JP2006267782A - Electrooptical apparatus and electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent irregularities from being generated in display by stabilizing the layer thickness of the layer of an electrooptical substance such as a liquid crystal layer in the entire area in an electrooptical apparatus in the structure of forming a spacer in a sealant. <P>SOLUTION: A liquid crystal display device 1 comprises: a color filter substrate 12 arranged facing a reflection substrate 11 at a prescribed interval; a color filter layer provided on the surface facing the reflection substrate 11 of the color filter substrate 12 and composed of a colored element 18 and a light shielding member 19; an overcoat layer 20 provided on the color filter layer; the sealant 8 provided in a frame shape between the reflection substrate 11 and the color filter substrate 12 for sealing liquid crystal; a second spacer 22 provided in the sealant 8 for keeping the interval of the reflection substrate 11 and the color filter substrate 12; and a base film 23 formed between the second spacer 22 and the color filter substrate 12. The base film 23 is preferably formed in the thickness of the total of the color filter layer and the overcoat layer 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electro-optical device such as a liquid crystal display device. The present invention also relates to an electronic apparatus using an electro-optical device.

  Currently, in various electronic devices such as a mobile phone and a portable information terminal, an electro-optical device such as a liquid crystal display device is used as a display unit for visually displaying various information related to the electronic device. Yes.

  The above liquid crystal display device has a liquid crystal panel as an electro-optical panel. This liquid crystal panel is provided with electrodes on each of a pair of substrates made of glass, for example, and both the substrates are sealed so that the electrodes face each other. Bonding is performed using a material, and a liquid crystal layer is interposed in a region surrounded by the pair of substrates and the sealing material. In this liquid crystal display device, for example, light is supplied to the liquid crystal layer by an illuminating device or the like, and the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer is controlled for each sub-pixel which is the minimum unit of display, whereby liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer are controlled. Is controlled for each sub-pixel. The light supplied to the liquid crystal layer is modulated for each sub-pixel according to the alignment state of the liquid crystal molecules, and by supplying this modulated light to the liquid crystal side surface of the polarizing layer, characters on the observation side surface of the polarizing layer, Images such as numbers and figures are displayed.

  In the liquid crystal display device as described above, in order to accurately control the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules and improve the display quality, the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer in the sub-pixel is controlled in order to control the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules. It is necessary to keep it constant. For that purpose, it is important to keep the distance between the electrodes facing each other in the sub-pixel, that is, the layer thickness of the liquid crystal layer constant.

  Conventionally, a structure in which a plurality of columnar spacers are arranged in a region where a sealing material is formed in order to keep the liquid crystal layer at a predetermined layer thickness is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). . These columnar spacers are generally called photo spacers and are formed by photolithography. In addition to providing the columnar spacers in the sealing material, these columnar spacers can also be arranged in a region surrounded by the sealing material.

JP 2001-296529 A (page 4, FIG. 5)

  By the way, in order to keep the thickness of the liquid crystal layer constant, it is necessary to align the height of the plurality of columnar spacers. When the columnar spacers are arranged in the region surrounded by the sealing material, elements such as coloring elements and overcoat layers are usually stacked on the substrate, and the columnar spacers are formed on these layers. However, in the liquid crystal display device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the sealing material and the columnar spacers therein are directly formed on the substrate. For this reason, there is a possibility that the height from the surface of the substrate to the top of the columnar spacer is different between the inside of the sealing material and the area surrounded by the sealing material. In this case, the layer thickness of the liquid crystal layer cannot be kept constant over the entire area of the liquid crystal layer, and there is a possibility that the display of the liquid crystal display device may be uneven.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in an electro-optical device having a structure in which a columnar spacer is formed in a sealing material, the layer thickness of an electro-optical material layer such as a liquid crystal layer is reduced over the entire area. It is an object of the present invention to prevent display unevenness by maintaining a constant value.

  The electro-optical device according to the present invention includes a first substrate, a second substrate disposed to face the first substrate at a predetermined interval, and a surface of the second substrate facing the first substrate. A color filter layer provided, an overcoat layer provided on the color filter layer, a sealing material provided in a frame shape between the first substrate and the second substrate, and sealing an electro-optical material; A spacer is provided in the sealing material and maintains a distance between the first substrate and the second substrate, and a base film formed between the spacer and the second substrate. .

  In this specification, an electro-optical material is a material whose optical characteristics change according to changes in electrical conditions. Specifically, a liquid crystal used in a liquid crystal display device, an EL used in an EL device, or the like. Can be considered. The spacer in the present invention is called, for example, a photo spacer, and a photosensitive resin material is applied onto the second substrate, and the photosensitive resin material is formed into a cylindrical shape or a prismatic shape by photolithography. Is.

