TWI476479B - Fan-out circuit - Google Patents

Description

Fanout line

The present invention relates to a layout design of a line, and more particularly to a fan-out line.

The flat display panel or the touch panel includes an array substrate having an active area and a peripheral area, wherein the active area is an area for providing a display function or a touch function, and the peripheral area is It is an area located outside the active area. In the case of a flat display panel, a plurality of pixels are arranged in the active area to form a pixel array to display a picture, and a peripheral area is designed with a peripheral circuit connected to the pixels to transmit signals. Each pixel includes a thin film transistor and a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor, and each thin film transistor is driven by a scan line and connected to the data line. Typically, these scan lines and data lines extend from the active area to the peripheral area and are electrically connected to the driver IC through the aforementioned peripheral lines.

Generally, the driver chip has a specific size design, so the peripheral line is concentrated by a portion connecting the scan line and the data line to the area where the chip is driven to form a fan-out circuit. In other words, the fan-out line is a fan-shaped wire layout that combines multiple wires into a denser configuration density from a looser configuration density.

The invention provides a fan-out circuit, which helps to improve the fabrication yield of the array substrate.

The invention provides a fan-out circuit disposed on an array substrate. The array substrate has an array area and a peripheral area around the array area, wherein a plurality of signal lines are disposed in the array area, and the fan-out line is located in the peripheral area. The fan-out line includes a plurality of fan-out wires respectively connected to the signal lines, wherein each of the fan-out wires has an inner side and an outer side, and includes a first strip, a second strip, and a corner unit. The first strip extends in a first direction and a first spacing between the first strips of the fan-out wires. The second strip extends in a second direction and is coupled to the first strip such that the second strip and the first strip define a lateral edge and an inner edge together, wherein the first direction and the second direction The directions intersect. The second strips of the fan-out wires have a second spacing between them and the second spacing is equal to or greater than the first spacing. The corner portion is located between the first strip portion and the second strip portion, and the corner portion defines an inner corner portion of the inner side edge so that the inner side edge and the outer side edge of the fan-out wire have different slope change rates. The inner corner segment is neither parallel to the first direction nor parallel to the second direction.

In an embodiment of the invention, the line width of the first strip portion of each of the fan-out wires is smaller than the line width of the second strip portion.

In an embodiment of the invention, the inner corner segment includes a plurality of inclined sub-sections, and the oblique directions of the inclined sub-sections are different from the angles of the first strips.

In an embodiment of the invention, in the fan-out wires, the width of the corner portion in the first direction is gradually decreased outward from the first strip portion.

In an embodiment of the invention, in the fan-out wires, the width of the corner portion in the second direction is gradually decreased outward by the second strip portion.

In an embodiment of the invention, the distance between the corner portion of each of the fan-out wires and the adjacent fan-out wire is between the line spacing between the first strips of the fan-out wires and the second of the fan-out wires. Between the line spacings between the strips.

In an embodiment of the invention, the outer side has an outer corner section, and the outer corner section is neither parallel to the first direction nor parallel to the second direction and defines a lead angle on the outer side. For example, the outer corner segment and the inner corner segment have different rates of slope change. Additionally, the distance between the outer corner segment and the inner corner segment is substantially greater than the line width of the first strip.

In an embodiment of the invention, the first strip portion, the second strip portion, and the corner portion of each of the fan-out wires constitute an integrally formed continuous conductor pattern.

In an embodiment of the invention, a protective layer is disposed on the array substrate. The protective layer covers the fan-out line such that the fan-out line is between the protective layer and the substrate.

In an embodiment of the invention, the corners of the fan-out wires are outside the area of the first strip and the second strip.

