JP2002287158A - Liquid crystal display device and method of manufacturing the same as well as driving method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bright liquid crystal display device which is high in contrast and is excellent in visual angle characteristics without requiring complicated process steps and a high degree of technology. SOLUTION: The electrodes on a first substrate grasping a liquid crystal layer where >=2 kinds of microregions coexist are formed to a shape having good symmetricalness and the electrodes on a second substrate are formed wider than the electrodes on the first substrate to cover the entire part of the upper parts of the electrodes on the first substrate. Columnar spacers exist in the positions nearly at the symmetric centers of the electrodes on the first substrate, by which the electrodes in driving are made diagonal with the substrates and the orientation of the liquid crystals within one pixel is naturally divided to plural regions. The division is rapidly effected with the columnar spacers as the nuclei for the division and the division boundaries are stabilized, by which the higher speed and wide visual field angle are achieved.

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 and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal display device which is easy to manufacture and has excellent viewing angle characteristics, and a method of manufacturing the same. The present invention also relates to a liquid crystal display device having both a reflection part and a transmission part, a method of manufacturing the same, and a method of driving the same.

The liquid crystal display device according to the present invention includes a personal computer monitor, an FA monitor, a home television, a terminal monitor in a hospital, a library, a museum, and the like.
Used for monitors in air traffic control towers, for browsing newspapers, for browsing at government offices, etc., personal monitors in schools and cram schools, terminal monitors for various media use in individuals, monitors in recreational facilities such as pachinko machines, etc. You. It is also used for light valves for liquid crystal projectors. Further, it is used for a portable information terminal such as a portable telephone, particularly a portable terminal used indoors and outdoors.

[0003]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Twisted nematic (TN) which has been widely used in the past.
Liquid crystal display device), the liquid crystal molecules are oriented in the direction of the electric field according to the applied voltage from the "white" display state in which the liquid crystal molecules are parallel to the substrate surface when no voltage is applied. Is changed from the "white" display state to the "black" display. However, there is a problem that the viewing angle of the TN type liquid crystal display device is narrow due to the characteristic behavior of the liquid crystal molecules when the voltage is applied. The problem that the viewing angle is narrow is particularly remarkable in the rising direction of liquid crystal molecules in halftone display.

As a method for improving the viewing angle characteristics of a liquid crystal display device, a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-61522, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-43461, or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-333180 has been proposed. ing. According to these techniques, a homeotropically aligned liquid crystal cell is prepared and sandwiched between two polarizing plates that are installed so that their polarization axes are orthogonal to each other.
As shown in (a), (b), and (c), by using the common electrode 502 having the opening 517, an oblique electric field is generated in each pixel. The domain is used to improve the viewing angle characteristics. JP-A-4-
In Japanese Patent No. 261522, particularly, high contrast is realized by controlling the direction in which the liquid crystal tilts when a voltage is applied. Further, as described in JP-A-6-43461, an optical compensator is used as necessary to improve the viewing angle characteristics of black. Furthermore, in JP-A-6-43461, each pixel is divided into two or more domains by an oblique electric field to improve the viewing angle characteristics not only in a homeotropically aligned liquid crystal cell but also in a TN aligned cell. are doing. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-333180 discloses a thin film transistor and a gate electrode in order to prevent the effect of an oblique electric field generated by a common electrode having an opening from being affected by an electric field from a thin film transistor, a gate line, and a drain line. It is stated that the drain and drain lines are arranged below the display electrodes.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-20323 discloses that in a liquid crystal display device in which two or more types of minute regions coexist in a liquid crystal layer, one substrate has an opening and a second electrode is provided in the opening. A technique for generating an oblique electric field by applying a voltage to the second electrode to divide the alignment direction of the liquid crystal in the pixel to increase the viewing angle is described for a cell in which TN alignment is mainly performed. JP-A-5-113561 discloses an optically negative compensation film for canceling the angle dependency of the birefringence of liquid crystal when no voltage is applied, in order to widen the viewing angle of a vertical alignment type liquid crystal display device, It is stated that optically positive and negative quarter-wave plates are used to ensure brightness.

Further, Japanese Patent No. 2947350 describes that projections or electrode slits are provided on upper and lower substrates in order to divide a vertically aligned liquid crystal when a voltage is applied, and at least one of the projections is a projection. Also, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-505247, in order to rotate the liquid crystal molecules while keeping them in the horizontal direction with respect to the substrate, two electrodes are both provided on one substrate, and a voltage is applied between the two electrodes. To generate an electric field in the horizontal direction with the substrate.
A lane-switching (IPS) type liquid crystal display device has been proposed. In this method, when a voltage is applied, the major axis of the liquid crystal molecules does not rise with respect to the substrate. Therefore, there is a feature that the change in the birefringence of the liquid crystal when the viewing angle direction is changed is small and the viewing angle is wide.

Further, Journal of Applied Physics, Vo
l.45, No. 12 (1974) 5466 or JP-A-10-186351 discloses that, in addition to the IPS mode described above, a liquid crystal having a positive dielectric anisotropy is homeotropically aligned, and A method is described in which a liquid crystal molecule is tilted horizontally with respect to a substrate by a horizontal electric field. At this time, the liquid crystal molecules which are homeotropically aligned due to the direction of the electric field are divided into two or more regions having different tilting directions, so that a liquid crystal display device having a wide viewing angle can be obtained.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-186330, a square wall is formed using a photosensitive substance, pixels are formed using this structure as a basic unit, and a dielectric anisotropy becomes negative by applying a voltage. It has been proposed to divide the liquid crystal in each pixel and beat it. FIG. 18 shows a liquid crystal display device that combines the advantages of a reflective liquid crystal display device that can achieve low power consumption and a transmissive liquid crystal display device that has better visibility than a reflective liquid crystal display device when the surroundings are dark. As described above, the gate wiring 2 and the source wiring 3 are provided so as to pass through the periphery of the pixel electrode 1 of the active matrix substrate and are orthogonal to each other, the thin film transistor 4 is provided on the pixel electrode 1, and the gate and the source electrode of the thin film transistor 4 A transflective liquid crystal display device is disclosed in which a wiring 2 and a source wiring 3 are connected, and a reflection region 5 made of a metal film and a transmission region 6 made of ITO are formed in a pixel electrode 1 (Japanese Patent No. 29.29).
No. 55277). In a transflective liquid crystal display device, vertically aligned liquid crystal is used to prevent light leakage at the time of black display. In both the reflection part and the transmission part, light passing through the polarizing plate and entering the liquid crystal layer is circularly polarized. So that
A liquid crystal display device in which a λ / 4 plate is installed between a liquid crystal layer and a polarizing plate is disclosed in JP-A-2000-29010, and the λ / 2 plate is further changed to a λ / 4 plate to further reduce the wavelength dependence of the λ / 4 plate. A liquid crystal display device to be laminated is disclosed in JP-A-2000-35570. In these transflective liquid crystal display devices, a liquid crystal display device having a particularly wide viewing angle in a transmissive portion has been desired.

[0009]

However, in the technology having an opening in these common electrodes, a conventional TN
A “fine processing step such as a photoresist step for the common electrode 502” that is not required in the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device of the type is required, and the upper and lower substrates 501 and 507 are required.
However, there is a problem that an advanced bonding technique is required. This problem is particularly serious in the case of an active matrix liquid crystal display device using a switching element such as a TFT. That is, in a normal active matrix liquid crystal display device, an active element such as a thin film diode is manufactured on one transparent substrate, so that a fine processing step such as a photoresist step is required only on one side of the active element. Substrate only, usually "common electrode"
It is not necessary to perform fine processing on the other substrate called, and only the electrodes are formed on the entire surface. However, in the related art, a fine processing step such as a photoresist step is required for a “common electrode” that does not normally require fine processing. Therefore, a proper bonding technique is required. Further, as described in JP-A-10-333180, when a thin film transistor, a gate line, and a drain line are arranged below a display electrode, there is a problem that an aperture ratio is reduced.

Further, since no voltage is applied to the opening of the common electrode, it remains black even in white display in the normally black mode, and remains white even in black display in the normally white mode. It is necessary to shield light, and in either case, it does not contribute to the effective area of the pixel.
However, in the conventional technology in which the common electrode has an opening, it is necessary to securely fix the dividing boundary by the opening, so that the shape of the opening needs to be at least linear, resulting in a decrease in the aperture ratio. Connect.

In the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-20323, a special drive for applying a voltage to the second electrode at the time of driving is required. There is a problem that a step of applying a voltage is required. In the method described in JP-A-5-113561, although the viewing angle at the time of black display is wide, since the orientation direction of the liquid crystal at the time of applying a voltage is not properly defined, a desired division state is achieved in all pixels. However, there were problems such as that the display was rough and that the viewing angle was not sufficient.

The method described in Japanese Patent No. 2947350 has a problem that it is necessary to perform lithography on the upper and lower substrates and a high degree of alignment between the upper and lower substrates is required. Further, in the IPS mode and the mode in which the vertically aligned liquid crystal is tilted by a horizontal electric field, there is a problem that the aperture ratio is low and the driving voltage is increased if the cell gap is reduced for high speed operation.

Further, in the IPS system and the system in which a vertically aligned liquid crystal is driven by a horizontal electric field, conventionally,
Since the color filter layer was arranged between the layer where the liquid crystal is arranged and the opposing substrate, especially when the switching element was formed with a TFT structure, the gap between the source electrode and the common electrode being led out was found. However, there is a problem that an electric field formed by applying a potential to the color filter affects a layer of the color filter and deteriorates display characteristics.

That is, since the dye constituting the color filter layer contains sodium ions and the like as impurities, when an electric field is applied to the layer of the color filter,
Charges accumulate there and charge up. When the color filter layer is charged up, an unnecessary electric field is always applied to the liquid crystal at the lower part of the color filter layer, which has a problem that display characteristics are affected particularly as color unevenness. Further, in the method of forming the wall, it is necessary to form the wall using photolithography in order to divide the alignment of the liquid crystal, which also has a problem that the number of steps is increased.

Further, in a transflective liquid crystal display device,
Since the light passes through the reflector twice, a self-compensating effect is produced and a relatively wide viewing angle can be obtained. There was a problem. The object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, that is, to increase the number of complicated steps such as a photoresist step, or to apply an advanced bonding technique,
An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display device having high contrast, excellent viewing angle characteristics, and excellent visibility without requiring a reduction in aperture ratio. Another object of the present invention is to suppress color unevenness in such a liquid crystal display device. Another object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method for easily manufacturing such a liquid crystal display device. Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a liquid crystal display device while maintaining a wide viewing angle,
An object of the present invention is to provide a driving method for driving at high speed.

[0016]

A liquid crystal display device according to the present invention is a liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between two substrates and two or more types of minute regions coexist in the liquid crystal layer.
The electrode on the second substrate has a shape with good symmetry, the electrode on the second substrate is wider than the electrode on the first substrate, and covers the entire upper part of the electrode on the first substrate. A liquid crystal display device characterized in that a columnar spacer exists at least at a position substantially at the center of symmetry of the upper electrode. Here, the shape having good symmetry means a circle, a triangle or a regular polygon. By using such an electrode with good symmetry, the electrode on the opposite side is made wider than the electrode with good shape of symmetry and is formed so as to cover the entire upper part of the electrode with good symmetry. When a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal, an oblique electric field is generated with good symmetry up and down. In a liquid crystal, there are two or more combinations of a twisting direction and a rising direction, and the alignment division of the liquid crystal in the pixel can be performed. In the case of a liquid crystal having a positive dielectric anisotropy and being homogeneously aligned, there are two rising directions, and the liquid crystal in the pixel can be divided. Further, since there is a columnar spacer at the position of the substantially symmetric center of the pixel shape having good symmetry, this column serves as a nucleus of division, and a favorable effect that the response speed is fast in division and the division boundary is stable is obtained. is there. In addition, since there is a spacer in the pixel, the pixel becomes extremely strong against external pressure such as pressing the screen with a finger, and the liquid crystal flows due to the external pressure, the division boundary is disturbed, and the display becomes rough. Is solved.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, part or all of the columnar spacer may be replaced with a projection. Still another embodiment of the present invention is a columnar space.
A part or all of the surface may be replaced with a part having no electrode. In the case of twisted nematic alignment, it is desirable that the pretilt angle of the liquid crystal on the substrate surface be as small as possible from the viewpoint that the rising direction of the liquid crystal is of equal probability.
It is desirable that the angle be 0 ° if it can be less than 0 °. Similarly, in the case of homogeneous orientation, the pretilt angle of the liquid crystal on the substrate surface is desirably as small as possible, preferably 0 ° if the angle can be 1 ° or less, from the viewpoint that the rising direction of the liquid crystal has the same probability. The polygon need not be exactly a regular polygon, but may have some deformation.

In the case of a normal liquid crystal display device, the pixel electrode is rectangular. However, as shown in FIGS. By forming the shape, it is possible to perform the orientation division as described above at each of the portions having a good symmetry, so that the same effect as an electrode having a good symmetry as a whole can be obtained. From the viewpoint of the response speed, it is desirable that the pixel unit having a good symmetry corresponding to such an electrode-shaped subunit be fine. Further, since the electrodes are present on the upper and lower substrates, the problem of color unevenness due to charge-up in the color filter layer, which has been a problem in the IPS system and the system in which the vertically aligned liquid crystal is tilted by a horizontal electric field, is also solved. Can be.

