The present invention generally relates to a display device, and more particularly relates to a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate and a display device having the same.
TFTs have been widely used in display applications such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), electronic paper displays (EPDs), and organic light emitting diode displays (OLEDs).
Generally, a TFT structure includes a substrate, a gate electrode, a gate insulator layer, a channel island, a source electrode, and a drain electrode. The gate electrode is disposed on the substrate, the gate insulator layer covers the gate electrode, the channel island is disposed on the gate insulator layer, and the source electrode and the drain electrode are disposed on the channel island.
The above-described type of TFT can be well used in a LCD. However, if the TFT structure is used in an EPD, the channel island might become conductive after being irradiated by external light, which resulting in current leakage occurring in the channel island. As a result of the current leakage, the EPD suffers from abnormal displaying (e.g. image or color distortion).
Therefore, how to avoid abnormal displaying and improve displaying quality of EPDs becomes the area that researchers and developers are focused on.
In accordance with the present invention, a TFT substrate having a dual channel island structure is provided for minimizing the irradiation effect of external light.
A display device including the desirable TFT substrate is also provided.
Another TFT substrate having a dual channel island structure and a dual top gate structure is also provided for minimizing the irradiation effect of external light.
In accordance with an embodiment the present invention, a TFT substrate including a substrate and a TFT structure is provided. The substrate is a flexible substrate. The TFT structure is disposed on the substrate and includes a gate layer, a gate insulator layer, a first channel island, a second channel island, and a source and drain layer. The gate layer is disposed on the substrate and includes a first gate electrode and a second gate electrode electrically connected to the first gate electrode, wherein the first gate electrode and the second gate electrode are parts of the same TFT structure. The gate insulator layer is disposed on the substrate and covers the first and second gate electrodes. The first channel island is disposed on the gate insulator layer and corresponds to the first gate electrode, while the second channel island is disposed on the gate insulator layer and corresponds to the second gate electrode. The source and drain layer is disposed on the gate insulator layer and next to the first and second channel islands, wherein the source and drain layer partially covers a top surface of the first channel island and a top surface of the second channel island.
In accordance with an embodiment the present invention, a display device including a TFT substrate, an opposite substrate disposed opposite to the TFT substrate, and a display medium layer disposed between the TFT substrate and the opposite substrate is provided. The TFT substrate includes a substrate, a TFT structure disposed on the substrate, a passivation layer and a pixel electrode, wherein the substrate is a flexible substrate and the TFT structure includes a gate layer, a gate insulator layer, a first channel island, a second channel island, and a source and drain layer. The gate layer is disposed on the substrate and including a first gate electrode and a second gate electrode electrically connected to the first gate electrode, wherein the first gate electrode and the second gate electrode are parts of the same TFT structure. The gate insulator layer is disposed on the substrate and covers the first and second gate electrodes. The first channel island is disposed on the gate insulator layer and corresponds to the first gate electrode. The second channel island is disposed on the gate insulator layer and corresponds to the second gate electrode. The source and drain layer is disposed on the gate insulator layer and next to the first and second channel islands, wherein the source and drain layer partially covers a top surface of the first channel island and a top surface of the second channel island. Further, the passivation layer covers the source and drain layer and the first and second channel islands, while the pixel electrode is disposed on the passivation layer and electrically connected to a drain electrode of the source and drain layer.
In accordance with another embodiment the present invention, a TFT substrate including a substrate and a TFT structure disposed on the substrate is also provided. The TFT structure includes a source and drain layer, a first channel island, a second channel island, a gate insulator layer, and a gate layer. The source and drain layer is disposed on the substrate and includes a source electrode, a drain electrode and an intermediate electrode disposed between the drain electrode and the source electrode. The first channel island partially covers the source electrode and the intermediate electrode, while the second channel island partially covers the drain electrode and the intermediate electrode. The gate insulator layer covers the source and drain layer and the first and second channel islands. The gate layer is disposed on the gate insulator layer and includes a first gate electrode and a second gate electrode electrically connected to the first gate electrode. The first gate electrode and the second gate electrode respectively correspond to the first channel island and the second channel island, and the first gate electrode and the second gate electrode are parts of the same TFT structure.
The above-described TFT substrates as well as the display device include any of the TFT structures include dual channel islands, thereby preventing current leakage caused by external light. As a result, the abnormal displaying of the display device can be avoided and it is helpful to improve the display quality of the display device.
The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose of illustration and description only. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed.
The display device 100 is, for example, but not limited to, an electronic paper display device. In this embodiment, the display medium layer 130 can be an electrophoretic display layer. Further, the opposite substrate 140 may include a base 141 and a common electrode 142 disposed on the base 141 and located between the display medium layer 130 and the base 141. The base 141 can be, but not limited to, a flexible film made of plastic such as polyimide (PI) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The common electrode 142 may be a light transmissive electrode made of light transmissive and conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO). In one embodiment, the opposite substrate 140 and the display medium layer 130 may be integrated into a front laminate plate (FPL). In another embodiment, the base 141 can be a rigid base such as glass base.
