Display panel, preparation method thereof and display device

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a display panel, a preparation method thereof and a display device. The display panel comprises a first substrate and a second substrate, the first substrate comprises a first underlayer substrate and first spacer columns arranged on one side of the first underlayer substrate, the first spacer columns are located between every two adjacent sub-pixel areas in the first direction and extend in the second direction, the first direction is the direction in which the sub-pixel areas are arranged in one row of sub-pixel areas, and the second direction is the direction in which the sub-pixel areas are arranged in the second row of sub-pixel areas; the second direction intersects with the first direction; the second substrate and the first substrate are arranged in a box-to-box mode, the second substrate comprises a second substrate body and second shock insulator columns arranged on the side, facing the first substrate body, of the second substrate body and extends in the first direction, and the second shock insulator columns abut against the first shock insulator columns corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel areas and the first shock insulator columns corresponding to the i + 1-th row of sub-pixel areas. According to the technical scheme, the total abutting area of the first shock insulator column and the second shock insulator column is not affected by alignment deviation, the supporting strength is guaranteed, and the uniformity of the box thickness can be maintained.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of display technology, and in particular to a display panel and a manufacturing method thereof, and a display device. Background Art

[0002] With the development of virtual reality technology (VR technology), the demand for liquid crystal displays is getting higher and higher. The liquid crystal display panel includes a first substrate and a second substrate arranged in a cell, and a spacer column is arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the spacer column is used to maintain the uniformity of the cell thickness. In order to increase the amount of displayed information, the resolution of display products is getting higher and higher, and the pixels are getting smaller and smaller, and the spacer column has a greater impact on the aperture ratio of the product. Summary of the invention

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a display panel and a method for manufacturing the same, and a display device to solve or alleviate one or more technical problems in the prior art.

[0004] As a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a display panel, including a plurality of rows of sub-pixel regions, and the display panel further includes:

[0005] A first substrate, comprising a first base substrate and a first spacer column arranged on one side of the first base substrate, wherein the first spacer column is located between two adjacent sub-pixel regions in a first direction, and the first spacer column extends along a second direction, wherein the first direction is a direction in which sub-pixel regions in a row of sub-pixel regions are arranged, and the second direction intersects the first direction;

[0006] The second substrate is arranged in a box with the first substrate, and the second substrate includes a second base substrate and a second spacer column arranged on the side of the second base substrate facing the first substrate, the second spacer column extends along the first direction, the second spacer column abuts against the first spacer column corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel areas, and the second spacer column abuts against the first spacer column corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel areas, wherein i is a natural number greater than or equal to 1.

[0007] In some embodiments, a gap between the first spacer column corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel regions and the first spacer column corresponding to the (i+1)-th row of sub-pixel regions in the second direction is less than or equal to 0.

[0008] In some embodiments, the dimension of the first end surface of the second spacer column in the first direction is greater than or equal to the distance between two adjacent sub-pixel regions in the first direction, and the first end surface is the end surface of the second spacer column facing the first substrate.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first substrate also includes a light-shielding layer, which is arranged on the side of the first base substrate facing the second substrate, and the first spacer column is located on the side of the light-shielding layer facing the second substrate. The orthographic projection of the light-shielding layer on the first base substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the corresponding sub-pixel area on the first base substrate, and the orthographic projection of the first spacer column on the first base substrate is located within the orthographic projection of the light-shielding layer on the first base substrate.

[0010] In some embodiments, the distances between the edges of the orthographic projection of the first spacer pillars on the first base substrate and the corresponding edges of the orthographic projection of the light shielding layer on the first base substrate are the same.

[0011] In some embodiments, the light shielding layer includes a first light shielding strip and a second light shielding strip, the first light shielding strip extends along a first direction and is located between two adjacent rows of sub-pixel regions, the second light shielding strip extends along a second direction and is located between two adjacent sub-pixel regions in the first direction;

[0012] The difference between the size of the second light-shielding strip in the first direction and the size of the first spacer column in the first direction is the same as the size of the first light-shielding strip in the second direction.

[0013] In some embodiments, the size of the first spacer column in the second direction is larger than the size of the sub-pixel region in the second direction, and the distance between the edge of the first spacer column parallel to the first direction and the edge of the corresponding first light shielding strip is half of the size of the first light shielding strip in the second direction;

[0014] The distance between the edge of the first spacer column and the edge of the corresponding second light shielding strip is half of the size of the first light shielding strip in the second direction.

[0015] In some embodiments, the material of the light shielding layer includes metal, the material of the first spacer column includes metal, and the material of the light shielding layer is different from the material of the first spacer column.

[0016] In some embodiments, the light shielding layer is connected to a common electrode signal of the display panel.

[0017] In some embodiments, two adjacent rows of sub-pixel regions are arranged in a staggered manner, and two adjacent rows of first spacer columns are arranged in a staggered manner.

