the periphery, and overlaps only a part on the reflective portion 1512b.

  Further, in this configuration example 11, the aperture ratio of the reflective layer 1512 is 30 to 70% common to the RGB pixels. Further, the coverage area ratio of the B pixel is 70 to 100%, the coverage area ratio of the R pixel is 60 to 100%, and the coverage area ratio of the G pixel is 40 to 80%.

  Configuration Example 12 FIG. 11 schematically illustrates the configuration of Configuration Example 12. In this configuration example 12, in the B pixel, the colored layer 1614b includes an opening 1614ba that exposes a part of the reflective layer 1612. In this example, two openings 1614ba are provided. In the R pixel, the colored layer 1614r includes an opening 1614ra that exposes a part of the reflective layer 1612. In this example, two openings 1614ra are provided. Further, in the G pixel, the colored layer 1614g completely overlaps with the opening 1612a of the reflective layer 1612, and is configured to protrude to the periphery thereof and overlaps only a part on the reflective portion 1612b.

  Further, in this configuration example 12, the aperture ratio of the reflective layer 1612 is 30% common to the RGB pixels. Further, the coverage area ratio of the B pixel is 65.3%, the coverage area ratio of the R pixel is 65.3%, and the coverage area ratio of the G pixel is 30.2%.

  (Configuration Example 13) FIG. 12 schematically illustrates the configuration of Configuration Example 13. In this configuration example 13, in the B pixel, the colored layer 1714b includes an opening 1714ba that exposes a part of the reflective layer 1712. In this example, two openings 1714ba are provided. In the R pixel, the colored layer 1714r includes an opening 1714ra that exposes a part of the reflective layer 1712. In this example, two openings 1714ra are provided. Further, in the G pixel, the colored layer 1714g completely overlaps with the opening 1712a of the reflective layer 1712, and is configured to protrude to the periphery thereof and overlaps only a part on the reflective portion 1712b.

  In the configuration example 13, the aperture ratio of the reflective layer 1712 is 30% common to the RGB pixels. Further, the coverage area ratio of the B pixel is 75.4%, the coverage area ratio of the R pixel is 75.4%, and the coverage area ratio of the G pixel is 40.2%.

  (Configuration Example 14) FIG. 13 schematically illustrates the configuration of Configuration Example 14. In this configuration example 14, in the B pixel, the colored layer 1814b includes an opening 1814ba from which a part of the reflective layer 1812 is exposed. In this example, two openings 1814ba are provided. In the R pixel, the colored layer 1814r includes an opening 1814ra that exposes a part of the reflective layer 1812. In this example, two openings 1814ra are provided. Further, in the G pixel, the colored layer 1814g completely overlaps with the opening 1812a of the reflective layer 1812, and is configured to protrude to the periphery thereof and overlaps only a part on the reflective portion 1812b.

  In the configuration example 14, the aperture ratio of the reflective layer 1812 is 50% common to the RGB pixels. Further, the coverage area ratio of the B pixel is 75.4%, the coverage area ratio of the R pixel is 75.4%, and the coverage area ratio of the G pixel is 47.7%.

Configuration Example 15 FIG. 14 schematically illustrates the configuration of Configuration Example 15. In this configuration example 15, the reflective layer 1912 of each pixel is provided with a pair of left and right reflective portions 1912b separated, and an opening 1912a is formed between them. In the B pixel and the R pixel, the colored layer 1 is used.
914b and 1914r entirely cover the reflective layer 1912. Further, in the G pixel, the colored layer 1914g completely overlaps with the opening 1912a of the reflective layer 1912, and is configured to project around the periphery, and overlaps only part of the reflective portion 1912b. That is,
The reflection portion 1912b is partially exposed by the opening 1914a provided in the colored layer 1914g.

  In the configuration example 15, the aperture ratio of the reflective layer 1912 is 70% common to the RGB pixels. Further, the coverage area ratio of the B pixel and the R pixel is 100%, and the coverage area ratio of the G pixel is 50.0%.