  According to the electro-optical device having the above configuration, the distance between the first substrate and the second substrate can be maintained by providing the spacer in the sealing material. In the electro-optical device configured as described above, a base film is provided between the spacer and the second substrate. Accordingly, the height from the surface of the second substrate to the apex of the spacer can be adjusted between the inside of the sealing material and the region surrounded by the sealing material, so that the distance between the first substrate and the second substrate Can be kept constant throughout the substrate. As a result, it is possible to prevent the display of the electro-optical device from being uneven.

  Next, in the electro-optical device according to the invention, the base film is formed with the same material and the same thickness as the color filter layer, or is formed with the same material and the same thickness as the overcoat layer. Is desirable. In this case, the base film can be formed using the same material as the color filter layer or overcoat layer and at the same time as the color filter layer or overcoat layer is formed on the second substrate.

  In addition, as the base film, either a color filter layer or an overcoat layer can be selected and used. Accordingly, the base film can be formed to the same thickness as the layer in which the spacer is formed in the region surrounded by the sealing material. Therefore, the spacer can be formed on the same thickness layer in the sealing material and in the region surrounded by the sealing material. As a result, the height from the surface of the second substrate to the top of the spacer can be reliably matched between the inside of the sealing material and the region surrounded by the sealing material.

  Next, in the electro-optical device according to the invention, the base film is a laminate of the same material as the color filter layer and the same material as the overcoat layer, and is formed to have the same thickness as the total thickness of both. It is desirable that In this case, the base film can be formed using the same material as the color filter layer and the overcoat layer and at the same time as the color filter layer and the overcoat layer are formed on the second substrate.

  Further, by using a laminate of a color filter layer and an overcoat layer for the base film, the base film can be formed to the same thickness as the layer in which the spacer is formed in the region surrounded by the sealant. Therefore, the spacer can be formed on the same thickness layer in the sealing material and in the region surrounded by the sealing material. As a result, the height from the surface of the second substrate to the top of the spacer can be reliably matched between the inside of the sealing material and the region surrounded by the sealing material.

  Next, in the electro-optical device according to the invention, the color filter layer is formed of a coloring element and a light shielding member, and the base film is formed of the same material as the coloring element and has the same thickness, or the light shielding. It is desirable to form the same material and the same thickness as the member. The coloring element constituting the color filter layer is an element that selectively transmits light in a specific wavelength range. In general, these coloring elements correspond to the three primary colors B (blue), G (green), and R (red), and are located on the substrate at positions corresponding to sub-pixels that are the minimum unit of display. Each is provided. Similarly, the light shielding member constituting the color filter layer is a member formed in a lattice shape surrounding each coloring element using a light-shielding metal such as Cr (chromium).

  The spacer in the region surrounded by the sealing material may be disposed on the light shielding member or may be disposed on the coloring element as long as it does not affect the display of the electro-optical device. Conceivable. And it is possible that these coloring elements and the light shielding member are formed in different thicknesses. According to the electro-optical device having the above configuration, since the base film can be formed by either the coloring element or the light shielding member, the base film can be selected in accordance with the position where the spacer is placed in the region surrounded by the sealing material. Thereby, the height from the surface of the second substrate to the apex of the spacer can be more reliably matched between the inside of the sealing material and the region surrounded by the sealing material.

  Next, in the electro-optical device according to the invention, the light shielding member is a laminated body formed by laminating a plurality of the coloring elements, and the base film has the same material and the same thickness as one of the coloring elements or the laminated body. It is desirable to be formed. Instead of being formed using a material such as Cr as described above, the light shielding member can be formed as a laminated body in which a plurality of colored elements having different colors are stacked. Therefore, this laminate has a thicker layer thickness than a single colored element or a single-layer light shielding member. As described above, when the light shielding member is formed as a laminated body of colored elements and the spacer is disposed on the laminated body, if the base film is formed of the laminated body, the base film and the light shielding member have the same thickness. Can be. Therefore, the height from the surface of the second substrate to the apex of the spacer can be reliably matched between the inside of the sealing material and the region surrounded by the sealing material.

  Next, in the electro-optical device according to the aspect of the invention, the base film is formed between the spacer and the second substrate in the sealing material, and the outer region of the spacer is in the sealing material. It is desirable not to be formed. The color filter layer and overcoat layer forming the base film are formed using, for example, a photosensitive resin. However, since the sealing material does not have good adhesion to the resin, the adhesive strength with the base film may be weak. In this case, the sealing material may be peeled off from the substrate. As described above, if the base film is not formed in the outer region of the spacer in the sealing material, the sealing material can be provided with a portion that directly contacts the second substrate. The adhesion of is improved. As a result, the sealing material can be prevented from peeling off from the substrate.

