Substrate for liquid crystal display and liquid crystal display utilizing the same

• US 7,372,533 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2005
• Issued: 05/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Shibasaki, Masakazu, Sasaki, Takahiro, Hanaoka, Kazutaka, Kataoka, Shingo, Nakanishi, Yohei, Inoue, Yuichi, Koike, Yoshio, Nakamura, Kimiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Dung T.
• Application Number:
  US11/170,328
• Publication Number:
  US 20050253988A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,049 Days
• Field of Search: 349/127, 349123-125, 349/129, 349/139, 349141-143
• US Class Current: 349/123
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133753 with different alignment orientations or pretilt angles on a same surface, e.g. for grey scale or improved viewing angle
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134309 characterised by their geometrical arrangement
• 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 1/136286 Wiring, e.g. gate line, drain line

Abstract

It is an object of the invention to provide a substrate for a liquid crystal display having optical transmittance improved without reducing the speed of a response to a tone change and a liquid crystal display utilizing the same. There is provided a drain bus line formed on an array substrate which sandwiches a liquid crystal in combination with an opposite substrate provided in a face-to-face relationship therewith, a TFT connected to the drain bus line, and a pixel electrode which has stripe-shaped electrodes, along with spaces, connected to the TFT and provided in parallel with the drain bus line, stripe-shaped electrodes in the vicinity of the drain bus line having an electrode width formed narrower than the width of internal electrodes located inside the same.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display comprising:

an array substrate and an opposite substrate combined in a face-to-face relationship to seal a liquid crystal which is in contact with an alignment film or electrode; and

a polymer layer locally formed on the alignment film for determining a pre-tilt angle of liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal and/or a tilting direction at the time of driving of the same,

wherein the polymer layer is formed in at least one region of the alignment film to align differently from where the polymer layer is formed in another region on the alignment film.

2. A liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the polymer layer is in the range from 10 Å

to 5000 Å

inclusive.

3. A liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the alignment of the polymer in the polymer layer at the top surface thereof in contact with the liquid crystal is different from an aligning direction determined by the alignment film or an electrode.

4. A liquid crystal display according to claim 3, wherein the polymer has optical anisotropy.

5. A liquid crystal display comprising:

a pair of substrates provided in a face-to-face relationship;

an alignment film formed on each of the surfaces of the substrates in a face-to-face relationship;

a liquid crystal layer including a nematic liquid crystal and an optically setting element which is set such that an aligning direction at an azimuth angle of liquid crystal molecules substantially matches a direction at an azimuth angle of the alignment control performed by the alignment film; and

an electrode structure for generating an electric field having a component in parallel with the substrate surfaces in the liquid crystal layer.

6. A liquid crystal display according to claim 5, wherein a structure having concave-convex shapes on the surface of the alignment film is used as a factor for determining the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules.

7. A liquid crystal display, comprising:

a pair of substrates provided in a face-to-face relationship;

an alignment film formed on each of the surfaces of the substrates in a face-to-face relationship;

a liquid crystal layer including a nematic liquid crystal and an optically setting element which is set such that an aligning direction at an azimuth angle of liquid crystal molecules substantially matches a direction at an azimuth angle of the alignment control performed by the alignment film; and

an electrode structure for generating an electric field having a component in parallel with the substrate surfaces in the liquid crystal layer,

wherein an anchoring energy in a direction at an azimuth angle acting on liquid crystal molecules on the surface of the alignment film is 3×

10<sup>−

5</sup> J/m² or less.

8. A liquid crystal display comprising:

an array substrate and an opposite substrate combined in a face-to-face relationship to seal a liquid crystal;

an optically processed alignment film; and

a polymer layer formed on the alignment film for determining a pre-tilt angle of liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal and/or a tilting direction at the time of driving of the same;

wherein the polymer layer has a thickness of no less than 10 Å and

no greater than 5000 Å

, and

the alignment of the polymer in the polymer layer at the top surface thereof in contact with the liquid crystal is different from an aligning direction determined by the alignment film or an electrode.

9. A liquid crystal display according to claim 8, wherein the polymer is in different states of alignment and formation in a plurality of regions.

10. A liquid crystal display according to claim 8, wherein the polymer has optical anisotropy.

11. A liquid crystal display comprising:

an array substrate and an opposite substrate combined in a face-to-face relationship to seal a liquid crystal therebetween,

an alignment film formed on opposing surfaces of the array substrate and the opposite substrate; and

a polymer layer formed into a plurality of locally isolated islands on the alignment film on at least one of the array substrate and the opposite substrate, for determining a pre-tilt angle of liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal and/or a tilting direction at the time of driving of the same,

wherein the polymer layer is formed in at least one region of the alignment film to align differently from where the polymer layer is formed in another region on the alignment film.

12. The liquid crystal display as defined in claim 11, wherein the polymer layer is cured when an electric field is applied to the liquid crystal.

13. The liquid crystal display as defined in claim 12, wherein the liquid crystal molecules extending between the array substrate and the opposite substrate in a plane perpendicular to the substrates align in multi-axial directions when the electric field is applied to the liquid crystal.