The present invention has a remarkable effect particularly in the case of an active matrix liquid crystal display device using a switching element such as a TFT. That is, in the case of an active matrix liquid crystal display device, in a liquid crystal display element using a normal TN mode, a fine processing step such as a photoresist step is required only on one substrate on which the active element is manufactured. There is no need to perform fine processing on another substrate which is usually called a "common electrode", and only an electrode is formed on the entire surface. In this state, the viewing angle is narrow,
If the liquid crystal in the pixel is subjected to alignment division in order to increase the viewing angle, the number of photoresist steps increases in the related art. This increase in the number of photoresist steps causes a load on production equipment and a decrease in yield, so that it is desirable that there is no increase. According to the present invention, alignment division of liquid crystal in a pixel can be performed without increasing the number of photoresist steps, and a wide viewing angle characteristic can be obtained. Also, when a part or all of the columnar spacer is replaced with a part having no electrode, the number of photoresist steps for the common electrode increases, but it is sufficient that the electrode does not exist only in a part which is a nucleus of division. As compared with the prior art, the decrease in the aperture ratio is remarkably reduced, and the disadvantage of sacrificing the transmittance, which is particularly important in the transflective type, is eliminated.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show a pixel structure according to the present invention. It was assumed that the dielectric anisotropy of the liquid crystal was negative and the liquid crystal was vertically aligned when no voltage was applied. FIG. 1A simultaneously shows the tilt of the liquid crystal molecules when a voltage is applied.
A naturally occurring oblique electric field generates a division boundary at the center of the pixel, and the pixel is divided into two in two dimensions. That is, the liquid crystal falls from the edge of the pixel electrode toward the center. If the shape of the pixel electrode is made symmetric, the liquid crystal naturally falls from each side of the pixel electrode toward the center, so that the liquid crystal is naturally divided.
At this time, since there is a columnar spacer at a position substantially corresponding to the center of symmetry of the pixel, the liquid crystal falls and becomes a nucleus when divided into multiple regions. That is, since there is already a trigger for the liquid crystal to start splitting, the splitting occurs quickly and the response speed is high, and the center of the splitting boundary is fixed to this pillar. The columnar spacer has a shape obtained by reducing a pixel having good symmetry, and a wider electrode is wider.
Since the area of the spacer itself is small, it is more important that the spacer exists than the shape. Note that the spacer
It is desirable to form a spacer with an optically isotropic or black material, or to cover the spacer portion and its periphery with a light-shielding film so as not to cause light leakage from the portion. The columnar spacer is generally formed using a photosensitive material. Examples of the material include an acrylate resin having photosensitivity and a novolak-based positive resist material. Further, it may be formed using an inorganic material.
The columnar spacer is often formed on the substrate side with the common electrode by using photolithography, but from the viewpoint of alignment, it is preferable to form the columnar spacer on the substrate side with the pixel electrode. However, it is important that the columnar spacer is present, and it is sufficient that the columnar spacer is located substantially at the position of the center of symmetry of the pixel electrode. Therefore, a high degree of alignment accuracy is not required even on the electrode of the counter substrate.

This is the same regardless of whether a pillar-shaped spacer is used instead of a protruding structure or a portion where no electrode is provided. However, the portion having no projection or electrode is different from the columnar spacer only in that it must be located on the electrode having the larger area. In the case of a projection, when forming a columnar spacer in a normal process, use a halftone mask, perform double exposure, use a black matrix material and a color filter material in half as compared with the column. It is possible to form projections at the same time as the step of forming columnar spacers by using a method such as leaving a hole.

In the case where there is no electrode, the process of machining the electrode increases, but as described above,
Since such a portion only needs to be provided in a portion serving as a nucleus of division, a decrease in aperture ratio can be prevented as compared with the related art. In order to further secure the dividing position, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7 (m), the corners of the pixel electrode are formed so as to protrude outward, a cut is made in a part of the pixel electrode, as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) to 7 (g). In other words, a structure in which a part of the pixel electrode is removed (that is, a portion without the pixel electrode like a broken line is provided along the division boundary) may be created. Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 (h) to 7 (n), a structure in which a concave portion is provided in a part of the pixel electrode may be adopted. Further, these shapes may be used in combination.

In the case of a structure having a concave portion, when there is an interlayer insulating film made of an organic film or the like between the TFT and the pixel electrode,
Alternatively, in the case of a structure in which a pixel electrode is disposed between a color filter layer and a liquid crystal layer as described below, a structure in which an interlayer insulating film or an overcoat layer is dug is employed. The concave portion can be formed deeply without complicating the process, and the fixing of the boundary portion can be further ensured. In the case of the vertical orientation, when a voltage is applied, the orientation is stabilized in a spiral shape. However, a chiral agent may be added to further stabilize the orientation to increase the response speed. In addition, the shape of the notch or the concave portion of the pixel may be set in a spiral shape in the pixel. In particular, in the case of an active matrix liquid crystal display device, unnecessary discretion lines may enter the pixel electrode portion due to the influence of a horizontal electric field from the scanning signal electrode and the video signal electrode.
Such a problem can be solved by increasing the distance between the scanning signal electrode, the video signal electrode, and the pixel electrode. However, increasing the distance too much will reduce the aperture ratio when the pixel size decreases. Is undesirable from the viewpoint of Another method for solving this problem is to dispose a part of a pixel electrode or an electrode for shielding on at least one of the scanning signal electrode and the video signal electrode. That is,
All scanning signal electrodes and video signal electrodes are sealed with pixel electrodes.
The aperture ratio decreases. Therefore, the scanning signal electrode,
By arranging a pixel electrode or a shield electrode above at least one of the video signal electrodes, it is possible to prevent a decrease in aperture ratio. Here, as to what kind of arrangement is selected, the best arrangement can be selected in consideration of the shape of the pixel, the arrangement of the scanning signal electrode and the video signal electrode, and the procedure for preparing the shield electrode.

Yet another solution to this problem is to arrange a pixel electrode between the color filter layer and the liquid crystal layer. This allows the color filter
Even the alignment between the layer and the pixel electrode becomes unnecessary, and the overlay accuracy of the upper and lower substrates is greatly reduced. Obtaining such a remarkable effect is completely impossible in the technology having an opening in the common electrode. In addition, by arranging the pixel electrodes between the color filter layer and the liquid crystal layer in this manner, the influence of the horizontal electric field from the scanning signal electrodes and the video signal electrodes can be greatly reduced. In the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, after a voltage is applied between the common electrode and the pixel electrode, the initial alignment is controlled, and then a polymerizable monomer or oligomer mixed in a small amount into the liquid crystal is polymerized. By doing so, the initial liquid crystal alignment can be further ensured. When controlling the initial alignment, the liquid crystal layer may be made isotropic by heating, and then the temperature may be decreased while applying a voltage between the common electrode and the pixel electrode, or the common electrode and the pixel electrode may be cooled at room temperature. The voltage may be simply applied during the period. Further, the reaction of the monomer may be caused before heating to the isotropic phase, may be caused during heating, or may be caused after cooling. When a voltage is applied between the common electrode and the pixel electrode at room temperature to control the initial alignment, a reaction may be caused before the voltage is applied, or the reaction may be caused after the voltage is applied. . At this time, since the orientation division can be performed by a normal driving method, there is no need to apply a voltage to the second electrode (control electrode) as described in JP-A-10-20323.

In the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, the pretilt angle is controlled in accordance with the divided shape by using a method such as optical alignment in advance on the substrate, and the control of the initial alignment is made extremely reliable. Is also good. As a result, the effects of the oblique electric field and the pretilt angle work synergistically, and the split orientation can be realized much more effectively than either one of the processes. For example, a substance having a functional group such as a cinnamic acid group capable of controlling the alignment of liquid crystal by polarized light, or a digest of technical papers (AM-CD-96 / ID-96). LCD'96
/ IDW'96 Digest of Technical Papers) Using a polymer whose photo-sensitive group is polymerized by polarized light irradiation as described in P.337 for the alignment film, so that a pretilt angle is formed in the direction along the divided shape. Then, each part is irradiated with polarized light from an oblique direction through a mask. In this case, if the number of sides of the polygon is too large, the number of operations for optical alignment increases. Therefore, an octagon to a quadrangle is desirable.

Although such a method of split alignment is well known, even in such a case, a small amount of a polymerizable monomer or oligomer mixed in a liquid crystal can be polymerized so that the liquid crystal can be driven even during driving. Division can be maintained more reliably. As the monomers and oligomers used in the present invention, any of photo-curable monomers, thermo-curable monomers, and oligomers of these can be used. It may be. The "photocurable monomer or oligomer" used in the present invention includes not only those which react by visible light but also ultraviolet curable monomers which react by ultraviolet rays, and the latter is particularly desirable from the viewpoint of easy operation.

The polymer compound used in the present invention is:
It may have a structure similar to a liquid crystal molecule including a monomer or an oligomer exhibiting liquid crystallinity, but is not necessarily used for the purpose of aligning the liquid crystal, and therefore has flexibility such as having an alkylene chain. You may. Further, it may be a monofunctional one, a difunctional one, or a monomer having a polyfunctionality of three or more.

The light or ultraviolet curable monomer used in the present invention includes, for example, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, butylethyl acrylate, butoxyethyl acrylate, 2-cyanoethyl acrylate, benzyl acrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate, 2-ethoxyethyl acrylate, N, N-ethylaminoethyl acrylate, N,
N-dimethylaminoethyl acrylate, dicyclopentanyl acrylate, dicyclopentenyl acrylate, glycidyl acrylate, tetrahydrofurfuryl acrylate, isobonyl acrylate, isodecyl acrylate, lauryl acrylate, morpholine acrylate, phenoxyethyl acrylate, phenoxydiethylene glycol acrylate, 2, 2,2-trifluoroethyl acrylate, 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl acrylate, 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropyl acrylate, 2,2,3,4
A monofunctional acrylate compound such as 4,4-hexafluorobutyl acrylate can be used.

Further, 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate, butylethyl methacrylate, butoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-cyanoethyl methacrylate, benzyl methacrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, 2
-Hydroxypropyl methacrylate, 2-ethoxyethyl acrylate, N, N-diethylaminoethyl methacrylate, N, N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, dicyclopentanyl methacrylate, dicyclopentenyl methacrylate, glycidyl methacrylate,
Tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate, isobonyl methacrylate, isodecyl methacrylate, lauryl methacrylate, morpholine methacrylate, phenoxyethyl methacrylate, phenoxydiethylene glycol methacrylate, 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate, 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropyl methacrylate Monofunctional methacrylate compounds such as 2,2,3,4,4,4-hexafluorobutyl methacrylate can be used.

Further, 4,4'-biphenyl diacrylate, diethylstilbestrol diacrylate,
1,4-bisacryloyloxybenzene, 4,4'-
Bisacryloyloxydiphenyl ether, 4,4 '
-Bisacryloyloxydiphenylmethane, 3,9-
Bis [1,1-dimethyl-2-acryloyloxyethyl] -2,4,8,10-tetraspiro [5,5] undecane, α, α′-bis [4-acryloyloxyphenyl] -1,4-diisopropyl Benzene, 1,4-bisacryloyloxytetrafluorobenzene, 4,
4'-bisacryloyloxyoctafluorobiphenyl, diethylene glycol diacrylate, 1,4-butanediol diacrylate, 1,3-butylene glycol diacrylate, dicyclopentanyl diacrylate, glycerol diacrylate, 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate Acrylate, neopentyl glycol diacrylate, tetraethylene glycol diacrylate,
Trimethylolpropane triacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate, ditrimethylolpropane tetraacrylate, dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate, dipentaerythritol monohydroxypentaacrylate, 4,4'-diacryloyloxystilbene, 4,4 ' -Diacryloyloxydimethylstilbene, 4,4'-diacryloyloxydiethylstilbene, 4,4'-diacryloyloxydipropylstilbene, 4,4'-diacryloyloxydibutylstilbene, 4,4'-diacryloyloxydipentyl Stilbene, 4,4'-diacryloyloxydihexylstilbene, 4,4'-diacryloyloxydifluorostilbene, 2,2,3,3 , 4-hexafluoro-pentanediol-1,5 diacrylate, 1,1,
Polyfunctional acrylate compounds such as 2,2,3,3-hexafluoropropyl-1,3-diacrylate and urethane acrylate oligomer can be used.

Furthermore, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, 1,4-butanediol dimethacrylate, 1,3-butylene glycol dimethacrylate, dicyclopentanyl dimethacrylate, glycerol dimethacrylate, 1,6-hexanediol dimethacrylate, Pentyl glycol dimethacrylate, tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, pentaerythritol tetramethacrylate, pentaerythritol trimethacrylate, ditrimethylolpropane tetramethacrylate, dipentaerythritol hexamethacrylate, dipentaerythritol monohydroxypentamethacrylate, 2,2 , 3,3,4,4-hexafluoropentanediol-1 5-dimethacrylate, polyfunctional methacrylate compounds such as urethane methacrylate oligomer, other styrene, amino styrene, there are vinyl acetate, but is not limited thereto.

Further, since the driving voltage of the device of the present invention is also affected by the interface interaction between the polymer material and the liquid crystal material, a polymer compound containing elemental fluorine may be used. As such a polymer compound, 2,2,3,3,4,4-hexafluoropentanediol-1,5-diacrylate, 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexafluoropropyl- 1,3-diacrylate, 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl acrylate, 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl acrylate, 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropyl acrylate, 2,2,2 3,4,4,4
-Hexafluorobutyl acrylate, 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate, 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropyl methacrylate, 2,2,3
Examples include, but are not limited to, polymer compounds synthesized from compounds including 4,4,4-hexafluorobutyl methacrylate, urethane acrylate oligomers, and the like.

When a photo- or ultraviolet-curable monomer is used as the polymer compound used in the present invention, an initiator for light or ultraviolet can be used. Various initiators can be used, for example,
2,2-diethoxyacetophenone, 2-hydroxy-
2-methyl-1-phenyl-1-one, 1- (4-isopropylphenyl) -2-hydroxy-2-methylpropan-1-one, 1- (4-dodecylphenyl) -2-
Acetophenones such as hydroxy-2-methylpropan-1-one; benzoin such as benzoin methyl ether, benzoin ethyl ether and benzyl dimethyl ketal; benzophenone; benzoyl benzoic acid; 4-phenylbenzophenone; 3,3-dimethyl-4-. Benzophenones such as methoxybenzophenone, thioxanthones such as thioxanthone, 2-chlorothioxanthone and 2-methylthioxanthone, diazonium salts, sulfonium salts, iodonium salts, selenium salts and the like can be used.

The liquid crystal display device according to the present invention further comprises:
In order to improve the viewing angle characteristics, at least one optical compensator is provided between the polarizing plate and the liquid crystal cell. Since this compensator has a homeotropic alignment of the liquid crystal when no voltage is applied, it is preferable to use an optically negative compensator from the viewpoint of canceling the change in retardation when viewed obliquely. . Such a compensating plate may be a single film made by a method such as biaxial stretching, or two or more uniaxially stretched films are superposed to form a substantially optically negative uniaxial film. Similar effects can be obtained even when used as a compensator. Depending on the element, a transition region may be generated in a part in which the tilt direction differs after application of a voltage. This transition region is observed as black under the crossed polarizer, causing a decrease in brightness. In some cases, the movement of the transition region is slow, and the apparent response speed may be low. In particular, when the uniaxially stretched film is a quarter-wave plate, the movement of the boundary can be made invisible, and an apparently fast response can be obtained. At this time, the quarter-wave plates are arranged on both sides of the liquid crystal cell, and the optical axes are orthogonally arranged so as to form an angle of 45 ° with the absorption axis of the orthogonal polarizer. In order to reduce the birefringence of the quarter-wave plate, a uniaxially stretched film may be further laminated and used as a substantially optically negative uniaxial compensator. The uniaxially stretched film added at this time converts linearly polarized light of the quarter-wave plate into circularly polarized light, and in order to make best use of the feature of obtaining a bright display regardless of the orientation of the liquid crystal in the azimuthal direction, It is desirable to use a half-wave plate. Also,
One of the upper and lower two quarter-wave plates may be an optically negative compensator. In this case, since the upper and lower quarter-wave plates compensate for each birefringence, excellent viewing angle characteristics are provided. Especially when used with a negative uniaxial compensator whose optical axis is perpendicular to the substrate, it gives the widest viewing angle in principle. Further, such a film having birefringence may be simulated by a biaxially stretched film. The advantage of using a quarter-wave plate is that the light incident on the liquid crystal is circularly polarized, so even if the liquid crystal falls in any direction, it becomes brighter,
The absorption axis of the polarizing plate can be set in a desired direction without sacrificing brightness. Normally, it is desirable to have a good vertical viewing angle, so the absorption axis of the polarizing plate is set in that direction. If a wide viewing angle in an oblique direction is desired depending on the usage, the absorption axis of the polarizing plate can be set in that direction. Furthermore, although the initial orientation is vertical orientation in principle, due to the characteristics of the device, if a bias is generated in a certain direction, a film with a positive optical anisotropy is attached to further compensate for this. Is also good.

