JP2006227243A - Electrooptical apparatus and electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display a high quality image by preventing unevenness of luminance from occurring on the border of each block in an electrooptical device such as a liquid crystal display apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The electrooptical apparatus comprises N pieces of image signal lines to which N pieces of serial-parallel converted image signals are supplied via external circuit connecting terminals, and two or more branch wiring which include junction wiring formed in the direction of crossing N pieces of the image signal lines and are connected to the respective corresponding lines of N pieces of the image signal lines. Further, the electrooptical apparatus comprises a sampling circuit including two or more sampling switches for supplying the image signals supplied from the two or more branch wirings to data lines, respectively, according to a sampling signal, and a data line driving circuit for sequentially supplying the sampling signal. The wiring widths of N pieces of the image signal lines are at least partially different from each other so as to compensate for differences of wiring resistances among the two or more branch wirings. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technical field of an electro-optical device such as a liquid crystal device and an electronic apparatus such as a liquid crystal projector including the electro-optical device.

  This type of electro-optical device is generally driven on the basis of an image signal subjected to serial-parallel conversion. For example, in a liquid crystal device, a plurality of data lines wired to an image display area on a substrate are divided into blocks every predetermined number, and serial-parallel converted image signals are included in the block in block units. The data line is supplied via a sampling switch. Thus, a predetermined number of data lines are simultaneously driven and a plurality of data lines are sequentially driven every predetermined number. In this case, the plurality of image signal lines are arranged in the peripheral area of the substrate, and the image signal line to the sampling switch are connected by a relatively high resistance branch wiring and an auxiliary relay wiring having a lower resistance than the branch wiring. . The plurality of branch lines are arranged in a direction crossing the wiring direction of the plurality of image signal lines corresponding to the arrangement of the plurality of data lines. Each branch wiring is connected to the image signal line at one end side through a contact hole opened in an interlayer insulating layer that insulates the branch wiring from the image signal line.

  Here, from the viewpoint of preventing the occurrence of display unevenness due to the difference in wiring resistance or wiring capacity of each branch wiring, according to Patent Document 1 or 2, the wiring resistance values of the plurality of branch wirings are respectively the plurality of branch wirings. Are set equal to each other, for example, by equalizing the length and width of each other.

  On the other hand, in a relatively simple liquid crystal panel that does not include a drive circuit from which scanning lines and data lines are drawn or does not use serial-parallel conversion, routing wiring that is routed from the connection terminals to the scanning lines and data lines. Due to the difference in wiring resistance value, brightness unevenness or vertical stripes may occur. According to Patent Document 3, a technique is proposed in which a bent wiring portion is provided in the lead-out wiring and the number of bendings is adjusted according to the wiring distance so as to prevent such uneven brightness. In addition, Patent Document 4 proposes a technique for preventing the occurrence of such luminance unevenness or vertical stripes by devising a driving method.

JP-A-10-133220 JP 10-268350 A JP 2003-140181 A JP 2004-46009 A

  However, according to the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, the wiring resistances are made uniform by making the length and width of the relay wiring branched from the image signal line equal to each other. For this reason, when actually creating a relay wiring, due to patterning variations, for example, due to patterning variations between the center and the edges on the substrate, for each block It has been found that the wiring resistance is highly likely to vary. That is, it is difficult to make the wiring resistance uniform by adjusting the width of the relay wiring provided in large numbers corresponding to the data lines and scattered in a wide area on the substrate.

  On the other hand, according to the techniques of Patent Documents 3 and 4, when driving using a serial-parallel converted image signal, the wiring resistance of the relay wiring, which is composed of a layer separate from the image signal line and is generally high resistance, is made uniform. It is extremely difficult or impossible.

  As a result of the above, the conventional technique is insufficient to compensate for the wiring resistance variation of the relay wiring when driving using the serial-parallel converted image signal, and luminance unevenness occurs at the boundary of each block. There is a technical problem that occurs.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. For example, the electro-optical device can prevent high-quality image display by preventing luminance unevenness from occurring at the boundary between blocks as described above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device and various electronic apparatuses including the electro-optical device.

  In order to solve the above problems, the electro-optical device of the present invention is electrically connected to the plurality of scanning lines and the plurality of data lines wired in the image display region on the substrate, and to the scanning lines and the data lines, respectively. In order to drive the plurality of pixel portions and the plurality of data lines for each data line group including N data lines as a group, N (where N is a natural number of 2 or more) serial-parallels The N image signal lines to which the converted image signal is supplied via an external circuit connection terminal, the N image signal lines, and the wiring of the N image signal lines while being insulated by an interlayer insulating layer A plurality of relay lines formed so as to intersect the direction, and a plurality of data lines corresponding to the array of the plurality of data lines are arranged, and the corresponding one of the N image signal lines is connected to the relay lines. Multiple branch wirings with one end connected to each other A sampling circuit including a plurality of sampling switches for supplying the image signals respectively supplied from the other ends of the plurality of branch lines to the data lines according to a sampling signal, and the sampling corresponding to the data line group A data line driving circuit for sequentially supplying the sampling signal for each switch, and the N image signal lines are at least partially compensated for a wiring resistance difference between the plurality of branch wirings. Therefore, the wiring widths are different from each other.

  According to the electro-optical device of the present invention, at the time of driving, N image signals subjected to serial-parallel conversion are supplied to the N image signal lines via the external circuit connection terminals, and further correspond to the data lines. The branch wiring including the relay wiring arranged in this way is supplied to the sampling circuit. For example, N image signals are converted into three-phase, six-phase, twelve-phase, twenty-four-phase, and so on by an external circuit in order to realize high-definition image display while suppressing an increase in drive frequency. Etc., and generated by being converted into a plurality of parallel image signals.