  (Optical Characteristics) Next, the optical characteristics of the above configuration examples 8 to 11 are shown in FIG. FIG. 15 shows color data of transmitted light and reflected light of the RGB pixels of each of the above configuration examples on the xy chromaticity diagram in the 1931 CIE xyz color system. In general, in the xy chromaticity diagram, as shown in FIG. 16, a color that is actually visually recognized within a bell-shaped range having the boundary (the hue and the saturation) of the single wavelength light in the visible light region. Is arranged. Further, when performing color display using colored layers of three colors (for example, RGB), it is possible to form a color within a triangle formed by connecting data points of each colored layer RGB. . Basically, the quality of the color display is improved as the area of the triangle is larger.

  In FIG. 15, the color data for transmissive display (data points surrounded by an alternate long and short dash line in the figure) and the color data for reflection display (data points surrounded by an alternate long and two short dashes line) are shown together. It is. Here, the diamond indicates the data point of Configuration Example 8, the square indicates the data point of Configuration Example 9, the triangle indicates the data point of Configuration Example 10, and the x mark indicates the data point of Configuration Example 11. In addition, H in the figure indicates data points for white display.

  In FIG. 15, in order to compare with the color data of the above configuration example, the aperture ratio of the reflective layer is set to 30%, and for each color of RGB, the transparent portion coloring layer that overlaps the opening portion, and the reflective portion coloring that overlaps the reflective portion. Measurements were also made using a color filter substrate formed by a six-stage process in which the layers were formed separately and patterned six times, and are shown as black dots in the figure as a comparative example. Here, FIG. 17A shows the spectral transmittance of the transmissive portion colored layer, and FIG. 17B shows the spectral transmittance of the reflective portion colored layer. In the transmissive region (opening), light passes through the transmissive portion colored layer only once, whereas in the reflective region (reflective portion), light reciprocates and passes through the reflective portion colored layer twice. As shown in FIG. 17A, a colored layer having relatively high optical characteristics (average transmittance T is low) is employed as shown in FIG. 17A, and the reflective portion colored layer is compared as shown in FIG. 17B. Although the average saturation T is low, the average transmittance T has high optical characteristics. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the brightness of the reflective display while ensuring the saturation of the transmissive display.

  In Structural Examples 8 to 11 according to the present invention, a colored layer having the same optical characteristics as the transmissive portion colored layer of the comparative example of the six-stage process, that is, the spectral transmittance shown in FIG. As a result, as shown in FIG. 15, the color quality of the reflective display close to that of the comparative example was obtained. In particular, the configuration example 11 has a configuration that has substantially the same hue and saturation as the comparative example. Thus, in the present invention, it is possible to achieve the same color quality as when the optical characteristics of the filter portions in the transmission region and the reflection region are set separately. The above comparative example has an advantage that the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced since patterning (for example, photolithography process) is not required twice for each of the RGB colors.

  As shown in the configuration examples 8 to 15, it is preferable that the area of the opening of the reflective layer is the same between the pixels including the colored layers of different colors. This is because the amount of incident light can be made equal in each color pixel by making the same between pixels having different color layers with different areas of the opening of the reflective layer. This is because it becomes possible to carry out the process relatively easily. For example, since the opening areas constituting the transmissive region are the same for each of the RGB colors, the color appearance is the same as that of the transmissive display device. Therefore, the color used for the transmissive display device is the color layer of each RGB color. The optical characteristics of the color material can be set by appropriately adjusting the color material of the filter. In addition, since the area of the reflective portion is configured identically between pixels having different colored layers, it is easy to adjust the area on the reflective portion of the colored layer for each color when performing color adjustment of reflective display. Become. For example, since the reflective area constituting the reflective area is the same for each color of RGB, the color appearance is the same as that of the reflective display device, so that the colored layer of each RGB color is used in the reflective display device. The coverage area ratio can be set by appropriately adjusting the color filter.