In the case of a transflective liquid crystal display device, the reflecting portion is formed, for example, by T. Sonehara et al., Japan Display '89,
As described in P.192 (1989), a so-called single-polarizer is generally used, in which a quarter-wave plate and a polarizer are used in combination. By combining a quarter-wave plate and a polarizing plate, light incident on the liquid crystal layer becomes circularly polarized light. Therefore, the reflectance of the reflector is maximum and the wavelength dispersion is almost eliminated in the visible light region, so that the arrangement of the quarter-wave plate on the observation side, the half-wave plate and the like are determined, and in accordance with them, The arrangement of a quarter-wave plate, a half-wave plate, a compensator and the like on the backlight incident side may be optimized. Since the light from the backlight does not pass through the reflector, the design of the compensator and the like on the backlight incident side can be performed ignoring the characteristics of the reflector.

Since the incident light passes through the liquid crystal layer twice in the reflection part and once in the transmission part, it is desirable that the thickness of the liquid crystal layer in the reflection part is twice as large as that in the transmission part. As shown in FIG. 14A, the reflection plate of the reflection portion often has irregularities. In such a case, the columnar structure that determines the gap of the liquid crystal layer is desirably disposed in the transmission portion. By adopting such an arrangement, the thickness of the liquid crystal layer can be controlled at the flat portion as compared with the method of spraying a spherical spacer, so that the thickness can be controlled more accurately.
Therefore, contrast, chromaticity variation, unevenness, and the like on the display surface can be easily reduced.

FIG. 3 (a) shows an example in which the liquid crystal has a positive dielectric anisotropy and has a twisted nematic orientation when no voltage is applied. In this case, rubbing or optical alignment processing is performed on the upper and lower substrates to determine the alignment direction of the liquid crystal. Reference numeral 117 in FIG. 3B indicates the orientation direction of the liquid crystal on the substrate 101 side.
Reference numeral 118 denotes the alignment direction of the liquid crystal on the lower substrate 107 side. In this case, the pretilt angle is desirably almost 0 °. Such an orientation can be easily obtained, for example, by irradiating the orientation film perpendicular to the rubbing direction or the photo-alignment film with polarized light from the normal direction of the substrate. Also, do not use chiral agents. When a voltage is applied between the upper and lower electrodes in such a state, an oblique electric field is generated with good symmetry due to the shape characteristics of the upper and lower electrodes. In each part of the pixel, both right-hand twist and left-hand twist may occur. Due to this oblique electric field, for example, in each part of the pixel in FIG. Then, the orientation state as shown in FIG. 1B is automatically generated. That is, the electrode on the first substrate has a shape with good symmetry, the electrode on the second substrate covers the entire upper part of the electrode on the first substrate, and the electrode on the second substrate is the first electrode. Due to the effect of the present invention that the electrode is wider than the electrode on the substrate, even in the case of twisted nematic alignment, pixel division with good symmetry can be naturally performed.

In this case, as in the case where the dielectric anisotropy of the liquid crystal is negative, since the columnar spacer is located at the position substantially corresponding to the center of symmetry of the pixel, the liquid crystal is divided into four regions. And the center of the division boundary is fixed to this pillar, and there is an advantage that the division boundary is ensured. In order to further secure the division position, the corners of the pixel electrode are formed to protrude outward, a cut is made in a part of the pixel electrode, and a part of the pixel electrode is removed (ie, In order to reduce the influence of the horizontal electric field from the scanning signal electrode and the video signal electrode, the dielectric constant is anisotropic. This is exactly the same as the case where the sex is negative. Means for further ensuring division by optical alignment does not make sense in the case of twisted nematic, but by driving a polymerizable monomer or oligomer mixed in a small amount into the liquid crystal, it can be used even during driving. The division can be more reliably maintained as in the case where the dielectric anisotropy is negative.

In this case, since the liquid crystals compensate for each other's viewing angle characteristics, there is almost no need for a compensation film. However, by installing quarter-wave plates inside the upper and lower polarizers, It is possible to provide a margin in the process for regulating the alignment of the liquid crystal at the interface of the alignment film such as rubbing and optical alignment. That is, there is an advantage that the brightness does not change even if the direction of the liquid crystal alignment regulation is slightly shifted.
In particular, by using the upper and lower optically positive and negative quarter-wave plates, the birefringence of the compensation film itself can be compensated for each other, and excellent viewing angle characteristics can be obtained.

FIG. 4 shows an example where the dielectric anisotropy of the liquid crystal is positive and the liquid crystal is in a homogeneous alignment when no voltage is applied.
(A). In this case, rubbing or optical alignment processing is performed on the upper and lower substrates to determine the alignment direction of the liquid crystal. FIG.
In (b), 117 indicates the alignment direction of the liquid crystal on the substrate 101 side.
Reference numeral 18 denotes the alignment direction of the liquid crystal on the lower substrate 107 side. In this case, as in the case of the twisted nematic alignment, the pretilt angle is desirably almost 0 °. Can easily be obtained. Also, do not use chiral agents. When a voltage is applied between the upper and lower electrodes in such a state, an oblique electric field is generated with good symmetry due to the shape characteristics of the upper and lower electrodes. Since the orientation direction of the liquid crystal at the substrate interface is defined, two types of domains having different rising directions are generated. In the case of the homogeneous orientation, it is particularly preferable that a recess is provided at the center in order to stabilize the boundary region.

In this case, the liquid crystal is not divided into four parts, but divided into two parts that differ only in the rising direction from the initial alignment direction. The optical axis is arranged so as to coincide with the optical axis (normally black), or the optical axis of the negative compensation film is gradually inclined in the film so as to simulate the liquid crystal alignment in one of the regions when a voltage is applied. In the case of normally black, when no voltage is applied, in the case of normally white, and when voltage is applied, in the case of normally white, the liquid crystal in at least one region is compensated. By setting the retardation of the film to 0, a sufficiently wide viewing angle can be achieved. In this case, a part of the electrode for pixel display on the first substrate or a part without an electrode and a concave part are parallel to the sides of the pixel electrode, and the initial alignment of the liquid crystal is perpendicular to these. It is better to set as follows.

In this case, as in the case of the twisted nematic orientation, almost no compensation film is required. However, by installing quarter-wave plates inside the upper and lower polarizers, rubbing, optical orientation, etc. It is possible to allow a margin for the process for regulating the alignment of the liquid crystal at the interface of the alignment film. That is, there is an advantage that the brightness does not change even if the direction of the liquid crystal alignment regulation is slightly shifted. In the normally white mode, the initial orientation is a homogeneous orientation, and when the quarter-wave plates are respectively set inside the upper and lower polarizers, the light has excellent viewing angle characteristics without rubbing. You can get the display. That is, the initial orientation is a homogeneous orientation, and the liquid crystal is randomly oriented in the azimuthal direction. However, since the light incident on the liquid crystal layer is circularly polarized, π is independent of the orientation of the liquid crystal in the azimuthal direction. And a circular polarization in the opposite direction is obtained. If the positional relationship between the quarter-wave plate on the output side and the polarizing plate is adjusted to transmit circularly polarized light opposite to that on the incident side, as in a normal setting, a bright state can be obtained without applying a voltage. Can be When a voltage is applied, the liquid crystal molecules rise in a direction perpendicular to the substrate. At this time, since the light traveling in the liquid crystal layer has almost no phase difference and is not affected, it reaches the emission side substrate as circularly polarized light, and transmits only the opposite circularly polarized light, so that a black state is obtained. At this time, since the rising direction of the liquid crystal is divided into a plurality of areas in one pixel, the viewing angle characteristics are compensated for each other even in the halftone state, and an excellent viewing angle is obtained. In addition, since the movement of the liquid crystal in the azimuth direction becomes invisible, the response speed is higher than that in the case where there is no quarter-wave plate.

The advantage of the use of these quarter-wave plates can also be applied to the reflecting portion, when applied to the transflective type. That is, the light incident on the liquid crystal layer also becomes circularly polarized light in the reflection section. The thickness of the liquid crystal layer in the reflective area is
Since it is 1/2, the light that reaches the reflection plate is given a phase difference of π / 2 and becomes linearly polarized light. This polarized light is reflected by the reflecting plate, and is again given a phase difference of π / 2 to reach a quarter-wave plate. Since the reflected light passes through the polarizing plate in a process completely opposite to that of the incident light, a bright state is obtained. When a voltage is applied, the light traveling in the liquid crystal layer is almost unaffected because the phase difference is almost 0, as in the transmission part. And reaches a quarter-wave plate as it is. Since the light is circularly polarized in the opposite direction, the light cannot pass through the polarizing plate and a black state is obtained. Thus, it can be considered that the reflective portion and the transmissive portion behave exactly the same except that the thickness of the liquid crystal layer is approximately half. Regarding the viewing angle, since the light path of the light is symmetrical in the reflecting section, there is a self-compensation effect, and there is no major problem even if compensation is not considered.

Note that there is usually no problem with the division as long as the distance between the pixels is sufficiently large. However, for the sake of design, especially when the pixels approach each other, the voltage is applied to each adjacent pixel during driving. If so-called dot inversion driving in which the polarity of the voltage is reversed is performed, the generation state of the oblique electric field becomes a more desirable direction, and a better division is provided. Further, since only the initial response of the liquid crystal is very fast, it can be driven with a reset for returning to a black state in one frame for the purpose of utilizing only this fast response for display. This drive for resetting is sometimes used for the purpose of improving the disconnection in moving image display. However, the liquid crystal display device of the present invention has a favorable effect of simultaneously increasing the apparent response.

Further, by applying a voltage in the vicinity of the threshold value before starting each frame, the liquid crystal can be divided more reliably and in a shorter time. The voltage near the threshold may be slightly lower than the threshold or slightly higher. In particular, when it is slightly larger, there is a portion where the liquid crystal alignment starts to change. In the case where phenomena such as light leakage or change in the amount of transmitted light occur from this portion and the contrast is reduced, no problem occurs if this portion is shielded from light. Also, in order to prevent light leakage from the column portion, the column is usually made of an optically isotropic material or a black material, but for the purpose of preventing light leakage from the column, especially the periphery thereof, A portion without columns or protrusions or a common electrode and its periphery may be shielded from light.
This light-shielding layer may be made of, for example, the metal of the gate layer on the TFT side, or may be made on the color filter side by a method in which a black matrix is also created in a place where a column in a pixel exists. Good. The advantages of using the transflective type are the same as those of the vertical alignment.

Although the transmission type is described as an example, the pixel electrode is made of a metal having a high reflectance such as Al, so that it can be used as a reflection type without any problem. At this time, the white display can be made more visible by a method such as forming irregularities on the surface of the pixel electrode or using a diffusion plate. In addition, although a description will be given of an example in which the TFT is made of amorphous silicon, high-speed response can be more easily achieved when polysilicon is used instead of amorphous silicon because the mobility is large. In other words, if the thickness of the liquid crystal layer is made extremely thin to achieve high-speed response, the electric capacity of the liquid crystal layer will increase, and even if amorphous silicon cannot be driven because of insufficient charge writing, it is sufficient to use polysilicon. Since it can be driven, it is very advantageous for speeding up.

[0047]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below. (Embodiment 1) A liquid crystal display device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of one pixel in the simple matrix driving of the present invention. In addition,
FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA ′ in the plan view of FIG. 1B. After forming a transparent electrode 102 such as ITO on a glass substrate 101 and forming a columnar spacer-119, a vertical alignment film 103 is applied to form an upper substrate. In the case of simple matrix driving, the transparent electrodes 102 are formed in a stripe shape. On the lower substrate 107, a transparent electrode 106 is also formed in a stripe shape, and an insulating film 105 such as silicon nitride is formed. The insulating film 105 is connected to the pixel electrode 104 having a symmetric shape via a through hole. ing. A vertical alignment film 103 is applied thereon.
The upper and lower substrates are stuck together via a columnar spacer 119 at a position substantially at the center of symmetry of the pixel, and a liquid crystal 108 having a negative dielectric anisotropy is injected. Here, if a voltage is applied to the upper and lower substrates, an oblique electric field as shown in FIG. 1A is generated, and the liquid crystal is naturally divided and falls. The method of division differs depending on the shape of the pixel. However, since the pixel is symmetrical as shown in FIGS. 1C to 1G, the division is performed while maintaining the symmetry. Here, since there is a columnar spacer substantially at the center of a pixel having good symmetry, the column serves as a nucleus of division, the division boundary is determined, and division is performed smoothly.

When sandwiched between polarizing plates whose transmission axes are orthogonal to each other, a display that is black when no voltage is applied and bright when voltage is applied is obtained, and exhibits a wide viewing angle characteristic. Furthermore, if the negative uniaxial compensation film is arranged between the polarizing plate and the transparent substrate so that the optical axis is perpendicular to the substrate, the viewing angle dependence of the birefringence of the liquid crystal in the black state is canceled, and from which direction Black does not float even when viewed, and a wider viewing angle can be obtained. In addition, the liquid crystal tilted in a direction 45 ° from the transmission axis direction of the polarizing plate gives the highest luminance.
Most of the liquid crystal orientation that is finally stabilized is tilted in the vertical and horizontal directions of the pixel. Therefore, in order to obtain high luminance, the transmission axis of the polarizing plate is often set in a direction of 45 ° with respect to the pixel. However, since the direction with the best viewing angle characteristics is the direction of the transmission axis of the polarizing plate, it is desired to improve the viewing angle characteristics in different directions depending on the application. Here, by further installing a quarter-wave plate between the polarizing plate and the transparent substrate, light incident on the liquid crystal layer can be converted from linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light. There is an advantage that the transmission axis of the polarizing plate can be set in an arbitrary direction regardless of the direction in which the polarizing plate falls. At this time, the slow axis of the upper and lower quarter-wave plates and the transmission axis of the polarizer make an angle of 45 °, but
In the maritime black mode, the upper and lower circularly polarized lights are set to be in opposite directions, and in the normally white mode, they are set to be in the same direction. The lower transparent electrode 10
When the division is affected by the electric field from the pixel electrode 6, the pixel electrode 1
An electrode 104a for shielding may be arranged around the area 04 to prevent the influence. Although the color filter layer is omitted here, a color display can be obtained by providing a color filter layer between the upper substrate 101 and the transparent electrode 102.

