KR101338999B1 - Electrophoretic display device and method of fabricating thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The electrophoretic display device of the present invention simplifies the manufacturing process, improves the bonding force, and has an ultra-slim bezel, and includes a first substrate and a second substrate including a plurality of pixels including an image display area and an image non-display area. ; A thin film transistor formed on each pixel on the first substrate; A protective layer on the first substrate on which the thin film transistor is formed; A pixel electrode formed in the image display area on the protective layer; Barrier ribs formed on the non-display area on the passivation layer; An electrophoretic layer formed in the image display area inside the barrier rib above the protective layer and in contact with the pixel electrode; A first barrier formed along the periphery of the first substrate; At least one second barrier and a third barrier, which are formed along the outer periphery of the first substrate and are disposed at both sides of the first barrier to be spaced apart from the first barrier by a predetermined distance to form a space between the first barrier and the first barrier ; A sealing material applied to the upper surface and the space of the first barrier to seal the first substrate and the second substrate; And a common electrode formed on the second substrate.

Description

[0001] ELECTROPHORETIC DISPLAY DEVICE AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THEREOF [0002]

The present invention relates to an electrophoretic display device and a method of manufacturing the same.

In general, an electrophoretic display device is an image display device using a phenomenon in which a pair of electrodes to which a voltage is applied is immersed in a colloid solution to move the colloid particles to either one of polarities. The electrophoretic display device has a wide viewing angle, a high reflectance, Power and the like, all kinds of electronic devices are attracting attention as electronic devices such as electric paper.

The electrophoretic display device has a structure in which an electrophoretic layer is interposed between two substrates, one of the two substrates is made of a transparent substrate and the other is made up of an array substrate on which a driving device is formed, An image can be displayed in the reflective mode.

1 is a view showing a structure of a conventional electrophoretic display element 1. Fig. 1, the electrophoretic display element 1 includes a first substrate 20 and a second substrate 40, a thin film transistor and a pixel electrode 18 formed on the first substrate 20, A common electrode 42 formed on the second substrate 40 and an electrophoretic layer 60 formed between the first substrate 20 and the second substrate 40. The electrophoretic layer 60 and the pixel And an adhesive layer (56) formed between the electrodes (18).

The thin film transistor includes a gate electrode 11 formed on the first substrate 2, a gate insulating layer 22 formed on the entire first substrate 20 on which the gate electrode 11 is formed, And a source electrode 15 and a drain electrode 16 formed on the semiconductor layer 13. The source electrode 15 and the drain electrode 16 are formed on the semiconductor layer 13, A protective layer 24 is formed on the source electrode 15 and the drain electrode 16 of the thin film transistor.

On the protective layer 24, a pixel electrode 18 for applying a signal to the electrophoretic layer 60 is formed. A contact hole 28 is formed in the passivation layer 24 so that the pixel electrode 18 on the passivation layer 24 is connected to the drain electrode 16 of the thin film transistor through the contact hole.

A common electrode 42 is formed on the second substrate 40 and an electrophoretic layer 60 is formed on the common electrode 42. At this time, an adhesive layer 56 is formed on the electrophoretic layer 60 to bond the second substrate 40 including the electrophoretic layer 60 to the first substrate 20. The electrophoretic layer 60 includes a capsule 70 filled with white particles 74 and black particles 76 having electrophoretic characteristics therein. When a signal is applied to the pixel electrode 18, an electric field is generated between the common electrode 42 and the pixel electrode 18, and white particles 74 and black particles 76 are moved to implement an image.

For example, when a negative (-) voltage is applied to the pixel electrode 18, the common electrode 42 of the second substrate 40 has a relatively positive potential, and white particles (+ 74 move toward the first substrate 20 and the black particles 76 having a negative charge move toward the second substrate 40. In this state, when light is input from the outside, that is, from the upper portion of the second substrate 40, since the input light is reflected by the black particles 76, black is realized in the electrophoretic display element.

On the other hand, when a positive voltage is applied to the pixel electrode 18, the common electrode 42 of the second substrate 40 has a negative potential, and white particles 74 having a positive charge The black particles 76 moving to the second substrate 40 and having a negative charge move to the first substrate 20. In this state, when light is input from the outside, that is, from the upper portion of the second substrate 40, since the input light is reflected by the white particles 74, white is realized in the electrophoretic display element.

However, in the conventional electrophoretic display element 1 having the above-described structure, the following problems arise.

In the conventional electrophoretic display device 1, the first substrate 20 and the second substrate 40 are separately manufactured, and then the first substrate 20 and the second substrate 40 are bonded by the adhesive layer 56. It is completed by. That is, a thin film transistor for driving unit pixels on the first substrate 20 and a pixel electrode 18 for applying an electric field to the electrophoretic layer 60 are formed on the second substrate 40 in a separate process After the electrode 42, the electrophoretic layer 60 and the adhesive layer 56 are formed, the first substrate 20 and the second substrate 40 are bonded together.

