KR20020066757A - a reflective and transflective LCD and a method of fabricating thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: Reflective and transflective LCDs and a manufacturing method thereof are provided to improve the contact characteristics by forming a reflection plate on SiNx film for improving the electric characteristics of the liquid crystal panel. CONSTITUTION: In reflective LCDs, an array substrate includes a substrate(111), a data wire(127) and a gate wire perpendicularly intersecting each other on the substrate for defining pixel areas, switching elements formed each intersection points between the data and gate wires, a silicon insulating film serving as a first protection layer covering the switching elements and the data wire, reflection electrodes connected to the switching elements and positioned on the silicon insulating film on the pixel areas, and an insulating film serving as a second protection layer on the reflection electrodes. An array substrate of a transflective LCD further includes transparent pixel electrodes(157) on the pixel areas in contact with switching elements exposed partially, wherein the reflection electrodes include transmission holes(151) and the second protection layer(154) is patterned to expose the switching element partially.

Description

Reflective and transflective liquid crystal display and manufacturing method thereof {a reflective and transflective LCD and a method of fabricating

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and in particular, to a reflective liquid crystal display device using a reflection mode, and a reflective liquid crystal display device capable of selectively using a reflection mode and a transmission mode. device).

In general, the reflective liquid crystal display device does not need an additional light source device such as a back light because the light source can be replaced with an external light source.

The reflective transmissive liquid crystal display device has the functions of a transmissive liquid crystal display device and a reflective liquid crystal display device at the same time, and may use both a backlight light and an external natural light or artificial light source, thereby limiting the surrounding environment. It does not receive, there is an advantage that can reduce the power consumption (power consumption).

The structure and driving method of the liquid crystal display device will be described using, for example, the reflection-transmissive liquid crystal display device among the two types of liquid crystal display devices.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a general reflective transmissive color liquid crystal display device.

As illustrated, a general reflective transmissive liquid crystal display 11 includes a color filter 18 including a black matrix 16 and a sub color filter 17 and an upper substrate on which a transparent common electrode 13 is formed on the color filter. 15, a pixel electrode 19 in which the transmissive portion A and the reflecting portion C are formed at the same time in the pixel region P and the pixel region, and a lower substrate 21 in which the switching element T and the array wiring are formed. The liquid crystal 23 is filled between the upper substrate 15 and the lower substrate 21.

The lower substrate 21 is also referred to as an array substrate, and the thin film transistor T, which is a switching element, is positioned in a matrix type, and the gate wiring 25 and the data wiring 27 passing through the plurality of thin film transistors cross each other. Is formed.

In this case, the pixel area P is an area where the gate line 25 and the data line 27 cross each other.

In the above configuration, if the transparent pixel electrode is removed and no transmission hole is formed in the reflective electrode or the reflecting plate, the structure of the reflective liquid crystal display device becomes rough.

2 is a schematic plan view showing some pixels of an array substrate for a reflective liquid crystal display device.

As shown in the drawing, the array substrate for a reflective liquid crystal display device is configured such that the gate line 25 and the data line 27 vertically intersect in a plane to define the pixel region P, and at the intersection of the two lines The switching element T is formed.

Generally, the switching element T is formed by forming a thin film transistor (TFT) composed of a gate electrode 32, a source electrode 33, a drain electrode 35, and an active layer 34. .

The pixel electrode 19 is positioned on the pixel region P, and contacts the drain electrode 35 of the thin film transistor to drive the liquid crystal (23 of FIG. 1).

In the reflective mode, the pixel electrode 19 is a reflective electrode and is formed using an opaque conductive metal having excellent reflectance. Such an opaque metal material may be, for example, an aluminum-based metal including aluminum (Al) and an aluminum alloy (for example, AlNd).

The operation mode of the reflective liquid crystal display device including the array substrate having such a configuration will be briefly described.

Since the light source of the reflection mode uses an external light source as described above, the light incident from the outside to the upper substrate (not shown) of the liquid crystal panel is reflected by the reflective electrode 19 formed on the array substrate 21 and is affected by the voltage. As the light passes through the aligned liquid crystal (not shown), the light is emitted in a state where the polarization state of the light is changed according to the birefringence characteristic of the liquid crystal.

In this way, the light exiting the liquid crystal (not shown) passes through the color filter (18 in FIG. 1) to color the color filter, thereby displaying a color of red / green / blue or a mixture of the colors.

The cross-sectional structure of the reflective liquid crystal display device having such a configuration will be described below with reference to FIG. 3.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III ′ of FIG. 2.

