Liquid crystal device and electronic apparatus

• US 7,561,239 B2
• Filed: 02/09/2007
• Issued: 07/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Japan Display West Incorporated (Japan Display Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Epson Imaging Devices Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Fujita, Shin
• Primary Examiner(s): Rahll; Jerry T
• Application Number:
  US11/704,197
• Publication Number:
  US 20070229748A1
• Time in Patent Office: 886 Days
• Field of Search: 349/142, 349/143, 349/145
• US Class Current: 349/142
• 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 1/134345 Subdivided pixels, e.g. for grey scale or redundancy
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134363 for applying an electric field parallel to the substrate, i.e. in-plane switching [IPS]
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134372 for fringe field switching [FFS] where the common electrode is not patterned
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2201/52 RGB geometrical arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2202/104 poly-Si

Abstract

A liquid crystal device includes a substrate having unit pixels, each of which includes a plurality of subpixels arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. The substrate includes switching elements, a first insulating film disposed at least on the switching elements, a first transparent electrode disposed on the first insulating film, a second transparent electrode disposed on the second insulating film, having a plurality of slits corresponding to each one of the subpixels, and generating an electric field through the slits between the first and second transparent electrodes. The direction in which a long side of each of the slits extends is defined to be different from the direction in which the columns extend.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal device comprising:

a substrate having unit pixels, each of which includes a plurality of subpixels arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns,

the substrate including;

switching elements,

a first insulating film disposed at least on the switching elements,

a first transparent electrode disposed on the first insulating film,

a second insulating film disposed on the first transparent electrode, and

a second transparent electrode disposed on the second insulating film, having a plurality of slits corresponding to each one of the subpixels, and generating an electric field through the slits between the first and second transparent electrodes,

the direction in which a long side of each of the slits extends being defined to be different from the direction in which the columns extend,

the first transparent electrode being a common electrode connected to a common potential, and the second transparent electrode being a unit subpixel electrode that is disposed for each one of the subpixels and that is electrically connected to a corresponding one of the switching elements via contact holes in the first and second insulating films.

2. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1,

the direction in which the long side of each of the slits extends being defined as the direction in which the rows extend or a direction oriented at a predetermined angle with respect to the direction in which the rows extend.

3. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of first lines extending in the direction in which the columns extend and a plurality of second lines extending in the direction in which the rows extend, the first and second lines being electrically connected to the switching elements, and

the direction in which the long side of each of the slits extends being defined as the direction in which the second lines extend or a direction oriented at a predetermined angle with respect to the direction in which the second lines extend.

4. An electronic apparatus comprising a liquid crystal device as set forth in claim 1 as a display unit.

5. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1,

the first transparent electrode being a unit subpixel electrode that is disposed for each one of the subpixels and that is electrically connected to a corresponding one of the switching elements via a contact hole in the first insulating film, and the second transparent electrode being a common electrode connected to a common potential.

6. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a counter substrate facing the substrate with liquid crystal disposed therebetween, and

a colored layer of an arbitrary single color being disposed on the counter substrate at each of positions corresponding to the subpixels in each of the unit pixels, and the areas of the subpixels being set to be the same.

7. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a counter substrate facing the substrate with liquid crystal disposed therebetween,

a colored layer of an arbitrary single color being disposed on the counter substrate at each of positions corresponding to the subpixels in each of the unit pixels, and, among the plurality of subpixels, the area of at least one of the subpixels being set to be different from the areas of the other subpixels.

8. The liquid crystal device according to claim 7, in the unit pixel, the areas of the subpixels arranged in the same row or the areas of the subpixels being arranged in the same column are set to be different.

9. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, the electric field having electric field components in a direction substantially parallel and in a direction substantially orthogonal to the substrate.