However, since the unit pixel of the electrophoretic display element is formed to have a small size such as a width and a length of less than 150 micrometers, it becomes very difficult to align the electrophoresis layer exactly to this size. If the first substrate on which the electrophoretic layer and the thin film transistor are formed is not aligned correctly, the electric field can not be accurately transferred to the electrophoretic particles, which causes a driving error.

In addition, since the first substrate 20 and the second substrate 40 are manufactured in different processes, they must be transferred by the transfer means and adhered to each other in the adhesion process, so that the fabrication process can not be performed in-line.

On the other hand, the common electrode 42 is formed on the second substrate 40, and the electrophoretic layer 60 is coated and then the adhesive layer 56 is applied. In order to prevent the adhesive force of the adhesive layer 56 from being lowered or adhesion of foreign matter to the adhesive layer 56 in order to bond the first substrate 20 to the second substrate 40 by transferring the second substrate 40 to the adhesion process, 56) with a protective film attached thereto. In order to attach the transferred second substrate 40 to the first substrate 20, the protective film must be peeled from the second substrate 40. In the peeling process of the protective film, static electricity is generated, Which causes misalignment in the initial arrangement of the electrophoretic particles, which causes a comb-like moire in the operation of the electrophoretic display device.

As described above, in the conventional electrophoretic display device, since the first substrate 20 and the second substrate 40 are manufactured by different processes, the first substrate 20 and the second substrate 40 ) Or the process becomes complicated, static electricity is generated when the adhesive layer is peeled off, and the image quality is poor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a thin film transistor, in which an electrophoretic layer is formed directly on a substrate on which a thin film transistor is formed to prevent misalignment between the electrophoretic layer and the first substrate, And a method for producing the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrophoretic display device and a method of manufacturing the same, by which the first substrate forms at least a triple barrier in the outer region to improve the bonding strength of the first substrate and the second substrate and minimize the area of the bezel. To provide.

In order to achieve the above object, the electrophoretic display device according to the present invention includes a first substrate and a second substrate comprising a plurality of pixels consisting of an image display area and an image non-display area; A thin film transistor formed on each pixel on the first substrate; A protective layer on the first substrate on which the thin film transistor is formed; A pixel electrode formed in the image display area on the protective layer; Barrier ribs formed on the non-display area on the passivation layer; An electrophoretic layer formed in the image display area inside the barrier rib above the protective layer and in contact with the pixel electrode; A first barrier formed along the periphery of the first substrate; At least one second barrier and a third barrier, which are formed along the outer periphery of the first substrate and are disposed at both sides of the first barrier to be spaced apart from the first barrier by a predetermined distance to form a space between the first barrier and the first barrier ; A sealing material applied to the upper surface and the space of the first barrier to seal the first substrate and the second substrate; And a common electrode formed on the second substrate.

The electrophoretic layer is composed of at least one particle and a dispersion medium of white particles, black particles, and color particles. The 1-3 barrier is made of the same material as the partition wall.

At least one groove is formed on the upper surface of the first barrier to fill the sealing material in the groove, thereby improving the surface area of the upper surface of the first barrier and bonding force between the first substrate and the second substrate by the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the groove. To improve.

In addition, the electrophoretic display device manufacturing method according to the present invention comprises the steps of providing a first substrate and a second substrate comprising an image display area and an image non-display area; Forming a thin film transistor in an image display area on the first substrate; Forming a protective layer on the first substrate on which the thin film transistor is formed; Forming a pixel electrode in the image display area on the protective layer; Forming a partition wall defining a plurality of pixels in an image non-display area of the protective layer; Forming a first partition on an outer region of the first substrate; Forming at least one second barrier wall and a third barrier wall on both sides of the first partition wall of the outer region of the first substrate; Filling an electrophoretic material into the pixel inside the partition wall; Forming a common electrode on the second substrate; Dropping a sealing material over the first barrier to apply a sealing material to the upper portion of the first barrier and the cavity between the first barrier and the second barrier and the third barrier; And bonding the first substrate to the second substrate.

In the present invention, since the electrophoretic layer is directly applied to the substrate on which the thin film transistor is formed, a protective film for protecting the adhesive layer or the adhesive layer for bonding the electrophoretic layer compared to the conventional electrophoretic layer formed on a separate substrate is In addition to reducing manufacturing costs, the electrophoretic layer can be formed in-line on an existing thin film transistor manufacturing line, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process. In addition, since the electrophoretic layer is directly formed on the array substrate, misalignment does not occur in the alignment process of aligning the electrophoretic layer and the array substrate.

In addition, in the present invention, the bonding force between the first substrate and the second substrate may be improved when the electrophoretic display panel is bonded.

In addition, in the present invention, the bezel of the electrophoretic display device may be slimmed by minimizing the width of the sealing area when the electrophoretic display panel is bonded, and the sealing reliability may be improved.

1 is a view showing a conventional electrophoretic display device.
2 is a view showing an electrophoretic display device according to the present invention.
3 illustrates a pixel structure of an electrophoretic display device according to the present invention.
4A-4G illustrate a method of manufacturing an electrophoretic display device according to the present invention.
5A and 5B are views showing a method of forming an electrophoretic layer of an electrophoretic display device according to the present invention, respectively.