  In the above configuration example, the coverage area ratio of the colored layer on the reflective portion is different between the pixels including the colored layer of at least two different colors. As a result, the optical characteristics of the colored layers of the respective colors are adjusted so as to optimize the color of the transmissive display realized by the transmitted light of the opening, and the coverage area ratio of the colored layers of the respective colors overlapping with the reflective portion is adjusted. This makes it possible to optimize the color of the reflective display. Therefore, the color of transmissive display and the color of reflective display can be adjusted independently for each color.

  When a colored layer of each color of red, green, and blue is provided, the saturation area in the reflective display is reduced by making the coverage ratio of the green colored layer smaller than the coverage area ratio of the red and blue colored layers. Brightness can be improved while suppressing the decrease. The transmissive display is composed of light that has been transmitted through the colored layer only once in the region that overlaps with the opening, whereas the reflective display is mainly composed of light that is transmitted twice through the colored layer in the region that overlaps with the reflective portion. In general, the reflective display is more saturated than the transmissive display, but tends to be darker because it is partially affected by the reflected light reflected by the colored layer in the overlapping area. Therefore, in the reflective display, as the optical characteristics of the colored layer, it is necessary to increase the lightness even if the saturation is slightly reduced.

  However, since the specific luminous sensitivity has a peak at a wavelength of 555 nm, green and yellow appear brighter than red and blue even with the same amount of light energy, so the relationship between saturation and brightness for each color. Is different. For example, in order to brighten the colored layer of red (R pixel) and blue (B pixel), light other than red and blue (with a relative luminous sensitivity of unless the light energy in the red or blue wavelength region is significantly increased). Since there is no other way but to increase the amount of light (high green and yellow light), if the total amount of light is limited, a significant decrease in saturation that is not worth the improvement in lightness is caused. On the other hand, in the case of green (G pixel) mainly having a wavelength range with high relative visibility, it is difficult to darken even if the saturation is increased. Absent.

  In the case of the present invention, both saturation and lightness in reflective display are achieved by adjusting the covering area ratio on the reflective portion of the colored layer. In this case, in the R pixel and the B pixel, the saturation is drastically decreased when the coverage area ratio is greatly reduced, but it is preferable to set the coverage area ratio as high as 60 to 100%. On the other hand, in the G pixel, by reducing the covering area ratio, the reflected light includes light in the red and blue wavelength ranges other than green. Since there is a large difference in the color saturation, the saturation does not decrease so much. Therefore, it is preferable to set the coverage ratio as low as 35 to 50%. By setting the green coverage area ratio and the red and blue coverage area ratios within the above ranges, the color reproducibility and brightness of the reflective display can be improved while ensuring the color reproducibility of the transmissive display.

  In any of the above-described configuration examples, the reflecting portion is arranged around the entire opening. That is, the reflective layer is formed in a state where the opening is surrounded by the reflective part. Therefore, even if a slight misalignment occurs between the colored layer and the reflective layer, it is possible to prevent a region not covered with the colored layer from occurring in the opening. In particular, since the colored layer can be formed so as to overlap the central portion of the reflective layer and the periphery of the reflective layer by forming the opening in the approximate center of the reflective layer, the color filter optics can be used against patterning errors and the like. Performance is less affected and stable production is possible.

  The aperture ratio of the opening to the reflective layer is preferably 30 to 70%. In general, when the aperture ratio of the reflective layer increases, the transmissive display becomes bright, but the reflective display becomes darker. Therefore, it is necessary to set the aperture ratio of the reflective layer so as to balance the transmissive display and the reflective display. More specifically, if the aperture ratio is too small, it is necessary to increase the illuminance of the backlight, and the power consumption of the backlight increases. On the other hand, if the aperture ratio is too large, the reflective display becomes dark and difficult to view. In this embodiment, since the brightness of the reflective display can be increased by providing a region that does not overlap with the colored layer in a part of the reflective portion, compared with the case where a structure in which the colored layer is superimposed on the entire reflective layer is employed. Thus, it is possible to balance the transmissive display and the reflective display in the above range where the aperture ratio is large, and it is possible to realize a good color quality in both the transmissive display and the reflective display. When the aperture ratio is less than the above range, power consumption increases because it is necessary to ensure the brightness of the transmissive display, and thus it is difficult to employ the portable electronic device such as a mobile phone. If the aperture ratio exceeds the above range, it becomes difficult to achieve both brightness and saturation in the reflective display, and it becomes difficult to ensure color quality in the reflective display.

