Exposure assembly, photo-alignment method, display panel and display device

Abstract

The application discloses an exposure assembly, a light orientation method, a display panel and a display device, and aims to improve the brightness uniformity. The exposure assembly comprises a first light orientation mask assembly and a second light orientation mask assembly. In the overlapping area of the orthographic projection of the second part of the first light orientation mask assembly and the second part of the second light orientation mask assembly relative to the same exposure area, the light transmission area of the first light orientation mask assembly and the light transmission area of the second light orientation mask assembly do not overlap with each other. In the overlapping area of the orthographic projection of the second part of the first light orientation mask assembly and the second part of the second light orientation mask assembly relative to the same exposure area, for at least part of the sub-pixels, one half of each sub-pixel corresponds to only one light transmission area of one kind of light transmission pattern located in the first light orientation mask assembly, and the other half of the sub-pixel corresponds to only one light transmission area of another kind of light transmission pattern located in the second light orientation mask assembly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of display technology, and more particularly to an exposure component, a light alignment method, a display panel, and a display device. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, one common method for light alignment in liquid crystal display panels is ultraviolet vertical alignment (UV). 2 A) Technology, UV 2 Technology A uses ultraviolet light at a specific angle to scan and align the photo-alignment film through a mask, causing an alignment reaction that aligns the liquid crystal molecules at a certain angle. However, UV... 2 Technology A uses photomasks smaller than the size of the liquid crystal display panel, therefore requiring multiple photomasks to be pieced together. Considering the illumination range of the light source and the size of the photomasks, repeated exposure areas are usually required. However, due to repeated exposure and other reasons, the areas corresponding to the repeated exposure areas are often accompanied by uneven brightness. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present invention provides an exposure component, a light alignment method, a display panel, and a display device for improving brightness uniformity.

[0004] A first aspect of the present invention provides an exposure assembly, the exposure assembly comprising:

[0005] First optical alignment mask assembly and second optical alignment mask assembly;

[0006] Both the first and second photoalignment mask assemblies include photoalignment masks; each photoalignment mask includes two types of light-transmitting patterns arranged along a first direction; the light alignment directions of the different types of light-transmitting patterns are different;

[0007] The translucent pattern is divided into a first part and a second part located on both sides of the first part in a second direction; the second direction intersects the first direction.

[0008] The first part of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the first part of the second photoalignment mask assembly do not overlap with each other in the orthographic projection of the same exposure area, while the second part of the first photoalignment assembly and the second part of the second photoalignment assembly overlap with each other in the orthographic projection of the same exposure area.

[0009] Each light-transmitting pattern includes multiple light-transmitting areas arranged along the second direction; each light-transmitting area has the same length in the first direction.

[0010] In the overlapping area of ​​the second part of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second part of the second photoalignment mask assembly relative to the same exposure area, the light-transmitting areas of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the light-transmitting areas of the second photoalignment mask assembly do not overlap.

[0011] In the overlapping area of ​​the second portion of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second portion of the second photoalignment mask assembly relative to the same exposure area, for at least some sub-pixels, half of each sub-pixel corresponds only to a light-transmitting area of ​​one light-transmitting pattern in the first photoalignment mask assembly, and the other half of the sub-pixel corresponds only to a light-transmitting area of ​​another light-transmitting pattern in the second photoalignment mask assembly.

[0012] In the exposure assembly provided by the present invention, the two light-transmitting patterns are a first light-transmitting pattern and a second light-transmitting pattern;

[0013] For the first photoalignment mask assembly, the second part of the first light-transmitting pattern includes a plurality of first light-transmitting region groups, and each first light-transmitting region group includes at least one light-transmitting region; the second part of the second light-transmitting pattern includes a plurality of second light-transmitting region groups, and each second light-transmitting region group includes at least one light-transmitting region.

[0014] For the second photoalignment mask assembly, the second part of the first light-transmitting pattern includes a plurality of third light-transmitting region groups, each of which includes at least one light-transmitting region; the second part of the second light-transmitting pattern includes a plurality of fourth light-transmitting region groups, each of which includes at least one light-transmitting region.

[0015] In this arrangement, each light-transmitting area has the same width in the second direction, and the spacing between two adjacent light-transmitting areas in each group of light-transmitting areas is equal to the width of the light-transmitting area; the first and second groups of light-transmitting areas are arranged alternately with respect to the orthographic projections of the same exposure area, and the third and fourth groups of light-transmitting areas are arranged alternately with respect to the orthographic projections of the same exposure area; the sub-pixels corresponding to the orthographic projections of the first and fourth groups of light-transmitting areas with respect to the same exposure area are the same, and the sub-pixels corresponding to the orthographic projections of the second and third groups of light-transmitting areas with respect to the same exposure area are the same.

[0016] In the exposure assembly provided by the present invention, for the first photoalignment mask assembly, in the second portions located on both sides of the first portion, at least one second portion is a gradient portion, and along the direction from the first portion to the gradient portion, the number of light-transmitting areas included in each first light-transmitting area group tends to increase, and the number of light-transmitting areas included in each second light-transmitting area group tends to decrease.

[0017] For the second photoalignment mask assembly, in the second portions located on both sides of the first portion, at least one of the second portions is a gradient portion. Along the direction from the first portion to the gradient portion, the number of light-transmitting regions included in each third light-transmitting region group tends to increase, and the number of light-transmitting regions included in each fourth light-transmitting region group tends to decrease.

[0018] In the exposure assembly provided by the present invention, for the gradient portion of the first photoalignment mask assembly, all first light-transmitting region groups are divided into multiple first light-transmitting region groups; one first light-transmitting region group includes multiple first light-transmitting region groups; within the same first light-transmitting region group, each first light-transmitting region group includes the same number of light-transmitting regions; along the direction from the first portion to the gradient portion, the number of light-transmitting regions included in each first light-transmitting region group in different first light-transmitting region groups gradually increases; for the gradient portion of the first photoalignment mask assembly, all second light-transmitting region groups are divided into multiple second light-transmitting region groups; one second light-transmitting region group includes multiple second light-transmitting region groups; within the same second light-transmitting region group, each second light-transmitting region group includes the same number of light-transmitting regions; along the direction from the first portion to the gradient portion, the number of light-transmitting regions included in each second light-transmitting region group in different second light-transmitting region groups gradually decreases;

[0019] For the gradient portion of the second photoalignment mask assembly, all third transparent region groups are divided into multiple third transparent region groups; one third transparent region group includes multiple third transparent region groups; within the same third transparent region group, each third transparent region group includes the same number of transparent regions; along the direction from the first portion to the gradient portion, the number of transparent regions included in each third transparent region group in different third transparent region groups gradually decreases; for the gradient portion of the second photoalignment mask assembly, all fourth transparent region groups are divided into multiple fourth transparent region groups; one fourth transparent region group includes multiple fourth transparent region groups; within the same fourth transparent region group, each fourth transparent region group includes the same number of transparent regions; along the direction from the first portion to the gradient portion, the number of transparent regions included in each fourth transparent region group in different fourth transparent region groups gradually decreases.

[0020] In the exposure assembly provided by the present invention, along the direction from the first portion to the gradient portion, the number of light-transmitting areas included in each light-transmitting area group in the latter group increases or decreases by n compared to the number of light-transmitting areas included in each light-transmitting area group in the former group, where n≥1.