Hereinafter, an electrophoretic display device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the present invention, the electrophoretic layer is formed on the first substrate on which the thin film transistor is formed. That is, in the present invention, an electrophoretic layer is formed in a thin film transistor manufacturing process. Therefore, since the electrophoretic layer can be formed using the manufacturing equipment of the thin film transistor, the electrophoretic display device is completed by bonding the second substrate to the first substrate after forming the electrophoretic layer on the substrate in another process. Compared with the conventional method, the manufacturing process can be greatly simplified.

In a conventional electrophoretic display device manufacturing process of forming an electrophoretic layer on a second substrate, the electrophoretic layer is supplied from another factory or even another part supplier and transferred to a manufacturing factory where the thin film transistor is formed, There is a problem that the manufacturing process is delayed and troublesome, and the second substrate is damaged in the process of transferring the second substrate by the transfer means such as a vehicle.

On the other hand, in the present invention, since the electrophoretic layer is formed on the first substrate using the existing thin film transistor manufacturing equipment, a rapid electrophoretic display device can be manufactured.

In addition, in the present invention, triple sealing walls are formed in the outer region of the electrophoretic display device to minimize the width of the sealing area when the electrophoretic display panel is bonded, thereby reducing the bezel of the electrophoretic display device as well as sealing. It is possible to improve the reliability of.

2 is a view schematically showing the structure of an electrophoretic display device according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electrophoretic display device 101 according to the present invention is formed between the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140, and the substrate 120 and the second substrate 140. A plurality of partitions 180 for partitioning pixels, an electrophoretic layer 160 formed in an image display area inside the partitions 180, and an outer surface of the electrophoretic display element, the first substrate 120 and the first substrate 120. Sealing barriers 190a, 190b and 190c for bonding and sealing the second substrate 140 and the first and second substrates 120 and 140 to apply an electric field to the electrophoretic layer 160. The pixel electrode 118 and the common electrode 142 are formed.
The genital electrophoretic display element 101 is divided into an image display area in which unit pixels are arranged in a matrix and an image non-display area surrounding the image display area. The partition wall 180 is formed in the image display area, and is particularly formed between unit pixels to define a pixel. That is, the partition wall 180 is formed between the pixel and the pixel. The partition wall 180 has a constant height, and the unit pixel has a predetermined volume of space by the partition wall 180. An electrophoretic layer 160 is formed in the space.
The electrophoretic layer 160 includes an electrophoretic material capable of being shaken by an electric field formed by the common electrode 142 and the pixel electrode 118 and a dispersion medium that acts as a solvent to float the electrophoretic material. do.

The electrophoretic particles may be composed of white particles 164 and black particles 165 having positive and negative charge characteristics. In addition, the electrophoretic particles may further include color particles to express color. The color particles may be red, green, blue particles or cyan, magenta, yellow particles.

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The partition wall 180 is formed between the pixel and the pixel to partition the pixel of the electrophoretic display device 101, and the electrophoretic material is filled therein to form the electrophoretic layer 160. That is, in the conventional electrophoretic display device, after the electrophoretic layer is attached to the second substrate by a separate process from the first substrate, the second substrate is attached to the second substrate again, so that the electrophoretic layer is attached to the second substrate. There is a need for a protective film and the like to protect the adhesive film, the process is complicated and there is a problem that the quality of the image quality is poor due to the static electricity generated during the peeling of the adhesive film, the electrophoretic material directly in the partition wall This problem does not occur because it is formed.

Three sealing barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c are formed along the outer periphery of the electrophoretic display device 101 in the outer region of the electrophoretic display device 101. In this case, the barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c are formed to be spaced apart from the partition wall 180 formed in the outermost region of the electrophoretic display device 101.

A sealing material is coated on an upper surface of the first barrier 190a formed at the center of the barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c, and the first barrier 190a and the second barrier 190b and the third barrier 190 on both sides thereof ( The sealing material 194 is filled in the space 193 between 190c.

The reason for forming the barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c in the present invention as described above is as follows.
In general, the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 are bonded to each other after the manufacturing process is completed, respectively, on the upper surface of the electrophoretic layer 160 and the partition wall 180 filled in the pixel for bonding. The sealant 186 is applied. The sealant 186 is applied to the upper surfaces of the electrophoretic layer 160 and the partition wall 180, and the second substrate 140 is bonded to the first substrate 120 by the sealant 186.
However, when the sealant 186 is in direct contact with the electrophoretic layer 160, a defect occurs in which the electrophoretic particles in the electrophoretic layer 160 adhere to the sealant and do not drive. This is because the sealant 186 and the electrophoretic layer 160 are made of a material having different physical properties, so that the charged electrophoretic particles electrically adhere to the sealant.
In addition, in the case of dispensing the sealant in the pixel non-display area to prevent moisture permeation or penetration of foreign matters into the pixel display area from the outside, the gel state may be formed by the pressure that is bonded when the first and second substrates are bonded together. The sealant will overflow to the outside of the non-display area.
As a result, the electrophoretic particles adhering to the sealant 186 cannot be driven, and contamination occurs due to the sealant overflowing to the outside of the image non-display area, resulting in poor design and quality deterioration. In particular, the electrophoretic display element must have a wider bezel to cover the sealant that overflows outside of the non-display area.

