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US20100182345A1 - Liquid crystal display - Google Patents

Liquid crystal display Download PDF

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Publication number
US20100182345A1
US20100182345A1 US12/376,373 US37637307A US2010182345A1 US 20100182345 A1 US20100182345 A1 US 20100182345A1 US 37637307 A US37637307 A US 37637307A US 2010182345 A1 US2010182345 A1 US 2010182345A1
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United States
Prior art keywords
picture element
sub
liquid crystal
storage capacitor
ccs
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Abandoned
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US12/376,373
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English (en)
Inventor
Fumikazu Shimoshikiryoh
Kentaroh Irie
Masanori Takeuchi
Nobuyoshi Nagashima
Toshihide Tsubata
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Sharp Corp
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Individual
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Assigned to SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA reassignment SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: IRIE, KENTAROH, SHIMOSHIKIRYOH, FUMIKAZU, NAGASHIMA, NOBUYOSHI, TAKEUCHI, MASANORI, TSUBATA, TOSHIHIDE
Publication of US20100182345A1 publication Critical patent/US20100182345A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G3/00—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes
    • G09G3/20—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
    • G09G3/34—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source
    • G09G3/36—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source using liquid crystals
    • G09G3/3611—Control of matrices with row and column drivers
    • G09G3/3648—Control of matrices with row and column drivers using an active matrix
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L29/00—Semiconductor devices specially adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching and having potential barriers; Capacitors or resistors having potential barriers, e.g. a PN-junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/40—Electrodes ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/41—Electrodes ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by their shape, relative sizes or dispositions
    • H01L29/417—Electrodes ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by their shape, relative sizes or dispositions carrying the current to be rectified, amplified or switched
    • H01L29/41725—Source or drain electrodes for field effect devices
    • H01L29/41733—Source or drain electrodes for field effect devices for thin film transistors with insulated gate
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L29/00—Semiconductor devices specially adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching and having potential barriers; Capacitors or resistors having potential barriers, e.g. a PN-junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/66—Types of semiconductor device ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/66007—Multistep manufacturing processes
    • H01L29/66075—Multistep manufacturing processes of devices having semiconductor bodies comprising group 14 or group 13/15 materials
    • H01L29/66227—Multistep manufacturing processes of devices having semiconductor bodies comprising group 14 or group 13/15 materials the devices being controllable only by the electric current supplied or the electric potential applied, to an electrode which does not carry the current to be rectified, amplified or switched, e.g. three-terminal devices
    • H01L29/66409—Unipolar field-effect transistors
    • H01L29/66477—Unipolar field-effect transistors with an insulated gate, i.e. MISFET
    • H01L29/66742—Thin film unipolar transistors
    • H01L29/6675—Amorphous silicon or polysilicon transistors
    • H01L29/66757—Lateral single gate single channel transistors with non-inverted structure, i.e. the channel layer is formed before the gate
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    • G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
    • G02F1/01—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour 
    • G02F1/13—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour  based on liquid crystals, e.g. single liquid crystal display cells
    • G02F1/133—Constructional arrangements; Operation of liquid crystal cells; Circuit arrangements
    • G02F1/1333—Constructional arrangements; Manufacturing methods
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    • G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
    • G02F1/01—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour 
    • G02F1/13—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour  based on liquid crystals, e.g. single liquid crystal display cells
    • G02F1/133—Constructional arrangements; Operation of liquid crystal cells; Circuit arrangements
    • G02F1/136—Liquid crystal cells structurally associated with a semi-conducting layer or substrate, e.g. cells forming part of an integrated circuit
    • G02F1/13606—Liquid crystal cells structurally associated with a semi-conducting layer or substrate, e.g. cells forming part of an integrated circuit having means for reducing parasitic capacitance
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
    • G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
    • G02F1/01—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour 
    • G02F1/13—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour  based on liquid crystals, e.g. single liquid crystal display cells
    • G02F1/133—Constructional arrangements; Operation of liquid crystal cells; Circuit arrangements
    • G02F1/136—Liquid crystal cells structurally associated with a semi-conducting layer or substrate, e.g. cells forming part of an integrated circuit
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    • G02F1/136213—Storage capacitors associated with the pixel electrode
    • G—PHYSICS
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    • G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
    • G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
    • G02F1/01—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour 
    • G02F1/13—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour  based on liquid crystals, e.g. single liquid crystal display cells
    • G02F1/133—Constructional arrangements; Operation of liquid crystal cells; Circuit arrangements
    • G02F1/136—Liquid crystal cells structurally associated with a semi-conducting layer or substrate, e.g. cells forming part of an integrated circuit
    • G02F1/1362—Active matrix addressed cells
    • G02F1/13624—Active matrix addressed cells having more than one switching element per pixel
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
    • G02F2201/00—Constructional arrangements not provided for in groups G02F1/00 - G02F7/00
    • G02F2201/40—Arrangements for improving the aperture ratio
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
    • G02F2203/00—Function characteristic
    • G02F2203/30—Gray scale
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G2300/00—Aspects of the constitution of display devices
    • G09G2300/04—Structural and physical details of display devices
    • G09G2300/0439—Pixel structures
    • G09G2300/0443—Pixel structures with several sub-pixels for the same colour in a pixel, not specifically used to display gradations
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G2300/00—Aspects of the constitution of display devices
    • G09G2300/04—Structural and physical details of display devices
    • G09G2300/0439—Pixel structures
    • G09G2300/0443—Pixel structures with several sub-pixels for the same colour in a pixel, not specifically used to display gradations
    • G09G2300/0447—Pixel structures with several sub-pixels for the same colour in a pixel, not specifically used to display gradations for multi-domain technique to improve the viewing angle in a liquid crystal display, such as multi-vertical alignment [MVA]
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G2300/00—Aspects of the constitution of display devices
    • G09G2300/08—Active matrix structure, i.e. with use of active elements, inclusive of non-linear two terminal elements, in the pixels together with light emitting or modulating elements
    • G09G2300/0876—Supplementary capacities in pixels having special driving circuits and electrodes instead of being connected to common electrode or ground; Use of additional capacitively coupled compensation electrodes
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G2320/00—Control of display operating conditions
    • G09G2320/02—Improving the quality of display appearance
    • G09G2320/028—Improving the quality of display appearance by changing the viewing angle properties, e.g. widening the viewing angle, adapting the viewing angle to the view direction
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G2320/00—Control of display operating conditions
    • G09G2320/06—Adjustment of display parameters
    • G09G2320/0666—Adjustment of display parameters for control of colour parameters, e.g. colour temperature
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G3/00—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes
    • G09G3/20—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
    • G09G3/34—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source
    • G09G3/36—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source using liquid crystals
    • G09G3/3607—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source using liquid crystals for displaying colours or for displaying grey scales with a specific pixel layout, e.g. using sub-pixels

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device and more particularly relates to a liquid crystal display device with an excellent viewing angle characteristic.
  • LCDs liquid crystal displays
  • Those LCDs for use as a big monitor screen for a TV include a so-called “VA mode LCD” that uses a vertical alignment liquid crystal layer (see Patent Document No. 1, for example).
  • a conventional VA mode LCD has different gamma curves, representing a grayscale-luminance characteristic, when viewed from a frontal viewing angle (i.e., when viewed along a normal to the monitor screen) and when viewed from an oblique viewing angle (i.e., when the polar angle is greater than zero degrees). And as the transmittance at an oblique viewing angle becomes higher than at the frontal viewing angle, the image may look whitish or excessively bright (which is sometimes called a “whitening phenomenon”) at the oblique viewing angle.
