KR100968565B1 - Thin film transistor array panel - Google Patents

Abstract

A thin film transistor panel according to the present invention includes a first conductive layer including an insulating substrate, a plurality of gate lines formed on the substrate, a plurality of sustain electrodes and a plurality of light shielding members, a gate insulating film A semiconductor layer formed on the gate insulating film, a second conductive layer including a plurality of data lines and a plurality of drain electrodes formed on the semiconductor layer, a protective film formed on the second conductive layer, And a plurality of pixel electrodes electrically connected to the drain electrode, wherein the light shielding member is located near an intersection of the gate line and the data line and is spaced apart from the sustain electrode and the gate line by a predetermined distance. By arranging the light shielding member that is not physically and electrically connected to the sustain electrode lines between the sustain electrode lines and the adjacent gate lines, a short circuit between the gate lines and the sustain electrode lines can be prevented.

A sustain electrode line, a light shielding member, a gate line, a foreign matter,

Description

{THIN FILM TRANSISTOR ARRAY PANEL}

1 is a layout diagram of a thin film transistor panel according to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIGS. 2A to 2C are cross-sectional views of the thin film transistor panel of FIG. 1 taken along lines IIa-IIa, IIb-IIb, and IIc-IIc '

3 is a layout diagram of a thin film transistor panel according to another embodiment of the present invention,

FIGS. 4A to 4C are cross-sectional views of the thin film transistor panel of FIG. 3 taken along lines IVa-IVa ', IVb-IVb and IVc-IVc'

5 is a layout diagram of a thin film transistor panel according to another embodiment of the present invention,

FIGS. 6A to 6C are cross-sectional views of the thin film transistor panel of FIG. 5 taken along lines VIa-VIa, VIb-VIb, and VIc-VIc '.

The present invention relates to a thin film transistor display panel, and more particularly, to a thin film transistor panel for a liquid crystal display.                         

Generally, a liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal layer having an anisotropic permittivity injected into a gap between two display panels and two display panels having electric field generating electrodes for generating an electric field and spaced apart by a predetermined gap. Such a liquid crystal display displays an image by applying a voltage to the electric field generating electrode to generate an electric field in the liquid crystal layer and adjusting the intensity of an electric field depending on the magnitude of the voltage to adjust the transmittance of light passing through the liquid crystal layer.

Among the liquid crystal display devices, a display panel is provided with a plurality of pixel electrodes, and one common electrode is formed over the entire display panel. This liquid crystal display device uses a thin film transistor as a three-terminal element to display an image by switching a voltage applied to the pixel electrode, and a display panel provided with a pixel electrode and a thin film transistor is referred to as a thin film transistor display panel. In order to supply a signal to the thin film transistor, a gate line and a data line are placed in one of the two display panels.

The thin film transistor display panel may further include a sustain electrode overlapping the pixel electrode to form a storage capacitor, wherein the sustain electrode is formed in the same layer as the gate line.

On the other hand, an alignment film for determining the horizontal or vertical alignment of liquid crystal molecules is applied to the display panel for a liquid crystal display. The horizontal direction of the liquid crystal molecules is determined by rubbing the orientation film in a desired direction, and a light leakage occurs at a specific position of each pixel region partitioned by the gate line and the data line due to the step difference of the display plate. For example, the liquid crystal molecules existing in the boundary region between the pixel electrode and the pixel electrode located above the data line are disturbed by the electric field due to the voltage of the lower data line and the voltage of the left pixel electrode, and light leakage occurs at this portion.

Thus, in the prior art, a method of extending a portion of the sustain electrode to cover a portion where a light leakage phenomenon occurs is proposed.

However, in this case, since the portion where the light leakage occurs is a portion where the gate line and the data line intersect, the sustain electrode comes close to the neighboring gate line. Therefore, when the gate line and the sustain electrode are formed, a conductive foreign matter may remain between the gate line and the sustain electrode to short-circuit the two.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a thin film transistor display panel capable of preventing light leakage and preventing a short circuit between a gate line and a sustain electrode.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a thin film transistor display panel as described below.