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However, in the present invention, a plurality of barriers 190a, 190b, 190c are formed in the image non-display area, and the upper surface of the first barrier 190a and the barriers among the barriers 190a, 190b, 190c are formed. Since the sealing material 194 is filled in the space 193 formed between the 190a, 190b, and 190c and sealed by the sealant 194, the sealant is prevented from overflowing to the outside of the image non-display area and the image is prevented. The driving force of the electrophoretic particles filled in the pixels of the display area is improved to improve the quality of the electrophoretic display device.

In the electrophoretic display device 101 having the above structure, the first barrier 190a at the center of the three barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c is attached to the second substrate 140 by a sealing material applied on the upper surface thereof. The 120 and the second substrate 140 are bonded to each other, and the second barrier 190b and the third barrier 190c on both sides of the first barrier 190a block the flow of the sealant 194 outside the set area to seal the sealant. To minimize the width of 194.

Grooves 192 are formed on the upper surface of the first barrier 190a. The groove 192 increases the area of the upper surface of the first barrier 190a. Since the sealing member 194 is filled therein, the groove 192 increases the surface area in contact with the sealing member 194. ) And the adhesion of the second substrate 140 can be improved. In addition, since the pressure is applied to the groove 192 and the second substrate 140 when the first barrier 190a is attached to the second substrate 140, the pressure in the inner space of the groove 192 is lower than the external pressure. As a result, the adhesive force between the first barrier 190a and the second substrate 140 may be further improved by the pressure difference.

Although only one groove 192 is formed in the drawing, a plurality of grooves 192 may be formed on an upper surface of the first barrier wall 190a.

3A is a diagram showing the structure of one pixel of the electrophoretic display device 101 having the above structure. In this case, the pixels of the electrophoretic display device 101 are pixels of the outermost region of the electrophoretic display device 101, and adjacent barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c are also disclosed.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the electrophoretic display device according to the present invention includes a first substrate 120 and a second substrate 140 which are made of transparent glass or plastic and include an image display area and an image non-display area. A thin film transistor formed on the first substrate 120, a protective layer 124 formed on the first substrate 120 on which the thin film transistor is formed, and an image display area on the protective layer 124 to form an image signal from the outside. Is input to the pixel electrode 118, the barrier rib 180 formed in the image non-display area on the passivation layer 124 to define a plurality of pixels, and the first substrate 120 on the passivation layer 124. ) A plurality of barriers (190a, 190b, 190c) formed on the outside, the electrophoretic layer 160 formed in the partition 180, the common electrode 142 formed on the second substrate 140, and the first The first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 are filled in the space 193 between the top surface of the first barrier 190a and the barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c. At the same time the goodness comprises a sealing member 194 for sealing.

The thin film transistor includes a gate electrode 111 formed on the first substrate 120, a gate insulating layer 122 formed on the gate electrode 111, and an amorphous silicon (a-Si) formed on the gate insulating layer 122. The semiconductor layer 113 is formed of a semiconductor material as described above, and a source electrode 115 and a drain electrode 116 formed on the semiconductor layer 113.

The protective layer 124 is made of an organic insulating material such as BCB (Benzo Cyclo Butene) or photo acryl, and at this time, a contact hole 117 is formed in the protective layer 124 on the drain electrode 116 of the thin film transistor. The pixel electrode 118 formed on the passivation layer 124 is electrically connected to the drain electrode 116 of the thin film transistor through the contact hole 117.

The partition wall 180 may be formed of a photosensitive organic insulating material such as photoacryl, a resin, or the like.

The electrophoretic layer 160 includes white particles 164 having positive charge characteristics and black particles 165 having negative charge characteristics. Although not shown in the drawing, the electrophoretic layer 160 includes color particles such as cyan, magenta, and yellow, or color particles such as R, red, G, and blue. May be included.

The white particles 164 implements white. That is, when a voltage is applied between the pixel electrode 118 and the common electrode 142 so that the white particles 164 having charge characteristics move to the second substrate 140 side, incident from the outside of the second substrate 140 occurs. The reflected light is reflected by the white particles 164 to express white on the screen of the electrophoretic display device.

The black particles 165 implement black. That is, when a voltage is applied between the pixel electrode 118 and the common electrode 142 to move the black particles 165 having charge characteristics toward the second substrate 140, incident from the outside of the second substrate 140 occurs. The light is absorbed by the black particles 165, and black is displayed on the screen of the electrophoretic display device.

