Methods for fabricating display structures

• US 8,743,309 B2
• Filed: 01/21/2010
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Mathew, Dinesh C., Wilson, Thomas W. Jr., Yin, Victor H., Posner, Bryan W., Ligtenberg, Chris, Degner, Brett W., Augenbergs, Peteris K., Zhong, John Z., Hotelling, Steve, Youngs, Lynn, Sung, Kuo-Hua
• Primary Examiner(s): CHEN, WEN YING PATTY
• Application Number:
  US12/691,715
• Publication Number:
  US 20110109829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,594 Days
• Field of Search: 349/160
• US Class Current: 349/58
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133388 with constructional differences between the display region and the peripheral region
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133514 Colour filters
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133528 Polarisers
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13452 Conductors connecting driver circuitry and terminals of panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13454 Drivers integrated on the active matrix substrate G02F1/136277 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136218 Shield electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2203/01 transmissive
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2211/44 Optical arrangements or shielding arrangements, e.g. filters or lenses
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 9/205 Applying optical coatings or shielding coatings to the vessel of flat panel displays, e.g. applying filter layers, electromagnetic interference shielding layers, anti-reflection coatings or anti-glare coatings
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/108 Flash, trim or excess removal

Abstract

An electronic device display may have a color filter layer and a thin film transistor layer. A layer of liquid crystal material may be interposed between the color filter layer and the thin film transistor layer. A layer of polarizer may be laminated onto the surface of the color filter layer. Laser trimming may ensure that the edges of the polarizer are even with the edges of the color filter layer. The thin film transistor layer may have an array of thin film transistors that control pixels of the liquid crystal material in the display. Driver circuitry may be used to control the array. The driver circuitry may be encapsulated in a planarized encapsulant on the thin film transistor layer or may be mounted to the underside of the color filter layer. Conductive structures may connect driver circuitry on the color filter layer to the thin film transistor layer.

Claims

1. A method for forming display structures, comprising:

forming a color filter layer;

laminating an oversized polarizer layer onto the color filter layer, wherein edges of the oversized polarizer layer extend laterally past edges of the color filter layer;

cutting an opening in the polarizer layer, wherein cutting the opening comprises cutting out a shim that is interposed between the polarizer layer and the color filter layer; and

trimming off peripheral portions of the oversized polarizer layer that has been laminated onto the color filter layer so that the edges of the polarizer layer after trimming are even with the edges of the color filter layer.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein trimming off the peripheral portions of the oversized polarizer layer comprises performing laser trimming operations with laser trimming equipment.

3. The method defined in claim 1 wherein cutting the opening comprises cutting a camera window in the polarizer layer.

4. A method for forming display structures, comprising:

forming a color filter layer;

laminating an oversized polarizer layer onto the color filter layer, wherein edges of the oversized polarizer layer extend laterally past edges of the color filter layer and wherein laminating the oversized polarizer layer onto the color filter layer comprises attaching the polarizer layer to the color filter layer using adhesive;

interposing an adhesive barrier material between the adhesive and the color filter layer in a given region of the color filter layer; and

trimming off peripheral portions of the oversized polarizer layer that has been laminated onto the color filter layer so that the edges of the polarizer layer after trimming are even with the edges of the color filter layer.

5. The method defined in claim 4 wherein the given region is a circular camera window region.

6. The method defined in claim 4 wherein the adhesive barrier material comprises a plastic shim.

7. The method defined in claim 6 further comprising cutting out the plastic shim after laminating the polarizer layer onto the color filter layer.

8. The method defined in claim 7 wherein the plastic shim has peripheral edges and wherein cutting out the plastic shim comprises using a laser to cut through the polarizer along the peripheral edges of the shim.

9. The method defined in claim 7 further comprising:

mounting a thin film transistor array driver integrated circuit onto a thin film transistor glass layer;

encapsulating the integrated circuit in an encapsulant; and

attaching the thin film transistor glass layer to the color filter layer, wherein the thin film transistor glass layer comprises an array of thin film transistors that control pixels in a display formed using the color filter layer.

