Display panel having a plurality of spacers

• US 10,825,845 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2018
• Issued: 11/03/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AU Optronics Corporation
• Original Assignee: AU Optronics Corporation
• Inventors: Shen, Meng-Wei, Yeh, Yung-Cheng
• Primary Examiner(s): Blancha, Jonathan M
• Application Number:
  US16/056,553
• Publication Number:
  US 20190043895A1
• Time in Patent Office: 819 Days
• Field of Search: 345174
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13394 spacers regularly patterned on the cell subtrate, e.g. walls, pillars G02F1/133377 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13396 Spacers having different sizes
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13398 Spacer materials; Spacer properties
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134372 for fringe field switching [FFS] where the common electrode is not patterned
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136209 Light shielding layers, e.g. black matrix, incorporated in the active matrix substrate, e.g. structurally associated with the switching element
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136218 Shield electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136222 Colour filters incorporated in the active matrix substrate
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/136286 Wiring, e.g. gate line, drain line
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1368 in which the switching element is a three-electrode device G02F1/136277 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/124 with a particular composition, shape or layout of the wiring layers specially adapted to the circuit arrangement, e.g. scanning lines in LCD pixel circuits wiring structures per se H01L23/52
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1248 with a particular composition or shape of the interlayer dielectric specially adapted to the circuit arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/78633 with a light shield

Abstract

A display panel including a first substrate, an active element layer, a pixel electrode layer, an auxiliary conductive layer, a first spacer and a second spacer is provided. The active element layer is disposed on the first substrate. The pixel electrode layer is disposed on the first substrate and electrically connected with the active element layer. The auxiliary conductive layer is disposed on the active element layer. The first spacer is disposed on the auxiliary conductive layer. The first spacer overlaps the auxiliary conductive layer in a normal projection direction. The second spacer is disposed on the active element layer. The second spacer does not overlap the auxiliary conductive layer in the normal projection direction. A distance between an apex of the first spacer and the first substrate is longer than a distance between an apex of the second spacer and the first substrate.

Claims

1. A display panel, comprising:

a first substrate;

an active element layer, disposed on the first substrate;

a pixel electrode layer, disposed on the first substrate and electrically connected with the active element layer;

an auxiliary conductive layer, disposed on the active element layer;

a first spacer, disposed on the auxiliary conductive layer, wherein the first spacer overlaps the auxiliary conductive layer in a normal projection direction;

a second spacer, disposed on the active element layer, wherein the second spacer does not overlap the auxiliary conductive layer in the normal projection direction,

a common electrode layer, disposed on the first substrate and between the first spacer and the active element layer; and

an insulation layer, disposed between the pixel electrode layer and the common electrode layer, wherein the pixel electrode layer has a plurality of pixel electrodes, the common electrode layer has a plurality of common electrodes, and the pixel electrodes overlap the common electrodes, wherein one of each of the pixel electrodes and its corresponding common electrode has a plurality of openings,

wherein a distance between an apex of the first spacer and the first substrate is greater than a distance between an apex of the second spacer and the first substrate.

2. The display panel as recited in claim 1, wherein the auxiliary conductive layer includes a plurality of touch lines, and the first spacer overlaps one of the touch lines in the normal projection direction.

3. The display panel as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

a touch electrode layer, disposed on the first substrate and having a plurality of touch sensing pads which are separated from one another, wherein the pixel electrode layer has a plurality of pixel electrodes which are separated from one another, the touch sensing pads overlap the pixel electrodes in the normal projection direction, and the touch lines are electrically connected with the touch sensing pads.

4. The display panel as recited in claim 3, wherein the touch electrode layer is a common electrode layer.

5. The display panel as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

an insulation layer, disposed between the pixel electrode layer and the common electrode layer, wherein one of any the pixel electrode and its corresponding common electrode layer has a plurality of openings.

6. The display panel as recited in claim 3, wherein the touch electrode layer is located between the auxiliary conductive layer and the active element layer.

7. The display panel as recited in claim 3, wherein the auxiliary conductive layer is located between the touch electrode layer and the active element layer.

8. The display panel as recited in claim 1, wherein the active element layer comprises:

a plurality of active elements;

a plurality of data lines and a plurality of scan lines, intersecting with each other and electrically connected with the active elements, wherein the auxiliary conductive layer comprises a plurality of first extension portions and a plurality of second extension portions, the first extension portions overlap the data lines in the normal projection direction, and the second extension portions overlaps the scan lines in the normal projection direction.

9. The display panel as recited in claim 8, wherein the first extension portions and the second extension portions are connected, and one of the first extension portions or one of the second extension portions has a break point, and the second spacer is disposed above the break point.

10. The display panel as recited in claim 1, wherein the auxiliary conductive layer is electrically connected with the common electrode layer.

11. The display panel as recited in claim 1, wherein the auxiliary conductive layer is located between the common electrode layer and the active element layer.

12. The display panel as recited in claim 1, wherein the common electrode layer is located between the auxiliary conductive layer and the active element layer.

13. The display panel as recited in claim 1, wherein a material of the first spacer and the second spacer comprises a light-shielding photoresist material.

14. The display panel as recited in claim 1, wherein the active element layer comprises:

a plurality of active elements;

a plurality of data lines and a plurality of scan lines, intersecting with each other and electrically connected with the active elements, and the display panel further comprising;

a light-shielding pattern layer, used to at least shield the scan lines and disposed on the auxiliary conductive layer, wherein the first spacer and the second spacer are disposed on the light-shielding pattern layer and directly connected with the light-shielding pattern layer.

15. The display panel as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

a second substrate, disposed opposite to the first substrate; and

a display medium, disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein the first spacer and the second spacer are located between the second substrate and the light-shielding pattern layer, and the light-shielding pattern layer is located between the first spacer and the auxiliary conductive layer.

16. The display panel as recited in claim 14, wherein a material of the first spacer, a material of the second spacer and a material of the light-shielding pattern layer are the same light-shielding photoresist material.

17. The display panel as recited in claim 14, wherein the light-shielding pattern layer does not overlap a part of each of the data lines, and a normal projection of the part of each of the data lines on the first substrate is located between two normal projections of two adjacent scan lines on the first substrate.

18. The display panel as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a color filter layer, disposed on the first substrate and located between the pixel electrode layer and the first substrate.

19. The display panel as recited in claim 1, wherein a material of the auxiliary conductive layer comprises molybdenum (Mo), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), molybdenum nitride (MoN) or titanium (Ti).