TWI403950B - Touch sensitive electronic paper display apparatus and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A touch sensitive electronic paper display apparatus includes a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate. The TFT substrate includes a substrate, a plurality of TFTs, a plurality first electrode lines and a plurality of second electrode lines. The TFTs, the first electrode lines and the second electrode lines are formed on the substrate. The first electrode lines and the second electrode lines extend to cross each other. The TFTs are electrically coupled to the respective first and second electrode lines. Each of at least a part of the second electrode lines and each of the first electrode lines cooperatively define an overlapped region therebetween where a gap is formed and the first and second electrode lines are electrically isolated to each other thereat. The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing the above-mentioned touch sensitive electronic paper display apparatus.

Description

Touch type electronic paper display device and manufacturing method thereof

The present invention relates to an electronic paper display device, and more particularly to a touch electronic paper display device and a method of fabricating the same.

Currently, computers are often used to process and store large amounts of data. However, due to its own size, weight and operation, the computer is difficult to carry and read as easily as paper printed matter. The electronic paper display device is proposed in consideration of the convenience of carrying and reading of the printed matter of the paper, the data processing capability of the computer, the environmental protection and the low power consumption. For details, see the US Patent Publication No. 20080062506, the disclosure of which is here. Reference. The electronic paper display device is a bi-stable display device, which mainly includes a microcapsules electrophoretic, a Gyricon Bead, and a Cholesteric Liquid Crystal electronic paper display device. Three types. For a bistable display device, when an image is written, it is no longer necessary to input additional power, and the image is always retained.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a conventional touch electronic paper display device 10 includes a thin film transistor substrate 11 , an electronic paper layer 12 , and a touch panel 13 . The electronic paper layer 12 is sandwiched between the thin film plasma substrate. Between the touch panel 13 and the touch panel 13, the touch panel 13 is attached to the electronic paper layer 12 for touch purposes. The thin film transistor substrate 11 generally includes a substrate, a plurality of gate lines formed on the substrate, a plurality of data lines intersecting the scan lines, and a scan line and a data line. a plurality of thin film transistors connected together and a plurality of pixel electrodes electrically connected to the thin film transistors, respectively. The scan lines, data lines, thin film transistors, and pixel electrodes are fabricated on the substrate using a semiconductor process.

However, in the above-described touch-sensitive electronic paper display device 10, since the touch panel 13 and the thin film transistor substrate 11 are manufactured by a separate process, the manufacturing cost of the entire touch-sensitive electronic paper display device 10 is caused to some extent. Relatively high.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a touch-sensitive electronic paper display device having a relatively low manufacturing cost.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a touch-sensitive electronic paper display device which has a relatively low manufacturing cost.

The present invention provides a touch-sensitive electronic paper display device comprising: a thin film transistor substrate, the thin film transistor substrate comprising a substrate and a plurality of thin film transistors formed on the substrate, a plurality of first electrode lines, and a plurality of a second electrode line intersecting the first electrode lines, the thin film transistor is electrically coupled to the first electrode line and the second electrode line; at least a portion of the overlapping positions of the second electrode line and the first electrode line respectively form a hollow structure and The at least a portion of the second electrode lines and the first electrode lines are electrically insulated from each other at the overlapping positions.

The invention further provides a method for manufacturing a touch-sensitive electronic paper display device, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a substrate; (b) forming a plurality of first electrode lines on the substrate; (c) forming a first layer on the substrate An insulating layer covering the first electrode lines; (d) forming a plurality of hole structures on the first insulating layer to partially expose the first electrode lines; (e) forming a second insulation in the hole structure a layer to cover the first electrode lines; (f) forming a plurality of second electrode lines crossing the first electrode lines on the first insulating layer; and forming a plurality of thin film transistors correspondingly, the thin film is electrically formed The crystal system is electrically coupled to the first electrode lines and the second electrode lines, and at least a portion of the second electrode lines overlap the first electrode lines at the position of the hole structures; and (g) by a wet etching process The second insulating layer is selectively etched to expose the first electrode lines.

