TW201827893A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

A display device includes a substrate, a black matrix, and a positioning mark. The substrate has an active area and a peripheral area disposed at least one side of the active area. The black matrix is disposed in the active area of the substrate. The positioning mark is disposed in the peripheral area of the substrate, in which the positioning mark includes a transparent layer, a first layer, and a second layer, sequentially disposed on the substrate, and the second layer and the black matrix are substantially made of the same material.

Description

   Display device   

The invention relates to a display device.

In the flat display technology, based on the consideration of the alignment accuracy in the manufacturing process, alignment marks are often set to improve the alignment accuracy of each layer. In the conventional technology, before the patterning process of the black matrix material layer is performed, an alignment mark of the underlying film layer is grasped by a process machine. However, since the identification of the alignment mark depends on the light transmittance of the black matrix material layer, and the contrast of the display panel is related to the opacity of the black matrix material layer, it is difficult to take into account the alignment accuracy of the display panel at the same time. Degree and contrast.

Some embodiments of the present invention provide a display device. In the process of setting up a black matrix, a single photomask is used to form multiple layers of alignment marks to achieve accurate alignment and facilitate subsequent process alignment. In detail, layers with different thicknesses are formed on the transparent registration marks through a single photomask, and a black matrix and registration marks with registration accuracy are produced at the same time. Not only can it improve the alignment accuracy of subsequent processes, but it also does not require additional photomasks and process flows.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, a display device includes a substrate, a black matrix, and positioning marks. The substrate has an active area and a peripheral area located on at least one side of the active area. The black matrix is disposed on the active area of the substrate. The positioning mark is disposed in the peripheral area of the substrate. The positioning mark includes a transparent layer, a first layer, and a second layer, which are sequentially disposed on the substrate. The material of the second layer and the black matrix is substantially the same.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the materials of the first layer and the second layer are the same.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the transmittance of the first layer is smaller than the transmittance of the transparent layer.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the transparent layer is a transparent conductive layer.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the thickness of the first layer is 0.07 to 0.6 than the thickness of the second layer.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the display device further includes at least one transparent electrode disposed in the active area of the substrate. The transparent electrode corresponds to at least one opening of the black matrix, and the material of the transparent electrode and the transparent layer is substantially the same.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, a display device includes a substrate, a black matrix, and positioning marks. The substrate has an active area and a peripheral area located on at least one side of the active area. The black matrix is disposed on the active area of the substrate. The positioning mark is disposed in the peripheral area of the substrate. The positioning mark includes a conductive layer, a first layer, and a second layer. The first layer is located between the conductive layer and the second layer. The thickness of the black matrix is substantially the same as the thickness of the second layer. .

In some embodiments of the present invention, the conductive layer is indium tin oxide.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the materials of the first layer and the second layer are the same, and the thickness of the first layer is substantially smaller than the thickness of the second layer.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the first layer and the second layer are negative photoresists.

100‧‧‧ display device

110‧‧‧ substrate

110a‧‧‧upper surface

120‧‧‧ Black Matrix

120a‧‧‧upper surface

122‧‧‧ opening

130‧‧‧ Anchor mark

132‧‧‧ ground floor

134‧‧‧first floor

134a‧‧‧upper surface

136‧‧‧second floor

136a‧‧‧upper surface

140‧‧‧ transparent electrode

150‧‧‧color filter

152‧‧‧Color Filter Unit

AA‧‧‧Active Zone

PA‧‧‧Peripheral area

MK‧‧‧Photomask

BE‧‧‧Light Blocking Element

EP1‧‧‧First exposure pattern

EP2‧‧‧Second exposure pattern

BM1‧‧‧The first black photoresist layer

BM2‧‧‧Second black photoresist layer

1B-1B‧‧‧line

FIG. 1A is a schematic top view of a display device according to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line 1B-1B in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2A to FIG. 2F are schematic cross-sectional views of a display device according to some embodiments of the present invention in multiple manufacturing stages.