  In parallel with the supply of the image signal, the data line driving circuit sequentially supplies the sampling signal for each sampling switch corresponding to the data line group. Then, N image signals are sequentially supplied to the plurality of data lines by the sampling circuit for each data line group according to the sampling signal. Therefore, data lines belonging to the same data line group are driven simultaneously. In other words, the plurality of data lines are divided into blocks every predetermined number, and are driven simultaneously in units of blocks. The sampling switch is configured by, for example, a single-channel TFT, and the source is electrically connected to the relay wiring, the drain is connected to the data line, and the sampling signal is supplied to the gate to turn it on. It is said.

  When the data line is driven in this manner, in each pixel unit, for example, the data line is connected via a pixel switching element that performs a switching operation in accordance with a scanning signal supplied from the scanning line driving circuit via the scanning line. Thus, an image signal is supplied to the display element. Thereby, for example, a liquid crystal element as a display element performs image display based on the supplied image signal.

  The N image signal lines and the plurality of relay lines are formed in different layers. Each image signal line is formed, for example, in a direction intersecting the wiring direction of the plurality of branch wirings in a peripheral region located around the image display region. Each of the plurality of branch lines includes a relay line. The plurality of relay wirings have one end corresponding to one of the N image signal lines, for example, via a contact hole opened in an interlayer insulating layer that insulates the relay wiring and the image signal line. Each is connected. On the other hand, the other ends of the plurality of relay wires are respectively connected to the corresponding sampling switches.

  Here, in particular, the length of the relay wiring connected to each image signal line, that is, the plurality of relay wirings from the connection point between the plurality of relay wirings and the corresponding one of the N image signal lines, In most cases, the wiring resistances of the plurality of relay wirings differ from each other due to differences in wiring length and wiring width to the connection point with the source of the sampling switch. As in the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, when the wiring resistance is made uniform by making the length and width of the relay wiring equal to each other, when actually creating the relay wiring, There is a high possibility that the wiring resistance varies from block to block due to patterning variation or the like, for example due to patterning variation or the like between the vicinity of the center and the end on the substrate.

  However, according to the electro-optical device of the present invention, the N image signal lines are formed at least partially with mutually different wiring widths so as to compensate for the difference in wiring resistance between the plurality of relay wirings. Yes. Here, “compensate for the difference in wiring resistance” means that a plurality of image signal lines are formed with all the same or the same wiring width without applying any contrivance to the wiring width of the image signal lines. This means that the difference in wiring resistance between the plurality of relay wirings is made somewhat smaller. Ideally, this means that the difference in wiring resistance between the plurality of relay wirings is brought close to 0 or substantially 0. For this reason, the width of the N image signal lines can be changed to compensate for the difference in interconnect resistance between the plurality of relay lines almost or preferably completely.

  Further, adjusting the wiring widths of the plurality of image signal lines causes less variation in patterning than adjusting the wiring widths of the plurality of relay wirings. That is, since the number of the plurality of image signal lines is smaller than the number of relay wiring lines, the variation in patterning is small. Therefore, it is possible to prevent variations in wiring resistance caused by variations in patterning.

  Note that the adjustment of the wiring width of each image signal line may be performed over the whole or a part thereof.

  Therefore, in the electro-optical device of the present invention as described above, luminance unevenness occurs at the boundary of each data line group, that is, each block by compensating for the difference in wiring resistance between the plurality of relay wirings. Can be prevented, and high-quality image display can be performed.

  In one aspect of the electro-optical device of the present invention, the N image signal lines have the wiring width so that wiring resistances of wiring paths from the external circuit connection terminal to the sampling circuit through the branch wiring are made uniform. Different.

  According to this aspect, as compared with the case where the wiring resistance of the wiring path from the external circuit connection terminal to the sampling circuit via the branch wiring is made uniform, that is, compared with the case where no device is applied to the wiring width of the image signal line. Thus, the wiring width of the image signal line is adjusted so as to reduce the difference in wiring resistance. Preferably, the wiring widths of the N image signal lines are adjusted so that the wiring resistances are almost equal to each other in a practical or practical sense or completely coincide with each other. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the image signal whose potential has been changed by the wiring resistance in such a wiring path from being supplied to each data line group, that is, to the data lines adjacent to each other at the boundary of each block. As a result, it is possible to prevent luminance unevenness from occurring at the boundary between the data line groups, and to perform high-quality image display in the electro-optical device.

  In another aspect of the electro-optical device according to the aspect of the invention, the N image signal lines may be connected from the external circuit connection terminals to locations where they are connected to the relay wiring from locations where they are at equal wiring distances. The wiring width is different.

  According to this aspect, the N image signal lines have the wiring widths from the external circuit connection terminal to the locations at the same wiring distance from each other, and from the location where the connection is first made to the relay wiring to the portion ahead. There is no need to adjust. In other words, the N image signal lines can adjust the wiring width while securing a large number of portions having the same wiring width. Since the area for adjusting the wiring width of the N image signal lines is limited from the position at the same wiring distance from the external circuit connection terminal to the position where the wiring line is first connected to the relay wiring, patterning is performed. It is possible to reduce the possibility of variations in wiring resistance due to variations in the wiring. The term “equal to each other” according to the present invention includes a case where there is a difference in wiring resistance due to the wiring distance of the image signal lines to such an extent that luminance unevenness is not a practical problem at the boundary between the data line groups. Meaning.