  • a “multi-picture element” technique is one of various means for suppressing such a whitening phenomenon at an oblique viewing angle.
  • one picture element is divided into two or more sub-picture elements that have mutually different luminances and a grayscale is represented by those two or more sub-picture elements.
  • the multi-picture element technique is also called a “picture element division” technique or an “area grayscale” technique.
  • the multi-picture element technique is disclosed in Patent Documents Nos. 2 and 3, for example, the entire disclosure of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
  • the liquid crystal capacitors Clca and Clcb of a sub-picture element are capacitively coupled together with a coupling capacitance Ccp as show in FIG. 5 of Patent Document No. 3.
  • the magnitude of the coupling capacitance Ccp is affected by some variation that inevitably occurs during the manufacturing process. That is to say, even if varied on a color-by-color basis, the magnitude of the coupling capacitance Ccp is still affected by a variation occurring during the manufacturing process. Consequently, it is difficult to fabricate an LCD with a good color balance at a high production yield.
  • Patent Document No. 4 discloses a method for controlling a backlight and a method for performing signal processing and correction in response to an input video signal in order to compensate for the loss of the white balance when an iodine polarizer is used.
  • Patent Document No. 4 neither discloses nor suggests the problems mentioned above.
  • the present invention has an object of providing, first and foremost, a liquid crystal display device that can minimize such a loss of the color balance at an oblique viewing angle and that can be manufactured at a high production yield.
  • a liquid crystal display device includes a plurality of picture elements that are arranged in columns and rows so as to form a matrix pattern.
  • Each of those picture elements includes a liquid crystal layer and a plurality of electrodes for applying a voltage to the liquid crystal layer.
  • Each of those picture elements includes a first sub-picture element and a second sub-picture element having the ability to apply mutually different voltages to their liquid crystal layer.
  • the first sub-picture element has a higher luminance than the second sub-picture element.
  • Each of the first and second sub-picture elements includes: a liquid crystal capacitor formed by a counter electrode and a sub-picture element electrode that faces the counter electrode through the liquid crystal layer; and at least one storage capacitor, each being formed by a storage capacitor electrode that is electrically connected to the sub-picture element electrode, an insulating layer, and a storage capacitor counter electrode that is opposed to the storage capacitor electrode with the insulating layer interposed between them.
  • a voltage difference ⁇ V ⁇ is produced between voltages to be applied to the respective liquid crystal capacitors of the first and second sub-picture elements by way of their associated storage capacitor(s). In some of the picture elements, the voltage difference ⁇ V ⁇ changes from one picture element to another.
  • the picture elements include a plurality of color picture elements that represent mutually different colors and that include a blue picture element and/or a cyan picture element. Among those color picture elements, the ⁇ V ⁇ value of the blue and/or cyan picture element(s) is the smallest.
  • the at least one storage capacitor includes only one storage capacitor.
  • the counter electrode is a single electrode that is provided in common for the first and second sub-picture elements.
  • the storage capacitor counter electrodes of the first and second sub-picture elements are electrically independent of each other.
  • the waveforms of storage capacitor counter voltages to be supplied through storage capacitor lines that are associated with the storage capacitor counter electrodes are different between the first and second sub-picture elements.
  • the storage capacitors have different capacitance values. As used herein, if “the storage capacitors of a picture element have different capacitance values”, then it means that at least one of the storage capacitors of the first and second sub-picture elements has a different storage capacitance value from the other(s). Normally, the capacitance values of two or more storage capacitors in a single picture element are defined to be equal to each other.
  • the picture elements include a plurality of color picture elements that represent mutually different colors and that include a blue picture element and/or a cyan picture element.
  • the capacitance value of the storage capacitor of the blue and/or cyan picture element(s) is the smallest.
  • the color picture elements further include a red picture element and a green picture element. Supposing the capacitance values of the storage capacitors of the blue and/or cyan picture element(s), the green picture element, and the red picture element are identified by C CS-B , C CS-C , C CS-G and C CS-R , respectively, the inequality C CS-B ⁇ C CS-C ⁇ C CS-G ⁇ C CS-R is satisfied.
  • the at least one storage capacitor includes only one storage capacitor.
  • the counter electrode is a single electrode that is provided in common for the first and second sub-picture elements.
  • the storage capacitor counter electrodes of the first and second sub-picture elements are electrically independent of each other.
  • the waveforms of storage capacitor counter voltages to be supplied through storage capacitor lines that are associated with the storage capacitor counter electrodes are different between the first and second sub-picture elements.
  • the liquid crystal capacitors have different capacitance values.
  • the liquid crystal display device further includes gate bus lines, source bus lines and TFTs.
  • Each of the first and second sub-picture elements includes a TFT that is connected to the sub-picture element electrode thereof.
  • One of the picture elements that has the smallest voltage difference ⁇ V ⁇ further includes a storage capacitor that has been formed between the picture element's row and the gate bus line of its adjacent row.
  • the liquid crystal display device further includes gate bus lines, source bus lines and TFTs.
  • Each of the first and second sub-picture elements includes a TFT that is connected to the sub-picture element electrode thereof.
  • the gate-drain capacitance Cgd of the TFT of one of the picture elements that has the smallest voltage difference ⁇ V ⁇ is smaller than that of the TFT of any other picture element.
  • the at least one storage capacitor includes two storage capacitors.
  • the counter electrode is a single electrode that is provided in common for the first and second sub-picture elements.
  • the storage capacitor counter electrodes of the two storage capacitors of the first sub-picture element are electrically independent of each other.
  • the storage capacitor counter electrodes of the two storage capacitors of the second sub-picture element are also electrically independent of each other.
  • Another liquid crystal display device includes a plurality of picture elements that are arranged in columns and rows so as to form a matrix pattern.
  • Each of those picture elements includes a liquid crystal layer and a plurality of electrodes for applying a voltage to the liquid crystal layer.
  • Each of those picture elements includes a first sub-picture element and a second sub-picture element having the ability to apply mutually different voltages to their liquid crystal layer.
  • the first sub-picture element has a higher luminance than the second sub-picture element.
  • Each of the first and second sub-picture elements includes: a liquid crystal capacitor formed by a counter electrode and a sub-picture element electrode that faces the counter electrode through the liquid crystal layer; and at least two storage capacitors, each being formed by a storage capacitor electrode that is electrically connected to the sub-picture element electrode, an insulating layer, and a storage capacitor counter electrode that is opposed to the storage capacitor electrode with the insulating layer interposed between them.
  • the counter electrode is a single electrode that is provided in common for the first and second sub-picture elements.
  • the storage capacitor counter electrodes of the at least two storage capacitors of the first sub-picture element are electrically independent of each other.
  • the storage capacitor counter electrodes of the at least two storage capacitors of the second sub-picture element are also electrically independent of each other.
  • the storage capacitor counter electrodes of the storage capacitors CS 1 A and CS 2 B are electrically connected to the same first storage capacitor line.
  • the storage capacitor counter electrodes of the storage capacitors CS 1 B and CS 2 A are electrically connected to the same second storage capacitor line.
  • the first and second storage capacitor lines are electrically independent of each other.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic representation illustrating an exemplary multi-picture element structure.
  • FIG. 4 shows the grayscale-transmittance characteristics a liquid crystal display device with the multi-picture element structure at the frontal viewing angle.
  • FIG. 6 is a graph showing the voltage-transmittance (V-T) curves of bright and dark sub-picture elements in a liquid crystal display device with the multi-picture element structure.