[0018] As a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing a display panel, wherein the display panel includes a plurality of rows of sub-pixel regions, and the method includes:

[0019] Preparing a first substrate, comprising: forming a first spacer column on one side of a first base substrate, the first spacer column being located between two adjacent sub-pixel regions in a first direction, the first spacer column extending along a second direction, the first direction being a direction where a row of sub-pixel regions are located, and the second direction intersecting with the first direction;

[0020] Providing a second substrate, the second substrate comprising a second base substrate and a second spacer column arranged on one side of the second base substrate, the second spacer column extending along a first direction;

[0021] The second substrate is aligned with the first substrate, the second spacer column is abutted against the first spacer column corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel areas, and the second spacer column is abutted against the first spacer column corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel areas, wherein i is a natural number greater than or equal to 1.

[0022] In some embodiments, the first substrate further includes a light shielding layer, which is disposed on a side of the first base substrate facing the first spacer column, and the first spacer column is located on a side of the light shielding layer facing the second substrate; forming the first spacer column on one side of the first base substrate includes:

[0023] Depositing a light shielding material layer and a spacer column material layer in sequence on one side of the first base substrate;

[0024] Forming a photoresist pattern on a side of the spacer column material layer away from the first base substrate, wherein the orthographic projection of the photoresist pattern on the first base substrate coincides with the orthographic projection of the light shielding layer on the first base substrate;

[0025] The spacer column material layer is etched by a wet etching process, and the remaining spacer column material forms a first spacer column, and the edge of the first spacer column is retracted by a preset distance relative to the corresponding edge of the photoresist pattern;

[0026] The light-shielding material layer is etched by a dry etching process to remove the light-shielding material outside the region where the photoresist pattern is located, and the light-shielding material located in the region where the photoresist pattern is located forms a light-shielding layer.

[0027] As a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a display device, including the display panel in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] According to the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, when the second spacer column and the first spacer column produce an alignment deviation, the total contact area between the second spacer column and the first spacer column can remain unchanged, thereby ensuring that the total contact area between the second spacer column and the first spacer column is not affected by the alignment deviation, ensuring the supporting strength of the second spacer column and the first spacer column, and being conducive to maintaining the uniformity of the box thickness.

[0029] The above summary is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments and features described above, further aspects, embodiments and features of the present disclosure will be readily apparent by reference to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] In the accompanying drawings, unless otherwise specified, the same reference numerals throughout the multiple drawings represent the same or similar parts or elements. These drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. It should be understood that these drawings only depict some embodiments according to the present disclosure and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a display panel in a related art;

[0032] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a display panel in another related technology;

[0033] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a display panel in one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 4 is another cross-sectional schematic diagram of a display panel in one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 5 is a schematic plan view of a first substrate in a display panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] Figure 6 is a schematic plan view of a first substrate in a display panel according to another embodiment;

[0037] Figure 7 is a schematic plan view of a first substrate in a display panel according to another embodiment;

[0038] Figure 8 for Figure 5 Schematic diagram of CC cross section;

[0039] Fig.9A is a cross-sectional schematic diagram after a spacer column material layer is deposited in the first substrate;

[0040] Fig. 9B is a cross-sectional schematic diagram after a photoresist pattern is formed in the first substrate;

[0041] Fig. 9C is a cross-sectional schematic diagram after a first spacer column is formed in the first substrate;

[0042] Fig.10 It is a schematic plan view of a first substrate in a display panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0043] Fig.11 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a display panel in a related art;

[0044] Fig.12 Schematic diagram comparing the sizes of the opaque patterns in the first substrate of the related art and the first substrate of the present disclosure.

[0045] Description of reference numerals:

[0046] 10. first substrate; 11. first base substrate; 12. light shielding layer; 121. first light shielding strip; 122. second light shielding strip; 13. first spacer column;

[0047] 20. Second substrate; 21. Second base substrate; 22. Black matrix; 23. Second spacer column. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] In the following, only certain exemplary embodiments are briefly described. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the described embodiments may be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure, and different embodiments may be combined arbitrarily without conflict. Therefore, the drawings and descriptions are considered to be exemplary and non-restrictive in nature. The numerical ranges defined by "about" in the present disclosure refer to the ranges of ±20%, ±10%, ±5% of a given specific numerical value.

[0049] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a display panel in a related technology, Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a display panel in another related technology. Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the display panel includes a first substrate 10 and a second substrate 20 arranged in a cell, the first substrate 10 may be an array substrate, and the second substrate 20 may be a color filter substrate. In order to maintain the uniformity of the cell thickness, a spacer column (PS) is arranged on the first substrate 10 and / or the second substrate 20. For example, Figure 1 In the embodiment, the surface of the second substrate 20 facing the first substrate 10 is provided with a spacer column 201, and there is a step difference in the position of the spacer column 201. The step difference in the position of the spacer column 201 will affect the coating of the alignment film, resulting in liquid crystal disorder at the position of the spacer column after the cell is aligned, thereby causing light leakage. The size of the light leakage is related to the height of the spacer column. In the related art, a black matrix can be used to block the light leakage.

[0050] In order to reduce the size of light leakage caused by the spacer column, such as Figure 2 As shown, a first spacer column 13 may be disposed on the first substrate 10 , and a second spacer column 23 may be disposed on the second substrate 20 , and the second spacer column 23 abuts against the first spacer column 13 to support the cell thickness. Figure 2 In the structure shown, since the height of the first spacer column 13 and the height of the second spacer column 23 are both less than Figure 1 The height of the septum column in is, therefore, Figure 2 The display panel shown is relative to Figure 1 The light leakage size of the display panel is shown to be reduced.

