Color liquid crystal display device and manufacturing method thereof

• US 20040004683A1
• Filed: 03/19/2003
• Published: 01/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Citizen Watch Co Limited (Citizen Electronics Company Limited)
• Inventors: Arai, Makoto, Kaneda, Yoshihiro
• Granted Patent: US 6,798,473 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 349/106
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133516 Methods for their manufacture, e.g. printing, electro-deposition or photolithography
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133555 Transflectors

Abstract

A metal film is laminated on a glass substrate and a photosensitive resin film is coated on the metal film. The metal film and the photosensitive resin film are selectively removed by means of exposure and development in the area that turns into a transmission area in each pixel that is a unit displaying colors such as red, green, and blue. Thus, a reflection layer and an adjustment layer are left intact in a reflection area of each pixel. Color filters are formed on both the transmission area and the adjustment film. The total thickness of the reflection layer and the adjustment film is controlled to be about the half of the thickness of the color filters in the transmission area.

Claims

1. A color liquid crystal display device comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate facing the first substrate;

a liquid crystal layer enclosed between the first substrate and the second substrate;

a reflection layer laminated on the first substrate, the reflection layer having

a reflection area that reflects a light that comes in from the second substrate; and

a transmission area that allows a light coming in from the first substrate to pass through to the second substrate;

an adjustment film laminated on the reflection area of the reflection layer, the adjustment film having permeability to light; and

a color filter laminated on both the adjustment film and the transmission area.

2. The color liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein a total thickness of the reflection layer and the adjustment film is half of the thickness of the color filter that is laminated on the transmission area.

3. The color liquid crystal display device according to claim 2, wherein the thickness of the reflection layer is greater than 0.08 μ

m and less than 0.2 μ

m and the thickness of the adjustment film is greater than 0.3 μ

m and less than 1 μ

m.

4. The color liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment film scatters a light passing through the adjustment film.

5. The color liquid crystal display device according to claim 4, wherein the adjustment film has scattering particles that scatter the light.

6. The color liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the reflection layer scatters the light coming in from the second substrate when reflecting the light.

7. The color liquid crystal display device according to claim 6, further comprising an uneven film laminated between the reflection layer and the first substrate, the uneven film having an uneven surface whereby a surface of the reflection layer also becomes uneven.

8. A color liquid crystal display device comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate facing the first substrate;

a liquid crystal layer enclosed between the first substrate and the second substrate;

a reflection layer laminated on the first substrate, the reflection layer having

a reflection area that reflects a light coming in from the second substrate; and

a transmission area that allows a light coming in from the first substrate to pass through to the second substrate;

an adjustment film laminated between the reflection area of the reflection layer and the first substrate, the adjustment film having permeability to light; and

a color filter laminated on both the reflection layer of the reflection area and the transmission area.

9. The color liquid crystal display device according to claim 8, wherein a total thickness of the reflection layer and the adjustment film is half of the thickness of the color filter that is laminated on the transmission area.

10. The color liquid crystal display device according to claim 9, wherein the thickness of the reflection layer is greater than 0.08 μ

m and less than 0.2 μ

m and the thickness of the adjustment film is greater than 0.3 μ

m and less than 1 μ

m.

11. The color liquid crystal display device according to claim 8, wherein the reflection layer scatters the light coming in from the second substrate.

12. The color liquid crystal display device according to claim 11, wherein a surface of the reflection layer is made uneven whereby a surface of the adjustment film is uneven.

13. The color liquid crystal display device according to claim 8, further comprising an overcoat layer, which is permeable to light, laminated on the reflection layer.

14. A method of manufacturing a color liquid crystal display device, comprising:

forming a first film on a first substrate in such a manner that the first film reflects a light coming in from a second substrate that faces the first substrate;

forming a second film having permeability to light on the first film;

selectively removing portions of the first film and the second film to form a transmission area through which the light coming in from the first substrate can pass through to the second substrate and leaving portions of the first film and the second film as a reflection layer and an adjustment film respectively in a reflection area where the light coming in from the second substrate is reflected;

forming a color filter on both the adjustment film and the transmission area;

panel aligning the first substrate and the second substrate; and

enclosing a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate.

15. The manufacturing method according to claim 14, wherein the second film is made of a photosensitive resin, and the first film and the second film in the transmission area are selectively removed by exposing and developing the second film.

16. The manufacturing method according to claim 14, further comprising dispersing scattering particles beforehand in the material of the second film before covering the surface of the first film.

17. The manufacturing method according to claim 14, further comprising forming a film with an uneven surface exclusively on the reflection area of the first substrate before forming the first film on the first substrate.

18. The manufacturing method according to claim 14, further comprising sequentially forming a transparent electrode and an alignment layer on the color filter after the formation of the color filters and before panel aligning the first substrate and the second substrate.

19. A method of manufacturing a color liquid crystal display device, comprising:

selectively forming an adjustment film on the first substrate;

forming a reflection layer on the adjustment film, the reflection layer reflecting light coming in from a second substrate that is facing the first substrate;

forming a color filter covering the reflection layer and a transmission area in which the light coming in from the first substrate is transmitted to the second substrate;

panel aligning the first substrate and the second substrate; and

enclosing a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate.

20. The manufacturing method according to claim 19, further comprising:

providing an overcoat layer on a surface of the reflection layer after forming the reflection layer and before forming the color filter.

21. The manufacturing method according to claim 19, wherein the adjustment film is made of photosensitive resin and the film of the photosensitive resin existing in the transmission area is selectively removed by exposing and developing the film formed on the first substrate.

22. The manufacturing method according to claim 19, further comprising:

making a surface of the adjustment film uneven before the formation of the reflection layer on the adjustment film.

23. The manufacturing method according to claim 19,

wherein when the reflection layer is formed after formation of the adjustment film, a film that turns into the reflection layer is deposited on both the transmission area and the adjustment film and a resist film made of photosensitive resin is coated on the film that turns into the reflection layer, and the photosensitive resin film is removed by exposing in the transmission area.

24. The manufacturing method according to claim 19, further comprising:

sequentially forming a transparent electrode and an alignment layer on the color filter before the panel aligning and after the formation of the color filter.