  • Portions (a) through (f) of FIG. 9 schematically show the waveforms of voltages to be applied and timings to drive a liquid crystal display device with the multi-picture element structure shown in FIG. 8 .
  • FIG. 13 is an equivalent circuit diagram of one of two sub-picture elements in a liquid crystal display device 300 as still another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 15 is a schematic representation illustrating the picture element structure of a liquid crystal display device 400 A as yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 18C illustrates, for reference purposes, how the device shown in FIG. 18B looks if the SOG film removed portion is omitted.
  • FIGS. 19( a ) through 19 ( g ) are plan views illustrating the structures of alternative TFT sections that may be used in a liquid crystal display device according to any of the preferred embodiments of the present invention described above.
  • FIG. 20 is a schematic representation illustrating the picture element structure of a liquid crystal display device 700 A as yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 21 is a graph showing the grayscale dependences of ⁇ Vd of respective color picture elements in a liquid crystal display device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • TFT 1 TFT 2 thin-film transistor
  • the present invention is supposed to be implemented as a vertical alignment liquid crystal display device (i.e., a VA mode LCD) that uses a liquid crystal material with negative dielectric anisotropy because significant effects are achieved by the present invention in that case.
  • a VA mode LCD vertical alignment liquid crystal display device
  • the present invention is no way limited to that specific preferred embodiment but is also applicable to a TN mode LCD, for example.
  • the LCD disclosed in Patent Document No. 2 is cited as a typical VA mode LCD with the multi-picture element structure.
  • the present invention does not have to be applied to that type of LCD but may also be applied to any other LCD with the multi-picture element structure.
  • the present inventors fabricated a sample LCD with the multi-picture element structure and analyzed its viewing angle characteristic in detail, the color balance shifted toward the yellow range at around an intermediate grayscale (e.g., around 145/255 grayscale) at an oblique viewing angle.
  • an intermediate grayscale e.g., around 145/255 grayscale
  • FIGS. 2( a ) and 2 ( b ) show the chromaticity variations in u′ and v′ chromaticity coordinates with the grayscales at the frontal viewing angle and at an oblique viewing angle (of which the orientation was nine o'clock direction and the polar angle was degrees), where u′ and v′ are chromaticity coordinates compliant with the CIE 1976 USC standard.
  • u′ and v′ did not change so much with the grayscale at the frontal viewing angle but increased significantly at around 145 th grayscale at the oblique viewing angle.
  • the image looked more yellowish than at any other grayscale.
  • a single color display pixel is supposed to consist of red, green and blue picture elements (i.e., picture elements in the three primary colors).
  • the present invention is in no way limited to this example. But even if a single color display pixel consisted of four or more color picture elements (multi-primary color picture elements), the same statement would apply as long as the picture elements include a blue picture element. Also, if a cyan picture element is included along with, or instead of, the blue picture element, the cyan picture element may be treated just as the blue picture element.
  • FIGS. 3( a ) and 3 ( b ) are graphs showing how the transmittances with respect to incoming color light rays in blue, green and red with wavelengths of 450 nm, 550 nm and 650 nm, respectively, changed with the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer of a normally black mode, VA mode LCD.
  • FIGS. 3( a ) and 3 ( b ) show the voltage-transmittance characteristics at the frontal viewing angle and at an oblique viewing angle (of which the orientation was nine o'clock direction and the polar angle was 45 degrees), respectively.
  • a VA mode LCD utilizes the birefringence effect of its liquid crystal layer, of which the retardation has wavelength dispersion property. That is why in a VA mode LCD, the transmittance changes differently according to the wavelength of the incoming light. Also, in the normally black mode, the greater the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer, the higher the transmittance with respect to each color light ray as can be seen from FIG. 3( a ). It can also be seen that the applied voltage that maximized the transmittance to the blue ray was smaller than the applied voltage that maximized the transmittance to any other color ray. And even after the transmittance to the blue ray reached its maximum value, the transmittances to the other color rays increased as the applied voltage was raised.
  • FIG. 4 shows the grayscale-transmittance characteristics of a liquid crystal display device with the multi-picture element structure described above at the frontal viewing angle.
  • FIG. 4 not only the characteristic of the entire picture element but also those of its bright and dark sub-picture elements are shown. Nevertheless, the characteristics of those sub-picture elements are normalized with the transmittance of the entire picture element. In other words, the transmittance of the entire picture element is represented as the sum of the transmittances of the bright and dark sub-picture elements.
  • a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layers of the respective sub-picture elements such that substantially only the bright sub-picture element is lit at low grayscales and that the transmittance of the dark sub-picture element starts to rise at a certain intermediate grayscale.
  • the grayscale-transmittance characteristics of the three primary colors of red (R), green (G) and blue (B) will be represented by the curves shown in FIG. 5 .
  • the intermediate grayscale pointed to by the arrow in FIG. 5 indicates a point at which the transmittance of the bright sub-picture element of a B picture element (which will be simply referred to herein as a “bright sub-picture element B”) gets saturated with the increase in grayscale.
  • the transmittance of this bright sub-picture element B gets saturated because the retardation of the liquid crystal layer increases at the oblique viewing angle as described above. In this manner, at the oblique viewing angle, the transmittance of the B picture element decreases at the intermediate grayscale indicated by the arrow unlike the other R and G picture elements and the image (that should look gray) around that intermediate grayscale gets yellowish.
  • the ⁇ V ⁇ value of the blue picture element may be made smaller than that of the other color picture elements by setting the storage capacitance value of the blue picture element to be smaller than that of the green and red picture elements. That is to say, among the multiple color picture elements (i.e., primary color picture elements) that form a single color display pixel, the blue picture element may have a smaller storage capacitance value than any other picture element.
  • the capacitance values C CS-B , C CS-G and C CS-R of the respective storage capacitors of the blue, green and red picture elements need to satisfy the inequality C CS-B ⁇ C CS-G ⁇ C CS-R .
  • the liquid crystal display device can have a simplified structure.
  • the two storage capacitors of the sub-picture elements of a single picture element are supposed to have an equal capacitance value. However, at least one of the storage capacitance values should satisfy the inequality.
  • supposing Vad is the peak-to-peak amplitude of the oscillating waveform of a storage capacitor voltage (CS voltage) to be applied through a storage capacitor line to a storage capacitor counter electrode
  • Ccs is the capacitance value of the storage capacitor of each sub-picture element
  • Clc is the capacitance value of the liquid crystal capacitor of each sub-picture element
  • Vm is represented by the following equation:
  • Vm (1 ⁇ 2) ⁇ Vad ⁇ Ccs/ ( Clc+Ccs )
  • V-T voltage-transmittance
  • the inequality C CS-B ⁇ C CS-G ⁇ C CS-R is preferably satisfied.
  • Vm of the blue picture element becomes smaller than any other color picture element, and therefore, the saturation and decrease in the transmittance of the bright sub-picture element of the blue picture element can be prevented.
  • the unwanted phenomenon that the image around the intermediate grayscale gets yellowish at the oblique viewing angle can be suppressed.
  • each pixel further includes a cyan picture element
  • the inequality C CS-B ⁇ C CS-C ⁇ C CS-G ⁇ C CS-R is preferably satisfied, where C CS-C is the capacitance value of the storage capacitor of the cyan picture element.
  • the capacitance value C CS-C of the storage capacitor of the cyan picture element needs to be smaller than that of the storage capacitor of any other color picture element (which may be not just a green or red picture element but also a magenta or yellow picture element). In that case, the capacitance values of the storage capacitors of all color picture elements but the cyan picture element may be equal to each other.