(Embodiment 2) Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). Note that FIG.
(A) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA ′ in the plan view of FIG. 1 (b), just like in the first embodiment. A transparent electrode 102 made of ITO or the like is formed on a transparent substrate 101 made of glass or the like, and an orientation film 103 is applied to form an upper substrate. By rubbing the alignment film, the liquid crystal is aligned perpendicular to the rubbing direction,
The pretilt angle is almost 0 ° or very low (1
° or less). Embodiment 1
In the case of simple matrix driving, the transparent electrode 1
02 is formed in a stripe shape. Lower substrate 107
Also, an insulating film 105 such as silicon nitride is formed on a transparent electrode 106 in the form of a stripe.
It is connected via a hole to a symmetrically shaped pixel electrode 104. A columnar spacer-119 is formed at a position substantially at the center of symmetry of the pixel, and an alignment film 103 is applied thereon. The upper and lower substrates are bonded to each other, and a liquid crystal 108a having a positive dielectric anisotropy is injected. The upper and lower alignment films 103 have liquid crystal orientations of 117 and 118, respectively.
It is rubbed so that it becomes. Here, if a voltage is applied to the upper and lower substrates, an oblique electric field as shown in FIG. 3A is generated, and the liquid crystal is naturally divided into portions having different twisting directions and different rising directions. The method of division differs depending on the shape of the pixel. However, since the pixel is symmetrical as shown in FIG. 3B, the division is performed while maintaining the symmetry. Just like in the first embodiment, since there is a columnar spacer substantially at the center of a pixel having good symmetry, this column becomes a nucleus of division, the division boundary is determined, and division is smooth. Done.
If sandwiched between polarizing plates arranged so that the transmission axes are orthogonal to each other, and arranged so that the alignment direction of the liquid crystal and the transmission axis of the polarizing plate match, if no voltage is applied, white when no voltage is applied and black when voltage is applied. Display having a wide viewing angle characteristic. In addition, since the alignment of the liquid crystal in black and halftone display is such that one pixel is divided into a plurality, the viewing angle characteristics are compensated for each other, and excellent viewing angle characteristics are exhibited. Further, at the boundaries between the portions, regions having different twist directions meet each other, so that light leakage does not occur and high contrast can be maintained without providing a light shielding layer or the like.

Unlike the first embodiment, a negative uniaxial compensation film is not required. However, as described above, the quarter-wave plate changes in brightness even if the direction of liquid crystal alignment regulation is slightly shifted. However, a favorable effect that the range of the process conditions is widened is provided. In the same manner as in the first embodiment, when the division is affected by the electric field from the lower transparent electrode 106, the shielding electrode 104a is formed around the pixel electrode 104.
May be arranged to prevent the effect. Also, here
Although the color filter layer is omitted, a color display can be obtained by providing a color filter layer between the upper substrate 101 and the transparent electrode 102 as in the first embodiment.

(Embodiment 3) Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB ′ of the plan view of FIG. 5B.
In the third embodiment, the liquid crystal is driven by the active element. On the lower substrate 207, a gate electrode (scanning signal electrode) 209 made of Cr is arranged.
A gate insulating film 210 made of silicon oxide or silicon nitride is formed so as to cover 09. On the gate electrode 209, a semiconductor film 212 made of amorphous silicon is arranged via a gate insulating film 210 so as to function as an active layer of a thin film transistor (TFT). Further, a drain electrode 211 and a source electrode 213 made of molybdenum are arranged so as to overlap a part of the pattern of the semiconductor film 212. A protective film 205 made of silicon nitride is formed so as to cover all of them. The drain electrode 211 and the source electrode 21
Although not shown, the pattern 3 of the semiconductor film 212 is formed through an amorphous silicon film into which an n-type impurity is introduced.
Is superimposed on part of the As shown in FIG. 5B, the drain electrode 211 is a data line (video signal electrode).
211a. In other words, the drain electrode 211 is formed as a part of the data line 211a.

In the third embodiment, the source electrode is
The video signal is applied to the pixel electrode. On / off of the video signal is controlled by the scanning signal. The pixel electrode 204 has a shape with high symmetry. Here, an octagon is illustrated, but FIG.
Similar effects can be obtained for circles, pentagons, quadrangles, etc. as shown in FIG. A vertical alignment film 203 is applied on the pixel electrode 204. . On the other hand, a color filter layer 214 and a light shielding layer 215 are formed on the transparent substrate 201,
A common electrode 202 is formed on almost the entire surface of the transparent substrate. On the common electrode 202, a column spacer 21 is formed.
9 and a vertical alignment film 203 is applied. Since the alignment films of the upper and lower substrates are vertical alignment films, when no voltage is applied, the liquid crystal is vertically aligned with respect to the substrates.

Here, when a voltage is applied to the gate electrode 209 to turn on the thin film transistor (TFT), a voltage is applied to the source electrode 213 and the pixel electrode 204 and the common electrode disposed opposite to the pixel electrode 204 are disposed. An electric field is induced between the electrodes 202. At this time, since the shape of the pixel electrode 204 is highly symmetrical and the common electrode 202 is larger than the pixel electrode 204, the electric field generated between the two electrodes is not perpendicular to the substrate but is oblique from the peripheral portion of the pixel electrode toward the center. It becomes an electric field.
Due to this electric field, the liquid crystal molecules 20 having a negative dielectric anisotropy
8 falls symmetrically toward the pixel center. Therefore, the alignment direction of the liquid crystal in the pixel is naturally divided. As described above, according to the method of the present invention, the direction in which the liquid crystal falls can be automatically divided without any special treatment on the alignment film, and a wide viewing angle can be achieved. Here, Embodiment 1
Similarly to the above, since there is a pillar-shaped spacer at a position substantially at the center of a pixel having good symmetry, this pillar becomes a nucleus of division,
The division boundary is determined and the division is performed smoothly.

The preferable effects of the negative uniaxial compensation film and the quarter-wave plate are exactly the same as those of the first embodiment. In particular, when the pixel electrode shape is polygonal and the distribution of the liquid crystal orientation in the azimuthal direction is large, the quarter-wave plate can provide a high luminance, and the direction of the polarizing plate, that is, the direction in which the viewing angle characteristics are excellent, is arbitrary. , Which is a very favorable effect. The gate line (scan signal line) 20 at the time of driving
9a, in order to prevent the alignment of the liquid crystal from being disturbed by the electric field from the drain line (video signal line) 211a, the pixel may be separated from both electrodes by a sufficient distance. Further, in order to prevent the adverse effect of the electric field, a shield electrode may be provided above one or both electrodes.

Further, when it is desired to more completely control the direction in which the liquid crystal falls, for example, when a sufficient distance cannot be obtained due to a decrease in the aperture ratio in the design of the pixel, a photo-alignment film is used as the alignment film. Depending on the properties of the photo-alignment film, an operation such as irradiation of obliquely polarized light or non-polarized light may be performed. Further, a small amount of monomer may be introduced into the liquid crystal for the purpose of preventing the alignment of the liquid crystal from being disturbed, and the liquid crystal may be polymerized in order to store an appropriate alignment state. A cut may be made in a part of the pixel as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6E for the purpose of stabilizing the division boundary. In addition, FIG.
It is also effective to form a shape in which the corners of the pixel electrode protrude outward as shown in (m). Further, as shown by broken lines in FIGS. 7A to 7G, a structure in which a part of the pixel electrode is removed is also effective. In addition, FIG.
(N) As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a concave portion may be formed in a part of the pixel electrode. This recess may be on the pixel electrode or the pixel electrode itself may form the recess.

Further, exactly in the same manner as in the first embodiment,
If an optically negative uniaxial compensation film is inserted between the polarizing plate and the glass substrate, the retardation of the liquid crystal when no voltage is applied is canceled out, and perfect black is obtained in any direction. And further excellent viewing angle characteristics can be obtained. Also, here, the description has been made on the assumption that the liquid crystal has negative dielectric anisotropy and the liquid crystal is vertically aligned with respect to the substrate when no voltage is applied. Also in the case where the dielectric anisotropy is positive and the liquid crystal is in a twisted nematic alignment when no voltage is applied, a liquid crystal alignment substantially similar to the liquid crystal alignment described in Embodiment 2 occurs, and a wide viewing angle can be achieved. In this case, the liquid crystal layer is divided into four as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. When using twisted nematic alignment, square pixels are desirable. The same can be said for all the embodiments below.

(Embodiment 4) Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The liquid crystal is driven by the active elements in exactly the same manner as in the third embodiment. In FIG. 10, FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC ′ of FIG. 10B. The difference from the third embodiment is that the pixel electrode 3
04 and the source electrode 313 are not directly
16. In the same manner as in the third embodiment, a gate electrode (scanning signal electrode) 309 made of Cr is arranged on the lower substrate 307, and silicon oxide, silicon nitride, A gate insulating film 310 is formed. On the gate electrode 309, a semiconductor film 312 made of amorphous silicon is arranged via a gate insulating film 310 so as to function as an active layer of a thin film transistor (TFT). A drain electrode 311 and a source electrode 313 made of molybdenum are arranged so as to overlap a part of the pattern of the semiconductor film 312.

A protective film 305 made of silicon nitride is formed so as to cover all of them. This protective film may be made of only silicon nitride, but an organic film such as an acrylic resin may be further coated on the silicon nitride. Although not shown, each of the drain electrode 311 and the source electrode 313 overlaps a part of the pattern of the semiconductor film 312 via an amorphous silicon film into which an n-type impurity is introduced. . The pixel electrode 304 and the source electrode 313 are connected via a through-hole 316. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 0 (b), the drain electrode 311 is connected to a data line (video signal electrode) 311a. That is, the drain electrode 311 is formed as a part of the data line 311a. The columnar spacer-319 is formed on the common electrode 302 and the vertical alignment film 303 is applied in exactly the same manner as in the third embodiment. A vertical alignment film 303 is also applied to the pixel electrode 304, and when no voltage is applied, the liquid crystal molecules 308 are aligned perpendicular to the substrate. When a voltage is applied to the gate electrode 309 to turn on the thin film transistor (TFT), the source electrode 313 is turned on.
Is applied to the pixel electrode 304 to induce an electric field between the pixel electrode 304 and the common electrode 302 facing the pixel electrode 304. At this time, since the shape of the pixel electrode 304 is highly symmetric and the common electrode 302 is larger than the pixel electrode 304, the electric field generated between the two electrodes is not perpendicular to the substrate but is oblique from the peripheral portion of the pixel electrode toward the center. It becomes an electric field. Due to this electric field, the liquid crystal molecules 308 having a negative dielectric anisotropy fall symmetrically toward the center of the pixel. Therefore, the alignment direction of the liquid crystal in the pixel is naturally divided. As described above, in the method of the present invention, even without specially treating the alignment film,
The direction in which the liquid crystal falls can be automatically divided, and a wide viewing angle can be achieved. Here, as in the first and second embodiments, since there is a columnar spacer substantially at the center of a pixel having good symmetry, this column becomes a nucleus of division, the division boundary is determined, and the division Is performed smoothly.

The preferable effects of the negative uniaxial compensation film and the quarter-wave plate are exactly the same as those of the first and third embodiments. In particular, when the pixel electrode shape is polygonal and the distribution of the liquid crystal orientation in the azimuthal direction is large, the quarter-wave plate can provide a high luminance, and the direction of the polarizing plate, that is, the direction in which the viewing angle characteristics are excellent, is arbitrary. , Which is a very favorable effect. Gate line (scanning signal line) 3 during driving
In order to prevent the alignment of the liquid crystal from being disturbed by an electric field from the drain line (video signal line) 09a, the pixel may be separated from both electrodes by a sufficient distance. In this case, the planar distance may be increased as in the second embodiment,
The distance may be increased by increasing the thickness of the protective film 305. Similarly to the second embodiment, a shield electrode may be provided above one or both electrodes for the purpose of preventing the adverse effect of the electric field.

Further, in the same manner as in the third embodiment, when it is desired to more completely control the direction in which the liquid crystal falls, for example, when a sufficient distance is not obtained due to a decrease in the aperture ratio due to the design of the pixel, the alignment is performed. An operation such as irradiation of obliquely polarized light or non-polarized light may be performed according to the properties of the photo-alignment film using a photo-alignment film. Further, a small amount of monomer may be introduced into the liquid crystal for the purpose of preventing the alignment of the liquid crystal from being disturbed, and the liquid crystal may be polymerized in order to store an appropriate alignment state. For the purpose of stabilizing the division boundary, FIG.
A cut may be made in a part of the pixel as shown in (a) to (e). Further, as shown in FIGS. 6F to 6M, a shape in which a part of the pixel protrudes outward may be used. As shown in FIGS. 7H to 7N, 8A and 8B, a concave portion may be formed in a part of the pixel.

In particular, when the pixel is large, if a voltage near the threshold is applied before applying the driving voltage, the direction in which the liquid crystal falls can be defined in advance.
The time required to settle in the divided state is shorter than when a drive voltage is applied, and the response speed can be reduced. At this time, when a voltage higher than the threshold is applied, the liquid crystal around the pixel starts to fall, and light leakage is observed from this portion,
Although the contrast is reduced, it is possible to prevent the contrast from being reduced by shielding this portion from light.

Embodiment 5 Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The liquid crystal is driven by the active element just like the third and fourth embodiments. In FIG. 11, FIG. 11A is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD ′ of FIG. 11B. In exactly the same manner as in Embodiment 2,
On the lower substrate 407, a gate electrode (scanning signal electrode) 409 made of Cr is arranged, and a gate insulating film 410 made of silicon nitride is formed so as to cover the gate electrode 409. . Further, a gate electrode 409 is provided on the gate electrode 409.
A semiconductor film 412 made of amorphous silicon is disposed via a gate insulating film 410 so as to function as an active layer of a thin film transistor (TFT). A drain electrode 411 and a source electrode 413 made of molybdenum are arranged so as to overlap a part of the pattern of the semiconductor film 412. A protective film 405 made of silicon nitride is formed so as to cover all of them. Although not shown, each of the drain electrode 411 and the source electrode 413 overlaps a part of the pattern of the semiconductor film 412 through an amorphous silicon film into which an n-type impurity is introduced. . The pixel electrode 404 and the source electrode 413 are connected via a through-hole 416. Further, as shown in FIG. 11B, the drain electrode 411 is connected to a data line (video signal electrode) 411a. That is, the drain electrode 411 is formed as a part of the data line 411a.

