1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to a liquid crystal display, and in particular relates to a photo-alignment film and manufacturing methods thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display is composed of an active device array substrate, an opposite substrate, and a liquid crystal layer. When an electric field is applied between the opposite substrate and the active device array substrate, liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer are tilted by the effect of the electric field, such that the liquid crystal layer has a light transmittance corresponding to the electric field. As such, the liquid crystal display displays different gray level frames according to the electric field between the opposite substrate and the active device array substrate. For the purpose of fast response of the liquid crystal molecules and satisfaction of wide viewing angle needs, the liquid crystal molecules in a plurality of areas are tilted in different directions, i.e. multi-domain alignment.
Presently, in order to cause the liquid crystal molecules to be arranged in a multi-domain pattern, the most common method generally includes the deposition of protrusions, changing of the fringe field, or photo alignment methods. The changing of the fringe field results in a complicated manufacturing process, and the deposition of protrusions decreases the aperture rate of the display region. To avoid the above two disadvantages, the photo alignment methods may be used to form the multi-domain alignment.
The multi-domain photo-alignment technology includes performing exposure processes by using linearly polarized ultraviolet light, such that the photo-alignment film of the liquid crystal display has a plurality of alignment directions. However, the multi-domain photo-alignment technology needs to use a plurality of expensive photomasks for the alignment film to have a plurality of alignment directions, which significantly increases the manufacturing cost.
An embodiment of the disclosure provides a manufacturing method of a photo-alignment film which includes: providing a photo-alignment material layer having at least one pixel-corresponding region; and performing a full exposure process and a partial exposure process with an alignment direction different from that of the full exposure process to the pixel-corresponding region, wherein the full exposure process includes exposing the pixel-corresponding region fully to light, and the partial exposure process includes exposing a portion of the pixel-corresponding region to light.
An embodiment of the disclosure provides a photo-alignment film, which includes: at least one pixel-corresponding region only having a single exposure region exposed to light one time and a dual exposure region exposed to light two times, wherein a portion of the pixel-corresponding region in the single exposure region has a first alignment direction and a pre-tilt angle, and a portion of the pixel-corresponding region in the dual exposure region has a second alignment direction different from the first alignment direction and the pre-tilt angle.
A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the disclosure. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the disclosure and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the disclosure is best determined by reference to the appended claims.
It should be understood, that the following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the disclosure. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. In addition, the disclosure may repeat reference numbers and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed. Furthermore, descriptions of a first layer “on,” “overlying,” (and like descriptions) a second layer, include embodiments where the first and second layers are in direct contact and those where one or more layers are interposing the first and second layers.
Referring to
Then, a first photomask 120 is disposed on the pixel-corresponding region 112, and an opening 122 of the first photomask 120 exposes a first region A1 of the pixel-corresponding region 112. A first exposure process is performed on the first region A1 by using the first photomask 120 as a mask, such that the portion of the pixel-corresponding region 112 in the first region A1 has a first alignment direction V1 and a first pre-tilt angle. In this case, the “pre-tilt angle” means an included angle between a major axis direction of a liquid crystal molecule and a main surface of the photo-alignment material layer.
Then, referring to
It should be noted that, in the first exposure process and the second exposure process, there are inevitable misalignments between the first photomask 120 and the pixel-corresponding region 112 and between the second photomask 130 and the pixel-corresponding region 112. The misalignments may cause separation or partial overlap of the first region A1 and the second region A2, which results in poor alignment in a portion of the pixel-corresponding region 112. This poor alignment results in the hindering of the fast response of the liquid crystal molecules, thereby negatively impacting the display performance of the liquid crystal display.
Firstly, referring to
The photo-alignment material layer 310 has a plurality of pixel-corresponding regions 312. Each of the pixel-corresponding regions 312 corresponds to a pixel of the liquid crystal display to control pre-tilt angles and alignment directions of liquid crystal molecules of the pixel. It should be noted that, for simplicity sake, only one pixel-corresponding region 312 and its manufacturing processes (e.g., a photomask, or the light used for exposure) are shown. It can be readily appreciated by those with ordinary skill in the art that the manufacturing process of the disclosure also can be performed on other pixel-corresponding regions, which are not shown.