As shown, first, a gate electrode 32 and a gate wiring (25 in FIG. 2) are formed on the substrate 21, and the data wiring 27, the source electrode 33, and the drain electrode 35 are formed as described above. The gate insulating film 41 is formed between the gate electrode 32.

The active layer 34 overlaps the source electrode 33 and the drain electrode 35, respectively.

After forming the thin film transistor T including each electrode and the active layer, a protective layer 43 made of an insulating material for protecting the thin film transistor is formed.

In this case, the protective layer 43 is formed by applying a benzocyclobutene (BCB) and an acrylic resin as a transparent insulating material.

Next, the protective layer 43 is patterned to form a drain contact hole 45 exposing a portion of the drain electrode 35, and through this, the reflective electrode 19 contacting the drain electrode 35 is formed. Configure.

In this case, as described above, the reflective electrode is formed by depositing an aluminum-based (Al or AlNd) reflective electrode and then patterning the reflective electrode.

In this manner, a conventional array substrate for a reflective liquid crystal display device can be manufactured.

Hereinafter, the configuration and manufacturing process of the array substrate of the conventional reflective transmissive liquid crystal display device will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

4 is a partial plan view of an array substrate for a conventional transmissive liquid crystal display device.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the reflective transmissive liquid crystal display, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the transmissive portion A and the reflective portion B are simultaneously present in the pixel region P to operate in both the reflective mode and the transmissive mode. Structure.

The means used to define the reflecting portion and the transmitting portion may be formed directly on or below the reflective electrode (or reflecting plate) 19a including the transmission hole 51 and the reflective electrode 19a or the reflection It consists of the transparent pixel electrode 19b which may be formed through the insulating layer (not shown) between the electrode 19a.

The cross-sectional structure of such a structure is demonstrated below in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV ′ of FIG. 4. (See FIG. 4.)

First, the thin film transistor T including the gate electrode 32, the source electrode 33, and the drain electrode 35 is formed on the substrate 21, and then the first passivation layer 43 is formed on the thin film transistor. To form.

The first protective layer 43 is formed by applying a transparent organic insulating material such as benzocyclobutene (BCB) and acrylic resin (Acrylic resin).

Next, the drain contact hole 45 exposing a part of the drain electrode 35 of the thin film transistor T is formed, and at the same time, the position of the transmission hole (51 in FIG. 4) formed in the pixel region P is formed. The protective layer 43 in a portion corresponding to the portion is etched from the surface toward the substrate to form an etching groove 53. (The etching groove has the same traveling distance of the light traveling through the reflecting portion and the transmitting portion within the liquid crystal panel. In this case, a liquid crystal panel having a clear image can be obtained because the color purity and transmittance of the light emitted from the reflecting portion and the transmitting portion are the same, in which case the etching groove 53 may not be formed. There is also.)

Next, the reflection is positioned on the pixel region P while contacting the drain electrode 35 through the drain contact hole 45 and includes a transmission hole 51 at a position corresponding to the etch groove 53. The electrode 19a is formed.

In this case, the reflective electrode is formed by depositing an aluminum-based metal by a predetermined method.

Next, one of an insulating material group including a silicon nitride film (SiN _X ) and a silicon oxide film (SiO ₂ ) is formed on the reflective electrode 19a as the second protective layer 47, and then patterned to form the drain contact hole. The reflective electrode 19a of the part which contacts the drain electrode 35 via 45 is exposed by predetermined area.

Next, the transparent pixel electrode 19b is formed to be positioned on the pixel region P while contacting the reflective electrode 19a exposed between the patterned second protective layers 47.

By such a process, a conventional array substrate for a reflective transmissive liquid crystal display device can be manufactured.

In order to fabricate the above-described conventional reflective and reflective array substrates, a plurality of exposure masks (not shown) for patterning the respective components of the array substrate are required, and for accurate alignment of the exposure mask and the substrate, At the same time as the process of forming the gate wiring or the data wiring, an align key having an uneven shape is formed at the outside of the substrate.

Therefore, the sensing device irradiates light onto the surface of the alignment key, senses the light reflected by the uneven alignment key, and accurately aligns the mask with the substrate.

However, the reflection type and the reflection type liquid crystal display device manufactured according to the conventional method having the configuration as described above have the following problems.

First, both the reflective and reflective transmissive liquid crystal panels have a structure in which an aluminum-based reflective electrode is formed on the organic insulating layer, that is, the BCB layer.

In this case, since the BCB film and the reflective electrode generally have poor contact characteristics, when a deposition failure occurs, the reflective electrode is not stably deposited on the BCB film, thereby deteriorating the electrical characteristics of the liquid crystal panel.