According to the structural design of the thin film transistor substrate, a hollow structure is respectively formed at a position where at least part of the second electrode line and the first electrode line overlap, and when an external force is applied to the second electrode line, the second electrode line can be The lower bend is in contact with the first electrode line, so that the first electrode line and the second electrode line can respectively serve as the scanning line and the data line for performing the display function, and can also function as the touch panel function respectively. The first detecting line and the second detecting line intersecting each other; therefore, the touch type electronic paper device and the manufacturing method thereof provided by the present invention can have relatively low manufacturing costs.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more <RTIgt;

The above and other technical contents, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The directional terms mentioned in the following embodiments, such as up, down, left, right, front or back, etc., are only directions referring to the additional drawings. Therefore, the directional terminology used is for the purpose of illustration and not limitation.

Referring to FIG. 2, a touch-type electronic paper display device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a thin film transistor substrate 21 and an electronic paper layer 22 disposed on the thin film transistor substrate 21. The electronic paper layer 22 includes a a display layer (for example, an electrophoretic layer, a twisted ball layer or a cholesteric liquid crystal layer) (not shown) and a transparent electrode layer (not shown) on a side away from the thin film transistor substrate 21 .

Referring to FIG. 3, the thin film transistor substrate 21 includes a substrate 211, a plurality of thin film transistors 212 disposed on the substrate 211, an insulating layer 213, and a plurality of strips (FIG. 3 shows only two schematic representations) of the first electrode lines 214. And a plurality of strips (FIG. 3 shows two are only schematic) second electrode lines 216. The plurality of first electrode lines 214 and the plurality of second electrode lines 216 are disposed to intersect each other, and are electrically insulated from each other by an insulating layer 213 (for example, a silicon nitride (SiNx) layer) formed therebetween. The insulating layer 213 covers the plurality of first electrode lines 214, and the second electrode lines 216 are formed on the insulating layer 213. The plurality of first electrode lines 214 are disposed in parallel with each other along a first direction, and the plurality of second electrode lines 216 are disposed in parallel with each other along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction; the plurality of first electrode lines 214 are A hole structure 217 is formed around the overlapping positions 215 of the plurality of second electrode lines 216, respectively. In the present embodiment, the hole structure 217 is penetrated through the insulating layer 213. The plurality of thin film transistors 212 are electrically coupled to the first electrode line 214 and the second electrode line 216 adjacent thereto; specifically, the gate G of each of the thin film transistors 212 is electrically coupled to the same An adjacent first electrode line 214 is electrically coupled to a second electrode line 216 adjacent thereto, and a source S thereof is electrically coupled to a pixel electrode (not shown) show).

Referring to FIG. 4, the overlapping positions 215 of the plurality of second electrode lines 216 and the plurality of first electrode lines 214 are respectively formed with a hollow structure 2151 and electrically insulated from each other through the hollow structures 2151. The hollow structure 2151 is located within the cavity structure 217. The width of the portion of the plurality of first electrode lines 214 located at the position of the hole structure 217 along the length direction of the second electrode line 216 crossing the same (that is, the width direction of the first electrode line 214) is smaller than the length of the hole structure 217. The width W1; the highest top surface 2141 of the portion of the plurality of first electrode lines 214 located at the position of the hole structure 217 is not lower than the lowest bottom surface 2171 of the hole structure 217. A portion of the plurality of second electrode lines 214 located at the position of the hole structure 217 is recessed in the hole structure 217 and has a substantially U shape; when an external force is applied to the position, the second electrode line 216 can be bent downward. The first electrode line 214 is in contact with the conduction.

Referring to FIG. 5, the portion of the plurality of second electrode lines 216 located at the position of the hole structure 217 has a width smaller than the hole structure 217 along the length direction of the first electrode line 214 crossing the first electrode line 214 (that is, the width direction of the second electrode line 216). The width W2 along this length direction.