  • just the blue or cyan picture element needs to have a smaller storage capacitance value than the other color picture elements (which may be not just red and green picture elements). And if blue and cyan picture elements are both included, settings need to be done so as to satisfy the inequality C CS-B ⁇ C CS-C .
  • each picture element is supposed to be equally split into a bright sub-picture element and a dark sub-picture element such that these two sub-picture elements have an equal area.
  • the pattern of the multi-picture element structure of the liquid crystal display device of this preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1 may also be the one shown in FIG. 7 .
  • the picture element shown in FIG. 1 includes sub-picture elements # 1 and # 2 as upper and lower halves of the picture element.
  • a single picture element of the liquid crystal display device 100 shown in FIG. 8 includes sub-picture elements # 1 and # 2 .
  • These sub-picture elements # 1 and # 2 include liquid crystal capacitors Clc 1 and Clc 2 , respectively, each of which is formed by a liquid crystal layer, a counter electrode to apply a voltage to the liquid crystal layer, and a sub-picture element electrode.
  • a counter electrode is a single electrode that is provided in common for sub-picture elements # 1 and # 2 , and is typically shared by every picture element.
  • a storage capacitor CS 1 with a capacitance value Ccs 1 and a storage capacitor CS 2 with a capacitance value Ccs 2 are electrically connected in parallel to the liquid crystal capacitors Clc 1 and Clc 2 , respectively.
  • Each of the storage capacitors CS 1 and CS 2 is formed by an insulating layer (such as a gate insulating layer) and a storage capacitor counter electrode that faces the storage capacitor electrode with the insulating layer interposed between them.
  • the storage capacitor electrode is connected to the drain electrode of the same TFT as the sub-picture element electrode, while the storage capacitor counter electrode is connected to a storage capacitor line (CS bus line).
  • CS bus line # 1 connected to the storage capacitor of sub-picture element # 1 and CS bus line # 2 connected to the storage capacitor of sub-picture element # 2 are electrically independent of each other.
  • CS bus lines # 1 and # 2 may be provided for each picture element so as to be electrically independent of the other CS bus lines.
  • the number of electrically independent CS bus lines may be reduced by combining a number of CS bus lines that supply oscillating voltages with a certain phase relation into a single CS trunk line.
  • the CS bus line voltages (which are also called “CS voltages” or “storage capacitor counter voltages”) to be supplied to the storage capacitors of two or more sub-picture elements in a single picture element have mutually different waveforms.
  • each liquid crystal capacitor Clc 1 , Clc 2 and the storage capacitor electrode of each storage capacitor are connected to the drain electrode of its associated TFT # 1 or # 2 .
  • the respective gate electrodes of the TFTs # 1 and # 2 are connected in common to the same gate bus line, while the respective source electrodes of the TFTs # 1 and # 2 are connected in common to the same source bus line.
  • the effective voltages applied to the liquid crystal capacitors Clc 1 and Clc 2 of the respective sub-picture elements can be either raised or lowered by Vm.
  • Portions (a) through (f) of FIG. 9 schematically show the waveforms and timings of respective voltages that are applied to drive the liquid crystal display device with the multi-picture element structure shown in FIG. 8 .
  • portion (a) of FIG. 9 shows the voltage waveform Vs of the signal voltage supplied through the source bus line (signal line); portion (b) of FIG. 9 shows the voltage waveform Vcs 1 of the storage capacitor voltage supplied through the CS bus line # 1 ; portion (c) of FIG. 9 shows the voltage waveform Vcs 2 of the CS bus line # 2 ; portion (d) of FIG. 9 shows the voltage waveform Vg of the gate bus line; portion (e) of FIG. 9 shows the voltage waveform Vlc 1 of the sub-picture element electrode of the sub-picture element # 1 ; and portion (f) of FIG. 9 shows the voltage waveform Vlc 2 of the sub-picture element electrode of the sub-picture element # 2 .
  • the dashed line indicates the voltage waveform COMMON (Vcom) of the counter electrode.
  • the voltage Vg rises from VgL (low) to VgH (high) to turn TFT 1 and TFT 2 ON simultaneously.
  • the voltage Vs on the source bus line is transmitted to the sub-picture element electrodes of the sub-picture elements # 1 and # 2 to charge the sub-picture elements # 1 and # 2 with the voltage Vs.
  • the storage capacitors CS 1 and CS 2 of the respective sub-picture elements are also charged with the voltage on the source bus line.
  • the voltage Vs on the source bus line is a display voltage representing the grayscale to be displayed by that picture element and is written on an associated picture element during a period in which the TFT is ON (and which will be sometimes referred to herein as a “selected period”).
  • the voltage Vg on the gate bus line falls from VgH to VgL to turn TFT 1 and TFT 2 OFF simultaneously and electrically isolate the sub-picture elements # 1 and # 2 and the storage capacitors CS 1 and CS 2 from the source bus line (a period in such a state will sometimes be referred to herein as a “non-selected period”).
  • the voltages Vlc 1 and Vlc 2 applied to the respective sub-picture element electrodes decrease by approximately the same voltage Vd to:
  • Vlc 1 Vs ⁇ Vd
  • the voltages Vcs 1 and Vcs 2 on the CS bus lines are:
  • Vcs 1 V com ⁇ (1 ⁇ 2) Vad
  • Vcs 2 V com+(1 ⁇ 2) Vad
  • the waveforms of these exemplary voltages Vcs 1 and Vcs 2 on the CS bus lines are square waves, of which the (full) amplitude is Vad, of which the phases are opposite to each other (i.e., different from each other by 180 degrees) and which have a duty ratio of one to one.
  • the voltage Vcs 1 on the CS bus line # 1 connected to the storage capacitor CS 1 rises from Vcom ⁇ (1 ⁇ 2)Vad to Vcom+(1 ⁇ 2)Vad and the voltage Vcs 2 on the CS bus line # 2 connected to the storage capacitor CS 2 falls from Vcom+(1 ⁇ 2)Vad to Vcom ⁇ (1 ⁇ 2)Vad. That is to say, these voltages Vcs 1 and Vcs 2 both change by Vad.
  • the voltages Vlc 1 and Vlc 2 applied to the respective sub-picture element electrodes change into:
  • Vlc 1 Vs ⁇ Vd+K ⁇ Vad
  • Vlc 2 Vs ⁇ Vd ⁇ K ⁇ Vad
  • Vcs 1 falls from Vcom+(1 ⁇ 2)Vad to Vcom ⁇ (1 ⁇ 2)Vad and Vcs 2 rises from Vcom ⁇ (1 ⁇ 2)Vad to Vcom+(1 ⁇ 2)Vad. That is to say, these voltages Vcs 1 and Vcs 2 both change by Vad again. In this case, Vlc 1 and Vlc 2 also change from
  • Vlc 1 Vs ⁇ Vd+K ⁇ Vad
  • Vlc 2 Vs ⁇ Vd ⁇ K ⁇ Vad
  • Vlc 1 Vs ⁇ Vd
  • Vlc 2 Vs ⁇ Vd
  • Vlc 1 Vs ⁇ Vd
  • Vlc 2 Vs ⁇ Vd
  • Vlc 1 Vs ⁇ Vd+K ⁇ Vad
  • Vlc 2 Vs ⁇ Vd ⁇ K ⁇ Vad
  • the voltages Vcs 1 , Vcs 2 , Vlc 1 and Vlc 2 alternate their levels at the times T 4 and T 5 .
