JP5067434B2 - Liquid crystal device and projector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a polarizer, a liquid crystal device, and a projector having excellent optical characteristics.

A liquid crystal light valve used for light modulation means such as a liquid crystal projector and a liquid crystal device used as a direct-view display device mounted on a mobile phone or the like are arranged to face each other with a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween, and apply a voltage to the liquid crystal layer. And a liquid crystal panel composed of a pair of substrates provided with electrodes for the purpose.
As a liquid crystal light valve, a transmissive liquid crystal device is known in which light incident from one substrate side, transmitted through a liquid crystal layer, and then introduced into the projection means is emitted from the other substrate side. In this transmissive liquid crystal device, polarizers that transmit only polarized light having one direction of vibration are provided outside the pair of substrates, so that the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer when no voltage is applied and when the voltage is applied The arrangement is optically identified and displayed.
In addition, there is a transmission type liquid crystal device in which a polarizer is disposed (built-in) inside a pair of substrates. In particular, in order to improve the optical characteristics of the built-in polarizer, the gap between the polarizers is filled with an insulating film or the like. However, a technique for forming a cavity has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-167246 A

  However, the above-described technique requires a complicated process in order to make the space between the lattices of the polarizer hollow. That is, once the gap between the lattices is filled with a sacrificial layer, the sacrificial layer is removed in a later step. For this reason, there exists a problem that a yield tends to fall and an increase in manufacturing cost will be caused.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a method of manufacturing a wire grid polarizer having excellent optical characteristics easily and efficiently.

The wire grid polarizer manufacturing method, liquid crystal device, and projector according to the present invention employ the following means in order to solve the above problems.
1st invention is a manufacturing method of the wire grid polarizer which has many substantially parallel linear metal protrusions on a board | substrate, and the protective layer which covers the said metal protrusion, The said metal protrusion on the said metal protrusion A step of forming a hollow portion between the metal protrusions while forming the protective layer obliquely is provided.
According to the present invention, since the cavity is formed between the metal protrusions substantially simultaneously with the formation of the protective layer, the wire grid polarizer having excellent optical characteristics can be easily obtained without going through complicated steps. Can be formed.
In addition, when the protective layer is formed of a dielectric material and further includes a step of forming an antireflection layer by laminating a dielectric layer made of a dielectric material on the protective layer, the formation of the antireflection layer is also possible. Increased efficiency.

In the second invention, the liquid crystal device includes a wire grid polarizer obtained by the method of the first invention.
According to the present invention, since excellent optical characteristics are used, a liquid crystal device capable of high-definition display can be obtained.
Further, when the wire grid polarizer is used as an electrode for driving the liquid crystal layer, the structure of the device can be simplified, so that the cost of the liquid crystal device can be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the invention, a projector includes the liquid crystal device according to the second aspect of the present invention as light modulation means.
According to the present invention, since light modulation can be performed satisfactorily, a projector capable of high-definition and high-luminance display can be obtained.

It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the liquid crystal device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the structure of the pixel electrode typically. It is a figure explaining the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal device of this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a process following FIG. 3. It is a figure explaining the detail of the formation process of a cavity part. It is a figure which shows the crystal structure of an orientation film. It is a figure which shows the optical characteristic of the polarizer formed in the liquid crystal device of this embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the liquid crystal device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the liquid crystal device which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the liquid crystal device which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the principal part of the projector of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a method for manufacturing a wire grid polarizer, a liquid crystal device, and a projector according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the liquid crystal device according to the first embodiment.
The liquid crystal device 101 has a configuration in which a liquid crystal layer 50 is sandwiched between a TFT array substrate 10 and a counter substrate 20 disposed to face the TFT array substrate 10.
The TFT array substrate 10 is mainly composed of a substrate body 10A made of a translucent material such as quartz, the pixel electrode 9 formed on the liquid crystal layer 50 side, the TFT element 30, and the alignment film 16.
The counter substrate 20 includes a substrate body 20A made of a light-transmitting material such as glass or quartz, a common electrode 21 formed on the surface of the liquid crystal layer 50, an alignment film 22, and light absorption disposed outside the substrate body 20A. A type of polarizer 24 is mainly used.

