Placement and shape of electrodes for use in displays

• US 9,612,489 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2009
• Issued: 04/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Chen, Cheng, Chang, Shih Chang, Xu, Ming, Gettemy, Shawn Robert, Gu, Mingxia
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar, Srilakshmi K
• Assistant Examiner(s): ILUYOMADE, IFEDAYO B
• Application Number:
  US12/371,364
• Publication Number:
  US 20100207854A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,972 Days
• Field of Search: 345 78, 257448, 349141, 349 94, 349 52, 349122
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133512 Light shielding layers, e.g. black matrix G02F1/136209 takes precedence
• 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 1/134381 Hybrid switching mode, i.e. for applying an electric field with components parallel and orthogonal to the substrates
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2201/122 having a particular pattern

Abstract

A liquid crystal display (LCD) is provided having a discontinuous electrode. In certain embodiments, different portions (such as finger- or slit-like extensions) of the discontinuous electrode may be at different depths relative to one another and/or may be of different widths relative to one another. Similarly, in other embodiments, the different portions of the discontinuous electrode may be spaced apart in a non-uniform manner.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display (LCD) comprising a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising:

an insulating layer;

a first electrode formed along a y-axis of an x-y plane on a first side of the insulating layer, wherein the first side of the insulating layer comprises a first surface extending across the x-y plane at a first depth along a z-axis relative to the x-y plane and a second surface extending across the x-y plane at a second depth along the z-axis, wherein the first depth is above the second depth, the electrode comprising two or more finger-like regions, wherein at least one finger-like region of the two or more finger-like regions is disposed on top of the second surface of the first side of the insulating layer, and wherein a first portion of the at least one finger-like region is disposed below the first depth and wherein a second portion of the at least one finger-like region is disposed above the first depth;

a second electrode formed on a second side of the insulating layer opposite the first side;

a liquid crystal layer, wherein alignment of a plurality of liquid crystals within the liquid crystal layer is determined by operation of the first and the second electrode.

2. The LCD panel of claim 1, wherein the two or more regions are of different widths relative to one another.

3. The LCD panel of claim 1, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are substantially transparent.

4. The LCD panel of claim 1, wherein the first electrode comprises a pixel electrode and the second electrode comprises a common electrode.

5. An electronic device, comprising:

one or more input structures;

a storage structure encoding one or more executable routines;

a processor capable of receiving inputs from the one or more input structures and of executing the one or more executable routines when loaded in a memory; and

a liquid crystal display (LCD) capable of displaying an output of the processor, wherein the LCD comprises a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising;

a liquid crystal layer comprising a plurality of liquid crystals whose alignment is determined by an electric field, wherein the alignment of the liquid crystals determines the amount of light which passes through the liquid crystal layer at the respective pixel; and

an electrode formed along a y-axis of an x-y plane of an insulating layer, wherein the insulating layer comprises a surface having a first depth along a z-axis with respect to the x-y plane and a second depth at a lower depth along the z-axis than the first depth, wherein the surface comprises at least one recessed region disposed at the second depth, and wherein the electrode is part of a circuit used to generate the electric field, the electrode comprising two or more slat-like portions such that at least one slat-like portion is disposed in the at least one recessed region, wherein a first portion of the at least one slat-like portion is below the first depth and wherein a second portion of the at least one slat-like portion is above the first depth.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the LCD panel comprises a fringe field switched (FFS) LCD panel.

7. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein at least two of the two or more slat-like portions have different widths.

8. A liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, comprising:

a liquid crystal layer comprising a plurality of liquid crystals whose alignment is determined by one or more electric fields; and

a circuitry layer capable of generating the one or more electric fields, the circuitry layer comprising;

an insulating layer;

a first electrode disposed on a first side of the insulating layer; and

a second electrode disposed along a y-axis of an x-y plane parallel to a second side of the insulating layer opposite the first side, wherein the second side of the insulating layer comprises a first surface extending across the x-y plane at a first depth relative to a z-axis of the x-y plane and a second surface extending across the x-y plane at a second depth different from the first depth relative to the z-axis, wherein the second electrode comprises a first region disposed on the first surface at the first depth and a second region disposed on the second surface at the second depth, wherein the second depth is depressed into the second side of the insulating layer and wherein the first and second regions are of different widths, wherein a first portion of the second region is below the first depth and wherein a second portion of the second region is disposed above the first depth.

9. The LCD of claim 8, wherein each pixel comprises a backlight assembly capable of generating light which is modulated based on the alignment of the plurality of liquid crystals at the pixel.

10. The LCD of claim 8, wherein the second electrode is connected to a drain of a thin film transistor (TFT) which controls generation of an electric field between the second electrode and the first electrode.