In addition, when the electrophoretic layer 160 includes color particles, the color particles may be colored particles such as cyan, magenta, yellow, or red (R), green (G), or blue (B) particles. Color particles such as (Blue) implement color. That is, when voltage is applied between the pixel electrode 118 and the common electrode 142 to move the color particles having charge characteristics toward the second substrate 140, light incident from the outside of the second substrate 140 The color corresponding to the pixel is reflected on the screen of the electrophoretic display device reflected by the color particles 165, and the desired color may be realized by the combination of these colors.

The electrophoretic material includes a dispersion medium such as a liquid polymer. In the dispersion medium, the white particles 164 and the black particles 165 are dispersed therein so that the white particles 164 and the black particles 165 move in the dispersion medium according to the application of a voltage. The dispersion medium may include air. That is, instead of a specific liquid dispersion medium such as a liquid polymer, air may act as a medium for moving the white particles 164 and the black particles 165. In addition, the electrophoretic layer 160 may not include a dispersion medium. In this case, as the voltage is applied, the white particles 164 and the black particles 165 are moved by the electric field, thereby realizing an image.

On the other hand, when a liquid polymer is used as the dispersion medium, the liquid polymer uses a transparent liquid polymer, but a color liquid polymer having a color corresponding to the color of the pixel may be used. For example, a pixel containing magenta colored cyan particles is filled with a magenta liquid polymer, and a pixel containing cyan magenta colored particles is filled with a cyan liquid polymer, and a yellow colored yellow particle is included. The color is filled with a yellow liquid polymer.

The barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c may be formed of an organic insulating material, or the like. The barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c may be formed of the same material as the partition wall 182 by the same process or by different materials. When the barrier is formed of the same photosensitive organic material as the barrier rib, the barrier rib may be simultaneously formed in one mask process to shorten the process.

At this time, the height of the barrier 182 is formed to about 10㎛ or more, in particular about 10-50㎛ and the line width is formed to about 10-5000㎛, especially about 100-1000㎛.

Although only a structure in which three barriers 190a, 190b and 190c are formed in the figure is shown, four or more barriers 190a, 190b and 190c may be formed.

In addition, the shape of the barriers 190a, 190b, 190c (that is, the shape of the barriers 190a, 190b, 190c when viewed from above) may be variously formed. In the drawing, the barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c are formed in a straight line along the outer regions of the first and second substrates 120 and 140, but the barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c are formed in a zigzag shape. It can also be formed along the outer region meandering.

The sealing material 194 is filled in the upper surface of the first barrier 190a and the groove 192 formed in the center of the barriers 190a, 190b and 190c, and the space 193 between the barriers 190a, 190b and 190c. The first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 are bonded to each other and sealed at the same time.

The grooves 192 and the spaces 193 are formed along the periphery of the electrophoretic display device 101 along the barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c.

The second barrier 190b and the third barrier 190c serve to limit the position of the sealing member 194 filled in the space 193 so that the sealing member 194 is formed at another place, for example, a failure turn. It can be prevented from spreading to an area other than the sealing area, that is, the inner side or the outer side of the sealing area. Although the sealing material 194 may use a variety of materials, the ultraviolet curing sealing material or the thermosetting sealing material is mainly used.

The pixel electrode 118 is made of a transparent conductive material or an opaque metal, and is electrically connected to the drain electrode 116 of the thin film transistor through the contact hole 117 formed in the protective layer 124.

As shown in the figure, the pixel electrode 118 may be formed only in the image display area on the passivation layer 124, but the pixel electrode 118 is disposed on the passivation layer 124 and the sidewalls of the partition wall 180. It can be formed by extending to the top.

As described above, when the pixel electrode 118 is formed by extending on the protective layer 124 and on the sidewalls, the pixel electrode 118 at the bottom of the barrier wall 180, that is, the barrier wall 180 and the protective layer is formed. The dead area generated in the corner area of 124 can be removed to improve the aperture ratio, the contrast, and the response speed.

The common electrode 142 is made of a transparent conductive material such as ITO or IZO.

In the electrophoretic display device 101 according to the present invention having the above-described configuration, the partition wall 180 is directly formed on the first substrate 120, and the electrophoretic layer 160 is also the partition wall of the first substrate 120. And the electrophoretic layer 160 is directly formed on the pixel electrode 118 to be in direct contact with the pixel electrode 118, and thus, the electrophoretic layer 160 is different from the conventional electrophoretic display device. Since there is no need for a separate adhesive layer for attaching the electrophoretic layer 160 between the pixel electrode 118 and the protective layer 124, the manufacturing process can be simplified to reduce the manufacturing cost.