A plurality of gate lines formed on the substrate; a first conductive layer including a plurality of sustain electrodes and a plurality of light shielding members; a gate insulating film formed on the first conductive layer; A second conductive layer formed on the semiconductor layer, the second conductive layer including a plurality of data lines and a plurality of drain electrodes formed on the semiconductor layer, a protective layer formed on the second conductive layer, And a plurality of pixel electrodes electrically connected to the drain electrode, wherein the light shielding member is provided near the intersection of the gate line and the data line and is provided with a thin film transistor display panel spaced apart from the sustain electrode and the gate line by a predetermined distance.

And a connection leg connecting the sustain electrode across the gate line and located in the vicinity of the light shielding member and made of the same layer as the pixel electrode.

It is preferable that the light shielding member extends along the edge of the pixel electrode.

In addition, it is preferable to further include a plurality of color filters formed under the protective film.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

In the drawings, the thickness is enlarged to clearly represent the layers and regions. Like parts are designated with like reference numerals throughout the specification. When a part of a layer, film, region, plate or the like is on another part, it includes not only the part directly above another part but also another part in the middle. Conversely, when a part is directly above another part, it means that there is no other part in the middle.

Hereinafter, a thin film transistor substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a layout diagram of a thin film transistor panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2A to 2C are sectional views of the thin film transistor panel of FIG. 1 taken along lines IIa-IIa ', IIb-IIb' and IIc-IIc ' FIG.

1 to 2C, a thin film transistor panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of gate lines 121, a plurality of storage electrode lines, (131), sustain electrodes (133a-133c), and a plurality of light shielding members (60).

The gate line 121 and the storage electrode line 131 extend mainly in the lateral direction and are separated from each other.

The gate line 121 transmits a gate signal and a part of each gate line 121 protrudes downward to form a plurality of gate electrodes 124.

The sustain electrode line 131 and the sustain electrodes 133a-133b are supplied with a predetermined voltage such as a common voltage applied to a common electrode (not shown) of another display panel (not shown) . The sustain electrode 133a extends upward from the sustain electrode line 131 toward the gate line 121. The sustain electrode 133b extends to the right from the center portion of the sustain electrode 133a, And extends downward from the end of the holding electrode 133b.

The light shielding member 60 is located between the vicinity of the end of the sustain electrode 133a and the gate line 121 and is separated from them by a predetermined distance.

Ag or silver alloy having a low resistivity may be a metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum, aluminum (Al), aluminum (Al), aluminum (Cr), which has good physical, chemical and electrical contact properties with other materials, particularly ITO (indium tin oxide) or IZO (indium zinc oxide), in addition to the conductive film, Or a multilayer film structure including another conductive film made of titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta), molybdenum (Mo), and alloys thereof (e.g., molybdenum-tungsten (MoW) alloy). An example of the combination of the lower film and the upper film is chromium / aluminum-neodymium (Nd) alloy.

The side surfaces of the gate line 121, the sustain electrode lines 131, the sustain electrodes 133a-133c and the light shielding member 60 are inclined and the inclination angle is in the range of about 30-80 degrees with respect to the surface of the substrate 110. [

A gate insulating film 140 made of silicon nitride (SiNx) or the like is formed on the gate line 121, the sustain electrode lines 131, the sustain electrodes 133a-133c, and the light shielding member 60. [

On the gate insulating film 140, a plurality of linear semiconductors 151 made of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (abbreviated as a-Si for amorphous silicon) are formed. The linear semiconductor 151 extends mainly in the longitudinal direction from which a plurality of extensions 154 extend toward the gate electrode 124.