Referring to FIG. 6, a plurality of first electrode lines 214 are selectively electrically coupled to a gate driving circuit 25 and a first touch detecting circuit 27 through a first switching switch 23, and a plurality of second electrodes. The line 216 is selectively electrically coupled to a source driving circuit 26 and a second touch detecting circuit 28 via a second switch 24 . By utilizing the inherent bistable characteristic of the electronic paper display device, when the electronic image is required to be input, the plurality of first electrode lines 214 and the plurality of second electrode lines 216 are respectively electrically connected by the first and second switching switches 23, 24. The touch-type electronic paper display device 20 is in an image display state to perform a display function. At this time, the plurality of first electrode lines 214 and the plurality of second electrodes are coupled to the gate driving circuit 25 and the source driving circuit 26 Line 216 is used as a scan line and a data line, respectively. After the electronic image is written, the plurality of first electrode lines 214 and the plurality of second electrode lines 216 are electrically coupled to the first touch detection by the first and second switches 23 and 24, respectively. The circuit 27 and the second touch detection circuit 28 enable the touch-sensitive electronic paper display device 20 to be in a touch detection state to perform the touch panel function. At this time, the plurality of first electrode lines 214 and the plurality of second electrodes Line 216 is used as the first detection line and the second detection line, respectively.

It should be noted that the touch-sensitive electronic paper display device 20 of the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to each of the second electrode line 216 and the overlapping position 215 of the first electrode line 214 intersecting with each other to form a hollow structure 2151; It may also be formed with a hollow structure 2151 by only a portion of the second electrode line 216 and the overlapping position 215 of the first electrode line 214 crossing each other according to a specific requirement.

Referring to FIG. 7 to FIG. 11 , a manufacturing method of the touch-sensitive electronic paper display device 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be briefly described below, which may include the following steps.

Referring to FIG. 7, a substrate 211 is provided, which may be a flexible substrate or a rigid substrate (eg, a glass substrate); a plurality of first electrode lines 214 are formed on the substrate 211.

Referring to FIG. 8, an insulating layer 213a is formed on the substrate 211 to cover the first electrode line 214; the material of the insulating layer 213 may be nitrogen telluride (SiNx).

Referring to FIG. 9, a plurality of hole structures 217 are formed on the insulating layer 213a (hereinafter referred to as 213) to partially expose the plurality of first electrode lines 214. In this embodiment, the plurality of hole structures 217 are penetrated through the insulating layer 213. .

Referring to FIG. 10, a second insulating layer 213b is formed in the plurality of hole structures 217; the material of the second insulating layer 213b is different from the material of the insulating layer 213, and the thickness of the second insulating layer 213b is smaller than the depth of the hole structure 217.

Referring to FIG. 11, a plurality of second electrode lines 216 crossing the first electrode lines 214 are formed on the insulating layer 213, and a plurality of thin film transistors 212 (shown in FIG. 3) are formed correspondingly. The plurality of thin film transistors 212 are electrically coupled to the plurality of first electrode lines 214 and the plurality of second electrode lines 216, respectively, and at least a portion of the second electrode lines 216 overlap the first electrode lines 214 at the position of the hole structure 217. Since the thickness of the second insulating layer 213b is smaller than the depth of the hole structure 217, the portion of the at least part of the second electrode lines 216 located in the hole structure 217 is recessed in the hole structure 217. In addition, it is well known to those skilled in the art that a semiconductor layer (not shown) is formed on the insulating layer 213 as a channel layer of the plurality of thin film transistors 212 before the second electrode lines 216 are formed.

Thereafter, the second insulating layer 213b is selectively etched by a wet etching process to expose the first electrode lines 214, and the insulating layer 213 is not etched, thereby causing the at least a portion of the second electrode lines 216 and the first electrode. The overlapping positions 215 of the lines 214 respectively form a hollow structure 2151 (shown in FIG. 4), and a touch type electronic paper display device 20 can be manufactured. The second insulating layer 213b may be completely etched away or partially etched away, as long as the first electrode lines 214 are exposed.