[0051] for Figure 2In the display panel shown, the second spacer column 23 abuts against the first spacer column 13 to support the thickness of the cell, and the abutment area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13 is related to the support strength of the spacer column. When the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 have a misalignment in the cell or the display panel is pressed so that the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 have a misalignment, the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13 will have a misalignment, resulting in a reduction in the abutment area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13, reducing the support strength between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13, and reducing the uniformity of the cell thickness.

[0052] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a display panel in one embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 4 is another cross-sectional schematic diagram of a display panel in one embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 5 is a schematic plan view of a first substrate in a display panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 5 The projection of the first end surface 231 on the first substrate 10 is also shown in FIG. 2 , and the first end surface 231 is the end surface of the second spacer column 23 facing the first substrate 10. Figure 3 Can be Figure 5 AA cross-section diagram in Figure 2, Figure 4 Can be Figure 5 BB cross section diagram in Fig. Figure 3-Figure 5 As shown, the display panel includes a plurality of rows of sub-pixel regions 30 , and the direction in which the sub-pixel regions in a row of sub-pixel regions 30 are arranged can be defined as a first direction X. The display panel includes a first substrate 10 and a second substrate 20 , and the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 are arranged in a box.

[0053] like Figure 5 As shown, the first substrate 10 includes a first base substrate 11 and a first spacer column 13 disposed on one side of the first base substrate 11. The first spacer column 13 can be disposed on the side of the first base substrate 11 facing the second substrate 20. The first spacer column 13 is located between two adjacent sub-pixel regions 30 in the first direction X, and the first spacer column 13 extends along the second direction Y, and the second direction Y intersects the first direction X. Exemplarily, the second direction Y can be perpendicular to the first direction X.

[0054] It should be noted that, for a clearer and more concise description, a plurality of sub-pixel regions arranged along the first direction X are referred to as a row of sub-pixel regions in this document, but it should be understood that the direction of a row of sub-pixel regions is not limited to the horizontal direction, and the row direction may be other directions as long as the second direction Y intersects with the first direction X.

[0055] like Figure 3-Figure 5As shown, the second substrate 20 includes a second base substrate 21 and a second spacer column 23. The second spacer column 23 is arranged on the side of the second base substrate 21 facing the first substrate 10, and the second spacer column 23 extends along the first direction X. The second spacer column 23 abuts against the first spacer column 13 corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel areas, and the second spacer column 23 abuts against the first spacer column 13 corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel areas, wherein i is a natural number greater than or equal to 1. In other words, the first end face 231 contacts the end face of the first spacer column 13 corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel areas facing the first substrate 10 (i.e., the upper end face of the first spacer column 13), and the first end face 231 contacts the upper end face of the first spacer column 13 corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel areas. Figure 5 In the embodiment, the second spacer column 23 abuts against the first spacer column 13a corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel regions, and the second spacer column 23 abuts against the first spacer column 13b corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel regions.

[0056] In the display panel of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first spacer column 13 is located between two adjacent sub-pixel regions in the first direction X, and the first spacer column 13 extends along the second direction Y; the second spacer column 23 extends along the first direction X, the second spacer column 23 abuts against the first spacer column 13a corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel regions, and the second spacer column 23 abuts against the first spacer column 13b corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel regions. In other words, the second spacer column 23 abuts against both the first spacer column 13a and the first spacer column 13b. Assuming that the abutting area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13a corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel regions is S1, and the abutting area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13b corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel regions is S2, then the total abutting area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13 can be S1+S2.

[0057] In the display panel of the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the second substrate 20 and the first substrate 10 have an alignment deviation, resulting in an alignment deviation in the second direction Y between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13, the second spacer column 23 is simultaneously in contact with the first spacer column 13a corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel regions and the first spacer column 13b corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel regions, and the first spacer column 13 extends along the second direction Y, so that Figure 5As shown, when the second spacer column 23 moves upward relative to the first spacer column 13, the contact area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13a increases by ΔS1, and the contact area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13b decreases by ΔS2, ΔS1=ΔS2, and the total contact area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13 is still S1+S2. When the second spacer column 23 moves downward relative to the first spacer column 13, the contact area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13a decreases by ΔS3, and the contact area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13b increases by ΔS4, ΔS3=ΔS4, and the total contact area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13 is still S1+S2.

[0058] Therefore, in the display panel of the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13 produce an alignment deviation in the second direction Y, the total contact area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13 can remain unchanged, ensuring that the total contact area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13 is not affected by the alignment deviation, ensuring the supporting strength of the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13, and being beneficial to maintaining the uniformity of the box thickness.

[0059] like Figure 5 As shown, in a row of sub-pixel regions, the first spacer column 13 is located between two adjacent sub-pixel regions. Therefore, a row of sub-pixel regions can correspond to multiple first spacer columns 13. The second spacer column 23 can abut against a first spacer column 13 corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel regions, and the second spacer column 23 can abut against a first spacer column 13 corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel regions. Figure 5 In the embodiment, the first end surface 231 abuts against the first spacer column 13 a corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel regions, and the first end surface 231 abuts against the first spacer column 13 b corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel regions.