[0021] In the exposure assembly provided by the present invention, each group of light-transmitting areas includes the same number of light-transmitting areas.

[0022] In the exposure assembly provided by the present invention, each group of light-transmitting areas includes two groups of light-transmitting areas.

[0023] In the exposure assembly provided by the present invention, for the first photoalignment mask assembly, the entire light-transmitting area in the second part of the first light-transmitting pattern is divided into a plurality of first light-transmitting area groups, and the entire light-transmitting area in the second part of the second light-transmitting pattern is divided into a plurality of second light-transmitting area groups.

[0024] For the second photoalignment mask assembly, the entire light-transmitting area in the second part of the first light-transmitting pattern is divided into multiple third light-transmitting area groups, and the entire light-transmitting area in the second part of the second light-transmitting pattern is divided into multiple fourth light-transmitting area groups.

[0025] In the exposure assembly provided by the present invention, for the first photoalignment mask assembly, the second part of the first light-transmitting pattern further includes a fifth light-transmitting region group, and a fifth light-transmitting region group includes at least one light-transmitting region; the second part of the second light-transmitting pattern further includes a plurality of sixth light-transmitting region groups, and a sixth light-transmitting region group includes at least one light-transmitting region; the sub-pixels corresponding to the orthographic projection of the fifth light-transmitting region group and the sixth light-transmitting region group relative to the same exposure area are the same.

[0026] For the second photoalignment mask assembly, the second part of the first light-transmitting pattern further includes a seventh light-transmitting region group, each of which includes at least one light-transmitting region. The second part of the second light-transmitting pattern also includes a plurality of eighth light-transmitting region groups, each of which includes at least one light-transmitting region. The sub-pixels corresponding to the orthogonal projections of the seventh and eighth light-transmitting region groups relative to the same exposure area are the same.

[0027] In the exposure assembly provided by the present invention, the fifth light-transmitting zone group is located between two adjacent first light-transmitting zone groups; the sixth light-transmitting zone group is located between two adjacent second light-transmitting zone groups; the seventh light-transmitting zone group is located between two adjacent third light-transmitting zone groups; and the eighth light-transmitting zone group is located between two adjacent fourth light-transmitting zone groups.

[0028] In the exposure assembly provided by the present invention, only one fifth light-transmitting zone group is provided between two adjacent first light-transmitting zone groups; only one sixth light-transmitting zone group is provided between two adjacent second light-transmitting zone groups; only one seventh light-transmitting zone group is provided between two adjacent third light-transmitting zone groups; and only one eighth light-transmitting zone group is provided between two adjacent fourth light-transmitting zone groups.

[0029] In the exposure assembly provided by the present invention, the fifth and seventh light-transmitting zones are arranged alternately with respect to the orthographic projections of the same exposure zone, and the sixth and eighth light-transmitting zones are arranged overlapping with respect to the orthographic projections of the same exposure zone.

[0030] A second aspect of the present invention provides a photoalignment method, the method comprising:

[0031] Provide a substrate to be aligned and an exposure assembly of any one of the above;

[0032] The first photoalignment mask assembly and the second photoalignment mask assembly of the exposure assembly are used to perform photoalignment on the substrate to be aligned.

[0033] A third aspect of the present invention provides a display panel comprising: an array substrate and a counter substrate disposed opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer located between the array substrate and the counter substrate; the array substrate includes an alignment film layer, and / or the counter substrate includes an alignment film layer.

[0034] The alignment film layer of the array substrate is optically aligned using the above-described optical alignment method, and / or the alignment film layer of the alignment substrate is optically aligned.

[0035] A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a display device, the display device including the display panel described above.

[0036] In the display panel provided by the present invention,

[0037] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0038] The present invention provides an exposure component, a light alignment method, a display panel, and a display device for improving brightness uniformity.

[0039] In a first aspect, the present invention provides an exposure assembly comprising: a first photoalignment mask assembly and a second photoalignment mask assembly. Both the first and second photoalignment mask assemblies include photoalignment masks; each photoalignment mask includes two types of light-transmitting patterns arranged along a first direction; the different light-transmitting patterns have different light alignment directions; each light-transmitting pattern is divided into a first portion and a second portion located on either side of the first portion in a second direction; the second direction intersects the first direction; the first portion of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the first portion of the second photoalignment mask assembly do not overlap in their orthographic projections relative to the same exposure area, while the second portions of the first and second photoalignment mask assemblies overlap in their orthographic projections relative to the same exposure area; each light-transmitting pattern includes a plurality of light-transmitting areas arranged along the second direction; each The light-transmitting areas have the same length in the first direction; in the overlapping area of ​​the orthographic projections of the second part of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second part of the second photoalignment mask assembly relative to the same exposure area, the light-transmitting areas of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second photoalignment mask assembly do not overlap; in the overlapping area of ​​the orthographic projections of the second part of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second part of the second photoalignment mask assembly relative to the same exposure area, for at least some sub-pixels, half of each sub-pixel corresponds only to a light-transmitting area of ​​one light-transmitting pattern of the first photoalignment mask assembly, and the other half of the sub-pixel corresponds only to a light-transmitting area of ​​another light-transmitting pattern of the second photoalignment mask assembly.

[0040] In the exposure assembly provided by this invention, within the overlapping area of ​​the second part of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second part of the second photoalignment mask assembly relative to the orthographic projection of the same exposure area, the light-transmitting areas of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second photoalignment mask assembly do not overlap. That is, in the orthographic projection of the overlapping exposure area, the light-transmitting areas of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second photoalignment mask assembly do not overlap. In the overlapping exposure area, each sub-pixel is exposed only once through the light-transmitting area of ​​the first photoalignment mask assembly or the light-transmitting area of ​​the second photoalignment mask assembly, which can avoid the problem of excessive brightness in the overlapping exposure area caused by secondary exposure. Furthermore, since in the overlapping area of ​​the second part of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second part of the second photoalignment mask assembly relative to the same exposure area, for at least some sub-pixels, half of each sub-pixel corresponds only to a light-transmitting area of ​​one light-transmitting pattern in the first photoalignment mask assembly, and the other half of the sub-pixel corresponds only to a light-transmitting area of ​​another light-transmitting pattern in the second photoalignment mask assembly, that is, in the overlapping exposure area, at least some sub-pixels are exposed through the light-transmitting areas of the first and second photoalignment mask assemblies respectively, which can avoid the problem of fine vertical lines caused by the two alignment directions of a single sub-pixel being exposed through the same mask assembly, thus improving brightness uniformity. Attached Figure Description

[0041] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0042] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a photoalignment mask provided for related technologies;

[0043] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an exposure component provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 3 Provided for embodiments of the present invention Figure 2 One of the enlarged schematic diagrams of the G region;

[0045] Figure 4 A comparison diagram of photoalignment results provided by the present invention;

[0046] Figure 5 Provided for embodiments of the present invention Figure 2 Second enlarged schematic diagram of region G in the middle;

[0047] Figure 6 This is a schematic flowchart of the optical alignment method provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a display panel provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a display device provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0050] To make the above-mentioned objects, features, and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. However, the exemplary embodiments can be implemented in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided to make the present invention more comprehensive and complete, and to fully convey the concept of the exemplary embodiments to those skilled in the art. The same reference numerals in the figures denote the same or similar structures, and therefore repeated descriptions of them will be omitted. Terms describing position and direction as described in this invention are illustrative based on the accompanying drawings, but changes can be made as needed, and all such changes are included within the scope of protection of this invention. The accompanying drawings of this invention are for illustrating relative positional relationships only and do not represent actual proportions.