Second, when the sputtering method is used for the reflective electrode formed on the BCB film, electrons with acceleration are deposited on the BCB film while leaving the surface particles of the BCB to generate BCB particles in the deposition chamber.

The BCB particles will contaminate the chamber and act as contaminants in the next process.

Third, since the BCB film is deposited to planarize the substrate, the alignment key of the concave-convex shape at the bottom cannot be detected by the sensing device.

Therefore, there is a problem that alignment error between the mask and the substrate occurs during the exposure process for patterning the reflective electrode.

The present invention for solving the problems described above, propose a structure that does not form a reflective electrode on the BCB film, improve the electrical characteristics of the liquid crystal panel, solve the alignment key recognition problem of the liquid crystal panel The aim is to improve the yield.

1 is a view schematically showing a liquid crystal panel for a transflective liquid crystal display device,

2 is a plan view schematically showing a part of an array substrate for a reflective liquid crystal display device;

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III ′ of FIG. 2;

4 is a plan view schematically illustrating a part of an array substrate for a reflective transmissive liquid crystal display device;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV ′ of FIG. 4;

6A through 6C are cross-sectional views taken along the line III-III ′ of FIG. 2 and shown in the process sequence of the present invention.

7A to 7E are cross-sectional views taken along the line VV ′ of FIG. 4 and shown in a process sequence.

8 is a cross-sectional view of an array substrate for a reflective transmissive liquid crystal display device according to a second example of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing>

127: data wiring 132: gate electrode

133: source electrode 134: active layer

135: drain electrode 151: etching groove

154 second protective layer 157 transparent electrode

An array substrate for a reflective liquid crystal display device according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a substrate; A data line and a gate line intersecting each other perpendicularly to each other on the substrate to define a pixel area; A switching element configured at an intersection point of the gate line and the data line; A silicon insulating film as a first protective layer covering the switching element and the data wiring; A reflective electrode connected to the switching element and positioned in the silicon insulating layer on the pixel region; And a second protective layer which is an insulating film formed on the reflective electrode.

The reflective electrode is formed of one selected from a group of conductive metals composed of aluminum (Al) having excellent reflectance and an aluminum-based alloy.

The switching element is a thin film transistor including a gate electrode, a source electrode and a drain electrode, and an active layer.

The first protective layer is preferably formed of a silicon nitride film (SiN _X ).

The second protective layer is formed of one selected from the group of organic insulating materials consisting of benzocyclobutene (BCB) and acrylic resin.

An array substrate manufacturing method for a reflective liquid crystal display device according to an aspect of the present invention includes the steps of preparing a substrate; Forming a data line and a gate line on the substrate to intersect the insulating layer therebetween to define a pixel area; Forming a switching element at an intersection point of the gate line and the data line; Forming a first protective layer by forming a silicon insulating film covering the switching element and the data wiring; Forming a reflective electrode on the silicon nitride film on the pixel region, connected to the switching element; Forming a second protective layer as an insulating layer on the reflective electrode.

Reflective array substrate according to another aspect of the present invention is a substrate; A data line and a gate line intersecting each other perpendicularly to each other on the substrate to define a pixel area; A switching element configured at an intersection point of the gate line and the data line; A silicon insulating film as a first protective layer covering the switching element and the data wiring; A reflection electrode connected to the switching element and positioned in the silicon insulating layer on the pixel region and including a transmission hole; A second protective layer formed over the reflective electrode and patterned to expose a portion of the switching element; And a transparent pixel electrode formed on the pixel area in contact with a part of the exposed switching element.

The switching element is a thin film transistor including a gate electrode, a source electrode and a drain electrode, and an active layer.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an array substrate for a transflective liquid crystal display device, the method including: preparing a substrate; Forming a data line and a gate line on the substrate to vertically cross each other to define a pixel area; Forming a switching element at an intersection point of the gate line and the data line; Forming a silicon insulating film which is a first protective layer covering the switching element and the data wiring; Forming a reflective electrode connected to the switching element, the reflective electrode being disposed on the silicon nitride film on the pixel region and including a transmission hole; Forming a second protective layer formed over the reflective electrode and patterned to expose a portion of the switching element; And forming a transparent pixel electrode formed on the pixel area in contact with the switching element exposed to the part.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a reflective array substrate and a structure of a reflective array substrate manufactured by the method will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C.

6A to 6C are cross-sectional views taken along the line III-III ′ of FIG. 2 according to the process sequence. (In the case of the same reference numerals, 100 is added to the reference numerals of FIG. 2.)