2A and 2B are diagrams schematically showing the structure of the pixel electrode 9 formed on the TFT array substrate 10, FIG. 2A is a plan view, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view.
The pixel electrode 9 is made of a conductive material having high light reflectivity, for example, aluminum, silver, a silver alloy, or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, each pixel electrode 9 is formed with a large number of slit-shaped spaces, and the inside of these spaces is a hollow portion 9b described later. With this configuration, each pixel electrode 9 includes a structure including a large number of metal protrusions 9a arranged substantially in parallel and linearly, that is, a wire grid polarizer 60.
In the drawing, the width and pitch of the metal protrusions 9a are shown to be large. However, a large number of metal protrusions 9a are arranged at a pitch smaller than the wavelength of light incident on the liquid crystal layer 50. For example, the metal protrusions 9a The width of the body 9a is set to about 70 nm, the pitch is set to about 140 nm, and the thickness (height) of the metal protrusion 9a is set to about 100 nm. The narrower the pitch, the higher the performance as a polarizer.

In each pixel electrode 9, all the metal protrusions 9 a are electrically connected to each other through a conductive electrode 9 c formed in a rectangular ring shape at the periphery of each pixel electrode 9, and the conductive electrode 9 c is connected to the contact hole 8. Is electrically connected to the drain of the TFT element 30. In this embodiment, in each pixel electrode 9, all the metal protrusions 9a and the conductive electrodes 9c are integrally formed of the same material.
Further, in each pixel electrode 9, as described above, the metal protrusions 9 a are arranged at a fine pitch, and a portion forming a space, that is, a portion where no conductor exists, is very fine. The function of the electrode 9 as an electrode is almost the same as that of a pixel electrode having no opening.

  In each pixel electrode 9, a metal protrusion 9a and a cavity 9b are formed in a region excluding the region where the TFT element 30 and the like are formed (see FIG. 1). In the present embodiment, the metal protrusion 9a (cavity 9b) extends in a direction substantially parallel to the extending direction of the scanning line 3a. However, the extending direction of the metal protrusion 9a (hollow portion 9b) is not limited to this, and is appropriately set depending on the polarization axis of the polarizer 24 and the alignment state of the liquid crystal layer 50 when no voltage is applied.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the upper portions of the metal protrusions 9a and the cavity 9b are covered with a protective layer 29a that is a dielectric layer formed of a dielectric material such as SiO ₂ or MgF _2. Yes. As will be described later, the protective layer 29a is formed by using an oblique film formation method, and has an obliquely oriented needle-like crystal structure (see FIG. 6).
A cavity 9b is formed by being surrounded by two metal protrusions 9a adjacent to the protective layer 29a. Note that air or a gas such as an inert gas such as argon or nitrogen is sealed in the hollow portion 9b. The amount of gas to be sealed is not particularly limited, and may be sufficiently close to a vacuum.

In this way, the pixel electrode 9 is constituted by a large number of metal protrusions 9a arranged in a stripe pattern with a pitch smaller than the wavelength of light incident on the liquid crystal layer 50, and the metal protrusions between the metal protrusions 9a. By adopting a configuration in which the cavity 9b having a refractive index lower than 9a is interposed, the pixel electrode 9 can be the wire grid polarizer 60.
Of the light incident on the pixel electrode 9, the polarized light that vibrates in a direction substantially parallel to the extending direction of the metal protrusion 9a is reflected, and is substantially perpendicular to the extending direction of the metal protrusion 9a. The oscillating polarized light can function as a reflective polarizer that transmits light.

Further, a dielectric layer 29b made of a dielectric material such as SiO ₂ or MgF ₂ is formed on the protective layer 29a. And the antireflection layer 29 which consists of a dielectric multilayer film is formed by optimizing the refractive index and film thickness of the protective layer 29a and the dielectric material layer 29b.
In this way, by arranging the antireflection layer 29 on the wire grid polarizer 60 composed of a large number of metal protrusions 9 a, the loss of incident light is suppressed, and most of the light is incident on the wire grid polarizer 60. Can be made.