  In another aspect of the electro-optical device according to the aspect of the invention, a plurality of the external circuit connection terminals are arranged along one side of the substrate when viewed in plan on the substrate, and the data line driving circuit is disposed on the substrate. As viewed in a plane, the sampling circuit is provided on the substrate in a plane between the external circuit connection terminal and the image display area in which the plurality of pixel portions are arranged. As shown in FIG. 2, the N image signal lines are provided along the one side between the data line driving circuit and the image display area, and the N image signal lines are respectively viewed in plan on the substrate, and A linear portion extending along the one side between the data line driving circuit and the sampling circuit, and a routing portion that bypasses the periphery of the data line driving circuit from the external circuit connection terminal to reach the linear portion, In the straight part Wherein connected to the relay wiring.

  According to this aspect, each of the N image signal lines includes a straight line portion extending along one side between the data line driving circuit and the sampling circuit when viewed in plan on the substrate, and is relayed at the straight line portion. Connected to the wiring. Each of the N image signal lines includes a routing portion that bypasses the periphery of the data line driving circuit and reaches a straight line portion. Since each straight line portion of the N image signal lines is formed in the same layer, the wiring distance of the relay wiring from the plurality of straight line portions to the sampling circuit is different from each other, that is, the wiring resistance of the relay wiring is different. Different from each other.

  However, according to this aspect, it is possible to form the wiring width of at least one of the straight line portion and the routing portion of the N image signal lines so as to compensate for the difference in the wiring resistance between the plurality of relay wiring lines. it can.

  In another aspect of the electro-optical device of the present invention, the N image signal lines have different wiring lengths, and in addition to the difference in wiring resistance between the plurality of branch wirings, the N images The wiring widths are different so as to compensate for the difference in wiring resistance between the signal lines.

  According to this aspect, in the wiring path from the external circuit connection terminal to the sampling circuit, the wiring resistances can be made uniform or preferably matched. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the image signal whose potential has been changed due to the wiring resistance in such a wiring path from being supplied to the adjacent data lines at the boundary of each data line group. As a result, it is possible to prevent luminance unevenness from occurring at the boundary between the data line groups, and to perform high-quality image display in the electro-optical device.

  In another aspect of the electro-optical device according to the aspect of the invention, the relay wiring is formed of a conductive material having a higher resistance than the image signal line.

  According to this aspect, since the relay wiring is formed of a conductive material having a higher resistance than the image signal line, the difference in the wiring resistance generated when the wiring width and the wiring length are different is large. By adjusting the wiring width of the line, the difference in wiring resistance of the relay wiring can be compensated. Compare the wiring resistance of the relay wiring by adjusting the wiring width of the relay wiring, so that the wiring resistances are aligned with each other in the wiring path from the external circuit connection terminal to the sampling circuit, or Preferably they can be matched. As a result, it is possible to prevent luminance unevenness from occurring at the boundary between the data line groups, and to perform high-quality image display in the electro-optical device.

  In another aspect of the electro-optical device of the present invention, each of the plurality of branch wirings includes a wiring portion formed from the same layer as the N image signal lines as a wiring portion following the relay wiring.

  According to this aspect, the wiring portion following the relay wiring among the plurality of branch wirings is formed from the same layer as the N image signal lines. Therefore, a wiring portion following the relay wiring among the plurality of branch wirings can be patterned in the same process as the N image signal lines. Accordingly, in addition to the image signal line, the wiring resistance can be adjusted in the same process including the wiring portion following the relay wiring among the plurality of branch wirings. As a result, it is possible to more effectively prevent luminance unevenness from occurring at the boundary between the data line groups, and to display a high-quality image in the electro-optical device.

  In order to solve the above problems, an electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes the above-described electro-optical device according to the present invention (including various aspects thereof).

  Since the electronic apparatus of the present invention includes the above-described electro-optical device of the present invention, a projection display device, a television, a mobile phone, an electronic notebook, a word processor, a view capable of performing high-quality image display. Various electronic devices such as a finder type or a monitor direct-view type video tape recorder, a workstation, a videophone, a POS terminal, and a touch panel can be realized. Further, as an electronic apparatus of the present invention, for example, an electrophoretic device such as electronic paper, an electron emission device (Field Emission Display and a Conduction Electron-Emitter Display), an electrophoretic device, and an apparatus using the electron emission device, DLP (Digital Light Processing) and the like can also be realized.

  Such an operation and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the embodiments described below.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, a driving circuit built-in type TFT active matrix driving type liquid crystal device, which is an example of the electro-optical device of the present invention, is taken as an example.

(First embodiment)
The liquid crystal device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, an overall configuration of a liquid crystal panel as an example of an electro-optical panel in the liquid crystal device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of the liquid crystal panel according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line H-H ′ in FIG. 1.

  1 and 2, in the liquid crystal panel 100 according to the present embodiment, the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 are arranged to face each other. A liquid crystal layer 50 is sealed between the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20, and the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 are provided with a sealing material 52 provided in a seal region positioned around the image display region 10a. Are bonded to each other.