  Next, in the electro-optical device according to the invention, it is preferable that the spacer is formed using the same material as the overcoat layer. In this way, the spacer can be formed at the same time when the overcoat layer is formed on the second substrate. If the spacer is formed at the same time as the overcoat layer, the spacer can be provided on the second substrate without increasing the number of manufacturing steps.

  Next, an electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes the electro-optical device having the above-described configuration. The electro-optical device according to the present invention can keep the distance between the first substrate and the second substrate constant over the entire area of the substrates, and can prevent uneven display. Therefore, the electronic apparatus according to the present invention using the electro-optical device can prevent the display of the electronic apparatus from being uneven.

(First embodiment of electro-optical device)
Hereinafter, an electro-optical device according to the present invention will be described by exemplifying a liquid crystal display device which is an example of an electro-optical device, and a reflective simple matrix liquid crystal display device using STN (Super Twisted Nematic) liquid crystal. . Note that the liquid crystal display device of this embodiment is essentially a liquid crystal display device that performs reflective display, but also has a transmissive display form.

  FIG. 1 shows a color STN reflection type liquid crystal display device 1 in a simple matrix system. FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional structure in the vicinity of one pixel inside the liquid crystal display device 1 shown in FIG. In the structure shown in these drawings, in order to easily show a plurality of components included in the structure, those components are drawn with a size ratio different from the actual size ratio.

  In FIG. 1, a liquid crystal display device 1 of the present embodiment includes a liquid crystal panel 2 as an electro-optical panel, a driving IC 3 that is a semiconductor element mounted on the liquid crystal panel 2, and an illumination device 4. In this liquid crystal display device, the side on which the arrow A is drawn is the observation side.

  The illuminating device 4 includes an LED (Light Emitting Diode) 6 serving as a light source, and a light guide 7 that converts dot-like light emitted from the LED 6 into a planar shape. A plurality of, for example, about four LEDs 6 are provided in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. The light emitted from each LED 6 is guided to the inside of the light guide 7 from the light incident surface 7a of the light guide 7 and propagates through the inside of the light guide 7, and then becomes planar light from the light exit surface 7b. Then, the light is emitted toward the liquid crystal panel 2.

  The liquid crystal panel 2 is formed by bonding a reflective substrate 11 and a color filter substrate 12 together with a square or rectangular frame-shaped sealing material 8 when viewed from the direction of arrow A. A gap, so-called cell gap G, is formed between the reflective substrate 11 and the color filter substrate 12, and a liquid crystal as an electro-optic material, STN (Super Twisted Nematic) liquid crystal in this embodiment, is formed in the cell gap G. Is encapsulated to form the liquid crystal layer 9.

  In FIG. 1, the reflective substrate 11 includes a first light-transmitting substrate 11a as a first substrate. The first translucent substrate 11a is made of, for example, translucent glass, translucent plastic, or the like. Yes.

  In FIG. 2, a light reflecting film 14 is formed on the inner surface of the first light-transmissive substrate 11a, and a plurality of strip-like electrodes 15a extending linearly in the left-right direction on the paper surface are formed thereon, and further thereon. An alignment film 16a is formed. The alignment film 16a is subjected to an alignment process, for example, a rubbing process, whereby the initial alignment of liquid crystal molecules in the vicinity of the reflective substrate 11 is determined. The plurality of strip electrodes 15a are arranged in parallel to each other at a predetermined interval in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG.

  The light reflecting film 14 is formed of, for example, Al (aluminum), an Al alloy, or the like, and is provided in a plane in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. The light reflection film 14 has light transmission properties in addition to light reflection properties in order to allow light from the illumination device 4 to pass therethrough so as to realize a transmissive display. In addition, the plurality of electrodes 15a extending in a strip shape in the left-right direction in FIG. 1 are formed of a metal oxide such as ITO. Further, the alignment film 16a formed thereon is formed of polyimide or the like, for example.

  Next, the color filter substrate 12 facing the reflective substrate 11 has a second light-transmitting substrate 12a as a rectangular or square second substrate as viewed from the observation side indicated by the arrow A. The second translucent substrate 12a is formed of, for example, translucent glass or translucent plastic. A polarizing layer 17 is attached to the outer surface of the second light transmissive substrate 12a by sticking or the like.

  In FIG. 2, a plurality of coloring elements 18 and a light shielding member 19 surrounding them are formed on the inner surface of the second translucent substrate 12a, an overcoat layer 20 is formed thereon, and a surface perpendicular to the paper surface is formed thereon. A plurality of strip-like electrodes 15b extending linearly in the direction and a plurality of columnar first spacers 21 are formed, and an alignment film 16b is further formed thereon.

