The present application relates to the technical field of display technologies, and more particularly to an array substrate, a display panel, and a display.
A Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) is a commonly used electronic device and is widely favored by users due to its low power consumption, small size, and light weight. The current liquid crystal display device is mainly a thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD).
The liquid crystal display mainly includes a liquid crystal display panel and a backlight module. The liquid crystal display panel is mainly formed by a thin film transistor substrate (TFT substrate), a color filter substrate (CF substrate), and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the two substrates. In the process of cell assemblage, a seal is applied around the two substrates, a liquid crystal layer is injected into the seal, and the seal is thereafter cured to obtain a liquid crystal display panel structure.
The thin film transistor substrate (TFT substrate), i.e., the array substrate 100′ is typically formed by a display area 10′ and a non-display area 11′ at a periphery of the display area 10′. The display area 10′ is provided therein with a plurality of the scan lines 113′ and a plurality of data lines 114′, the data lines 114′ and the scan lines 113′ intersect to define a plurality of pixel areas. A timing controller (TCON) 110′, configured to provide a data signal to the data lines 114′ and to provide a scan signal to the scan lines 113′, is arranged within the non-display area 11′, and a plurality of chip on films (COF) 111′ are adopted to transmit the data signal and the scan signal to the display area 10′, as shown in
Based on the above, it is necessary to provide an array substrate structure capable of preventing the water vapor from penetrating into the metal layer of the WOA line.
It is an object of embodiments of the present application to provide an array substrate, which aims at solving the problem that the WOA lines are apt to be corroded by the water vapor penetration.
In order to solve the technical solutions, technical solutions adopted by embodiments of the present applications are as follows: an array substrate is provided. The array substrate comprises a substrate base layer. A display area and a non-display area are arranged on the substrate base layer. The non-display area comprises a plurality of chip-on-film connection lines arranged on the substrate base layer.
A respective chip-on-film connection line comprises:
a first metal layer, arranged on the substrate base layer;
an insulation layer, arranged on the first metal layer;
a second metal layer, arranged on the insulation layer; and
a passivation layer, arranged on the second metal layer.
A surface of the passivation layer is provided with a hydrophobic layer.
In the array substrate provided by one embodiment of the present application, the chip-on-film connection line of the non-display area comprises: the first metal layer arranged on the substrate base layer, the insulation layer arranged on the first metal layer, the second metal layer arranged on the insulation layer, and the passivation layer arranged on the second metal layer; and the surface of the passivation layer is provided with the hydrophobic layer. The hydrophobic layer is capable of effectively preventing the water vapor from penetrating into the second metal layer arranged beneath the passivation layer, therefore further preventing the chip-on-film connection line of the non-display area from being corroded and preventing further penetration of the water vapor into the display area. In this way, the display effect of the display area of the array substrate is ensured, the qualities of the display panel and the display are ensured, and service lives thereof are improved.
It is another object of one embodiment of the present application to provide a display panel. The display panel comprises an array substrate.
The array substrate comprises a substrate base layer. A display area and a non-display area are arranged on the substrate base layer. The non-display area comprises a plurality of chip-on-film connection lines arranged on the substrate base layer.
A respective chip-on-film connection line comprises:
a first metal layer, arranged on the substrate base layer;
an insulation layer, arranged on the first metal layer;
a second metal layer, arranged on the insulation layer; and
a passivation layer, arranged on the second metal layer.
A surface of the passivation layer is provided with a hydrophobic layer.
The passivation layer comprises a first sub-passivation layer arranged on the second metal layer and a second sub-passivation layer arranged on the first sub-passivation layer. The hydrophobic layer is arranged on a surface of the second sub-passivation layer; and the first sub-passivation layer has a thickness of 200-230 nm, and the second sub-passivation layer has a thickness of smaller than 230 nm.
In the display panel provided by one embodiment of the present application, the chip-on-film connection line of the non-display area of the array substrate comprises: the first metal layer arranged on the substrate base layer, the insulation layer arranged on the first metal layer, the second metal layer arranged on the insulation layer, and the passivation layer arranged on the second metal layer; and the surface of the passivation layer is provided with the hydrophobic layer. The hydrophobic layer is capable of effectively preventing the water vapor from penetrating into the second metal layer arranged beneath the passivation layer, therefore further preventing the chip-on-film connection line of the non-display area from being corroded and preventing further penetration of the water vapor into the display area. Moreover, the passivation layer comprises the first sub-passivation layer and the second sub-passivation layer; the first the thickness of the sub-passivation layer is 200-230 nm, and the thickness of the second sub-passivation layer is smaller than 230 nm, in this way, the thickness of the passivation layer is increased, which further ensures the display effect of the display area of the array substrate, thus ensuring the qualities of the display panel and the display and improving the service lives thereof.