Further, in the fourth embodiment, the protective layer 405
A color filter layer 414 is formed thereon, and a light-shielding film 415 is formed on the protective layer 405 so as to cover the active layer 412 of the TFT. Color filter layer 41
4 and the light shielding layer 415 are covered with an overcoat layer 417. The overcoat layer 417 is made of a transparent insulating material that is difficult to charge up. The columnar spacer-419 may be formed on the common electrode 402 as in the third embodiment, but is preferably formed on the pixel electrode 404 in consideration of the improvement in alignment accuracy between the upper and lower substrates. Further, the columnar spacer may be formed after the vertical alignment film 403 is applied on the common electrode 402 and the pixel electrode 404. In FIG. 11, a columnar spacer-4 is formed on the pixel electrode 404.
19 shows a state in which the vertical alignment film 403 is applied after the formation of 19.

Due to the effect of the vertical alignment film 403, the liquid crystal molecules 408 are oriented perpendicular to the substrate when no voltage is applied. When a voltage is applied to the gate electrode 409 to turn on the thin film transistor (TFT), a voltage is applied to the source electrode 413, and an electric field is applied between the pixel electrode 404 and the common electrode 402 opposed thereto. Is induced. At this time, since the shape of the pixel electrode 404 is highly symmetric and the common electrode 402 is larger than the pixel electrode 404, the electric field generated between the two electrodes is not perpendicular to the substrate but is oblique from the peripheral portion of the pixel electrode toward the center. It becomes an electric field. Due to this electric field, the liquid crystal molecules 408 having a negative dielectric anisotropy symmetrically fall toward the pixel center. Therefore, the alignment direction of the liquid crystal in the pixel is naturally divided. As described above, according to the method of the present invention, the direction in which the liquid crystal falls can be automatically divided without any special treatment on the alignment film, and a wide viewing angle can be achieved. Here, in the same manner as in the first to fourth embodiments, since a columnar spacer is provided at a position substantially at the center of a pixel having good symmetry, the column becomes a nucleus of division, a division boundary is determined, and division is performed. Is performed smoothly.

The preferable effects of the negative uniaxial compensation film and the quarter-wave plate are exactly the same as those of the first and third embodiments. In the case of the fifth embodiment, the pixel electrode is sufficiently separated from the gate line (scanning signal line) 409a and the drain line (video signal line) 411a due to its structure. The alignment of the liquid crystal is hardly disturbed by the electric field. Nevertheless, a shield electrode may be provided above one or both electrodes for the purpose of preventing the adverse effect of the electric field from the outside. Embodiment 4
In the same way as above, when it is desired to more completely control the direction in which the liquid crystal falls, a photo-alignment film is used as the alignment film and, depending on the properties of the photo-alignment film, irradiation of obliquely polarized light or non-polarized light is performed. May be performed. In order to prevent the alignment of the liquid crystal from being disturbed, a small amount of a monomer is introduced into the liquid crystal, and a polymer is added to memorize an appropriate alignment state.
May be used.

For the purpose of stabilizing the division boundary, FIG.
A cut may be made in a part of the pixel as shown in (a) to (e). 7 (h) to 7 (n), FIG. 8 (a),
As shown in (b), a recess may be formed in a part of the pixel electrode. This recess may be on the pixel electrode or the pixel electrode itself may form the recess. Furthermore, if an optically negative uniaxial compensation film is interposed between the polarizing plate and the glass substrate in exactly the same manner as in the first embodiment,
The retardation of the liquid crystal when no voltage is applied is canceled out,
In any direction, perfect black is obtained, and further excellent viewing angle characteristics are obtained.

Embodiment 6 Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG.
FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE ′ of the plan view of FIG. In the sixth embodiment, the liquid crystal is driven by the active elements just like the third embodiment. Also in the sixth embodiment, a thin film transistor (TFT) is formed in exactly the same manner as in the third embodiment, and a protruding structure 724 is formed on the common electrode 702 instead of the column spacer. Only the point that is different from the third embodiment. The shape of the protrusion is preferably a cone having the same shape as the pixel electrode having good symmetry from the viewpoint of division. Further, it is desirable that the dielectric constant of the material is smaller than the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal. When a voltage is applied to the gate electrode 709 and the TFT is turned on in the same manner as in the third embodiment, an electric field is induced between the pixel electrode 704 and the common electrode 702 disposed opposite to the pixel electrode 704. Just as in the third embodiment, since the shape of the pixel electrode 704 is highly symmetric and the common electrode 702 is larger than the pixel electrode 704, the electric field generated between the two electrodes is not perpendicular to the substrate, An oblique electric field is generated from the peripheral portion toward the center. Due to this electric field, the liquid crystal molecules 708 having a negative dielectric anisotropy symmetrically fall toward the pixel center. Therefore, the alignment direction of the liquid crystal in the pixel is naturally divided. That is, similarly to the third embodiment, the direction in which the liquid crystal falls can be automatically divided without specially processing the alignment film, and a wide viewing angle can be achieved. Here, since there is a projecting structure substantially at the center of a pixel having good symmetry, the projection serves as a nucleus of division, the division boundary is determined, and division is performed smoothly.

The preferable effects of the negative uniaxial compensation film and the quarter-wave plate are exactly the same as those of the third embodiment. In particular, when the pixel electrode shape is polygonal and the distribution of the liquid crystal orientation in the azimuthal direction is large, the quarter-wave plate can provide a high luminance, and the direction of the polarizing plate, that is, the direction in which the viewing angle characteristics are excellent, is arbitrary. , Which is a very favorable effect. The gate line (scanning signal line) 70 at the time of driving
In order to prevent the alignment of the liquid crystal from being disturbed by the electric field from the drain line 9a and the drain line (video signal line) 711a, the pixel may be separated from both electrodes by a sufficient distance. Further, in order to prevent the adverse effect of the electric field, a shield electrode may be provided above one or both electrodes.

Further, when it is desired to more completely control the direction in which the liquid crystal falls, for example, when a sufficient distance is not obtained due to a decrease in the aperture ratio in the design of the pixel, a photo-alignment film is used as the alignment film. Depending on the properties of the photo-alignment film, an operation such as irradiation with polarized light or non-polarized light may be performed. Further, a small amount of monomer may be introduced into the liquid crystal for the purpose of preventing the alignment of the liquid crystal from being disturbed, and the liquid crystal may be polymerized in order to store an appropriate alignment state. A cut may be made in a part of the pixel as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6E for the purpose of stabilizing the division boundary. In addition, FIG.
It is also effective to form a shape in which the corners of the pixel electrode protrude outward as shown in (m). Further, as shown by broken lines in FIGS. 7A to 7G, a structure in which a part of the pixel electrode is removed is also effective. In addition, FIG.
(N) As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a concave portion may be formed in a part of the pixel electrode. This recess may be on the pixel electrode or the pixel electrode itself may form the recess.

Further, in exactly the same manner as in the third embodiment,
If an optically negative uniaxial compensation film is inserted between the polarizing plate and the glass substrate, the retardation of the liquid crystal when no voltage is applied is canceled out, and perfect black is obtained in any direction. And further excellent viewing angle characteristics can be obtained. Also, here, the description has been made on the assumption that the liquid crystal has negative dielectric anisotropy and the liquid crystal is vertically aligned with respect to the substrate when no voltage is applied. Also in the case where the dielectric anisotropy is positive and the liquid crystal is in a twisted nematic alignment when no voltage is applied, a liquid crystal alignment substantially similar to the liquid crystal alignment described in Embodiment 2 occurs, and a wide viewing angle can be achieved. In this case, the liquid crystal layer is divided into four as shown in FIGS.
When using twisted nematic alignment, square pixels are desirable.

(Embodiment 7) Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 14, FIG.
FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view taken along line FF ′ in the plan view of FIG. In the seventh embodiment, the liquid crystal is driven by the active elements just like the third embodiment. In the seventh embodiment, the pixel portion is divided into two types of regions, a transmission portion and a reflection portion. In the same manner as in the third embodiment, after forming a TFT, a transparent electrode 804 such as ITO is formed in a transmitting portion, and a reflection unevenness is formed using an organic film 826 such as a photosensitive acrylic resin only in a reflecting portion. Create the structure. At this time, after patterning the concavo-convex structure once, the organic film 827 is applied again to form a concavo-convex structure having a desired angle. At this time, a contact portion with the source electrode 813 is also formed at the same time. A reflection electrode 828 is formed of a metal such as Al on the reflection portion, and a contact is formed with the transmission portion transparent electrode 804 and the source electrode 813. From the viewpoint of the aperture ratio, it is common to arrange a TFT section in the reflection section. The difference between the liquid crystal layer thicknesses of the transmissive part and the reflective part is that light passes twice in the reflective part and once in the transmissive part, so that the layer thickness of the transmissive part is almost twice the layer thickness of the reflective part. desirable. A portion 825 having no electrode is formed at a position substantially corresponding to the center of symmetry of the symmetric pixel electrode and the reflective electrode of the common electrode 802.

In the same manner as in the third embodiment, the gate
When a voltage is applied to the gate electrode 809 to turn on the TFT, an electric field is induced between the pixel electrode 804 and the reflective electrode 828 and the common electrode 802 disposed opposite to the pixel electrode 804, and exactly the same as in the third embodiment. And the pixel electrode 80
4. Since the shape of the reflective electrode 828 is highly symmetrical and the common electrode 802 is larger than the pixel electrode 804 and the reflective electrode 828, the electric field generated between the electrodes is not perpendicular to the substrate, but from the peripheral portion of the pixel electrode to the center. An oblique electric field toward. Due to this electric field, the liquid crystal molecules 808 having a negative dielectric anisotropy symmetrically fall toward the center of the pixel. Therefore, the alignment direction of the liquid crystal in the pixel is naturally divided. That is, similarly to the third embodiment, the direction in which the liquid crystal falls can be automatically divided without specially processing the alignment film, and a wide viewing angle can be achieved. Here, since there is a portion (opening) without an electrode on the side of the common electrode at a position substantially corresponding to the center of a pixel having good symmetry, an oblique electric field is generated so as to match the end of the electrode, and the division boundary is determined. And the division is performed smoothly.

If there is no opening on the side of the common electrode, the liquid crystal falls in various directions due to the application of a voltage due to the unevenness in the reflecting portion. The light incident on the liquid crystal layer is circularly polarized, so there is no adverse effect on the display.However, when pressure is applied, for example, pressing the display surface with a finger, the liquid crystal flows, the alignment division is broken, and the liquid crystal layer is broken in one direction. A split state is created. Therefore, the display becomes rough, and this state is maintained until black display is performed. By providing an opening on the common electrode side, an oblique electric field is generated in a direction in which the division boundary is fixed, so that the orientation division is maintained even when pressure is applied to the display surface,
Such inconvenience can be prevented. With respect to the disturbance of the orientation division due to the external pressure, the same effect is obtained in the transmission part. The preferable effects of the negative uniaxial compensation film and the quarter-wave plate are exactly the same as those of the third embodiment. A quarter-wave plate is indispensable for a transflective liquid crystal element having a reflective portion. In particular, when the pixel electrode shape is polygonal in the transmissive portion and the distribution of the liquid crystal alignment in the azimuthal direction is large, the quarter-wave plate provides high brightness, and the direction of the polarizing plate, that is, excellent viewing angle characteristics. This is a very favorable effect that the direction can be set to any direction.

The gate line (scan signal line) 80 at the time of driving is
In order to prevent the alignment of the liquid crystal from being disturbed by the electric field from the drain line 9a and the drain line (video signal line) 811a, the pixel may be separated from both electrodes by a sufficient distance. Further, in order to prevent the adverse effect of the electric field, a shield electrode may be provided above one or both electrodes. Furthermore, when it is desired to more completely control the direction in which the liquid crystal falls, for example, when the aperture ratio is reduced and the aperture ratio is reduced, so that a sufficient distance cannot be obtained. Depending on the nature of the above, an operation such as irradiation of obliquely polarized light or non-polarized light may be performed. Further, a small amount of monomer may be introduced into the liquid crystal for the purpose of preventing the alignment of the liquid crystal from being disturbed, and the liquid crystal may be polymerized in order to store an appropriate alignment state. In this embodiment, the dielectric anisotropy is negative,
Although the description has been given of the vertically aligned liquid crystal, the same can be said for a liquid crystal having a positive dielectric anisotropy and a horizontal alignment (homogeneous alignment, TN alignment). Further, the same can be said for a so-called HAN type liquid crystal mode in which one substrate side is oriented horizontally and the other substrate is oriented vertically. In the case of the HAN type, the liquid crystal dielectric anisotropy may be positive or negative.

(Embodiment 8) Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 (a) is the same as FIG.
3 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line GG ′ of FIG. Embodiment 8
Is different from the seventh embodiment only in that a columnar spacer 819 is provided instead of the opening 825 of the common electrode in the transmission part. The columnar spacer determines the distance between the upper and lower substrates (hereinafter referred to as a cell gap), and serves as a nucleus for division as in the third embodiment, the division boundary is determined, and the division proceeds smoothly. It produces the effect of being done. In particular, in the case of the transflective type, since the electrode of the reflective portion has irregularities, even if an attempt is made to control the cell gap by a method of dispersing a spherical spacer, the cell gap varies depending on the position of the spacer. It is difficult to control uniformly. Similarly, it is also difficult to control the cell gap by arranging a columnar spacer in the reflection part. In the eighth embodiment, a columnar spacer for controlling the cell gap is arranged in a flat transmission portion, and the columnar spacer can be used as a nucleus for orientation division.

The fabrication on the TFT substrate side is exactly the same as in the seventh embodiment. A symmetrical pixel electrode of the common electrode 802,
A portion 825 without an electrode and a columnar spacer 819 are formed at a position substantially corresponding to the center of symmetry of the reflection electrode.
The effects of the openings and the column spacers on the orientation division when the TFT is turned on are exactly the same as the effects of the openings in the seventh embodiment. In other words, the direction in which the liquid crystal falls can be automatically divided without performing any special treatment on the alignment film, and a wide viewing angle can be achieved. Here, since there is a portion (opening) without an electrode on the side of the common electrode at a position substantially corresponding to the center of a pixel having good symmetry, an oblique electric field is generated so as to match the end of the electrode, and the division boundary is determined. And the division is performed smoothly.