In the present embodiment, the polarizer 24 provided on the counter substrate 20 side (light incident side) is composed of a light absorbing polarizer that transmits only TM polarized light and absorbs other polarized light. In each pixel electrode 9, the metal protrusions 9 a (hollow portions 9 b) are arranged so that the extending direction thereof is substantially parallel to the polarization axis of the polarizer 24.
By arranging the metal protrusions 9a (cavities 9b) in this manner, the pixel electrode 9 reflects TE polarized light that vibrates in a direction substantially parallel to the extending direction of the metal protrusions 9a, and the metal protrusions 9a. The wire grid polarizer 60 that transmits TM polarized light that vibrates in a direction substantially perpendicular to the extending direction of the light can be obtained.

[Method of manufacturing liquid crystal device]
Next, an example of a method for manufacturing the above-described liquid crystal device will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the following description, since the process of forming the TFT element 30 and the like on the substrate body 10A is substantially the same as the conventional example, the description is omitted, and the description starts from the process of forming the pixel electrode 9 on the substrate body 10A. .

  First, as shown in FIG. 3A, a TFT element 30 or the like is formed on a substrate body 10A, and an interlayer insulating layer 7 made of silicate glass, silicon nitride, silicon oxide, or the like is further formed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, a contact hole 8 for electrically connecting the TFT element 30 and the pixel electrode 9 is formed by dry etching such as reactive etching or reactive ion beam etching.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, a conductive material having light reflectivity such as aluminum, silver, or a silver alloy is formed on the third interlayer insulating layer 7 by a sputtering method or the like with a thickness of about 50 to 200 nm. A conductive thin film 90 is formed by depositing to a thickness.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4A, the conductive thin film 90 is patterned using a photolithography method or the like, and the pixel electrode 9 having the wire grid polarizer 60 composed of the metal protrusions 9a arranged in a stripe shape, And the light shielding film 23a is formed simultaneously.
As a method of forming the wire grid polarizer 60 (the metal protrusion 9a and the opening 9b), in addition to the method described above, after the pixel electrode 9 having no opening is formed, the pixel electrode 9 is opened with an electron beam. A method of forming the metal protrusion 9a having a stripe structure by forming the portion 9b, a two-beam interference exposure method, or the like can also be employed.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4B, a protective layer 29a is formed by obliquely depositing a dielectric material on the pixel electrode 9 and the light shielding film 23a. Thereby, the cavity 9b is formed between the metal protrusions 9a substantially simultaneously with the formation of the protective layer 29a.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4C, a dielectric material such as SiO ₂ or MgF ₂ is formed on the protective layer 29a to form a dielectric layer 29b, thereby forming a dielectric multilayer film (protective layer). An antireflection layer 29 comprising 29a and a dielectric layer 29b) is formed.
Next, as shown in FIG. 4D, the alignment film 16 is formed on the protective layer 29a by depositing a dielectric material such as polyimide, for example.

Here, the detail of the formation process of the cavity part 9b is demonstrated using FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a part of the pixel electrode 9. In order to simplify the drawing, only the interlayer insulating layer 7, the pixel electrode 9, and the protective layer 29a are shown.

First, as shown in FIG. 5A, a resist 110 is applied with a substantially uniform film thickness so as to cover the conductive thin film 90 on the interlayer insulating layer 7.
Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, the resist 110 is irradiated with exposure light to expose the resist 110, and further the resist 110 is baked (baked), and then developed, thereby forming a stripe pattern. Is expressed in the resist 110.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the conductive thin film 90 is anisotropically etched, for example, using the resist 110 as an etching mask. As a result, the resist pattern is transferred to the conductive thin film 90.
In principle, both wet etching and dry etching can be employed as the etching method. In particular, dry etching is preferably performed by a method such as ICP (inductively coupled plasma) or ECR (electron cyclotron resonance).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5D, by removing the resist 110, the pixel electrode 9 having the wire grid polarizer 60 composed of a large number of metal protrusions 9a (openings 9b) arranged in a stripe shape is obtained. It is formed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5E, a dielectric material is obliquely deposited on the pixel electrode 9 (wire grid polarizer 60) to form a protective layer 29a (FIG. 4B). Equivalent to the process shown).
At this time, for example, when the sputtering method is used, the atmospheric gas at the time of film formation of the sputtering apparatus is blocked by the protective layer 29a while being sealed in the opening 9b. Therefore, if the atmospheric gas is argon, it is conceivable that argon is sealed and air is sealed. Furthermore, since the inside of the sputtering apparatus is in a reduced pressure state, the inside of the opening 9b is also in a reduced pressure state.
In this way, a cavity 9b in which a gas such as air is enclosed is formed between the adjacent metal protrusions 9a.
Since the protective layer 29a made of a dielectric layer is formed by the oblique film formation method, the columnar crystals of the dielectric material forming the protective layer 29a are obliquely oriented as shown in FIG.

