KR20060018673A - Thin film transistor array panel - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, a thin film transistor array panel includes a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines insulated from and intersecting the gate lines, and a pixel electrode, a gate line, a data line, and a pixel electrode formed in a pixel region defined by the gate line and the data line. A third thin film transistor connected to the first repair part overlapping one end of the data line, a second repair part overlapping the first repair part, and a third repair part electrically connected to the second repair part and made of the same material on the same layer as the data line. A repair ship comprising a repair part and a fourth repair part overlapping the other end of the data line and the third repair part.

Thin film transistor, repair line

Description

Thin film transistor array panel

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a structure of a thin film transistor array panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part A of the thin film transistor array panel of FIG. 1 and is a layout view of one pixel of the display area,

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

4 is an enlarged layout view of a portion B of the thin film transistor array panel of FIG. 1;

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

FIG. 6 is an enlarged layout view of a portion C of the thin film transistor array panel of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VII-VII ′ of FIG. 6;

8 is a diagram illustrating in detail a method of repairing a signal line in a thin film transistor array panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

※ Code explanation about main part of drawing ※

110: insulated substrate 121: gate line

161 to 167: repair line 131: sustain electrode line                 

151 semiconductor layer 171 data line

175: drain electrode 190: pixel electrode

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

The liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal layer having an anisotropy dielectric constant having an electric field generating electrode for generating an electric field and injected into two gaps between the two display panels and the two display panels separated by a predetermined gap. Such a liquid crystal display generates an electric field in the liquid crystal layer by applying a voltage to the field generating electrode, and displays an image by controlling the transmittance of light passing through the liquid crystal layer by adjusting the intensity of the electric field depending on the magnitude of the voltage.

Among the liquid crystal display devices currently used mainly, a plurality of pixel electrodes are provided on one display panel, and one common electrode is formed on the entire surface of the other display panel. The liquid crystal display displays an image by switching a voltage applied to a pixel electrode using a thin film transistor, which is a three-terminal element, and a display panel provided with the pixel electrode and the thin film transistor is called a thin film transistor display panel.

In general, a gate line and a data line are provided on one of two display panels to supply a signal to a thin film transistor, and these signal lines are often disconnected in the process of manufacturing the display panel. One of the various methods for repairing such open defects is to provide a repair ring in the form of a ring that intersects each of the data lines and the gate line to receive a signal applied to the disconnected data line or gate line. By passing through the repair line to the outside of the display area.

This method increases the resistance of the wiring due to the bypass of the display area.

The storage electrode overlapping the pixel electrode to form the storage capacitor is electrically connected to one end by one common signal line, and a common voltage is mostly transmitted. Therefore, part of the common wire is used as a short point for applying a signal to the common electrode of the upper panel. Therefore, when the repair line is formed on the same layer as the sustain signal line, the repair line must be bypassed to the outside of the contact, thereby increasing the resistance of the repair line. As such, when the resistance of the repair line is increased, the display characteristics of the defective pixels are faint than those of other portions, and thus the pixel defects cannot be completely solved.

In addition, the repair line is formed adjacent to the grinding line because it is formed at the edge of the substrate, there is a problem that the repair line may be damaged by grinding when the line width of the repair line is increased to reduce the resistance of the repair line.

The present invention for solving the above problems provides a thin film transistor array panel having a repair line that can minimize the signal delay without being damaged when grinding.

A thin film transistor array panel according to the present invention for achieving the above object includes a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines insulated from and intersecting the gate lines, a pixel electrode formed in a pixel region defined by the gate lines and the data lines, and a gate line. , A thin film transistor connected to the data line and the pixel electrode, a first repair unit overlapping one end of the data line, a second repair unit overlapping the first repair unit, and a layer electrically connected to the second repair unit And a repair ship made of a third repair part made of the same material and a fourth repair part overlapping the other end of the data line and the third repair part.

The display device may further include a plurality of storage electrode lines overlapping the pixel electrodes to form a storage capacitor, and a common signal line which is formed in parallel with the third repair unit, and commonly connects the plurality of storage electrode lines.

In addition, the first and fourth repair parts are preferably formed in the same layer with the same material as the gate line.

Here, the gate line, the first and fourth repair parts include a first conductive film made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and a second conductive film made of one of chromium, molybdenum, tantalum, titanium, or an alloy thereof above or below the first conductive film. It is preferable.

Further, the second repair portion is preferably formed on the same layer with the same material as the data line.