It is still another object of one embodiment of the present application to provide a display. The display comprises a display panel. The display panel comprises an array substrate.
The array substrate comprises a substrate base layer. The display area and a non-display area are arranged on the substrate base layer. The non-display area comprises a plurality of chip-on-film connection lines arranged on the substrate base layer.
A respective chip-on-film connection line comprises:
a first metal layer, arranged on the substrate base layer;
an insulation layer, arranged on the first metal layer;
a second metal layer, arranged on the insulation layer; and
a passivation layer, arranged on the second metal layer.
A surface of the passivation layer is provided with a hydrophobic layer.
In the display provided by one embodiment of the present application, the chip-on-film connection line of the non-display area comprises: the first metal layer arranged on the substrate base layer, the insulation layer arranged on the first metal layer, the second metal layer arranged on the insulation layer, and the passivation layer arranged on the second metal layer; and the surface of the passivation layer is provided with the hydrophobic layer. The hydrophobic layer is capable of effectively preventing the water vapor from penetrating into the second metal layer arranged beneath the passivation layer, therefore further preventing the chip-on-film connection line of the non-display area from being corroded and preventing further penetration of the water vapor into the display area. In this way, the display effect of the display area of the array substrate is ensured, the qualities of the display panel and the display are ensured, and service lives thereof are improved.
In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in embodiments of the present application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the existing techniques will be briefly described hereinbelow. Apparently, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application. Other drawings may be obtained by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.
In order to make the technical problems to be solved, technical solutions, and beneficial effects of the present application more clear, the present application will be further described in detail hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely intended to explain the application rather than to limit the present application.
It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being “fixed” or “arranged” at/in/on another element, it can be directly at/in/on the other element. When an element is referred to as being “connected” to/with the another element, it can be directly or indirectly connected to/with the other element. Moreover, the terms “first” and “second” are adopted for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defining “first” and “second” may include one or more of the features either explicitly or implicitly. In the description of the present application, the meaning of “a plurality of or “multiple” is two or more unless otherwise particularly defined.
As shown in
As shown in
In the array substrate 100 provided by the present application, the chip-on-film connection line 23 of the non-display area 2 comprises: the first metal layer 231 and the second metal layer 233 separated by the insulation layer 232, and the passivation layer 234 disposed on the second metal layer 233. By placing the hydrophobic layer 2340 on the surface of the passivation layer 234, the path of water vapor penetration can be blocked. Even the film thickness of the passivation layer 234 is relatively small due to the height difference between edges of the first metal layer 231 and the second metal layer 233 that align with each other, the water vapor can be effectively prevented from penetrating into the second metal layer 233 via the passivation layer 234 at such step difference. In this way, the chip-on-film connection lines 23 and an internal part of the display area 1 of the array substrate 100 are prevented from being subjected to corrosion of the water vapor, and the sealing effect of the array substrate 100 and the display quality of the display area 1 are ensured.
As shown in
A width of a respective through hole (in a width direction of the chip-on-film connection line 23) is 1-10 μm, and optionally, 1-6 μm. A length of the respective through hole (in a length direction of the chip-on-film connection line 23) is 1-15 μm, and optionally, 1-10 μm.
In a first embodiment of the present application, as shown in
For the display area 1, a gate and the scan lines 11 are formed on the substrate base layer 10, a gate insulating layer is formed on the gate and the scan lines, an active layer is formed on the gate insulating layer, a source/drain and the data lines 12 are formed on the active layer, the gate, the active layer, and the source/drain form a thin film transistor (TFT, not shown in the figures), and the passivation layer is formed on the TFT. The passivation layer on the TFT within the display area 1 has a thickness of 200-230 nm, that is, the passivation layer 2340 of the chip-on-film connection line 23 located within the non-display area 2 and the passivation layer on the TFT within the display area 1 have the same thickness, and can be formed by the same chemical vapor deposition process. After deposition, it only requires to perform the hydrophobic treatment of the passivation layer 234 located within the non-display area.
In a second embodiment of the
Optionally, the passivation layer 234 has a thickness of 230-300 nm, or alternatively, 300-400 nm, or alternatively, 400-460 nm.