By passing through the above process, the cavity part 9b can be reliably formed between many metal projection bodies 9a in the wire grid polarizer 60 formed in the pixel electrode 9. FIG. As a result, the wire grid polarizer 60 having a higher extinction ratio than that of the prior art and having an excellent polarization function can be formed on the TFT array substrate 10. In particular, since the cavity 9b can be easily and reliably formed, the manufacturing process can be simplified, the yield can be improved, and the cost can be reduced.
As described above, the TFT array substrate 10 is manufactured.

  On the other hand, for the counter substrate 20, a substrate body 20A made of glass or the like is prepared, and a transparent conductive material such as ITO is deposited on the entire surface of the substrate body 20A by sputtering or the like, and is patterned by photolithography. Thus, the common electrode 21 is formed on almost the entire surface of the substrate body 20A. Further, an alignment film forming coating solution is applied to the entire surface of the common electrode 21 and then subjected to a rubbing process to form the alignment film 22 and the counter substrate 20 is manufactured (not shown).

Then, the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 manufactured as described above are bonded to each other with a sealing material (not shown) so that the alignment films 16 and 22 face each other, and a method such as vacuum injection is used. Liquid crystal is injected into the space between the two substrates to form the liquid crystal layer 50.
Finally, a polarizer 24 is attached to the outside of the counter substrate 20 to complete the liquid crystal device of this embodiment (see FIG. 1).

Thus, the cavity 9b can be reliably formed between the many metal projections 9a in the wire grid polarizer 60. In particular, the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced as compared with the conventional case, and the yield can be improved and the cost can be reduced.
In addition, since the device structure of the liquid crystal device 101 can be simplified by using the wire grid polarizer 60 as the pixel electrode 9, the cost of the liquid crystal device 101 can be reduced.

Here, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing optical characteristics of the wire grid polarizer formed on the pixel electrode 9 in the liquid crystal device 101 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 7A shows that the protective layer 29a is made of SiO ₂ . The optical characteristic of a wire grid polarizer is shown. For reference, as optical characteristics of a conventional wire grid polarizer, FIG. 7B shows a wire grid polarizer placed in the air, and FIG. 7C shows SiO ₂ placed between the metal protrusions 9a (cavities). The wire grid polarizer which the part 9b did not exist is shown.
In FIG. 7, the solid line indicates the transmittance of TM polarized light, and the broken line indicates the contrast (TM / TE) between TM polarized light and TE polarized light. The pitch of the metal projections of the wire grid polarizer is 140 nm, and the pitch of the metal projections is 150 nm.

As is apparent from FIG. 7, the wire grid polarizer formed on the pixel electrode 9 in the liquid crystal device 101 of the present embodiment has improved transmittance and contrast as compared with the conventional wire grid polarizer. Note that substantially the same optical characteristics can be obtained when MgF ₂ is used as the protective layer 29a.
Thus, since the liquid crystal device 101 has a polarizer having excellent optical characteristics (transmittance, reflectance, etc.), it can be applied to an electronic device such as a liquid crystal projector. In particular, in the case of using a polarizer using a polymer, the deterioration of characteristics due to long-time irradiation of a high-intensity lamp is significant, which hinders the extension of the life of a liquid crystal projector. By using the liquid crystal device 101, it is possible to extend the life of the liquid crystal projector.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the liquid crystal device of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the liquid crystal device 102 of the second embodiment. Note that the same components as those of the liquid crystal device 101 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.
The basic structure of the liquid crystal device 102 is substantially the same as that of the liquid crystal device 101. However, the liquid crystal device 101 has a configuration in which an external polarizer 24 is provided on the substrate body 20A side, whereas the liquid crystal device 102 has a substrate. The main body 20A is also different in that a wire grid polarizer 62 is formed on the common electrode.