  • the intervals between the repeated changes at T 4 and T 5 may be appropriately determined to be one, two, three or more times as long as 1H in view of the method for driving the liquid crystal display device (such as the method of inverting the polarity) and the display status (such as the degree of flicker or roughness of the image on the screen).
  • Such alternate level changes are continued until the picture element is rewritten next time (i.e., until a point in time equivalent to T 1 arrives). Consequently, the effective values of the voltages Vlc 1 and Vlc 2 applied to the sub-picture element electrodes become:
  • Vlc 1 Vs ⁇ Vd+K ⁇ (1 ⁇ 2) Vad
  • Vlc 2 Vs ⁇ Vd ⁇ K ⁇ (1 ⁇ 2) Vad
  • V 1 Vlc 1 ⁇ V com
  • V 2 Vlc 2 ⁇ V com
  • V 1 Vs ⁇ Vd+K ⁇ (1 ⁇ 2) Vad ⁇ V com
  • V 2 Vs ⁇ Vd ⁇ K ⁇ (1 ⁇ 2) Vad ⁇ V com
  • C CS-R C CS-G
  • X C CS-B /C CS-R
  • a predetermined effective voltage difference can be produced between sub-picture elements by adjusting the Vad value irrespective of the variation that should occur between respective liquid crystal display devices being manufactured and unlike the multi-picture element structure disclosed in Patent Document No. 4.
  • the amplitudes of the two CS bus line voltages Vcs 1 and Vcs 2 are both supposed to be Vad. However, those amplitudes may also be defined independently of each other.
  • the voltage at a sub-picture element electrode should decrease by ⁇ Vd by nature when the gate voltage Vg falls from VgH to VgL as shown in FIG. 9 .
  • the ⁇ Vd value depends on the ratio of the parasitic capacitance Cgd between the gate electrode and drain electrode of a TFT to the sum of the capacitances of all capacitors that are connected to the drain electrode (namely, the liquid crystal capacitor Clc, storage capacitor Ccs and other parasitic capacitors).
  • the ⁇ Vd value should also be different from one color picture element to another. If the ⁇ Vd values are different between respective color picture elements, the average of the voltages to be applied to the respective liquid crystal layers of the color picture elements (i.e., the DC level) will also vary. In that case, in a typical configuration in which a counter electrode is provided in common for all picture elements, the DC voltage components applied to the liquid crystal layers of all picture elements could not be reduced sufficiently even if the counter voltage was regulated. And if the DC voltage components applied to the liquid crystal layers were high, then the display quality or reliability would be affected. That is a problem.
  • the counter electrode should be split into at least two sections and respectively predetermined voltages (i.e., counter voltages) should be applied to those two sections of the counter electrode independently of each other, thus complicating the configuration of the liquid crystal display device and increasing its cost.
  • FIG. 11 is an equivalent circuit diagram representing a picture element with a multi-picture element structure of a liquid crystal display device 200 as another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • each of the sub-picture elements # 1 and # 2 of the picture element shown in FIG. 11 has two storage capacitors.
  • the respective storage capacitor counter electrodes of the two storage capacitors of sub-picture element # 1 are electrically independent of each other, and those of the two storage capacitors of sub-picture element # 2 are also electrically independent of each other.
  • the capacitance values of these storage capacitors CS 1 A, CS 1 B, CS 2 A and CS 2 B are identified by Ccs 1 A, Ccs 1 B, Ccs 2 A and Ccs 2 B, respectively.
  • the effective storage capacitance value Ccs 1 ⁇ of sub-picture element # 1 is given by Ccs 1 A-Ccs 1
  • the effective storage capacitance value Ccs 2 ⁇ of sub-picture element # 2 is given by Ccs 2 A-Ccs 2 B.
  • the liquid crystal display device 200 shown in FIG. 11 can be designed more flexibly than the liquid crystal display device 100 shown in FIG. 8 .
  • the ⁇ V ⁇ value is determined based on the difference between the capacitance values of the storage capacitors CS 1 A and CS 1 B.
  • the ⁇ V ⁇ value does not directly depend on the capacitance values of the storage capacitors CS 1 A and CS 1 B themselves, and therefore, is free from the restriction on the patterning precision or production yield.
  • the capacitance values of the storage capacitors CS 1 A and CS 1 B of the blue picture element can be close to those of the other color picture elements, and the ⁇ V ⁇ value can be set flexibly on a color-by-color basis.
  • Ccs 1 ⁇ and Ccs 2 ⁇ are more preferably substantially the same in every picture element.
  • the ⁇ V ⁇ value depends on the product of the capacitance value of a storage capacitor and the amplitude of the CS voltage supplied from an external circuit.
  • the storage capacitance value needs to be a relatively large value. In that case, the CS voltage supplied from an external circuit will have decreased amplitude and the precision of setting the amplitude of the CS voltage will decrease.
  • the storage capacitance value should be reduced to a smaller value, and therefore, the precision of setting the storage capacitance value will decrease.
  • the storage capacitance value can be set to be relatively large value with the amplitude of the voltage supplied from an external circuit kept sufficient large. As a result, the precision of setting the ⁇ V ⁇ value can be increased.
  • the picture element at the intersection between the m th row and n th column is either a red picture element or a green picture element, while the picture element at the intersection between the m th row and (n+1) th column is a blue picture element.
  • any pair of components shown in multiple drawings and having substantially the same function will be identified by the same reference numeral. And once a component has been described, the description of its counterpart will be omitted herein to avoid redundancies.
  • each picture element P includes a first sub-picture element SP 1 and a second sub-picture element SP 2 a and SP 2 b, of which the liquid crystal layers can be supplied with mutually different voltages, and at a certain grayscale, the first sub-picture element has a higher luminance than the second sub-picture element.
  • the second sub-picture element includes second sub-picture element portions SP 2 a and SP 2 b, which are arranged so as to interpose the first sub-picture element SP 1 between them. That is to say, this liquid crystal display device 200 A has the multi-picture element structure shown in FIG. 7 .
  • the area of the second sub-picture element (i.e., the combined area of the second sub-picture element portions SP 2 a and SP 2 b ) is approximately three times as large as that of the first sub-picture element SP 1 .
  • the second sub-picture element portions SP 2 a and SP 2 b are located spatially apart from each other, but are electrically equivalent to each other, have the same voltage applied to their liquid crystal layers, and also exhibit the same electro-optical characteristic (i.e., V-T characteristic). That is why from the viewpoint of V-T characteristic, these second sub-picture element portions SP 2 a and SP 2 b form a single sub-picture element (i.e., the second sub-picture element).
  • the picture element P exhibits two different types of V-T characteristics and can also be regarded as having a structure in which a single picture element has been split into first and second sub-picture elements SP 1 and SP 2 .
  • these second sub-picture element portions SP 2 a and SP 2 b will be collectively referred to herein as the “second sub-picture element SP 2 ” for the sake of simplicity.
  • the (m, n) picture element is driven by TFTs 116 - 1 and 116 - 2 that are connected to a gate bus line 112 ( m ) and a source bus line 114 ( n ).
  • the drain of the TFT 116 - 1 is connected to the first sub-picture element electrode 111 - 1 at a contact portion 119 - 1 by way of a drain extension line 117 - 1 .
  • the drain of the TFT 116 - 2 is connected to the second sub-picture element electrode half 111 - 2 a at a contact portion 119 - 2 a by way of a drain extension line 117 - 2 and is also connected to the second sub-picture element electrode half 111 - 2 b at a contact portion 119 - 2 b by way of the drain extension line 117 - 2 .
  • the sub-picture element electrode 111 - 1 forms Clc 1 shown in FIG. 11
  • the sub-picture element electrodes 111 - 2 a and 111 - 2 b form Clc 2 shown in FIG. 11 .