  For example, each of the coloring elements 18 is formed in a rectangular dot shape when viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2, and one coloring element 18 includes B (blue), G (green), and R (red). It is formed of a material that transmits light of any one of the three primary colors. The coloring elements 18 of these colors are arranged in a stripe arrangement as viewed in plan. These coloring elements 18 can be arranged in a delta arrangement, a mosaic arrangement, or other appropriate arrangement instead of the stripe arrangement. The coloring element 18 can also be formed by three primary colors of C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow).

  The light shielding member 19 is formed in a state in which a space between the plurality of coloring elements 18 is filled with a light shielding material such as Cr (chromium). The light shielding member 19 functions as a black mask and improves the contrast of the image displayed by the light transmitted through the coloring element 18. The light shielding member 19 is not limited to being formed of a specific material such as Cr. For example, the light shielding member 19 is also formed by stacking, that is, stacking, the B, G, and R coloring elements constituting the coloring element 18. can do.

  The overcoat layer 20 is formed of a photosensitive resin such as an acrylic resin or a polyimide resin. The plurality of first spacers 21 are formed on the overcoat layer 20 and between the strip electrodes 15b. These first spacers 21 will be described in detail later.

  The plurality of electrodes 15b extending in a strip shape in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2 is formed of a metal oxide such as ITO. Further, the alignment film 16b formed thereon is formed of polyimide or the like, for example. The alignment film 16b is subjected to an alignment process, for example, a rubbing process, whereby the initial alignment of liquid crystal molecules in the vicinity of the color filter substrate 12 is determined.

  Next, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the liquid crystal panel 2 of FIG. In FIG. 3, wirings and electrodes are mainly shown, and other elements are not shown. In FIG. 3, the second light-transmissive substrate 12 a of the color filter substrate 12 is indicated by a chain line in order to easily understand the structure of the wiring and the electrodes.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of strip electrodes 15a provided on the reflective substrate 11 in FIG. 1 are provided in a stripe shape extending in the vertical direction as a whole. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of strip-like electrodes 15 b provided on the color filter substrate 12 facing the reflective substrate 11 in FIG. 2 are formed in stripes extending in the lateral direction as a whole. These band-like electrodes 15b extend in a direction perpendicular to the band-like electrode 15a when the color filter substrate 12 and the reflective substrate 11 are bonded together by the sealing material 8 as shown in FIG. 15a and the strip electrode 15b on the color filter substrate 12 side overlap in a plane at a position where they intersect each other. Thus, the region where the strip electrode 15a and the strip electrode 15b overlap constitutes a sub-pixel which is the minimum unit of display. This sub-pixel is a region indicated by a symbol D in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4. FIG. A plurality of sub-pixels D are arranged in a matrix in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction to form a display area V, and images such as characters, numbers, figures, etc. are displayed in the display area V.

  When color display is performed using the coloring elements 18 (see FIG. 2) consisting of three colors B, G, and R as in this embodiment, three coloring elements corresponding to the three colors B, G, and R are used. One pixel is formed by three subpixels D corresponding to 18. On the other hand, when performing monochromatic display in black and white or any one color, one pixel is formed by one sub-pixel D.

  In FIG. 3, a plurality of wirings 26 and a plurality of external connection terminals 27 are formed on the projecting portion 13 of the reflective substrate 11 by a photoetching process or the like. A part of the plurality of wirings 26 is directly connected to the strip electrode 15a on the reflective substrate 11 side. The remaining portions of the plurality of wirings 26 are band-like on the side of the color filter substrate 12 at the position indicated by the arrow B through the conductive material included in the sealing material 8 joining the pair of substrates 11 and 12. Connected to the electrode 15b.

  Further, the driving IC 3 is mounted directly on the projecting portion 13 of the reflective substrate 11 by an ACF (Anisotropic Conductive Film) 28, that is, in a COG (Chip On Glass) system. Specifically, the entire driving IC 3 is fixed to the overhanging portion 13 by the resin portion of the ACF 28, and the input bumps of the driving IC 3 are conductively connected to the external connection terminals 27 via the conductive particles in the ACF 28. The output bumps of the driving IC 3 are conductively connected to the wiring 26 via the conductive particles in the ACF 28.

  With the above configuration relating to the overhanging portion 13, a signal is supplied from the external circuit (not shown) to the driving IC 3 via the external connection terminal 27. Then, a driving signal, that is, a scanning signal and a data signal are supplied from the driving IC 3 to the electrode 15a on the reflective substrate 11 side and the electrode 15b on the color filter substrate 12 side. Whether the scanning signal is supplied to the electrode 15a or the electrode 15b and the data signal is supplied to the electrode 15a or the electrode 15b is appropriately set as necessary.

