TWI460511B - Lcos cell strucutre - Google Patents

Description

Silicon-based liquid crystal cell structure

The present invention relates to a ruthenium-based liquid crystal cell structure. In particular, the present invention relates to a germanium-based liquid crystal cell structure having a composite gap structure that surrounds to form a liquid crystal cell.

In today's flat panel display technology, plasma display panel (PDP) panels and liquid crystal display (LCD) panels can be said to be two mainstream, both of which are called by numerous The display of pixels is composed of pixels. The former is applied to the market of larger size, but because the mass production technology has not yet broken through, the cost is still high, and there is still a long distance from the popularization. The latter is represented by a thin-film transistor LCD (TFT LCD) which has been popular in recent years.

A liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) display is a liquid crystal display using a silicon chip as a substrate material, and a pixel array is fabricated on a germanium wafer using a standard CMOS process. Matrix), drive integrated circuits, and other electronic components have the advantage of being fully CMOS semiconductor processes. Since the CMOS semiconductor process is already a very mature industrial technology, it can be used to produce products with higher stability and higher reliability than liquid crystal displays, while reducing each one. The pixel pitch is below 10 μm, and thus higher resolutions are obtained.

In addition, the liquid crystal twin crystal display panel not only has the advantages of small pixel size, high brightness and high resolution, but also has the advantages of simple process, low cost and small volume, so the liquid crystal display panel has begun to be applied, for example, in a portable manner. Hand-held personal communication audio-visual equipment such as cameras and digital cameras, as well as audio-visual equipment such as projection televisions and multimedia projectors.

The basic principle of the liquid crystal twin display projection system is similar to that of the liquid crystal projection system. The difference is that the liquid crystal projection system uses the light source to pass through the liquid crystal for modulation, which is a transmissive type, and the liquid crystal twin display projection system is a reflective structure. A crystal panel composed of a glass substrate, a liquid crystal, and a circuit of a CMOS chip and a reflective layer is used to modulate the optical signal emitted by the light source to be projected onto the screen.

The difference between a liquid crystal twin crystal display and a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) is that the upper and lower sides of a general thin film transistor liquid crystal display are made of glass as a substrate, but the liquid crystal twin is used. The display panel only uses glass on the top, and the bottom substrate is based on semiconductor material. Therefore, the process of liquid crystal display panel is combined with thin film transistor liquid crystal display and semiconductor complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor). , CMOS) process technology.

Compared with the plasma display, the liquid crystal twin crystal display has an absolute advantage in cost, and it not only has various advantages of the liquid crystal display, but also can be replaced by the appropriate projection technology. Widely used in large-size markets, it has attracted many large-scale LCD panels for research and development in recent years, which is the most potential product in the display group.

Traditionally, a sealant has been used in a twinned liquid crystal display panel. Please refer to FIG. 1 , which illustrates a conventional liquid crystal twin crystal display panel. The liquid crystal twin display panel 1 includes a germanium substrate (ie, a lower substrate) 10 and a glass substrate 20 (ie, an upper substrate). Between the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20, a sealant 30 is interposed therebetween. The sealant 30 can firmly bond the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20 on the one hand. The sealant 30, on the other hand, maintains an appropriate distance between the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20, thereby enabling the liquid crystal 40 to fill the chamber surrounded by the lower substrate 10, the upper substrate 20, and the sealant 30. It is called liquid crystal cell 41, medium. Further, the pixel electrodes 50 are arranged in an array on the lower substrate 10 in the range of the sealant 30.

However, since the product of the liquid crystal twin display panel 1 is new, the distance between the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20 is getting smaller and smaller, and it is difficult to use the sealant 30 to define the thickness of the liquid crystal cell 41, which is called a cell gap. ). In addition, since the sealant 30 will transmit light, the liquid crystal cell will be leaked to reduce the contrast of the liquid crystal twin display panel 1.

