KR100685934B1 - Method for Manufacturing Liquid Crystal Display Device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention forms a seal pattern and a column spacer by dispensing or doping a liquid ceramic (SiO 2) as a main component, thereby reducing the problem of afterimages and stains caused by impurities, and simplifying the process. To provide a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device that can reduce the problem of gravity failure of the liquid crystal display device to achieve the above object, the first step of dispensing or doping a liquid ceramic on the first substrate ; Precuring the liquid ceramic to form a first hardened column spacer; Forming a seal pattern on the first substrate; And a fourth step of bonding the first and second substrates to second harden the column spacer and the seal pattern.

Liquid Ceramic, Dispensing, Dotting, Column Spacers, Seal Pattern

Description

Method for Manufacturing Liquid Crystal Display Device

1 is an exploded perspective view showing a general liquid crystal display device

2 is a plan view of a general liquid crystal display device having a seal pattern and a column spacer;

3 and 4 are flowcharts illustrating a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device having column spacers.

5A to 5C are cross-sectional views illustrating a process of manufacturing a column spacer according to the prior art.

6 is a schematic top and bottom bonding view showing a problem of a liquid crystal display according to the prior art;

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of forming a column spacer and a seal pattern according to the present invention.

8A to 8D are cross-sectional views illustrating a process of manufacturing the column spacer according to the present invention.

9 is a schematic top and bottom bonding view of the liquid crystal display according to the present invention

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

80: upper substrate 81: liquid ceramic

81a: column spacer 90: lower substrate

91: liquid crystal

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to a manufacturing method of a liquid crystal display device in which a seal pattern and a column spacer are formed using a liquid ceramic.

As the information society develops, the demand for display devices is increasing in various forms, and in recent years, liquid crystal display devices (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), electro luminescent displays (ELD), and vacuum fluorescent (VFD) Various flat panel display devices such as displays have been studied, and some of them are already used as display devices in various devices.

Among them, LCD is the most widely used as the substitute for CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) for mobile image display device because of its excellent image quality, light weight, thinness, and low power consumption. In addition to the use of the present invention has been developed in various ways such as a television and a computer monitor for receiving and displaying broadcast signals.

In order to use such a liquid crystal display as a general screen display device in various parts, it is a matter of how high quality images such as high definition, high brightness and large area can be realized while maintaining the characteristics of light weight, thinness and low power consumption. Can be.

Hereinafter, a general LCD will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing a general liquid crystal display device.

In general, as shown in FIG. 1, a liquid crystal display device is implanted between a first substrate 1 and a second substrate 2 bonded to each other with a predetermined space, and between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2. It consists of the liquid crystal layer 3 which became.

In more detail, the first substrate 1 may have a plurality of gate lines 4 in one direction and constant in a direction perpendicular to the gate lines 4 at regular intervals to define the pixel region P. FIG. A plurality of data lines 5 are arranged at intervals. In addition, a pixel electrode 6 is formed in each pixel region P, and a thin film transistor T is formed at a portion where the gate line 4 and the data line 5 intersect each other, thereby forming the thin film transistor. The data signal of the data line 5 is applied to each pixel electrode 6 according to the signal of the gate line 4.

In addition, a black matrix layer 7 is formed on the second substrate 2 to block light in portions other than the pixel region P, and portions R corresponding to the respective pixel regions are formed to express colors. A, G, B color filter layer 8 is formed, and a common electrode 9 for realizing an image is formed on the color filter layer 8.

In the liquid crystal display device as described above, the liquid crystal layer 3 formed between the first and second substrates is oriented by an electric field between the pixel electrode 6 and the common electrode 9, and the liquid crystal layer 3 The amount of light passing through the liquid crystal layer 3 can be adjusted according to the degree of alignment to express the image.

Such a liquid crystal display device is referred to as a TN mode liquid crystal display device. The TN mode liquid crystal display device has a disadvantage of having a narrow viewing angle, and an IPS mode liquid crystal display device has been developed to overcome the disadvantages of the TN mode.

In the IPS mode liquid crystal display, a pixel electrode and a common electrode are formed parallel to each other at a predetermined distance in a pixel area of the first substrate so that a transverse electric field (horizontal electric field) is generated between the pixel electrode and the common electrode. This is to align the liquid crystal layer.

Hereinafter, a general liquid crystal display device having a seal pattern and a column spacer will be described.

2 is a plan view of a general liquid crystal display device having a seal pattern and a column spacer.

