This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 99125127, filed on Jul. 29, 2010. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an active device array substrate, a display panel, and a repair method. More particularly, the invention relates to an active device array substrate, a display panel, and a repair method capable of reducing resistance-capacitance (RC) loading during signal transmission and preventing short circuit caused by metallic particles.
2. Description of Related Art
In normal displays, bottom gate thin film transistors (TFT) have high parasitic capacitance (Cgd and Cgs), and therefore significant RC loading is often generated during signal transmission if the bottom gate TFT serves as the TFT in a driving circuit.
In most cases, the bottom gate TFT in the driving circuit is disposed on a coating path of a sealant. Hence, when the sealant is cured by ultraviolet light, the sealant cannot be completely cured due to the metal gate in the bottom gate TFT.
Besides, in the process of forming the driving circuit (including the bottom gate TFT), metallic particles are very much likely to be formed. If the metallic particles fall between the source and the drain, then the short circuit occurs. As such, devices cannot be fully or partially operated.
The invention is directed to an active device array substrate capable of effectively reducing RC loading when signals are transmitted by a driving circuit.
The invention is further directed to a display panel capable of resolving an issue of incompletely curing a sealant caused by a metal gate in a driving circuit.
The invention is further directed to a repair method capable of removing short circuit phenomenon caused by metallic particles falling between a source and a drain of a driving circuit.
The invention provides an active device array substrate having a display region. The active device array substrate includes a substrate, a plurality of first signal lines, a plurality of second signal lines, a plurality of active devices, a plurality of pixel electrodes, a bus line, and a switch device. The first signal lines and the second signal lines are arranged on the substrate and interlaced with each other to define a plurality of pixel regions in the display region. The active devices are respectively disposed corresponding to the pixel regions and coupled to the first signal lines and the second signal lines. The pixel electrodes are respectively disposed in the pixel regions and coupled to the active devices. The bus line is disposed outside the display region. The switch device is disposed outside the display region. Besides, the switch device has a gate, a first electrode, and a second electrode. The gate is coupled to the bus line, and the first and second electrodes are located above the gate. The first electrode is coupled to a signal source, and the second electrode is coupled to one of the first signal lines. The first and second electrodes are comb-shaped, respectively. The first electrode includes a plurality of first fingers parallel to one another and a first connection portion connecting the first fingers. The second electrode includes a plurality of second fingers parallel to one another and a second connection portion connecting the second fingers. The first fingers and the second fingers are alternately arranged, and a portion of the first electrode is located outside the gate.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the first connection portion is, for example, located outside the gate. Each of the first fingers has a first end contiguously connected to the first connection portion, and the first ends are located outside the gate.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the second connection portion is, for example, located outside the gate. Each of the second fingers has a second end contiguously connected to the second connection portion, and the second ends are located outside the gate.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a portion of the second electrode is, for example, located outside the gate.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the bus line has a plurality of slits, for instance.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the slits are arranged along an extending direction of the bus line, for instance.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the first fingers are parallel to the second fingers.
The invention further provides a display panel including an active device array substrate, an opposite substrate, and a display medium layer. The active device array substrate has a display region. Besides, the active device array substrate includes a substrate, a plurality of active devices, a plurality of pixel electrodes, a bus line, and a switch device. The active devices are disposed in the display region. The pixel electrodes are disposed in the display region and respectively coupled to the active devices. The bus line is disposed outside the display region. The switch device is disposed outside the display region. Besides, the switch device has a gate, a first electrode, and a second electrode. The gate is coupled to the bus line, and the first and second electrodes are located above the gate. The first electrode is coupled to a signal source, and the second electrode is coupled to one of the active devices. The first and second electrodes are comb-shaped, respectively. The first electrode includes a plurality of first fingers parallel to one another and a first connection portion connecting the first fingers. The second electrode includes a plurality of second fingers parallel to one another and a second connection portion connecting the second fingers. The first fingers and the second fingers are alternately arranged, and a portion of the first electrode is located outside the gate. The opposite substrate is disposed opposite to the active device array substrate. The display medium layer is disposed between the active device array substrate and the opposite substrate.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the first connection portion is, for example, located outside the gate. Each of the first fingers has a first end contiguously connected to the first connection portion, and the first ends are located outside the gate.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the second connection portion is, for example, located outside the gate. Each of the second fingers has a second end contiguously connected to the second connection portion, and the second ends are located outside the gate.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a portion of the second electrode is, for example, located outside the gate.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the bus line has a plurality of slits, for instance.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the display panel further includes a sealant. At least one portion of the sealant is disposed on the bus line and located between the active device array substrate and the opposite substrate.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the slits are arranged along an extending direction of the bus line, for instance.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the first fingers are parallel to the second fingers.