  Since the liquid crystal display device 1 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above, in FIG. 1, external light L0 such as sunlight or room light is introduced into the liquid crystal panel 2 through the color filter substrate 12 and light. The light is reflected by the reflective film 14 and supplied to the liquid crystal layer 9. The voltage of the liquid crystal layer 9 is controlled for each sub-pixel D, whereby the orientation of liquid crystal molecules is controlled for each sub-pixel D. Light is modulated by this orientation control, and this modulated light is applied to the polarizing layer 17 through the second light-transmissive substrate 12a, whereby an image such as letters, numbers, figures, etc. is displayed on the surface of the polarizing layer 17. The In this embodiment, since the color element 18 is provided on the color filter substrate 12, the display is performed in color. Further, if a retardation film is provided in addition to the polarizing layer 17, the polarization characteristics of the light modulated by the STN liquid crystal layer 9 are compensated, re-modulated, etc., so that achromatic color and viewing angle characteristics can be improved. Is called.

  Hereinafter, the spacer used in the liquid crystal display device in the present embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of one pixel in FIG. 3, and the overlapping electrodes 15a and 15b are indicated by chain lines in order to facilitate understanding of the pixel structure.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the coloring element 18 is provided in a region where the strip electrode 15a and the strip electrode 15b overlap, that is, a position corresponding to the sub-pixel D. A light shielding member 19 is provided so as to surround each coloring element 18. In the present embodiment, the first spacer 21 is disposed between the subpixels D adjacent to each other. Specifically, it is disposed on the light shielding member 19 formed in a lattice shape at a position where the lattice of the light shielding member 19 intersects. In the liquid crystal display device 1 of FIG. 1, the external light L0 used for display passes through the area of the subpixel D and is blocked in the area where the light shielding member 19 is provided. Therefore, if the first spacer 21 is provided on the light shielding member 19, the first spacer 21 does not affect the display.

  For example, the first spacer 21 is formed by patterning a photosensitive resin by photolithography. The first spacer 21 is formed in a standing cylindrical shape or prismatic shape. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the cross section is formed in a square prism shape. As shown by an enlarged arrow C in FIG. 4, the diagonal length t1 of the square in the cross section of the first spacer 21 is about 14 μm.

  A plurality of second spacers 22 are formed in the sealing material 8 of FIG. These second spacers 22 can be formed in the same process using the same material as the first spacers 21. That is, the second spacer 22 can be formed by photolithography using a photosensitive resin as a material.

  Each of the plurality of second spacers 22 is formed in a columnar shape or a prismatic shape. In the present embodiment, the cross section is formed in a square column shape. Although one second spacer 22 is drawn in the sealing material 8 of FIG. 1, a plurality of small second spacers 22 are actually provided. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the second spacer 22 having a square diagonal length t2 of about 14 μm in the cross section of the prism is formed in the sealing material 8 having a width t3 of about 0.5 mm. Two rows in the direction of the width t3 of the sealing material 8 and a plurality in the longitudinal direction are provided.

  The first spacer 21 and the second spacer 22 are sometimes referred to as gap materials, and the layer thickness of the liquid crystal layer 9 in FIG. 1, that is, the thickness of the cell gap G is maintained at a constant thickness over the entire area. To function.

  In FIG. 1, the coloring elements 18 and the overcoat layer 20 are formed on the surface of the second light transmissive substrate 12 a including the region indicated by the symbol F <b> 0, that is, the region between the second light transmissive substrate 12 a and the sealing material 8. It is formed throughout. The coloring elements 18 and the overcoat layer 20 formed in the region F0 in the surface of the second light transmissive substrate 12a function as a base film 23 when the sealing material 8 is bonded to the second light transmissive substrate 12a. The base film 23 has the same thickness as the total film thickness of the coloring elements 18 and the overcoat layer 20 laminated between the first spacer 21 and the second light transmitting substrate 12a.

  By the way, in order to keep the layer thickness of the liquid crystal layer 9 constant, the height H1 from the surface of the second translucent substrate 12a to the top of the first spacer 21 and the surface of the second translucent substrate 12a. It is necessary to match the height H2 up to the apex of the second spacer 22. In the present embodiment, when the first spacer 21 is disposed in the region surrounded by the sealing material 8, the coloring element 18, the light shielding member 19, and the overcoat layer 20 are laminated on the second light transmissive substrate 12a. The first spacers 21 are formed on these layers.

  However, in the conventional liquid crystal display device, the sealing material and the second spacer provided therein are directly formed on the second light-transmitting substrate. Therefore, there is a possibility that the height from the surface of the second translucent substrate to the top of the first spacer is different from the height from the surface of the second translucent substrate to the top of the second spacer. In this case, the layer thickness of the liquid crystal layer cannot be kept constant over the entire area of the liquid crystal layer, and there is a possibility that the display of the liquid crystal display device may be uneven.

