JPH10161135A - Liquid crystal display element and its production - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To embody a good display grade, shortening of injection time, uniformity of intersubstrate spacings and high impact resistance. SOLUTION: Electrode substrates 11, 12 are manufactured by forming striped electrodes and oriented films subjected to orientation treatments (rubbing) on transparent substrates. This electrode substrate 11 has striped and wall-like spacers 8... formed in parallel with the electrodes. The electrode substrates 11, 12 are disposed and stuck to each other via the spacers 8 in such a manner that the electrodes disposed respective on the substrates intersect with each other. The liquid crystals are injected therebetween. At this time, the directions of injection are aligned to the longitudinal direction of the spacers 8. As a result, the angles formed by the injection direction and the rubbing directions are made the same with respect to the respective pixels and, therefore, the display grade is improved. In addition, the liquid crystals 43 are uniformly injected along the spacers 8 and, therefore, the injection is rapidly executed. Further, the spacing between the electrode substrates 11, 12 is kept uniform by the spacers 8 and the structure strong to impact is formed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device having excellent impact resistance and realizing good display quality.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional liquid crystal display element (liquid crystal cell) is, for example, as shown in FIG.
· 52, each having a striped electrode 5
.. 54 are provided so as to be orthogonal to each other.

The electrodes 53 are composed of an insulating film 55 and an alignment film 5.
6 on both sides of each electrode 53.
7.57 are arranged. The electrodes 54 are covered with an insulating film 58 and an alignment film 59, and light shields (not shown) similar to the light shields 57 are disposed on both sides of each electrode 54.

As described above, the electrodes 53,.
The electrode substrate 60 is formed by forming the insulating film 55, the alignment film 56, and the light shielding bodies 57. Also, the substrate 5
An electrode substrate 61 is formed by forming electrodes 54, an insulating film 58, an alignment film 59, and a light-shielding body on 2.

The electrode substrates 60 and 61 are provided with electrodes 53.
Are bonded together with a sealant 62 so that the surface on which 54 are formed is on the inside. Between them, spherical spacers 63 are arranged, and liquid crystal is sealed to form a liquid crystal layer 64.

The distance between the electrode substrates 60 and 61 is generally 1
２０20 μm, very narrow. In order to inject the liquid crystal into such a narrow gap, generally, (1) an injection method under an atmospheric pressure or (2) an injection method under a reduced pressure is used.

As a more specific example of the method (1), there is known a method in which a plurality of injection ports are provided in the sealant 62 and liquid crystals are injected under atmospheric pressure by utilizing a capillary phenomenon. In this method, air remaining in the gap even after the injection is present as bubbles in the liquid crystal layer, which causes a problem that display quality is deteriorated.

On the other hand, in the method (2), more specifically, an empty cell is placed in a container whose inside can be depressurized, and the electrode substrate 60.
A first step of depressurizing the gap and atmosphere of 61, a second step of heating the empty cell to a temperature at which the liquid crystal exhibits a nematic phase or an isotropic phase, and a third step of closing the injection port with the liquid crystal;
And a fourth step of gradually returning the atmosphere to the atmospheric pressure. In this method, since the injection port is closed with the liquid crystal in the third step, the gap between the substrates is kept in a reduced pressure even when the atmosphere is returned to the atmospheric pressure in the fourth step, and the pressure difference from the atmosphere is reduced. Occurs. The liquid crystal is injected into the gap between the substrates by this pressure difference.

As described above, in the method (2), since the liquid crystal is defoamed between the substrates by the reduced pressure, the amount of bubbles is less than that in the method (1), and the method is superior in display quality.

[0010]

The above-mentioned conventional injection method has various problems as follows.

The inventors of the present invention have investigated the effect of the angle between the injection direction and the rubbing direction on the orientation of the liquid crystal. As a result, it has been found that if the angle is different for each pixel, uniform orientation cannot be obtained. .

On the other hand, in the conventional injection method, FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), when the liquid crystal 65 is injected from the injection port 66, the space between the electrode substrates 60 and 61 spreads like a fan in the direction indicated by the arrow. It is difficult to control the angle made. As described above, in the conventional injection method, since the above-described angle is different in each pixel, the alignment of the liquid crystal 65 is caused to be non-uniform, and the display quality may be deteriorated.

In addition, when the implantation is performed as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the time required for the implantation becomes long. For this reason, when the injection of the method (2) is performed using a liquid crystal compound having a low boiling point, the liquid crystal composition placed under reduced pressure for a long time volatilizes, causing a problem that the composition of the liquid crystal composition changes. . On the other hand, in the liquid crystal display device of FIG. 12B provided with a plurality of injection ports 66, the liquid crystal 65 does not enter near both corners of the sealant 62 near the injection ports 66, and is not injected. Regions 67 appear. Thus, the display quality is also deteriorated due to the occurrence of a defect in the injection.

Further, the electrode substrate 60 by the sealant 62
When the adhesive force between the electrodes 61 is low, the distance between the electrode substrates 60 and 61 before and after the injection changes due to the influence of the temperature change of the panel, the pressure change and the injection amount of the liquid crystal in the injection step.
The cell gap becomes non-uniform. For this reason, the threshold voltage and the orientation are not uniform, and the display quality is degraded.
As described above, when the adhesive force between the electrode substrates 60 and 61 is weak, there is a problem that it is difficult to accurately control the cell gap.

Further, a ferroelectric liquid crystal, which has recently attracted attention as a liquid crystal material, has an excellent property that a high-speed response is possible by having spontaneous polarization, but a structure in which the regularity of molecular orientation is closer to that of a crystal. have. For this reason, the ferroelectric liquid crystal has a problem that it is difficult to return to the original state when the regularity of molecular orientation is disturbed by an external pressure, that is, it is weak against impact.

However, in the liquid crystal display device shown in FIG. 11, the spacers 63 are only scattered between the electrode substrates 60 and 61, and therefore have a low ability to reduce the impact.
Therefore, a ferroelectric liquid crystal cannot be used for the above liquid crystal display element.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and is intended to realize a liquid crystal capable of realizing good display quality, shortening the injection time, uniforming the distance between substrates, and high impact resistance. It is intended to provide a display element.

[0018]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display device comprising a liquid crystal layer comprising a liquid crystal, a plurality of stripe-shaped electrodes for applying a voltage to the liquid crystal layer, and an alignment of the liquid crystal layer. In each of the liquid crystal display element having a structure in which each has an alignment control layer controlling at least one of which is sandwiched between a pair of substrates having optical transparency,
It is characterized by taking the following measures.