The invention further provides a repair method for repairing an active device array substrate or a display panel having the active device array substrate. The active device array substrate has a display region. Besides, the active device array substrate includes a substrate, a plurality of first signal lines, a plurality of second signal lines, a plurality of active devices, a plurality of pixel electrodes, a bus line, and a switch device. The first signal lines and the second signal lines are arranged on the substrate and interlaced with each other to define a plurality of pixel regions in the display region. The active devices are respectively disposed corresponding to the pixel regions and coupled to the first signal lines and the second signal lines. The pixel electrodes are respectively disposed in the pixel regions and coupled to the active devices. The bus line is disposed outside the display region. The switch device is disposed outside the display region. Besides, the switch device has a gate, a first electrode, and a second electrode. The gate is coupled to the bus line, and the first and second electrodes are located above the gate. The first electrode is coupled to a signal source, and the second electrode is coupled to one of the first signal lines. The first and second electrodes are comb-shaped, respectively. The first electrode includes a plurality of first fingers parallel to one another and a first connection portion connecting the first fingers. The second electrode includes a plurality of second fingers parallel to one another and a second connection portion connecting the second fingers. The first fingers and the second fingers are alternately arranged. The first connection portion is located outside the gate. Each of the first fingers has a first end contiguously connected to the first connection portion, and the first ends are located outside the gate. In the repair method, when short circuit occurs between one of the first fingers and a corresponding one of the second fingers, the first end of the first finger encountering the short circuit is cut, such that the rest of the first finger encountering the short circuit is electrically insulated from the first connection portion and the other first fingers.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the second connection portion is located outside the gate, for example. Each of the second fingers has a second end contiguously connected to the second connection portion, and the second ends are located outside the gate. When the short circuit occurs between one of the first fingers and the corresponding one of the second fingers, the second end of the second finger encountering the short circuit is cut, such that the rest of the second finger encountering the short circuit is electrically insulated from the second connection portion and the other second fingers.
Based on the above, the first electrode and the second electrode of the switch device are comb-shaped in the invention. Besides, the first fingers of the first electrode and the second fingers of the second electrode are alternately arranged, such that the switch device of the driving circuit is considered to be constituted by a plurality of small TFTs connected in parallel. Therefore, when the metallic particles fall between the first and second electrodes and the short circuit occurs, the first end of the first finger and/or the second end of the second finger that encounters the short circuit can be cut to resolve the short circuit issue.
In addition, according to this invention, the bus line has a plurality of slits, and therefore RC loading between switch pulse (SW pulse) signals and other data signals can be mitigated effectively.
Moreover, since the bus line of the invention has a plurality of slits, the sealant can be cured by ultraviolet light passing through the slits. As such, the bus line and the switch device no longer make a great impact on curing the sealant, and the issue of incompletely curing the sealant can be resolved.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general descriptions and the following detailed embodiments are exemplary and are, together with the accompanying drawings, intended to provide further explanation of technical features and advantages of the invention.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
The scan lines 102 and the data lines 104 are arranged on the substrate and interlaced with each other to define a plurality of pixel regions 100a in the display region 100. The active devices 106 are disposed corresponding to the pixel regions 100a and coupled to the scan lines 102 and the data lines 104. The pixel electrodes are respectively disposed in the pixel regions 100a and coupled to the active devices 106. To be more specific, the active devices 106 are the well-known TFTs, for instance. The gates of the TFTs are coupled to the scan lines 102. The sources of the TFTs are coupled to the data lines 104. The drains of the TFTs are coupled to the pixel electrodes. In addition, the pixel electrodes in the active device array substrate, the common electrode in the opposite substrate, and the display medium layer sandwiched between the active device array substrate and the opposite substrate together form the capacitor C. The opposite substrate and the display medium layer are described later with reference to
The bus line 108 and the switch device 110 are disposed outside the display region 100. Here, the bus line 108 and the switch device 110 together form the driving circuit for driving the active devices 106. In
The bus line 108 and the switch device 110 are elaborated hereinafter with reference to
The first and second electrodes 114 and 116 are comb-shaped, respectively. In particular, the first electrode 114 includes first fingers 114a parallel to one another and a first connection portion 114b connected to the first fingers 114a. The second electrode 116 includes second fingers 116a parallel to one another and a second connection portion 116b connected to the second fingers 116a. The first fingers 114a and the second fingers 116a are alternately arranged. In this embodiment, the first fingers 114a are, for instance, parallel to the second fingers 116a, and a portion of the first electrode 114 is located outside the gate 112. Namely, the projection of the first electrode 114 on the substrate 10 is partially located outside the projection of the gate 112 on the substrate 10. In detail, the first connection portion 114b is located outside the gate 112. Additionally, each of the first fingers 114a has a first end 114c contiguously connected to the first connection portion 114b, and the first ends 114c are located outside the gate 112.
