CN105425471B - A kind of array substrate and preparation method thereof, display device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an array substrate, a manufacturing method thereof, and a display device, and relates to the field of display technology. The display device can use the light of an opaque pattern incident on the array substrate, thereby improving the utilization rate of the backlight source, and further improving the performance caused by the low aperture ratio. The problem of low backlight utilization. An array substrate, comprising: a substrate, and an opaque pattern arranged on the light-emitting side of the substrate, and further comprising: a transparent microstructure corresponding to the opaque pattern and arranged on the light-incoming side of the substrate, the The transparent microstructures are used to change the path of light striking its backlit side surface by refraction. The present invention is applicable to the fabrication of array substrates and display devices including the array substrates.

Description

Array substrate, manufacturing method thereof, and display device

technical field

The present invention relates to the field of display technology, in particular to an array substrate, a manufacturing method thereof, and a display device.

Background technique

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display, liquid crystal display) has been widely used in the field of display. The LCD generally includes a display panel and a backlight source, wherein the display panel includes: a color filter substrate and an array substrate in a box, and a liquid crystal located between the array substrate and the color filter substrate. Since the liquid crystal itself does not emit light, the LCD needs a backlight source to provide light for display.

As the LCD industry continues to move forward, there is a surge in demand for high-resolution LCDs. In a high-resolution LCD, signal lines (such as data lines and gate lines) on the array substrate are arranged very densely. The signal line is generally made of metal material, and the metal material has a strong reflective ability. Then, when the light emitted by the backlight is perpendicular to the display panel, the light that hits the signal line will be reflected on the reflector of the backlight and the signal. Back and forth between the lines, like this, this part of the light can not be used for display, resulting in low utilization of the backlight. And when the resolution of the LCD is higher, the denser the signal lines such as data lines and gate lines are arranged, the larger the area in the LCD that cannot transmit light, that is, the lower the aperture ratio of the LCD, which will further reduce the backlight. utilization rate.

Contents of the invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide an array substrate, a manufacturing method thereof, and a display device. The display device can utilize the light rays incident on the opaque pattern of the array substrate, thereby improving the utilization rate of the backlight source, and further improving the backlight source caused by the low aperture ratio. The problem of low utilization.

In order to achieve the above object, embodiments of the present invention adopt the following technical solutions:

In one aspect, an array substrate is provided, including: a substrate, and an opaque pattern arranged on the light-emitting side of the substrate, and also includes: a transparent pattern corresponding to the opaque pattern and arranged on the light-incoming side of the substrate. A microstructure, the transparent microstructure is used to change the path of light irradiated on its backlight side surface by refraction.

Optionally, the array substrate further includes: a reflective layer disposed between the substrate and the transparent microstructure.

Optionally, the transparent microstructures are microprisms or microlenses.

Optionally, the array substrate further includes: a transparent layer disposed on the light incident side of the substrate and covering the transparent microstructure, wherein the refractive index of the transparent layer and the refractive index of the transparent microstructure different.

Optionally, when the transparent microstructure is a convex lens, the refractive index of the transparent microstructure is smaller than that of the transparent layer; when the transparent microstructure is a concave lens, the transparent microstructure The refractive index is greater than the refractive index of the transparent layer.

Optionally, the opaque pattern is a gate line and a data line, and the transparent microstructure corresponds to the gate line and/or the data line.

Optionally, the reflective layer is made of metal, and the transparent microstructure and the transparent layer are made of photoresist.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an array substrate, including: a substrate, and an opaque pattern arranged on the light-emitting side of the substrate; Structures, transparent microstructures are used to change the path of light shining on its backlit side surface by refraction. In this way, when the array substrate is applied to a display device, the transparent microstructure of the array substrate can change the path of light shining on its backlight side surface through refraction, and then the angle at which this part of light hits the opaque pattern also changes accordingly. Furthermore, after being reflected by the opaque pattern, this part of the light can be reused, so that this part of the light can be used for display, thereby improving the utilization rate of the backlight source, and further improving the problem of low utilization rate of the backlight source due to low aperture ratio.