The effect on the disturbance of the alignment division by the external pressure is exactly the same as in the seventh embodiment. Further, the presence of the columnar spacers in the transmitting portion has a preferable effect that it is less likely to be deformed by an external pressure. The preferable effects of the negative uniaxial compensation film and the quarter-wave plate are exactly the same as those of the seventh embodiment. A quarter-wave plate is indispensable for a transflective liquid crystal element having a reflective portion. In particular, when the pixel electrode shape is polygonal in the transmissive portion and the distribution of the liquid crystal alignment in the azimuthal direction is large, the quarter-wave plate provides high brightness, and the direction of the polarizing plate, that is, excellent viewing angle characteristics. This is a very favorable effect that the direction can be set to any direction.

In the same manner as in the seventh embodiment, in order to prevent the alignment of the liquid crystal from being disturbed by the electric field from the gate line (scanning signal line) 809a and the drain line (video signal line) 811a during driving. The pixel may be separated from both electrodes by a sufficient distance. Also, with the aim of preventing the adverse effects of the electric field,
An electrode for shielding may be provided on one or both electrodes. Further, similarly to the seventh embodiment, when it is necessary to more completely control the direction in which the liquid crystal falls, for example, when the aperture ratio is lowered due to a decrease in the aperture ratio due to the design of the pixel, the alignment film is provided with an optical alignment. Depending on the properties of the photo-alignment film, an operation such as irradiation with obliquely polarized light or non-polarized light may be performed using the film. Further, a small amount of monomer may be introduced into the liquid crystal for the purpose of preventing the alignment of the liquid crystal from being disturbed, and the liquid crystal may be polymerized in order to store an appropriate alignment state.

(Embodiment 9) Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the same manner as in the eighth embodiment, FIG.
2 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line HH ′ in the plan view of FIG. Embodiment 9
Is different from the eighth embodiment only in that a projection-like structure 824 is provided instead of the opening 825 of the common electrode. The columnar spacer determines the distance (cell gap) between the upper and lower substrates and, as in the third embodiment,
The effects such as the core of division, the effect that the division boundary is determined, and the division is performed smoothly are exactly the same for the opening, the projecting structure, and the column spacer. The columnar spacer has the same advantageous effects as the eighth embodiment in that the cell gap is uniformly controlled and the column spacer is less likely to be deformed by an external pressure. Further, the preferable effects of the negative uniaxial compensation film and the quarter-wave plate are exactly the same as those of the eighth embodiment.

Further, just like in the eighth embodiment, in order to prevent the alignment of the liquid crystal from being disturbed by the electric field from the gate line (scanning signal line) 809a and the drain line (video signal line) 811a during driving. The pixel may be separated from both electrodes by a sufficient distance. Also, with the aim of preventing the adverse effects of the electric field,
An electrode for shielding may be provided on one or both electrodes. Further, as in the eighth embodiment, when it is desired to more completely control the direction in which the liquid crystal falls, for example, when a sufficient distance is not obtained due to a decrease in the aperture ratio due to the design of the pixel, the alignment film is provided with an optical alignment. Depending on the properties of the photo-alignment film, an operation such as irradiation with obliquely polarized light or non-polarized light may be performed using the film. Further, a small amount of monomer may be introduced into the liquid crystal for the purpose of preventing the alignment of the liquid crystal from being disturbed, and the liquid crystal may be polymerized in order to store an appropriate alignment state. Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples.

(Example 1) An ITO film was formed on a glass substrate by sputtering, and the
O electrodes were formed in a matrix. A silicon nitride film was deposited only on the lower substrate, and a through hole was formed using photolithography. Sputter ITO on this,
Hexagonal pixel electrodes were formed using photolithography. A substantially hexagonal columnar spacer having a side of 5 μm and a height of 3.5 μm was formed on the pixel electrode using photosensitive polysilazane at a substantially central position thereof. A vertical alignment film (Nissan Chemical Industries, SE1211) is applied to the upper and lower substrates, and 200
C. for 1 hour. A sealant was applied around the substrate, and the upper and lower substrates were stuck together so that matrix electrodes were formed alternately to form XY electrodes, and the sealant was cured by heating. A nematic liquid crystal having a refractive index anisotropy Δn of 0.096 and a negative dielectric anisotropy was injected, and the injection hole was sealed with a photocurable resin. After attaching an optically negative compensation film having the same size as Δnd of the liquid crystal layer and the opposite sign, the polarizing plate and the quarter-wave plate are turned on the upper and lower substrates, respectively, so that the circularly polarized light is opposite. As described above, the polarizing plate was attached with the transmission axis of the polarizing plate and the slow axis of the quarter-wave plate inclined by 45 °. When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with almost no grayscale inversion and a very high contrast area. Also, there was no dark portion in the transmission axis direction of the polarizing plate, and a display with excellent luminance was obtained.

(Example 2) Except that hexagonal electrodes were formed around the silicon nitride film on the lower substrate to form shield electrodes so as to surround each electrode, the same as in Example 1 was performed. Thus, a liquid crystal display device was produced. The shield electrode could be formed only by changing the mask. The shield electrode is 0
V. When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with almost no grayscale inversion, high luminance, and a very wide high contrast region.

Example 3 A substrate having an amorphous silicon thin film transistor array (TFT) was formed on a glass substrate by repeating a film formation process and a lithography process. This TFT has a gate-chrome layer,
It comprises a silicon oxide / silicon nitride-gate insulating layer, an amorphous silicon-semiconductor layer, and a drain / source-molybdenum layer. The source electrode is connected to a square pixel ITO electrode. A protective film made of silicon nitride was formed to cover these. I on the whole
Color with black matrix sputtered with TO
A filter-substrate was prepared and used as a counter substrate. Here, a square spacer having a side of 5 μm and a height of 3.7 μm was formed at a position corresponding to the center of symmetry of each pixel electrode on the opposite substrate using a photosensitive acrylic resin. A vertical alignment film (SE1211 manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd.) was applied to both substrates, and dried by heating at 200 ° C. for 1 hour. A sealant is applied around the substrate, and the sealant is cured by heating. A nematic liquid crystal having a refractive index anisotropy Δn of 0.096 and a negative dielectric anisotropy is injected, and the injection hole is light-cured. Sealed with resin. In the same manner as in Example 1, the liquid crystal layer has the same size as Δnd,
After attaching an optically negative compensation film with the opposite sign, the transmission axis of the polarizing plate and the quarter-wave plate are set so that the polarizing plate and the quarter-wave plate have opposite circular polarization respectively. Was attached with its slow axis inclined at 45 °. When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with almost no grayscale inversion and a very high contrast area. In addition, microscopic observation revealed that there was no dark portion in the transmission axis direction of the polarizing plate, and a display with excellent luminance was obtained. Also, when I pressed the screen with my finger,
No disturbance in liquid crystal alignment as observed in a panel without columnar spacers was not observed.

(Embodiment 4) In exactly the same manner as in Embodiment 3,
A TFT substrate was prepared, and a portion 219 without an electrode as shown in FIG. That is, a pixel electrode in which a portion 219 having no electrode was scattered along the diagonal direction of the square pixel electrode was formed, and the other conditions were the same as in Example 3 to obtain a liquid crystal display panel. When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with almost no grayscale inversion, high luminance, and a very wide high contrast region.

(Example 5) In exactly the same manner as in Example 3,
A TFT substrate was formed, and a part of the gate insulating film was etched using photolithography into a shape shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B to form a concave portion. The shape as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B was finally obtained by sputtering ITO. That is, a recess was also formed in a part of the ITO. A liquid crystal display panel was produced in exactly the same manner as in Example 3. When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with almost no grayscale inversion and a very high contrast area.

(Embodiment 6) Exactly as in Embodiment 3,
The TFT was formed on a glass substrate. This TFT is composed of a gate-chromium layer, a silicon oxide / silicon nitride-gate insulating layer, an amorphous silicon-semiconductor layer, and a drain / source-molybdenum layer from the substrate side, as in the third embodiment. A silicon nitride film was formed so as to cover all of them, and a pixel electrode connected to the source electrode was formed in an octagonal shape through a through-hole on the silicon nitride film. In the same manner as in Example 3, a color filter substrate with a black matrix in which ITO was sputtered on the entire surface was prepared and used as a counter substrate. Here, in the same manner as in Example 3, a photosensitive acrylic resin was used and a side having a length of 5 μm and a length of 4 μm was formed at a position corresponding to the center of symmetry of each pixel electrode on the counter substrate.
A square spacer having a height of m was formed. A vertical alignment film (SE1211 manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd.) was applied to both substrates, and dried by heating at 200 ° C. for 1 hour. A sealant is applied around the substrate, and the sealant is cured by heating. A nematic liquid crystal having a refractive index anisotropy Δn of 0.095 and a negative dielectric anisotropy is injected, and the injection hole is light-cured. Sealed with resin. In the same manner as in Example 3, after attaching an optically negative compensation film having the same size as Δnd of the liquid crystal layer and having the opposite sign, the polarizing plate and the quarter-wave plate are respectively placed in opposite circles. The polarizing plate was attached such that the transmission axis of the polarizing plate and the slow axis of the quarter-wave plate were inclined by 45 ° so that the light was polarized. When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with almost no grayscale inversion and a very high contrast area. Further, microscopic observation revealed that there was no dark portion in the transmission axis direction of the polarizing plate, and a display with excellent luminance was obtained.

Example 7 In the same manner as in Example 6, a TFT substrate and a color filter substrate each having a square pixel electrode were prepared. A photo-alignment film was applied only on the TFT substrate side, and polarized ultraviolet light was applied obliquely from four directions through a mask so as to divide the pixel into four. Figure 7 (l)
It was performed so that it could be divided by the boundary as shown in. That is, irradiation was performed so that the liquid crystal in the vertical alignment was pretilted from each side toward the opposite side, with the diagonal direction as a division boundary. After applying a sealant, injecting liquid crystal, and sealing in exactly the same manner as in Example 6, after attaching an optically negative compensation film having the same size and the opposite sign as Δnd of the liquid crystal layer. Then, the polarizing plate and the quarter-wave plate were attached such that the transmission axis of the polarizing plate and the slow axis of the quarter-wave plate were inclined at 45 ° so that the circular polarization was reversed. When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with almost no grayscale inversion and a very high contrast area. Further, microscopic observation revealed that there was no dark portion in the transmission axis direction of the polarizing plate, and a display with excellent luminance was obtained. When the state of the pixels during driving was observed with a microscope, in Example 6, no abnormal movement of disclination was observed at all with a very small number of pixels. When the transmission axis of the polarizing plate was attached in the vertical direction of the panel, the vertical angle contrast was particularly high, and the viewing angle characteristics were exhibited. Further, in the panel in which the transmission axis of the polarizing plate was stuck in the 45 ° direction, other characteristics hardly changed, and only the direction in which the contrast was particularly high was the 45 ° direction of the panel.

(Embodiment 8) In exactly the same manner as in Embodiment 6,
A TFT substrate and a color filter substrate were prepared. Color
A column (height: 6 μm) serving as a spacer was formed at a position substantially at the center of symmetry of the pixel electrode by photolithography using a negative resist as a filter substrate. A vertical alignment film (SE12 manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd.) was formed on both substrates in the same manner as in Example 6.
11) was applied and heated and dried at 200 ° C. for 1 hour to prepare a panel. Nematic liquid crystal with negative dielectric anisotropy (MJ95955, trade name, manufactured by Merck) and UV-curable monomer (KAYARAD PET-30, trade name, manufactured by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.)
(0.2 wt% with respect to the liquid crystal) and a liquid crystal solution containing an initiator (trade name Irganox 907, 5 wt% with respect to the monomer) were injected, and the liquid crystal solution was sealed with care so as not to be exposed to light. . While applying a voltage of 0 V to the common electrode and 3 V to the pixel electrode, the entire surface of the panel was irradiated with ultraviolet light from the TFT side to polymerize the monomer in the liquid crystal. After attaching an optically negative compensation film having the same size as Δnd of the liquid crystal layer and having the opposite sign, the polarizing plate and the quarter-wave plate are each set to have the opposite circularly polarized light. And the slow axis of the quarter-wave plate were inclined at 45 °. When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with almost no grayscale inversion and a very high contrast area. Microscopic observation of the state of the pixels during driving was performed in the same manner as in Example 7. As a result, in Example 6, no abnormal movement of the disclination, which was faintly observed, was observed with a very small number of pixels. .

Example 9 In the same manner as in Example 3, a substrate having an amorphous silicon thin film transistor array (TFT) was formed on a glass substrate by repeating the film formation process and the lithography process. This TFT has a gate-chromium layer, silicon oxide / silicon nitride-
It comprises a gate insulating layer, an amorphous silicon-semiconductor layer, and a drain / source-molybdenum layer. Next, a protective film was formed on the gate insulating film so as to cover the drain electrode, the source electrode, and the semiconductor film. Next, a color filter layer and a light shielding layer were formed on the protective film. The color filter layer, for example, using a red, green or blue dye, a photosensitive resin film containing a pigment,
It was formed by photolithography. The light-shielding layer was formed using a photosensitive resin containing a black dye and a pigment. At this time, the light-shielding layer may be formed using a metal. The color filter layer was formed using a pigment-dispersed resist in which a pigment capable of obtaining desired optical characteristics such as red, for example, was dispersed in an acrylic-based negative photosensitive resin. First, a pigment-dispersed resist is applied on a protective film to form a resist film, and then a photomask is formed so that light is selectively applied to a predetermined region of the resist film, that is, a pixel region arranged in a matrix. Exposure was performed using After the exposure, development was performed using a predetermined developing solution to form a predetermined pattern. These steps
By repeating the number of colors, that is, three times for three colors of red, blue and green, a color filter layer could be formed.

Next, an overcoat layer made of a transparent insulating material was formed on the color filter layer and the light shielding layer. Although the overcoat layer is formed using a thermosetting resin such as an acrylic resin, a transparent resin having photocurability may be used. Finally, a square pixel electrode was formed on the overcoat layer to form a through-hole and to connect to the source electrode through the through-hole. Further, a columnar spacer having a side of 5 μm and a height of 3.5 μm was formed at the position of the center of symmetry of the pixel electrode using a photosensitive acrylic resin. As a counter substrate, a glass substrate having ITO sputtered on the entire surface was prepared. In the same manner as in Example 3, both substrates were coated with a vertical alignment film (SE1211 manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd.) and dried by heating at 200 ° C. for 1 hour. A sealant is applied around the substrate, and the sealant is cured by heating. A nematic liquid crystal having a refractive index anisotropy Δn of 0.096 and a negative dielectric anisotropy is injected, and the injection hole is light-cured. Sealed with resin. After attaching an optically negative compensation film having the same size as Δnd of the liquid crystal layer and having the opposite sign, the polarizing plate and the quarter-wave plate are each set to have the opposite circularly polarized light. And the slow axis of the quarter-wave plate were inclined at 45 °. When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with almost no grayscale inversion and a very high contrast area. In addition, when the upper and lower substrates were bonded, no alignment was required, and it was found that there was no problem even if the pixel size was reduced.