[0060] In one embodiment, Figure 5 As shown, two adjacent rows of sub-pixel areas are staggered, and two adjacent rows of first spacer columns 13 are staggered. The first spacer column 13a and the first spacer column 13b abutting against the same second spacer column 23 are two first spacer columns 13 adjacent in the first direction X in the two adjacent rows of first spacer columns 13, and the first spacer column 13a and the first spacer column 13b are adjacent in the first direction X.

[0061] Figure 6 FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a first substrate in a display panel according to another embodiment. Figure 6 FIG. 2 also shows a projection of the first end surface 231 on the first substrate 10. Figure 6As shown, the display panel may include a plurality of sub-pixel regions, and the plurality of sub-pixel regions are arranged in a plurality of rows and columns. Two first spacer columns 13 abutting against the same second spacer column 23 are located between the same two columns of sub-pixel regions. Figure 6 The first spacer column 13a and the first spacer column 13b abutting against the same second spacer column 23 can be located between the same two columns of sub-pixel regions, and the first spacer column 13a and the first spacer column 13b are both located between the j-th column and the j+1-th column of sub-pixel regions.

[0062] In one embodiment, the gap between the first spacer column 13 corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel regions and the first spacer column 13 corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel regions in the second direction Y is less than or equal to 0. Figure 5 As shown, the gap between the first spacer column 13a and the first spacer column 13b in the second direction Y is less than or equal to 0. When the lower boundary of the first spacer column 13a is flush with the upper boundary of the first spacer column 13b, the gap between the first spacer column 13a and the first spacer column 13b in the second direction Y is equal to 0.

[0063] Figure 7 FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a first substrate in a display panel according to another embodiment. Figure 7 FIG. 2 also shows a projection of the first end surface 231 on the first substrate 10. Figure 7 As shown, when the first spacer column 13 a overlaps the first spacer column 13 b in the first direction X, the gap between the first spacer column 13 a and the first spacer column 13 b in the second direction Y is less than 0.

[0064] By setting the gap in the second direction Y between the first spacer column 13 corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel regions and the first spacer column 13 corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel regions to be less than or equal to 0, the total contact area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13 in the second direction Y can be made greater than or equal to the size of the first end face 231 in the second direction Y, thereby increasing the total contact area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13 and improving the supporting strength of the spacer column, which is beneficial to improving the uniformity of the box thickness.

[0065] In one embodiment, Figure 5As shown, the dimension L1 of the first end surface 231 in the first direction X is greater than or equal to the spacing d1 between two adjacent sub-pixel regions in the first direction X. In this way, when the second spacer column 23 produces an alignment deviation in the first direction X relative to the first spacer column 13, for example, when the second spacer column 23 moves rightward relative to the first spacer column 13 so that the second spacer column 23 abuts against the first spacer column 13c, the abutting area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13c increases from 0 to ΔS5, and the abutting area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13a remains unchanged or decreases by ΔS6, ΔS6≤ΔS5, so that when the second spacer column 23 moves rightward relative to the first spacer column 13, the total abutting area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13 remains unchanged or increases. When the second spacer column 23 moves leftward relative to the first spacer column 13, the total abutting area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13 remains unchanged or increases.

[0066] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the dimension L1 of the first end face 231 in the first direction X is set to be greater than or equal to the distance d1 between two adjacent sub-pixel areas in the first direction X. When the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13 produce an alignment deviation in the first direction X, it can be ensured that the total contact area between the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13 remains unchanged or increases, further ensuring the supporting strength of the second spacer column 23 and the first spacer column 13, which is beneficial to maintaining the uniformity of the box thickness.

[0067] In one embodiment, Figure 3-Figure 5 As shown, the first substrate 10 further includes a light shielding layer 12, which is disposed on the side of the first base substrate 11 facing the second substrate 20, and the first spacer column 13 is located on the side of the light shielding layer 12 facing the second substrate 20, and the orthographic projection of the light shielding layer 12 on the first base substrate 11 does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the corresponding sub-pixel area on the first base substrate 11, or in other words, the light shielding layer 12 is located in an area outside the sub-pixel area. The orthographic projection of the first spacer column 13 on the first base substrate 11 is located within the orthographic projection of the light shielding layer 12 on the first base substrate 11. With such a structure, the light shielding layer 12 can reduce cross-color between adjacent pixels and improve display performance.

[0068] In one embodiment, Figure 5 As shown, the edges of the first spacer column 13 are retracted at the same distance relative to the corresponding edges of the shading layer 12; in other words, the distances between the edges of the orthographic projection of the first spacer column 13 on the first base substrate 11 and the corresponding edges of the orthographic projection of the shading layer 12 on the first base substrate 11 are the same.

[0069] like Figure 5As shown, the light shielding layer 12 may include a first light shielding strip 121 and a second light shielding strip 122, wherein the first light shielding strip 121 extends along a first direction X and is located between two adjacent rows of sub-pixel regions 30, and the second light shielding strip 122 extends along a second direction Y and is located between two adjacent sub-pixel regions 30 in the first direction X. At least a portion of the first spacer column 13 is located at the second light shielding strip 122.