First, as shown in FIG. 6A, one selected from the group of conductive metals including aluminum (Al), aluminum alloy, molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu), tungsten (W), chromium (Cr), and the like on a substrate. Is deposited and patterned to form a gate wiring (25 in FIG. 2) and a gate electrode 132.

In this case, when the gate electrode 132 and the gate wiring 25 (in FIG. 2) are made of aluminum, a structure in which a conductive metal for protecting the aluminum wiring is protected may be stacked.

Next, an inorganic insulating material group composed of a silicon oxide film (SiO ₂ ) and a silicon nitride film (SiN _x ) on the entire surface of the substrate 111 having the gate wiring (25 of FIG. 2) and the gate electrode 132. Accordingly, the gate insulating layer 141 is formed by depositing or applying one selected from the group of organic insulating materials including benzocyclobutene, acryl resin, and the like.

A pure amorphous silicon layer and an impurity amorphous silicon layer are stacked and patterned on the gate insulating layer 141 to form a semiconductor layer 134 in an island shape on the gate electrode 132.

Next, the conductive metal material as described above is deposited on the entire surface of the substrate 111 on which the semiconductor layer 134 is formed, and then patterned to cross the gate line 25 in FIG. A data line 127 defining P of FIG. 2, a source electrode 133 connected to the data line 127, and a drain electrode 135 spaced apart from each other are formed.

As a result, a gate wiring (25 in FIG. 2) and a data wiring 127 are formed on the substrate 111, and a structure in which the thin film transistor T is formed at a point where the two wirings intersect is obtained.

Although not illustrated, an alignment key having an uneven shape is formed on the outer side of the substrate during the process of forming the gate wiring (25 of FIG. 2) or the process of forming the data wiring 127.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, the first protective layer 143 is deposited by depositing a silicon nitride film SiN _X (or silicon oxide film SiO ₂ ) on the entire surface of the substrate 111 on which the thin film transistor T is formed. ) And then patterned to form a drain contact hole 145 exposing a portion of the drain electrode 135.

Since the first protective layer 143 is thinner than the organic insulating layer, the first protective layer 143 is deposited as it is along the irregularities of the alignment key.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6C, a conductive metal material such as aluminum (Al) and an aluminum alloy having low resistance and excellent reflectance is deposited and patterned on the substrate 111 on which the drain contact hole 145 is formed. The reflective electrode 147 in contact with the drain electrode 135 is formed.

At this time, unlike the conventional process of depositing and photographing aluminum (Al) to form the reflective electrode 147, the alignment key (not shown) is easily detected.

Therefore, no process defect occurs due to misalignment between the mask and the substrate during the process of forming the reflective electrode.

Next, an organic insulating layer is coated on the substrate on which the reflective electrode is formed to form a second protective layer 149 to planarize the surface.

In this manner, an array substrate for a reflective liquid crystal display device according to the present invention can be manufactured.

As described above, when the silicon nitride film SiN _X is formed below the reflective electrode 147, the conduction characteristics of the active channel layer 134 between the source electrode 133 and the drain electrode 135 are reduced. As a result, contact characteristics between the reflective electrode 147 and the first passivation layer 143 may be improved, thereby improving electrical characteristics of the liquid crystal panel.

-Second Example-

7A to 7D are cross-sectional views illustrating a manufacturing process of an array substrate for a transflective liquid crystal display device according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and are cut along the line VV ′ of FIG. (In the case of the same element, 100 is added to the number in FIG. 4).

First, since FIG. 7A is the same as the thin film transistor forming process of the reflective liquid crystal display, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As illustrated, a thin film transistor T including the gate electrode 132, the source and drain electrodes 133 and 135, and the active layer 134 is formed on the substrate 111, and the gate wiring 25 (in FIG. 4) is formed. The data line 127 is formed to intersect with each other vertically to define the pixel region P. FIG.

The data line is formed with the gate line and the insulating layer 141 interposed therebetween.

Although not shown, an alignment key (not shown) necessary for a photolithography process is formed at the edge of the substrate during the process of forming the gate wiring or the process of forming the data wiring.

In this case, the alignment key is formed of an unevenness, and irradiates light such as a laser to the alignment key to sense light reflected through the unevenness, thereby aligning a mask and a substrate. It is a means to.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, a silicon nitride film is formed on the entire surface of the substrate 111 on which the thin film transistor T including the gate electrode 132, the source electrode, the drain electrode 133, 135, and the active layer 134 is formed. (SiN _X ) is deposited to form the first protective layer 149.

Since the first passivation layer 141 is thinner than the organic insulating layer, the first passivation layer 141 is deposited along the irregularities of the alignment keys.