The TFT substrate 110 includes a substrate 11 and a TFT array 17 disposed on the substrate, wherein the substrate 11 may be a rigid substrate such as glass substrate and the TFT array 17 includes a plurality of TFT structures.
In this embodiment, the first gate electrode 122 and the second gate electrode 124 are electrically connected to each other via a gate line 126. The first gate electrode 122 and the second gate electrode 124 may be directly connected to the same gate line 126. In particular, the gate line 126, the first gate electrode 122, and the second gate electrode 124 can be simultaneously formed to simplify the manufacturing process.
As shown in
The TFT structure 10 can be replaced by any one of following TFT structures according to different embodiments of the present invention.
Please refer to
Any of the above embodiments of TFT structures 10, 20, 30, 40, each having a dual channel island structure, is applicable to the TFT substrate 110 of the display device 100. The dual channel island structure can prevent current leakage caused by external light. Thus, the dual channel island structure is advantageous in preventing abnormal displaying and improving display quality of the display device 100. The alternate “island in” and “island out” structures further minimize common voltage coupling.
Instead of a single TFT with two different channel island structures corresponding two gate electrodes, the TFT structure used in a display device according to the present invention may alternatively include TFTs having different channel island structures. For example, referring to
It should be noted that the substrate 11 of each of the above embodiments can be replaced by a substrate 11a shown in
Since the TFT structures of above embodiments respectively include the dual channel island structure, current leakage is prevented even if the display device having the substrate 11a is curved.
Further, in above embodiments, each of the first semiconductor islands 14, 24, 34, 44, 54 served as the first channel island and each of the second semiconductor islands 15, 25, 35, 45, 55 served as the second channel island are, for example, made of inorganic semiconductor martial such as amorphous silicon. In other embodiments, the first channel island and the second channel island may be made of organic semiconductor material such as pentacene, or made of metal oxide such as indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), indium gallium oxide (IGO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO).
Moreover, each of the TFT substrates of the above embodiments may further include a passivation layer and a pixel electrode. For example, referring to
Moreover, the passivation layer 18 and the gate insulator layer 13 are, for example, respectively a single layer structure. In another embodiment, the single layer structure may be replaced by a multilayer structure. For example, referring to
The source and drain layer 610 is disposed on the substrate 61 and includes a source electrode 611, a drain electrode 612 and an intermediate electrode 613 disposed between the drain electrode 612 and the source electrode 611. The first channel island 620 partially covers the source electrode 611 and the intermediate electrode 613, while the second channel island 630 partially covers the drain electrode 612 and the intermediate electrode 613. The gate insulator layer 640 covers the source and drain layer 610 and the first and second channel islands 620, 630. The gate layer 650 is disposed on the gate insulator layer 640 and includes a first gate electrode 651 and a second gate electrode 652 electrically connected to the first gate electrode 651. The first gate electrode 651 and the second gate electrode 652 may be directly connected to a same gate line (not shown) to electrically connected to each other. The first gate electrode 651 and the second gate electrode 652 respectively correspond to the first channel island 620 and the second channel island 630. The first gate electrode 651 and the second gate electrode 652 are parts of the same TFT structure 600.
In the present embodiment, the first and second channel islands 620, 630 may be made of poly-silicon or other appropriate semiconductor material. The TFT structure 600 may be a low temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) TFT structure. Further, the TFT substrate 600 may further include an inter-layer 660, a metal layer 670, a passivation layer 680 and a pixel electrode 690. The inter-layer 660 is a dielectric layer and covers the gate layer 650 and the gate insulator layer 640. The metal layer 670 is disposed on the inter-layer 660 and electrically connected to the source electrode 611 and the drain electrode 612. The metal layer 670 may include a first metal pattern 671 and a second metal pattern 672. The first metal pattern 671 is connected to the source electrode 611 via two corresponding via holes 641, 661 of the gate insulator layer 640 and the inter-layer 660. The second metal pattern 672 is connected to the drain electrode 612 via another two corresponding via holes 642, 662 of the gate insulator layer 640 and the inter-layer 660. The passivation layer 680 covers the metal layer 670 and the inter-layer 660. The pixel electrode 690 is disposed on the passivation layer 680 and electrically connected to the drain electrode 612. More specifically, the pixel electrode 690 is connected to the second metal pattern 672 via a via hole 681 of the passivation layer 680, so as to electrically connect to the drain electrode 612 through the second metal pattern 672.
Since the TFT structure 600 has a dual channel island structure, current leakage caused by external light or the curvature of the TFT substrate 60 is prevented. Thus, the dual channel island structure is advantageous in preventing abnormal displaying and improving display quality of the display device using the TFT substrate 60.
While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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100109211 A | Mar 2011 | TW | national |
This application is a continuation-in-part application of an application Ser. No. 13/396,784, filed on Feb. 15, 2012, and based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Taiwanese Patent Application No. 100109211, filed Mar. 17, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Child | 14740380 | US |