  In this regard, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a base film 23 is provided between the second spacer 22 and the second light-transmissive substrate 12a. The base film 23 can be formed between the sealing material 8 and the second light-transmitting substrate 12a by using the same material as the coloring elements 18 and the overcoat layer 20 that are conventionally formed only in the liquid crystal layer 9. As described above, since the base film 23 is provided between the second spacer 22 and the second light transmitting substrate 12a, the height H1 from the surface of the second light transmitting substrate 12a to the top of the first spacer 21 is The height H2 from the surface of the second translucent substrate 12a to the apex of the second spacer 22 can be matched.

  As described above, the alignment films 16a and 16b are formed on the first spacer 21 in the liquid crystal layer 9 and the strip electrode 15a of the reflective substrate 11, respectively. Therefore, strictly speaking, a difference in dimension occurs between the heights H1 and H2 by the thickness of the alignment films 16a and 16b. However, since the thickness of the alignment films 16a and 16b is sufficiently smaller than the thickness of the coloring element 18 and the light shielding member 19, the dimensional difference generated between the heights H1 and H2 is in a negligible range. Therefore, the layer thickness of the liquid crystal layer 9 can be kept constant throughout the liquid crystal layer 9. As a result, it is possible to prevent the display of the liquid crystal display device 1 from being uneven.

(Second embodiment of electro-optical device)
FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of a liquid crystal display device which is an electro-optical device according to the present invention. The liquid crystal display device 41 is different from the liquid crystal display device 1 according to the previous embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in that a base film between the second spacer 62 and the second light-transmitting substrate 52a in the sealing material 48 is used. 63 is formed only in the portion of the second spacer 62 and is not formed in the region outside the second spacer 62. Hereinafter, the liquid crystal display device 41 of FIG. 6 will be described focusing on differences from the liquid crystal display device 1 of FIG. The same elements as those in the embodiment of FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  First, in FIG. 6, the configuration of the liquid crystal panel 42 can be the same as the liquid crystal panel 2 shown in FIG. 1 except for the structure of the base film. A plurality of first spacers 61 are formed on the overcoat layer 20 in FIG. 6 and between the strip electrodes 15b. A plurality of second spacers 62 are formed in the sealing material 48. Both the first spacer 61 and the second spacer 62 are formed by photolithography using a photosensitive resin as a material. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the second spacer 62 having a square diagonal length t5 of about 14 μm in the cross section of the prism is included in the sealing material 48 having a width t4 of about 0.5 mm. Two rows in the direction of the width t4 of the sealing material 48 and a plurality in the longitudinal direction are provided.

  The shape, size, and arrangement of the first spacer 61 and the second spacer 62 can be the same as those of the first spacer 21 and the second spacer 22 in FIG. In FIG. 6, a base film 63 is formed between the second spacer 62 and the second translucent substrate 52 a that is the base material of the color filter substrate 52. This base film 63 is a laminate formed by laminating the material of the coloring element 18 and the material of the overcoat layer 20 and is formed at the same time when the coloring element 18 and the overcoat layer 20 in the liquid crystal layer 9 are formed. it can.

  The base film 63 is formed only in the region indicated by the reference numeral F <b> 1, that is, the second spacer 62. The base film 63 is formed to have the same or slightly larger external dimension of the cross section of the second spacer 62. Accordingly, the sealing material 48 is not formed in the region F2 where the base film 63 is not present, specifically, the region F2 indicated by the oblique lines in FIG. 7, and is directly bonded to the second light transmitting substrate 52a in this region F2. The

  According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, since the base film 63 is provided between the second spacer 62 and the second translucent substrate 52a, the apex of the first spacer 61 from the surface of the second translucent substrate 52a. And the height H4 from the surface of the second translucent substrate 52a to the apex of the second spacer 62 can be made to coincide with each other. Thereby, the layer thickness of the liquid crystal layer 9 can be kept constant throughout the liquid crystal layer 9. As a result, it is possible to prevent the display of the liquid crystal display device 41 from being uneven.

  For example, a photosensitive resin is selected as the same material as the coloring element 18 forming the base film 63 and the same material as the overcoat layer 20. However, since the sealing material 48 does not have good adhesion to the resin, there is a possibility that the strength at which the sealing material 48 and the base film 63 adhere is weak. In this case, the sealing material 48 may be peeled off from the second translucent substrate 52a. As described above, the base film 63 is formed only between the second spacer 62 and the second translucent substrate 52a, and is not formed in the region F2 inside the sealing material 48 and outside the second spacer 62. In this case, the sealing material 48 can be provided with a portion that directly contacts the second light transmitting substrate 52a. Thereby, since the adhesiveness of the 2nd translucent board | substrate 52a and the sealing material 48 becomes good, it can prevent that the sealing material 48 peels from the 2nd translucent board | substrate 52a.