In addition, in the present invention, the barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c are formed to form the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 by the groove 192 of the first barrier 190a and the sealing member 194 on the upper surface. Since the bonding and sealing are performed, the bonding force between the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 is good and the sealing force of the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 can be prevented from penetrating the electrophoretic display device 101 with moisture or air. Will be. In addition, since the sealing material 194 can be prevented from being widely spread by the second barrier 190b and the third barrier 190c, the bezel can be minimized when the electrophoretic display device 101 is assembled. do.
3B is a plan view illustrating the arrangement of the partition walls 180 and the barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c as described above. As shown in FIG. 3B, the partition wall 180 is disposed in a matrix in the electrophoretic display device. The first barrier wall 190a is formed to surround the barrier wall 180 at an outer side of the barrier wall 180, and the second barrier wall 190b and the third barrier wall 190c are formed with the first barrier wall 190a interposed therebetween. The sealants 193 and 194 are filled between the first barrier 190a and the second barrier 190b and between the first barrier 190a and the third barrier 190c.
The outlet 196 is formed at one side of the barriers 190a, 190b, 190c of the electrophoretic device. The outlet 196 discharges the overfilled electrophoretic material between the partition walls 180. When the electrophoretic material is filled between the barrier ribs 180, the electrophoretic material may be overfilled between the barrier ribs 180. The overfilled electrophoretic material is a major cause of deterioration of the quality of the electrophoretic display device. The outlet 196 prevents deterioration due to overfilling by discharging excess electrophoretic material.

4A-4G illustrate a method of manufacturing an electrophoretic display device according to the present invention. Although the electrophoretic display device is substantially composed of a plurality of unit pixels, in the drawings, only the pixels of the outer region including the barrier are illustrated in the drawings.

First, as shown in FIG. 4A, Cr, Mo, Ta, Cu, Ti, Al, or Al alloys are formed on the first substrate 120 including an image display unit and an image non-display area and made of a transparent material such as glass or plastic. After stacking the opaque metal having good conductivity by the sputtering process and etching by the photolithography process to form the gate electrode 111, the first substrate on which the gate electrode 111 is formed The gate insulating layer 122 is formed by stacking an inorganic insulating material, such as SiO ₂ or SiNx, by the CVD (Chemicla Vapor Deposition) method over the entirety of the 120.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, a semiconductor material such as amorphous silicon (a-Si) is deposited over the entire first substrate 120 by a CVD method, and then the semiconductor layer 113 is formed by etching. Although not shown in the drawing, an amorphous silicon doped with impurities or doped with impurities is doped in a part of the semiconductor layer 113, and the ohmic contact (not shown) in which a source electrode and a drain electrode, which will be formed later, Thereby forming an ohmic contact layer.

Thereafter, as illustrated in FIG. 4C, an opaque metal having good conductivity such as Cr, Mo, Ta, Cu, Ti, Al, or Al alloy is laminated on the first substrate 120 by sputtering and then etched to form a semiconductor. On the layer 113, strictly speaking, the source electrode 115 and the drain electrode 116 are formed on the ohmic contact layer, and then the entire first substrate 120 having the source electrode 115 and the drain electrode 116 formed thereon. A protective layer 124 is formed by stacking an organic insulating material such as BCB (Benzo Cyclo Butene) or photo acryl.

Also, although not shown in the figure, the protective layer 124 may be formed of a plurality of layers. For example, the protective layer 124 may be formed as a double layer of the inorganic insulating layer made of an inorganic insulating material such as a layer of organic insulation made of an organic insulating material such as BCB or the picture acrylic and SiO _2, or SiNx, inorganic An insulating layer, an organic insulating layer, and an inorganic insulating layer. As the organic insulating layer is formed, the surface of the protective layer 124 is formed flat and the interface characteristic with the protective layer 124 is improved by applying the inorganic insulating layer.

In addition, a contact hole 117 is formed in the protective layer 124 to expose the drain electrode 116 of the thin film transistor to the outside.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 4D, the pixel electrode 118 is formed in the image display area on the passivation layer 124. In this case, the pixel electrode 118 is electrically connected to the drain electrode 116 of the thin film transistor through the contact hole 117.

The pixel electrode 118 may be formed by stacking a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO), metal such as Mo and AlNd, and then etching the same by a photolithography method. In addition, the pixel electrode 118 may be formed of a plurality of metal layers. That is, it may be formed by successively stacking a plurality of metal layers, such as Cu and MoTi, and then etching by a photolithography method. The pixel electrode 118 may be formed using carbon nanotubes or water-soluble conductive polymers.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4E, barrier ribs 180 and barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c are formed on the protective layer 124. The partition wall 180 is formed in the image non-display area of the first substrate 120 and substantially partitions the unit pixel. The barrier ribs 180 are also formed on the first substrate 120 in the form of a matrix on the first substrate 120 so that the barrier ribs 180 are formed on the first substrate 120 along the boundary regions of the pixels arranged in a matrix, .

The barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c are formed to be spaced apart from the outermost partition wall 180 at a distance from the partition wall 180 arranged in a matrix.

The barrier ribs 180 may be formed by laminating an insulating layer made of resin or the like and then etching them by a photolithography method using a photoresist. Alternatively, the barrier ribs 180 may be formed by laminating a photosensitive resin and etching them by a photolithography method. In addition, the partition wall 180 may be formed by printing the patterned partition wall 180 by a printing method such as a printing roll, or the like. The pattern 180 is formed by an imprint method of applying pressure to the resin layer using a patterned mold. It could be.