  • the source bus line 114 ( n ) includes two main lines that run in the column direction and a bridge portion that connects those two main lines together.
  • One of the two main lines of the source bus line 114 ( n ) overlaps with the sub-picture element electrodes 111 - 1 , 111 - 2 a and 111 - 2 b on the n th column, while the other main line overlaps with the sub-picture element electrodes on the (n ⁇ 1) th column.
  • an interlayer dielectric film of a resin is provided between them.
  • the sub-picture element electrodes can be arranged so as to overlap with the source bus line 114 ( n ) and the aperture ratio of the pixel can be increased as a result.
  • the (m, n) picture element may be either a red picture element or a green picture element.
  • CS bus lines 113 - 1 and 113 - 2 run.
  • the CS bus lines 113 - 1 and 113 - 2 respectively correspond to CS bus lines # 1 and # 2 shown in FIG. 11 .
  • the sub-picture element SP 1 includes two storage capacitors CS 1 A and CS 1 B.
  • the storage capacitor CS 1 A is arranged at an intersection between the drain extension line 117 - 1 and the CS bus line 113 - 1 .
  • the storage capacitor CS 1 B is arranged in an area where an extended portion 117 - 1 E of the drain extension line 117 - 1 and a broadened portion of the CS bus line 113 - 1 overlap with each other.
  • Both of the CS bus lines 113 - 1 and 113 - 2 are made of the same conductive layer as the gate bus line 112 ( m ) and are covered with the gate insulating film (not shown).
  • the sub-picture element SP 2 includes two storage capacitors CS 2 A and CS 2 B.
  • the storage capacitor CS 2 A is arranged at an intersection between the drain extension line 117 - 2 and the CS bus line 113 - 2 .
  • the storage capacitor CS 2 B is arranged in an area where an extended portion 117 - 2 E of the drain extension line 117 - 2 and a broadened portion of the CS bus line 113 - 1 overlap with each other.
  • the dielectric layers of the storage capacitors CS 2 A and. CS 2 B are both gate insulating films and the capacitance values thereof are both proportional to the areas of the electrodes. In this example, the capacitance value of the storage capacitor CS 2 A is smaller than that of the storage capacitor CS 2 B as shown in FIG. 12 .
  • the sub-picture element SP 1 of the blue picture element includes two storage capacitors CS 1 A and CS 1 B.
  • the storage capacitor CS 1 A is arranged in an area where a first extended portion 117 - 1 E 1 of the drain extension line 117 - 1 and a broadened portion of the CS bus line 113 - 1 overlap with each other.
  • the storage capacitor CS 1 B is arranged in an area where a second extended portion 117 - 1 E 2 of the drain extension line 117 - 1 and a broadened portion of the CS bus line 113 - 2 overlap with each other and at an intersection between the drain extension line 117 - 1 and the CS bus line 113 - 2 .
  • the capacitance value of the storage capacitor CS 1 A is larger than that of the storage capacitor CS 1 B as shown in FIG. 12 .
  • the sub-picture element SP 2 of the blue picture element includes two storage capacitors CS 2 A and CS 2 B.
  • the storage capacitor CS 2 A is arranged in an area where an extended portion 117 - 2 E 1 of the drain extension line 117 - 2 and a broadened portion of the CS bus line 113 - 2 overlap with each other.
  • the storage capacitor CS 2 B is arranged in an area where a second extended portion 117 - 2 E 2 of the drain extension line 117 - 2 and a broadened portion of the CS bus line 113 - 1 overlap with each other and at an intersection between the drain extension line 117 - 2 and the CS bus line 113 - 1 .
  • the capacitance value of the storage capacitor CS 2 A is larger than that of the storage capacitor CS 2 B as shown in FIG. 12 .
  • the connectivity between the storage capacitors CS 1 A and CS 1 B and their associated CS bus lines and the magnitudes of the capacitance values of the storage capacitors CS 1 A and CS 1 B in the (m, n) picture element turn over in the (m, n+1) picture element.
  • This arrangement is adopted to cope with a drive mode in which the polarities of write voltages (i.e., the polarities of the voltages supplied through the source bus line 114 with reference to the counter voltage (that is called a “display signal voltage”)) invert between the (m, n) and (m, n+1) picture elements.
  • a drive mode is sometimes called a “dot inversion drive”.
  • the storage capacitor counter electrodes of the storage capacitors CS 1 A and CS 2 B are electrically connected to the same CS bus line 113 - 1
  • the storage capacitor counter electrodes of the storage capacitors CS 1 B and CS 2 A are electrically connected to the same CS bus line 113 - 2 .
  • the square waves, of which the phases are different from each other by 180 degrees and which have amplitude Vad as shown in FIG.
  • the ⁇ V ⁇ value of the blue picture element can be smaller than that of the other color picture elements.
  • Ccs 1 ⁇ and Ccs 2 ⁇ are decreased.
  • the ratio of the capacitance of the liquid crystal capacitor Clc 1 to the storage capacitance Ccs ⁇ 1 in the sub-picture element SP 1 and the ratio of the capacitance of the liquid crystal capacitor Clc 2 to the storage capacitance Ccs ⁇ 2 in the sub-picture element SP 2 are substantially equal to each other. Since the liquid crystal layers of the sub-picture elements SP 1 and SP 2 have the same thickness, the liquid crystal capacitance of each sub-picture element is proportional to the area of its associated sub-picture element electrode.
  • the liquid crystal capacitance of the sub-picture element SP 2 will also be approximately three times as large as that of the sub-picture element SP 1 .
  • the ratio of the capacitance value of the liquid crystal capacitor Clc 1 to the storage capacitance Ccs ⁇ 1 in the sub-picture element SP 1 is made approximately equal to the ratio of the capacitance value of the liquid crystal capacitor Clc 2 to the storage capacitance Ccs ⁇ 2 in the sub-picture element SP 2 .
  • the drain extension lines 117 - 1 and 117 - 2 and the drain extension lines' extended portions 117 - 1 E, 117 - 2 E, 117 - 1 E 1 , 117 - 1 E 2 , 117 - 2 E 1 and 117 - 2 E 2 are arranged such that the blue picture element (i.e., (m, n+1) picture element in this example) and the other picture elements (i.e., (m, n) picture element in this example) have apertures (i.e., openings to pass the incoming light) of the same shape.
  • FIG. 13 is an equivalent circuit diagram of one of the two sub-picture elements of a single picture element in a liquid crystal display device 300 having a dual picture element structure.
  • a gate-drain capacitor CGD- 1 is formed using the gate bus line on an adjacent row.
  • CGD- 1 is formed with the gate bus line on the (m ⁇ 1) th row.
  • the present invention is in no way limited to this specific example.
  • FIG. 14 illustrates a picture element structure for a liquid crystal display device 300 A as a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the equivalent circuit of the liquid crystal display device 300 A is the same as that of the liquid crystal display device 300 shown in FIG. 13 .
  • illustrated schematically are the structure of two picture elements that are located at the intersection between the m th row and n th column and at the intersection between the m th row and (n+1) th column on the TFT substrate, among multiple picture elements that are arranged in column and rows.
  • each picture element P includes a first sub-picture element SP 1 and a second sub-picture element SP 2 . That is to say, this liquid crystal display device 300 A has the multi-picture element structure shown in FIG. 1 and the ratio in the area of the first sub-picture element SP 1 to the second sub-picture element SP 2 is one to one.
  • each sub-picture element of the liquid crystal display device 300 A has only one storage capacitor.