(Other embodiments of electro-optical device)
The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims.
For example, in the above embodiment, in FIG. 1, the base film 23 provided between the second spacer 22 and the second translucent substrate 12 a is made of the same material as the coloring element 18 and the same material as the overcoat layer 20. Are laminated. In FIG. 6, the base film 63 provided between the second spacer 62 and the second light transmitting substrate 52 a is formed by laminating the same material as the coloring element 18 and the same material as the overcoat layer 20. ing. However, these foundation layers 23 and 63 can also be formed using either the same material as the coloring element 18 or the same material as the overcoat layer 20. Further, the base films 23 and 63 can be formed using the same material as the light shielding member 19 instead of the same material as the coloring element 18.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the first spacer 21 and the second spacer 22 are formed using a photosensitive resin material. As a material for forming the first spacer 21 and the second spacer 22, the same photosensitive resin material as that of the overcoat layer 20 can be used. In this way, the first spacer 21 and the second spacer 22 can be formed simultaneously with the formation of the overcoat layer 20 on the color filter substrate 12, so that the color filter substrate 12 can be added without increasing the number of manufacturing steps. The 1st spacer 21 and the 2nd spacer 22 can be provided on it.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the first spacer 61 and the second spacer 62 are formed using a photosensitive resin material. As a material for forming the first spacer 61 and the second spacer 62, the same photosensitive resin material as that of the overcoat layer 20 can be used. In this way, the first spacer 61 and the second spacer 62 can be formed simultaneously with the formation of the overcoat layer 20 on the color filter substrate 52, so that the color filter substrate 52 can be added without increasing the number of manufacturing steps. The 1st spacer 61 and the 2nd spacer 62 can be provided on it.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the first spacer 21 and the second spacer 22 are formed on the color filter substrate 12. However, the first spacer 21 and the second spacer 22 can also be formed on the reflective substrate 11 facing the color filter substrate 12. Even in this case, by providing the base film 23 on the color filter substrate 12, the height H1 and the height H2 can be matched, so that the layer thickness of the liquid crystal layer 9 can be kept constant.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the first spacer 61 and the second spacer 62 are formed on the color filter substrate 52. However, the first spacer 61 and the second spacer 62 can also be formed on the reflective substrate 51 that faces the color filter substrate 52. Also in this case, by providing the base film 63 on the color filter substrate 52, the height H3 and the height H4 can be matched, so that the layer thickness of the liquid crystal layer 9 can be kept constant.

  In the above-described embodiment, a simple matrix type color STN reflection / fine transmission type liquid crystal display device is exemplified as the electro-optical device, but the present invention can also be applied to a liquid crystal display device according to another method. For example, it may be used for a completely reflective liquid crystal display device that does not perform transmissive display at all. Further, it may be used for an active matrix type liquid crystal display device using a TFT (Thin Film Diode) element which is a three-terminal switching element. Further, the present invention may be applied to an active matrix liquid crystal display device using a TFD (Thin Film Diode) element which is a two-terminal nonlinear resistance element.

(Embodiment of electronic device)
Hereinafter, an electronic device according to the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments. In addition, this embodiment shows an example of this invention and this invention is not limited to this embodiment.

  FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of an electronic apparatus according to the invention. The electronic apparatus shown here includes a liquid crystal display device 111 and a control circuit 110 that controls the liquid crystal display device 111. The control circuit 110 includes a display information processing circuit 115, a power supply circuit 116, a timing generator 117, and a display information output source 118. The liquid crystal display device 111 includes a liquid crystal panel 112 and a drive circuit 113.

  The display information output source 118 includes a memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a storage unit such as various disks, a tuning circuit that tunes and outputs a digital image signal, and various clock signals generated by the timing generator 117. Based on the above, display information such as an image signal in a predetermined format is supplied to the display information processing circuit 115.

  Next, the display information processing circuit 115 includes a number of well-known circuits such as an amplification / inversion circuit, a rotation circuit, a gamma correction circuit, a clamp circuit, and the like, executes processing of input display information, and outputs an image signal. It is supplied to the drive circuit 113 together with the clock signal CLK. Here, the drive circuit 113 is a generic term for an inspection circuit and the like together with a scanning line drive circuit and a data line drive circuit. The power supply circuit 116 supplies a predetermined power supply voltage to each of the above components.

  The liquid crystal display device 111 can be configured using, for example, the liquid crystal display device 1 shown in FIG. 1 or the liquid crystal display device 41 shown in FIG. The liquid crystal display devices 1 and 41 keep the distance between the reflective substrates 11 and 51 and the color filter substrates 12 and 52 constant over the entire area of both the substrates 11 and 12 or 51 and 52, thereby preventing uneven display. it can. Therefore, the electronic device according to the present invention using the liquid crystal display devices 1 and 41 can prevent the display of the electronic device from being uneven.