In practice, the formation of the partition wall 180 is not limited by a specific method. The above description of specific methods is for convenience of explanation and is not intended to limit the present invention. The partition 180 may be formed by various known methods.

The barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c may also be formed by the same method as the barrier 180. That is, the barrier 182 may be formed by laminating resins or photosensitive resins and then etching them by a photolithography method or an imprint method.

In this case, the barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c may be simultaneously formed by the same process as the partition wall 180 or may be formed by a separate process from the partition wall 180.

When the barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c are formed, the first barrier 190a, the second barrier 190, and the third barrier 190c are formed at a predetermined distance from each other, and the upper surface of the first barrier 190a is formed. A portion of the silver is removed to form the groove 192.

Meanwhile, in the drawing, the partition electrode 180 is formed after the pixel electrode 118 is formed on the passivation layer 124. However, after the partition wall 180 is first formed in the image non-display area on the passivation layer 124, The pixel electrode 118 may be formed in the image display area on the passivation layer 124. In this case, the protective layer 124 and the partition wall 180 may be simultaneously formed of the same material. For example, after the insulating layer is thickly formed, the insulating layer is removed by a diffraction mask or a halftone mask to simultaneously form the partition wall 180 and the contact hole 117 or a part of the insulating layer is removed by a mold or the like. May form.

When forming the barriers 190a, 190b, and 190c, at least one groove 192 is formed by removing a portion of the upper surface of the first barrier 190a.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4F, the electrophoretic material is filled in the partition wall 180. The electrophoretic material is composed of particles having positive and negative charge characteristics.

The electrophoretic material is composed of particles having positive and negative charge characteristics. The particles may be white particles 164 and black particles 165 or may be color particles such as cyan, magenta and yellow or red (R), green (G), and blue (Blue). ≪ / RTI >

In addition, the electrophoretic material includes a dispersion medium such as a liquid polymer. In this case, the dispersion material may be a transparent liquid polymer or a black liquid polymer or may be a color liquid polymer corresponding to a color in each pixel. The electrophoretic material may be formed of only white particles and black particles or color particles without a liquid polymer. In this case, the white particles and the black particles or the color particles are distributed in the air on the electrophoretic layer 160 and move inside the electrophoretic layer 160 as a voltage is applied.

In the case of the white particles 164, particles having good reflectance such as TiO ₂ are used, and in the case of the black particles 165, particles having black characteristics such as carbon black are used. In addition, pigments or dyes are used as the color particles.

In this case, the white particles 164 may have negative charge characteristics, the black particles 165 may have positive charge characteristics, the white particles 164 may have positive charge characteristics, and the black particles 165 may have negative charge characteristics.

5A and 5B illustrate a method of forming an electrophoretic layer 160 by filling an electrophoretic material into the partition wall 180 formed on the first substrate 120.

The method illustrated in FIG. 5A relates to an inkjet method or a nozzle method. After filling an electrophoretic material 160a in a syringe (or nozzle) 185, the syringe is placed on the first substrate 120. Place 185. Thereafter, the partition wall 180 is moved by moving the syringe 185 on the first substrate 120 in a state where pressure is applied to the syringe 185 by an external air supply device (not shown). The electrophoretic material 160a is dropped therein to form the electrophoretic layer 160 on the first substrate 120.

The method illustrated in FIG. 5B relates to a squeeze method, and after applying the electrophoretic material 160a on the first substrate 120 on which the plurality of partition walls 180 are formed, the first substrate is formed by the squeeze bar 187. By moving on the 120, the electrophoretic material 160a is filled into the partition 180 in the unit pixel by the pressure of the squeeze bar 187 to form the electrophoretic layer 160.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above-described method. The above-described method shows an example of a process of forming the electrophoretic layer 160 that can be used in the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this specific process. For example, various electrophoresis layer forming processes such as cast printing, bar coating printing, screen printing, and mold printing may be applied to the present invention.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 4G, the common electrode 142 is formed by stacking a transparent conductive material such as ITO or IZO on the second substrate 140 made of a transparent material such as glass or plastic. Thereafter, the sealing material 194 is dropped on the upper surface of the first barrier wall 190a of the first substrate 120 using a dropping device such as a syringe. The sealing material 194 dropped on the upper surface of the first barrier 190a is not only applied to the upper surface of the first barrier 190a, but also the first barrier 190a and the second barrier 190b on the upper surface of the first barrier 190a. ) Into the space 193 between the third barrier wall 190c and the sealing material 194 is filled in the space 193.

As described above, the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 are formed in a state where the sealing material 193 is applied to the upper surface of the first barrier wall 190a and the sealing material 193 is filled in the space 193. The first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 are bonded to each other by applying pressure in the aligned state. In this case, the sealing member 193 is cured by applying heat or ultraviolet rays while applying pressure to the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 to complete the electrophoretic display device.

Meanwhile, in the drawing, the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 are bonded by the sealing material 194, but in order to improve the bonding strength of the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140, It may be possible to form an adhesive layer made of an adhesive material.