  • the sub-picture element SP 1 includes only a storage capacitor CS 1 A between the CS bus line 113 - 1 and the extended portion 117 - 1 E of the drain extension line 117 - 1 but has no storage capacitors with the CS bus line 113 - 2 .
  • the sub-picture element SP 2 includes only a storage capacitor CS 2 A between the CS bus line 113 - 2 and the extended portion 117 - 2 E of the drain extension line 117 - 2 but has no storage capacitors with the CS bus line 113 - 1 .
  • the liquid crystal display device 300 A has a simpler configuration than the liquid crystal display device 200 A.
  • the ⁇ V ⁇ value of the blue picture element can be smaller than that of the other color picture element.
  • the drain extension line 117 - 1 includes a first extended portion 117 - 1 E 1 that forms the storage capacitor CS 1 A of the sub-picture element SP 1 and a second extended portion 117 - 1 E 2 that overlaps with a gate bus line 112 ( m ⁇ 1).
  • a compensating gate-drain capacitor CGD- 1 a is formed in an area where the second extended portion 117 - 1 E 2 overlaps with the gate bus line 112 ( m ⁇ 1).
  • the drain extension line 117 - 2 includes a first extended portion 117 - 2 E 1 that forms the storage capacitor CS 2 A of the sub-picture element SP 2 and a second extended portion 117 - 2 E 2 that overlaps with a gate bus line 112 (m+1).
  • a compensating gate-drain capacitor CGD- 2 a is formed in an area where the second extended portion 117 - 2 E 2 overlaps with the gate bus line 112 (m+1).
  • the capacitance value (or the area shown in FIG. 14 ) of the storage capacitor CS 1 A is greater the (m, n) picture element than in the (m, n+1) picture element.
  • the compensating gate-drain capacitors CGD- 1 a and CGD- 2 a are provided only for the (m, n+1) picture element.
  • the compensating gate-drain capacitors CGD- 1 a and CGD- 2 a are provided to compensate for the deficit in the capacitance value of the storage capacitor CS 1 A of the (m, n+1) picture element with the (m, n) picture element.
  • both of the (m, n) and (m, n+1) picture elements have the gate-drain capacitors CGD- 1 b and CGD- 2 b. These are capacitors formed between the extended portion of the gate bus line (m) to drive the (m, n) picture element and the drain extension line 117 - 1 or 117 - 2 . That is why their capacitance value is included in Cgd in the numerator of the equation that defines ⁇ Vd and these capacitors are provided to adjust the Cgd value.
  • the ⁇ Vd values can be equalized in every color picture element with a simpler configuration than that of the liquid crystal display device 200 A.
  • the drain extension lines 117 - 1 and 117 - 2 and the extended portion of the gate bus line 112 ( m ) are arranged such that the blue picture element (i.e., (m, n+1) picture element in this example) and the other picture element (i.e., (m, n) picture element in this example) have apertures (i.e., openings to pass the incoming light) of substantially the same shape.
  • the blue picture element i.e., (m, n+1) picture element in this example
  • the other picture element i.e., (m, n) picture element in this example
  • the uniformity of display can be increased.
  • FIG. 15 illustrates a picture element structure for a liquid crystal display device 400 A as another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the equivalent circuit of the liquid crystal display device 400 A is the same as that of the liquid crystal display device 100 shown in FIG. 8 .
  • illustrated schematically are the structure of two picture elements that are located at the intersection between the m th row and n th column and at the intersection between the m th row and (n+1) th column on the TFT substrate, among multiple picture elements that are arranged in column and rows.
  • each picture element P includes a first sub-picture element SP 1 and a second sub-picture element SP 2 . That is to say, this liquid crystal display device 400 A has the multi-picture element structure shown in FIG. 1 and the ratio in the area of the first sub-picture element SP 1 to the second sub-picture element SP 2 is one to one.
  • the ⁇ V ⁇ value of the blue picture element can be smaller than that of the other color picture element.
  • ⁇ Vd can be regulated by adjusting Cgd (e., the numerator of the equation that gives ⁇ Vd) of the TFT.
  • the areas of overlap of the drain electrodes 116 - 1 Da and 116 - 1 Db with the gate electrode 116 - 1 G are greater in the (m, n) picture element than in the (m, n+1) picture element.
  • the areas of overlap of the drain electrodes 116 - 2 Da and 116 - 2 Db with the gate electrode 116 - 2 G are greater in the (m, n) picture element than in the (m, n+1) picture element.
  • the Cgd capacitance value of the TFT 166 - 1 of the (m, n) picture element is greater than that of the TFT 166 - 1 of the (m, n+1) picture element by those extra areas of overlap of the drain electrodes (corresponding to CGD- 1 a and CGD- 1 b ) with the gate electrode.
  • the Cgd capacitance value of the TFT 166 - 2 of the (m, n) picture element is greater than that of the TFT 166 - 2 of the (m, n+1) picture element by those extra areas of overlap of the drain electrodes (corresponding to CGD- 2 a and CGD- 2 b ) with the gate electrode.
  • the difference in the capacitance value of the storage capacitor can be compensated for.
  • the liquid crystal display device 400 A also has a structure in which the aperture ratio of a pixel is increased by making the sub-picture element electrodes 111 - 1 and 111 - 2 overlap with the source bus line 114 ( n ) with an interlevel dielectric film interposed between them.
  • FIG. 16 illustrates a picture element structure for a liquid crystal display device 500 A as another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the equivalent circuit of the liquid crystal display device 500 A is the same as that of the liquid crystal display device 100 shown in FIG. 8 .
  • illustrated schematically are not only the structure of two picture elements that are located at the intersection between the m th row and n th column and at the intersection between the m th row and (n+1) th column on the TFT substrate, among multiple picture elements that are arranged in column and rows, but also the arrangement of ribs on the counter substrate.
  • each picture element P includes a first sub-picture element SP 1 and a second sub-picture element SP 2 . That is to say, this liquid crystal display device 500 A has the multi-picture element structure shown in FIG. 1 and the ratio in the area of the first sub-picture element SP 1 to the second sub-picture element SP 2 is one to one.
  • the capacitance values of the liquid crystal capacitors Clc 1 and Clc 1 and the storage capacitors Ccs 1 and Ccs 2 (see FIG. 8 ) of the blue picture element can be smaller than those of the other color picture element.
  • the sub-picture element electrodes 111 - 1 and 111 - 2 are arranged so as not to overlap with the source bus line 114 ( n ).
  • most of the storage capacitors CS 1 and CS 2 is defined by providing extended portions 113 - 1 E and 113 - 2 E, which run parallel to the source bus line 114 ( n ), for the CS bus lines 113 - 1 and 113 - 2 and by making the CS bus lines 113 - 1 and 113 - 2 , including parts of the extended portion 113 - 1 E and 113 - 2 E, overlap with the sub-picture element electrodes 111 - 1 and 111 - 2 with an interlevel dielectric film (not shown) interposed between them.
  • each of the CS bus lines 113 - 1 and 113 - 2 includes a pair of extended portions 113 - 1 E, 113 - 2 E that overlaps with both edges of its associated sub-picture element electrode 111 - 1 or 111 - 2 .
  • the present invention is in no way limited to this specific preferred embodiment.
  • the thickness of the interlevel dielectric film may be appropriately adjusted according to its dielectric constant and area. It should be noted that overlapping portions between the extended portions 117 - 1 E and 117 - 2 E of the drain extension lines 117 - 1 and 117 - 2 and the CS bus lines 113 - 1 and 113 - 2 also contribute to forming the storage capacitors.