[0070] For example, the edges of the first spacer column 13 are retracted by the same distance relative to the corresponding edge of the light shielding layer 12, which can be understood as follows: Figure 5 As shown, the distance between the left edge of the first spacer column 13 and the left edge of the corresponding second shading strip 122 is the first distance; the distance between the right edge of the first spacer column 13 and the right edge of the corresponding second shading strip 122 is the first distance; the distance between the upper edge of the first spacer column 13 and the upper edge of the corresponding first shading strip 121 is the first distance; the distance between the lower edge of the first spacer column 13 and the lower edge of the corresponding first shading strip 121 is the first distance.

[0071] The difference between the dimension W1 of the second light shielding strip 122 in the first direction X and the dimension W2 of the first spacer column 13 in the first direction X is the same as the dimension W3 of the first light shielding strip 121 in the second direction Y.

[0072] For example, W1 may be about 2.6 μm, and W2 may be about 1 μm. The values ​​of W1 and W2 may be set as required and are not specifically limited herein.

[0073] Exemplarily, the orthographic projection of the first spacer column 13 on the first base substrate 11 may be located within two boundaries of the second light shielding strip 122 parallel to the second direction Y. The orthographic projection of the first end surface 231 on the first base substrate 11 may be located within the orthographic projection of the first light shielding strip 121 on the first base substrate 11. Thus, the first spacer column 13 and the second spacer column 23 will not affect the light transmittance of the display panel.

[0074] In one embodiment, the first spacer column 13 is aligned with the center of the second light shielding strip 122. The dimension L2 of the first spacer column 13 in the second direction Y is greater than the dimension L3 of the sub-pixel area in the second direction Y, and the distance d3 between the edge of the first spacer column 13 parallel to the first direction X and the edge of the corresponding first light shielding strip 121 is half of the dimension W3 of the first light shielding strip 121 in the second direction Y. The distance between the edge of the first spacer column 13 and the edge of the corresponding second light shielding strip 122 is half of the dimension W3 of the first light shielding strip 121 in the second direction Y. In other words, the distance by which each edge of the first spacer column 13 is retracted relative to the corresponding edge of the light shielding layer 12 is half of the dimension W3 of the first light shielding strip 121 in the second direction Y.

[0075] The material of the light shielding layer 12 includes metal, and the material of the first spacer column 13 includes metal. The material of the light shielding layer 12 may be different from the material of the first spacer column 13. The material of the second spacer column 23 may include organic material.

[0076] In the first substrate 10 of the disclosed embodiment, the edges of the first spacer columns 13 are retracted at the same distance relative to the corresponding edges of the light-shielding layer 12. Therefore, when the first spacer columns 13 are manufactured on the light-shielding layer 12, a self-alignment process can be used to manufacture the first spacer columns 13, thereby ensuring that the distances between the boundaries of the light-shielding layer 12 and the corresponding boundaries of the first spacer columns 13 are the same, thereby reducing the impact of process fluctuations on the size of the first spacer columns 13, and further reducing the impact of process fluctuations on the aperture ratio.

[0077] The light shielding layer 12 may be connected to the common electrode signal of the display panel, so that the light shielding layer 12 may serve as the common electrode layer of the first substrate 10 .

[0078] The first substrate 10 may include a gate line and a data line, the gate line may extend along the first direction X, and the gate line may be located in the region where the first light shielding strip 121 is located. The data line may include a first sub-segment and a second sub-segment connected to each other, the first sub-segment may be located in the region where the second light shielding strip 122 is located, and the second sub-segment may be located in the region where the first light shielding strip 121 is located.

[0079] In one embodiment, Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the second substrate 20 may further include a black matrix 22. The black matrix 22 is located on the side of the second base substrate 21 facing the first substrate 10, and the second spacer columns 23 are located on the side of the black matrix 22 facing away from the second base substrate 21. The orthographic projection of the second spacer columns 23 on the second base substrate 21 is located within the orthographic projection of the black matrix 22 on the second base substrate 21.

[0080] In one embodiment, the dimension L1 of the first end face 231 of the second spacer column in the first direction X is 6 μm, and the dimension W5 of the first end face 231 in the second direction Y is about 1 μm. The dimension of the end face of the second spacer column facing the second base substrate in the first direction X is about 7 μm, and the dimension of the end face of the second spacer column facing the second base substrate in the second direction Y is about 2 μm. The dimension L5 of the black matrix 22 in the first direction X is about 10.1 μm, and the dimension W5 of the black matrix 22 in the second direction Y is about 5.1 μm. The height of the first spacer column is about 0.6 μm, and the height of the second spacer column is about 1.3 μm.

[0081] The disclosed embodiment further provides a method for manufacturing a display panel, wherein the display panel includes a plurality of rows of sub-pixel regions, and the method includes steps S11 to S13.

[0082] In step S11, a first substrate 10 is prepared. This step may include: forming a first spacer column 13 on one side of the first base substrate 11, the first spacer column 13 is located between two adjacent sub-pixel regions in a first direction X, and the first spacer column 13 extends along a second direction Y, the first direction X is the direction where a row of sub-pixel regions are located, and the second direction Y intersects the first direction X.

[0083] In step S12, a second substrate 20 is provided. The second substrate 20 includes a second base substrate 21 and a second spacer column 23 disposed on one side of the second base substrate 21, and the second spacer column 23 extends along the first direction X;

[0084] In step S13, the second substrate 20 is assembled with the first substrate 10, the second spacer column 23 is abutted against the first spacer column 13 corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel areas, and the second spacer column 23 is abutted against the first spacer column 13 corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel areas, where i is a natural number greater than or equal to 1.