That is, in the liquid crystal display element, a plurality of wall-shaped spacers having a uniform height are provided on at least one of the pair of substrates so as to be substantially parallel to the liquid crystal injection direction.

In the above configuration, since the spacers are provided so as to be substantially parallel to the liquid crystal injection direction, when the liquid crystal is injected between the two substrates to form a liquid crystal layer in the manufacture of the present liquid crystal display device. The liquid crystal is injected along the longitudinal direction of the spacer. That is, the injection direction can be controlled by the direction in which the spacer is formed. Thereby, the angle between the injection direction and the alignment processing direction for each pixel becomes the same, and uniform alignment can be realized.

Further, the spacer (cell gap) between the two substrates before and after the injection of the liquid crystal can be kept uniform and the shock resistance can be improved by the spacer.

Further, since the injection proceeds uniformly between the spacers, the region where the liquid crystal is not injected can be eliminated. In addition, since the injection region is divided into a number of elongated regions by the spacer, the liquid crystal quickly enters each region, so that the injection time can be reduced. This makes it possible to suppress a change in the composition of the liquid crystal composition, which is a problem when injecting under reduced pressure.

The liquid crystal display element according to the first aspect is formed by injecting a liquid crystal in the same or opposite direction to the alignment processing direction of the alignment control layer. Is preferred.

Thus, the liquid crystal is injected in a state in which the angle between the injection direction and the alignment processing direction is uniformly optimal for all the pixels, so that the uniformity of the alignment is further improved.

In the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, the spacer projects the region between the electrodes on the same substrate and the region in a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface. It is preferable that they are arranged in the specified region and have optical isotropy.

As a result, since the spacer is formed outside the pixel region, as compared with a structure in which the spacer is formed inside the pixel region, alignment defects near the spacer, non-uniform switching of liquid crystal molecules, and aperture ratio are provided. There is no problem such as a decrease in the temperature. Further, since the spacer is optically isotropic, it is extinguished under crossed Nicols, and also functions as a black matrix.

The spacer is formed in the above-mentioned region between all the electrodes or in the above-mentioned region between some of the electrodes.

In the liquid crystal display device according to the first aspect, the injection port for injecting the liquid crystal may have a width equal to or longer than the width of the display region in the width direction of the spacer. Is preferably formed.

When a plurality of injection ports are provided on the side surface of the liquid crystal display element, as shown in FIG. 12B, the liquid crystal spreads from each of the injection ports in a ripple-like (non-uniform) manner. In order to allow the liquid crystal to uniformly enter between all the spacers, it is necessary to provide a certain distance from each inlet to each spacer. Therefore, if the spacer is formed at a position away from the injection port, it is difficult to improve the impact resistance and the uniformity of the cell gap in a region without the spacer between the injection port and the spacer.

On the other hand, in the above configuration, since the width of the population is equal to or longer than the width of the display region in the width direction of the spacer, the liquid crystal uniformly enters each spacer from the injection port. Therefore, the spacer can be formed without a difference in distance from the injection port. Moreover, since the injection port is wide, the liquid crystal can be injected in a short time.

[0031] In the liquid crystal display element according to the first aspect, it is preferable that the spacer is made of a photo-curable resin.

When the spacer is formed using, for example, an organic or inorganic material, a method of forming the material to a predetermined thickness, forming a resist film thereon, and then exposing through a mask is employed. . On the other hand, if a spacer is formed using a photosensitive organic resin such as a photosensitive polyimide or a photosensitive acrylic resin as a photocurable resin, a resist film becomes unnecessary.

In the liquid crystal display element according to the first aspect, the alignment control layer of the substrate having the spacer is provided on the upper layer of the spacer and is located on the top of the spacer. It is preferable that the portion is directly bonded to the orientation control layer of the other substrate, and the pair of substrates is bonded to each other by this bonding.

As described above, since the two substrates are bonded together by the direct bonding between the orientation control layers, that is, the layers made of the same kind of material, it is possible to avoid inconvenience caused when different kinds of materials are bonded. Specifically, such inconveniences include deformation of one of the materials due to unnecessarily heating or pressurizing, and poor bonding such as insufficient bonding strength due to insufficient heating or pressing.

Further, since the orientation control layer has a structure formed after the formation of the spacer, a good orientation can be obtained without the influence of the spacer forming step on the orientation control layer such as contamination, alteration and destruction.

Further, since only the orientation control layer needs to be adhered to each other in a softened state, there is no need to soften the spacer. Therefore, the spacer after formation can be maintained in a completely cured state, and the cell gap can be accurately controlled.

In the liquid crystal display device according to the first aspect, the alignment control layer of the substrate having the spacer is provided on the upper layer of the spacer and is located on the top of the spacer. It is preferable that the portion is bonded to the orientation control layer of the other substrate via an adhesive layer, and the pair of substrates is bonded to each other by this bonding.

As described above, it is not necessary to soften the alignment control layer by bonding the alignment control layers to each other via the adhesive layer. Therefore, the alignment effect of the alignment control layer is not impaired.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display element, the spacer is provided on one of the substrates above the alignment control layer, and the top of the spacer is aligned with the other substrate. It is preferable that the pair of substrates is adhered to each other by the adhesion to the control layer.

For example, when the orientation control layer is formed using a material which has been imidized to some extent, such as a soluble polyimide, the adhesion strength between the orientation control layers is very low. On the other hand, in the structure in which the spacer is bonded to the alignment control layer, even if the alignment control layer is formed of soluble polyimide, the bonding strength between the two can be increased.

In the liquid crystal display device according to the first aspect, as described in the ninth aspect, it is preferable that the liquid crystal is a ferroelectric liquid crystal. That is, as described above, the liquid crystal display element according to the first aspect has excellent impact resistance, so that even if a ferroelectric liquid crystal that is weak to impact is used, the orientation of the ferroelectric liquid crystal is impaired by the impact. Never.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element, each of the liquid crystal layers has a liquid crystal layer and an alignment control layer for controlling the alignment of the liquid crystal layer. In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a liquid crystal display element manufacturing method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element having a structure sandwiched between a pair of substrates having the following features.

That is, in the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display element, a first step of forming a plurality of wall-shaped spacers having a uniform height on at least one of the pair of substrates is provided. The method includes a second step of bonding and a third step of injecting liquid crystal between the pair of substrates along the longitudinal direction of the spacer.