A plurality of linear and island-shaped ohmic contacts 161 and 165 made of a material such as silicide or n + hydrogenated amorphous silicon to which n-type impurity is heavily doped are formed on the semiconductor 151 have. The linear contact member 161 has a plurality of protrusions 163 and the protrusions 163 and the island-like contact members 165 are positioned on the protrusions 154 of the semiconductor 151 in pairs.

The sides of the semiconductor 151 and the resistive contact members 161 and 165 are also inclined and the inclination angle is 30-80 degrees.

A plurality of data lines 171, a plurality of drain electrodes 175 and a plurality of leg metal pieces 172 are formed on the resistance contact members 161 and 165 and the gate insulating film 140, .

The data line 171 extends mainly in the vertical direction and crosses the gate line 121 to transmit a data voltage. A plurality of branches extending from each data line 171 toward the drain electrode 175 form a source electrode 173. A pair of the source electrode 173 and the drain electrode 175 are separated from each other and are located opposite to each other with respect to the gate electrode 124. The gate electrode 124, the source electrode 173 and the drain electrode 175 together with the protrusion 154 of the semiconductor 151 constitute a thin film transistor (TFT) And is formed in the protruding portion 154 between the electrode 173 and the drain electrode 175.                     

The layered position of the leg metal piece 172 is above the gate line 121 and the position on the plane is between the sustain electrode line 131 and the sustain electrode 133a below the gate line 121. [

The data line 171, the drain electrode 175 and the leg metal piece 172 may be made of a conductive metal such as a series metal or an aluminum series metal. In addition to the conductive layer, chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti) (Ta), molybdenum (Mo), and alloys of these alloys. The sides of the data line 171 and the drain electrode 175 are also inclined, and the inclination angle is in the range of about 30-80 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane.

The resistive contact members 161 and 165 exist only between the semiconductor 151 under the resistive contact members 161 and the data line 171 and the drain electrode 175 on the semiconductor 151 and serve to lower the contact resistance. The linear semiconductor 151 has portions exposed between the source electrode 173 and the drain electrode 175 as well as the data line 171 and the drain electrode 175. In most cases, The width of the data line 171 is smaller than the width of the data line 171. The semiconductor 151 may have a larger width at a portion where the semiconductor line 151 meets the gate line 121 in order to enhance the insulation between the gate line 121 and the data line 171. [

An organic material having excellent photosensitivity and excellent planarization property is formed on the data line 171, the drain electrode 175 and the leg metal piece 172 and the semiconductor 151 exposed portion, a plasma enhanced chemical a passivation layer 180 made of a low dielectric constant insulating material such as a-Si: C: O, a-Si: O: F or silicon nitride as an inorganic material is formed by vapor deposition (PECVD) have.

The protective film 180 is formed with a plurality of contact holes 182 and 185 for exposing the end portion 179 and the drain electrode 175 of the data line 171, respectively. A plurality of contact holes 183 and 184 are formed in the protective film 180 and the gate insulating film 140 to expose the sustain electrode lines 131 and the sustain electrodes 133a, respectively.

A plurality of pixel electrodes 190 made of ITO or IZO and a plurality of contact assistants 82 and sustain electrode connection legs 84 are formed on the passivation layer 180.

The pixel electrode 190 is physically and electrically connected to the drain electrode 175 through the contact hole 185 and receives the data voltage from the drain electrode 175.

The pixel electrode 190 to which the data voltage is applied renders the liquid crystal molecules between the two electrodes by generating an electric field together with the common electrode of the other display panel.

Further, the pixel electrode 190 and the common electrode form a capacitor (hereinafter referred to as a liquid crystal capacitor) to maintain the applied voltage even after the thin film transistor is turned off. In order to enhance the voltage holding capability, The other capacitor connected to the capacitor is called a storage capacitor. The storage capacitor is formed by overlapping the pixel electrode 190 with the sustain electrode lines 131 and the sustain electrodes 133a to 133c and the like. The pixel electrode 190 overlaps with the neighboring gate line 121 and the data line 171 Thereby increasing the aperture ratio, but may not overlap.

