Array substrate, method of manufacturing the same and liquid crystal display apparatus having the same

• US 20050128399A1
• Filed: 12/03/2004
• Published: 06/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Cha, Sung-Eun, Kim, Sang-Woo, Kim, Jae-Hyun, Lee, Jae-Young, Park, Won-Sang, Lim, Jae-Ik
• Granted Patent: US 7,511,788 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 349/129
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133555 Transflectors
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133707 Structures for producing distorted electric fields, e.g. bumps, protrusions, recesses, slits in pixel electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134336 Matrix
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1393 the birefringence of the liquid crystal being electrically controlled, e.g. ECB-, DAP-, HAN-, PI-LC cells G02F1/1396, G02F1/141 take precedence

Abstract

An array substrate includes a plate, a switching element, an insulating layer and a pixel electrode. The plate includes a pixel region, and the switching element is disposed on the plate. The insulating layer is disposed on the plate to include an opening for a multi-domain disposed in the pixel region and a contact hole. An electrode of the switching element is partially exposed through the contact hole. The pixel electrode is disposed on the insulating layer corresponding to the pixel region, an inner surface of the opening for the multi-domain and an inner surface of the contact hole so that the pixel electrode is electrically connected to the electrode of the switching element. Therefore, the viewing angle and the image display quality of the LCD apparatus are improved, and a manufacturing process is simplified.

Claims

1. An array substrate comprising:

a plate including a pixel region;

a switching element disposed on the plate;

an insulating layer disposed on the plate, the insulating layer including an opening for a multi-domain disposed in the pixel region and a contact hole through which an electrode of the switching element is partially exposed; and

a pixel electrode disposed on the insulating layer corresponding to the pixel region, an inner surface of the opening for the multi-domain and an inner surface of the contact hole so that the pixel electrode is electrically connected to the electrode of the switching element.

2. The array substrate of claim 1, wherein the pixel region comprises a transmission window through which an internally provided light passes and a reflection region where an externally provided light is reflected, and the opening for the multi-domain is disposed on a central line of the transmission window.

3. The array substrate of claim 2, wherein the transmission window comprises a rectangular shape, a hexagonal shape, an octagonal shape or a circular shape.

4. The array substrate of claim 3, wherein the pixel region and the insulating layer comprise two transmission windows and two openings for the multi-domain, respectively, and the openings for the multi-domain are disposed on central lines of the transmission windows.

5. The array substrate of claim 2, further comprising an organic layer disposed on the insulating layer to define the transmission window that is opened, the organic layer including a protruded portion for the multi-domain.

6. The array substrate of claim 1, wherein the switching element comprises a gate electrode, a source electrode and a drain electrode, the array substrate further comprises a gate insulating layer disposed on the plate having the gate electrode to insulate the gate electrode from the source electrode and the drain electrode, and the gate insulating layer corresponding to the opening for the multi-domain is opened.

7. An array substrate comprising:

a plate including a pixel region having a transmission window through which an internally provided light passes, and a switching element disposed in the pixel region;

an insulating layer disposed on the plate, the insulating layer including a plurality of openings for a multi-domain disposed in the pixel region and a contact hole through which an electrode of the switching element is partially exposed; and

a pixel electrode disposed on the insulating layer corresponding to the pixel region, an inner surface of the openings for the multi-domain and an inner surface of the contact hole so that the pixel electrode is electrically connected to the electrode of the switching element.

8. The array substrate of claim 7, wherein the transmission window has a substantially identical shape to each of the openings for the multi-domain.

9. The array substrate of claim 7, wherein the openings for the multi-domain are disposed on a central line of the transmission window.

10. The array substrate of claim 7, wherein a distance between a first side of the transmission window and a side of one of the openings for the multi-domain adjacent to the first side is substantially equal to a distance between a second side of the transmission window and a side of one of the openings for the multi-domain adjacent to the second side, and the first side is in substantially perpendicular to the second side.

11. The array substrate of claim 10, wherein an interval between the openings for the multi-domain is substantially equal to the distance between the first side of the transmission window and the side of the opening for the multi-domain adjacent to the first side.

12. The array substrate of claim 11, wherein the insulating layer comprises three openings for the multi-domain.

13. The array substrate of claim 10, wherein the distance between the first side of the transmission window and the side of the opening for the multi-domain is about a half of an interval between the openings for the multi-domain.

14. The array substrate of claim 13, wherein the insulating layer comprises two openings for the multi-domain.

15. The array substrate of claim 10, wherein the transmission window comprises a rectangular shape extended in a longitudinal direction, and each of the openings for the multi-domain comprises a rectangular shape.

16. The array substrate of claim 15, wherein the rectangular shape of each of the openings for the multi-domain is extended in the longitudinal direction.

17. The array substrate of claim 7, further comprising an organic layer disposed on the insulating layer to define the transmission window that is opened, the organic layer including a protruded portion for the multi-domain.

18. The array substrate of claim 7, wherein the pixel region further comprises a reflection region where an externally provided light is reflected, and the switching element is disposed in the reflection region.

19. The array substrate of claim 7, further comprising a gate insulating layer disposed on the plate, the gate insulating layer corresponding to the openings for the multi-domain being opened.