At present, space balls are used instead of the sealant 30 to define the thickness of the liquid crystal cell 41. However, it is not a simple task to make an extra-sized gap ball on the one hand. On the other hand, adding a gap ball to the liquid crystal twin display panel 1 also increases the complexity of the process. So this is not the best of both worlds.

Therefore, there is still a need for a liquid crystal twin crystal display panel having a novel germanium-based liquid crystal cell structure. The novel 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure can maintain the thickness of the liquid crystal cell without the need of a gap ball, and can maintain the liquid crystal cell of the liquid crystal display panel with as small a thickness as possible.

In one aspect of the invention, a novel germanium-based liquid crystal cell structure is proposed. The novel bismuth-based liquid crystal cell structure of the present invention can maintain the liquid crystal cell with a thickness as small as possible without requiring a gap ball. In another aspect, the present invention further proposes another novel germanium-based liquid crystal cell structure. The novel 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of the present invention can further increase the contrast of the liquid crystal twin display panel because light leakage is hardly caused, and can provide a better quality picture.

The present invention first proposes a ruthenium-based liquid crystal cell structure. The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of the present invention comprises a substrate, a plurality of metal patterns arranged in an array, a dielectric material filled between the metal patterns, and a composite gap structure on the dielectric material, which is formed by surrounding A liquid crystal cell. The composite gap structure includes a first dielectric layer on the dielectric material and a gap material layer on the first dielectric layer. Wherein, the gap material layer and the first dielectric layer have a sufficiently large etching selectivity ratio.

The invention further proposes a germanium-based liquid crystal cell structure. The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of the present invention comprises a substrate, a plurality of metal patterns arranged in an array, a dielectric material filled between the metal patterns, and a composite gap structure on the dielectric material, which is formed by surrounding A liquid crystal cell composite gap structure includes a first dielectric layer on the dielectric material and a gap material layer on the first dielectric layer. The layer of gap material is substantially opaque.

The present invention first provides a novel germanium-based liquid crystal cell structure. According to the novel 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of the present invention, the use of the gap ball can be omitted, and the liquid crystal cell can be maintained to have a thickness as small as possible.

Fig. 2 is a view showing an embodiment of the structure of the ruthenium-based liquid crystal cell of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the germanium-based liquid crystal cell structure 200 of the present invention comprises a substrate 201, a plurality of metal patterns 211, a dielectric material 212, and a composite gap structure 220. Substrate 201 can comprise a semiconductor substrate, such as germanium, or other suitable layer of material. If the substrate 201 is a semiconductor substrate, the germanium-based liquid crystal cell structure 200 of the present invention can be fabricated on a germanium wafer by using a standard CMOS process to form a pixel matrix having MOS elements for controlling each pixel switch. (not shown), an integrated driver (not shown), and other electronic components are one of the structural advantages of the germanium-based liquid crystal cell of the present invention. Typically, at the top of the substrate 201, there may be a top inter-metal dielectric (top IMD) 202.

The metal pattern 211 and the dielectric material 212 are respectively located on the substrate 201, that is, respectively on the top metal interlayer dielectric layer 202, and the level is substantially the same. Fig. 3 is a view showing the arrangement of metal patterns in the structure of the germanium-based liquid crystal cell of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, a plurality of metal patterns 211, which can be used as pixel electrodes, are arranged in an array on the substrate 201, for example, a checkerboard, a stripe, a triangle, or a mosaic. Structure (Mosaic) and the like. The dielectric material 212 is filled in the gap 213 between the metal patterns 211. The metal pattern 211 includes a metal material having a high reflection coefficient, and a dichroic layer (not shown) may be selectively disposed thereon. Additionally, dielectric material 212 can be at least one of a bismuth compound, such as a nitride or an oxide. In addition, the present invention may optionally be provided with a protective layer, such as an oxide-nitriding-oxidizing-nitriding (ONON) multilayer film, covering the surface of each of the metal patterns 211 and the dielectric material 212.