In the above manufacturing method, since the spacer is formed in the second step so as to be parallel to the electrodes, in the fourth step, when the liquid crystal is injected along the longitudinal direction of the spacer, the liquid crystal substrate is formed. The direction in which the space enters is controlled to be constant by the spacer. Thereby, the angle between the injection direction and the rubbing direction for each pixel becomes the same, and uniform alignment can be realized.

Further, the spacer can maintain the cell gap uniform before and after the injection of the liquid crystal and can improve the impact resistance.

Further, since the injection proceeds uniformly between the spacers, the region where the liquid crystal is not injected can be eliminated. In addition, since the injection region is divided into a number of elongated regions by the spacer, the liquid crystal quickly enters each region, and the injection time can be reduced. This makes it possible to suppress a change in the composition of the liquid crystal composition, which is a problem when injecting under reduced pressure.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display element according to the eleventh aspect, the third step is performed in the same direction as or in the opposite direction to the alignment treatment direction of the alignment control layer. It is preferable to inject liquid crystal.

As a result, the liquid crystal is injected in a state where the angle between the injection direction and the alignment processing direction is uniformly optimal for all pixels, so that the alignment uniformity is further improved.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display element, the first step preferably includes forming the spacer by a photocurable resin.

When a spacer is formed by using a photosensitive organic resin such as a photosensitive polyimide or a photosensitive acrylic resin as a photocurable resin, a resist film required when forming a spacer by using an organic or inorganic material is used. Becomes unnecessary.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display element according to the thirteenth aspect, the first step is performed not only on the substrate but also on the substrate having the spacer. Forming an orientation control layer so as to cover the spacer, wherein the second step is to directly connect a portion of the orientation control layer on one substrate located at the top of the spacer to the orientation control layer on the other substrate. It is preferable to bond the pair of substrates by bonding.

As described above, in the second step, the two substrates are bonded by direct bonding between the orientation control layers, that is, the layers made of the same kind of material. Therefore, it is possible to avoid poor bonding that occurs when bonding different kinds of materials. it can. In addition, since the orientation control layer is formed after the formation of the spacer, the orientation control layer is not damaged by the formation of the spacer, such as contamination, deterioration, and destruction, and a good orientation can be obtained.
In addition, in the second step, since only the orientation control layer needs to be softened and the orientation control layers are bonded to each other, the spacer can be maintained in a completely cured state.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display element according to the fourteenth aspect, the first step is performed not only on the substrate but also on the substrate having the spacer. Forming an orientation control layer so as to cover the spacer; and forming an adhesive layer on a portion of the orientation control layer covering the spacer located at the top of the spacer. It is preferable that the pair of substrates is attached to each other by bonding the control layers to each other through the adhesive layer. in this way,
In the second step, there is no need to soften the orientation control layer by bonding the orientation control layers to each other via the adhesive layer.
Moreover, similarly to the manufacturing method of the thirteenth aspect, the orientation control layer can be bonded without completely softening the spacer.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display element, the first step includes a step of forming an alignment control layer so as to cover the substrate. Preferably, the spacer is formed on the orientation control layer, and in the second step, the pair of substrates is bonded to each other by bonding a top portion of the spacer to the facing orientation control layer.

As described above, by bonding the spacer to the orientation control layer in the second step, the adhesive strength can be increased as compared with the adhesion between the orientation control layers formed of soluble polyimide.

[0056]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10 by taking first to third liquid crystal cells as examples. is there. Components common to the first to third liquid crystal cells are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[First Liquid Crystal Cell] As shown in FIG. 6, the first liquid crystal cell includes insulating substrates 1 and 2, and these substrates 1 and 2 are arranged to face each other. . Substrate 1 ・ 2
Consists of glass, plastic, silicon, etc.
At least one is made of a transparent material.

[0058] Striped electrodes 3 are provided on the substrates 1 and 2.
... 4 are formed. The electrodes 3 and the electrodes 4 are arranged so as to intersect at right angles to each other, and each of the intersecting regions constitutes a pixel. As the electrodes 3... 4, a transparent electrode made of ITO (indium tin oxide) is generally suitable, but a transparent electrode made of another metal may be used.

Light shields 5 are formed on the substrate 1 along both sides of each electrode 3. The light shield 5 is
Light is blocked on both sides of the electrode 3, and Cr,
It is formed of a metal such as Mo or Al or an opaque organic resin. On the other hand, a light shield (not shown) made of the same material as the light shield 5 is also formed on the substrate 2 so as to extend along both sides of each electrode 4.

Further, an insulating film 6 is formed on the substrate 1 so as to cover the electrodes 3 and the light shields 5. On the other hand, an insulating film 7 is also formed on the substrate 2 so as to cover the electrodes 4 and the light shield. On the insulating film 6, a plurality of spacers 8 and an alignment film 9 as an alignment control layer are formed. On the insulating film 7, an alignment film 10 as an alignment control layer is formed. The alignment films 9 and 10 have been subjected to an alignment treatment by rubbing, and when the substrates 1 and 2 are bonded to each other, the alignment processing directions of the two coincide.

The spacers 8 are formed in a wall shape extending in parallel with the electrodes 3 in a region between the electrodes 3 and in a region where the region is projected in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate 1. The positions at which the spacers 8 are formed are not limited to the above-described positions. However, in order to prevent the display quality from deteriorating, it is desirable that the spacers 8 be outside the region above the electrodes 3 that are the components of the pixel as described above. . In addition, as a material of the spacer 8, a photocurable resin such as a photosensitive polyimide or a photosensitive acrylic resin, an organic resin such as a polyimide or an acrylic resin, or a metal such as Cr, Mo, or A1 is used.

In addition, the spacers 8 are optically isotropic so that light is extinguished under crossed Nicols. In order for the spacers 8 to extinguish under crossed Nicols, the spacers 8 must be made of a material having no anisotropy in refractive index, and no liquid crystal should be interposed between the alignment films 9 and 10 at the tops of the spacers 8. is required.

The alignment films 9 are laminated so as to cover the surfaces of the spacers 8 and the surface of the insulating film 6 between the spacers 8.

The electrode substrate 1 is composed of the substrate 1, the electrodes 3, the light shielding members 5, the insulating film 6, the spacers 8, and the alignment film 9.
1 is configured. On the other hand, the above-mentioned substrate 2, electrode 4,.
The light shielding body, the insulating film 7 and the alignment film 10 make the electrode substrate 12
Is configured.