Here, the data line, the second and third repair parts may include a second conductive film made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and first and third parts made of one of chromium, molybdenum, tantalum, titanium, or an alloy thereof on the upper and lower portions of the second conductive film. It is preferable to include a conductive film.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

In the drawings, the thickness of layers, films, panels, regions, etc., are exaggerated for clarity. Like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the specification. When a part of a layer, film, area, plate, etc. is over another part, this includes not only the part directly above the other part but also another part in the middle. On the contrary, when a part is just above another part, it means that there is no other part in the middle.

Next, a thin film transistor array panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is an equivalent circuit schematically illustrating a structure of a thin film transistor array panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a thin film transistor array panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is defined by the intersection of a plurality of gate lines 121 extending in a horizontal direction and a plurality of data lines 171 extending in a vertical direction. A plurality of pixel areas to be divided are divided into a display area D for displaying an image and a peripheral area except the display area D. FIG.                     

Each pixel area of the display area D may include a thin film transistor (not shown in FIG. 2) and a thin film transistor connected to the plurality of gate lines 121 and the data lines 171, respectively. A pixel electrode (refer to FIG. 2) is electrically connected to the data line 171. In addition, a storage electrode line 131 is formed between the adjacent gate lines 121, and one end of the storage electrode line 131 is electrically connected in common by a common signal line 131A. The storage electrode line 131 overlaps the pixel electrode to form the storage capacitor Cst.

Next, a plurality of gate lines 121 or a plurality of data lines 171 extend in the peripheral region, and ends of the plurality of gate lines 121 or 171 extend beyond the width of the gate lines or data lines to receive external signals from the driving circuit. Used as an input pad. These pads are clustered by a certain number, and the clustered portions are referred to as pad portions P to facilitate explanation.

In the peripheral area adjacent to the display area D, a plurality of repair lines for bypassing signals transmitted through the gate lines and the data lines 121 and 171 when they are disconnected / shorted to the outside of the display area D to transmit signals. Is formed.

Each repair line 61 to 67 is formed on a substrate and is formed of a plurality of thin film patterns formed on different layers, and is connected to a dummy line formed on a printed circuit board.

That is, the repair line may include first repair parts 61 and 62 intersecting one end of the data line 171 on the thin film transistor array panel, and a printed circuit board for supplying a driving signal for driving the thin film transistor array panel from the outside. second repair parts 63 and 64 electrically connected to dummy lines (not shown) formed on a circuit board (not shown) and intersecting with the first repair parts 61 and 62, and a printed circuit. The third repair parts 65 and 66 which are electrically connected to the dummy lines of the substrate and intersect the other ends of the third repair parts 65 and 66 and the data lines 171 formed on the right and lower sides of the thin film transistor array panel, and part of the third repair parts 65 and 66. ), And a fourth repair part 67 intersecting with (). The repair line for repairing the gate line 121 also includes various repair units similar to the above-described configuration.

In order to facilitate the explanation of the repair line according to the present invention, one pixel of the display area is first described.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the thin film transistor array panel of FIG. 1 and a layout view of one pixel of the display area, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III ′ of FIG. 2.

First, one pixel will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the gate line 121 and the storage electrode line 131 are formed on the insulating substrate 110 in one direction.

The gate line 121 and the storage electrode line 131 extend in one direction and are separated from each other. The gate line 121 transmits a gate signal, and a part of each gate line 121 protrudes and is used as the gate electrode 124. The storage electrode line 131 receives a predetermined voltage such as a common voltage, and one end thereof is electrically connected in common by the common signal line 131A (see FIG. 1).                     

The gate line 121 and the storage electrode line 131 are formed of the first conductive films 121a, 124a, and 311a and the second conductive films 121b, 124b, and 312a.

The first and second conductive layers 121 and 131 may be formed of an aluminum-based metal such as aluminum (Al) or an aluminum alloy, and other materials, in particular, indium tin oxide (ITO), in addition to the first conductive layer. Or chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta), molybdenum (Mo) or alloys thereof having good physical, chemical and electrical contact properties with indium zinc oxide (IZO). [Molybdenum-Tungsten (MoW) alloys A double layer of second conductive films 121b, 124b, and 312a. Examples of the combination of the first and second conductive films include a chromium (Cr) / aluminum-neodymium (AlNd) alloy or molybdenum (Mo) / aluminum-neodymium (AlNd).

At this time, the molybdenum or chromium film is formed to a thickness of 500 kPa, and the aluminum-neodymium film is formed to a thickness of 2,500 kPa.

Sides of the gate line 121 and the storage electrode line 131 are formed to be tapered, and the tapered shape is formed so that the layers formed thereon can be in close contact with each other. And their sides are formed to be inclined, which increases the adhesion with the upper layer.