In another aspect, a display device is provided, including: a backlight source and a display panel, the backlight source includes: a light-emitting component and a reflective sheet, wherein the reflective sheet is located at a side of the light-emitting component that is far away from the display panel On the other hand, the display panel includes: the array substrate described in any one of the above. The display device can utilize the light incident on the opaque pattern of the array substrate, so as to improve the utilization rate of the backlight source, and further improve the problem of low utilization rate of the backlight source due to the low aperture ratio.

In another aspect, a method for forming an array substrate is provided, the method comprising:

A transparent microstructure is formed on the substrate, the transparent microstructure corresponds to the opaque pattern on the substrate and is arranged on the light-incident side of the substrate, and the transparent microstructure is used to change the backlight illuminated by it through refraction The path of the ray on the side surface.

Optionally, after forming the transparent microstructure on the substrate, the method further includes:

A transparent layer covering the transparent microstructure is formed on the light incident side of the substrate, wherein the refractive index of the transparent layer is different from that of the transparent microstructure.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for forming an array substrate. The array substrate formed by the method is provided with a transparent microstructure. When the array substrate is applied to a display device, the transparent microstructure of the array substrate can be changed by refraction. The path of light on the backlight side surface, then, the angle at which this part of light hits the opaque pattern also changes accordingly, and then after being reflected by the opaque pattern, this part of light can be reused, so that this part of light can be used for display. Therefore, the utilization rate of the backlight source is improved, and the problem of low utilization rate of the backlight source due to the low aperture ratio is improved.

Description of drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only These are some embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can also obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative work.

FIG. 1 is a first structural schematic diagram of an array substrate provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2a is a second structural schematic diagram of an array substrate provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2b is a sectional view along the C-D direction of Figure 2a;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram III of an array substrate provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a structural schematic diagram 4 of an array substrate provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram five of an array substrate provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sixth structural schematic diagram of an array substrate provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view along the A-B direction of Fig. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a display device provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic flowchart of a method for forming an array substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference signs:

1-array substrate; 100-opaque pattern; 10-transparent microstructure; 11-substrate; 12-reflective layer; 14-convex lens; 15-concave lens; 16-transparent layer; 17-grid line; 18-data line; 2 - backlight; 21 - light-emitting components; 22 - reflector; 3 - display panel; 4 - color film substrate; 5 - liquid crystal; 300 - light.

Detailed ways

The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

It should be noted that, in the description of the present invention, "backlight side" refers to the side close to the backlight, for example, the backlight side of the opaque pattern refers to the side of the opaque pattern close to the backlight.

Embodiment one

An embodiment of the present invention provides an array substrate, as shown in FIG. , and the transparent microstructure 10 disposed on the light-incident side of the substrate 11, the transparent microstructure 10 is used to change the path of the light irradiated on the backlight side surface by refraction.

The opaque pattern of the above-mentioned array substrate refers to a thin film or layer structure that cannot pass through light. Of course, the above-mentioned array substrate also includes a transparent pattern (ie, a thin film or layer structure through which light can pass). Those skilled in the art can know based on the common knowledge and the prior art that the array substrate may include signal lines such as gate lines, data lines, and common electrode lines, and further, may also include thin film transistors and pixel electrodes. Since the gate lines, data lines , common electrode lines and thin film transistors are all made of opaque materials, therefore, gate lines, data lines, common electrode lines and thin film transistors can all be the above-mentioned opaque patterns; and pixel electrodes are generally made of transparent ITO (Indium Tin Oxide, Indium tin oxide), which can be the above-mentioned transparent pattern. The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the structure of the opaque pattern and the transparent pattern, and it depends on the actual situation.