In this embodiment, the first ends 114c and the first connection portion 114b of the first electrode 114 are located outside the gate 112, and the second ends 116c and the second connection portion 116b of the second electrode 116 are located above the gate 112. However, in other embodiments of the invention, the second connection portion 116b of the second electrode 116 and the second ends 116c (contiguously connected to the second connection portion 116b) of the second fingers 116a can be located outside the gate 112, while the first ends 114c and the first connection portion 114b of the first electrode 114 are located above the gate 112. Alternatively, the first connection portion 114b of the first electrode 114, the first ends 114c, the second connection portion 116b of the second electrode 116, and the second ends 116c are all located outside the gate 112.
In this embodiment, the first and second electrodes 114 and 116 are comb-shaped, respectively, and the first fingers 114a of the first electrode 114 and the second fingers 116a of the second electrode 116 are alternately arranged. Hence, the switch device 110 of the driving circuit can be deemed as a plurality of small TFTs 110a connected in parallel.
Besides, the bus line 108 in this embodiment has a plurality of slits 108a. The slits 108a are arranged along an extending direction of the bus line 108, for instance. Since the bus line 108 has the slits 108a, RC loading between SW pulse signals and other data signals can be effectively reduced. In other words, the bus line 108 having the slits 108a mitigates the RC loading during signal transmission.
Furthermore, the bus line 108 has the slits 108a. Hence, even though the bus line 108 and the switch device 110 are located on the coating path of the sealant, the sealant can be cured by ultraviolet light passing through the slits 108a. As such, the bus line 108 and the switch device 110 make the least impact on curing the sealant, and the issue of incompletely curing the sealant can be resolved.
According to the previous embodiment, the second electrode 116 of the switch device 110 is coupled to the data lines 104. The second electrode 116 of the switch device 110 can also be coupled to the scan lines 102 in another embodiment of the invention, as indicated in
A display panel having the active device array substrate depicted in
It should be mentioned that metallic particles are apt to be formed during fabrication of the driving circuit (including the bus line 108 and the switch device 110), and the metallic particles result in short circuit when falling between the source and the drain (i.e. the first electrode 114 and the second electrode 116). To resolve the short circuit issue, the first electrode 114 and the second electrode 116 need to be repaired.
The repair method of this invention is described hereinafter by taking the switch device of
In this embodiment, metallic particles 600 are only located in one place between the first and second electrodes 114 and 116, and thus only one first end 114c needs to be cut. However, in other embodiments of the invention, if the metallic particles 600 are in more than one places between the first and second electrodes 114 and 116, the first ends 114c corresponding to the metallic particles 600 should be cut.
In another embodiment of the invention, if the second connection portion 116b of the second electrode 116 and the second ends 116c are located outside the gate 112, and if the metallic particles 600 result in short circuit when falling between the first and second electrodes 114 and 116, the second ends 116c are cut, such that the second fingers 116a having the metallic particles 600 are separated from the second connection portion 116b and the other second fingers 116a.
In still another embodiment of the invention, if the first connection portion 114b of the first electrode 114, the first ends 114c, the second connection portion 116b of the second electrode 116, and the second ends 116c are all located outside the gate 112, and if the metallic particles 600 result in short circuit when falling between the first and second electrodes 114 and 116, the first ends 114c, the second ends 116c, or both the first and second ends 114c and 116c can be cut.
That is to say, the switch device 110 is deemed to be formed by a plurality of small TFTs 110a connected in parallel in the above-mentioned repair process. Accordingly, when one of the TFTs 110a encounters short circuit, the TFT 110a encountering the short circuit is electrically insulated from the other TFTs 110a through performing the cutting process. Thereby, the short circuit issue can be resolved, and the other TFTs 110a can continue to operate.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of the present invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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99125127 | Jul 2010 | TW | national |