The composite gap structure 220 is located on the dielectric material 212. The composite gap structure 220 surrounds the substrate 201 to form a liquid crystal cell 230. The size of the liquid crystal cell 230 can be determined according to the specifications of the thiol liquid crystal product. The composite gap structure 220 includes at least one first dielectric layer 221 on the dielectric material 212 and a gap material layer 222 on the first dielectric layer 221.

Preferably, the gap material layer 222 and the first dielectric layer 221 have a sufficiently large etching selectivity. In other words, under a particular etching condition, there is a substantially large enough etching selectivity between the gap material layer 222 and the first dielectric layer 221 such that one of them is substantially etched while the other is substantially not It is etched and therefore can also be used as an etch stop layer. For example, the first dielectric layer 221 can be at least one of a germanium compound, such as a nitride or an oxide. On the other hand, the gap material layer 222 may comprise a metal material such as aluminum, a conductive material such as polysilicon, or an organic polymer material such as polyimide. If both the dielectric material 212 and the first dielectric layer 221 are germanium compounds, the dielectric material 212 and the first dielectric layer 221 may have a sufficiently small etching selectivity ratio, that is, no etching selectivity ratio. For example, it is the same material, and the process and structure can be reduced. When the thickness of the first dielectric layer 221 is not too large, the degree of etching can be precisely controlled without the result of over-etching.

The height of the composite gap structure 220 may be between 1 micrometer (μm) and 2 micrometers (μm), as the case requires. In addition, the composite gap structure 220 may further include a second dielectric layer 223. As shown in Figure 4. Preferably, the second dielectric layer 223 is located on the gap material layer 222 such that the composite gap structure 220 becomes a sandwich structure. Preferably, there is a sufficiently large etching selectivity between the second dielectric layer 223 and the gap material layer 222. If the composite gap structure 220 further includes the second dielectric layer 223, the height of the first dielectric layer 221 may preferably be between 500 and 5000 angstroms ( Between the two, the thickness of the first dielectric layer 221 is not too large.

In the 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure 200 of the present invention, since the composite gap structure 220 is designed to maintain the distance between the upper substrate 240 and the lower substrate 201, that is, the height of the composite gap structure 220 is used to constitute the gap (cell gap). In order to accommodate the liquid crystal, it is possible to omit the structural design that conventionally requires the use of a clearance ball. On the other hand, it is necessary to adjust the height of the composite gap structure 220 as needed, and it is also possible to maintain the thickness of the liquid crystal cell as small as possible to meet the needs of future product design.

The present invention further provides another novel bismuth-based liquid crystal cell structure. Another structure of the ruthenium-based liquid crystal cell of the present invention is structurally improved and hardly leaks light. In this way, the contrast of the liquid crystal twin display panel can be further increased, and a better quality picture can be provided.

Fig. 5 is a view showing an embodiment of the structure of the ruthenium-based liquid crystal cell of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, the germanium-based liquid crystal cell structure 300 of the present invention comprises a substrate 301, a metal pattern 311, a dielectric material 312, and a composite gap structure 320. Substrate 301 can comprise a semiconductor substrate, such as germanium, or other suitable layer of material. If the substrate 301 is a semiconductor substrate, the germanium-based liquid crystal cell structure 300 of the present invention can produce a pixel array (not shown) and a driver integrated circuit on the germanium wafer by using a standard CMOS process. And other electronic components, which are one of the structural advantages of the germanium-based liquid crystal cell of the present invention. Typically, at the top of substrate 301, there may be a top metal inter-layer dielectric 302.