In the second embodiment, the thickness of the passivation layer 234 in the non-display area 2 is greater than that of the passivation layer on the TFT within the display area 1. In this case, after a passivation layer having a thickness of greater than 230 nm is formed by one time chemical vapor deposition, a portion of the passivation layer on the TFT within the display area can be removed. Thus, not only is the thickness of the passivation layer 234 of the chip-on-film connection line 23 maintained greater than 230 nm, but also the passivation layer on the TFT within the display area 1 is maintained at 200-230 nm.
In a third embodiment of the present application, as illustrated in
In particular, the first sub-passivation layer 2341 has a thickness of 200-230 nm, and the second sub-passivation layer 2342 has a thickness of smaller than 230 nm, for example, smaller than 70 nm, 70-170 nm, or alternatively, 170-230 nm, and the thickness of the passivation layer 234 is 230-460 nm.
Optionally, the first passivation layer 2341 is made from an inorganic material of silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx), and the second passivation layer 2342 is made from an organic material, such as an organic photoresist material. The first sub-passivation layer 2341 of the passivation layer 234 is fabricated according to a conventional fabrication process of the array substrate 100, e.g., the first sub-passivation layer 2341 is formed in the same layer as the passivation layer deposited on the TFT within the display area. The second sub-passivation layer 2342 is formed by depositing a layer of organic photoresist material, which is then subjected to exposure, development, and etching so as to remain on the firs sub-passivation layer 2341.
In particular, the second sub-passivation layer 2342 of the organic photoresist material is subjected to the hydrophobic treatment by ionizing a gas mixture obtained by mixing CF4 or SF6 with O2, performing dry etching on the surface of the passivation layer 2342 of the inorganic material by an ionized gas mixture, and forming hydrophobic groups on the surface of the passivation layer 2342 to obtain the hydrophobic layer 2340.
Optionally, both the first sub-passivation layer 2341 and the second sub-passivation layer 2342 are made from inorganic materials of silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx), the first sub-passivation layer 2341 is formed in the same layer as the passivation layer deposited on the TFT within the display area, which will not be repeated herein. Thereafter, the second sub-passivation layer 2341 is obtained by only performing another chemical vapor deposition on the non-display area 2.
In particular, the first metal layer 231, the insulation layer 232, and the second metal layer 233 of the chip-on-film connection line 23 are formed simultaneously with the scan lines 11 and the data lines 12 within the display area 1, that is, the first metal layer 231 may be formed in the same layer as the gate of the TFT and the scan line 11 within the display area 1, and the insulation layer 232 may be formed in the same layer as the gate insulating layer of the TFT within the display area 1, and the second metal layer 233 may be formed in the same layer as the data lines 12 and the source/drain of the TFT.
The first metal layer 231 does not have to be a metal layer, it may be a single metal layer, such as chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu), titanium (Ti). It may also be stacked layers of the same metal material. It may also be a composite metal layer of different metallic materials, such as a molybdenum/aluminum (Mo/Al) composite layer. The first metal layer 231 has a thickness of 200-800 nm, or alternatively, 200-550 nm.
The second metal layer 233 does not have to be a metal layer, it may be a single metal layer, such as chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu), titanium (Ti). It may also be stacked layers of the same metal material. It may also be a composite metal layer of different metallic materials, such as a molybdenum/aluminum (Mo/Al) composite layer. The second metal layer 233 has a thickness of 200-800 nm, or alternatively, 200-550 nm.
The insulation layer 232 is made from at least one of silicon oxide (SiOx) and silicon nitride (SiNx) and is deposited on the first metal layer 231 by chemical vapor deposition. The insulation layer 232 has a thickness of 100-300 nm.
As shown in
The present application also provides a liquid crystal display (not shown), comprising the liquid crystal display panel 60 according to the fourth embodiment as described in the above and a backlight module disposed on the side where the array substrate 100 is located. In the liquid crystal display of the present application, a surface of the passivation layer 234 of the chip-on-film connection line 23 within the non-display area 2 of the array substrate 100 of the liquid crystal panel has a hydrophobic layer 2340, which is capable of preventing the water vapor from penetrating in via the passivation layer 234 at overlapping edge regions of the two metal layers of the chip-on-film connection line 23, and therefore has better sealing effect and display quality.
The above description is only optional embodiments of the present application, and is not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present application are included within the protection scope of the present application.
This application is the International Application No. PCT/CN2018/111486 for entry into US national phase with an international filing date of Oct. 23, 2018, designating US, now pending, and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201811012705.X, filed on Aug. 31, 2018, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2018/111486 | 10/23/2018 | WO | 00 |