  In FIG. 1, a light-shielding frame light-shielding film 53 that defines the frame area of the image display region 10a is provided on the counter substrate 20 side in parallel with the inside of the seal region where the sealing material 52 is disposed. A data line driving circuit 101 and an external circuit connection terminal 102 are provided along one side of the TFT array substrate 10 in a region located outside the sealing region in which the sealing material 52 is disposed in the peripheral region. The sampling circuit 200 is provided so as to be covered with the frame light shielding film 53 on the inner side of the seal region along the one side. Further, the scanning line driving circuit 104 is provided so as to be covered with the frame light-shielding film 53 inside the seal region along two sides adjacent to the one side. On the TFT array substrate 10, vertical conduction terminals 106 for connecting the two substrates with the vertical conduction material 107 are arranged in regions facing the four corner portions of the counter substrate 20. Thus, electrical conduction can be established between the TFT array substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20.

  On the TFT array substrate 10, a lead wiring 90 is formed for electrically connecting the external circuit connection terminal 102 to the data line driving circuit 101, the scanning line driving circuit 104, the vertical conduction terminal 106, and the like. .

  In FIG. 2, on the TFT array substrate 10, a laminated structure in which wiring such as a pixel switching TFT (Thin Film Transistor) as a driving element, a scanning line, and a data line is formed. In the image display area 10a, a pixel electrode 9a is provided in an upper layer of wiring such as a pixel switching TFT, a scanning line, and a data line. On the other hand, a light shielding film 23 is formed on the surface of the counter substrate 20 facing the TFT array substrate 10. A counter electrode 21 made of a transparent material such as ITO is formed on the light shielding film 23 so as to face the plurality of pixel electrodes 9a.

  Although not shown here, in addition to the data line driving circuit 101 and the scanning line driving circuit 104, the TFT array substrate 10 is used for inspecting the quality, defects, and the like of the liquid crystal device during manufacturing or at the time of shipment. An inspection circuit, an inspection pattern, or the like may be formed.

  Next, the overall configuration of the liquid crystal device will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the liquid crystal device, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the liquid crystal panel.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the liquid crystal device includes a liquid crystal panel 100 and an image signal supply circuit 300, a timing control circuit 400, and a power supply circuit 700 provided as external circuits.

  The timing control circuit 400 is configured to output various timing signals used in each unit. A timing signal output means that is a part of the timing control circuit 400 generates a dot clock that is a minimum unit clock and scans each pixel. Based on this dot clock, a Y clock signal CLY and an inverted Y clock signal are generated. CLYinv, X clock signal CLX, inverted X clock signal XCLinv, Y start pulse DY and X start pulse DX are generated.

  One line of input image data VID is input to the image signal supply circuit 300 from the outside. The image signal supply circuit 300 serial-parallel converts one system of input image data VID to generate N-phase image signals VID1 to VID12 in this embodiment, that is, 12 phases (N = 12). Further, in the image signal supply circuit 300, the voltages of the image signals VID1 to VID12 are inverted to a positive polarity and a negative polarity with respect to a predetermined reference potential, and the image signals VID1 to VID12 whose polarities are thus inverted are output. You may be made to do.

  The power supply circuit 700 supplies a common power supply having a predetermined common potential LCC to the counter electrode 21 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the counter electrode 21 is formed on the lower side of the counter substrate 20 shown in FIG. 2 so as to face the plurality of pixel electrodes 9a.

  Next, an electrical configuration of the liquid crystal panel 100 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the liquid crystal panel 100 is provided with an internal drive circuit including a scanning line drive circuit 104, a data line drive circuit 101, and a sampling circuit 200 in the peripheral region of the TFT array substrate 10.

  The scanning line driving circuit 104 is supplied with a Y clock signal CLY, an inverted Y clock signal CLYinv, and a Y start pulse DY. When the Y start pulse DY is input, the scanning line driving circuit 104 sequentially generates and outputs the scanning signals Y1,..., Ym at a timing based on the Y clock signal CLY and the inverted Y clock signal CLYinv.

  The data line driving circuit 101 is supplied with an X clock signal CLX, an inverted X clock signal CLXinv, and an X start pulse DX. When the X start pulse DX is input, the data line driving circuit 101 sequentially generates and outputs sampling signals S1,..., Sn at a timing based on the X clock signal CLX and the inverted X clock signal XCLXinv.

  The sampling circuit 200 includes a plurality of sampling switches 202 configured from P-channel or N-channel single-channel TFTs or complementary TFTs.

  The liquid crystal panel 100 further includes data lines 114 and scanning lines 112 wired vertically and horizontally in the image display area 10a occupying the center of the TFT array substrate, and the pixel portions 70 corresponding to the intersections are arranged in a matrix. The pixel electrodes 9a of the arranged liquid crystal elements 118 and the TFTs 116 for controlling the switching of the pixel electrodes 9a are provided. In this embodiment, the total number of scanning lines 112 is assumed to be m (where m is a natural number of 2 or more), and the total number of data lines 114 is assumed to be n (where n is a natural number of 2 or more). To do.

  Image signals VID <b> 1 to VID <b> 12 that are serially and parallelly developed in 12 phases are supplied to the liquid crystal panel 100 via N image signals 171 in this embodiment. Then, the n data lines 114 are sequentially driven for each data line group including 12 data lines 114 corresponding to the number of image signal lines 171 as a group, as will be described below.

  A sampling signal Si (i = 1, 2,..., N) is sequentially supplied from the data line driving circuit 101 to each sampling switch 202 corresponding to the data line group, and each sampling switch 202 is set according to the sampling signal Si. Turns on. As will be described later, each sampling switch 202 is connected to the image signal line 171 via a branch wiring. The detailed configuration of this branch wiring will be described later.