As shown in FIG. 2, a seal pattern 26 is formed on the black matrix BM and 25 and the black matrix BM 25 on the outer side between the first and second substrates 10 and 20. Although not shown, the liquid crystal is injected into the seal pattern 26 between the first and second substrates 10 and 20.

The active area A1 divided by the BM 25 of the edge is a pixel portion in which an image is displayed. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a plurality of gate lines and data lines intersect to define a pixel area, and The thin film transistor is positioned at the intersection of the data lines.

Next, gate pads 14 and data pads 15 connected to the gate lines and the data lines are formed on the left and upper outer edges of the first substrate 10, respectively, so that an external circuit includes a gate driving circuit and a data driving circuit. Connected. Areas other than the active area A1 form a non-display area NA1.

As described above, the liquid crystal display includes an active area A1 in which an image is represented, an area in which a pad (not shown) connected to a driving circuit for applying a signal to the active area A1, and a gate and data are located. It is divided into a non-display area NA1 including a BM area covering the link.

The seal pattern 26 forms a gap for injecting liquid crystal between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 in the non-display area NA1 and prevents leakage of the injected liquid crystal. For this purpose, the thermosetting resin is formed on the first substrate 10 in a predetermined pattern, and then the first and second substrates 10 and 20 are placed and cured by placing the first and second substrates 10 and 20. ) Is made by bonding.

A column spacer 27 is attached to the second substrate 20 to maintain a constant cell gap when the first and second substrates 10 and 20 are bonded to each other.

At this time, a plurality of column spacers 27 are patterned and fixed to one region of the second substrate 20 at a predetermined interval, and are made of a hard material such as a photosensitive organic resin.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the prior art will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

5A to 5C are cross-sectional views illustrating a manufacturing process of a column spacer according to the prior art, and FIG. 6 is a schematic top and bottom bonding view illustrating a problem of a liquid crystal display according to the prior art.

In the method of manufacturing a column spacer in the liquid crystal display according to the related art, as shown in FIG. 5A, a photosensitive organic resin 51 is coated on an upper substrate 50.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5B, the photosensitive organic resin 51 is exposed using a mask. The photosensitive organic resin 51 may have a negative photosensitive characteristic in which the exposed portion remains, but a positive photosensitive characteristic having the opposite characteristics may be used. The photosensitive organic resin is hardened by the exposure.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5C, the photosensitive organic resin 51 is developed so that only the exposed portion remains, thereby forming column spacers 51a in one region.

Although not shown in the drawings, the seal pattern of the liquid crystal display according to the related art is manufactured by dispensing a UV curing agent to a desired portion, then bonding the upper and lower substrates, and curing the UV substrate by UV exposure.

In this case, the UV curing agent used for forming the seal pattern includes a photoinitiator in the curing agent, but some of the photoinitiator may not be cured, and thus, impurities may occur in the cell later.

When the column spacer 51a and the seal pattern are formed in the same manner as described above, and the upper and lower substrates 50 and 60 are later bonded together, since the column spacer 51a is already cured, the liquid crystal is overfilled. As shown in FIG. 6, a gap may occur because the column spacer 51a is separated from the lower substrate 60.

When the column spacer and the seal pattern are formed of the photosensitive organic resin, there is a fear that the hardening may not be completed, and thus organic ionic impurities may remain in the substrate. Thus, the remaining impurities collide with the liquid crystal having organic properties to It can affect the holding characteristics. As a result, an afterimage or a stain may occur on the screen.

In addition, when the column spacer and the seal pattern are manufactured by the above method, since the column spacer and the seal pattern are already cured, when the liquid crystal display is driven at a high driving temperature (for example, the driving temperature of the LCD TV is 40-50 ° C.), the upper and lower substrates and the liquid crystal are expanded to generate gap deviations at the upper and lower ends of the panel, thereby causing a gravity failure.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and in particular, an object of the present invention is to form a seal pattern and a column spacer using a liquid ceramic (mainly composed of inorganic (SiO2)), thereby remaining after image due to impurities And to provide a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device that can prevent staining.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device which can simplify the process by dispensing or doping a liquid ceramic.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device which can reduce a problem of gravity failure at high temperature by forming a seal pattern and a column spacer using a liquid ceramic having good adhesion.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, the method including: dispensing or doping liquid ceramic on a first substrate; Precuring the liquid ceramic to form a first hardened column spacer; Forming a seal pattern on the first substrate; And a fourth step of bonding the first and second substrates to second harden the column spacer and the seal pattern.

The seal pattern is also characterized in that the primary cured by a pre-cure process after dispensing or doping the liquid ceramic, the main component of the inorganic material.