Several embodiments of the present invention will be disclosed in the following drawings. For the sake of clear description, many practical details will be described in the following description. It should be understood, however, that these practical details should not be used to limit the invention. That is, in some embodiments of the present invention, these practical details are unnecessary. In addition, in order to simplify the drawings, some conventional structures and elements will be shown in the drawings in a simple and schematic manner.

FIG. 1A is a schematic top view of a display device 100 according to some embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line 1B-1B in FIG. 1A. Refer to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B at the same time. The display device 100 includes a substrate 110, a black matrix 120, and positioning marks 130. The substrate 110 has an active area AA and a peripheral area PA on at least one side of the active area AA. The black matrix 120 is disposed in the active area AA of the substrate 110. The positioning mark 130 is disposed on the peripheral area PA of the substrate 110. The positioning mark 130 includes a bottom layer 132, a first layer 134, and a second layer 136, which are sequentially disposed on the substrate 110. In other words, the first layer 134 is disposed between the bottom layer 132 and the second layer 136. The material of the second layer 136 and the black matrix 120 is substantially the same.

In various embodiments of the present invention, between the range corresponding to the bottom surface and the top surface of the black matrix 120, the positioning mark 130 has at least two layers (here, the first layer 134 and the second layer 136). With this setting, the accuracy of the black matrix 120 setting can be ensured.

Specifically, in the process of manufacturing a display device, positioning is often required to ensure the position accuracy of each layer. In various embodiments of the present invention, before the black matrix 120 is set, other layers may have been configured, and these layers have a mark symbol (here, the bottom layer 132) to help the setting of subsequent layers. However, the identification effect of the marker symbol (here, the bottom layer 132) may be poor, such as being too light-transmissive or reflective, which makes it difficult to identify the marker symbol (here, the bottom layer 132) through subsequent layers. In various embodiments of the present invention, the first layer 134 is designed to cover the bottom layer 132 to provide a height difference, and the positioning mark 130 (here, the bottom layer 132 is improved when the black matrix 120 is made without using an additional mask). With the recognition effect of the first layer 134). Subsequently, other components may be provided through the positioning mark 130 (here, the bottom layer 132, the first layer 134, and the second layer 136).

In this embodiment, the bottom layer 132 can contact the substrate 110. The bottom layer 132 may be a transparent layer. Specifically, the transmittance of the first layer 134 and the second layer 136 is smaller than that of the bottom layer 132. In some embodiments, the bottom layer 132 is a transparent conductive layer. For example, the material of the bottom layer 132 may be a metal thin film or a metal oxide semiconductor (such as indium tin oxide, zinc oxide) thin film. In some embodiments, the bottom layer 132 may be a metal layer, such as copper, aluminum, and molybdenum, without being limited by its transmittance.

FIG. 2A to FIG. 2F are schematic cross-sectional views of a display device 100 according to some embodiments of the present invention at multiple manufacturing stages.

First, referring to FIG. 2A, a substrate 110 is provided, and a transparent conductive layer is disposed on the active area AA and the peripheral area PA of the substrate 110. Thereafter, a transparent electrode 140 and a bottom layer 132 are formed by patterning the transparent conductive layer. The transparent electrode 140 is located in the active area AA and the bottom layer 132 is located in the peripheral area PA. Here, the transparent electrode 140 in the active area AA may have a continuous structure on the entire surface, and is used as a common (COM) electrode. In other embodiments, a plurality of separated transparent electrodes 140 may be provided, and these separated transparent electrodes 140 may be independently operated. In some embodiments, the bottom layer 132 serves as a dummy feature for positioning purposes only. In some embodiments, the bottom layer 132 is not electrically connected to the transparent electrode 140 or other circuits. Here, the thickness TB of the transparent electrode 140 and the bottom layer 132 is approximately 400 angstroms to 600 angstroms.