  Therefore, the image signals VID1 to VID12 are supplied simultaneously from the 12 image signal lines 171 to the data lines 114 belonging to the data line group and sequentially for each data line group through the sampling switch 202 which is turned on. . Therefore, the data lines 114 belonging to the data line group are driven simultaneously. Therefore, in this embodiment, since the n data lines 114 are driven for each data line group, the driving frequency can be suppressed.

  In FIG. 4, focusing on the configuration of one pixel portion 70, the data line 114 to which the image signal VIDk (where k = 1, 2, 3,..., 12) is supplied to the source electrode of the TFT 116. Is electrically connected to the gate electrode of the TFT 116, and a scanning line 112 to which a scanning signal Yj (j = 1, 2, 3,..., M) is supplied is electrically connected. In addition, the pixel electrode 9 a of the liquid crystal element 118 is connected to the drain electrode of the TFT 116. Here, in each pixel portion 70, the liquid crystal element 118 has a liquid crystal sandwiched between the pixel electrode 9 a and the counter electrode 21. Accordingly, each pixel unit 70 is arranged in a matrix corresponding to each intersection of the scanning line 112 and the data line 114.

  Each scanning line 112 is selected line-sequentially by the scanning signals Y1,..., Ym output from the scanning line driving circuit 104. In the pixel portion 70 corresponding to the selected scanning line 112, when the scanning signal Yj is supplied to the TFT 116, the TFT 116 is turned on, and the pixel portion 70 is in a selected state. An image signal VIDk is supplied to the pixel electrode 9a of the liquid crystal element 118 from the data line 114 at a predetermined timing by closing the switch of the TFT 116 for a certain period. As a result, an applied voltage defined by the potentials of the pixel electrode 9 a and the counter electrode 21 is applied to the liquid crystal element 118. The liquid crystal modulates light and enables gradation display by changing the orientation and order of the molecular assembly depending on the applied voltage level. In the normally white mode, the transmittance for incident light is reduced according to the voltage applied in units of each pixel, and in the normally black mode, the light is incident according to the voltage applied in units of each pixel. The light transmittance is increased, and light having a contrast corresponding to the image signals VID1 to VID12 is emitted from the liquid crystal panel 100 as a whole.

  Here, a storage capacitor 119 is added in parallel with the liquid crystal element 118 in order to prevent the held image signal from leaking. For example, the voltage of the pixel electrode 9a is held by the storage capacitor 119 for a time that is three orders of magnitude longer than the time when the source voltage is applied, so that the holding characteristics are improved, and as a result, a high contrast ratio is realized. Become.

  Next, the main configuration related to the driving of the data line will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration relating to driving of the data lines. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a layout of the branch wiring and the image signal line on the TFT array substrate. 7A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A ′ of FIG. 6, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B ′ of FIG. 6.

  In the following, regarding the main configuration related to the driving of the data lines 114, n data lines 114 are sequentially driven for each data line group in one direction or one of the two directions along the arrangement direction. In this case, the three driving signals are driven based on the three sampling signals Si-1, Si, Si + 1 output from the data line driving circuit 101 to the (i-1) th, ith, and (i + 1) th. Of the data line groups, the description will be given with particular attention to the configuration of the i-th data line group driven based on the i-th sampling signal Si. The configuration relating to the i-th data line group described below is the same for the (i−1) -th data line group and the (i + 1) -th data line group.

  In FIG. 5, twelve branch lines E1 to E12 are arranged corresponding to the arrangement of the data lines 114e (114e-1 to 114e-12) belonging to the i-th data line group. The twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 are arranged along a direction intersecting the arrangement direction of the data lines 114e. One end of each of the twelve branch wirings E1 to E12 is electrically connected to a corresponding one of the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12, and these twelve branch wirings. The other ends of E1 to E12 are electrically connected to the data line 114e via the sampling switch 202, respectively. The TFT 202 constituting each sampling switch has a source connected to the branch wiring Ek and a drain electrically connected to the data line 114e. Further, the gate of each TFT 202 is electrically connected to the data line driving circuit 101 via the control wirings X1 to X12. The i-th sampling signal Si is supplied from the data line driving circuit 101 to the control wirings X1 to X12.

  As shown in FIG. 6, on the TFT array substrate 10, the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 are formed of, for example, a low resistance aluminum film made of the same material as the data line 114e. The control wirings X1 to X12 are wired in the direction intersecting with the image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 and extending in the data line 114e, and are formed of, for example, a polysilicon film. Each branch wiring E1 to E12 is wired in the direction in which the data line 114e extends from one end side electrically connected to the corresponding image signal line 171-k. A part of each of the branch lines E1 to E12 forms a source electrode of the sampling switch 202, and a part of each of the data lines 114e belonging to the i-th data line group forms a drain electrode of the sampling switch 202. A part of the wirings X1 to X12 forms a gate electrode of the sampling switch 202.

  Here, in FIG. 5, the configuration of the branch wiring E1 corresponding to one data line 114e-1 adjacent to the (i + 1) th data line group among the data lines 114e belonging to the i-th data line group is shown in FIG. As shown, the branch line E1 has one end electrically connected to the other end of the relay line Ha1 and the other end of the relay line Ha1, which is electrically connected to the corresponding image signal line 171-1. A part includes the auxiliary relay wiring Hb <b> 1 that forms the source electrode of the sampling switch 202. The relay wiring Ha1 is made of, for example, a polysilicon film. The auxiliary relay wiring Hb1 is an example of the “wiring portion following the relay wiring among the plurality of branch wirings” according to the present invention, and is formed of, for example, an aluminum film. The other branch lines E2 to E12 that are electrically connected to the i-th data line group have the same configuration as the branch line E1.