Although not shown in the drawings, a color filter layer may be formed on the second substrate 140. This color filter layer is composed of R (Red), G (Green), B (Blue) color filter, and the color is realized when the electrophoretic material is composed of black particles and white particles.

In the above description, the structure of the electrophoretic display device is limited to a specific structure, but the electrophoretic display device of the present invention is not limited to the specific structure. In particular, various electrophoretic layers currently used as electrophoretic layers may be applied. That is, it may be applied to the electrophoretic layer of any structure that can be formed on the first substrate.

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.

Therefore, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements of those skilled in the art using the basic concept of the present invention defined in the following claims are also within the scope of the present invention.

120, 140: substrate 111: gate electrode
113: semiconductor layer 115: source electrode
116: drain electrode 118: pixel electrode
124: protective layer 142: common electrode
160: electrophoresis layer 164: white particles
165: black particles 180: partition wall
190a, 190b, 190c: Barrier grooves: 192
193: space 194: sealing material

Claims (19)

A first substrate including an image display region in which a plurality of pixels are arranged and a non-display region outside the image display region, and a second substrate corresponding to the first substrate;
A thin film transistor formed on each pixel on the first substrate;
A protective layer formed on the first substrate on which the thin film transistor is formed;
A pixel electrode formed for each pixel on the passivation layer;
A pixel electrode formed in the image display area on the protective layer;
Barrier ribs formed on the non-display area on the passivation layer;
An electrophoretic layer filled for each pixel defined by the partition wall;
A first barrier formed along the periphery of the first substrate;
At least one second barrier and a third barrier, which are formed along the outer periphery of the first substrate and are disposed at both sides of the first barrier to be spaced apart from the first barrier by a predetermined distance to form a space between the first barrier and the first barrier ;
A sealing material applied to the upper surface and the space of the first barrier to seal the first substrate and the second substrate; And
An electrophoretic display device comprising a common electrode formed on a second substrate. The method of claim 1, wherein the thin film transistor,
A gate electrode formed on the first substrate;
A semiconductor layer formed on the gate electrode; And
And a source electrode and a drain electrode formed on the semiconductor layer. The electrophoretic display device of claim 1, wherein the electrophoretic layer comprises at least one of white particles, black particles, and color particles. The electrophoretic display device of claim 3, wherein the electrophoretic layer further comprises a dispersion medium in which white particles, black particles, or color particles are dispersed. The electrophoretic display device of claim 4, wherein the dispersion medium is a transparent liquid medium or a color liquid medium. The electrophoretic display device of claim 1, wherein the first to third barriers are made of the same material as the barrier ribs. The electrophoretic display device of claim 1, wherein the height of the first to third barriers is about 1 to 100 μm. 8. An electrophoretic display device according to claim 7, wherein the height of the first to third barriers is 1 to 50 mu m. The electrophoretic display device according to claim 1, wherein the width of the first to third barriers is 10 to 5000 µm. 10. The electrophoretic display device according to claim 9, wherein the width of the first to third barriers is 100 to 1000 mu m. The electrophoretic display device of claim 1, wherein at least one groove is formed on an upper surface of the first barrier, and a sealing material is filled in the groove. Providing a first substrate and a second substrate including an image display area and an image non-display area;
Forming a thin film transistor in an image display area on the first substrate;
Forming a protective layer on the first substrate on which the thin film transistor is formed;
Forming a pixel electrode in the image display area on the protective layer;
Forming a partition wall defining a plurality of pixels in an image non-display area of the protective layer;
Forming a first barrier in an outer region of the first substrate;
Forming at least one second barrier and a third barrier on both sides of the first barrier in the outer region of the first substrate;
Filling an electrophoretic material into the pixel inside the partition wall;
Forming a common electrode on the second substrate;
Dropping a sealing material over the first barrier to apply a sealing material to the upper portion of the first barrier and the cavity between the first barrier and the second barrier and the third barrier; And
A method of manufacturing an electrophoretic display device, comprising: bonding a first substrate to a second substrate. The method of claim 12, wherein the barrier rib and the first barrier are simultaneously formed. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of filling the electrophoretic material is an electrophoretic material inside the partition wall using one of an inkjet method, a squeeze method, a casting printing method, a bar coating printing method, a screen printing method and a mold printing method. Electrophoretic display device manufacturing method comprising the step of filling. The method of claim 12, wherein the applying of the sealing material to the space between the barrier and the barrier using one of an inkjet method, squeeze method, casting printing method, bar coating printing method, screen printing method, mold printing method Electrophoretic display device manufacturing method comprising the step of filling. The method of claim 12, wherein the forming of the thin film transistor comprises:
Forming a gate electrode on the first substrate;
Forming a semiconductor layer on the gate electrode;
Forming a source electrode and a drain electrode on the semiconductor layer. The method of claim 12, wherein the electrophoretic material comprises at least one of white particles, black particles, and colored particles. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the electrophoretic material further comprises a dispersion medium in which white particles, black particles, or color particles are dispersed. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one groove is formed on an upper surface of the first barrier to fill a sealing material.

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