Then, a full exposure process is performed on the pixel-corresponding region 312 which has not been exposed to light, such that the pixel-corresponding region 312 has a first alignment direction V1 and a first pre-tilt angle θ1, as shown by
Then, referring to
It should be noted that, because the photo-alignment material layer 310 of the present embodiment employs the photo-alignment material dominated by the second photo-alignment, in the pixel-corresponding region 312 sequentially processed by the full exposure process and the partial exposure process, the portion exposed in the partial exposure process is dominated by the partial exposure process (i.e. the second photo-alignment) to have the second alignment direction V2 and the second pre-tilt angle θ2, as shown in
Then, referring to
In this case, the portion of the pixel-corresponding region 312 in the single exposure region E1 has the first alignment direction V1 and the first pre-tilt angle θ1, and the portion of the pixel-corresponding region 312 in the dual exposure region E2 has the second alignment direction V2 and the second pre-tilt angle θ2. In one embodiment, the first alignment direction V1 is opposite to the second alignment direction V2. The first pre-tilt angle θ1 is, for example, substantially equal to the second pre-tilt angle θ2. The area of the single exposure region E1 is, for example, substantially equal to the area of the dual exposure region E2. In one embodiment, a ratio of the exposed area of the pixel-corresponding region 312 in the partial exposure process (i.e., the area of the dual exposure region E2) to the exposed area of the pixel-corresponding region 312 in the full exposure process (i.e., the total area of the single exposure region E1 and the dual exposure region E2) is about 0.3 to 0.7. In other words, the ratio of the area of the single exposure region E1 to the area of the dual exposure region E2 is about 3:7 to 7:3 (i.e., the ratio is about 0.428 to 2.333).
In one embodiment, in a unit area of the photo-alignment material layer 310 exposed to light, a total light exposure energy applied by the partial exposure process is larger than that of the full exposure process. For example, a light exposure intensity of the partial exposure process may be larger than that of the full exposure process, or a light exposure time of the partial exposure process may be longer than that of the full exposure process.
Because the sensibility of the photo-alignment material to subsequent exposure processes may decrease after being processed by the exposure process one time, the total light exposure energy applied by the partial exposure process may be increased to increase the second pre-tilt angle θ2 to be substantially equal to the first pre-tilt angle θ1. In one embodiment, the first pre-tilt angle θ1 is substantially equal to the second pre-tilt angle θ2, and the first alignment direction V1 is opposite to the second alignment direction V2.
It should be noted that, the present embodiment employs a full exposure process and a partial exposure process to replace the two partial exposure processes of the manufacturing method of
It should be noted that the present embodiment is similar to the embodiment of
Firstly, referring to
Then, a photomask 610 is disposed on the pixel-corresponding region 312, and the photomask 610 has an opening 612 merely exposing a portion of the pixel-corresponding region 312. Then, by using the photomask 610 as a mask, a partial exposure process is performed on the pixel-corresponding region 312 which has not been exposed to light, such that a portion of the pixel-corresponding region 312 has a first alignment direction V1 and a first pre-tilt angle θ1, as shown by
Then, referring to
Then, as shown in
The pixel-corresponding region 312 processed by the partial exposure process and the full exposure process has a single exposure region E1 exposed to light one time and a dual exposure region E2 exposed to light two times, and the single exposure region E1 connects to the dual exposure region E2.
In this case, the portion of the pixel-corresponding region 312 in the single exposure region E1 has the second alignment direction V2 and the second pre-tilt angle θ2, and the portion of the pixel-corresponding region 312 in the dual exposure region E2 has the first alignment direction V1 and the first pre-tilt angle θ1. In one embodiment, the first alignment direction V1 is opposite to the second alignment direction V2. The first pre-tilt angle θ1 is, for example, substantially equal to the second pre-tilt angle θ2. The area of the single exposure region E1 is, for example, substantially equal to the area of the dual exposure region E2. In one embodiment, a ratio of the exposed area of the pixel-corresponding region 312 in the partial exposure process (i.e., the area of the dual exposure region E2) to the exposed area of the pixel-corresponding region 312 in the full exposure process (i.e., the total area of the single exposure region E1 and the dual exposure region E2) is about 0.3 to 0.7. In other words, the ratio of the area of the single exposure region E1 to the area of the dual exposure region E2 is about 3:7 to 7:3 (i.e., the ratio is about 0.428 to 2.333).
In one embodiment, in a unit area of the photo-alignment material layer 310 exposed to light, a total light exposure energy applied by the partial exposure process is larger than that of the full exposure process. For example, a light exposure intensity of the partial exposure process may be larger than that of the full exposure process, or a light exposure time of the partial exposure process may be longer than that of the full exposure process.
In light of the foregoing, in the disclosure, a full exposure process and a partial exposure process may be used to replace the manufacturing method of a photo-alignment film known to the inventor (i.e., two partial exposure processes). The full exposure process of the disclosure can be performed without using any photomask, which can effectively reduce (or eliminate) the problem of misalignment and can significantly lower the manufacturing cost. Furthermore, in the disclosure, only two alignment regions respectively with substantially the same pre-tilt angle and different alignment directions may be formed on the pixel-corresponding region, which can improve the fast response of the liquid crystal molecules, which in turn, improves the display performance of the liquid crystal display.
While the disclosure has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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100132199 | Sep 2011 | TW | national |
This application is a Divisional of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/604,558, filed on Sep. 5, 2012 and entitled “Photo-alignment film and manufacturing method thereof”, which claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 100132199, filed on Sep. 7, 2011, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13604558 | Sep 2012 | US |
Child | 14721985 | US |