The outer peripheral portions of the electrode substrates 11 and 12 are bonded together with a sealant, and a liquid crystal is filled in a gap therebetween to form a liquid crystal layer 13. In addition, the electrode substrate 11
Reference numeral 12 denotes an alignment film 9 formed to have a large number of convex shapes.
Are also adhered to each other by being adhered to the alignment film 10 and are firmly bonded.

Incidentally, the alignment films 9.1 via the spacers 8...
In a case where the outer peripheral portions of the electrode substrates 11 and 12 are sufficiently sealed by bonding of the electrode substrates 11 and 12,
12 does not need to be attached.

As the liquid crystal forming the liquid crystal layer 13, a ferroelectric liquid crystal composition is used. Ferroelectric liquid crystals have excellent characteristics such as high-speed response and memory properties, and thus can realize large-capacity and high-definition display.

Although the electrode substrates 11 and 12 are not shown in FIG. 6, a polarizing plate is formed on the surface on which the electrodes 3... 4 are not formed. The polarizing plates are arranged such that their respective polarization axes are orthogonal to each other (become crossed Nicols).

The first liquid crystal cell configured as described above is manufactured by the following procedure.

First, molybdenum (Mo) is applied to the surface of the substrate 1.
100n thickness by metal such as metal or opaque organic resin
An about m film is formed, and this film is patterned by photolithography. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7A, the light shielding bodies 5 having a predetermined pattern are formed.
If the light shielding members 5 are not required, this step is omitted.

Next, an ITO film having a thickness of about 100 nm is formed thereon by sputtering, and is patterned by photolithography. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7B, the electrodes 3 are formed so that the light shielding bodies 5 are located along both sides of each electrode 3.

Further, SiO ₂ is applied thereon by spin coating to form an insulating film 6 having a flat surface as shown in FIG. 7C. If the insulating film 6 is not required, this step is omitted. This step may be performed after the formation of spacers 8 described later.

Subsequently, a negative photosensitive resin such as OMR-83 manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd. is applied on the insulating film 6 by spin coating so that the film thickness after firing becomes 1.5 μm. Then, after irradiating the above-mentioned area of the photosensitive resin where the spacers 8 are to be formed with ultraviolet rays through a photomask to remove the non-exposed portions, about 145
Main firing is performed at 30 ° C. for 30 minutes. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7D, spacers 8 having a uniform height are formed.

Further, PSI-A-210 manufactured by Chisso Corporation
1 (polyamide carboxylic acid) is applied so as to have a thickness of 50 nm, and after calcination at about 180 ° C. for 1 hour,
A rubbing treatment is applied to the surface. As a result, an alignment film 9 is formed as shown in FIG.

The electrode substrate 11 is manufactured as described above. The electrode substrate 12 is manufactured in the same manner as the electrode substrate 11 except for the step of forming the spacers 8. Specifically, on the substrate 2, the electrodes 4,..., The light-shielding member, and the insulating film 7 are sequentially formed by the same steps as those shown in FIGS. The alignment film 10 is formed by a process similar to the process of FIG.

The electrode substrate 11
12 at a temperature of about 200 ° C. for 1 hour at a temperature of about 200 ° C. so that the rubbing directions applied to the alignment films 9 and 10 are the same.
By applying a pressure of kgf / cm ² , the alignment film 9
・ Attach 10 Then, a liquid crystal is injected between the electrode substrates 11 and 12 in the longitudinal direction of the spacers 8 to form a liquid crystal layer 13, and a polarizing plate is further formed to complete a liquid crystal cell.

Although the configuration in which the spacers 8 are provided only on the electrode substrate 11 has been described here, the present invention
It is not limited only to such a configuration. For example, the necessary spacers 8 are dispersedly provided on both the electrode substrates 11 and 12, and the alignment film formed on the spacer of one electrode substrate is formed with the spacer of the alignment film on the other electrode substrate. The electrode substrate 11
12 may be bonded together.

[Second Liquid Crystal Cell] As shown in FIG. 8, the second liquid crystal cell includes electrode substrates 21 and 12, which are bonded to each other, and a liquid crystal layer 13 is formed in a gap therebetween. . In the electrode substrate 21, an adhesive layer 22 is added to the electrode substrate 11 included in the first liquid crystal cell. Adhesive layer 22
Are formed on each top of the alignment film 9.
2, the electrode substrates 21 and 12 are bonded together.

The second liquid crystal cell is manufactured according to the following procedure.

First, an electrode substrate having the same configuration as the electrode substrate 11 is manufactured by the steps shown in FIGS. Next, an adhesive is transferred to each top of the alignment film 9 by a stamp method, a film transfer method, or the like, to form an adhesive layer 22. As the adhesive used here, for example, an epoxy resin or a thermoplastic resin is used.

The electrode substrate 21 is manufactured in this manner, while the electrode substrate 12 is manufactured in the same manner as the electrode substrate 12 in the first liquid crystal cell. Next, these electrode substrates 21 and 12 are opposed to each other so that the rubbing directions applied to the alignment films 9 and 10 are the same.
By applying a pressure of 0.6 kgf / cm ^{2 for} a time, the bonding layer 22 and the alignment film 10 are bonded to each other. And
Liquid crystal is injected into the gaps between the electrode substrates 21 and 12 in the longitudinal direction of the spacers 8 to form the liquid crystal layer 13, and a polarizing plate is further formed to complete the liquid crystal cell.

[Third Liquid Crystal Cell] As shown in FIG. 9, the third liquid crystal cell includes electrode substrates 31 and 12, which are bonded to each other, and a liquid crystal layer 13 is formed in a gap therebetween. . The electrode substrate 31 is provided on the insulating film 6 on the electrode substrate 12.
Alignment film 3 formed flat like alignment film 10 of
Two. Spacer 8 on electrode substrate 31 ...
Are formed on the alignment film 32 in a region between the electrodes 3... And a region where the region is projected in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate 1. The electrode substrates 31 and 12 are bonded together by spacers 8.

The third liquid crystal cell configured as described above is manufactured by the following procedure.

First, by the steps shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C, the electrodes 3,.
Are sequentially formed. Then, PSI-A-2 manufactured by Chisso Corporation
101 is applied to a thickness of 50 nm, and about 200
After sintering at 1 ° C. for 1 hour, the surface is subjected to a rubbing treatment. As a result, a flat alignment film 32 is formed on the insulating film 6. The rubbing treatment can be performed after the formation of the spacers 8.