Based on the above, in the fan-out circuit of the present invention, each of the fan-out wires has a connection between the first strip portion and the second strip portion in addition to the first strip portion and the second strip portion in different extending directions. Corner section. The corner portion is designed such that the corners of each of the fan-out wires that are turned from the first direction to the second direction have a gentle slope change. Therefore, when other material layers such as a protective layer are formed over the fan-out line, it is advantageous to improve the uniformity of the overlying material layer, thereby improving the quality and yield of the array substrate.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an array substrate according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , the array substrate 100 has an active region 102 and a peripheral region 104 located at the periphery of the active region 102 . Specifically, the array substrate 100 is provided with a plurality of signal lines 110 located in the active area 102 and a fan-out line 120 located in the peripheral area 104. The fan-out line 120 includes a plurality of fan-out wires 122, and each fan-out The wires 122 are correspondingly connected to a signal line 110.

In this embodiment, the array substrate 100 may be an active device array substrate. Therefore, the active region 102 of the array substrate 100 may be further provided with a plurality of arrayed active elements 130. At this time, the signal lines 110 include a plurality of scan lines 112 and a plurality of data lines 114, and the active elements 130 are connected to the corresponding scan lines 112 and data lines 114. However, the invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the array substrate 100 may be provided with sensing electrodes or the like that provide sensing functions, and the signal lines 110 are connected to the sensing elements to form a sensing element array substrate.

Regardless of the design of the array substrate 100, the signal line 110 must be connected to the drive wafer to receive the drive signal from the drive wafer or to transmit the sense signal to the drive wafer. A common connection method includes directly arranging the driving wafer on the array substrate 100 or connecting the array substrate 100 to the driving wafer through the circuit board. At this time, the layout density of the signal line 110 does not necessarily match the size of the driving chip or the circuit board, so the array base The board 100 needs to adjust the layout density of these lines by the fan-out line 120 to connect with corresponding components such as a chip or a circuit board. In addition, in order to adjust the line layout density, each of the fan-out wires 122 in the fan-out line 120 has a bent design.

In detail, FIG. 2 is a partial schematic view showing a fan-out line in the array substrate of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2 , each of the fan-out wires 122 includes a first strip portion 1222 , a second strip portion 1224 , and a corner portion 1226 . The first strip 1222 extends along a first direction D1 and the second strip 1224 extends along a second direction D2, wherein the first direction D1 intersects the second direction D2. The second strip 1224 is connected to the first strip 1222, and the corner 1226 is located between the first strip 1222 and the second strip 1224. Specifically, the first strip portion 1222, the second strip portion 1224, and the corner portion 1226 of each of the fan-out wires 122 constitute an integrally formed continuous conductor pattern. Moreover, the corner portion 1226 of each of the fan-out wires 122 falls outside the area of the first strip portion 1222 and the second strip portion 1224, wherein FIG. 2 depicts the boundary between the first strip portion 1222 and the corner portion 1226 by a broken line and The boundary between the second strip 1224 and the corner portion 1226.

The first strips 1222 of the fan-out wires 122 have a first pitch P1 therebetween, and the second strips 1224 have a second pitch P2 therebetween, and the second pitch P2 is equal to or greater than the first pitch P1. . Thereby, the fan-out line 120 can adjust the layout density of the wires. Further, the line width W1 of the first strip portion 1222 of each of the fan-out wires 122 is smaller than the line width W2 of the second strip portion 1224. The line spacing d1 between the first strips 1222 is, for example, the difference between the first pitch P1 and the line width W1, and the second strip portion 1224 of the fan-out wire 122. The line spacing d2 between them is, for example, the difference between the second pitch P2 and the line width W2. Here, the difference between the line pitch d1 and the line pitch d2 may be smaller than the difference between the first pitch P1 and the second pitch P2. Since each of the fan-out wires 122 has a certain film thickness in the cross section, the difference in the line pitch d1 and the line pitch d2 is reduced to help improve the surface uniformity of the array substrate 100. In addition, in the present embodiment, the distance d3 between the corner portion 1226 of each fan-out wire 122 and the adjacent fan-out wire 122 is selectively interposed between the first strip portion 1222 of the fan-out wire 122. Between the line spacing d1 and the line spacing d2 between the second strips 1224 of the fan-out wires 122. For example, the line spacing d1, the line spacing d2, and the distance d3 may be 3.5 μm, 8 μm, and 4.5 μm, respectively, but not limited thereto.