[0051] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a photoalignment mask provided for related technologies.

[0052] In related technologies, when photoalignment masks are used for multiple exposures, the two sets of photoalignment masks projected onto the substrate to be exposed have an overlapping area, which is called the overlapping exposure area. For example... Figure 1As shown, the photoalignment mask includes a light-transmitting pattern 1, which comprises a first part 2 and a second part 3. The second part 3 corresponds to the overlapping exposure area A. Both the first part 2 and the second part 3 include multiple light-transmitting areas 101. In related technologies, the light-transmitting areas 101 of the two sets of photoalignment masks exposed in stages overlap in the overlapping exposure area A, thus performing a second exposure on the overlapping exposure area A during the staged exposure process. The two sets of photoalignment masks exposed in stages have the same light-transmitting pattern. To avoid the problem of the overlapping exposure area A being too bright after the second exposure due to the equal area of ​​the light-transmitting pattern, the length of the multiple light-transmitting areas 101 of the second part 3 gradually decreases in the direction from the first part 2 to the second part 3. That is, in the two photoalignment masks, in the direction from left to right, the length of the multiple light-transmitting areas 101 of the second part 3 of one photoalignment mask gradually decreases, while the length of the multiple light-transmitting areas 101 of the second part 3 of the other photoalignment mask gradually increases. However, this results in the following: for the photoalignment mask that is exposed first, the longer light-transmitting area in the second part will receive a larger exposure, causing the corresponding sub-pixels to be brighter; conversely, the shorter light-transmitting area in the second part will receive a relatively smaller exposure, causing the corresponding sub-pixels to be darker. In other words, in the overlapping exposure area A, the related technology still suffers from uneven display brightness due to uneven exposure.

[0053] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an exposure component provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 Provided for embodiments of the present invention Figure 2 One of the enlarged schematic diagrams of the G region; Figure 4 This is a comparison diagram of photoalignment results provided by the present invention.

[0054] This invention provides an exposure component, such as... Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the exposure assembly includes: a first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and a second photoalignment mask assembly 6;

[0055] Both the first optical alignment mask assembly 5 and the second optical alignment assembly 6 include optical alignment mask plates 4. For ease of distinction, the optical alignment mask plate 4 included in the first optical alignment mask assembly 5 is referred to as the first optical alignment mask plate 401, and the optical alignment mask plate 4 included in the second optical alignment mask assembly 6 is referred to as the second optical alignment mask plate 402. In specific implementations, both the first optical alignment mask assembly 5 and the second optical alignment assembly 6 may each include multiple optical alignment mask plates 4, which is not limited here.

[0056] The photoalignment mask 4 includes two types of light-transmitting patterns 1 arranged in the first direction Y; the light alignment directions of the different types of light-transmitting patterns 1 are different;

[0057] The light-transmitting pattern 1 is divided into a first part 2 and a second part 3 located on both sides of the first part 2 in the second direction X; the second direction X intersects the first direction Y; in specific implementation, the second direction X can be set to be perpendicular to the first direction Y, which is not limited here; wherein the first part 2 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the first part 2 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 do not overlap with each other in the orthographic projection of the same exposure area 1001, and the second part 3 of the first photoalignment assembly 5 and the second part 3 of the second photoalignment assembly 6 overlap with each other in the orthographic projection of the same exposure area 1001. The same exposure area 1001 specifically refers to the area set by the sub-pixels 7 in the same row on the substrate to be aligned 10 that need to be exposed. Since the size of the mask 4 is relatively small compared to the size of the substrate to be exposed, the sub-pixels 7 in the same row need to be exposed by splicing multiple mask 4s. The overlapping area of ​​the splicing of multiple mask 4s forms the overlapping area of ​​the second part 3 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second part 3 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 relative to the orthographic projection of the same exposure area 1001.

[0058] Each light-transmitting pattern 1 includes: multiple light-transmitting areas 101 arranged in the second direction X; each light-transmitting area 101 has the same length in the first direction Y; specifically, the length of the light-transmitting area 101 in the first direction Y can be equal to or slightly greater than the length of the sub-pixel 7 in the first direction Y, which is not limited here; the area connecting two adjacent light-transmitting areas 101 is the light-blocking area.

[0059] In the overlapping area of ​​the second part 3 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second part 3 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 with respect to the orthographic projection of the same exposure area 1001, the light-transmitting area 101 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the light-transmitting area 101 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 do not overlap.

[0060] In the overlapping area of ​​the second part 3 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second part 3 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 with respect to the orthographic projection of the same exposure area 1001, for at least some sub-pixels 7, half of each sub-pixel 7 corresponds only to a light-transmitting area 101 of a light-transmitting pattern located in the first photoalignment mask assembly 5, and the other half of the sub-pixel 7 corresponds only to a light-transmitting area 101 of another light-transmitting pattern located in the second photoalignment mask assembly 6; wherein, half of a sub-pixel 7 corresponds to a certain light-transmitting area 101, specifically, half of the sub-pixel 7 is exposed through the light-transmitting area 101 to perform photoalignment operation.

[0061] It should be noted that the exposure component provided in this embodiment of the invention can be used for ultraviolet vertical alignment (UV). 2 A) Photoalignment technology. Utilizing UV... 2When performing photoalignment on a liquid crystal display panel using technology A, the size of a single photoalignment mask is usually smaller than the size of the liquid crystal display panel. To align the liquid crystal display panel, a first photoalignment assembly and a second photoalignment assembly, which include multiple photoalignment masks, are required to perform multiple exposures. Considering the illumination range of the exposure light source and the size of the photoalignment mask, the substrate of the liquid crystal display panel that needs to be aligned has independent exposure areas and overlapping exposure areas. The independent exposure areas are exposed using a single mask, while the overlapping exposure areas are exposed separately using photoalignment masks located in different photoalignment mask assemblies.

[0062] The exposure assembly provided in this embodiment of the invention, in the overlapping area of ​​the second part 3 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second part 3 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 relative to the orthographic projection of the same exposure area 1001, the light-transmitting area 101 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the light-transmitting area 101 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 do not overlap. That is, in the orthographic projection of the overlapping exposure area, the light-transmitting area 101 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the light-transmitting area 101 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 do not overlap. In the overlapping exposure area, each sub-pixel 7 is exposed only once through the light-transmitting area 101 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 or only through the light-transmitting area 101 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, which can avoid the problem of excessive brightness in the overlapping exposure area caused by secondary exposure.