[Embodiment of Electronic Device]
An embodiment in which an electro-optical device including the liquid crystal panel is used as a display device of an electronic apparatus will be described. FIG. 18 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of the present embodiment. The electronic device shown here includes a liquid crystal panel 200 similar to the above, and a control means 1200 for controlling the same. Here, the liquid crystal panel 200 is conceptually divided into a panel structure 200A and a drive circuit 200B composed of a semiconductor IC or the like. The control unit 1200 includes a display information output source 1210, a display processing circuit 1220, a power supply circuit 1230, and a timing generator 1240.

  The display information output source 1210 includes a memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory), a storage unit such as a magnetic recording disk or an optical recording disk, and a tuning circuit that tunes and outputs a digital image signal. The display information is supplied to the display information processing circuit 1220 in the form of an image signal of a predetermined format based on various clock signals generated by the timing generator 1240.

  The display information processing circuit 1220 includes various known circuits such as a serial-parallel conversion circuit, an amplification / inversion circuit, a rotation circuit, a gamma correction circuit, and a clamp circuit, and executes processing of input display information to obtain image information. Are supplied to the drive circuit 200B together with the clock signal CLK. The drive circuit 200B includes a scanning line drive circuit, a data line drive circuit, and an inspection circuit. The power supply circuit 1230 supplies a predetermined voltage to each of the above-described components.

  FIG. 19 shows a mobile phone which is an embodiment of an electronic apparatus according to the present invention. In the cellular phone 2000, a circuit board 2001 is disposed inside a case body 2010, and the above-described liquid crystal panel 200 is mounted on the circuit board 2001. An operation button 2020 is arranged on the front surface of the case body 2010, and an antenna 2030 is attached from one end part so as to be able to appear and retract. A speaker is arranged inside the reception unit 2040, and a microphone is incorporated inside the transmission unit 2050.

  The liquid crystal panel 200 installed in the case body 2010 is configured so that the display surface (the liquid crystal display area A) can be viewed through the display window 2060.

  It should be noted that the electro-optical device and the electronic apparatus of the present invention are not limited to the illustrated examples described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, although the liquid crystal panel described in each of the above embodiments has a simple matrix structure, the liquid crystal panel is an active matrix type liquid crystal device using an active element (active element) such as a TFT (thin film transistor) or a TFD (thin film diode). Can also be applied. The liquid crystal panel of the above embodiment has a so-called COG type structure, but is configured to connect a flexible wiring board or a TAB board to a liquid crystal panel that does not directly mount an IC chip, for example, a liquid crystal panel. It may be a thing.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the electro-optical device is applied to a liquid crystal device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an electroluminescence device, in particular, an organic electroluminescence device, an inorganic electroluminescence device, or the like, plasma Display devices, FED (field emission display) devices, LED (light emitting diode) display devices, electrophoretic display devices, thin cathode-ray tubes, small televisions using liquid crystal shutters, devices using digital micromirror devices (DMD), etc. It can be applied to various electro-optical devices.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the saturation of the transmissive display while ensuring the brightness of the reflective display. In addition, the difference in color between the reflective display and the transmissive display can be reduced.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a liquid crystal panel showing an appearance of a liquid crystal panel in a first embodiment of an electro-optical device according to the invention. It is the schematic sectional drawing (a) which shows typically the cross-sectional structure of 1st Embodiment, and the schematic enlarged plan view (b) of a color filter substrate. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view (a) schematically showing a cross-sectional structure of a liquid crystal panel 300 in a second embodiment of an electro-optical device according to the present invention, and a schematic enlarged plan view (b) of a color filter substrate. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view (a) schematically showing a cross-sectional structure of a liquid crystal panel 400 in a third embodiment of an electro-optical device according to the present invention, and a schematic enlarged plan view (b) of a color filter substrate. It is a schematic explanatory drawing (a)-(d) which shows typically the overlapping state of the reflective layer and colored layer of the other structural examples 1-4. It is the schematic explanatory drawing (a)-(c) which shows typically the overlapping state of the reflective layer and colored layer of the other structural examples 5-7, and the schematic sectional drawing (d) of the structural example 7. FIG. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the structural example 8 which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the structural example 9 which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the structural example 10 which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the structural example 11 which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the structural example 12 which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the structural example 13 which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the structural example 14 which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the structural example 15 which concerns on this invention. It is an xy chromaticity diagram showing a comparison between color layers of structural examples 8 to 11 and color data of a comparative example of a six-stage process. It is a chromaticity diagram of the 1931 CIExyz color system. It is the graphs (a) and (b) which show the spectral transmittance of a colored layer. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the block configuration of embodiment of the electronic device which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the external appearance of embodiment of the same electronic device. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows typically the structure of the conventional reflective transflective liquid crystal panel.