3 is an enlarged view of a corner portion of the fan-out wire of FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, the second strip portion 1224 and the first strip portion 1222 together define an inner side 122A and an outer side 122B. In addition, corner portion 1226 defines an inner corner segment 122C of inner side 122A. In the present embodiment, the width W2 of the corner portion 1226 in the first direction D1 is gradually decreased outward by the first strip portion 1222, and the width W4 in the second direction D2 is gradually outward by the second strip portion 1224. cut back. Moreover, the inner corner segment 122C defined by the corner portion 1226 is neither parallel to the first direction D1 nor parallel to the second direction D2 such that the inner side 122A and the outer side 122B of each fan-out wire 122 have different slopes. Rate of change.

The difference in slope change rate herein means that both the inner side 122A and the outer side 122B are turned from the first direction D1 to the second direction D2, but the inner side 122A and the outer side 122B have different path lengths at the turning point. . For example, as can be seen from FIG. 3, the inner side 122A includes, for example, parallel to the first a first direction segment 122A1 of the direction D1, a second direction segment 122A2 parallel to the second direction D2, and an inner corner segment 122C, wherein the inner corner segment 122C is connected to the first direction segment 122A1 at point A and to the second point at point B. The direction segment 122A2, and the inner corner segment 122C is neither parallel to the first direction D1 nor parallel to the second direction D2. The outer side edge 122B includes a first direction segment 122B1, a second direction segment 122B2, and an outer corner segment 122B3. The outer corner segment 122B3 is connected to the first direction segment 122B1 at point C and to the second direction segment 122B2 at point D. And the outer corner segment 122B3 is neither parallel to the first direction D1 nor parallel to the second direction D2 and defines a lead angle CA at the outer side edge 122B. Here, the path length of the inner side 122A from point A to point B is different from the path length of the outer side side 122B from point C to point D. That is, the path length required for the inner side 122A to be turned from the first direction D1 to the second direction D2 is different from the path length required for the outer side 122B to be converted from the first direction D1 to the second direction D2, so the two have different The rate of change of slope.

Specifically, the path length of the inner corner segment 122C of the present embodiment is larger than the path length of the outer corner segment 122B3, so the slope change rate of the outer side edge 122B is, for example, greater than the slope change rate of the inner side edge 122A. Additionally, in other embodiments, the outer side edge 122B may not include the outer corner segment 122B3 such that the first direction segment 122B1 and the second direction segment 122B2 are directly coupled together. At this time, the outer side 122B directly transitions from the first direction D1 to the second direction D2 to reach the maximum slope change rate.

Further, the inner corner segment 122C may be composed of a plurality of inclined sub-sections 122C1 to 122C3, and the inclined sub-sections 122C1 to 122C3 The inclination direction is different from the angle between the first direction D1 (or the second direction D2), thereby forming a gentle transition change. Of course, the outer corner section 122B3 can also optionally include a plurality of inclined subsections to form a lead angle structure that is close to the arc. At this time, since the path length of the outer corner section 122B3 (for example, the length of the C point to the D point) is different from the path length of the inner corner section 122C (for example, the length of the point A to the point B), the outer corner section 122B3 and the inner corner section 122C There are still different rates of slope change.

As can be seen from FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the corner portion 1226 is disposed such that the turning point of each of the fan-out wires 122 exhibits a gentle transition, which helps to improve the manufacturing yield of other materials fabricated above the fan-out line 120. For example, the fan-out line 120 is generally not directly exposed to the outside and needs to be covered with a protective layer. The arrangement of the corner portions 1226 helps to improve the manufacturing yield of the protective layer above the fan line 120.

Specifically, FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the array substrate 100 of FIG. 1 . Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4 , the fan-out wires 122 in the fan-out line 120 of the array substrate 100 are disposed on the substrate 10 , for example. Further, in order to protect the fan-out wires 122, a protective layer 140 is further disposed on the substrate 10. That is, the protective layer 140 covers the fan-out line 120 such that the fan-out wires 122 of the fan-out line 120 are located between the protective layer 140 and the substrate 10.