[0063] Furthermore, since in the overlapping area of ​​the second part 3 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second part 3 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 relative to the orthographic projection of the same exposure area 1001, for at least some sub-pixels 7, half of each sub-pixel 7 corresponds only to a light-transmitting area 101 of one light-transmitting pattern in the first photoalignment mask assembly 5, and the other half of the sub-pixel 7 corresponds only to a light-transmitting area 101 of another light-transmitting pattern in the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, that is, in the overlapping exposure area, at least some sub-pixels 7 are exposed through the light-transmitting area of ​​the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the light-transmitting area of ​​the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 respectively, thus avoiding the problem of fine vertical lines caused by the two half-areas corresponding to the two alignment directions of a single sub-pixel 7 being exposed through the same mask assembly in the overlapping exposure area. For example, as Figure 4As shown, in the overlapping exposure area, multiple rows of sub-pixels 7 located in the first region S1 are exposed through the first photoalignment mask assembly 5, multiple rows of sub-pixels 7 located in the second region S2 are exposed through the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, and multiple rows of sub-pixels 7 located in the third region S3 are exposed through the first photoalignment mask assembly 5. Due to the different exposure light sources used by the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, as well as the difference in the opening size of the light-transmitting area of ​​the photoalignment mask plate in the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, the exposure of the sub-pixels 7 in the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 is significantly different from that in the second photoalignment mask assembly 6. When the illumination of the exposure light source of component 5 and the second photoalignment mask component 6 differs significantly, the brightness of different columns of sub-pixels exposed by the first photoalignment mask component 5 and the second photoalignment mask component 6 will have a large difference. This will cause the brightness of the multiple columns of sub-pixels 7 located in the first region S1 and the multiple columns of sub-pixels 7 located in the third region S3 to be different from that of the multiple columns of sub-pixels 7 located in the second region S2. For example, the brightness of the multiple columns of sub-pixels 7 located in the first region S1 and the multiple columns of sub-pixels 7 located in the third region S3 is greater than that of the multiple columns of sub-pixels 7 located in the second region S2. Using the exposure assembly provided in this embodiment of the invention, within the overlapping exposure area, at least half of the area corresponding to each of the two alignment directions of a portion of the sub-pixel 7 is exposed through the light-transmitting area of ​​the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the light-transmitting area of ​​the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, respectively. That is, half of the area corresponding to each of the two alignment directions of the same sub-pixel 7 can be exposed through the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, respectively. This disperses the brightness difference caused by the different brightness and aperture size of the exposure light source of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, reduces the phenomenon of vertical stripe defects, and improves UV protection. 2 The brightness uniformity of display panels manufactured using technology A.

[0064] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, the first optical alignment mask assembly 5 includes a plurality of optical alignment mask plates 4 arranged sequentially along the second direction X; the distance between any adjacent optical alignment mask plates 4 in the first optical alignment mask assembly 5 is greater than 0;

[0065] The second optical alignment mask assembly 6 includes a plurality of optical alignment mask plates 4 arranged sequentially along the second direction X; the distance between any adjacent optical alignment mask plates 4 in the second optical alignment mask assembly 6 is greater than 0.

[0066] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2As shown, when the exposure assembly provided in this embodiment of the invention is used to expose the substrate 10 to be aligned, the substrate 10 to be aligned is divided into an exposure area 1001 and a non-exposure area 1002 located outside the exposure area 1001. The exposure area 1001 of the substrate 10 to be aligned includes a plurality of independent exposure areas B and a plurality of overlapping exposure areas A. The photoalignment mask 4 includes: a first region 4-1, second regions 4-2 located on both sides of the first region 4-1, and a third region 4-3 located on the side of the second region 4-2 away from the first region 4-1; the first region 4-1 includes a first portion 2 of a light-transmitting pattern, and the second region 4-2 includes a second portion 3 of a light-transmitting pattern; the third region 4-3 is the edge region of the photoalignment mask 4 and does not include the light-transmitting pattern; the orthographic projection of the first region 4-1 onto the exposure region 1001 corresponds to the independent exposure region B, the orthographic projection of the second region 4-2 located on the edge of the photoalignment mask 4 onto the substrate 10 to be aligned falls into the non-exposure region 1002, and the orthographic projection of the remaining second regions 4-2 onto the exposure region 1001 corresponds to the overlapping exposure region A; in the second direction X, the width of the first region 4-1 is equal to the width of the independent exposure region B, and the width of the second region 4-2 is equal to the width of the overlapping exposure region A. The widths of A are equal; the orthographic projection of the second region 4-2 of the photoalignment mask 4 in the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 onto the exposure area 1001 overlaps with the orthographic projection of the second region 4-2 of the photoalignment mask 4 in the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 onto the exposure area 1001, that is, the second part 3 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second part 3 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 overlap with the orthographic projection of the same exposure area 1001; the orthographic projection of the first region 4-1 of the photoalignment mask 4 in the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 onto the exposure area 1001 does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the first region 4-1 of the photoalignment mask 4 in the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 onto the exposure area 1001, that is, the first part 2 of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the first part 2 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 do not overlap with the orthographic projection of the same exposure area 1001.

[0067] In specific implementation, the number of photoalignment masks included in the first photoalignment mask assembly and the number of photoalignment masks included in the second photoalignment mask assembly can be specifically set according to the size of the photoalignment mask and the size of the substrate to be aligned, and are not limited here.

[0068] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3As shown, the two light-transmitting patterns 1 are the first light-transmitting pattern 1-1 and the second light-transmitting pattern 1-2, respectively. The light alignment direction of the first light-transmitting pattern 1-1 is opposite to that of the second light-transmitting pattern 1-2. For example, the light alignment direction of the first light-transmitting pattern 1-1 can be the positive direction of the first direction Y, or the light alignment direction of the first light-transmitting pattern 1-1 can be the negative direction of the first direction Y, or the light alignment direction of the first light-transmitting pattern 1-1 can be the negative direction of the first direction Y, or the light alignment direction of the first light-transmitting pattern 1-1 can be the positive direction of the first direction Y. This is not limited here. In specific implementation, the second part 3 of the first light alignment mask assembly 5 and the second part of the second light alignment mask assembly 6... 3. Within the overlapping area of ​​the orthographic projection of the same 1001 exposure area, for at least some sub-pixels, half of each sub-pixel corresponds only to a light-transmitting area 101 of the first light-transmitting pattern 1-1 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5, and the other half of the sub-pixel corresponds only to a light-transmitting area 101 of the second light-transmitting pattern 1-2 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, and / or, for at least some sub-pixels, half of each sub-pixel corresponds only to a light-transmitting area 101 of the second light-transmitting pattern 1-2 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5, and the other half of the sub-pixel corresponds only to a light-transmitting area 101 of the first light-transmitting pattern 1-1 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, which is not limited here.

[0069] For the first photoalignment mask assembly 5, the second part 3 of the first light-transmitting pattern 1-1 includes a plurality of first light-transmitting area groups 1011, and each first light-transmitting area group 1011 includes at least one light-transmitting area 101. The second part 3 of the second light-transmitting pattern 1-2 includes a plurality of second light-transmitting area groups 1012, and each second light-transmitting area group 1012 includes at least one light-transmitting area 101.

[0070] For the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, the second part 3 of the first light-transmitting pattern 1-1 includes a plurality of third light-transmitting area groups 1013, and each third light-transmitting area group 1013 includes at least one light-transmitting area. The second part 3 of the second light-transmitting pattern 1-2 includes a plurality of fourth light-transmitting area groups 101, and each fourth light-transmitting area group 104 includes at least one light-transmitting area 101.