11. The LCD of claim 8, comprising a backlight assembly capable of emitting light that is modulated by the liquid crystal layer based on the alignment of the plurality of liquid crystals.

12. A liquid crystal display (LCD) comprising a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising:

an insulating layer;

a first electrode formed on a first side of the insulating layer;

a second electrode formed on a second side along a y-axis of an x-y plane parallel to a primary surface of the insulating layer opposite the first side, the second electrode comprising three or more extensions, wherein at least two of the extensions are penetrate into the primary surface of the insulating layer relative to a z-axis with respect to the x-y plane, and wherein the interval spacing between the three or more extensions is not uniform, wherein a first portion of each lateral side of each of the at least two of the extensions are abutting the insulating layer, wherein a second portion of each lateral side of each of the at least two of the extensions are not abutting the insulating layer, and wherein each lateral side of each of the at least two of the extensions comprises a surface that is orthogonal to the x-y plane; and

a plurality of liquid crystals whose alignment is determined by an electric field generated between the first electrode and the second electrode.

13. The LCD of claim 12, wherein the at least two of the three or more extensions have different widths.

14. The LCD of claim 12, comprising a backlight assembly capable of emitting light that is modulated based on the alignment of the plurality of liquid crystals.

15. The LCD of claim 12, comprising a thin film transistor electrically connected to the first electrode and the second electrode to control generation of the electric field.

16. A liquid crystal display (LCD) comprising a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising:

a first electrode disposed on a first side of an insulating layer; and

a second electrode disposed on a second side of the insulating layer opposite the first side, wherein the second electrode comprises two or more discontinuous regions formed along a y-axis of an x-y plane of the insulating layer, wherein at least one of the two or more discontinuous regions have a different elevation with respect to a z-axis relative to the x-y plane of the insulating layer, and wherein the at least one of the two or more discontinuous regions is sunken into the insulating layer such that each lateral side of the at least one of the two or more discontinuous regions comprises a first portion that touches the insulating layer and a second portion that does not touch the insulating layer, wherein a surface of each lateral side of the at least one of the two or more discontinuous regions is perpendicular to the x-y plane; and

a liquid crystal layer comprising a plurality of liquid crystals whose alignment is determined by an electric field generated by the first electrode and the second electrode.

17. The LCD of claim 16, wherein at least two of the two or more discontinuous regions have different widths relative to one another.

18. An electronic device, comprising

one or more input structures;

a storage structure encoding one or more executable routines;

a processor capable of receiving inputs from the one or more input structures and of executing the one or more executable routines when loaded in a memory; and

a liquid crystal display (LCD) capable of displaying an output of the processor, wherein the LCD comprises a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising;

a plurality of liquid crystals whose alignment is determined by an electric field;

a first electrode formed on a first side of an insulator layer;

a second electrode formed along a y-axis of an x-y plane parallel to a second side of the insulator layer opposite the first side, wherein the second side of the insulator layer comprises a surface region having a first depth along a z-axis relative to the x-y plane and at least one depressed region having a second depth different from the first depth along the z-axis, wherein the second electrode comprises two or more finger-like extensions such that at least one of the two or more finger-like extensions is disposed in the at least one depressed region of the insulating layer, wherein a first portion of each lateral side of each of the at least one of the two or more finger-like extensions is abutting the insulator layer, and wherein a second portion of each lateral side of each of the at least one of the two or more finger-like extensions is above the first depth;

a thin film transistor (TFT) electrically connected to the first electrode and the second electrode such that operation of the TFT controls generation of the electric field; and

a backlight assembly capable of generating light that is modulated by the plurality of liquid crystals.

19. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein at least two of the two or more finger-like extensions have different widths relative to one another.

20. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein the two or more finger-like extensions comprise more than three finger-like extensions and wherein the more than three finger-like extensions are not uniformly spaced apart.

21. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display (LCD) comprising a plurality of pixels, comprising:

forming a first electrode;

forming an insulative layer on the first electrode;

forming a second electrode along a y-axis of an x-y plane parallel to a primary surface of the insulative layer such that two or more extensions of the second electrode are formed at different depths along a z-axis with respect to the x-y plane of the insulative layer, wherein at least one of the two or more extensions are formed sunken into the primary surface of the insulative layer along the z-axis, and wherein the at least one of the two or more extensions are not entirely enclosed by the insulative layer;

providing a liquid crystal layer at each pixel such that an electric field generated between the first electrode and the second electrode affects the alignment of a plurality of liquid crystals at the respective pixel.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein forming the second electrode comprises forming the second electrode such that at least two of the two or more extensions have different widths relative to one another.

23. The method of claim 21, comprising installing the LCD as a display of an electronic device.