20. A method of manufacturing an array substrate, the method comprising:

forming a switching element on a plate including a pixel region;

forming an insulating layer on the plate, the insulating layer including an opening for a multi-domain disposed in the pixel region and a contact hole through which an electrode of the switching element is partially exposed; and

forming a pixel electrode on the insulating layer, an inner surface of the opening for the multi-domain and an inner surface of the contact hole, the pixel electrode being electrically connected to the electrode of the switching element.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the pixel electrode is formed by:

forming a transparent electrode on the insulating layer corresponding to the pixel region, an inner surface of the opening for the multi-domain and an inner surface of the contact hole;

forming an organic layer including a protruded portion for the multi-domain on the insulating layer to define the transmission window that is opened; and

forming a reflection electrode in a reflection region of the pixel region, an externally provided light being reflected from the reflection electrode.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the pixel electrode is formed by:

forming an organic layer including a contact hole and a protruded portion for the multi-domain on the insulating layer to define the transmission window that is opened;

forming a transparent electrode on the organic layer corresponding to the pixel region, an inner surface of the opening for the multi-domain and an inner surface of the contact hole; and

forming a reflection electrode in a reflection region of the pixel region, an externally provided light being reflected from the reflection electrode.

23. A method of manufacturing an array substrate, the method comprising:

forming an insulating layer on a plate including a pixel region having a transmission window through which an internally provided light passes, the insulating layer including a plurality of openings for a multi-domain disposed in the transmission window and a contact hole through which an electrode of the switching element is partially exposed; and

forming a pixel electrode on the insulating layer, an inner surface of the openings for the multi-domain and an inner surface of the contact hole, the pixel electrode being electrically connected to the electrode of the switching element.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

forming a gate electrode on the plate;

forming a gate insulating layer on the plate having the gate electrode;

forming a semiconductor layer on the gate insulating layer corresponding to the gate insulating layer; and

forming a source electrode and a drain electrode that is spaced apart from the source electrode on the semiconductor layer.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the insulating layer is formed by:

depositing a transparent insulating material on the plate having the switching element; and

etching the deposited transparent insulating material and the gate insulating layer to form the openings for the multi-domain and the contact hole.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the insulating layer is formed by:

depositing a transparent insulating material on the plate having the switching element; and

etching the deposited transparent insulating material to form the openings for the multi-domain and the contact hole.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising forming an organic layer including a protruded portion for the multi-domain on the insulating layer, the organic layer defining the transmission window that is opened.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the pixel electrode is formed by:

forming a transparent electrode on the organic layer corresponding to the pixel region, an inner surface of the openings for the multi-domain and an inner surface of the contact hole; and

forming a reflection electrode in a reflection region of the pixel region, an externally provided light being reflected from the reflection electrode.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the pixel electrode is formed by:

forming a transparent electrode on the insulating layer corresponding to the pixel region, an inner surface of the opening for the multi-domain and an inner surface of the contact hole;

forming an organic layer including a protruded portion for the multi-domain on the insulating layer to define the transmission window that is opened; and

forming a reflection electrode in a reflection region of the pixel region, an externally provided light being reflected from the reflection electrode.

30. A method of manufacturing an array substrate, the method comprising:

forming a gate electrode on a plate including a pixel region having a transmission window through which an internally provided light passes;

forming a gate insulating layer on the plate having the gate electrode;

forming a switching element on the gate insulating layer, the switching element including a semiconductor layer pattern, a source electrode and a drain electrode;

depositing a transparent insulating material over the plate having the switching element;

etching the deposited transparent insulating material and the gate insulating layer to form a plurality of openings for a multi-domain that is disposed in the transmission window and a contact hole through which the drain electrode is partially exposed;

forming a transparent electrode on the organic layer corresponding to the pixel region, an inner surface of the openings for the multi-domain and an inner surface of the contact hole; and

forming a reflection electrode in a reflection region of the pixel region, an externally provided light being reflected from the reflection electrode.

31. A liquid crystal display apparatus comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate including a plate including a pixel region, a switching element disposed on the plate, an insulating layer disposed on the plate to include an opening for a multi-domain disposed in the pixel region and a contact hole through which an electrode of the switching element is partially exposed, and a pixel electrode disposed on the insulating layer corresponding to the pixel region, an inner surface of the opening for the multi-domain and an inner surface of the contact hole so that the pixel electrode is electrically connected to the electrode of the switching element, the second substrate corresponding to the first substrate; and

a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first and second substrates.

32. The liquid crystal display apparatus of claim 31, wherein the pixel region comprises a transmission window where an internally provided light passes and a reflection region where an externally provided light is reflected, and the opening for the multi-domain is disposed on a central line of the transmission window.

33. The liquid crystal display apparatus of claim 32, wherein the pixel region comprises two transmission windows having polygonal shapes or circular shapes.

34. An liquid crystal display apparatus comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate comprising a plate including a pixel region having a transmission window through which an internally provided light passes and a switching element disposed in the pixel region, an insulating layer disposed on the plate to include a plurality of openings for a multi-domain disposed in the pixel region and a contact hole through which an electrode of the switching element is partially exposed, and a pixel electrode disposed on the insulating layer corresponding to the pixel region, an inner surface of the openings for the multi-domain and an inner surface of the contact hole so that the pixel electrode is electrically connected to the electrode of the switching element, the second substrate corresponding to the first substrate; and

a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first and second substrates.

35. The liquid crystal display apparatus of claim 34, wherein the liquid crystal layer is substantially vertically aligned with respect to the first substrate.

36. The liquid crystal display apparatus of claim 34, wherein the pixel region further comprises a reflection region where an externally provided light is reflected, the first substrate comprises an upper plate and a common electrode disposed on the upper plate, and a height of the common electrode corresponding to the transmission window is higher than a height of the common electrode corresponding to the reflection region with respect to a surface of the upper plate.

37. The liquid crystal display apparatus of claim 34, wherein the second substrate further comprises an organic layer disposed on the insulating layer to include a protruded portion forming the multi-domain, and the organic layer defines the transmission window that is opened.

38. The liquid crystal display apparatus of claim 37, further comprising a spacer disposed between the first and second substrates, the spacer corresponding to the protruded portion.

39. The liquid crystal display apparatus of claim 38, wherein the spacer makes contact with the protruded portion.