Next, referring to FIG. 2B, the first black resin layer BM1 may be disposed in a spin coating on the active area AA and the peripheral area PA of the substrate 110, and covers the transparent electrode 140 and the bottom layer 132. In some embodiments, the first black resin layer BM1 is thin (for example, about 1000 to 8000 angstroms), so that the pattern of the bottom layer 132 can be observed through the first black resin layer BM1, and the photomask MK is aligned. Thereafter, the first black resin layer BM1 is exposed with a mask MK and a light blocking element BE. The photomask MK has a first exposure pattern EP1 corresponding to the active area AA and a second exposure pattern EP2 corresponding to the peripheral area PA. The light blocking element BE can shield the first exposure pattern EP1 of the mask MK corresponding to the active area AA, and the mask MK can only expose the first black resin layer BM1 with the second exposure pattern EP2 corresponding to the peripheral area PA.

In various embodiments of the present invention, the light blocking element BE can at least reduce the intensity of the exposure light. For example, the light blocking element BE can absorb light in a certain wavelength band, and the absorption wavelength band at least partially overlaps the wavelength range of the exposure light. Of course, the scope of the present invention should not be limited in this way. The light blocking element BE can absorb, reflect, or scatter the exposure light.

Here, the material of the first black resin layer BM1 can be selected as a negative photoresist, and the opening of the second exposure pattern EP2 corresponds to a component to be formed by the subsequent first black resin layer BM1. As such, the exposed first black resin layer BM1 is not easily removed by the subsequent development step, and the unexposed first black resin layer BM1 is easily removed by the subsequent development step.

Then, referring to FIG. 2C, the first black resin layer BM1 is developed to remove a part of the first black resin resist layer BM1 (that is, to remove the unexposed first black resin layer BM1), and the remaining first A black resin layer BM1 forms a first layer 134 on the peripheral area PA. The baked first layer 134 has an upper surface 134a, and the upper surface 134a and the substrate 110, the bottom layer 132, and the transparent electrode 140 in FIG. 2C have different gloss appearances. Here, the first black resin layer BM1 in a liquid state is represented by a sparse dot distribution, and the first layer 134 in a solid state is represented by a dense dot distribution. In some embodiments, the thickness T1 of the first layer 134 is greater than the thickness TB of the bottom layer 132. In this embodiment, the first black resin layer BM1 may be a black material, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The first black resin layer BM1 may also be made of materials of other colors, such as gray. The first black resin layer BM1 is only required to achieve the effect of providing a height difference.

In some embodiments, in order to achieve a good positioning effect later, the first layer 134 covers the bottom layer 132. In some embodiments, the first layer 134 completely covers the bottom layer 132, that is, the projection of the bottom layer 132 on the substrate 110 is completely within the projection of the first layer 134 on the substrate 110.

Next, referring to FIG. 2D, a second black resin layer BM2 may be spin-coated on the active area AA and the peripheral area PA of the substrate 110. The second black resin layer BM2 covers the transparent electrode 140, the bottom layer 132 and the first layer 134.

Here, as described above, the thickness of the first black resin layer BM1 is relatively thin, so that the pattern of the bottom layer 132 can be observed through the first layer 134, and the photomask MK is aligned. In comparison, the thickness of the second black resin layer BM2 is relatively thick (for example, 12000 to 15000 angstroms), and it is easy to block light. If the second black resin layer BM2 is directly disposed on the bottom layer 132, it will hinder the identification of the bottom layer 132, which is not conducive to the alignment of the mask MK. In various embodiments of the present invention, a first layer 134 is provided above the bottom layer 132 to form a significant height difference. Therefore, when the second black resin layer BM2 is disposed on the first layer 134, the observer transmits through The height difference formed by the layer 134 is convenient for observing the pattern edge or alignment pattern formed by the first layer 134 and the bottom layer 132 to align the photomask MK (as shown in FIG. 2D). Thereafter, the second black resin layer BM2 is exposed with the aforementioned mask MK.