Subsequently, a negative photosensitive resin such as OMR-83 manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd. is applied on the alignment film 32 by spin coating so that the film thickness after firing becomes 1.5 μm. Then, after irradiating the above-mentioned area of the photosensitive resin where the spacers 8 are to be formed with ultraviolet rays through a photomask to remove the non-exposed portions, about 14
Main firing is performed at 5 ° C. for 30 minutes. Thereby, the spacers 8 are formed on the alignment film 32 as shown in FIG.

The electrode substrate 31 is manufactured as described above. Further, the electrode substrate 12 is manufactured in the same manner as the electrode substrate 12 in the first liquid crystal cell. next,
These electrode substrates 31 and 12 are opposed to each other so that the rubbing directions applied to the alignment films 32 and 10 are the same, and a pressure of 0.6 kgf / cm ² is applied at about 200 ° C. for 1 hour. The spacers 8 are bonded to the alignment film 10. At this time, by appropriately selecting the bonding conditions (temperature and pressure), the adhesive strength of the electrode substrates 31 and 12 can be increased to some extent regardless of the material of the spacers 8.

Then, a liquid crystal is injected into the gap between the electrode substrates 31 and 12 in the longitudinal direction of the spacers 8 to form the liquid crystal layer 13, and a polarizing plate is further formed to complete the liquid crystal cell.

As described above, the spacers 8 in the first to third liquid crystal cells are formed via the alignment film 9 or the adhesive layer 22 or directly as shown in FIGS. 6, 8 and 9, respectively. Is firmly bonded to the alignment film 10 on the electrode substrate 2. Therefore, the injection of the liquid crystal is regulated by the spacers 8 and proceeds in a certain direction. As a result, the angle formed between the injection direction and the rubbing direction becomes substantially constant for each pixel, so that good display quality can be obtained.

Further, the spacers 8 formed in a wall shape are interposed between the electrode substrates 11, 21 or 31 and the electrode substrate 12, so that the distance between the opposing electrode substrates can be kept uniform. And impact resistance can be improved.

Further, since the spacers 8 are optically isotropic, the light is extinguished under crossed Nicols. in this way,
Since the spacers 8 also function as a black matrix, they block light between the electrodes 3 in portions other than the pixel region. Therefore, the contrast can be improved.

The first to third liquid crystal cells have the following advantages by being configured as described above.

The first liquid crystal cell is manufactured through the process of forming the alignment film 9 after forming the spacers 8.
The process of forming the spacers 8 does not cause contamination, alteration, destruction, or the like of the alignment film 9 and uniform alignment can be obtained. In addition, since the second liquid crystal cell includes the adhesive layer 22, the electrode substrates 21 and 12 are bonded with a higher adhesive strength than the first liquid crystal cell. Further, when the bonding strength between the alignment films is low, the electrode substrates 31 and 12 are bonded with high strength by bonding the spacers 8 to the alignment films 32 and 10 as in the third liquid crystal cell. be able to.

[Injection of Liquid Crystal] Here, a method of injecting liquid crystal in the first to third liquid crystal cells and a spacer structure suitable for the method of injection will be described. In the following description, for the electrode substrate having the spacers 8, the electrode substrate 11 in the first liquid crystal cell is used for convenience.

In the liquid crystal cell shown in FIG. 1A, the electrode substrates 11 and 12 have a rectangular shape and face each other such that their long sides are orthogonal to each other. Spacers 8 ...
The electrode substrate 11 is formed in a stripe shape parallel to the long side.

The display area 42 of the present liquid crystal cell includes the electrode substrate 1
1 and 12 are formed in opposing regions, that is, in regions into which liquid crystal is injected. As shown in FIG. 1 (a) or FIG. 2 (a), spacers 8 are provided between the electrode substrates 11 and 12 so that at least a certain interval is maintained in the display area 42.

Further, in the present liquid crystal cell, an injection port 41 is provided along the longer edge of the electrode substrate 12 so that liquid crystal is injected from one shorter edge of the electrode substrate 11. ing. Inlet 41 is the same or the width d ₂ of the direction of the display area 42 that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the spacer 8 ... it is formed to a width d ₁ which becomes longer.

In the above-described liquid crystal cell, liquid crystal is injected from the injection port 41 along the longitudinal direction of the spacers 8, and the injection direction coincides with the rubbing direction. As described above, the liquid crystal is injected along the longitudinal direction of the spacers 8, so that the injection direction in each pixel becomes uniform, whereby the liquid crystal can be uniformly aligned.

The region into which the liquid crystal is injected is the spacer 8
Are divided into long and narrow areas, and the liquid crystal can rapidly enter each area by capillary action and can be injected in a short time. Therefore, during injection under reduced pressure, the liquid crystal composition is not placed under reduced pressure for a long time,
The composition change of the liquid crystal composition is suppressed. Moreover, since the injection proceeds evenly between the above-described elongated regions, the liquid crystal is injected into all the regions where the liquid crystal should be injected.

For example, when a ferroelectric liquid crystal composition (SCE8) manufactured by Merck is used as the liquid crystal to be injected into the liquid crystal cell, as shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, the liquid crystal 43 It was observed that the spacers 8 were injected along the longitudinal direction of the spacers 8 and did not hinder the injection.

Further, it was observed that the injection in the region between the adjacent spacers 8.8 progressed uniformly. This is because the width d ₁ of the injection port 41 is the same as or longer than the width d ₂ of the display area 42, so that there is almost no time difference between when the liquid crystal 43 reaches each spacer 8 from the injection port 41. Therefore, the implantation was performed efficiently in a short time, and no failure occurred in the implantation. Moreover, since the liquid crystal 43 uniformly reaches each spacer 8 from the injection port 41, the spacers 8 can be provided without keeping a distance from the injection port 41. Therefore, the impact resistance of the liquid crystal cell can be improved even near the injection port 41.

The above liquid crystal cell is 150 mm × 150 mm
When made in size and injected in the liquid crystal cell,
The injection took 2 hours. The cell gap did not change before and after the injection, and its uniformity was 1.5 ± 0.2 μm after the injection.
Met. Further, even when the liquid crystal cell was pressurized at ² kgf / cm ² , no generation of alignment defects was observed.

