Color Filter Substrate with Annular Troughs for Transflective LCD Color Harmony

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional transflective LCDs face issues with color harmony due to light passing through color filter substrates twice in reflective regions and once in transmissive regions, leading to inharmonious colors, and existing solutions complicate the manufacturing process and reduce aperture ratio.

Innovation Solution

A color filter substrate with annular trough areas and central areas, where color filter patterns are formed with different thicknesses by using a light-shielding layer extending from the outer edges to the tops of the annular trough areas, allowing the patterns to contact the side and bottom surfaces, simplifying the manufacturing process and improving optical performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Illumination intensity

If the thickness of color filter patterns is adjusted to achieve color harmony in transflective LCD, then color harmony is improved, but the manufacturing process becomes more complicated

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecolor harmonyVSAvoidmanufacturing process complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Illumination intensityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The substrate surface is pre-formed with annular trough areas and central areas before depositing the color filter patterns. This preliminary topography enables different pattern thicknesses to be achieved automatically during the deposition process, eliminating the need for complex post-processing or multiple deposition steps. The light-shielding layer is then formed to extend from outer edges to tops of the annular trough areas, further defining the thickness variation of color filter patterns in different display regions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The substrate surface is divided into distinct regions: annular trough areas, central areas, and light-shielding areas. This segmentation allows color filter patterns to have different thicknesses in different regions (transmissive vs. reflective display regions), achieving color harmony without requiring complex manufacturing processes. Each region serves a specific function in the transflective display operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Illumination intensity

If the thickness of color filter patterns is adjusted to achieve color harmony in transflective LCD, then color harmony is improved, but aperture ratio decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecolor harmonyVSAvoidaperture ratio

Core Design Contradiction:

Illumination intensityVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of adjusting thickness only in the vertical dimension, the invention utilizes the horizontal dimension by creating annular trough areas and central areas on the substrate surface. This topographical approach allows thickness variation without requiring additional lateral space, thereby maintaining aperture ratio while achieving color harmony through controlled thickness differences in transmissive and reflective regions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Illumination intensity

If conventional photolithography and etching processes are used to configure color filter patterns with different thicknesses, then color harmony is achieved, but production cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecolor harmonyVSAvoidproduction cost

Core Design Contradiction:

Illumination intensityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The invention replaces complex mechanical photolithography and etching processes with a simpler deposition process on a pre-formed topography. The annular trough areas and central areas are created first, then color filter patterns are deposited to naturally conform to the underlying topography, achieving different thicknesses without requiring precise photolithographic patterning or etching steps. This substitution significantly reduces manufacturing complexity and production cost.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS8357477B2Color filter substrate, electronic apparatus and manufacturing method thereof

Publication Date: 2013.01.22 AU OPTRONICS CORP

AI summary

A method of manufacturing a color filter substrate is provided. The color filter substrate includes a substrate, a light-shielding layer, and a plurality of color filter patterns. The substrate has a plurality of annular trough areas, a plurality of central areas, and a light-shielding area positioned among the annular trough areas. Each of the annular trough areas has an inner edge connected to the central area and an outer edge connected to the light-shielding area. The light-shielding layer is disposed on the light-shielding area and extends from the outer edges of the annular trough areas to the top of the annular trough areas. The color filter patterns are disposed on the annular trough areas and the central areas, and the color filter patterns are in contact with a side surface and a part of the bottom surface of the light-shielding layer.