[0071] In this configuration, each light-transmitting area 101 has the same width in the second direction X, and the spacing between two adjacent light-transmitting areas 101 in each light-transmitting area group is equal to the width of the light-transmitting area 101; the first light-transmitting area group 1011 and the second light-transmitting area group 1012 are arranged alternately with respect to the orthographic projection of the same exposure area 1001, and the third light-transmitting area group 1013 and the fourth light-transmitting area group 1014 are arranged alternately with respect to the orthographic projection of the same exposure area 1001; the sub-pixels 7 corresponding to the orthographic projections of the first light-transmitting area group 1011 and the fourth light-transmitting area group 1014 with respect to the same exposure area 1001 are the same, and the sub-pixels 7 corresponding to the orthographic projections of the second light-transmitting area group 1013 and the third light-transmitting area group 1013 with respect to the same exposure area 1001 are the same.

[0072] like Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, half of the sub-pixels 7 located in the overlapping exposure area A, corresponding to each of the two alignment directions, are exposed by the first light-transmitting area group 1011 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the fourth light-transmitting area group of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, respectively. The remaining half of the sub-pixels 7, corresponding to each of the two alignment directions, are exposed by the second light-transmitting area group 1012 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the fourth light-transmitting area group 1014 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6. Furthermore, the areas exposed by the first light-transmitting area group 1011 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the fourth light-transmitting area group of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 are alternately set with the areas exposed by the second light-transmitting area group 1012 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the fourth light-transmitting area group 1014 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6. This arrangement helps to ensure a smooth transition in the brightness of the sub-pixels within the overlapping exposure area, further improving brightness uniformity.

[0073] In some embodiments, for the first photoalignment mask assembly 5, in the second portions 3 located on both sides of the first portion 2, at least one second portion 3 is a gradient portion 31. Along the direction from the first portion 2 to the gradient portion 31, the number of light-transmitting regions 101 included in each first light-transmitting region group 1011 tends to increase, and the number of light-transmitting regions 101 included in each second light-transmitting region group 1012 tends to decrease.

[0074] For the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, in the second portions 3 located on both sides of the first portion 2, at least one second portion 3 is a gradient portion 31. Along the direction from the first portion 2 to the gradient portion 31, the number of light-transmitting regions 101 included in each third light-transmitting region group 1013 tends to increase, and the number of light-transmitting regions 101 included in each fourth light-transmitting region group 1014 tends to decrease.

[0075] For example, such as Figure 3As shown, for the first photoalignment mask assembly 5, the second part 3 located on one side of the first part 2 along the positive direction X+ of the second direction X is a gradient part 31. Along the direction from the first part 2 to the gradient part 31, i.e., along the positive direction X+ of the second direction X, the number of light-transmitting areas 101 included in each first light-transmitting area group 1011 tends to increase, while the number of light-transmitting areas 101 included in each second light-transmitting area group 1012 tends to decrease. For the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, the second part 3 located on one side of the first part 2 along the negative direction X- of the second direction X is a gradient part 31. Along the direction from the first part 2 to the gradient part 31, i.e., along the negative direction X- of the second direction X, the number of light-transmitting areas 101 included in each third light-transmitting area group 1013 tends to increase, while the number of light-transmitting areas 101 included in each fourth light-transmitting area group 1014 tends to decrease. In specific implementation, as follows... Figure 3 As shown, the gradient portion 31 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the gradient portion of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 overlap with each other in the orthographic projection of the same exposure area 1001. In the gradient portion 31, the number of light-transmitting areas 101 included in each light-transmitting area group of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 gradually changes, which is beneficial to further smooth the transition of sub-pixel brightness in the overlapping exposure area, thereby further improving brightness uniformity.

[0076] In specific implementation, the second part 3 located on both sides of the first part 2 can be set as a gradient part 31 (only one side of the first part 2 is shown in the figure), and no limitation is made here.

[0077] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown, for the gradient portion 31 of the first optical alignment mask assembly 5, all first light-transmitting area groups 1011 are divided into multiple first light-transmitting area groups 11; one first light-transmitting area group 11 includes multiple first light-transmitting area groups 1011; within the same first light-transmitting area group 11, each first light-transmitting area group 1011 includes the same number of light-transmitting areas 101; along the direction from the first portion 2 to the gradient portion 31, the number of light-transmitting areas 101 included in each first light-transmitting area group 11 in different first light-transmitting area groups 11 gradually increases. For the gradient portion 31 of the first optical alignment mask assembly 5, all second light-transmitting area groups 1012 are divided into multiple second light-transmitting area groups 12; one second light-transmitting area group 12 includes multiple second light-transmitting area groups 1012; in the same second light-transmitting area group 12, each second light-transmitting area group 1012 includes the same number of light-transmitting areas 101; along the direction from the first portion 2 to the gradient portion 3, the number of light-transmitting areas 101 included in each second light-transmitting area group 12 in different second light-transmitting area groups 12 gradually decreases;

[0078] For the gradient portion 31 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, all third light-transmitting region groups 1013 are divided into multiple third light-transmitting region groups 13; one third light-transmitting region group 13 includes multiple third light-transmitting region groups 1013; in the same third light-transmitting region group 13, each third light-transmitting region group 1013 includes the same number of light-transmitting regions 101; along the direction from the first portion 2 to the gradient portion 31, the number of light-transmitting regions 101 included in each third light-transmitting region group 13 in different third light-transmitting region groups 13 gradually decreases; For the gradient portion 31 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, all fourth light-transmitting region groups 1014 are divided into multiple fourth light-transmitting region groups 14; one fourth light-transmitting region group 14 includes multiple fourth light-transmitting region groups 1014; in the same fourth light-transmitting region group 14, each fourth light-transmitting region group 1014 includes the same number of light-transmitting regions 101; along the direction from the first portion 2 to the gradient portion 31, the number of light-transmitting regions 101 included in each fourth light-transmitting region group 14 in different fourth light-transmitting region groups 14 gradually decreases.

[0079] In this embodiment, in the first light-transmitting pattern 1-1 and the second light-transmitting pattern 1-2, multiple light-transmitting area groups in the same light-transmitting pattern are divided into multiple light-transmitting area groups. Each light-transmitting area group includes multiple light-transmitting area groups, and the number of light-transmitting areas included in each light-transmitting area group in the same light-transmitting area group is the same. This is beneficial to make the alternating arrangement trend of the orthographic projection of the light-transmitting areas of different mask components on the overlapping exposure area smoother, and further improve the high brightness uniformity of sub-pixels.

[0080] In some embodiments, along the direction from the first portion to the gradient portion, the number of light-transmitting areas 101 included in each group of light-transmitting areas in the subsequent group increases or decreases by n compared to the number of light-transmitting areas 101 included in each group of light-transmitting areas in the previous group, where n≥1. In specific implementations, the value of n can be 1, and is not limited here.