The liquid ceramic is composed of SiO 2, water (H 2 O), and an alcohol component.

The precure process is characterized in that it proceeds at 100 ℃ or less.

The secondary curing process is characterized in that proceeds below 200 ℃.

In the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display according to the present invention, a TFT array including a gate line, a data line, a pixel electrode, and a thin film transistor is formed on a first substrate, and a black matrix layer, a color filter layer, and a common electrode are formed on a second substrate. A first step of forming an array of color filters;

A second step of forming a column spacer by first curing a liquid ceramic in one region on the black matrix layer of the second substrate; A third step of cleaning the first and second substrates; A fourth step of dropping liquid crystal onto any one of the first and second substrates; A fifth step of forming a seal pattern by first curing the liquid ceramic on an outer portion of one of the first and second substrates; A sixth step of inverting the substrate on which the liquid crystal is not dropped; A seventh step of bonding the first substrate and the second substrate and second hardening the column spacer and the seal pattern; And an eighth step of cutting and processing the joined first and second substrates.

In the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display according to the present invention, a TFT array including a gate line, a data line, a pixel electrode, and a thin film transistor is formed on a first substrate, and a black matrix layer, a color filter layer, and a common electrode are formed on a second substrate. A first step of forming an array of color filters; A second step of forming a column spacer by first curing a liquid ceramic in a region on the black matrix layer of the second substrate; A third step of performing an alignment process on the first and second substrates, respectively; A fourth step of cleaning the first and second substrates; A fifth step of forming a seal pattern by first curing the liquid ceramic on an outer portion of one of the first and second substrates; A sixth step of bonding the first substrate and the second substrate and second hardening the column spacer and the seal pattern; A seventh step of cutting and processing the bonded first and second substrates for each liquid crystal panel; And an eighth step of injecting / encapsulating a liquid crystal in the unit liquid crystal panel.

The column spacer and the seal pattern may be first cured by dispensing or doping a liquid ceramic mainly composed of an inorganic material, followed by precure.

The liquid ceramic is composed of SiO 2, water (H 2 O) and an alcohol component, the pre-cure process is carried out at 100 ℃ or less, the secondary curing process is characterized in that it proceeds at 200 ℃ or less.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of forming a column spacer and a seal pattern according to the present invention.

8A to 8D are cross-sectional views illustrating a process of manufacturing a column spacer according to the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a schematic top and bottom bonding view of the liquid crystal display according to the present invention.

In the present invention, when manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, as shown in Figure 7 the column spacer and the seal pattern, after dispensing or doping the liquid ceramic, the main component of the inorganic material (SiO2) on the substrate (S70), precure It relates to a method of manufacturing the ring (S71) and the main curing (S72) process.

In more detail, in the method of manufacturing the liquid crystal display according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 8A, the liquid, in which an inorganic substance (SiO 2) is a main component, is formed in one region of the upper substrate 80 using the nozzle 82. The ceramic 81 is dispensed or doted.

Subsequently, the liquid ceramic 81 is first cured by performing a pre-curing process on the upper substrate 80 on which the liquid ceramic 81 is dispensed or doped. The precure process is carried out at a temperature of 100 ℃ or less.

In the above, the liquid ceramic has a viscous flowing property and is composed of a material having SiO 2, water (H 2 O), and an alcohol component.

When the precure process is performed as described above, as shown in FIG. 8B, the liquid ceramic 81 is first cured to form column spacers 81a having a predetermined line width and thickness.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8C, the liquid crystal 91 is dropped on the lower substrate 90, and the upper substrate 80 is inverted.

Although not shown in the drawing, after the precure process is performed to first cure the column spacer 81a, the washing process and the process of applying a seal pattern to the upper substrate 80 are performed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8D, the upper substrate 80 on which the column spacer 81a is formed and the lower substrate 90 on which the liquid crystal is dropped are heated and pressed to bond. As a result, the column spacer 81a attached to the upper substrate 80 is second hardened, and the upper and lower substrates 80 and 90 have a constant cell gap.

The heating process may be referred to as the main curing process, wherein the temperature is carried out at 200 ℃ or less, preferably at 120 ℃ ~ 150 ℃.

As described above, the seal pattern is formed by dispensing or doping a liquid ceramic having an inorganic substance (SiO 2) as a main component, and then performing a precure process to firstly harden the column spacer by a warming process at the time of subsequent bonding. With secondary curing.

The thickness of the column spacer may vary depending on the amount of liquid ceramic dispensed or doped, the temperature during precure and main curing, and the content of SiO 2 in the liquid ceramic.