The metal pattern 311 and the dielectric material 312 are respectively located on the substrate 301, that is, respectively on the inter-metal dielectric layer 302, and the level is substantially the same. Fig. 6 is a view showing the arrangement of metal patterns in the structure of the germanium-based liquid crystal cell of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, a plurality of metal patterns 311 for each pixel electrode are arranged in an array on the substrate 301, for example, a checkerboard, a stripe, a triangle, or a mosaic. Mosaic) and other structures. The dielectric material 312 is filled in the gap 313 between the metal patterns 311. The metal pattern 311 includes a metal material having a high reflection coefficient, and a dichroic layer (not shown) may be selectively disposed thereon. Additionally, dielectric material 312 can be at least one of a bismuth compound, such as a nitride or an oxide. In addition, the present invention may optionally be provided with a protective layer, such as an oxide-nitriding-oxidizing-nitriding (ONON) multilayer film, covering the surface of each of the metal patterns 311 and the dielectric material 312.

The composite gap structure 320 is located on the dielectric material 312. The composite gap structure 320 surrounds the substrate 301 to form a liquid crystal cell 330. The size of the liquid crystal cell 330 can be determined according to the specifications of the thiol liquid crystal product. The composite gap structure 320 includes at least one first dielectric layer 321 on the dielectric material 312 and a gap material layer 322 on the first dielectric layer 321 .

The embodiment of FIG. 5 differs from the embodiment of FIG. 2 in that the gap material layer 322 on the first dielectric layer 321 is substantially opaque. Therefore, the light in the liquid crystal cell 330 is not easily lost from the composite gap structure 320, as shown in FIG. Also, light outside the liquid crystal cell 330 does not easily enter the liquid crystal cell 330 from the composite gap structure 320. On the other hand, the height of the gap material layer 322 may be greater than the height of the first dielectric layer 321 . The height of the composite gap structure 320 may be between 1 micrometer (μm) and 2 micrometers (μm), and the height of the first dielectric layer 321 may preferably be between 500 and 5000 angstroms (as needed). Between the two, the thickness of the first dielectric layer 321 is not too large to minimize the loss or penetration of light from the composite gap structure 320.

On the other hand, the material of the gap material layer 322 and the material on the first dielectric layer 321 will also be different. For example, the first dielectric layer 321 may be a compound of germanium, such as at least one of a nitride or an oxide. However, the gap material layer 322 may comprise a metal material such as aluminum, a conductive material such as polysilicon, or an organic Polymer materials such as polyimine. Therefore, there may also be a sufficiently large etching selectivity ratio between the gap material layer 322 and the first dielectric layer 321. That is, under a particular etch condition, the gap material layer 322 and the first dielectric layer 321 have substantially sufficient etch selectivity ratios such that one of them is substantially etched while the other is substantially It will not be etched, so it can also be used as an etch stop layer. If both the dielectric material 312 and the first dielectric layer 321 are germanium compounds, there may be no etching selectivity between the dielectric material 312 and the first dielectric layer 321.

In addition, the composite gap structure 320 may further include a second dielectric layer 323, as shown in FIG. Preferably, the second dielectric layer 323 is located on the gap material layer 322 such that the composite gap structure 320 becomes a sandwich structure. The second dielectric layer 323 may comprise at least one of a ruthenium compound, such as a nitride or an oxide. Preferably, there is a sufficiently large etching selectivity between the second dielectric layer 323 and the gap material layer 322.

In the germanium-based liquid crystal cell structure 300 of the present invention, since the composite gap structure 320 for constructing a cell gap hardly transmits light, the possibility of light leakage from the composite gap structure 320 can be minimized. Also, the height of the composite gap structure 320 constitutes a gap 330. In this way, the contrast of the liquid crystal twin display panel can be further increased, and a better quality picture can be provided.

The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all changes and modifications made to the scope of the present invention should be within the scope of the present invention.