[0081] Taking the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 as an example, such as Figure 3 As shown, along the direction from the first part 2 to the gradient part 31, the number of light-transmitting areas 101 included in each first light-transmitting area group 1011 of the subsequent first light-transmitting area group 11 increases by one compared to the number of light-transmitting areas 101 included in each first light-transmitting area group 1011 of the previous first light-transmitting area group 11; and the number of light-transmitting areas 101 included in each second light-transmitting area group 1012 of the subsequent second light-transmitting area group 12 decreases by one compared to the number of light-transmitting areas 101 included in each second light-transmitting area group 1012 of the previous second light-transmitting area group 12. In specific implementation, as... Figure 3As shown, along the direction from the first part 2 to the gradient part 31, the spacing between two adjacent first light-transmitting area groups 11 gradually decreases, and the spacing between two adjacent first light-transmitting area groups 1011 within the same light-transmitting area group gradually decreases; along the direction from the first part 2 to the gradient part 31, the spacing between two adjacent second light-transmitting area groups 12 gradually increases, and the spacing between two adjacent second light-transmitting area groups 1012 within the same light-transmitting area group 12 gradually increases. The second photoalignment mask assembly 6 is similar and will not be described in detail here.

[0082] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown, along the direction from the first part 2 to the gradient part 31, each first light-transmitting area group 1011 in the first first light-transmitting area group 11 includes 1 light-transmitting area, and each first light-transmitting area group 1011 in the last first light-transmitting area group 11 includes 5 light-transmitting areas; each second light-transmitting area group 1012 in the first second light-transmitting area group 12 includes 5 light-transmitting areas 101, and each second light-transmitting area group 1012 in the last second light-transmitting area group 12 includes light-transmitting areas 101. The number of zones 101 is 1; each third light-transmitting zone group 1013 in the first third light-transmitting zone group 13 includes 1 light-transmitting zone 101, and each third light-transmitting zone group 1013 in the last third light-transmitting zone group 13 includes 1 light-transmitting zone 101; each fourth light-transmitting zone group 1014 in the first fourth light-transmitting zone group 14 includes 5 light-transmitting zones, and each fourth light-transmitting zone group 1014 in the last fourth light-transmitting zone group 14 includes 5 light-transmitting zones.

[0083] In some embodiments, each group of light-transmitting areas includes the same number of light-transmitting areas. For example, such as Figure 3 As shown, the number of first light-transmitting area groups 1011 included in the first light-transmitting area group 11, the number of second light-transmitting area groups 1012 included in the second light-transmitting area group 12, the number of third light-transmitting area groups 1013 included in the third light-transmitting area group 13, and the number of fourth light-transmitting area groups 1014 included in the fourth light-transmitting area group 14 can all be set to 2. In specific implementations, the number of light-transmitting area groups included in each light-transmitting area group can also be other numbers, which are not limited here.

[0084] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3As shown, for the first photoalignment mask assembly 5, all the transparent areas 101 in the second part 3 of the first transparent pattern 1-1 are divided into multiple first transparent area groups 1011, and all the transparent areas 101 in the second part 3 of the second transparent pattern 1-2 are divided into multiple second transparent area groups 1012; for the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, all the transparent areas 101 in the second part 3 of the first transparent pattern 1-1 are divided into multiple third transparent area groups 1013, and all the transparent areas in the second part 3 of the second transparent pattern 1-2 are divided into multiple fourth transparent area groups 1014. In this embodiment, for all sub-pixels 7 in the overlapping exposure area, the half-areas corresponding to the two alignment directions of each sub-pixel 7 are exposed through the transparent areas of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, respectively.

[0085] Figure 5 Provided for embodiments of the present invention Figure 2 The second enlarged schematic diagram of the G region.

[0086] In some embodiments, such as Figure 5 As shown, for the first photoalignment mask assembly 5, the second part 3 of the first light-transmitting pattern 1-1 further includes a fifth light-transmitting region group 1015, each fifth light-transmitting region group 1015 including at least one light-transmitting region 101. The second part 3 of the second light-transmitting pattern 1-2 further includes a plurality of sixth light-transmitting region groups 1016, each sixth light-transmitting region group 1016 including at least one light-transmitting region 101. The sub-pixels corresponding to the orthographic projections of the fifth light-transmitting region group 1015 and the sixth light-transmitting region group 1016 relative to the same exposure area are the same. For the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, the second part 3 of the first light-transmitting pattern 1-1 further includes a seventh light-transmitting region group 1017, each seventh light-transmitting region group 1017 including at least one light-transmitting region 101. The second part 3 of the second light-transmitting pattern 1-2 further includes a plurality of eighth light-transmitting region groups 1018, each eighth light-transmitting region group 1018 including at least one light-transmitting region 101. The sub-pixels corresponding to the orthographic projections of the seventh light-transmitting region group 1017 and the eighth light-transmitting region group 1018 relative to the same exposure area are the same. In this embodiment, for a portion of the sub-pixels in the overlapping exposure area, half of the area corresponding to each of the two alignment directions of each sub-pixel 7 in this portion is exposed through the light-transmitting area of ​​the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the light-transmitting area of ​​the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, respectively. For the remaining sub-pixels, half of the area corresponding to each of the two alignment directions of this portion of the sub-pixels is exposed through the same mask assembly. For example, the sub-pixels corresponding to the fifth light-transmitting area group 1015 and the sixth light-transmitting area group 1016 are exposed through the first photoalignment mask assembly 5, and the sub-pixels corresponding to the seventh light-transmitting area group 1017 and the eighth light-transmitting area group 1018 are exposed through the second photoalignment mask assembly 6.

[0087] In some embodiments, such as Figure 5As shown, the fifth light-transmitting zone group 1015 is located between two adjacent first light-transmitting zone groups 1011; the sixth light-transmitting zone group 1016 is located between two adjacent second light-transmitting zone groups 1012; the seventh light-transmitting zone group 1017 is located between two adjacent third light-transmitting zone groups 1013; and the eighth light-transmitting zone group 1018 is located between two adjacent fourth light-transmitting zone groups 1014.

[0088] In some embodiments, such as Figure 5 As shown, only one fifth light-transmitting zone group 1015 is provided between two adjacent first light-transmitting zone groups 1011; only one sixth light-transmitting zone group 1016 is provided between two adjacent second light-transmitting zone groups 1012; only one seventh light-transmitting zone group 1018 is provided between two adjacent third light-transmitting zone groups 1013; and only one eighth light-transmitting zone group 1018 is provided between two adjacent fourth light-transmitting zone groups 1014.

[0089] In some embodiments, such as Figure 5 As shown, the fifth light-transmitting area group 1015 and the seventh light-transmitting area group 1017 are arranged alternately with respect to the orthographic projection of the same exposure area, and the sixth light-transmitting area group 1016 and the eighth light-transmitting area group 1018 are arranged overlappingly with respect to the orthographic projection of the same exposure area. In specific implementation, the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 may be configured such that adjacent first light-transmitting area groups 1011 are provided with only the fifth light-transmitting area group 1015 or only the seventh light-transmitting area group 1017, and adjacent second light-transmitting area groups 1012 are provided with only the sixth light-transmitting area group 1016 or the seventh light-transmitting area group 1018, which is not limited here.

[0090] In such Figure 5 In the embodiment shown, by setting some sub-pixels in the overlapping exposure area to be exposed by the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second photoalignment mask assembly respectively, some sub-pixels to be exposed by the first photoalignment mask assembly alone, and some sub-pixels to be exposed by the second photoalignment mask assembly alone, it is beneficial to improve the exposure uniformity of the substrate to be exposed, thereby improving the brightness uniformity of the sub-pixels.