The sustain electrode connection leg 84 electrically connects all the sustain electrode lines 131 and the sustain electrodes 133a-133c of the thin film transistor display panel by connecting the sustain electrode 133a and the sustain electrode line 131 across the gate line 121 It also serves as a connection. The connection between the sustain electrode line connection leg 84 and the sustain electrode 133a and the sustain electrode line 131 is made through the contact holes 183 and 184. The sustain electrode line connecting leg 84 overlaps with the leg metal piece 172 and can be used for repairing defects of the gate line 121 or the data line 171 if necessary. It is formed to assist the electrical connection of the gate line 121 and the sustain electrode line connection leg 84 when the laser is irradiated.

On the other hand, the light-shielding member 60 described above extends along the boundary line of the pixel electrode 190 in the vicinity of the connection leg 84.

The contact assistant member 82 is connected to the end portion 179 of the data line through the contact hole 182, respectively. The contact assistant member 82 is not essential to complement and protect the adhesion between the end portion 179 of the data line 171 and the external device.

Finally, an alignment layer 11 is formed on the pixel electrode 190, the contact assistant 82, the sustain electrode connection leg 84, and the passivation layer 180. The alignment film 11 is rubbed to determine the horizontal direction of the liquid crystal molecules.

However, since the portions where the connection legs 84 and the thin film transistors are located have many layers and a large step difference, uniform rubbing can not be performed at this portion and light leakage may occur. In addition, since the sustain electrode connection leg 84 and the pixel electrode 190 are formed of the same layer, the light leakage may be further increased because a certain distance is required to prevent short circuit.

As described above, since the light shielding member 60 is formed along the boundary line of the pixel electrode while being positioned near the sustain electrode connection leg 84, it is possible to prevent the light from leaking from this portion. Since the shielding member 60 is spaced apart from the gate line 121 and the sustain electrode 133a by a predetermined distance, conductive foreign matter generated during the process of forming the thin film transistor display panel is sandwiched between the shielding member 60 and the gate line 121 Or between the shielding member 60 and the storage electrode line 131, the gate line 121 and the storage electrode line 131 are not short-circuited.

A thin film transistor panel for a liquid crystal display according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 4C. FIG.

As shown in Figs. 3 to 4C, the layered structure of the thin film transistor panel for a liquid crystal display according to this embodiment is generally similar to the layered structure of the liquid crystal display shown in Figs. 1 to 2C. A plurality of gate lines 121 including a plurality of gate electrodes 124, a plurality of sustain electrodes 133a, 133b and 133c, a plurality of sustain electrode lines 131, and a plurality of light shielding members And a plurality of linear resistive contact members 161 each of which includes a plurality of projections 163 and a plurality of linear semiconductors 151 each of which includes a plurality of projections 154, And a plurality of island-shaped resistive contact members 165 are formed in order. A plurality of data lines 171 including a plurality of source electrodes 153, a plurality of drain electrodes 175 and a leg metal piece 172 are formed on the resistive contact members 161 and 165 and the gate insulating film 140 And a protective film 180 is formed thereon. A plurality of contact holes 182, 183, 184 and 187 are formed in the protective film 180 and / or the gate insulating film 140. A plurality of pixel electrodes 190, 82 and a sustain electrode connecting leg 84 are formed.

However, unlike the thin film transistor panel shown in FIGS. 1 to 2C, the thin film transistor panel 100 according to the present embodiment has a plurality of three primary colors formed below the protective layer 180, for example, red, green, and blue And further includes a filter 230R. As shown in FIG. 4B, the color filter 230 is superimposed on the boundary portion to block light. Accordingly, the upper panel 200 is provided with a black matrix as well as a color filter. The red or green color filter 230 located above the channel of the thin film transistor blocks or absorbs a short wavelength visible light incident on the channel of the thin film transistor.