  6 and 7, twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 are provided on the TFT array substrate 10 as auxiliary relay lines Hb 1 to Hb 12 included in the branch lines E 1 to E 12 and data lines 114 e. -1 to 114e-12 are formed in the same layer, and are formed on the upper layer side with respect to the relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 and the control wirings X1 to X12 included in the branch wirings E1 to E12. The relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12, the control wirings X1 to X12, and the image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 are inter-layered by an interlayer insulating layer 60 serving as a base of the image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12. Insulated. The relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 and the control wirings X1 to X12 are formed in the same layer.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the image signal line 171-1 is electrically connected to the relay wiring Ha1 through the contact hole C1 opened in the interlayer insulating layer 60. FIG. As shown, the image signal line 171-12 is electrically connected to the relay wiring Ha12 through the contact hole C12 opened in the interlayer insulating layer 60.

  In particular, in FIG. 6, the length of the relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 connected to the image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12, that is, a plurality of relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 and 12 image signal lines. The wiring lengths L1 to L12 and the wiring widths W1 to W12 from the connection point with a corresponding one of 171-1 to 171-12 to the connection point between the plurality of relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 and the source of the sampling switch 200 In most cases, the wiring resistances of the plurality of relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 are different from each other due to the difference.

  As shown in FIG. 9 as a comparative example, when the wiring lengths L1 to L12 and the wiring widths W1 to W12 of the relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 are adjusted to each other, the wiring resistance is actually adjusted. When creating Ha1 to Ha12, due to patterning variation or the like, for example, due to patterning variation between the vicinity of the center and the end on the substrate, the wiring resistance varies from block to block. Is likely to occur.

  Next, the wiring of the image signal line and the relay wiring according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the routing of the image signal line and the relay wiring according to this embodiment.

  In FIG. 8, particularly in the present embodiment, the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 are at least partially arranged to compensate for the difference in wiring resistance between the plurality of relay lines Ha 1 to Ha 12. The wiring widths Wv1 to Wv12 are different from each other. In other words, as shown in FIG. 9 as a comparative example, the image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 have a plurality of image signal lines that are all fixed or have the same wiring width without any modification to the wiring widths Wv1 to Wv12. Compared with the case where 171-1 to 171-12 are formed, the present embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is configured such that the difference in wiring resistance between the plurality of relay lines Ha1 to Ha12 is reduced. Ideally, the difference in wiring resistance between the plurality of relay lines Ha1 to Ha12 is substantially zero. In this way, the wiring widths Wv1 to Wv12 of the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 are respectively changed, so that the difference in mutual wiring resistance between the plurality of relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 is almost or preferably completely eliminated. Can be compensated.

  Furthermore, adjusting the wiring widths Wv1 to Wv12 of the plurality of image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 is more effective when patterning than adjusting the wiring widths W1 to W12 of the plurality of relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12. The variation is small. That is, the number of the plurality of image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 is 12, which is smaller than the number of relay wirings (that is, n), so that the variation in patterning is small. Therefore, it is possible to prevent variations in wiring resistance caused by variations in patterning.

  In this embodiment, as will be described in detail later, the adjustment of the wiring widths Wv1 to Wv12 of the image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 is performed in a part of the wiring of the image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12. Although it goes, you may carry out over the whole.

  Therefore, in the liquid crystal device according to the present embodiment as described above, luminance unevenness at each data line group, that is, at each block boundary, is compensated by compensating for the difference in wiring resistance between the plurality of relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12. Can be prevented, and high-quality image display can be performed.

  6 and 8, in the present embodiment, in particular, the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 are branch wirings including the relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 from the external circuit connection terminals 102-1 to 102-12. The wiring widths Wv1 to Wv12 are different so that the wiring resistances of the wiring paths reaching the sampling circuit 200 via E1 to E12 are made uniform.

  According to the present embodiment, the wiring resistances of the wiring paths from the external circuit connection terminals 102-1 to 102-12 to the sampling circuit 200 via the branch wiring are made uniform, that is, as shown as a comparative example in FIG. The wiring widths Wv1 to Wv12 of the image signal lines are adjusted so as to reduce the difference in wiring resistance as compared with the case where no improvement is applied to the wiring widths Wv1 to Wv12 of the image signal lines. Preferably, the wiring widths Wv1 to Wv12 of the twelve image signal lines are adjusted so that the wiring resistances are almost the same. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the image signals VID1 to VID12 whose potentials have been changed due to the wiring resistance in such a wiring path from being supplied to the data lines adjacent to each other at each data line group, that is, at the boundary of each block. It becomes. As a result, it is possible to prevent luminance unevenness from occurring at the boundary between the data line groups, and to perform high-quality image display in the liquid crystal device.

  Further, in FIG. 8, in the present embodiment, in particular, the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 are connected from the places P1 to P12 at the same wiring distance from the external circuit connection terminals 102-1 to 102-12. The wiring widths Wv1 to Wv12 are different up to locations S1 to S12 that are connected to the relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 first.

  For this reason, the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 are connected from the external circuit connection terminals 102-1 to 102-12 to the locations P1 to P12 that are at the same wiring distance from each other, and first, the relay wiring. It is not necessary to adjust the wiring width for the portion ahead of the locations S1 to S12 connected to Ha1 to Ha12. In other words, the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 can adjust the wiring width while securing a large number of portions having the same wiring width. The areas for adjusting the wiring widths of the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 are first from the points P1 to P12 at the same wiring distance from the external circuit connection terminals 102-1 to 102-12, respectively. Since it is limited to locations S1 to S12 connected to the relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12, it is possible to reduce the possibility of variations in wiring resistance caused by patterning variations and the like. Note that there may be a difference in wiring resistance due to the wiring distance of the image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 to such an extent that luminance unevenness does not become a practical problem at the boundary of each data line group.