Further, the electrode substrates 11 and 12 are bonded to each other at a uniform interval by wall-shaped spacers 8. As a result, the gap (cell gap) can be made uniform with higher accuracy than before, and the electrode substrates 11 and 12 can be firmly bonded to each other. Therefore, the impact resistance can be improved, and the alignment is not impaired even if a ferroelectric liquid crystal which is weak against impact is used.

From the viewpoint of good orientation, the angle between the injection direction and the rubbing direction is as shown in FIG. 1 (a) or FIG. 2 (a).
It is preferable that the angle is 0 degrees (the same direction) or 180 degrees (the opposite direction) as in the liquid crystal cell of (1). In contrast, FIG.
In the liquid crystal cell shown in (b), the angle between the injection direction and the rubbing direction is 45 °. As described above, when the injection direction and the rubbing direction are not parallel, alignment defects are likely to occur. Therefore, as compared with the liquid crystal cell shown in FIG.
The orientation in the liquid crystal cells of FIGS. 1A and 2A is better.

Next, another embodiment of the liquid crystal cell will be described.

For example, in the liquid crystal cell shown in FIG. 3, spacers 8 are formed so as to surround three sides except for the injection population 41 side. In such a structure, if the injection is performed by the reduced pressure injection method, a pressure difference occurs between the injection port 41 side and the opposite side, so that the injection proceeds more quickly. In addition, since the reduced pressure injection method is used, no bubbles remain and there is no defective injection region, so that good display quality can be obtained. On the other hand, in the structure of the spacers 8 in the liquid crystal cell of FIG. 1A, three sides are surrounded by applying a sealing agent or a sealing agent to an end of the spacers 8 farther from the injection port 41. Even in such a case, the injection time can be shortened by generating a pressure difference in the same manner as described above.

Further, in the liquid crystal cell shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the spacers 8 are formed in a stripe shape outside the display area 42. Specifically, in the liquid crystal cell shown in FIG. 4A, the spacers 8 are formed so as to have the same length as the short side of the electrode substrate 12 and not to protrude from the electrode substrate 12. On the other hand, in the liquid crystal cell shown in FIG. 4B, the spacers 8 are longer than the short side of the electrode substrate 12 and both ends thereof are formed so as to slightly protrude from the electrode substrate 12. As a result, the cell gap is made uniform not only in the display region 42 but also in the entire region into which the liquid crystal is injected, and high impact resistance appears. Therefore, good display quality can be obtained.

Further, in the liquid crystal cell shown in FIG. 5, spacers 8 are arranged so as to avoid a pixel area, that is, an area where electrode 3 and electrode 4 intersect. This allows
The translucency of the pixel region is not reduced by the spacers 8 and the display quality is not reduced.

Comparative Example 1 A liquid crystal cell shown in FIG. 11 was manufactured as a comparative example with respect to the liquid crystal cell according to the present embodiment.

In manufacturing this liquid crystal cell, the alignment film 5
The spherical spacers 63 are scattered on the substrate 6, and the electrode substrates 60 and 61 are bonded together with a sealant 62. In the liquid crystal cell thus manufactured, as shown in FIG. 12B, the liquid crystal 65 spread in a fan shape between the injection port and the electrode substrates 60 and 61. As a result, the angle between the injection direction and the rubbing direction was different for each pixel. In addition, uninjected regions 67 into which the liquid crystal 65 was not injected were confirmed.

The above liquid crystal cell is 150 mm × 150 mm
When made in size and injected in the liquid crystal cell,
The injection took 5 hours. The cell gap changed significantly before and after the injection, and the uniformity was 1.5 ± 0.5 after the injection.
μm. In addition, this liquid crystal cell is 0.5 kgf / c
When pressure was applied at m ² , alignment defects occurred.

[Comparative Example 2] In this comparative example, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1B and FIG. 1B, a liquid crystal cell in which the formation directions of the spacers 8 are different from the liquid crystal cell shown in FIG. In the liquid crystal cell shown in FIG. 10A, the longitudinal direction of the spacers 8 is inclined with respect to the rubbing direction.
In the liquid crystal cell shown in (b), the longitudinal direction of the spacers 8 is orthogonal to the rubbing direction. In such a liquid crystal cell, when the liquid crystal 41 is injected from the same direction as the rubbing direction, smooth injection of the liquid crystal is prevented by the spacers 8.
As a result, the non-injection regions 44 where the liquid crystal 43 did not enter ...
Remained.

As described above, it is found that the liquid crystal cell according to the present embodiment is superior in the orientation, the uniformity of the cell gap, and the impact resistance as compared with the liquid crystal cell manufactured by the conventional method. Was.

[0113]

As described above, in the liquid crystal display element according to the first aspect of the present invention, at least one of the pair of substrates has the wall-shaped spacer having a uniform height substantially parallel to the liquid crystal injection direction. Are provided in a plurality.

Thus, when liquid crystal is injected between the two substrates to form a liquid crystal layer in the manufacture of the present liquid crystal display element, the injection direction can be controlled by the direction in which the spacers are formed. Thereby, the angle between the injection direction and the alignment processing direction for each pixel becomes the same, and uniform alignment can be realized. In addition, the spacer can maintain a uniform cell gap before and after the injection of the liquid crystal and can improve impact resistance. Further, since the injection proceeds uniformly between the spacers, the region where the liquid crystal is not injected can be eliminated. In addition, since the liquid crystal rapidly enters many elongated regions formed by the spacers, the injection time can be reduced. This makes it possible to suppress a change in the composition of the liquid crystal composition, which is a problem when injecting under reduced pressure.

As described above, by controlling the injection direction with the spacer, there is an effect that a highly reliable liquid crystal display element can be provided.

In the liquid crystal display device according to a second aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display device according to the first aspect, the liquid crystal layer has a liquid crystal in the same direction as or in the opposite direction to the alignment treatment direction of the alignment control layer. It is a configuration to be injected.

As a result, the liquid crystal is injected in a state where the angle between the injection direction and the alignment processing direction is optimally uniform for all pixels, so that the uniformity of alignment is further improved. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the liquid crystal display element of the first aspect, there is an effect that the display quality can be further improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the liquid crystal display element according to the first aspect, wherein the spacer has a region between electrodes on the same substrate and this region is formed on the surface of the substrate. It is arranged in a region projected in the vertical direction and has optical isotropy.

