Liquid Crystal Display Black Column Spacer Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
In liquid crystal displays, the overdevelopment of light blocking members at the outer edge of the display area due to design constraints from using half tone masks and the difficulty in maintaining uniformity of the display area gap lead to issues with image quality, contrast ratio, and aperture ratio.
Innovation Solution
Improving the black column spacer material by using a full tone mask to form both the light blocking member and spacers simultaneously, reducing the need for half tone masks and minimizing overdevelopment at the display area edges, thereby stabilizing the material and reducing design constraints.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a half tone mask is used to form the black column spacer, then design flexibility is improved, but overdevelopment of light blocking members at the outer edge of the display area occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The black column spacer formation process is segmented into two distinct stages: first forming the light blocking member pattern using a half tone mask with precise edge control, then forming the spacer material in a subsequent step using a full tone mask. This segmentation allows each step to optimize for its specific function, preventing overdevelopment while maintaining design flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The light blocking member pattern is formed in advance using the half tone mask before the spacer material is applied. This preliminary action establishes precise boundaries that prevent overdevelopment during the subsequent spacer formation step, while still allowing the full tone mask to provide uniform exposure for the spacer material.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a full tone mask is used to form the black column spacer, then material stability is improved, but design constraints increase
Solution Approach 1:
The formation process is divided into two steps: first using a half tone mask to create the light blocking member pattern with precise design flexibility, then using a full tone mask to form the spacer material with uniform exposure and high material stability. This segmentation allows both mask types to发挥 their respective advantages.
Solution Approach 2:
The black column spacer structure is designed to serve multiple functions: the light blocking member portion provides precise pattern definition and light blocking, while the spacer portion provides uniform gap maintenance. This multi-functionality allows the use of different mask types for different functional requirements within the same structure.
3Reliability
If the black column spacer size is increased to provide assembling margin, then assembly reliability is improved, but aperture ratio decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The black column spacer structure employs local quality by having different regions with different properties: the light blocking member portion has precise pattern definition for light blocking functionality, while the spacer portion has uniform thickness for gap maintenance. This allows the spacer to provide necessary assembling margin without uniformly increasing the overall size, thereby preserving aperture ratio.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention separates the light blocking function and spacer function into different spatial dimensions and formation steps. The light blocking member is formed with precise lateral dimensions using photolithography, while the spacer material is formed with controlled thickness in the vertical dimension. This dimensional separation allows the spacer to extend into the gap region without increasing the lateral footprint that would reduce aperture ratio.
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid crystal display includes a first substrate including a light transmitting area and a light blocking area, a gate conductor configured to transfer gate signals and a data conductor configured to transfer data voltages, the gate conductor and the data conductor disposed on the first substrate, a color filter disposed on the gate conductor, a black column spacer disposed on the color filter and corresponding to the light blocking area, a second substrate facing the first substrate, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, in which in the light blocking area, the color filter includes a step, the black column spacer overlaps the color filter including the step, and the black column spacer includes spacers having the same thickness.