[0085] In one embodiment, the first substrate 10 further includes a light shielding layer 12 , which is disposed on a side of the first base substrate 11 facing the first spacer column 13 , and the first spacer column 13 is located on a side of the light shielding layer 12 facing the second substrate 20 .

[0086] A first spacer column 13 is formed on one side of a first base substrate 11, comprising: depositing a light-shielding material layer and a spacer column material layer in sequence on one side of the first base substrate 11; forming a photoresist pattern 40 on a side of the spacer column material layer away from the first base substrate 11, wherein the orthographic projection of the photoresist pattern 40 on the first base substrate 11 coincides with the orthographic projection of the light-shielding layer 12 on the first base substrate 11; etching the spacer column material layer 13' using a wet etching process, and the remaining spacer column material forms the first spacer column 13, and the edge of the first spacer column 13 is retracted by a preset distance M relative to the corresponding edge of the photoresist pattern 40; etching the light-shielding material layer using a dry etching process, removing the light-shielding material outside the area where the photoresist pattern 40 is located, and the light-shielding material located in the area where the photoresist pattern 40 is located forms the light-shielding layer 12.

[0087] Figure 8 for Figure 5 The CC section diagram in the following example is Figure 8 As an example, the preparation process of the first substrate 10 is further described. It can be understood that the "patterning" mentioned herein includes processes such as coating photoresist, mask exposure, development, etching, and stripping photoresist when the patterned material is an inorganic material or a metal, and includes processes such as mask exposure and development when the patterned material is an organic material. The evaporation, deposition, coating, and coating mentioned herein are all mature preparation processes in the relevant technology.

[0088] A light shielding material layer 12' and a spacer column material layer 13' are sequentially deposited on one side of the first base substrate 11. Fig.9A As shown, Fig.9A Schematic diagram of a cross section after the spacer column material layer is deposited in the first substrate. Exemplarily, the material of the light shielding material layer may include a first metal, the material of the spacer column material layer may include a second metal, and the material of the light shielding material layer is different from that of the spacer column material layer.

[0089] A photoresist is coated on the side of the spacer column material layer away from the first base substrate 11; the photoresist is exposed and developed to form a photoresist pattern 40, and the orthographic projection of the photoresist pattern 40 on the first base substrate 11 coincides with the orthographic projection of the light shielding layer 12 on the first base substrate 11, such as Fig. 9B As shown, Fig. 9B It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram after a photoresist pattern is formed in the first substrate.

[0090] The spacer column material layer 13' is etched by a wet etching process, and the remaining spacer column material forms a first spacer column 13. The edge of the first spacer column 13 is retracted by a preset distance M relative to the corresponding edge of the photoresist pattern 40. Fig. 9C As shown, Fig. 9C It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram after the first spacer column is formed in the first substrate.

[0091] The light shielding material layer 12' is etched by dry etching process to remove the light shielding material outside the area where the photoresist pattern 40 is located. The light shielding material located in the area where the photoresist pattern 40 is located forms a light shielding layer 12, and the light shielding layer 12 is located in the area outside the sub-pixel area. Figure 8 and Figure 5 The orthographic projection of the light shielding layer 12 on the first base substrate 11 coincides with the orthographic projection boundary of the photoresist pattern 40 on the first base substrate 11. Since the first spacer column 13 is formed by using the photoresist pattern 40 and the wet etching process, the edges of the first spacer column 13 are retracted by the same distance relative to the corresponding edges of the light shielding layer 12.

[0092] It should be noted that during the process of etching the spacer column material layer using a wet etching process, the wet etching process will not etch the light-shielding material layer. Exemplarily, the material of the light-shielding layer 12 may include a first metal, and the material of the first spacer column 13 may include a second metal. For example, the first metal may be titanium (Ti), and the second metal may be molybdenum (Mo). A suitable wet etching process may be selected according to the material of the first spacer column 13 and the material of the light-shielding layer 12, so that the wet etching process can etch the spacer column material without etching the light-shielding layer material. The material of the light-shielding layer 12 and the material of the first spacer column 13 may be selected in conjunction with the wet etching process, so that the wet etching process can etch the spacer column material without etching the light-shielding layer material.

[0093] The first substrate prepared by the method of the embodiment of the present disclosure is as follows: Figure 5 As shown, the edges of the first spacer column 13 are retracted by the same distance relative to the corresponding edge of the light shielding layer 12. The difference between the size W1 of the second light shielding strip 122 in the first direction X and the size W2 of the first spacer column 13 in the first direction X is the same as the size W3 of the first light shielding strip 121 in the second direction Y. The first spacer column 13 is aligned with the center of the second light shielding strip 122. The size L2 of the first spacer column 13 in the second direction Y is greater than the size L3 of the sub-pixel area in the second direction Y, and the distance d3 between the edge of the first spacer column 13 parallel to the first direction X and the corresponding edge of the first light shielding strip 121 is half of the size W3 of the first light shielding strip 121 in the second direction Y. The distance between the edge of the first spacer column 13 and the corresponding edge of the second light shielding strip 122 is half of the size W3 of the first light shielding strip 121 in the second direction Y. With such a setting, a self-alignment process can be used during the wet etching process to achieve that the boundary of the first spacer column 13 is retracted by the same distance compared to the boundary of the shading layer 12, thereby achieving W1-W2=W3, d3=W3*(1 / 2), and the preset distance M=W3*(1 / 2), thereby ensuring that the first spacer column 13 is aligned with the center of the second shading strip 122, which is beneficial to improving the dimensional accuracy of the shading layer 12 and the first spacer column 13.