In the liquid crystal device 102, the common electrode 31 constituting the counter substrate 20 has a structure including a plurality of metal protrusions 31a made of aluminum, silver, silver alloy or the like arranged in a stripe shape.
In FIG. 8, the width and pitch of the metal protrusions 31 a are shown to be large. However, the metal protrusions 31 a are larger than the wavelength of light incident on the liquid crystal layer 50, like the metal protrusions 9 a that constitute the pixel electrode 9. Many are arranged at a small pitch.
Further, all the metal protrusions 31a are electrically connected via a conductive electrode (not shown), and function as one common electrode 31 as a whole. The metal protrusions 31a are arranged at a fine pitch, and the interval between the adjacent metal protrusions 31a is very fine. Therefore, like the pixel electrode 9, as a whole, the metal protrusions 31a serve as the electrodes of the common electrode 31. The function is almost the same as that of the common electrode in the liquid crystal device of the first embodiment.

  Further, the metal protrusion 31a extends in the same direction as the extending direction of the metal protrusion 9a constituting the pixel electrode 9, that is, in a direction substantially parallel to the extending direction of the scanning line 3a. As with the wire grid polarizer 60 on the TFT array substrate 10 side, a cavity 31b is formed between adjacent metal protrusions 31a. And the antireflection layer 29 which consists of the protective layer 29a and the dielectric material layer 29b, and the alignment film 22 are arrange | positioned so that these may be covered.

As described above, the common electrode 31 is composed of a large number of metal protrusions 31a arranged in a stripe pattern with a pitch smaller than the wavelength of light incident on the liquid crystal layer 50, and between the adjacent metal protrusions 31a. The common electrode 31 can be a wire grid polarizer 62 by interposing the cavity 31b having a refractive index sufficiently lower than that of 31a.
Of the light incident on the common electrode 31, the polarized light that vibrates in a direction substantially parallel to the extending direction of the metal protrusion 31a is reflected, and is approximately perpendicular to the extending direction of the metal protrusion 31a. Oscillating polarized light can be transmitted. In particular, in this embodiment, since the polarizing function of the wire grid polarizer 62 is high, an external polarizer on the counter substrate 20 side is not provided.

[Third Embodiment]
A third embodiment of the liquid crystal device of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the liquid crystal device 103 according to the third embodiment. Note that the same components as those of the liquid crystal devices 101 and 102 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
The basic structure of the liquid crystal device 103 is the same as that of the liquid crystal devices 101 and 102. In the liquid crystal device 101, the wire grid polarizer 60 is configured by the pixel electrode 9, whereas in the liquid crystal device 103, the pixel electrode is A wire grid polarizer 64 is provided separately, and the wire grid polarizer 64 is provided between the semiconductor layer of the TFT element and the liquid crystal layer.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the pixel electrode 9 is made of a light-transmitting conductive material such as ITO, and the pixel electrode 9 is not provided with an opening, and is formed on the surface of the interlayer insulating film 4 on the liquid crystal layer 50 side. Thus, the wire grid polarizer 64 is provided in a region where the TFT element 30 and the storage capacitor are not formed.

That is, the wire grid polarizer 64 is formed in the same layer as the data line 6a. The data line 6a and the wire grid polarizer 64 are made of the same material, and are made of a conductive material having light reflectivity such as aluminum, silver, or a silver alloy.
The wire grid polarizer 64 is composed of a number of metal protrusions 19a arranged in stripes with a pitch smaller than the wavelength of light incident on the liquid crystal layer 50, and between the adjacent metal protrusions 19a, the metal protrusions 19a. Thus, the cavity 19b having a sufficiently lower refractive index is formed. And the antireflection layer 29 which consists of the protective layer 29a and the dielectric material layer 29b is arrange | positioned so that these may be covered.

  By adopting such a configuration, the wire grid polarizer 64 can function as a polarizer with a high extinction ratio. In the wire grid polarizer 64, the extending direction of the metal protrusion 19a is set to be substantially parallel to the extending direction of the scanning line 3a.