1. . . Liquid crystal twin crystal display panel

10. . .矽 substrate

20. . . glass substrate

30. . . Frame glue

40. . . liquid crystal

41. . . Liquid crystal cell

50. . . Pixel electrode

200. . . Silicon-based liquid crystal cell structure

201. . . Substrate

202. . . Top metal interlayer dielectric

211. . . Metal pattern

212. . . Dielectric material

220. . . Composite gap structure

221. . . First dielectric layer

222. . . Gap material layer

223. . . Second dielectric layer

300. . . Silicon-based liquid crystal cell structure

301. . . Substrate

302. . . Top metal interlayer dielectric

311. . . Metal pattern

312. . . Dielectric material

320. . . Composite gap structure

321. . . First dielectric layer

322. . . Gap material layer

323. . . Second dielectric layer

Fig. 1 illustrates a conventional liquid crystal twin display panel.

Fig. 2 is a view showing an embodiment of the structure of the ruthenium-based liquid crystal cell of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a view showing the arrangement of metal patterns in the structure of the germanium-based liquid crystal cell of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a view showing an embodiment of the structure of the ruthenium-based liquid crystal cell of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a view showing an embodiment of the structure of the ruthenium-based liquid crystal cell of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a view showing the arrangement of metal patterns in the structure of the germanium-based liquid crystal cell of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a view showing an embodiment of the structure of the ruthenium-based liquid crystal cell of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a view showing an embodiment of the structure of the ruthenium-based liquid crystal cell of the present invention.

200. . . Silicon-based liquid crystal cell structure

201. . . Substrate

202. . . Top metal interlayer dielectric

211. . . Metal pattern

212. . . Dielectric material

220. . . Composite gap structure

221. . . First dielectric layer

222. . . Gap material layer

Claims (18)

A liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) cell structure comprising: a substrate; a plurality of metal patterns arranged in an array and a dielectric material filled between the metal patterns; and a composite gap a composite post spacer, located on the dielectric material and surrounding to form a cell space, the composite back gap structure comprising: a first dielectric layer on the dielectric material; a gap material layer Located on the first dielectric layer, wherein the gap material layer and the first dielectric layer have an etching selectivity ratio; and a second dielectric layer is disposed on the gap material layer. The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises a top inter-metal dielectric (top IMD). The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 1, wherein there is no etch selectivity ratio between the dielectric material and the first dielectric layer. The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 1, wherein the dielectric material and the first dielectric layer respectively comprise at least one of an oxide and a nitride. The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 1, wherein the composite gap structure has a height of between 1 micrometer (μm) and 2 micrometers (μm). The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 1, wherein the second dielectric layer and the gap material layer have an etch selectivity ratio. The cymbal-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 1, wherein the first dielectric layer has a height of between 500 and 5000 angstroms (Å). The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 1, wherein the gap material layer comprises at least one of a metal and an organic polymer material. The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 1, wherein the gap material layer is substantially opaque. A germanium-based liquid crystal cell structure comprising: a substrate; a plurality of metal patterns arranged in an array; a dielectric material filled between the metal patterns; and a composite gap structure on the dielectric material and surrounding Forming a liquid crystal cell, the composite back gap structure comprising: a first dielectric layer on the dielectric material; a gap material layer on the first dielectric layer, wherein the gap material layer is substantially opaque ;as well as A second dielectric layer is on the layer of gap material. The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 10, wherein the substrate comprises a top inter-metal dielectric (top IMD). The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 10, wherein there is no etch selectivity between the dielectric material and the first dielectric layer. The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 10, wherein the dielectric material and the first dielectric layer comprise at least one of an oxide and a nitride, respectively. The ruthenium-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 10, wherein the composite gap structure has a height between 1 micrometer (μm) and 2 micrometers (μm). The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 10, wherein the second dielectric layer and the gap material layer have an etch selectivity ratio. The cymbal-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 10, wherein the first dielectric layer has a height between 500 and 5000 angstroms (Å). The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 10, wherein the gap material layer comprises at least one of a metal and an organic polymer material. The 矽-based liquid crystal cell structure of claim 10, wherein the gap material layer and the first dielectric layer There is an etch selectivity ratio between the electrical layers.