In summary, in the embodiment of the present invention, by designing the structure of the thin film transistor substrate 21, a hollow structure 2151 is formed at an overlapping position 215 of at least a portion of the second electrode line 216 and the first electrode line 214, respectively, when an external force is applied. When the second electrode line 216 is on the second electrode line 216, the second electrode line 216 can be bent downward to be in contact with the first electrode line 214, so that the first electrode line 214 and the second electrode line 216 can respectively serve as mutually intersecting scans for performing display functions. In addition to the aiming line and the data line, the first detection line and the second detection line that cross each other to perform the function of the touch panel can also be respectively used; in other words, the first electrode line 214 is switchable as a scan. One of the aiming line and the first detecting line, and the second electrode line 216 is switchable as one of the data line and the second detecting line. Moreover, the touch-type electronic paper device 20 of the touch-type electronic paper device 20 can be manufactured by using a semiconductor process that is currently mature. Therefore, the touch-sensitive electronic paper device 20 and the manufacturing method thereof provided by the embodiments of the present invention can have relatively low manufacturing cost.

In addition, those skilled in the art may also appropriately change the structure of the first electrode line 214 and/or the second electrode line 216 in the foregoing embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, in the hole structure of the first electrode line 214. Portions of 217 (i.e., portions corresponding to overlapping locations 215) are formed with upwardly extending bumps 2142. Further, when the bump 2142 is sufficiently high, as shown in FIG. 13, the portion of the second electrode line 216 located in the hole structure 217 may not need to be recessed in the hole structure 217, that is, the second electrode line 216 is located in the hole structure. The portion of the portion 217 is straight (ie, flat), and the lower surface 2162 is coplanar with the upper surface 2132 of the insulating layer 213; accordingly, during the manufacturing process of the touch-sensitive electronic paper display device 20, The thickness of the second insulating layer 213b (see FIGS. 10 and 11) is set to be equal to the depth of the hole structure 217, rather than the depth of the hole structure 217 as described above. Of course, whether or not the bump 2142 shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 is provided may be determined according to actual needs; for example, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, when the second electrode line 216 is located at the portion of the hole structure 217. When it is set for the flat or convex, it can also be bent downward to be in contact with the first electrode line 214, and the bump 2142 can be omitted.

While the present invention has been described in its preferred embodiments, the present invention is not intended to limit the invention, and the present invention may be modified and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of protection is subject to the definition of the scope of the patent application.

10. . . Touch type electronic paper display device

11. . . Thin film transistor substrate

12. . . Electronic paper

13. . . Touch panel

20. . . Touch type electronic paper display device

twenty one. . . Thin film transistor substrate

twenty two. . . Electronic paper

211. . . Substrate

212. . . Thin film transistor

213, 213a. . . Insulation

2132. . . Upper surface of the insulating layer

213b. . . Second insulating layer

214. . . First electrode line

2141. . . The highest top surface of the first electrode line

2142. . . Bump

215. . . Overlapping position

2151. . . Hollow structure

216. . . Second electrode line

2162. . . Lower surface of the second electrode line

217. . . Cavity structure

2171. . . The lowest bottom surface of the hole structure

W1, W2. . . Width of the hole structure

twenty three. . . First switch

twenty four. . . Second switch

25. . . Gate drive circuit

26. . . Source drive circuit

27. . . First touch detection circuit

28. . . Second touch detection circuit

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a conventional touch electronic paper display device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a touch type electronic paper display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of a thin film transistor substrate of the touch type electronic paper display device shown in FIG.

4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the thin film transistor substrate shown in FIG. 3 taken along line IV-IV.

5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the thin film transistor substrate shown in FIG. 3 taken along line V-V.

6 is a connection diagram of the first and second electrode lines of the thin film transistor substrate shown in FIG. 3 and the driving circuit.