[0094] Fig.10 is a schematic plan view of a first substrate in a display panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, Fig.10 The first end surface 231 and the black matrix 22 are also shown in FIG. Figure 8Taking d4=6μm, L4=8μm) as an example, the dimension W1 of the second shading strip 122 in the first direction X is about 2.6μm, the dimension W3 of the first shading strip 121 in the second direction Y is about 1.6μm, and the L2 of the first spacer column 13 formed by the self-alignment process is about 1μm, and W2 is about 8μm. Correspondingly, the dimension of the first end face 231 of the second spacer column 23 in the second direction Y is about 1μm, and the dimension of the first end face 231 in the first direction X is about 6μm. The required dimensions W5 of the black matrix 22 are about 5.1μm and L5 are about 10.1μm. The density of the total contact area between the first spacer column 13 and the second spacer column 23 is set to be about 320μm 2 / mm 2 , it is calculated that the aperture ratio of the display panel is about 37.8%.

[0095] Fig.11 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a display panel in a related technology, Fig.12 Schematic diagram comparing the sizes of the opaque patterns in the first substrate of the related art and the first substrate of the present disclosure, Fig.12 FIG. 2 shows the projection of the black matrix 22 of the present disclosure on the first substrate 10 and the projection of the light shielding layer 12 pattern in the related art. Fig.12 In the present disclosure, the resolution is the same as that of the related art.

[0096] like Fig.11 As shown, the first substrate 10 includes a first base substrate 11, a light shielding layer 12 and a first spacer column 13. The first spacer column 13 is circular in shape, and the second spacer column 23 is circular in shape. In the related art, it is necessary to consider the effect of the alignment deviation on the abutment area between the first spacer column 13 and the second spacer column 23. When the alignment deviation M2 is about 3μm and the diameter M1 of the first end face 231 of the second spacer column 23 is about 1μm, in order to ensure that the abutment area between the first spacer column 13 and the second spacer column 23 remains unchanged within the alignment deviation, the diameter 2*M2+M1 of the first spacer column 13 is about 7μm, and correspondingly, the size M4 of the light shielding layer 12 is at least about 8.6μm. Obviously, in Fig.11 In the related art, for a group of mutually abutting first spacer columns 13 and second spacer columns 23, the maximum diameter D of the opaque pattern is about 8.6 μm; in the present disclosure, for a group of mutually abutting first spacer columns 13 and second spacer columns 23, the maximum size W5*L5 of the opaque pattern is about 5.1 μm*10.1 μm. Therefore, for the convenience of comparison, Fig.12 The size of the light shielding layer 12 in the related art and the size W5*L5 of the black matrix 22 in the present disclosure are plotted in FIG.

[0097] The total contact area density of the first spacer column 13 and the second spacer column 23 is set to be about 320 μm2 / mm 2 , the aperture ratio of the display panel is calculated to be about 37.1%. Moreover, when the alignment deviation is greater than 3 μm, the contact area between the first spacer column 13 and the second spacer column 23 becomes smaller, resulting in insufficient supporting force and a risk of cell gap deviation.

[0098] From the above comparison, it can be seen that under the same resolution and the same alignment deviation, compared with the related technology, the technical solution of the present invention improves the aperture ratio of the display panel, and the alignment deviation will not cause the abutment area between the first spacer column 13 and the second spacer column 23 to decrease, so that the abutment area between the first spacer column 13 and the second spacer column 23 is not affected by the alignment deviation, thereby ensuring the supporting strength of the first spacer column 13 and the second spacer column 23, which is conducive to maintaining the uniformity of the box thickness.

[0099] exist Fig.11 , M3 is about 0.8 μm, the diameter M5 of the upper end surface of the second spacer column 23 is about 2 μm, the distance M6 between the upper end surface edge of the second spacer column 23 and the corresponding edge of the black matrix 22 is about 1.55 μm, and M7 is about 5.1 μm. Fig.12 The median diameter D is about 8.6 μm.

[0100] The embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a display device, including the display panel in any embodiment of the present disclosure, and further including liquid crystal disposed between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20. The display device may be a liquid crystal display device.

[0101] The display device may be any product or component with a display function, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a television, a monitor, a laptop computer, a digital photo frame, a navigator, a virtual reality display device, or the like.

[0102] In the description of this specification, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present disclosure and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present disclosure.

[0103] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present disclosure, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0104] In the present disclosure, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a communication; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0105] In the present disclosure, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being “above” or “below” a second feature may include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or may include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being “above”, “above”, and “above” a second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being “below”, “below”, and “below” a second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0106] The disclosure above provides many different embodiments or examples to implement different structures of the present disclosure. In order to simplify the present disclosure, the components and settings of specific examples are described above. Of course, they are only examples, and the purpose is not to limit the present disclosure. In addition, the present disclosure can repeat reference numbers and / or reference letters in different examples, and this repetition is for the purpose of simplification and clarity, which itself does not indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or settings discussed.