Here, no light-blocking element BE is provided (compare FIG. 2B and FIG. 2D), so that the photomask MK can simultaneously expose the second black photoresist layer BM2 with the first exposure pattern EP1 corresponding to the active area AA, and The second exposure pattern EP2 corresponding to the peripheral area PA exposes the second black resin layer BM2.

Next, referring to FIG. 2E, the second black resin layer BM2 is developed to remove a part of the second black resin layer BM2 (that is, the unexposed second black resin layer BM2), and the remaining second black resin is baked. Layer BM2, a black matrix 120 is formed in the active area AA, and a second layer 136 is formed in the peripheral area PA. In this embodiment, the materials of the second layer 136 and the black matrix 120 are substantially the same. In various embodiments of the present invention, the thickness of the black matrix 120 is substantially the same as the thickness of the second layer 136. Here, the second black resin layer BM2 in liquid state is represented by a sparse dot distribution, and the solid second layer 136 and the black matrix 120 are represented by a denser dot distribution. In this embodiment, the second black resin layer BM2 may be a black material, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The second black resin layer BM2 may also be made of a material of other colors so as to achieve a light-shielding effect. Yes, such as gray.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the thickness of the first layer 134 is substantially smaller than the thickness of the second layer 136 to achieve the aforementioned purpose of identifying the bottom layer 132. For example, as described above, the thickness T1 of the first layer 134 is approximately 1000 to 8000 angstroms, and the thickness T2 of the second layer 136 is approximately 12000 to 15,000 angstroms. In some embodiments, the thickness T1 of the first layer 134 is 0.07 to 0.6 than the thickness T2 of the second layer 136. In this way, when the first layer 134 having a smaller thickness is provided, the bottom layer 132 can be identified, and the thickness T2 of the subsequent second layer 136 (that is, the thickness of the black matrix 120) is large and does not transmit light, and can be maintained. At the same time, the contrast of the display device 100 and the formation of the positioning mark of the first layer 134 having a height difference can also take into account the exposure alignment of the black matrix 120 at the same time.

In various embodiments of the present invention, the first black resin layer BM1 and the second black resin layer BM2 may both be negative photoresist materials, so that the first black resin layer BM1 and the second black resin layer BM2 use the same The photomask MK is patterned to form positioning marks at the same positions, so that the openings of the first exposure pattern EP1 and the second exposure pattern EP2 correspond to elements to be formed by the subsequent second black photoresist layer BM2.

In some embodiments, the materials of the first layer 134 and the second layer 136 are substantially the same. Considering that the first layer 134 and the second layer 136 undergo spin coating, exposure, development, and / or baking, respectively, the first layer 134 A clear interface (such as the upper surface 134a) can be observed with the second layer 136. For example, during the liquid-to-solid conversion of the first layer 134, the liquid surface may have certain surface characteristics due to the difference in the free surface energy of the upper surface 134a of the first layer 134 in the liquid state with that of air. Cure and save. In addition, the surface of the liquid second layer 136 adjacent to the first layer 134 may also have a specific surface free energy difference, so that the liquid surface has certain surface characteristics and is preserved through curing. So far, an obvious interface (for example, the upper surface 134a) can be formed between the first layer 134 and the second layer 136. In other embodiments, the materials of the first layer 134 and the second layer 136 are different, so an obvious interface (such as the upper surface 134a) can be observed between the first layer 134 and the second layer 136.

In this embodiment, a negative photoresist is used as the first black resin layer BM1 and the second black resin layer BM2, and the light blocking element BE is used to shield the light in the active area AA, so that an additional photomask is not added. The aforementioned positioning mark having a plurality of layers is formed. It should be understood that, in other embodiments, a positive photoresist can also be used as the first black photoresist layer BM1 and the second black photoresist layer BM2, and the photoresist shown in FIG. 1B can be formed by an appropriate exposure and development process. Anchor marks for multiple layers.