As a result, since the spacer is formed outside the pixel region, problems such as alignment defects near the spacer, non-uniform switching of liquid crystal molecules, and a decrease in aperture ratio do not occur. Further, since the spacer is optically isotropic, it is extinguished under crossed Nicols, and also functions as a black matrix. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the liquid crystal display element of the first aspect, there is an effect that the contrast can be improved by shielding the portion other than the pixel region from light by the spacer.

The liquid crystal display element according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the liquid crystal display element according to the first aspect, wherein the injection port for injecting the liquid crystal has a width corresponding to a width of a display region in a width direction of the spacer. This is a configuration in which the width is the same or long.

As a result, the liquid crystal uniformly enters each spacer from the inlet, so that the spacer can be formed without a difference in distance from the inlet. Moreover, since the injection port is wide, injection can be performed in a short time. Therefore, in addition to the effects of the liquid crystal display element of the first aspect, the uniformity of the cell gap near the injection port and the impact resistance are improved, and the time required for the injection can be reduced.

A liquid crystal display element according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the liquid crystal display element according to the first aspect, wherein the spacer is made of a photocurable resin.

Thus, if the spacer is formed of a photocurable resin, a resist film becomes unnecessary. Therefore,
In addition to the effects of the liquid crystal display element of the first aspect, there is an effect that the manufacturing process can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display element according to the first aspect, the alignment control layer on the substrate having the spacer is provided above the spacer. The portion located at the top of the spacer is directly bonded to the orientation control layer of the other substrate, and the pair of substrates is bonded to each other by this bonding.

As described above, since both substrates are bonded by the direct bonding between the orientation control layers, that is, the layers made of the same kind of material, it is possible to avoid poor bonding which occurs at the time of bonding different kinds of materials. Further, since the orientation control layer has a structure formed after the formation of the spacer, the orientation control layer does not suffer damage such as contamination, alteration, or destruction in the spacer formation step. Furthermore, since only the orientation control layer needs to be adhered to each other in a softened state, there is no need to soften the spacer. Therefore, claim 1
In addition to the effects of the liquid crystal display element of the above, the present invention has the effect of maintaining good adhesion of the substrate, alignment of the alignment control layer, uniformity of the cell gap, and impact resistance in the manufacturing process.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display element according to the first aspect, the alignment control layer on the substrate having the spacer is provided above the spacer. A portion located at the top of the spacer is adhered to the orientation control layer of the other substrate via an adhesive layer, and the pair of substrates is adhered to each other by this adhesion.

As a result, the orientation control layers are adhered to each other via the adhesive layer, so that it is not necessary to soften the orientation control layers. Therefore, the alignment effect of the alignment control layer is not impaired. Further, similar to the liquid crystal display device according to the sixth aspect,
There is no need to soften the spacer in bonding the orientation control layer. Therefore, in addition to the effects of the liquid crystal display element of claim 1, in the manufacturing process, the alignment effect of the alignment control layer,
There is an effect that the uniformity of the cell gap and the impact resistance can be favorably maintained.

In the liquid crystal display device according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display device according to the first aspect, the spacer is provided in a layer above the alignment control layer on one of the substrates, and at the top thereof. The pair of substrates is bonded to the orientation control layer of the other substrate, and the pair of substrates is bonded to each other by this bonding.

Thus, even if the orientation control layer is formed of a soluble polyimide, the adhesive strength between them can be increased. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the liquid crystal display element of the first aspect, there is an effect that the cell gap can be made uniform and the impact resistance can be maintained at a high level regardless of the material for forming the alignment control layer.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display element of the first aspect, which is excellent in impact resistance, the liquid crystal layer is made of ferroelectric liquid crystal. Even if a dielectric liquid crystal is used, the impact does not impair the orientation of the ferroelectric liquid crystal. Therefore, it is possible to utilize the excellent characteristics of the ferroelectric liquid crystal and to easily realize a large-capacity and high-definition display.

A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to a tenth aspect of the present invention includes a first step of forming a plurality of wall-shaped spacers having a uniform height on at least one of a pair of substrates, The method includes a second step of bonding the pair of substrates and a third step of injecting liquid crystal between the pair of substrates along a longitudinal direction of the spacer.

As a result, the spacer is formed so as to be parallel to the electrode, and in the fourth step, the injection direction of the liquid crystal is controlled to be constant by the spacer. Thereby, the angle between the injection direction and the rubbing direction for each pixel becomes the same, and uniform alignment can be realized.
In addition, the spacer can keep the cell gap uniform before and after the injection of the liquid crystal and improve the shock resistance. Furthermore, since the injection proceeds uniformly and quickly in a large number of elongated regions formed by the spacers, the region into which the liquid crystal is not injected can be eliminated, and the injection time can be shortened. Moreover, the short-time injection makes it possible to suppress a change in the composition of the liquid crystal composition, which is a problem when the injection is performed under reduced pressure.

As described above, by controlling the injection direction with the spacer, there is an effect that a highly reliable liquid crystal display element can be provided.

The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element according to claim 11 of the present invention is the same as the method for manufacturing liquid crystal display according to claim 10,
The third step is a method of injecting a liquid crystal in the same or opposite direction as the alignment processing direction of the alignment control layer.

As a result, the liquid crystal is injected in a state where the angle between the injection direction and the alignment processing direction is uniformly optimal for all pixels, so that the alignment uniformity is further improved. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the manufacturing method of claim 10, there is an effect that the display quality can be further improved.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the tenth aspect is provided.
In the first step, since the spacer is formed of a photocurable resin, a resist film which is necessary when the spacer is formed using an organic or inorganic material becomes unnecessary. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the manufacturing method of claim 10,
There is an effect that the manufacturing process can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the tenth aspect is provided.
The first step includes a step of forming an orientation control layer so as to cover not only the substrate but also the substrate having the spacer and further covers the spacer, and the second step includes forming the orientation control layer on one substrate. This is a method of bonding the pair of substrates by directly bonding a portion of the control layer located at the top of the spacer to an alignment control layer on the other substrate.

As a result, the two substrates are bonded to each other by direct bonding between the orientation control layers, that is, the layers made of the same kind of material, so that it is possible to avoid poor bonding which occurs when different kinds of materials are bonded. In addition, since the orientation control layer is formed after the formation of the spacer, the orientation control layer is not damaged by the formation of the spacer, such as contamination, deterioration, and destruction. Also, since only the orientation control layer needs to be softened and the orientation control layers are bonded to each other, it is not necessary to completely soften the spacer. Therefore, in addition to the effects of the manufacturing method of claim 10, in the manufacturing process, there is an effect that the adhesiveness of the substrate, the alignment of the alignment control layer, the uniformity of the cell gap, and the impact resistance can be favorably maintained. .

