Array Substrate Black Boundary Pattern Thickness Variation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In liquid crystal display panels, misalignment between the color filter and light blocking patterns during assembly leads to manufacturing reliability issues and non-uniformity of the cell gap, affecting the yield rate and reliability of the panels.
Innovation Solution
The array substrate incorporates a black matrix pattern and a black boundary pattern with varying thicknesses to reduce misalignment, where the black matrix pattern partially overlaps the color filter and the black boundary pattern covers the peripheral area, maintaining a consistent cell gap by ensuring the black boundary pattern's first portion overlaps the dummy color pattern and the second portion does not, with the black column spacer and matrix pattern made of the same material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the array substrate includes both color filter and light blocking pattern overlapping (BOA structure), then misalignment between color filter and light blocking pattern is reduced, but the array substrate becomes relatively thick and uniformity of cell gap is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The light blocking pattern is segmented into two distinct portions: a first portion that overlaps with the dummy color pattern and a second portion that does not overlap with the dummy color pattern. This segmentation allows each portion to have different thickness characteristics, resolving the contradiction between alignment precision and cell gap uniformity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the light blocking pattern are given different local qualities (thicknesses). The first portion has a smaller cross-sectional thickness to maintain cell gap uniformity where it overlaps the dummy color pattern, while the second portion has a larger thickness to provide sufficient light blocking capability in the peripheral area.
2Ease of manufacture
If the black boundary pattern has uniform thickness, then manufacturing is simplified, but cell gap uniformity in both display and peripheral areas cannot be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The black boundary pattern is designed with non-uniform thickness distribution: a first portion with smaller cross-sectional thickness overlapping the dummy color pattern and a second portion with larger thickness in the peripheral area. This local quality variation maintains cell gap uniformity while still being manufacturable through standard photolithography processes.
Data Source
AI summary
An array substrate includes a base substrate including a display area and a peripheral area adjacent to the display area, a gate line extending in a first direction, a data line extending in a second direction crossing the gate line, a switching element electrically connected to the gate and data lines, a color filter pattern and a dummy color pattern in the display and peripheral areas, respectively, a pixel electrode on the color filter pattern, and a light blocking pattern including a black matrix pattern partially overlapping the color filter pattern and a black boundary pattern overlapping the dummy color pattern. The black boundary pattern covers the peripheral area and includes a first portion which overlaps the dummy color pattern and a second portion which does not overlap the dummy color pattern. A cross-sectional thickness of the first portion is smaller than that of the second portion.