In the above array substrate, the correspondence between the transparent microstructure and the opaque pattern means that the boundary of the projection of the transparent microstructure on the substrate does not exceed the boundary of the projection of the opaque pattern on the substrate. Specifically, the boundary of the projection of the transparent microstructure on the substrate can coincide with the boundary of the projection of the opaque pattern on the substrate, or the boundary of the projection of the transparent microstructure on the substrate can be located at the boundary of the opaque pattern on the substrate. within the boundaries of the projection. In order to utilize more light directed to the opaque pattern to further improve the utilization rate of the backlight source, the former can be selected, and the embodiments of the present invention and the drawings are described as an example.

In the above-mentioned array substrate, the opaque patterns such as signal lines such as gate lines, data lines, and common electrode lines have very thin line widths, and the size of the corresponding transparent structures is also very small, so they are called transparent microstructures.

Since gate lines, data lines, thin film transistors, and pixel electrodes are arranged on the light-emitting side of the substrate, in order to reduce the influence on the above-mentioned film layers, the above-mentioned transparent microstructures are arranged on the light-incoming side of the substrate.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an array substrate, including: a substrate, and an opaque pattern arranged on the light-emitting side of the substrate; Structures, transparent microstructures are used to change the path of light shining on its backlit side surface by refraction. In this way, when the array substrate is applied to a display device, the transparent microstructure of the array substrate can change the path of light shining on its backlight side surface through refraction, and then the angle at which this part of light hits the opaque pattern also changes accordingly. Furthermore, after being reflected by the opaque pattern, this part of the light can be reused, so that this part of the light can be used for display, thereby improving the utilization rate of the backlight source, and further improving the problem of low utilization rate of the backlight source due to low aperture ratio.

Optionally, in order to enhance the ability to reflect light incident on the opaque pattern, the array substrate further includes: a reflective layer disposed between the substrate and the transparent microstructure, taking the transparent microstructure as a concave lens as an example, as shown in FIG. 2b , the array substrate further includes: a reflective layer 12 disposed between the substrate 11 and the concave lens 15 .

Optionally, the above-mentioned transparent microstructures may be microprisms or microlenses. Exemplarily, the microprisms may be triangular prisms, quadrangular prisms and the like. The microlens can be the concave lens 15 shown in Figure 2b, or the convex lens 14 shown in Figure 3 . In order to reduce the manufacturing difficulty, microlenses can be used. The embodiments of the present invention and the accompanying drawings are described by taking the transparent microstructure as a microlens as an example.

Further, if the opaque pattern is a plurality of grid lines, each grid line can be provided with a row of transparent microstructures as shown in Figure 2b and Figure 2a, of course, it can also be provided with multiple rows of transparent microstructures. The line width is thinner. In order to reduce the difficulty of production, it is enough to set up a row of transparent microstructures. The transparent microstructures can be continuously distributed to form a row as shown in FIG. 2 a , of course, they can also be discontinuously distributed, and the former is chosen in consideration of utilizing more light directed to the opaque pattern.

The following takes the transparent microstructure shown in FIG. 2b as an example to illustrate how the transparent microstructure changes the path of light irradiated on its backlight side surface through refraction.