Generally, the protective layer 140 can be formed by a spin coating method. That is, the protective layer 140 may be formed by dropping a flowable insulating protective material onto the side of the substrate 10 on which the fan-out wires 122 are disposed. Accordingly, the substrate 10 is rotated such that the droplets of the insulating protective material are expanded outward, whereby the insulating protective material is distributed over the entire surface of the substrate 10. material. Then, the protective layer 140 can be formed by curing the insulating protective material.

As can be seen from FIG. 4, the fan-out wire 122 has a specific thickness to form a plurality of protruding structures on the substrate 10 and a plurality of grooves G between the fan-out wires 122. Therefore, when the protective layer 140 is formed by spin coating, the flow of the insulating protective material is inevitably affected by the layout of the fan-out wires 122. In particular, as can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 4, the fan-out wire 122 has the first strip portion 1222 and the second strip portion 1224 in different directions such that the groove G assumes an L-shape. When the corner portion 1226 is not disposed between the first strip portion 1222 and the second strip portion 1224, the L-shaped groove G changes more sharply at the corner (such as the transition L depicted by the broken line in FIG. 2), wherein The distance d4 between the transition L and the adjacent fan-out wire 122 will be greater than the line spacing d1 and the line spacing d2. Thus, the insulating protective material that can flow when the substrate 10 is rotated is easily spread out in the direction D3 pointed by the tip of the turn L, and such a flow will make the film thickness of the protective layer 140 not uniformly distributed. In particular, the protective layer 140 may have a drag structure that extends along the direction D3.

In the present embodiment, a corner portion 1226 is disposed between the first strip portion 1222 and the second strip portion 1224. As can be seen from FIG. 2, with respect to the turning point L, the corner portion 1226 causes the groove G between the fan-out wires 122 to exhibit a relatively gentle change at the turning point, and the groove G has no sharp tip. At this time, the distance d3 is between the line pitch d1 and the line pitch d2. Therefore, the insulating protective material which is flowable when the substrate 10 is rotated is not easily dispersed along the turning point of the groove G, which contributes to the improvement of the film layer uniformity of the protective layer 140.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are photographs when the two display panels are lit, respectively, wherein the display panel of FIG. 5 has an array of the fan-out wires in the array substrate. In the corner portion, the fan-out conductor of the array substrate of the display panel of FIG. 6 is provided with a corner portion. The circled area of the display panel of Fig. 5 has a distinct dark line, while the display panel of Fig. 6 exhibits a fairly uniform display effect (there is no dark line with an oblique direction). Therefore, it can be seen that the above embodiment of the present invention provides the corner portion 1226 at the turning point of each of the fan-out wires 122 to help improve the quality and yield of the array substrate 100.

In summary, the array substrate of the present invention utilizes a fan-out wire having a turning in the fan-out line to adjust the arrangement density of the signal lines to facilitate connection to an external component such as a circuit board or a driving chip. The fan-out wire with the turning has a corner portion at the turning point, which helps to alleviate the degree of change in the turning of the fan-out wire. Therefore, the placement of the corner portions helps to improve the uniformity of such material layers during the fabrication of other material layers on the fan-out wires. As a result, the yield and quality of the array substrate can be improved.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

10‧‧‧Substrate

100‧‧‧Array substrate

102‧‧‧active area

104‧‧‧The surrounding area

110‧‧‧Signal line

112‧‧‧ scan line

114‧‧‧Information line

120‧‧‧Fan-out line

122‧‧‧fanned wire

122A‧‧‧ inside side

122B‧‧‧ outside side

122A1, 122B1‧‧‧ first direction

122A2, 122B2‧‧‧ second direction

122B3‧‧‧Outer corner section

122C‧‧‧Inside corner section

122C1~122C3‧‧‧Sloping section

130‧‧‧Active components

140‧‧‧Protective layer

1222‧‧‧ first section

1224‧‧‧Second section

1226‧‧‧ Corner

A, B, C, D‧‧ points

CA‧‧‧ lead angle

D1‧‧‧ first direction

D2‧‧‧ second direction

D3‧‧ Direction

D1, d2‧‧‧ line spacing

D3, d4‧‧‧ distance

G‧‧‧ trench

L‧‧‧ turning point

P1, P2‧‧‧ spacing

W1, W2‧‧‧ line spacing

W3, W4‧‧‧ width

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an array substrate according to an embodiment of the invention.

