Array Substrate Repair via Overlapping Metal Layers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
During the manufacturing of thin film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs), disconnections in the gate lines occur due to foreign particles and etching liquids, leading to repair failures, especially when forming via holes and using high-reflectance metals, which can crack the insulating layers.
Innovation Solution
The array substrate design includes a common electrode line mesh and metal layers with repair connection portions that overlap the signal lines and electrode mesh, allowing for selective cutting and electrical connection to restore continuity in disconnected signal lines, improving the repair success rate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If via holes are formed and high-reflectance metals are used during manufacturing, then electrical connection is achieved, but insulating layers crack and disconnections occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces repair connection portions during the initial manufacturing process, positioned to overlap with signal lines. These repair connection portions are prepared in advance with insulating layers that have lower reflectance, creating a pre-configured repair capability that can be activated when disconnections occur, thus preventing the need for harmful post-manufacturing repairs
Solution Approach 2:
The repair connection portions act as intermediary elements between the signal lines and the common electrode line mesh. When disconnections occur in the signal lines, these intermediary repair connection portions provide alternative electrical pathways, mediating the electrical connection and avoiding the need to directly repair the damaged high-reflectance metal regions that cause insulating layer cracking
2Reliability
If repair methods are implemented for disconnected signal lines, then repair success rate improves, but manufacturing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The repair connection portions are manufactured simultaneously with the main signal lines and common electrode line mesh, but with different material properties (lower reflectance). This preliminary configuration eliminates the need for complex post-manufacturing repair processes, as the repair infrastructure is already in place and can be activated through simple laser processing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical repair processes (such as forming via holes and making physical connections) with a simplified laser-based process. The repair connection portions are designed to be processed by laser, which melts or vaporizes the material to create conductive paths, substituting complex mechanical assembly with a more controllable thermal process
3Productivity
If conventional manufacturing processes are used, then manufacturing cost is low, but disconnection failures occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the electrical connection system into multiple independent pathways: the primary signal lines for normal operation and the separate repair connection portions for failure recovery. This segmentation allows the manufacturing process to maintain high efficiency while the segmented repair paths provide redundancy against disconnection failures
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameter of the repair connection portions, using metals with lower reflectance compared to the high-reflectance metals used in the main signal lines. This parameter change makes the repair connection portions more suitable for laser processing and less prone to causing insulating layer cracking, thereby improving reliability without significantly increasing manufacturing complexity
Data Source
AI summary
An array substrate, a repair method of the array substrate, a display panel and a display device are provided. The array substrate includes a base substrate, and a common electrode layer, a common electrode line mesh, a first metal layer and a second metal layer which are on the base substrate, and the common electrode line mesh is electrically connected with the common electrode layer. The first metal layer includes a first signal line extending along a first direction; the second metal layer includes a second signal line extending along a second direction and a plurality of repair connection portions; and each repair connection portion has a first overlap portion overlapping the first signal line and a second overlap portion overlapping the common electrode line mesh.