  6 and 8, in the present embodiment, in particular, the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 are viewed in plan on the TFT array substrate 10, and the data line driving circuit 101 and the sampling circuit 200. A straight line portion extending along one side is included, and the straight line portion is connected to the relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12. Each of the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 includes a routing portion that bypasses the periphery of the data line driving circuit 101 and reaches a straight line portion. Since the straight line portions of the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 are formed in the same layer, the wiring distances L1 to L1 of the relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 from the plurality of straight line portions to the sampling circuit 200 are formed. L12 is different from each other. Therefore, the wiring resistances of the relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 are different from each other.

  However, according to the present embodiment, at least one of the line portions and the routing portions of the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 is set to have a wiring resistance between the plurality of relay wires Ha1 to Ha12. Can be formed to compensate for the difference.

  In FIG. 8, in this embodiment, in particular, the difference in wiring resistance between the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 is compensated for in addition to the difference in wiring resistance between the plurality of branch wirings E1 to E12. As described above, the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 may have different wiring widths Wv1 to Wv12. In this way, it is possible to make the wiring resistances equal to each other or preferably match in the wiring path from the external circuit connection terminals 102-1 to 102-12 to the sampling circuit 200. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the image signal whose potential has been changed by the wiring resistance in such a wiring path from being supplied to the adjacent data lines at the boundary of each data line group. As a result, it is possible to prevent luminance unevenness from occurring at the boundary between the data line groups, and to perform high-quality image display in the liquid crystal device.

  In FIG. 8, particularly in the present embodiment, the relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 are made of a conductive material having a higher resistance than the image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12. Therefore, the difference in wiring resistance generated when the wiring width and wiring length are different. However, according to the present embodiment, the wiring widths Wv1 to Wv12 of the image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 are adjusted so as to compensate for the difference in wiring resistance between the relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12. The external circuit connection terminals 102-1 to 102 are compared with the case where the wiring resistances of the relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 are made uniform by adjusting the wiring widths W1 to W12 of the relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12 as shown in FIG. In the wiring path from −12 to the sampling circuit 200, the wiring resistances can be made equal to each other, or preferably matched. As a result, it is possible to prevent luminance unevenness from occurring at the boundary between the data line groups, and to perform high-quality image display in the liquid crystal device.

  In FIG. 6 again, in the present embodiment, among the plurality of branch wirings E1 to E12, the auxiliary relay wirings Hb1 to Hb12, which are the wiring portions following the relay wirings Ha1 to Ha12, include 12 image signal lines 171-1. To 171-12. Therefore, the auxiliary relay wiring lines Hb1 to Hb12 can be patterned in the same process as the twelve image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12. Therefore, in addition to the image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12, the wiring resistance can be adjusted in the same process including the auxiliary relay wirings Hb1 to Hb12. As a result, it is possible to more effectively prevent the occurrence of luminance unevenness at the boundary of each data line group, and display a high-quality image in the liquid crystal device.

  Next, an example of the wiring width of the image signal line according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10A is a graph showing the relationship between the image signal line and the resistance value, and FIG. 10B is a list showing the wiring length conditions in FIG.

  10A shows external circuit connection terminals when the image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 have the wiring lengths L0, L1 and L2 (see FIG. 8) and the wiring widths Wv1 to Wv12 shown in FIG. 10B. The resistance values in the wiring path from 102-1 to 102-12 to the sampling circuit 200 are shown. As shown in FIG. 10, when the wiring widths Wv1 to Wv12 of the image signal lines 171-1 to 171-12 are adjusted (“first embodiment” in FIG. 10), the wiring width is constant (FIG. 10). Among them, compared to “constant wiring width”), the resistance values in the wiring path can be made almost uniform. As a result, it is possible to more effectively prevent the occurrence of luminance unevenness at the boundary of each data line group, and display a high-quality image in the liquid crystal device.

(Electronics)
Next, the case where the liquid crystal device which is the above-described electro-optical device is applied to various electronic devices will be described.

  First, a projector using this liquid crystal device as a light valve will be described. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a configuration example of the projector. As shown in FIG. 11, a projector 1100 includes a lamp unit 1102 made of a white light source such as a halogen lamp. The projection light emitted from the lamp unit 1102 is separated into three primary colors of RGB by four mirrors 1106 and two dichroic mirrors 1108 arranged in the light guide 1104, and serves as a light valve corresponding to each primary color. The light enters the liquid crystal panels 1110R, 1110B, and 1110G.

  The configurations of the liquid crystal panels 1110R, 1110B, and 1110G are the same as those of the liquid crystal device described above, and are driven by R, G, and B primary color signals supplied from the image signal processing circuit. The light modulated by these liquid crystal panels enters the dichroic prism 1112 from three directions. In this dichroic prism 1112, R and B light is refracted at 90 degrees, while G light travels straight. Accordingly, as a result of the synthesis of the images of the respective colors, a color image is projected onto the screen or the like via the projection lens 1114.

  Here, paying attention to the display images by the liquid crystal panels 1110R, 1110B, and 1110G, the display image by the liquid crystal panel 1110G needs to be horizontally reversed with respect to the display images by the liquid crystal panels 1110R, 1110B.