[0091] Figure 6 This is a schematic flowchart of the optical alignment method provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0092] This invention also provides a method for optical alignment. For example... Figure 6 As shown, the optical alignment method provided in this embodiment of the invention includes:

[0093] S61. Provide a substrate to be aligned and an exposure assembly provided in the embodiments of the present invention;

[0094] S62. The first photoalignment mask assembly and the second photoalignment mask assembly of the exposure assembly are used to perform photoalignment on the substrate to be aligned.

[0095] The photoalignment method provided in this embodiment of the invention uses the exposure assembly described above to perform photoalignment on the substrate to be aligned. For example... Figure 3 As shown, in the exposure assembly, within the overlapping area of ​​the second part 3 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second part 3 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 relative to the orthographic projection of the same exposure area 1001, the light-transmitting area 101 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the light-transmitting area 101 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 do not overlap. That is, in the orthographic projection of the overlapping exposure area, the light-transmitting area 101 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the light-transmitting area 101 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 do not overlap. In the overlapping exposure area, each sub-pixel 7 is exposed only once through the light-transmitting area 101 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 or the light-transmitting area 101 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, which can avoid the problem of excessive brightness in the overlapping exposure area caused by secondary exposure.

[0096] Furthermore, since in the overlapping area of ​​the second part 3 of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the second part 3 of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 relative to the orthographic projection of the same exposure area 1001, for at least some sub-pixels 7, half of each sub-pixel 7 corresponds only to a light-transmitting area 101 of one light-transmitting pattern of the first photoalignment mask assembly 5, and the other half of the sub-pixel 7 corresponds only to a light-transmitting area 101 of another light-transmitting pattern of the second photoalignment mask assembly 6, that is, in the overlapping exposure area, at least some sub-pixels 7 are exposed through the light-transmitting area of ​​the first photoalignment mask assembly 5 and the light-transmitting area of ​​the second photoalignment mask assembly 6 respectively, which can avoid the problem of fine vertical lines caused by the two alignment directions of a single sub-pixel 7 being exposed through the same mask assembly in the overlapping exposure area, and improve brightness uniformity.

[0097] In some embodiments, the photoalignment mask plates of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second photoalignment mask assembly include a first light-transmitting pattern and a second light-transmitting pattern; photoaligning the substrate to be aligned is performed using the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second photoalignment mask assembly, respectively, specifically including:

[0098] The photoalignment light source is controlled to scan the substrate to be aligned along the first scanning direction using the first light-transmitting pattern of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the first light-transmitting pattern of the second photoalignment mask assembly, respectively.

[0099] The photoalignment light source is controlled to scan the substrate to be aligned along the second scanning direction using the second light-transmitting pattern of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second light-transmitting pattern of the second photoalignment mask assembly, respectively; the second scanning direction is opposite to the first scanning direction.

[0100] The photoalignment method provided in this embodiment of the invention can be adjusted according to the specific structure of the exposure component during implementation, which will not be elaborated here.

[0101] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a display panel provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0102] This invention also provides a display panel, such as... Figure 7 As shown, the display panel includes: the display panel 23 includes: an array substrate 21 and a counter substrate 22 disposed opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer 23 located between the array substrate 21 and the counter substrate 22;

[0103] The optical alignment method provided in this embodiment of the invention is used to perform optical alignment on the alignment film layer of the array substrate, and / or on the alignment film layer of the orientation substrate.

[0104] In some embodiments, the array substrate includes a first alignment layer, the opposing substrate includes a second alignment layer, and the liquid crystal layer is located between the first alignment layer and the second alignment layer.

[0105] In some embodiments, the array substrate further includes: a first substrate, a plurality of thin-film transistors located between the first substrate and the first alignment layer, and a plurality of pixel electrodes located between the thin-film transistors and the first alignment layer; the thin-film transistors and the pixel electrodes are electrically connected in a one-to-one correspondence, and each sub-pixel includes a thin-film transistor and a pixel electrode; the opposing substrate further includes: a second substrate, a black matrix and a color filter located between the second substrate and the second alignment layer; the black matrix includes an opening region corresponding to each sub-pixel, and the color filter is located at least within the opening region.

[0106] In some embodiments, the opposing substrate further includes a common electrode.

[0107] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a display device provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0108] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a display device, including a display panel provided in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0109] In some embodiments, such as Figure 8 As shown, the display device also includes a backlight module 24, and the display panel 23 is located on the light-emitting side of the backlight module 24.

[0110] The display device provided in this embodiment of the invention includes any product or component with a display function, such as a mobile phone, tablet computer, television, monitor, laptop computer, digital photo frame, or navigator. Other essential components of this display device are understood by those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail here, nor should they be construed as limiting the invention. Implementation of this display device can refer to the embodiments of the display panel and exposure component described above; repeated details will not be repeated.

[0111] Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, those skilled in the art, upon learning the basic inventive concept, can make other changes and modifications to these embodiments. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including both the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications falling within the scope of the invention.

[0112] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this invention without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, if these modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this invention and their equivalents, this invention also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. An exposure assembly, characterized in that, Includes a first optical alignment mask assembly and a second optical alignment mask assembly; Both the first and second photoalignment mask assemblies include photoalignment masks; each photoalignment mask includes two types of light-transmitting patterns arranged along a first direction; the light alignment directions of the different types of light-transmitting patterns are different; The light-transmitting pattern is divided into a first part and a second part located on both sides of the first part in a second direction; the second direction intersects the first direction. The first portion of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the first portion of the second photoalignment mask assembly do not overlap with each other in orthographic projection relative to the same exposure area, while the second portion of the first photoalignment assembly and the second portion of the second photoalignment assembly overlap in orthographic projection relative to the same exposure area. Each of the light-transmitting patterns includes multiple light-transmitting areas arranged along the second direction; each of the light-transmitting areas has the same length in the first direction; In the overlapping area of ​​the second portion of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second portion of the second photoalignment mask assembly relative to the same exposure area, the light-transmitting area of ​​the first photoalignment mask assembly and the light-transmitting area of ​​the second photoalignment mask assembly do not overlap. In the overlapping area of ​​the second portion of the first photoalignment mask assembly and the second portion of the second photoalignment mask assembly with respect to the same exposure area, for at least some sub-pixels, half of each sub-pixel corresponds only to a light-transmitting area of ​​one light-transmitting pattern of the first photoalignment mask assembly, and the other half of the sub-pixel corresponds only to a light-transmitting area of ​​another light-transmitting pattern of the second photoalignment mask assembly.