8A to 8D show that the present invention is applied to the liquid crystal dropping step, but can also be applied to the liquid crystal injection step. That is, in the above process, the column spacer and the seal pattern may be first cured, the column spacer and the seal pattern may be secondly cured when the upper and lower substrates are bonded, and the liquid crystal may be injected / encapsulated after the cutting / processing process. have.

When the column spacer and the seal pattern are formed by the above process, since the column spacer 81a is adhered to both the upper and lower substrates 80 and 90 as shown in FIG. 9, the cell gap can be kept constant.

The method of manufacturing the column spacer and the seal pattern according to the present invention described above can be applied to the manufacturing technology of a general liquid crystal display device, which will be described below.

3 and 4 are flowcharts illustrating a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device having column spacers.

More specifically, FIG. 3 relates to a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device for forming a liquid crystal by a dropping method, and FIG. 4 is a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device for forming a liquid crystal by an injection method.

Liquid crystal displays are largely classified into an array process, a cell process, a module process, and the like.

The array process forms a TFT array including a gate line and a data line, a pixel electrode, and a thin film transistor on a TFT substrate (hereinafter referred to as a first substrate), and a color filter substrate (hereinafter referred to as a second substrate). ) Is a step of forming a color filter array including a black matrix layer, a color filter layer, a common electrode and the like.

In this case, the array process does not form one liquid crystal panel on one substrate, but designs a plurality of liquid crystal panels on one large glass substrate to form a TFT array and a color filter array in each liquid crystal panel region.

As shown in FIG. 3, in an array process, a black matrix layer, a color filter layer, and a common electrode are formed on a color filter substrate, and after dispensing or doping a liquid ceramic having an inorganic component as a main component in one region on the black matrix layer, the precure Proceed to the ring process and the first curing to form a column spacer (S30).

The liquid ceramic has a viscous flowing property, and is composed of a material having SiO 2, water (H 2 O), and an alcohol component, and the precure process is performed at a temperature of 100 ° C. or less.

Then, an alignment film is coated on the entire surface of the first substrate and the second substrate including the column spacer, and the alignment layer is rubbed.

As described above, the first and second substrates having the alignment process completed are cleaned (S31), respectively, and then a liquid crystal is dropped in a predetermined region on one of the first and second substrates (S32), and each of the remaining substrates is removed. A seal pattern is formed at an outer portion of the liquid crystal panel region (S33).

At this time, the seal pattern is also dispensed or doped with a liquid ceramic, the main component of the inorganic material, and is primarily cured through a pre-cure process. In this case, the liquid ceramic used is also composed of a material having SiO 2, water (H 2 O), and an alcohol component, and the precure process is also performed at a temperature of 100 ° C. or less.

At this time, the liquid crystal may also be dropped on one of the two substrates and a seal pattern may be formed. In the above, the liquid crystal was dropped on the first substrate and the seal pattern was formed on the second substrate.

In addition, the substrate on which the liquid crystal is not dropped is inverted (inverted to face each other) (S34), and the first and second substrates are heated and pressed to bond (S35). Secondary cures. The secondary curing proceeds at a temperature of 200 ℃ or less, preferably at 120 ℃ ~ 150 ℃.

Subsequently, the bonded substrate is cut and processed for each liquid crystal panel (S36).

In addition, the liquid crystal display device may be manufactured by performing external appearance and electrical defect inspection (S37) of the processed unit liquid crystal panel.

That is, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device of the liquid crystal dropping method is a method of dropping an appropriate amount of liquid crystal onto any one of two substrates before bonding the two substrates, and then joining the two substrates together.

Next, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal is injected is formed by forming a TFT array including a gate line and a data line, a pixel electrode, and a thin film transistor on a TFT substrate (hereinafter referred to as a first substrate). A color filter array including a black matrix layer, a color filter layer, a common electrode, and the like is formed on a color filter substrate (hereinafter referred to as a second substrate).

Subsequently, after dispensing or doping a liquid ceramic mainly composed of an inorganic material in one region on the black matrix layer, a precure process is performed to firstly harden to form a column spacer.

Thereafter, the first substrate on which the TFT array is formed and the second substrate on which the color filter array is formed are moved to the cell processing line.

Then, an alignment film is coated on the entire surface of the first substrate and the second substrate including the column spacer, and an alignment process (rubbing process) is performed to ensure that the liquid crystal molecules have uniform orientation. (S41)

Here, the alignment process proceeds in order of washing before application of the alignment film, alignment film printing, alignment film firing, alignment film inspection, and rubbing process.