Explanation of symbols

200 Liquid crystal panel 211 First substrate 212 Reflective layer 212a Opening portion 212b Reflective portion 214 Colored layer 215 Surface protective layer 216 Transparent electrode 221 Second substrate 222 Transparent electrode 230 Sealing material 240, 250 Polarizing plate

Claims (12)

In an electro-optical device having an electro-optical material layer disposed between a pair of substrates and configured with a plurality of pixels,
In each of the pixels, a reflective layer provided in a reflective portion that reflects light that has passed through the electro-optic material layer;
In each of the pixels, a colored layer disposed so as to overlap with a part of the reflective portion in a plane,
A light-shielding film formed in a region between the pixels on the surface of the reflective layer;
A region where the reflective layer is not provided is provided in each of the pixels,
The colored layer overlaps a region where the reflective layer is not provided,
A region where the colored layer is not provided on the reflective portion is provided,
The electro-optical device, wherein the region where the colored layer is not provided is a region between the light shielding film and the colored layer.   The electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein the colored layer is disposed so as to completely cover a region where the reflective layer is not provided.   The said colored layer is arrange | positioned so that it may protrude on the said reflection part around the area | region where the said reflective layer is not provided from the area | region where the said reflective layer is not provided. 2. The electro-optical device according to 2.   4. The electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein the reflection portion is disposed around the entire area where the reflection layer is not provided. 5. The colored layer has a different color corresponding to each of the plurality of pixels,
5. The electricity according to claim 1, wherein a covering area ratio of the colored layer on the reflective portion is different between the pixels including the colored layer of at least two different colors. Optical device.   The colored layer includes a colored layer of each color of red, green, and blue, and the coverage area ratio of the colored layer of green is smaller than the coverage area ratio of the colored layer of red and blue. Item 6. The electro-optical device according to Item 5.   The electro-optic according to claim 6, wherein the coverage area ratio of the green colored layer is 30 to 50%, and the coverage area ratio of the red and blue colored layers is 60 to 100%. apparatus.   8. The electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of an area of the region where the reflective layer is not provided to an area of the reflective portion is 30 to 70%.   The electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding film is made of a black resin.   2. The light-shielding film, wherein three colorants of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) are mixed together and dispersed in a transparent resin. Item 9. The electro-optical device according to any one of Items 8.   11. An electronic apparatus comprising: the electro-optical device according to claim 1; and a control unit that controls the electro-optical device. A substrate on which a plurality of pixels are set;
A reflective layer disposed on the substrate and provided in a reflective part for reflecting light;
A colored layer disposed so as to overlap a part of the reflective portion;
A light-shielding film formed in a region between the pixels on the surface of the reflective layer;
A region where the reflective layer is not provided is provided in each of the pixels,
The colored layer overlaps a region where the reflective layer is not provided,
A region where the colored layer is not provided on the reflective portion is provided,
The color filter substrate, wherein the region where the colored layer is not provided is a region between the light shielding film and the colored layer.

Images