Referring to FIG. 2b, the light 300 passes through the air and hits the concave lens 15, then is refracted and directed to the reflective layer 12, and then reflected by the reflective layer 12, and finally exits the concave lens 15 and enters the air again. Of course, the light 300 may also pass through other media and strike the concave lens 15 , and here only the light 300 passes through the air and strikes the concave lens 15 as an example for illustration. In FIG. 2 b , the refractive index of air is lower than that of the concave lens for illustration. In this way, the concave lens changes the path of light shining on its backlight side surface through refraction, so the angle at which this part of light hits the reflective layer also changes accordingly, and then after being reflected by the reflective layer, this part of light can be reused. This part of the light is used for display, thereby improving the utilization rate of the backlight source. The structure is simple and easy to realize, and the manufacturing cost is low.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the array substrate further includes: a transparent layer 16 disposed on the light incident side of the substrate 11 and covering the transparent microstructure, wherein the refractive index of the opaque layer and the refractive index of the transparent microstructure Rates are different. In this way, the transparent layer can play the role of protecting the transparent microstructure and the reflective layer, and can also play the role of planarization, so as to facilitate subsequent processes.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 4, when the transparent microstructure is a convex lens 14, the refractive index of the transparent microstructure is smaller than that of the opaque layer, so that when the light reflected from the reflective layer hits the transparent layer, it is beneficial Further change the outgoing angle of the light; as shown in Fig. 5, in the case where the transparent microstructure is a concave lens 15, the refractive index of the transparent microstructure is greater than that of the opaque layer, so that when the light reflected by the reflective layer hits the transparent layer , which is beneficial to further change the outgoing angle of the light.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the above-mentioned opaque patterns are gate lines 17 and data lines 18, and the transparent microstructure 10 corresponds to the gate lines 17 and/or data lines 18.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned transparent microstructure corresponding to the grid line and/or data line means that the transparent microstructure can only correspond to the grid line, and the boundary of the projection of the transparent microstructure on the substrate does not exceed the grid line on the substrate. The boundary of the projection; or, the transparent microstructure can also only correspond to the data line, and the boundary of the projection of the transparent microstructure on the substrate does not exceed the boundary of the projection of the data line on the substrate; or, the transparent microstructure can be connected to the grid Both the lines and the data lines correspond, and the boundary of the projection of the transparent microstructure on the substrate does not exceed the boundary of the projection of the grid line and the data line on the substrate. The meaning of "corresponding" here is the same as that of the above-mentioned correspondence between the transparent microstructure and the opaque pattern, and details will not be repeated here. The area occupied by the grid lines and data lines is larger, and more light rays are emitted to the grid lines and data lines. By corresponding the transparent microstructures to the grid lines and/or data lines, more light rays directed to the opaque patterns can be used to further improve To improve the utilization of backlight.

Optionally, the material of the reflective layer is metal. For example, the material of the reflective layer may be metals such as aluminum, copper, silver, etc.; in order to reduce manufacturing difficulty, the material of the transparent microstructure and the opaque layer are photoresist.

Embodiment two

An embodiment of the present invention provides a display device, as shown in FIG. 8 , the display device includes: a backlight 2 and a display panel 3, the backlight 2 includes: a light-emitting component 21 and a reflective sheet 22, wherein the reflective sheet 22 is located on the light-emitting assembly On the side of 21 away from the display panel 3 , the display panel 3 includes: the array substrate 1 provided in the first embodiment.

It should be noted that the embodiment of the present invention only introduces the structure related to the invention point. According to the prior art, as shown in FIG. 8, the above-mentioned display panel 3 may also include a color filter substrate 4. , the display panel 3 may further include liquid crystal 5 and the like located between the array substrate 1 and the color filter substrate 4 . The above-mentioned display device may be a liquid crystal display device, and of course may also be other display devices, which are not limited here. According to the position of the light-emitting components, the above-mentioned display devices can be divided into side-type and direct-type. If the above-mentioned display device is a direct-type display device, the light-emitting component may include a light source and a diffusion plate; if the above-mentioned display device is a side-type display device, the light-emitting component may include a light source and a light guide plate. The light emitted by the light-emitting component to the opaque pattern is refracted by the transparent microstructure and directed to the reflective layer, and then reflected by the reflective layer, then refracted by the transparent layer, and then shot to the reflective sheet, and finally reflected by the reflective sheet to realize the display Area. The display device can utilize the light incident on the opaque pattern of the array substrate, so as to improve the utilization rate of the backlight source, and further improve the problem of low utilization rate of the backlight source due to the low aperture ratio.