7 to FIG. 11 are flowcharts showing a method of manufacturing an electronic paper display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a thin film transistor substrate according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

13 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a thin film transistor substrate according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

14 and FIG. 15 are partial cross-sectional views showing a thin film transistor substrate according to another embodiment of the present invention.

twenty one. . . Thin film transistor substrate

211. . . Substrate

212. . . Thin film transistor

213. . . Insulation

214. . . First electrode line

215. . . Overlapping position

216. . . Second electrode line

217. . . Cavity structure

Claims (15)

A touch-sensitive electronic paper display device comprising a thin film transistor substrate, the thin film transistor substrate comprising: a substrate; and a plurality of thin film transistors, a plurality of first electrode lines and a plurality of strips formed on the substrate The second electrode lines intersecting the first electrode lines, the thin film transistors are electrically coupled to the first electrode lines and the second electrode lines; at least some of the second electrode lines and the The overlapping positions of the electrode lines are respectively formed with a hollow structure and the at least part of the second electrode lines and the first electrode lines are electrically insulated from each other at the overlapping positions. The touch-sensitive electronic paper display device of claim 1, wherein a cavity structure is formed around each of the overlapping positions, and the hollow structure is located in the hole structure. The touch-sensitive electronic paper display device of claim 2, wherein a portion of each of the second electrode lines at a position of the hole structure is smaller than a length of a first electrode line crossing the first electrode line; The width of the hole structure along the length of the first electrode line. The touch-sensitive electronic paper display device of claim 2, wherein a portion of each of the second electrode lines located at the position of the hole structure is recessed, flattened or convexly disposed. The touch-sensitive electronic paper display device of claim 2, wherein a portion of each of the first electrode lines at a position of the hole structure is smaller than a length of a second electrode line intersecting with each other; The width of the hole structure along the length of the second electrode line. The touch-sensitive electronic paper display device of claim 2, wherein the first electrode lines are located on a side of the second electrode lines adjacent to the substrate, and each of the first electrode lines is located The highest top surface of the portion of the hole structure location is not lower than the lowest bottom surface of the hole structure. The touch-sensitive electronic paper display device of claim 2, wherein a portion of each of the first electrode lines at the position of the hole structure is formed with a bump. The touch-sensitive electronic paper display device of claim 7, wherein a portion of each of the second electrode lines located at the position of the hole structure is straight. The touch-sensitive electronic paper display device of claim 1, wherein each of the second electrode lines and the first electrode lines overlap each other to form the hollow structure. A method for manufacturing a touch-sensitive electronic paper display device includes the steps of: providing a substrate; forming a plurality of first electrode lines on the substrate; forming a first insulating layer on the substrate to cover the first electrodes a plurality of hole structures are formed on the first insulating layer to partially expose the first electrode lines; a second insulating layer is formed in the hole structures to cover the first electrode lines; A plurality of second electrode lines intersecting the first electrode lines are formed on an insulating layer, and a plurality of thin film transistors are formed correspondingly, and the thin film electro-crystal systems are electrically coupled to the first electrode lines and The second electrode lines, and at least some of the second electrode lines overlap the first electrode lines at the hole structure locations; and selectively etching the second insulating layer by a wet etching process to expose the second electrode lines Some first electrode lines. The manufacturing method of claim 10, wherein a width of a portion of each of the first electrode lines at the position of the hole structure is smaller than a width of the hole structure along a width direction of the first electrode line. The manufacturing method of claim 10, wherein the thickness of the second insulating layer is less than or equal to the depth of the hole structures. The manufacturing method of claim 10, wherein a width of a portion of each of the second electrode lines at the position of the hole structure is smaller than a width of the hole structure along a width direction of the second electrode line. The manufacturing method of claim 10, wherein the highest top surface of the portion of the first electrode line at the position of the hole structure is not lower than the lowest bottom surface of the hole structure after the wet etching process. The manufacturing method according to claim 10, wherein a portion of each of the first electrode lines at a position of the hole structure is formed with a bump.