(Embodiment 10) FIG.
A panel was prepared in exactly the same manner as in Example 9 except that the panel had a protruding portion as shown in (f) to (m). When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with almost no grayscale inversion and a very high contrast area. Also,
In Example 9, with a very small number of pixels, no slight bending of disclination was observed.

Example 11 In the same manner as in Example 1, an ITO electrode and a silicon nitride film were formed using photolithography, and then a square pixel electrode was formed. Only alignment film and liquid crystal material JALS-428 and ZLI47 manufactured by JSR
A liquid crystal panel was prepared in the same manner as above except that 92 chiral agents were removed. However, rubbing was performed so that the orientation directions of the liquid crystal on the lower substrate and the upper substrate were orthogonal to each other, and particularly in the direction of a square diagonal. In JALS-428, the liquid crystal is aligned in the direction perpendicular to the rubbing direction, and the crystal rotation is performed.
The pretilt angle determined by the method was approximately 0 °.
The cell thickness was approximately 5 μm. As a compensating film, using a New-Vac film manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. instead of a negative uniaxial compensating film and a quarter-wave plate, and measuring the viewing angle characteristics of the panel, there was no tone reversal over the entire surface, and it was excellent. Viewing angle characteristics were obtained.

Example 12 A TFT substrate and a color filter substrate were prepared in exactly the same manner as in Example 3. JALS-428 manufactured by JSR was applied as an alignment film, and 200
After heating and drying at 1 ° C. for 1 hour, rubbing was performed in the same manner as in Example 11. A liquid crystal panel was prepared in exactly the same manner as in Example 3, except that ZLI4792 from which the chiral agent had been removed was injected, and the negative uniaxial compensation film and the quarter-wave plate were removed. When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, there was no gradation inversion, and an excellent viewing angle characteristic having a very wide high contrast region was obtained.

Example 13 A TFT substrate was formed, a color filter layer and an overcoat layer were formed, and a square pixel electrode was formed in exactly the same manner as in Example 9. In the same manner as in Example 11, the alignment film and the liquid crystal material
A liquid crystal panel was prepared in the same manner as in Example 9 except that the chiral agents of -428 and ZLI4792 were removed, rubbing was performed in the same manner as in Example 11, and the negative uniaxial compensation film was removed. When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, there was no gradation inversion, and an excellent viewing angle characteristic having a very wide high contrast region was obtained. In addition, when the upper and lower substrates were bonded, no alignment was required, and it was found that there was no problem even if the pixel size was reduced. Even if there was a deviation in the rubbing direction, there was no change in luminance.

(Embodiment 14) FIG.
A panel was produced in exactly the same manner as in Example 13 except that the panel had a shape having a protruding portion as shown in (f) to (m). When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with almost no grayscale inversion and a very high contrast area.

(Example 15) The response speed of a panel fabricated in exactly the same manner as in Example 3 except for removing the quarter-wave plate was measured. In this case, the amount of transmitted light was not stable even after 40 ms. On the other hand, when a bias voltage of 2.2 V was applied and a driving voltage of 5 V was applied, the amount of transmitted light was stabilized after 20 ms. It has been found that the response speed is increased by applying the bias voltage in this manner. However, when a bias voltage of 2.2 V was applied, the contrast was reduced from 2300 at 0 V when no bias voltage was applied to 130. This was due to light leakage around the pixels. Then, when this portion was shielded from light by a black matrix, a high contrast value of 2000 could be obtained. Also, when a quarter-wave plate is installed, even if 5 V is applied immediately from 0 V without applying a bias voltage, the amount of transmitted light stabilizes after 30 ms, and a bias voltage of 2.2 V is applied. When a driving voltage of 5 V was applied, the amount of transmitted light was stabilized after 10 ms. By installing the quarter-wave plate in this way, the substantial response speed was increased.

(Embodiment 16) The height of the pillar spacer was 2 μm.
m, and the liquid crystal alignment film is a vertical alignment film (SE1 manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd.).
Example 9 except that rubbing was omitted in place of Example 9
In the same manner as above, the prepared panel is provided with a refractive index anisotropy Δ
Inject a liquid crystal material having n of 0.1669 and negative dielectric anisotropy,
Sealed. In exactly the same manner as in Example 3, a negative uniaxial compensation film, a quarter-wave plate, and a polarizing plate were attached to form a liquid crystal panel. When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with almost no grayscale inversion and a very high contrast area. Also, there was no dark part in the transmission axis direction of the polarizing plate, and a display with excellent luminance was obtained. Also, the response speed was extremely fast. When driving this panel,
During the latter half 8.3ms of 16.7ms which is one frame,
When a voltage was applied so as to display black, a moving image could be clearly seen.

Example 17 A half-wave plate was attached to a liquid crystal panel produced in exactly the same manner as in Example 3, in place of the negative uniaxial compensation film. At this time, the relationship between the transmission axis of the polarizing plate, the slow axis of the quarter-wave plate, and the slow axis of the half-wave plate is as shown in FIG. When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with almost no grayscale inversion and a very high contrast area. Further, microscopic observation revealed that there was no dark portion in the transmission axis direction of the polarizing plate, and a display with excellent luminance was obtained.

(Embodiment 18) A TFT substrate and a color filter substrate prepared in exactly the same manner as in Embodiment 3 were prepared.
The counter substrate was used. Using photosensitive acrylic resin, instead of pillar spacers, each side is 5μm and height is 3μm
A quadrangular pyramid projection was created. When the shape of the projection was observed by SEM, the upper portion was crushed due to the influence of flow due to exposure, development, and heating, but the shape of each surface was close to an oblique quadrangular pyramid. A 3.7 μm spacer was sprayed, and a liquid crystal panel was prepared in exactly the same manner as in Example 3.

When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel obtained as described above were measured, excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with almost no grayscale inversion and a very wide high contrast region.
In addition, microscopic observation revealed that there was no dark portion in the transmission axis direction of the polarizing plate, and a display with excellent luminance was obtained.

(Embodiment 19) In the same manner as in Embodiment 3, the TFT
Was formed on a glass substrate. This TFT has a gate-chromium layer, a silicon oxide / silicon nitride-gate
And a drain / source-molybdenum layer. A protective film made of silicon nitride was formed to cover these. A pixel ITO electrode was formed as a transmissive part, a concave and convex shape was formed using only a photosensitive acrylic resin only in a reflective part, and a desired concave and convex shape was formed using the same photosensitive acrylic resin. Further, a reflective electrode was formed on the unevenness using Al. A color filter substrate with a black matrix having ITO sputtered on the entire surface was prepared and used as a counter substrate. At this time, in the color filter, only the portion corresponding to the reflection portion has an amount of the coloring component which is substantially half that of the transmission portion.

Here, a square opening having a side of 5 μm was formed at a position corresponding to the center of symmetry of each pixel electrode on the counter substrate using photolithography. In the same manner as in Example 3, the vertical alignment films (SE1 manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd.) were formed on both substrates.
211), and dried by heating at 200 ° C. for 1 hour. A sealant is applied around the substrate, and the sealant is cured by heating. A nematic liquid crystal having a refractive index anisotropy Δn of 0.083 and a negative dielectric anisotropy is injected, and the injection hole is photocured. Sealed with resin. A quarter-wave plate and a half-wave plate were superposed on each other, and a retardation plate having reduced wavelength dispersion was attached to a color filter-side substrate, and then a polarizing plate was attached. On the TFT side substrate, after attaching an optically negative compensation film with the same size and the opposite sign as the liquid crystal layer Δnd, attach a polarizing plate, a quarter-wave plate, and a half-wave plate. The combined product was affixed so as to have a circular polarization opposite to that of the color filter.

When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, there was almost no grayscale inversion in both the reflection portion and the transmission portion, and excellent viewing angle characteristics with a very wide high contrast region were obtained. In addition, microscopic observation revealed that there was no dark portion in the transmission axis direction of the polarizing plate, and a display with excellent luminance was obtained.

Further, when the screen was pressed with a finger, no disturbance in the liquid crystal alignment as observed in a panel having no opening was observed.

Example 20 A TFT substrate and a color filter substrate were prepared in exactly the same manner as in Example 19. The difference from the nineteenth embodiment is that the area ratio between the transmission part and the reflection part is
The only difference is that the ratio has changed from 1: 1 to 1: 2, and that a columnar spacer is provided in the transmission section instead of the opening of the common electrode. This columnar spacer has a side of 5μ.
m and a square having a height of 4 μm.

When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel obtained in this manner were measured, there was almost no grayscale inversion in both the reflection portion and the transmission portion, and excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained with a very wide high contrast area. In addition, microscopic observation revealed that there was no dark portion in the transmission axis direction of the polarizing plate, and a display with excellent luminance was obtained. When the screen was pressed with a finger, no disturbance in the liquid crystal alignment as seen in a panel having no opening was not observed at all.

Example 21 A TFT substrate and a color filter substrate were prepared in exactly the same manner as in Examples 19 and 20.
The only difference from the twentieth embodiment is that a protruding structure is provided instead of the opening of the common electrode. The protruding structure had a side of 3 μm and a height of 1 μm. When the viewing angle characteristics of the panel thus obtained were measured, there was almost no grayscale inversion in the reflection portion and the transmission portion, and excellent viewing angle characteristics were obtained in which the high contrast region was very wide. In addition, microscopic observation revealed that there was no dark portion in the transmission axis direction of the polarizing plate, and a display with excellent luminance was obtained. Also, when I pressed the screen with my finger,
No disturbance in liquid crystal alignment as observed in a panel having no opening was observed.

[0108]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A liquid crystal is sandwiched between two substrates, an electrode on the first substrate has a shape with good symmetry, an electrode on the second substrate covers the entire upper portion of the electrode on the first substrate, and It is wider than the electrodes on one substrate. In addition, at least one of a columnar spacer, a protruding structure, and an electrode opening is provided at a position substantially at the center of symmetry of the electrode on the first substrate so as to cover the entire upper portion of the electrode on the first substrate. I do. Therefore, at the time of driving, an electric field is generated obliquely and symmetrically with respect to the substrate, and a columnar spacer or a protruding structure or an electrode opening becomes a nucleus of division, and division is performed quickly. Will be In addition, the orientation division disturbance due to an external pressure becomes remarkably strong. For this reason, the liquid crystal layer is naturally divided into a plurality of symmetrical regions in which one pixel is symmetric by a voltage, so that a liquid crystal panel with excellent visibility can be manufactured in both the transmissive type and the transflective type.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a plan view illustrating a configuration of the liquid crystal display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3C is a plan view illustrating a shape of a pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4D is a plan view illustrating another shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3E is a plan view illustrating another shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. (F) It is a top view which shows other shapes of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 1 of this invention.
(G) It is a top view which shows another shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 1 of this invention.

FIG. 2A is a plan view illustrating a shape of a pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device according to the first and third embodiments of the present invention. (B) Another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device according to the first and third embodiments of the present invention. (C) Still another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiments 1 and 3 of the present invention. (D) Embodiments 1 and 3 of the present invention
13 is another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in FIG. (E) Embodiments 1 and 3 of the present invention
13 is another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in FIG. (F) Embodiments 1 and 3 of the present invention
FIG. 10 is yet another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in FIG. (G) Another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device according to the first and third embodiments of the present invention. (H) Still another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device according to the first and third embodiments of the present invention. (I) Still another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device according to the first and third embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. (B) It is a top view which shows the structure of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 2 of this invention.

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal display device in a case of a homogeneous alignment according to the present invention. (B) is a plan view showing the configuration of the liquid crystal display device in the case of the homogeneous alignment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. (B) It is a top view which shows the structure of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of this invention.

FIG. 6A is a plan view illustrating a shape of a pixel electrode of a liquid crystal display device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (B) Another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (C) Still another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (D) Still another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (E) Still another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (F) Another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (G) Still another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (H) Still another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (I) It is a top view which shows another shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of this invention. (J) A plan view showing another shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
(K) A plan view showing a shape of a pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. (L) It is a top view which shows another shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of this invention. (M) It is a top view which shows another further shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of this invention.

FIG. 7A is a plan view illustrating a shape of a pixel electrode of a liquid crystal display device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (B) Another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (C) Still another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (D) Still another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (E) Still another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (F) Another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (G) Still another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (H) Still another plan view showing the shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. (I) It is a top view which shows another shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of this invention. (J) A plan view showing another shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
(K) A plan view showing a shape of a pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. (L) It is a top view which shows another shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of this invention. (M) It is a top view which shows another further shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of this invention. (N) It is a top view which shows the further another shape of the pixel electrode of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of this invention.

FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view illustrating another configuration of the liquid crystal display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. (B) It is a top view showing other composition of a liquid crystal display in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view illustrating another configuration of the liquid crystal display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. (B) It is a top view which shows another structure of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 3 of this invention.

FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal display device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. (B) It is a top view which shows the structure of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 4 of this invention.

FIG. 11A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal display device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. (B) It is a top view showing the composition of the liquid crystal display in a 5th embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a plan view illustrating a positional relationship among a transmission axis of a polarizing plate, a slow axis of a quarter-wave plate, and a slow axis of a half-wave plate in Example 17 of the present invention.

FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view and a plan view illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal display device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. (B)
It is a sectional view and a plan view showing a configuration of a liquid crystal display device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal display device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. (B) It is a top view which shows the structure of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 7 of this invention.

FIG. 15A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal display device according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. (B) It is a top view which shows the structure of the liquid crystal display device in Embodiment 8 of this invention.

FIG. 16A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal display device according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention. (B) It is a top view showing the composition of the liquid crystal display in a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal display device in a conventional example. (B) It is a top view which shows the structure of the liquid crystal display device in a conventional example.