The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to claim 14 of the present invention is the same as the method for manufacturing liquid crystal display device according to claim 10,
In the first step, not only the step of covering the substrate but also the step of forming an orientation control layer so as to cover the spacer in the case of the substrate having the spacer, and the step of forming the orientation control layer covering the spacer at the top of the spacer. Forming a bonding layer in a portion to be bonded, and the second step is a method of bonding the pair of substrates by bonding the alignment control layers to each other via the bonding layer.

Since the orientation control layers are adhered to each other via the adhesive layer, there is no need to soften the orientation control layers. Moreover, similarly to the manufacturing method of the thirteenth aspect, the orientation control layer can be bonded while the spacer is cured.
Therefore, in addition to the effects of the manufacturing method of the tenth aspect, in the manufacturing process, there is an effect that the alignment of the liquid crystal, the uniformity of the cell gap, and the impact resistance can be favorably maintained.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the tenth aspect is provided.
The first step includes a step of forming an orientation control layer so as to cover the substrate, wherein the spacer is formed on the orientation control layer, and wherein the second step includes a step of opposing an apex of the spacer. This is a method of bonding the pair of substrates by bonding the substrates. Thereby, the spacer is adhered to the orientation control layer, so that the adhesive strength can be increased as compared with the adhesion between the orientation control layers formed of soluble polyimide. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the manufacturing method of claim 10, there is an effect that the cell gap can be made uniform and the impact resistance can be maintained at a high level regardless of the material for forming the orientation control layer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a liquid crystal cell according to an embodiment of the present invention and a state of injection of liquid crystal in the liquid crystal cell.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration of another liquid crystal cell according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a configuration of a liquid crystal cell in which three sides are surrounded by spacers.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration of a liquid crystal cell having a long spacer.

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal cell in which a spacer is provided in a region other than the pixel region.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a detailed structure of a first liquid crystal cell according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing each step in manufacturing the first liquid crystal cell.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a detailed structure of a second liquid crystal cell according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a detailed structure of a third liquid crystal cell according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state after liquid crystal injection in a liquid crystal cell according to a comparative example.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a detailed structure of a conventional liquid crystal cell.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a state of liquid crystal injection in a conventional liquid crystal cell.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1.2 Substrate 3.4 Electrode 8 Spacer 9.10.32 Alignment film (alignment control layer) 13 Liquid crystal layer 22 Adhesive layer 41 Injection port 42 Display area 43 Liquid crystal

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuation of the front page (71) Applicant 390040604 United Kingdom THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENSE IN HER BRITANNIC MAJES TY'S GOVERNMENT OF THE THE UNTERED KINGDOM OF GREEN REGISTER MONEY REGISTER MAN Borrow Ivey Road (No Address) Defense Evaluation and Research Agency (72) Inventor Kazuhiko Tamai 22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Inside Sharp Corporation (72) Inventor Hideki Uchida Osaka Mayor of Abeno, Osaka Machi 22-22, Sharp Co., Ltd. No. Sharp Corporation

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A liquid crystal layer comprising a liquid crystal, a plurality of stripe-shaped electrodes for applying a voltage to the liquid crystal layer, and an alignment control layer for controlling the alignment of the liquid crystal layer. In a liquid crystal display element having a structure sandwiched between a pair of substrates, a plurality of wall-shaped spacers having a uniform height are provided on at least one of the pair of substrates so as to be substantially parallel to a liquid crystal injection direction. Characteristic liquid crystal display element. 2. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal layer is formed by injecting liquid crystal in the same direction as or a direction opposite to the alignment treatment direction of the alignment control layer. . 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the spacer is disposed in a region between the electrodes on the same substrate and a region where the region is projected in a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface, and has an optical isotropy. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein 4. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein an injection port for injecting the liquid crystal is formed to have a width equal to or longer than a width of a display region in a width direction of the spacer. element. 5. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein said spacer is made of a photocurable resin. 6. The alignment control layer of the substrate having the spacer is provided above the spacer, and is directly bonded to the alignment control layer of the other substrate at a portion located on the top of the spacer. By
The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of substrates are bonded to each other. 7. An alignment control layer of the substrate having the spacer is provided above the spacer, and is bonded to the alignment control layer of the other substrate via an adhesive layer at a portion located on the top of the spacer. 2. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein said pair of substrates is bonded to each other by said bonding. 8. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein the spacer is provided on one of the substrates above the alignment control layer, and the spacer is bonded to the alignment control layer of the other substrate at the top thereof. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display device is bonded. 9. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein said liquid crystal is a ferroelectric liquid crystal. 10. A liquid crystal display device having a structure in which a liquid crystal layer composed of a liquid crystal has an alignment control layer for controlling the alignment of the liquid crystal layer, and at least one of the liquid crystal layers is sandwiched between a pair of substrates having optical transparency. A first step of forming a plurality of wall-shaped spacers having a uniform height on at least one of the pair of substrates, and a second step of bonding the pair of substrates via the spacers And a third step of injecting liquid crystal between the pair of substrates along the longitudinal direction of the spacer. 11. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to claim 10, wherein in the third step, a liquid crystal is injected in the same direction as or in the opposite direction to the alignment treatment direction of the alignment control layer. 12. The method according to claim 10, wherein in the first step, the spacer is formed of a photocurable resin. 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first step includes a step of forming an orientation control layer so as to cover not only the substrate but also the substrate having the spacer, and further covers the spacer. The liquid crystal display according to claim 10, wherein the pair of substrates is bonded by directly bonding a portion of the alignment control layer on the substrate located at the top of the spacer to the alignment control layer on the other substrate. Device manufacturing method. 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first step is a step of forming an orientation control layer so as to cover not only the substrate but also the substrate having the spacer and further covering the spacer. Forming an adhesive layer on a portion located on the top of the spacer, wherein the second step comprises bonding the pair of substrates by bonding the orientation control layers to each other via the adhesive layer. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element according to claim 10. 15. The method according to claim 15, wherein the first step includes a step of forming an orientation control layer so as to cover the substrate, wherein the spacer is formed on the orientation control layer. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to claim 10, wherein the pair of substrates is attached to each other by adhering to the facing alignment control layer.