And according to this embodiment, since the wire grid polarizer was arrange | positioned to both the polarizer of the TFT array substrate 10 side and the opposing board | substrate 20 side like 2nd Embodiment, the effect similar to 2nd Embodiment is obtained. The liquid crystal device 103 that can be obtained and has excellent durability can be provided.
Also in this embodiment, since the configuration in which the wire grid polarizer 64 on the TFT array substrate 10 side is disposed closer to the liquid crystal layer 50 than the semiconductor layer 1a of the TFT 30, the light reflected by the wire grid polarizer 64 is employed. Can be prevented from entering the semiconductor layer 1a of the TFT 30, and the switching characteristics of the TFT 30 can be prevented from deteriorating due to light leakage current.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the wire grid polarizer 64 and the data line 6a are formed in the same layer, the wire grid polarizer 64 and the data line 6a can be formed simultaneously, and the manufacturing process is simplified. Can be achieved.

[Fourth Embodiment]
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the liquid crystal device 104 of the fourth embodiment. Note that the same components as those of the liquid crystal devices 101 to 103 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
The basic structure of the liquid crystal device 104 is the same as that of the liquid crystal device 103 described above, but the liquid crystal device 103 has a configuration in which the wire grid polarizer 64 is provided between the semiconductor layer and the liquid crystal layer that constitute the TFT. In the liquid crystal device 104, a wire grid polarizer 66 is provided on the opposite side of the semiconductor layer constituting the TFT from the liquid crystal layer.

  As shown in FIG. 10, in this embodiment, unlike the first to third embodiments, a TFT 30 and a storage capacitor are formed between the substrate body 10A of the TFT array substrate 10 and the first interlayer insulating film 12. It is set as the structure which provides the wire grid polarizer 66 in the area | region which is not made. That is, in this embodiment, the wire grid polarizer 66 is formed of the same layer as the first light shielding film 11a. In the present embodiment, the first light-shielding film 11a and the wire grid polarizer 66 are made of the same material, and are formed of aluminum, silver, silver alloy or the like having light reflectivity.

  The wire grid polarizer 66 is composed of a large number of metal protrusions 39a arranged in a stripe pattern with a pitch smaller than the wavelength of light incident on the liquid crystal layer 50, and between the adjacent metal protrusions 39a than the metal protrusions 39a. A cavity 39b having a sufficiently low refractive index is interposed. And the antireflection layer 29 which consists of the protective layer 29a and the dielectric material layer 29b is arrange | positioned so that these may be covered.

By adopting such a configuration, the wire grid polarizer 66 can function as a polarizer having a high extinction ratio. Further, in the wire grid polarizer 66, the extending direction of the metal protrusion 39a is set to be substantially parallel to the extending direction of the scanning line 3a.
According to the present embodiment, as in the second and third embodiments, the wire grid polarizers are arranged on both the TFT array substrate 10 side and the counter substrate 20 side, so the second and third embodiments. An effect similar to that of the embodiment can be obtained, and a liquid crystal device excellent in durability can be provided.

In the first to third embodiments, since the wire grid polarizers 60 and 64 need to be formed after the TFT 30 is formed, it is necessary to form the wire grid polarizers 60 and 64 on a base with low flatness. is there.
In contrast, in the present embodiment, unlike the first to third embodiments, the wire grid polarizer 66 is provided immediately above the substrate body 10A of the TFT array substrate 10. Therefore, the TFT 30 can be formed after the wire grid polarizer 66 is formed on the flat substrate body 10A, the first interlayer insulating film 12 is formed thereon and the surface thereof is planarized. That is, in this embodiment, both the wire grid polarizer 66 and the TFT 30 can be formed on a highly flat base, and the manufacturing process can be simplified as compared with the first to third embodiments. .

  In this embodiment, since the wire grid polarizer 66 is provided below the semiconductor layer 1a constituting the TFT 30, the light reflected by the wire grid polarizer 66 enters the semiconductor layer 1a of the TFT 30, There is a possibility that the switching characteristics of the TFT 30 may be deteriorated. However, since the difference between the height of the TFT 30 and the height of the wire grid polarizer 66 is not so large, the amount of light incident on the semiconductor layer 1a out of the reflected light from the wire grid polarizer 66 is very small and does not cause much problem. In the present embodiment, since the wire grid polarizer 66 and the first light shielding film 11a are formed in the same layer, the wire grid polarizer 66 and the first light shielding film 11a can be formed simultaneously. The manufacturing process can be simplified.