2. The exposure assembly as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The two light-transmitting patterns are a first light-transmitting pattern and a second light-transmitting pattern, respectively. For the first photoalignment mask assembly, the second part of the first light-transmitting pattern includes a plurality of first light-transmitting region groups, and one of the first light-transmitting region groups includes at least one light-transmitting region; the second part of the second light-transmitting pattern includes a plurality of second light-transmitting region groups, and one of the second light-transmitting region groups includes at least one light-transmitting region. For the second light alignment mask assembly, the second part of the first light-transmitting pattern includes a plurality of third light-transmitting region groups, one of the third light-transmitting region groups including at least one light-transmitting region; the second part of the second light-transmitting pattern includes a plurality of fourth light-transmitting region groups, one of the fourth light-transmitting region groups including at least one light-transmitting region. In this configuration, each of the light-transmitting areas has the same width in the second direction, and the spacing between two adjacent light-transmitting areas in each group of light-transmitting areas is equal to the width of the light-transmitting area; the first group of light-transmitting areas and the second group of light-transmitting areas are arranged alternately with respect to the orthogonal projections of the same exposure area, and the third group of light-transmitting areas and the fourth group of light-transmitting areas are arranged alternately with respect to the orthogonal projections of the same exposure area; the sub-pixels corresponding to the orthogonal projections of the first group of light-transmitting areas and the fourth group of light-transmitting areas with respect to the same exposure area are the same, and the sub-pixels corresponding to the orthogonal projections of the second group of light-transmitting areas and the third group of light-transmitting areas with respect to the same exposure area are the same.

3. The exposure assembly as described in claim 2, characterized in that, For the first photoalignment mask assembly, in the second portions located on both sides of the first portion, at least one of the second portions is a gradient portion. Along the direction from the first portion to the gradient portion, the number of light-transmitting areas included in each of the first light-transmitting area groups tends to increase, and the number of light-transmitting areas included in each of the second light-transmitting area groups tends to decrease. For the second photoalignment mask assembly, in the second portions located on both sides of the first portion, at least one of the second portions is a gradient portion. Along the direction from the first portion to the gradient portion, the number of light-transmitting regions included in each of the third light-transmitting region groups tends to increase, and the number of light-transmitting regions included in each of the fourth light-transmitting region groups tends to decrease.

4. The exposure assembly as described in claim 3, characterized in that, For the gradient portion of the first photoalignment mask assembly, all first light-transmitting region groups are divided into multiple first light-transmitting region groups; one first light-transmitting region group includes multiple first light-transmitting region groups; within the same first light-transmitting region group, each first light-transmitting region group includes the same number of light-transmitting regions; along the direction from the first portion to the gradient portion, the number of light-transmitting regions included in each first light-transmitting region group in different first light-transmitting region groups gradually increases; For the gradient portion of the first photoalignment mask assembly, all second light-transmitting region groups are divided into multiple second light-transmitting region groups; one second light-transmitting region group includes multiple second light-transmitting region groups; within the same second light-transmitting region group, each second light-transmitting region group includes the same number of light-transmitting regions; along the direction from the first portion to the gradient portion, the number of light-transmitting regions included in each second light-transmitting region group in different second light-transmitting region groups gradually decreases; For the gradient portion of the second photoalignment mask assembly, all the third light-transmitting region groups are divided into multiple third light-transmitting region groups; one third light-transmitting region group includes multiple third light-transmitting region groups; within the same third light-transmitting region group, each third light-transmitting region group includes the same number of light-transmitting regions; along the direction from the first portion to the gradient portion, the number of light-transmitting regions included in each third light-transmitting region group in different third light-transmitting region groups gradually decreases; For the gradient portion of the second photoalignment mask assembly, all the fourth light-transmitting region groups are divided into multiple fourth light-transmitting region groups; one fourth light-transmitting region group includes multiple fourth light-transmitting region groups; within the same fourth light-transmitting region group, each fourth light-transmitting region group includes the same number of light-transmitting regions; along the direction from the first portion to the gradient portion, the number of light-transmitting regions included in each fourth light-transmitting region group in different fourth light-transmitting region groups gradually decreases.

5. The exposure assembly as described in claim 4, characterized in that, Along the direction from the first part to the gradient part, the number of light-transmitting areas in each group of light-transmitting areas in the latter group increases or decreases by n compared to the number of light-transmitting areas in each group of light-transmitting areas in the former group, where n≥1.

6. The exposure assembly as described in claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, Each group of light-transmitting zones includes the same number of light-transmitting zones.

7. The exposure assembly as described in claim 6, characterized in that, Each group of light-transmitting zones includes two light-transmitting zones.

8. The exposure assembly as described in claim 2, characterized in that, For the first photoalignment mask assembly, all the light-transmitting areas in the second part of the first light-transmitting pattern are divided into multiple first light-transmitting area groups, and all the light-transmitting areas in the second part of the second light-transmitting pattern are divided into multiple second light-transmitting area groups; For the second photoalignment mask assembly, all the light-transmitting areas in the second part of the first light-transmitting pattern are divided into multiple third light-transmitting area groups, and all the light-transmitting areas in the second part of the second light-transmitting pattern are divided into multiple fourth light-transmitting area groups.

9. The exposure assembly as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that, For the first photoalignment mask assembly, the second part of the first light-transmitting pattern further includes a fifth light-transmitting region group, one of the fifth light-transmitting region groups including at least one light-transmitting region; the second part of the second light-transmitting pattern further includes a plurality of sixth light-transmitting region groups, one of the sixth light-transmitting region groups including at least one light-transmitting region; the sub-pixels corresponding to the orthogonal projection of the fifth light-transmitting region group and the sixth light-transmitting region group relative to the same exposure area are the same. For the second light alignment mask assembly, the second part of the first light-transmitting pattern further includes a seventh light-transmitting region group, one of the seventh light-transmitting region groups including at least one light-transmitting region, and the second part of the second light-transmitting pattern further includes a plurality of eighth light-transmitting region groups, one of the eighth light-transmitting region groups including at least one light-transmitting region; the sub-pixels corresponding to the orthogonal projection of the seventh light-transmitting region group and the eighth light-transmitting region group relative to the same exposure area are the same.

10. The exposure assembly as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that, The fifth light-transmitting zone group is located between two adjacent first light-transmitting zone groups; the sixth light-transmitting zone group is located between two adjacent second light-transmitting zone groups; the seventh light-transmitting zone group is located between two adjacent third light-transmitting zone groups; and the eighth light-transmitting zone group is located between two adjacent fourth light-transmitting zone groups.

11. The exposure assembly as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, Only one fifth light-transmitting zone group is provided between two adjacent first light-transmitting zone groups; only one sixth light-transmitting zone group is provided between two adjacent second light-transmitting zone groups; only one seventh light-transmitting zone group is provided between two adjacent third light-transmitting zone groups; and only one eighth light-transmitting zone group is provided between two adjacent fourth light-transmitting zone groups.

12. The exposure assembly as described in any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that, The fifth and seventh light-transmitting zones are arranged alternately with respect to the orthographic projection of the same exposure area, and the sixth and eighth light-transmitting zones are arranged alternately with respect to the orthographic projection of the same exposure area.

13. A method for optical alignment, characterized in that, include: A substrate to be aligned and an exposure assembly as described in any one of claims 1 to 12 are provided; The first and second photoalignment mask assemblies of the exposure assembly are used to perform photoalignment on the substrate to be aligned.

14. A display panel, characterized in that, The display panel includes: an array substrate and a counter substrate disposed opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer located between the array substrate and the counter substrate; the array substrate includes an alignment film layer, and / or the counter substrate includes an alignment film layer; The alignment film layer of the array substrate and / or the alignment film layer of the opposing substrate are optically aligned using the optical alignment method as described in claim 13.

15. A display device, characterized in that, Includes the display panel as described in claim 14.

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