10. The method defined in claim 9 wherein the thin film transistor glass layer comprises a planar surface, the method further comprising polishing the encapsulant to form a planar surface on the encapsulant that is vertically aligned with the planar surface of the thin film transistor glass layer before attaching the thin film transistor glass layer to the color filter layer.

11. A method for forming display structures, comprising:

forming a color filter layer;

mounting a thin film transistor array driver integrated circuit onto the color filter layer such that the thin film transistor array driver integrated circuit at least partially overlaps the color filter layer;

laminating an oversized polarizer layer onto the color filter layer, wherein edges of the oversized polarizer layer extend laterally past edges of the color filter layer; and

trimming off peripheral portions of the oversized polarizer layer that has been laminated onto the color filter layer so that the edges of the polarizer layer after trimming are even with the edges of the color filter layer.

12. The method defined in claim 11 further comprising:

forming conductive structures that electrically couple the thin film transistor array driver integrated circuit with an array of thin film transistors on a thin film transistor glass layer.

13. The method defined in claim 12 wherein forming the conductive structures comprises ink-jet printing conductive dots.

14. The method defined in claim 13 further comprising ink-jet printing additional conductive dots that electrically connect an indium tin oxide ground plane on the color filter layer with circuitry on the thin film transistor glass layer.

15. Display structures, comprising:

a color filter glass layer;

a thin film transistor glass layer;

thin film transistor driver integrated circuits attached to the color filter glass layer;

traces on the color filter glass layer that are interconnected with the thin film transistor driver integrated circuits;

an array of thin film transistors on the thin film transistor glass layer; and

conductive dots that interconnect the traces on the color filter glass layer with the array of thin film transistor on the thin film transistor glass layer.

16. The display structures defined in claim 15 wherein the conductive dots comprise ink-jet dots.

17. The display structures defined in claim 16, wherein the color filter glass layer has an outer surface and edges, the display structures further comprising:

a liquid crystal layer between the color filter glass layer and the thin film transistor glass layer; and

a polarizer layer on the outer surface of the color filter glass layer, wherein the polarizer layer has edges that are even with the edges of the color filter glass layer within a tolerance of less than 100 microns.

18. The display structures defined in claim 17 wherein the edges of the polarizer layer comprise laser-trimmed polarizer edges.

19. The display structures defined in claim 17 further comprising a layer of ink interposed between the thin film transistor driver integrated circuits and the color filter glass layer, wherein the ink has a non-black color.

20. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing;

a display mounted in the housing,

wherein the display comprises a polarizer having edges and a color filter layer having edges that are laterally aligned with the edges of the polarizer wherein at least one integrated circuit is mounted to the color filter layer such that the at least one integrated circuit at least partially overlaps the color filter layer.

21. The electronic device defined in claim 20 further comprising a gasket that is interposed between the housing and the color filter layer, wherein the edges of the polarizer are not covered by a bezel.

22. The electronic device defined in claim 20 further comprising a layer of ink interposed between the integrated circuit and the color filter layer at least in peripheral portions of the color filter layer, wherein the ink has a color other than black.

23. The electronic device defined in claim 20 wherein the display comprises:

a thin film transistor glass layer having transistor circuitry;

a layer of liquid crystal material interposed between the thin film transistor glass layer and the color filter layer; and

conductive structures that electrically connect the integrated circuit to the transistor circuitry of the thin film transistor glass layer.

24. The electronic device defined in claim 23 wherein the conductive structures comprise ink-jet dots.

25. The electronic device defined in claim 20 wherein the edges of the color filter layer are laterally aligned with the edges of the polarizer to within a tolerance of 100 microns.

26. The electronic device defined in claim 20 wherein the display comprises:

a thin film transistor glass layer having transistor circuitry;

a layer of liquid crystal material interposed between the thin film transistor glass layer and the color filter layer;

a thin film transistor array driver integrated circuit mounted to the thin film transistor glass layer and electrically connected to the transistor circuitry; and

encapsulant over the thin film transistor array driver integrated circuit.

27. The electronic device defined in claim 26 wherein the encapsulant has a planar surface and wherein the thin film transistor glass layer has a surface that lies in a common plane with the planar surface.