Embodiment Three

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for forming an array substrate. The structure of the array substrate can be shown in FIG. 1, and the method includes:

S01. Form a transparent microstructure 10 on the substrate 11. The transparent microstructure 10 corresponds to the opaque pattern 100 on the substrate 11 and is arranged on the light-incident side of the substrate 11. The transparent microstructure 10 is used to change the light on it by refraction. The path of light rays on the backlit side surface.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for forming an array substrate. The array substrate formed by the method is provided with a transparent microstructure. When the array substrate is applied to a display device, the transparent microstructure of the array substrate can be changed by refraction. The path of light on the backlight side surface, then, the angle at which this part of light hits the opaque pattern also changes accordingly, and then after being reflected by the opaque pattern, this part of light can be reused, so that this part of light can be used for display. Therefore, the utilization rate of the backlight source is improved, and the problem of low utilization rate of the backlight source due to the low aperture ratio is improved.

Optionally, S01, forming the transparent microstructure 10 on the substrate 11 specifically includes: forming a transparent microstructure on the substrate through a patterning process. The above-mentioned one-time patterning process includes processes such as masking, exposure, development, etching and stripping. The transparent microstructure can be formed by one patterning process by using HTM (Half Tone Mask, half tone mask), SSM (Single Slit Mask, single slit mask) or GTM (Grey Tone Mask, gray tone mask). The method is simple and easy to implement.

Optionally, referring to what is shown in FIG. 2b, S01, before forming the transparent microstructure 10 on the substrate 11, referring to what is shown in FIG. 9, the method further includes:

S02 , forming a reflective layer 12 on the light-incident side of the substrate 11 , and the reflective layer 12 is located between the substrate 11 and the transparent microstructure 10 .

Optionally, as shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5, S01, after forming the transparent microstructure 10 on the substrate 11, as shown in Figure 9, the method also includes:

S03 , forming a transparent layer 16 covering the transparent microstructure 10 on the light incident side of the substrate 11 , wherein the refractive index of the transparent layer is different from that of the transparent microstructure. The transparent layer can protect the transparent microstructure and the reflective layer, and at the same time can planarize, so as to facilitate subsequent processes.

The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Anyone familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention, and should cover all Within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (9)

1. An array substrate, comprising: a substrate, and an opaque pattern arranged on the light-emitting side of the substrate, characterized in that it also includes: a pattern corresponding to the opaque pattern and arranged on the light-incoming side of the substrate A transparent microstructure for changing the path of light irradiated on its backlight side surface by refraction; The array substrate further includes: a reflective layer disposed between the substrate and the transparent microstructure. 2. The array substrate according to claim 1, wherein the transparent microstructures are microprisms or microlenses. 3. The array substrate according to claim 1, further comprising: a transparent layer disposed on the light incident side of the substrate and covering the transparent microstructure, wherein the transparent layer The refractive index of is different from the refractive index of the transparent microstructure. 4. The array substrate according to claim 3, wherein when the transparent microstructure is a convex lens, the refractive index of the transparent microstructure is smaller than the refractive index of the transparent layer; In case the structure is a concave lens, the refractive index of the transparent microstructure is greater than the refractive index of the transparent layer. 5 . The array substrate according to claim 1 , wherein the opaque patterns are gate lines and data lines, and the transparent microstructures correspond to the gate lines and/or the data lines. 6. The array substrate according to claim 3, wherein the reflective layer is made of metal, and the transparent microstructure and the transparent layer are made of photoresist. 7. A display device, comprising: a backlight source and a display panel, the backlight source comprising: a light-emitting component and a reflective sheet, wherein the reflective sheet is located on a side of the light-emitting component away from the display panel, its features In that, the display panel comprises: the array substrate according to any one of claims 1-6. 8. A method for forming an array substrate, characterized in that the method comprises: A transparent microstructure is formed on the substrate, the transparent microstructure corresponds to the opaque pattern on the substrate and is arranged on the light-incident side of the substrate, and the transparent microstructure is used to change the backlight illuminated by it through refraction the path of light rays on the side surfaces; A reflective layer is formed between the substrate and the transparent microstructures. 9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, after forming the transparent microstructure on the substrate, the method further comprises: A transparent layer covering the transparent microstructure is formed on the light incident side of the substrate, wherein the refractive index of the transparent layer is different from that of the transparent microstructure.