  FIG. 9 shows a mobile phone which is another embodiment of the electronic apparatus according to the present invention. A cellular phone 120 shown here has a main body 121 and a display body 122 provided on the main body 121 so as to be opened and closed. A display device 123 configured by an electro-optical device such as a liquid crystal display device is disposed inside the display body portion 122, and various displays related to telephone communication can be visually recognized on the display body portion 122 on the display screen 124. Operation buttons 125 are arranged on the main body 121.

  An antenna 126 is attached to one end portion of the display body portion 122 so as to be extendable and contractible. A speaker (not shown) is arranged inside the receiver 127 provided at the upper part of the display body 122. Further, a microphone (not shown) is built in the transmitter 128 provided at the lower end of the main body 121. A control unit for controlling the operation of the display device 123 is stored in the main body unit 121 or the display body unit 122 as a part of the control unit that controls the entire mobile phone or separately from the control unit. The

  The display device 123 can be configured using, for example, the liquid crystal display device 1 shown in FIG. 1 or the liquid crystal display device 41 shown in FIG. The liquid crystal display devices 1 and 41 keep the distance between the reflective substrates 11 and 51 and the color filter substrates 12 and 52 constant over the entire area of both the substrates 11 and 12 or 51 and 52, thereby preventing uneven display. it can. Therefore, the mobile phone 120 according to the present invention using the liquid crystal display devices 1 and 41 can prevent the display of the mobile phone 120 from being uneven.

(Modification)
In addition to the above-described mobile phones and the like as electronic devices, personal computers, liquid crystal televisions, viewfinder type or monitor direct view type video tape recorders, car navigation devices, pagers, electronic notebooks, calculators, word processors, Examples include workstations, video phones, and POS terminals.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an electro-optical device according to the invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a main part of the electro-optical device illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a top view which shows a liquid crystal display device according to the arrow A of FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing the vicinity of a sub pixel shown in FIG. 3. It is a top view which shows the inside of a sealing material according to the arrow A of FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the electro-optical device according to the invention. It is a top view which shows the inside of a sealing material according to the arrow A of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the electronic device which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows other embodiment of the electronic device which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1,41. Liquid crystal display device (electro-optical device), 2,42. LCD panel,
3. Driving IC, 4. 5. lighting device; LED, 7. Light guide, 7a. Light incident surface,
7b. Light exit surface 8,48. Seal material, 9. Liquid crystal layer,
11, 51. Reflective substrate (first substrate), 11a, 51a. A first translucent substrate,
12,52. Color filter substrate (second substrate), 12a, 52a. A second translucent substrate,
13. Overhang part, 14. Light reflecting film, 15a, 15b. Strip electrode,
16a, 16b. Alignment film, 17. 17. polarizing layer; Coloring elements, 19. Light shielding member,
20. 20. overcoat layer; First spacer, 22. A second spacer,
23, 63. 25. base film Wiring, 27. Terminal for external connection, 28. ACF,
110. Control circuit, 111. Liquid crystal display device (electro-optical device), 112. LCD panel,
113. Drive circuit, 120. Mobile phone (electronic device), 121. Body part,
122. Display body part, 123. 124. display device (electro-optical device) Display screen,
125. Operating buttons, 126. Antenna, 127. Receiving part, 128. Sending part

Claims (8)

A first substrate;
A second substrate disposed opposite the first substrate at a predetermined interval;
A color filter layer provided on a surface of the second substrate facing the first substrate;
An overcoat layer provided on the color filter layer;
A sealing material provided in a frame shape between the first substrate and the second substrate to seal the electro-optical material;
A spacer that is provided in the sealing material and maintains a distance between the first substrate and the second substrate;
An electro-optical device comprising: a base film formed between the spacer and the second substrate.   The electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein the base film is formed with the same material and the same thickness as the color filter layer, or is formed with the same material and the same thickness as the overcoat layer. Electro-optical device characterized.   2. The electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein the base film is a laminate of the same material as the color filter layer and the same material as the overcoat layer, and is formed to have the same thickness as the total thickness of both. An electro-optical device.   4. The electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein the color filter layer is formed of a coloring element and a light shielding member, and the base film is formed of the same material and the same thickness as the coloring element, or An electro-optical device formed of the same material and the same thickness as the light shielding member.   5. The electro-optical device according to claim 4, wherein the light shielding member is a laminated body formed by laminating a plurality of the coloring elements, and the base film has the same material and thickness as one of the coloring elements or the laminated body. An electro-optical device formed.   6. The electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein the base film is formed between the spacer and the second substrate in the sealing material. The electro-optical device is not formed in an outer region of the spacer.   7. The electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein the spacer is formed using the same material as the overcoat layer. An electronic apparatus comprising the electro-optical device according to claim 1.

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