[0107] The above are only specific embodiments of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of various changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure, which should be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A display panel, characterized in that: The display panel includes a plurality of rows of sub-pixel regions, and further includes: A first substrate, comprising a first base substrate and a first spacer column arranged on one side of the first base substrate, wherein the first spacer column is located between two adjacent sub-pixel regions in a first direction, and the first spacer column extends along a second direction, wherein the first direction is a direction in which the sub-pixel regions in a row of sub-pixel regions are arranged, and the second direction intersects with the first direction; A second substrate is arranged in a box with the first substrate, and the second substrate includes a second base substrate and a second spacer column arranged on the side of the second base substrate facing the first substrate, the second spacer column extends along the first direction, the second spacer column abuts against the first spacer column corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel areas, and the second spacer column abuts against the first spacer column corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel areas, wherein i is a natural number greater than or equal to 1.

2. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that: A gap between the first spacer column corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel regions and the first spacer column corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel regions in the second direction is less than or equal to 0.

3. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The size of the first end surface of the second spacer column in the first direction is greater than or equal to the distance between two adjacent sub-pixel regions in the first direction, and the first end surface is the end surface of the second spacer column facing the first substrate.

4. The display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first substrate also includes a light-shielding layer, which is arranged on a side of the first base substrate facing the second substrate, and the first spacer column is located on a side of the light-shielding layer facing the second substrate. The orthographic projection of the light-shielding layer on the first base substrate has no overlap with the orthographic projection of the corresponding sub-pixel area on the first base substrate, and the orthographic projection of the first spacer column on the first base substrate is located within the orthographic projection of the light-shielding layer on the first base substrate.

5. The display panel according to claim 4, characterized in that: The distances between the edges of the orthographic projection of the first spacer column on the first base substrate and the corresponding edges of the orthographic projection of the light shielding layer on the first base substrate are the same.

6. The display panel according to claim 4, characterized in that: The light shielding layer comprises a first light shielding strip and a second light shielding strip, wherein the first light shielding strip extends along the first direction and is located between two adjacent rows of sub-pixel regions, and the second light shielding strip extends along the second direction and is located between two adjacent sub-pixel regions in the first direction; The difference between the size of the second light-shielding strip in the first direction and the size of the first spacer column in the first direction is the same as the size of the first light-shielding strip in the second direction.

7. The display panel according to claim 6, characterized in that: The size of the first spacer column in the second direction is larger than the size of the sub-pixel region in the second direction, and the distance between the edge of the first spacer column parallel to the first direction and the edge of the corresponding first light shielding strip is half of the size of the first light shielding strip in the second direction; The distance between the edge of the first spacer column and the corresponding edge of the second light-shielding strip is half of the size of the first light-shielding strip in the second direction.

8. The display panel according to claim 4, characterized in that: The material of the light shielding layer includes metal, the material of the first spacer column includes metal, and the material of the light shielding layer is different from the material of the first spacer column.

9. The display panel according to claim 8, characterized in that: The light shielding layer is connected to a common electrode signal of the display panel.

10. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that: Two adjacent rows of sub-pixel areas are arranged in a staggered manner, and two adjacent rows of first spacer columns are arranged in a staggered manner.

11. A method for preparing a display panel, characterized in that: The display panel includes a plurality of rows of sub-pixel regions, and the method includes: Preparing a first substrate, comprising: forming a first spacer column on one side of a first base substrate, wherein the first spacer column is located between two adjacent sub-pixel regions in a first direction, and the first spacer column extends along a second direction, wherein the first direction is a direction in which a row of sub-pixel regions are located, and the second direction intersects with the first direction; Providing a second substrate, the second substrate comprising a second base substrate and a second spacer column arranged on one side of the second base substrate, the second spacer column extending along the first direction; The second substrate is aligned with the first substrate, the second spacer column is abutted against the first spacer column corresponding to the i-th row of sub-pixel areas, and the second spacer column is abutted against the first spacer column corresponding to the i+1-th row of sub-pixel areas, wherein i is a natural number greater than or equal to 1.

12. The preparation method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The first substrate further comprises a light shielding layer, the light shielding layer is arranged on a side of the first base substrate facing the first spacer column, and the first spacer column is located on a side of the light shielding layer facing the second substrate; A first spacer column is formed on one side of a first base substrate, comprising: Depositing a light shielding material layer and a spacer column material layer in sequence on one side of the first base substrate; forming a photoresist pattern on a side of the spacer column material layer away from the first substrate, wherein an orthographic projection of the photoresist pattern on the first substrate coincides with an orthographic projection of the light shielding layer on the first substrate; Etching the spacer column material layer by a wet etching process, and the remaining spacer column material forms the first spacer column, wherein the edge of the first spacer column is retracted by a preset distance relative to the corresponding edge of the photoresist pattern; The light-shielding material layer is etched by a dry etching process to remove the light-shielding material outside the region where the photoresist pattern is located, and the light-shielding material located in the region where the photoresist pattern is located forms the light-shielding layer.

13. A display device, characterized in that: A display panel comprising any one of claims 1-10.

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