2 is a partial schematic view showing a fan-out line in the array substrate of FIG. 1.

3 is an enlarged view of a corner portion of the fan-out wire of FIG. 2.

4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the array substrate 100 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are photographs when the two display panels are lit, respectively, wherein the display panel of FIG. 5 has a fan-out wire in the array substrate, and no fan corner portion is provided, and the display panel of FIG. 6 has a fan-out panel. The wire is provided with a corner portion.

122‧‧‧fanned wire

122B‧‧‧ outside side

122A1, 122B1‧‧‧ first direction

122A2, 122B2‧‧‧ second direction

122B3‧‧‧Outer corner section

122C‧‧‧Inside corner section

122C1~122C3‧‧‧Sloping section

1222‧‧‧ first section

1224‧‧‧Second section

1226‧‧‧ Corner

A, B, C, D‧‧ points

D1‧‧‧ first direction

D2‧‧‧ second direction

D1, d2‧‧‧ line spacing

D3‧‧‧ distance

W2, W4‧‧‧ width

Claims (12)

A fan-out circuit is disposed on an array substrate, the array substrate has an array area and a peripheral area around the array area, wherein the array area is provided with a plurality of signal lines, and the fan-out line is located in the peripheral area, The fan-out line includes a plurality of fan-out wires respectively connected to the signal lines, wherein each of the fan-out wires has an inner side and an outer side, and includes: a first strip along a first direction Extending, and the first strips of the fan-out wires have a first spacing therebetween; a second strip extending along a second direction and coupled to the first strips to The second strip defines the outer side and the inner side together with the first strip, and the second strips of the fan-out wires have a second spacing between the second strips, and the second strip The pitch is equal to or greater than the first pitch, wherein the first direction intersects the second direction; and a corner portion is located between the first strip and the second strip, and the corner portion defines An inner corner section of the inner side to inner side and outer side of the fan-out wire Side slope having a different rate of change, wherein the inner corner segment neither parallel nor parallel to the first direction to the second direction. The fan-out circuit of claim 1, wherein a line width of the first strip portion of each of the fan-out wires is smaller than a line width of the second strip portion. The fan-out line according to claim 1, wherein the inner corner segment comprises a plurality of inclined sub-sections, and the inclined directions of the inclined sub-sections are different from the angles of the first strips. Such as the fan-out line described in claim 1 of the patent scope, wherein each The width of the corner portion in the first direction in the fan-out wire is gradually decreased outward from the first strip portion. The fan-out circuit of claim 1, wherein a width of the corner portion in the second direction of each of the fan-out wires is gradually decreased outward from the second strip portion. The fan-out circuit of claim 1, wherein a distance between the corner portion of each of the fan-out wires and an adjacent fan-out wire is between the first strips of the fan-out wires Between the line spacing and the line spacing between the second strips of the fan-out wires. The fan-out circuit of claim 1, wherein the outer side has an outer corner section, and the outer corner section is neither parallel to the first direction nor parallel to the second direction. Define a lead angle. The fan-out line of claim 7, wherein the outer corner segment and the inner corner segment have different slope change rates. The fan-out line of claim 7, wherein the distance between the outer corner segment and the inner corner segment is substantially greater than the line width of the first strip. The fan-out circuit of claim 1, wherein the first strip portion, the second strip portion, and the corner portion of each of the fan-out wires constitute an integrally formed continuous conductor pattern. The fan-out circuit of claim 1, wherein the array substrate is provided with a protective layer covering the fan-out line such that the fan-out line is located between the protective layer and the substrate. The fan-out line of claim 1, wherein the corner of each of the fan-out wires is outside the area of the first strip and the second strip.