As described above, in the liquid crystal devices 101 to 104 of the first to fourth embodiments, the wire grid polarizer on the TFT array substrate side is formed integrally with the pixel electrode, or the same layer as the data line or the first light shielding film. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the wire array polarizer on the TFT array substrate side may be formed in the same layer as the scanning line. .
In the liquid crystal devices 101 to 104 of the first to fourth embodiments, only the active matrix type liquid crystal device using TFTs has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a TFD (Thin-Film) is used. The present invention can be applied to a liquid crystal device having any structure such as an active matrix liquid crystal device using a diode element or a passive matrix liquid crystal device.

[projector]
Hereinafter, a configuration of a projector including any one of the liquid crystal devices 101 to 104 as light modulation means will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a main part of the projector 800.
The projector (projection display device) 800 includes a light source 810, dichroic mirrors 813 and 814, reflection mirrors 815, 816 and 817, an incident lens 818, a relay lens 819, an exit lens 820, light modulation means 822, 823 and 824, and a cross dichroic. A prism 825 and a projection lens 826 are provided.
The projector 800 includes the liquid crystal devices 101 to 104 as light modulation means 822, 823, and 824.

  The light source 810 includes a lamp 811 such as a metal halide and a reflector 812 that reflects the light of the lamp. The dichroic mirror 813 transmits red light contained in white light from the light source 810 and reflects blue light and green light. The transmitted red light is reflected by the reflection mirror 817 and is incident on the light modulation means 822 for red light. The green light reflected by the dichroic mirror 813 is reflected by the dichroic mirror 814 and is incident on the light modulating means 823 for green light. Further, the blue light reflected by the dichroic mirror 813 passes through the dichroic mirror 814. For blue light, in order to prevent light loss due to a long optical path, a light guide means 821 comprising a relay lens system including an incident lens 818, a relay lens 819, and an exit lens 820 is provided. Blue light is incident on the light modulating means 824 for blue light through the light guiding means 821.

The three color lights modulated by the respective light modulation means 822, 823, and 824 are incident on the cross dichroic prism 825. The cross dichroic prism 825 is formed by bonding four right-angle prisms. A dielectric multilayer film that reflects red light and a dielectric multilayer film that reflects blue light are formed in an X shape at the interface. Yes. These dielectric multilayer films combine the three color lights to form light representing a color image.
The synthesized light is projected onto the screen 827 by the projection lens 826 which is a projection optical system, and the image is enlarged and displayed.

  In the above embodiment, the three-plate projector 800 has been described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to a single-plate projection display device or a direct-view display device.

The liquid crystal devices 101 to 104 of the present invention can also be applied to electronic devices other than the projector 800. A specific example is a mobile phone. This mobile phone includes the liquid crystal device according to each of the above-described embodiments or modifications thereof in a display unit.
Other electronic devices include, for example, IC cards, video cameras, personal computers, head-mounted displays, fax machines with display functions, digital camera finders, portable TVs, DSP devices, PDAs, electronic notebooks, and electronic bulletin boards. And advertising announcement displays.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 ... Pixel electrode, 9a ... Metal protrusion, 9b ... Hollow part, opening part, 10 ... Array substrate, 19b ... Hollow part, 19a ... Metal protrusion, 20 ... Opposite substrate, 29 ... Antireflection layer, 29a ... Protective layer 29b ... dielectric layer 31 ... common electrode 31a ... metal protrusion 31b ... cavity 39a ... metal protrusion 39b ... cavity 50 ... liquid crystal layer 60-66 wire grid polarizer 101-104 ... Liquid crystal device, 800 ... Projector, 822, 823, 824 ... Light modulation means.

Claims (4)

A substrate,
A wire grid polarizer composed of a plurality of metal protrusions arranged in a stripe pattern on the substrate,
On the wire grid polarizer, an inclined portion having an angle with respect to the substrate has a dielectric layer formed with the same period as the period of the wire grid polarizer, and
Between the two metal projections adjacent to each other among the plurality of metal projections, there is a cavity ,
The inclined portion has an asymmetric shape with respect to an intermediate position between the two metal protrusions in a cross section intersecting a direction in which the plurality of metal protrusions extend,
The liquid crystal device according to claim 1 , wherein a surface of the substrate is exposed to the cavity between the two adjacent metal protrusions .   The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric layers are laminated to form an antireflection layer.   The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the wire grid polarizer is used as an electrode for driving a liquid crystal layer. A liquid crystal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A light source;
A light guiding means;
And a projection lens.

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