The color filters 230R, 230G and 230B also have contact holes 185, 183 and 184 for exposing the drain electrode 175, the sustain electrode line 131 and the sustain electrode 133a together with the protective film 180. [ The protective film 180 and the gate insulating film 140 have a plurality of contact holes 181 for exposing the end portions 129 of the gate lines 121. The contact holes 181 are formed in the end portions of the gate lines 121 A plurality of contact-assisting members 81 are formed which are in contact with the contact surface 129. This contact assistant 81 is necessary when a gate driving circuit (not shown) for supplying a signal to the gate line 121 is mounted on a display board or a flexible circuit board (not shown) in the form of a chip. When the driving circuit is formed directly on the display panel, the contact hole 181 and the contact assistant member 81 are not necessary as in Figs. 1 to 2C.

The thin film transistor panel according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 to 6C. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 6C, the layered structure of the thin film transistor panel according to this embodiment is generally the same as the layered structure of the liquid crystal display shown in FIGS. 1 to 2C. A plurality of gate lines 121 including a plurality of gate electrodes 124, a plurality of sustain electrodes 133a, 133b and 133c, a plurality of sustain electrode lines 131, and a plurality of light shielding members And a plurality of linear resistive contact members 161 each of which includes a plurality of projections 163 and a plurality of linear semiconductors 151 each of which includes a plurality of projections 154, And a plurality of island-shaped resistive contact members 165 are formed in order. A plurality of data lines 171 including a plurality of source electrodes 153, a plurality of drain electrodes 175 and a leg metal piece 172 are formed on the resistive contact members 161 and 165 and the gate insulating film 140 And a protective film 180 is formed thereon. A plurality of contact holes 182, 183, 184 and 185 are formed in the protective film 180 and / or the gate insulating film 140. A plurality of pixel electrodes 190, 82 and a sustain electrode connecting leg 84 are formed.

In addition to the linear semiconductor 151 and the resistive contact members 161 and 165, a plurality of island-shaped semiconductor elements (not shown) and a plurality of island-shaped contact members (not shown) And is provided between the gate insulating film 140.

The semiconductor 151 has substantially the same planar shape as the data line 171 and the drain electrode 175 and the resistive contact members 161 and 165 thereunder except for the protrusion 154 where the thin film transistor is located. Specifically, the island-like semiconductor and the island-like resistive contact member beneath the leg metal piece 172 have substantially the same planar shape. The semiconductor 151 may be formed between the source electrode 173 and the drain electrode 175 in addition to the portion existing under the data line 171 and the drain electrode 175 and the underlying resistive contact members 161 and 165 And has a portion exposed to them.

The manufacturing process can be simplified because the data line 171 and the drain electrode 175 and the resistive contact members 161 and 165 and the semiconductor 151 below the data line 171 and the drain electrode 175 are formed in one photolithography process.

The thin film transistor panel according to the embodiment of the present invention may be manufactured by various modified forms and methods.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, Of the right.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the light shielding member made of the same layer as the gate line and the sustain electrode is spaced apart from the adjacent gate line and sustain electrode by a predetermined distance, shorting of the gate line and the sustain electrode line, Can be prevented.

Claims (4)

Insulating substrate, A first conductive layer including a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of sustain electrodes, and a plurality of light shielding members formed on the substrate, A gate insulating film formed on the first conductive layer, A semiconductor layer formed on the gate insulating film, A second conductive layer including a plurality of data lines and a plurality of drain electrodes formed on the semiconductor layer, A protective film formed on the second conductive layer, A plurality of pixel electrodes formed on the passivation layer and electrically connected to the drain electrodes, And a connection leg formed on the same layer as the pixel electrode and connecting the sustain electrode across the gate line, Lt; / RTI > Wherein the shielding member has a shape separated from the connection leg to surround the connection leg. delete delete The method of claim 1, And a plurality of color filters formed under the protective film.

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