A gate insulating layer 140 made of silicon nitride (SiNx) is formed on the gate line 121 and the storage electrode line 131.

A linear semiconductor 151 made of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (amorphous silicon is abbreviated a-Si) or the like is formed on the gate insulating layer 140. The linear semiconductor 151 extends mainly in the longitudinal direction, from which an extension 154 extends toward the gate electrode 124.

On top of the semiconductor 151, linear and island ohmic contacts 161 and 165 made of a material such as n + hydrogenated amorphous silicon doped with silicide or n-type impurities at a high concentration are formed. The linear contact member 161 has a protrusion 163, and the protrusion 163 and the island contact member 165 are paired and positioned on the protrusion 154 of the semiconductor 151. Side surfaces of the semiconductors 151 and 154 and the ohmic contacts 161 and 165 are also inclined.

The ohmic contacts 161 and 165 exist only between the semiconductors 151 and 154 below and the data line 171 and the drain electrode 175 above and serve to lower the contact resistance. The linear semiconductor 151 has an exposed portion between the source electrode 173 and the drain electrode 175 and is not covered by the data line 171 and the drain electrode 175, and in most places, the linear semiconductor 151 is provided. Is smaller than the width of the data line 171. The semiconductors 151 and 154 may be wider at portions where the semiconductors 151 and 154 meet the gate line 121 to enhance insulation between the gate line 121 and the data line 171.

A plurality of data lines 171 and a drain electrode 175 are formed on the ohmic contacts 161 and 165 and the gate insulating layer 140.

The data line 171 and the drain electrode 175 are formed of the first conductive films 171a, 173a, and 175a, the second conductive films 171b, 173b, and 175b, and the third conductive films 171c, 173c, and 175c. have. Among the first to third conductive films 171a, 171b, 171c, 173a, 173b, 173c, 175a, 175b, and 175c, the second conductive films 171b, 173b, and 175b are made of aluminum, such as aluminum (Al) or aluminum alloy. The first and third conductive layers 171a, 171c, 173a, 173c, 175a, and 175c have a good physical, chemical, and electrical contact property with indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO). Chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta), molybdenum (Mo) or alloys thereof (eg, molybdenum-tungsten (MoW) alloys).

Examples of the combination of the first to third conductive films are formed such that molybdenum / aluminum-neodymium / molybdenum is placed in the middle of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The thickness of the first conductive film is 500 kPa, the second conductive film is 2,500 kPa, and the third conductive film is 1,000 kPa.

Sides of the data line 171 and the drain electrode 175 are formed to be tapered, and the tapered shape is formed so that the layers formed thereon can be in close contact with each other.

Each data line 171 crosses the gate line 121 and transmits a data voltage. A branch extending from the data line 171 toward the drain electrode 175 forms a source electrode 173.

The pair of source electrode 173 and the drain electrode 175 are separated from each other and positioned opposite to the gate electrode 124. The drain electrode 175 overlaps with a portion of the storage electrode line 131, but may not be. One end of the data line 171 is extended to serve as a pad for receiving an external signal.

The gate electrode 124, the source electrode 173, and the drain electrode 175 form a thin film transistor (TFT) together with the protrusion 154 of the semiconductor 151, and a channel of the thin film transistor is a source. A protrusion 154 is formed between the electrode 173 and the drain electrode 175.

On the data line 171, the drain electrode 175, and the exposed portion of the semiconductor 154, an organic material having excellent planarization characteristics and photosensitivity, and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), is formed. 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, which is an inorganic material, is formed.

The contact hole 185 is formed in the passivation layer 180. A pixel electrode 190 made of ITO or IZO is 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 to receive a data voltage from the drain electrode 175. The pixel electrode 190 to which the data voltage is applied rearranges the liquid crystal molecules between the two electrodes by generating an electric field together with a common electrode of another display panel. The pixel electrode 190 overlaps with the neighboring data line 171 to increase the aperture ratio, but may not overlap.

Next, a repair ship according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and 4 to 7.

4 is an enlarged layout view of a portion B of the thin film transistor array panel of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV ′ of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged portion C of the thin film transistor array panel of FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VII-VII ′ of FIG. 6.                     

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the first repair parts 61 and 62 are positioned outside the display area D of the data line 171 and elongate in a direction parallel to the gate line 121. 4 and 5, the first repair parts 61 and 62 respectively overlap one end of the data line 171 at each pad part P, and are identical to the same layer as the gate line 121. It is made of material. That is, like the gate line 121, the first conductive layers 61a and 62a and the second conductive layers 61b and 62b are formed.