Subsequently, the first protective layer 149 is patterned to form a first drain contact hole 150a exposing a part of the drain electrode 135.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7C, after the aluminum-based metal is deposited on the patterned first passivation layer, the reflector plate 153 includes a transmission hole 151 in a portion corresponding to the pixel region. ).

At this time, unlike the conventional process of depositing and photographing aluminum to form the reflective plate 153, the alignment key (not shown) is easily detected.

Therefore, the process defect due to the alignment error between the mask and the substrate does not occur during the process of forming the reflective plate 153.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7D, one selected from the group of organic insulating materials including transparent benzocyclobutene (BCB), an acrylic resin, and the like is deposited on the entire surface of the substrate 111 on which the reflective plate 153 is formed. The protective layer 154 is formed.

Next, a second drain contact hole 150b exposing the drain electrode 135 by etching the organic insulating layer corresponding to the first drain contact hole (150a of FIG. 7C) and the transmission hole 151. The second passivation layer 154 at the position corresponding to is etched to form an etching groove 155. (The first passivation layer may be etched at the same time.)

Next, as shown in FIG. 7E, transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) and indium zinc oxide (IZO) are formed on the entire surface of the substrate 111 on which the patterned second protective layer 154 is formed. A selected one of the conductive groups is deposited and patterned to form a transparent pixel electrode 157 in contact with the exposed drain electrode 135.

In this manner, an array substrate for a reflective transmissive liquid crystal display device according to the present invention can be manufactured.

In the above-described process, a process of exposing the final drain electrode by separately etching the first protective layer and the second protective layer, as shown in FIG. 8, the first protective layer 149 and the second protective layer. The drain contact hole 155 may be formed using a method of simultaneously etching the 159.

Therefore, the array substrate for the reflective and reflective transmissive liquid crystal display device according to the present invention has the following characteristics.

First, since the reflective plate is formed on the silicon nitride film, the contact property is good, and thus the electrical property of the liquid crystal panel is improved.

Second, since the alignment key for patterning the reflective plate can be used, process defects due to misalignment between the mask and the array substrate do not occur, thereby improving the production yield of the liquid crystal panel.

Third, since the organic film particles are not generated by the deposited metal because the metal is not deposited on the organic film, process defects caused by the particles can be prevented, thereby improving the production yield.

Claims (10)

A substrate; A data line and a gate line intersecting each other perpendicularly to each other on the substrate to define a pixel area; A switching element configured at an intersection point of the gate line and the data line; A silicon insulating film as a first protective layer covering the switching element and the data wiring; A reflective electrode connected to the switching element and positioned in the silicon insulating layer on the pixel region; A second protective layer which is an insulating film formed on the reflective electrode Array substrate for a reflective liquid crystal display device comprising a. The method of claim 1, And the reflective electrode is formed of one selected from the group consisting of a conductive metal group composed of aluminum (Al) and an aluminum-based alloy having excellent reflectance. The method of claim 1, And the switching element is a thin film transistor comprising a gate electrode, a source electrode and a drain electrode, and an active layer. The method of claim 1, The first protective layer is a silicon nitride film (SiN _X ) array substrate for a reflective liquid crystal display device. The method of claim 1, The second protective layer is one selected from the group of organic insulating materials consisting of benzocyclobutene (BCB) and acrylic resin (resin) array substrate for a reflective liquid crystal display device. A substrate; A data line and a gate line intersecting each other perpendicularly to each other on the substrate to define a pixel area; A switching element configured at an intersection point of the gate line and the data line; A silicon insulating film as a first protective layer covering the switching element and the data wiring; A reflection electrode connected to the switching element and positioned in the silicon insulating layer on the pixel region and including a transmission hole; A second protective layer formed over the reflective electrode and patterned to expose a portion of the switching element; A transparent pixel electrode formed on the pixel area in contact with the part of which the exposed part is exposed Array substrate for a transmissive liquid crystal display device comprising a. The method of claim 6, And the switching element is a thin film transistor comprising a gate electrode, a source electrode and a drain electrode, and an active layer. The method of claim 6, And the reflective electrode is formed of one selected from the group consisting of a conductive metal group composed of aluminum (Al) and an aluminum alloy having excellent reflectance. The method of claim 6, The first protective layer is a silicon nitride film (SiN _x ) array substrate for a reflective liquid crystal display device. The method of claim 6, The second protective layer is one selected from the group of organic insulating materials consisting of benzocyclobutene (BCB) and acrylic resin (resin) array substrate for a reflective liquid crystal display device.