FIG. 18 is a plan view showing a configuration of a liquid crystal display device in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 --- Transparent substrate, 102 --- Common electrode, 103 ---
Alignment film, 104 --- Pixel electrode, 104a --- Shield electrode, 105 --- Insulating film, 106 --- Wiring electrode, 1
07: lower substrate, 108: liquid crystal molecules, 116: through-hole, 117: orientation direction of liquid crystal of upper substrate,
118 --- Orientation direction of liquid crystal on lower substrate 119--Columnar spacer 120--Polarizer 121--Quarter-wave plate 122--Negative uniaxial compensation film , 201 --- transparent substrate, 202 --- common electrode, 203 --- alignment film, 204-
--Pixel electrode, 205 --- Protective film, 207 --- Lower substrate,
208 --- Liquid crystal molecules, 209 --- Gate electrode, 209a
--- scanning signal line, 210 --- gate insulating film, 211 --- drain electrode, 211a --- video signal line, 212 --- semiconductor film, 213 --- source electrode, 214- --Color filter layer, 215 --- Shading film, 217 --- Alignment direction of liquid crystal on upper substrate, 218 --- Alignment direction of liquid crystal on lower substrate,
219-pillar spacer, 220-polarizing plate, 22
1-quarter wave plate, 222-negative uniaxial compensation film, 223-recess, 301-transparent substrate, 302-
Common electrode, 303 --- alignment film, 304 --- pixel electrode, 30
5 --- Protective film, 307 --- Lower substrate, 308 --- Liquid crystal molecules, 309 --- Gate electrode, 309a --- Scan signal electrode,
310 --- gate insulating film, 311 --- drain electrode, 3
11a --- Video signal electrode 312 --- Semiconductor film 313
--- Source electrode, 314 --- Color filter layer, 31
5-light shielding film, 316-through hole, 319-column spacer, 320-polarizing plate, 321-quarter wavelength plate, 322-negative Uniaxial compensation film, 401 ---
Transparent substrate, 402 --- common electrode, 403 --- alignment film, 4
04 --- pixel electrode, 405 --- protective film, 407 --- lower substrate, 408 --- liquid crystal molecule, 409 --- gate electrode, 409
a --- scanning signal electrode, 410 --- gate insulating film, 411--
-Drain electrode, 411a --- Video signal electrode, 412--
-Semiconductor film, 413 --- source electrode, 414 --- color filter layer, 415 --- light shielding film, 416 --- sulfo-film
417: Overcoat layer, 419: Column spacer, 420: Polarizer, 421: Quarter wave plate, 422: Negative uniaxial Compensation film, 501 --- Color filter substrate, 502 --- Common electrode, 503 --- Alignment film, 504 --- Pixel electrode, 507 --- Lower substrate (TF
517 --- slit, 601 --- direction of the transmission axis of the polarizing plate on the lower substrate (TFT substrate), 602 ---
The direction of the transmission axis of the polarizing plate of the upper substrate (color filter substrate); 603 the direction of the slow axis of the half-wave plate attached to the lower substrate (TFT substrate); -The direction of the slow axis of the quarter-wave plate attached to the (filter-substrate), 604 --- the direction of the slow axis of the quarter-wave plate attached to the lower substrate (TFT substrate); And the direction of the slow axis 701 of the half-wave plate attached to the upper substrate (color filter substrate) 701 --- transparent substrate, 702 --- common electrode, 7
03 --- Alignment film, 704 --- Pixel electrode, 705 --- Protective film, 707 --- Lower substrate, 708 --- Liquid crystal molecule, 709--
-Gate electrode, 709a --- Scan signal electrode, 710 --- Gate insulating film, 711 --- Drain electrode, 711a --- Video signal electrode, 712 --- Semiconductor film, 713 --- Source electrode, 714-color filter layer, 715-light shielding film, 716-through-hole, 720-polarizing plate, 7
21 --- quarter wavelength plate, 722 --- negative uniaxial compensation film, 724 --- projecting structure, 801 --- transparent substrate, 8
02 --- common electrode, 803 --- alignment film, 804 --- pixel electrode, 805 --- protective film, 807 --- lower substrate, 808 ---
Liquid crystal molecules, 809 --- gate electrode, 809a --- scan signal electrode, 810 --- gate insulating film, 811 --- drain electrode, 811a --- video signal electrode, 812 --- semiconductor film,
813 --- Source electrode, 814 --- Color filter
Layer, 815-light shielding film, 816-through-hole, 82
0 --- polarizer, 821 --- half-wave plate, 822--
-Quarter wave plate, 824 --- Projecting structure, 825 ---
Electrode opening, 826-uneven structure, 827-film for adjusting unevenness, 828-reflective electrode, 829-compensation film.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G02F 1/1337 G02F 1/1337 5C006 1/1339 500 1/1339 500 5C080 1/1368 1/1368 // G09G 3/20 621 G09G 3/20 621B 623 623D 680 680H 3/36 3/36 (72) Inventor Michiaki Sakamoto 5-7-1 Shiba 5-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside the NEC Corporation (72) Inventor Hidenori Ikeno (7-1) Inventor Hiroaki Matsuyama 5-7-1 Shiba 5-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo Hiroaki Matsuyama In-house NEC Corp. (72) Inventor-Kiyomi Hayakawa Tokyo 5-7-1, Shiba, Minato-ku, NEC Corporation (72) Inventor Yoshihiko Hirai 5-7-1, Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside NEC Corporation (72) Inventor Suzu Seiji 2-7-1, Shiba 5-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo F-term in NEC Corporation (reference) 2H089 KA03 LA09 LA12 QA12 QA16 RA05 TA01 TA02 TA09 TA12 TA13 TA14 TA15 TA18 2H090 HB03X HB04X HC11 HD14 JA03 JB02 JC11 KA05 KA11 LA01 LA02 LA04 LA05 LA06 LA08 LA09 LA15 LA16 MA01 MA11 MA15 MB01 MB12 MB13 2H091 FA02Y FA08X FA08Z FA11X FA11Z FA35Y FA41Z FB03 FB04 GA01 GA02 GA08 GA13 HA07 JA02 LA19 LA30 2H092 GA05 GA13 GA14 GA29 GA33 JA15 MA24 JA34 JA37 JA41 JA25 JA41 NA25 NA27 PA01 PA03 PA06 PA08 PA09 PA10 QA07 QA15 2H093 NA16 NA31 NA41 NC34 ND13 NE01 NE03 NE06 NF05 NF11 5C006 AA22 AC21 AC26 BB15 FA22 FA54 FA55 5C080 AA10 BB05 CC03 DD05 DD30 FF11 JJ06

Claims (36)

[Claims] 1. A liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between two substrates and two or more types of minute regions coexist in the liquid crystal layer, wherein electrodes on the first substrate have a shape with good symmetry. Wherein the electrode on the second substrate is wider than the electrode on the first substrate and covers the entire top of the electrode on the first substrate, and a dielectric is located at least approximately at the center of symmetry of the electrode on the first substrate. A liquid crystal display device characterized by having a body. 2. A liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between two substrates and two or more types of minute regions coexist in the liquid crystal layer, wherein electrodes on the first substrate have a shape with good symmetry. The electrode on the second substrate is wider than the electrode on the first substrate, and covers the entire upper part of the electrode on the first substrate; A liquid crystal display device characterized by the following: 3. A liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between two substrates and two or more types of minute regions coexist in the liquid crystal layer, wherein electrodes on the first substrate have a shape with good symmetry. Wherein the electrode on the second substrate is wider than the electrode on the first substrate and covers the entire top of the electrode on the first substrate, and at least at the substantially symmetric center of the electrode on the first substrate; A liquid crystal display device characterized in that there is a portion where no electrode exists. 4. A liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between two substrates and two or more types of minute regions coexist in the liquid crystal layer, wherein the electrodes on the first substrate have a shape with good symmetry. The electrodes on the second substrate are wider than the electrodes on the first substrate, and cover the entire top of the electrodes on the first substrate;
A liquid crystal display device, wherein a columnar spacer exists at least at a position substantially at the center of symmetry of the electrode on the first substrate. 5. A liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between two substrates and two or more types of minute regions coexist in the liquid crystal layer, wherein the electrodes on the first substrate have a shape with good symmetry. The electrodes on the second substrate are wider than the electrodes on the first substrate, and cover the entire top of the electrodes on the first substrate;
A liquid crystal display device characterized in that there is a portion where no electrode exists at least at a position of the center of symmetry of the electrode on the first substrate. 6. A liquid crystal layer in which two or more types of minute regions coexist is sandwiched between a first substrate on which wirings and thin film transistors are formed, and a second substrate disposed opposite to the first substrate. A reflection region where a reflection electrode is formed on the first substrate and a transmission region where a transparent electrode is formed on the first substrate; a common electrode is formed on the second substrate;
6. A voltage is applied between the reflective electrode and the transparent electrode and the common electrode.
The liquid crystal display device according to any one of the above. 7. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the electrodes on the second substrate are formed on substantially the entire surface of the second substrate. 8. A liquid crystal according to claim 1, wherein an electrode for shielding is arranged in addition to an electrode for pixel display on an electrode on the first substrate. Display device. 9. On a first substrate, a plurality of scanning signal electrodes, a plurality of video signal electrodes intersecting the scanning signal electrodes in a matrix, and a plurality of scanning signal electrodes formed corresponding to respective intersections of these electrodes. A thin film transistor, and at least one pixel is configured in a region surrounded by the plurality of scanning signal electrodes and the video signal electrode; and a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor corresponding to each pixel. A liquid crystal display device having a common electrode for providing a reference potential over a plurality of pixels on two substrates, wherein the pixel electrode, the scanning electrode, the video signal electrode, and the thin film transistor are separated via an interlayer insulating film. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein: 10. On a first substrate, a plurality of scanning signal electrodes, a plurality of video signal electrodes intersecting the scanning signal electrodes in a matrix, and a plurality of scanning signal electrodes formed corresponding to respective intersections of these electrodes. A thin film transistor, and at least one pixel is configured in a region surrounded by the plurality of scanning signal electrodes and the video signal electrode; and a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor corresponding to each pixel. A liquid crystal display device having a common electrode for providing a reference potential over a plurality of pixels on two substrates, wherein the pixel electrode, the scanning electrode, the video signal electrode, and the thin film transistor are separated via an interlayer insulating film. And a part of the pixel electrode or an electrode for shielding is arranged on at least one of the scanning signal electrode and the video signal electrode. 9. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 8, wherein: 11. A liquid crystal display device comprising a first substrate, a transparent second substrate, a liquid crystal layer and a color filter layer sandwiched between the first substrate and the transparent second substrate, wherein the color filter layer is formed of the first substrate. A liquid crystal layer is disposed between the color filter layer and the second substrate, and a plurality of scanning signals are provided on the first substrate below the color filter layer. An electrode, a plurality of video signal electrodes intersecting them in a matrix, and a plurality of thin film transistors formed corresponding to respective intersections of these electrodes. A pixel electrode connected to a thin film transistor corresponding to each pixel, wherein at least one pixel is formed in each of the surrounded regions, and a common electrode for providing a reference potential across the plurality of pixels on the second substrate; electrode The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the pixel electrode is disposed between the color filter layer and the liquid crystal layer. 12. A liquid crystal display device comprising a first substrate, a transparent second substrate, a liquid crystal layer and a color filter layer sandwiched therebetween, wherein the color filter layer is formed of the first substrate. A liquid crystal layer is disposed between the color filter layer and the second substrate, and a plurality of scanning signals are provided on the first substrate below the color filter layer. An electrode, a plurality of video signal electrodes intersecting them in a matrix, and a plurality of thin film transistors formed corresponding to respective intersections of these electrodes. A pixel electrode connected to a thin film transistor corresponding to each pixel, wherein at least one pixel is formed in each of the surrounded regions, and a common electrode for providing a reference potential across the plurality of pixels on the second substrate; electrode Wherein the pixel electrode is disposed between the color filter layer and the liquid crystal layer, and
9. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 8, wherein a part of the pixel electrode or an electrode for shielding is arranged on at least one of the scanning electrode and the video signal electrode. 13. The pixel according to claim 1, wherein a part of the electrode for pixel display on the first substrate has a cut from an end or a part without an electrode. 3. The liquid crystal display device according to 1. 14. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein a corner portion of the pixel display electrode of the first substrate protrudes outward. 15. The pixel according to claim 1, wherein a recess is provided in a part of the pixel display electrode of the first substrate.
15. The liquid crystal display device according to any one of 14. 16. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 10, wherein the concave portion has a structure in which the concave portion is dug into the interlayer insulating film. 17. A liquid crystal alignment, particularly at the time of black display, by disposing at least one of an optically negative compensation film and an optically positive compensation film between the first or second substrate and the polarizing plate. 17. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein, in the state, the liquid crystal layer and the compensation film have isotropic refractive index anisotropy in at least one viewing angle direction. 18. The liquid crystal device according to claim 1, further comprising a quarter-wave plate on both sides of the liquid crystal layer, wherein the optical axes of the quarter-wave plates are orthogonal to each other. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1. 19. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 18, wherein the transmission axes of the two polarizing plates that intersect each other at 90 degrees are set to directions in which wider viewing angle characteristics are desired. 20. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal contains a high molecular weight organic compound. 21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the liquid crystal contains a monomer or an oligomer, and after the liquid crystal is injected between the substrates, the monomer and the oligomer are polymerized in the liquid crystal. . 22. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal layer is made of liquid crystal having a negative dielectric anisotropy, and is oriented substantially perpendicular to the substrate when no voltage is applied. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1. 23. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 22, wherein a pretilt angle is formed in advance along a direction in which the liquid crystal falls when a voltage is applied. 24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the method of forming the pretilt angle is light irradiation. 25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the light irradiation is performed obliquely with respect to the substrate. 26. The method according to claim 24, wherein the light irradiation irradiates the substrate with polarized light obliquely. 27. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal layer is composed of liquid crystal having a positive dielectric anisotropy and has a twisted nematic structure when no voltage is applied. apparatus. 28. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 27, wherein four types of minute regions having different twisting directions and rising directions of liquid crystal molecules coexist in each pixel. 29. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal layer is made of liquid crystal having a positive dielectric anisotropy, and has a homogeneous structure when no voltage is applied. . 30. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 29, wherein two types of minute regions having different rising directions of liquid crystal molecules coexist in each pixel. 31. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 28, wherein a pretilt angle of the liquid crystal on the upper and lower substrates is 1 ° or less. 32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the substrate is irradiated with polarized light in a direction substantially perpendicular to the substrate. 33. The driving method of a liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display device performs dot inversion driving. . 34. The method according to claim 1, wherein the state is returned to a black state before the end of one frame. A method for driving a liquid crystal display device according to claim 1. 35. The method according to claim 1, wherein a voltage near the threshold voltage of the liquid crystal is applied before one frame starts.
A method of driving a liquid crystal display device according to any one of claims 27 to 31. 36. The method according to claim 1, wherein when a voltage near the threshold voltage of the liquid crystal is applied, a portion where light leakage appears is shielded. A method for driving a liquid crystal display device according to any one of claims 27 to 31.