One end of the second repair parts 63 and 64 is insulated from and overlapped with the first repair parts 61 and 62, and the dummy line formed on the printed circuit board and the other end are electrically connected to each other. The second repair parts 63 and 64 are formed of the same material on the same layer as the data line 171. That is, like the data line 171, the first conductive films 63a and 64a, the second conductive films 63b and 64b, and the third conductive films 63c and 64c are formed.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the third repair parts 65 and 66 having one end electrically connected to the dummy line of the printed circuit board are bent at the edge of the substrate 110 to have an L shape. And partially overlaps with the fourth repair part 67 across the common signal line 131A. The fourth repair part 67 overlaps the other end of the data line 171.

As such, since the fourth repair parts 65 and 66 are formed of the same material as the data line 171, the fourth repair parts 65 and 66 cross the common signal line 131A without bypassing the contact 131B formed of the same material as the gate line 121. Can be formed to reduce the overall length of the repair line.                     

The third repair parts 65 and 66 are formed of the same material on the same layer as the data line, and include the first to third conductive films 65a, 66a, 65b, 66b, 65c and 66c, and the fourth repair part 67. ) Is formed of the same material on the same layer as the gate line 121 to be formed of the first and second conductive films 67a and 67b.

As described above, the data line 171 is formed of a triple layer and has a smaller resistance value than the gate line formed of the double layer. Therefore, since the third repair parts 65 and 66, which are longest in the repair ship, are formed of the same material as the data line 171, the resistance value of the entire repair ship is reduced.

Repairing the data line using the repair line according to the present invention described above will be described with reference to FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating repairing of disconnection of one data line in a thin film transistor array panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 8, when a portion of the data line is disconnected (O), the portions S1 at which the first repair portion 61 and the data line 171 cross each other are laser-produced (62, 171). Are short-circuited with each other, and the laser beam is irradiated to the portion S2 where the first repair part 62 and the second repair part 63 cross each other to short-circuit them 62 and 63.

Then, the portion S3 where the fourth repair portion 67 and the data line 171 cross is irradiated with a laser to short-circuit them 67 and 171, and the third repair portion 65 and the fourth repair portion ( The section S4 where 67) intersects is shorted. Then, the signal transmitted to the data line 171 where the disconnection has occurred is bypassed along the repair parts 62, 63, 65, 67 and the printed circuit board formed outside the display area D along the direction of the arrow, and transmitted to all the pixels. do.

As described above, when the resistance of the repair ship is reduced, as in the embodiment of the present invention, it is not necessary to form a wide repair ship width in order to reduce the resistance of the repair ship, so that the grinding ship and the repair ship can maintain a certain distance, thereby repairing the repair ship at the time of grinding. This can be prevented from being damaged.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements of those skilled in the art using the basic concepts of the present invention defined in the following claims are also provided. It belongs to the scope of rights.

As described above, when the repair line is formed of the data line, the resistance of the entire repair line can be reduced, thereby preventing signal delay and the like. In addition, the process margin increases during grinding to provide a high quality thin film transistor array panel.

Claims (6)

A plurality of gate lines, A plurality of data lines insulated from and intersecting the gate lines; A pixel electrode formed in the pixel region defined by the gate line and the data line, A thin film transistor connected to the gate line, the data line and the pixel electrode, A first repair part overlapping one end of the data line, a second repair part overlapping the first repair part, and a third repair part electrically connected to the second repair part and made of the same material on the same layer as the data line And a repair line including a second repair portion overlapping the other end of the data line and the third repair portion. In claim 1, The thin film transistor array panel of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of storage electrode lines overlapping the pixel electrode to form a storage capacitor, and a common signal line formed in parallel with the third repair unit and commonly connecting the plurality of storage electrode lines. In claim 1, And the first and fourth repair parts are formed on the same layer using the same material as the gate line. In claim 1, The second repair part is formed on the same layer of the same material as the data line. In claim 3, The gate line, the first and fourth repair parts, the first conductive film made of aluminum or aluminum alloy, And a second conductive layer formed of one of chromium, molybdenum, tantalum, titanium, or an alloy thereof, on or under the first conductive layer. The method of claim 1 or 4, The data line, the second and third repair portion, the second conductive film made of aluminum or aluminum alloy, A thin film transistor array panel including first and third conductive layers formed of one of chromium, molybdenum, tantalum, titanium, or an alloy thereof on upper and lower portions of the second conductive layer.

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