  Note that since light corresponding to the primary colors R, G, and B is incident on the liquid crystal panels 1110R, 1110B, and 1110G by the dichroic mirror 1108, it is not necessary to provide a color filter.

  Next, an example in which the liquid crystal device is applied to a mobile personal computer will be described. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the configuration of this personal computer. In FIG. 12, a computer 1200 includes a main body 1204 provided with a keyboard 1202 and a liquid crystal display unit 1206. The liquid crystal display unit 1206 is configured by adding a backlight to the back surface of the liquid crystal device 1005 described above.

  Further, an example in which the liquid crystal device is applied to a mobile phone will be described. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the configuration of this mobile phone. In FIG. 13, a mobile phone 1300 includes a reflective liquid crystal device 1005 together with a plurality of operation buttons 1302. In the reflective liquid crystal device 1005, a front light is provided on the front surface thereof as necessary.

  In addition to the electronic devices described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13, a liquid crystal television, a viewfinder type, a monitor direct-view type video tape recorder, a car navigation device, a pager, an electronic notebook, a calculator, a word processor, a work Examples include a station, a videophone, a POS terminal, a device equipped with a touch panel, and the like. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to these various electronic devices.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification. An electronic apparatus including the electro-optical device is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

It is a top view which shows the whole structure of a liquid crystal panel. It is H-H 'sectional drawing of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of a liquid crystal device. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structure of a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows the circuit structure concerning the drive of a data line. It is a figure which shows the layout of a branch wiring and an image signal line. 7A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A ′ of FIG. 6, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B ′ of FIG. 6. It is a top view which shows the routing of an image signal line and the relay wiring. It is a top view of the same meaning as FIG. 8 in a comparative example. FIG. 10A is a graph showing the relationship between the image signal line and the resistance value, and FIG. 10B is a list showing the wiring length conditions in FIG. It is a top view which shows the structure of the projector which is an example of the electronic device to which a liquid crystal device is applied. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the personal computer which is an example of the electronic device to which the liquid crystal device is applied. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the mobile telephone which is an example of the electronic device to which a liquid crystal device is applied.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10a ... Image display area, 10 ... TFT array substrate, 20 ... Counter substrate, 70 ... Pixel part, 100 ... Liquid crystal panel, 102 ... External circuit connection terminal, 101 ... Data line drive circuit, 104 ... Scanning line drive circuit, 112 ... Scan line 114... Data line 171 image signal line 200 sampling circuit 202 sampling switch C1 to C12 contact hole Ha1 to Ha12 relay wiring Hb1 to Hb12 auxiliary relay wiring L1 L12 ... wiring length, VID1 to VID12 ... image signal, W1 to W12, Wv1 to Wv12 ... wiring width

Claims (8)

A plurality of scanning lines and a plurality of data lines wired in an image display area on the substrate;
A plurality of pixel portions electrically connected to the scanning line and the data line, respectively.
In order to drive the plurality of data lines for each data line group including N data lines as a group, N (where N is a natural number of 2 or more) serial-parallel converted image signals are externally provided. N image signal lines supplied via circuit connection terminals;
Including the N image signal lines and a relay wiring that is formed by crossing the wiring direction of the N image signal lines while being insulated by an interlayer insulating layer, and corresponding to the arrangement of the plurality of data lines A plurality of branch wirings each having one end on the side including the relay wiring connected to a corresponding one of the N image signal lines,
A sampling circuit including a plurality of sampling switches for supplying the image signals respectively supplied from the other ends of the plurality of branch lines to the data lines in response to a sampling signal;
A data line driving circuit that sequentially supplies the sampling signal to each sampling switch corresponding to the data line group, and
The electro-optical device, wherein the N image signal lines are at least partially different in wiring width so as to compensate for a difference in wiring resistance between the plurality of branch wirings.   2. The wiring width of the N image signal lines is different so that wiring resistances of wiring paths from the external circuit connection terminal to the sampling circuit via the branch wiring are made uniform. Electro-optic device.   The N image signal lines have different wiring widths from a location at an equal wiring distance from the external circuit connection terminal to a location where the N image signal lines are first connected to the relay wiring. Item 3. The electro-optical device according to Item 1 or 2. A plurality of the external circuit connection terminals are arranged along one side of the substrate as viewed in plan on the substrate,
The data line driving circuit is provided along the one side between the external circuit connection terminal and the image display region in which the plurality of pixel portions are arranged in a plan view on the substrate,
The sampling circuit is provided along the one side between the data line driving circuit and the image display region when viewed in plan on the substrate,
Each of the N image signal lines is viewed in plan on the substrate, a straight line portion extending along the one side between the data line driving circuit and the sampling circuit, and the data from the external circuit connection terminal. 4. The wiring device according to claim 1, further comprising a routing portion that bypasses the periphery of the line drive circuit and reaches the straight portion, and is connected to the relay wiring at the straight portion. The electro-optical device described.   The N image signal lines have different wiring lengths, and compensate for the difference in wiring resistance between the N image signal lines in addition to the difference in wiring resistance between the plurality of branch wirings. The electro-optical device according to claim 4, wherein the wiring widths are different.   The electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein the relay wiring is made of a conductive material having a higher resistance than the image signal line.   6. The plurality of branch lines each include a wiring part formed from the same layer as the N image signal lines as a wiring part following the relay wiring. The electro-optical device according to one item.   An electronic apparatus comprising the electro-optical device according to claim 1.

Images