Subsequently, the first and second substrates are cleaned, respectively (S42).

In order to maintain a constant cell gap on the first substrate or the second substrate, a seal pattern for joining the two substrates to an outer portion of each liquid crystal panel region is formed (S43). .

At this time, the seal pattern is formed by dispensing or doping a liquid ceramic, which is mainly composed of an inorganic material, and is primarily cured through a precure process. In this case, the liquid ceramic used is also composed of a material having SiO 2, water (H 2 O), and an alcohol component, and the precure process is also performed at a temperature of 100 ° C. or less.

The first and second substrates face each other so as to face the seal pattern, and are heated and pressurized to be bonded to each other (S44). The column spacer and the seal pattern are secondly cured. When secondary curing, the temperature proceeds below 200 ° C, preferably at 120 ° C to 150 ° C.

Subsequently, the bonded substrate is cut and processed for each liquid crystal panel (S45).

Thereafter, the liquid crystal is injected / sealed into the unit liquid crystal panel (S46).

In addition, the liquid crystal display device may be manufactured by performing external appearance and electrical defect inspection (S47) of the processed unit liquid crystal panel.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the above embodiments, but should be defined by the claims.

The manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention as described above has the following effects.

First, since the column spacer and the seal pattern are formed using a liquid ceramic having inorganic (SiO 2) as a main component, it is possible to solve a problem in which afterimages and stains are generated by conventional organic ionic impurities.

Second, since the column spacer may be formed by dispensing or doping a liquid ceramic, there is no need for an exposure and development process for forming a photosensitive organic resin in the related art. Therefore, the process can be simplified than the prior art.

Third, since liquid ceramics have good adhesion to metals and polymers, column spacers are stably fixed to upper and lower substrates. Accordingly, even if the substrate and the liquid crystal are expanded at a high temperature, the problem of gravity failure may not occur.

Claims (11)

A first step of dispensing or doping liquid ceramic on a first substrate; Precuring the liquid ceramic to form a first hardened column spacer; Forming a seal pattern on the first substrate; And a fourth step of attaching the first and second substrates and second hardening the column spacer and the seal pattern. The method of claim 1, The method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, characterized in that the seal pattern is first cured by dispensing or doping a liquid ceramic having an inorganic material as a main component, followed by a precure process. The method of claim 1, Wherein the liquid ceramic is composed of SiO 2, water (H 2 O), and an alcohol component. The method of claim 1, The pre-curing process is a manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device, characterized in that proceeding below 100 ℃. The method of claim 1, The secondary curing process is a manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device, characterized in that proceeding below 200 ℃. Forming a TFT array having a gate line, a data line, a pixel electrode and a thin film transistor on a first substrate, and forming a color filter array having a black matrix layer, a color filter layer, and a common electrode on a second substrate; A second step of forming a column spacer by first curing a liquid ceramic in a region on the black matrix layer of the second substrate; A third step of cleaning the first and second substrates; A fourth step of dropping liquid crystal onto any one of the first and second substrates; A fifth step of forming a seal pattern by first curing the liquid ceramic on an outer portion of one of the first and second substrates; A sixth step of inverting the substrate on which the liquid crystal is not dropped; A seventh step of bonding the first substrate and the second substrate and second hardening the column spacer and the seal pattern; And an eighth step of cutting and processing the bonded first and second substrates. Forming a TFT array having a gate line, a data line, a pixel electrode and a thin film transistor on a first substrate, and forming a color filter array having a black matrix layer, a color filter layer, and a common electrode on a second substrate; A second step of forming a column spacer by first curing a liquid ceramic in a region on the black matrix layer of the second substrate; A third step of performing an alignment process on the first and second substrates, respectively; A fourth step of cleaning the first and second substrates; A fifth step of forming a seal pattern by first curing the liquid ceramic on an outer portion of one of the first and second substrates; A sixth step of bonding the first substrate and the second substrate and second hardening the column spacer and the seal pattern; A seventh step of cutting and processing the bonded first and second substrates for each liquid crystal panel; And an eighth step of injecting / sealing liquid crystal into the unit liquid crystal panel. The method according to claim 6 or 7, And the column spacer and the seal pattern are first cured by dispensing or doping a liquid ceramic mainly composed of an inorganic material, followed by precure. The method of claim 8, Wherein the liquid ceramic is composed of SiO 2, water (H 2 O), and an alcohol component. The method of claim 8, The pre-curing process is a manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device, characterized in that proceeding below 100 ℃. The method according to claim 6 or 7, The secondary curing process is a manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device, characterized in that proceeding below 200 ℃.

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