In various embodiments of the present invention, the black matrix 120 has a plurality of openings 122. As shown in FIG. 1B, at least a portion of the transparent electrode 140 can be exposed in the black matrix 120 through the plurality of openings 122, that is, a portion of the transparent electrode. 140 may be covered by the black matrix 120, and some of the transparent electrodes 140 are not covered by the drinking matrix 120. As described above, the transparent electrode 140 may have a continuous structure over the entire surface, and is used as a common electrode. In other embodiments, a plurality of transparent electrodes 140 separated from each other may be provided and may be independently operated, and the openings 122 may respectively correspond to these transparent electrodes 140 separated from each other. Alternatively, the transparent electrode 140 may be provided with a slit instead of a whole surface structure.

Referring to FIG. 2F, a color filter layer 150 is disposed on the transparent electrode 140. The color filter layer 150 includes a plurality of color filter units 152, which are respectively disposed corresponding to the openings 122 of the black matrix 120. In various embodiments of the present invention, the color filter unit 152 may have different colors, such as a red filter unit, a green filter unit, and a blue filter unit. For example, various color filter materials may be spin-coated and patterned on the substrate 110 to form color filter units 152 with different colors. In some embodiments of the present invention, the display device 100 may be formed by combining a substrate 110, an active device array substrate (not shown), and a display medium (not shown). In this way, the transparent electrode 140 of the active device array substrate and the substrate 110 can control the display medium to modulate the brightness change of the light or emit light of different brightness, and the color filter layer 150 can achieve the effect of color display. For example, the display medium may be a non-self-emitting material such as a liquid crystal material or a self-emitting material such as an organic light-emitting material. When the display medium uses a non-self-luminous material, the display device 100 may include other backlight light sources.

Some embodiments of the present invention provide a display device. In the process of setting up a black matrix, a single photomask is used to form multiple layers of alignment marks to achieve accurate alignment and facilitate subsequent process alignment. In detail, layers with different thicknesses are formed on the transparent registration marks through a single photomask, and a black matrix and registration marks with registration accuracy are produced at the same time. Not only can it improve the alignment accuracy of subsequent processes, but it also does not require additional photomasks and process flows.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in various embodiments as above, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can make various modifications and retouches without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of protection shall be determined by the scope of the attached patent application.

Claims (10)

    A display device includes: a substrate having an active area and a peripheral area located on at least one side of the active area; a black matrix provided in the active area of the substrate; and a positioning mark provided in the periphery of the substrate Area, wherein the positioning mark includes a transparent layer, a first layer, and a second layer, which are sequentially disposed on the substrate, and the second layer is substantially the same as the material of the black matrix.         The display device according to claim 1, wherein the first layer and the second layer are made of the same material.         The display device according to claim 1, wherein the transmittance of the first layer is smaller than the transmittance of the transparent layer.         The display device according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the first layer is 1000 to 8000 angstroms.         The display device according to claim 1, wherein a thickness ratio of the first layer to the second layer is 0.07 to 0.6.         The display device according to claim 1, further comprising: at least one transparent electrode disposed in the active area of the substrate, and the black matrix may form an opening, wherein the transparent electrode is located in the opening corresponding to the black matrix, and The transparent electrode is substantially the same as the material of the transparent layer.         A display device includes: a substrate having an active area and a peripheral area, and the peripheral area is located on one side of the active area; a black matrix is disposed in the active area; and a positioning mark is disposed in the peripheral area, The positioning mark includes a conductive layer, a first layer, and a second layer, and the first layer is located between the metal layer and the second layer. The thickness of the black matrix and the thickness of the second layer are substantially On the same.         The display device according to claim 7, wherein the conductive layer is indium tin oxide.         The display device according to claim 7, wherein the material of the first layer is the same as that of the second layer, and the thickness of the first layer is substantially smaller than the thickness of the second layer.         The display device according to claim 9, wherein a thickness ratio of the first layer to the second layer is 0.07 to 0.6.