Patterned Color Filter Substrate for LCD Uniform Spacer Height
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional liquid crystal displays (LCDs) face challenges in achieving uniform spacer heights between color filters, which affects the aperture ratio and leads to inconsistent spacer heights due to overlap differences between color filters, resulting in reduced display performance.
Innovation Solution
A color filter substrate design that incorporates a patterned region and non-patterned region overlap areas with conductive layers and spacers formed in the patterned regions, allowing for uniform spacer heights without reducing the aperture ratio, using a process that includes forming color filters, patterning photoresist layers, and applying a planarization layer to ensure a smooth surface for spacer placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If spacers are formed in the transparent region of color filters to ensure uniform height, then spacer height uniformity is improved, but aperture ratio is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating the treatment of different regions on the color filter substrate. The overlap regions receive a different process (photoresist removal) compared to non-overlap regions, creating locally differentiated properties that enable spacers to be formed only in appropriate locations without affecting aperture ratio
2Area of stationary object
If spacers are directly formed in the overlap region, then aperture ratio is maintained, but spacer height uniformity deteriorates due to overlap differences between color filters
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the problematic overlap portions of color filters by removing photoresist material from overlap regions. This extraction eliminates the source of height variation, allowing spacers to be formed with uniform heights directly in the overlap regions without compromising aperture ratio
3Area of stationary object
If color filters are made large to cover more area, then coverage is improved, but overlap differences increase leading to inconsistent spacer heights
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of large color filter overlaps into a benefit by systematically removing photoresist from overlap regions. The previously problematic large overlap areas become advantageous because they provide sufficient space for spacer formation while the photoresist removal ensures uniform spacer heights across the entire large substrate area
Data Source
AI summary
An LCD including a color filter substrate, an array substrate, and a liquid crystal layer therebetween is provided. This color filter substrate has a plurality of color filters with overlap regions acting as a black matrix. Subsequently, patterned regions are defined in part of the overlap regions. After formation of a planarization layer and a conductive layer, spacers are formed in the patterned regions. The spacers may not shield the transparent region of the color filters, thereby enhancing the aperture ratio of the color filter substrate. Additionally, the thickness of the planarization layer in the patterned regions is not influenced by the overlap of the color filters, such that the spacers thereon have a uniform height. Furthermore, the at least one spacer of the color filter substrate and at least one data line of the array substrate are overlapped.