  • the capacitance value of the storage capacitor CS is adjusted to make the ⁇ V ⁇ value of the blue picture element different from the others.
  • the capacitance values of the liquid crystal capacitor Clc and the storage capacitor CS are adjusted. If the area of the sub-picture element electrode is reduced, the capacitance values of the liquid crystal capacitor Clc and storage capacitor CS will both decrease. But as the capacitance value of the storage capacitor CS decreases significantly, the ⁇ V ⁇ value can be reduced eventually.
  • ⁇ Vd is regulated by adjusting Cgd (i.e., the numerator of the equation that gives ⁇ Vd) of the TFT, as in the liquid crystal display device 400 A described above.
  • Cgd the numerator of the equation that gives ⁇ Vd
  • the areas of the drain electrodes 116 - 1 D and 116 - 2 D of the TFTs 116 - 1 and 116 - 2 are increased in the (m, n) picture element compared to the (m, n+1) picture element, and the areas of the source electrodes 116 S are increased, too.
  • the Cgd capacitance value of the (m, n) picture element can be increased and the channel width of the TFT can also be increased effectively.
  • FIG. 17 illustrates a picture element structure for a liquid crystal display device 600 A as another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the equivalent circuit of the liquid crystal display device 600 A is the same as that of the liquid crystal display device 100 shown in FIG. 8 .
  • illustrated schematically are not only the structure of two picture elements that are located at the intersection between the m th row and n th column and at the intersection between the m th row and (n+1) th column on the TFT substrate, among multiple picture elements that are arranged in column and rows, but also the arrangement of ribs on the counter substrate.
  • FIG. 18A is a cross-sectional view of the device as viewed on the plane 18 A- 18 A′ shown in FIG. 17
  • FIG. 18B is a cross-sectional view of the device as viewed on the plane 18 B- 18 B′ shown in FIG. 17 .
  • the liquid crystal display device 600 A is an MVA mode LCD having the same alignment division structure as the liquid crystal display device 500 A.
  • the picture element at the intersection between the m th row and column is either a red picture element or a green picture element, while the picture element at the intersection between the m th row and (n+1) th column is a blue picture element.
  • each picture element P includes a first sub-picture element SP 1 and a second sub-picture element SP 2 . That is to say, this liquid crystal display device 600 A has the multi-picture element structure shown in FIG. 1 and the ratio in the area of the first sub-picture element SP 1 to the second sub-picture element SP 2 is one to one.
  • the liquid crystal display device 600 A also includes a relatively thin interlevel dielectric film 126 between the source bus line 114 ( n ) and the sub-picture element electrodes 111 - 1 and 111 - 2 (see FIGS. 18A and 18B ). That is why the sub-picture element electrodes 111 - 1 and 111 - 2 are arranged so as not to overlap with the source bus line 114 ( n ). Furthermore, the liquid crystal display device 600 A includes not just the gate insulating film 122 of the liquid crystal display device 200 A and other devices described above but also a spin-on-glass (SOG) film 121 on the gate insulating film 122 .
  • SOG spin-on-glass
  • the SOG film 121 is relatively thick. For that reason, if the SOG film 121 were interposed between the semiconductor layer 123 of the TFT (see FIG. 18A ) and the gate electrode 112 ( m ), then the TFT would not operate normally. To avoid such a situation, the SOG film 121 is not provided in a region of the TFT 116 - 1 or 116 - 2 where the gate insulating film 122 should function as such. In FIGS. 17 and 18A , that region is shown as a SOG film removed region 118 T.
  • the SOG film 121 has a relatively low dielectric constant of four or less, for example. That is why if the SOG film 121 is arranged between the electrodes, then the capacitance value of the capacitor to be formed will be small.
  • the SOG film 121 is interposed between the CS bus line 113 - 1 and the sub-picture element electrodes 111 - 1 and 111 - 2 . That is why the capacitor to be formed between those electrodes will have a small capacitance value and will contribute a little to forming a storage capacitor.
  • the ⁇ V ⁇ value of the blue picture element can be smaller than that of the other color picture element.
  • ⁇ Vd is regulated by adjusting Cgd (i.e., the numerator of the equation that gives ⁇ Vd) of the TFT, as in the liquid crystal display devices 400 A and 500 A described above. Also, as in the liquid crystal display device 500 A, the areas of the drain electrodes 116 - 1 D and 116 - 2 D of the TFTs 116 - 1 and 116 - 2 are increased in the (m, n) picture element compared to the (m, n+1) picture element, and the areas of the source electrodes 116 S are increased, too.
  • the Cgd capacitance value of the (m, n) picture element can be increased and the channel width of the TFT can also be increased effectively.
  • the method of regulating ⁇ Vd by adjusting Cgd may be modified in various manners. According to the TFT configuration, any appropriate one may be selected from those various methods, or if necessary, two or more methods may be combined, too. Some of those modified methods of adjusting Cgd of a TFT are shown in FIGS. 19( a ) through FIG. 19( g ).
  • Cgd of a color picture element other than a blue picture element is increased by extending the drain electrodes 116 - 1 D and 116 - 2 D.
  • Cgd of a color picture element other than the blue picture element is increased and the channel width of the TFT is increased effectively by extending the drain electrodes 116 - 1 D and 116 - 2 D and the source electrode 116 S.
  • Cgd of the color picture element other than the blue picture element is increased by extending the drain electrode 116 - 1 D. And by extending the drain electrode in the direction in which the gate bus line runs, the decrease in aperture ratio is minimized.
  • the TFT section 70 D shown in FIG. 19( d ) not just Cgd of the color picture element other than the blue picture element but also the channel width the TFT are increased effectively by extending the source electrode 1165 , as well as the drain electrode 116 - 1 D. And by extending the channel width of the TFT in the direction in which the gate bus line runs, the decrease in aperture ratio is minimized.
  • CGD- 1 is formed with the tip of the drain electrode 116 D extended, thereby increasing not only Cgd of the color picture element other than the blue picture element but also the vertical channel width of the TFT. Since the shape of the source electrode 116 S is not changed, the load on the source bus line 114 hardly increases.
  • the channel width of the TFT are increased even more effectively than in the TFT section 70 F by extending the source electrodes 116 S 1 and 116 S 2 , as well as the drain electrodes 116 - 1 D and 116 - 2 D.
  • the configuration of the liquid crystal display device 700 A shown in FIG. 20 may also be adopted.
  • the liquid crystal display device 700 A basically has the same configuration as the liquid crystal display device 200 A shown in FIG. 12 .
  • two storage capacitors are provided for each sub-picture element (e.g., the storage capacitors CS 1 A and CS 1 B are provided for the sub-picture element SP 1 ) and their capacitance values are changed between the blue picture element and the other color picture element, thereby making their ⁇ V ⁇ different from each other.
  • each sub-picture element also includes two storage capacitors (e.g., the storage capacitors CS 1 A and CS 1 B are provided for the sub-picture element SP 1 ) but the capacitance values of these storage capacitors are the same in every color picture element.
  • the drain extension line 117 - 1 for the first sub-picture element SP 1 of the blue picture element (i.e., the (m, n+1) picture element) and the drain extension line 117 - 2 for the second sub-picture element SP 2 thereof are short-circuited together with a drain short-circuit line 117 - 3 , thereby reducing ⁇ V ⁇ of the blue picture element to substantially zero. That is to say, since only the blue picture element does not have the multi-picture element structure, the viewing angle dependence of the blue grayscale characteristic will deteriorate but problems that would otherwise be caused by coloring or a variation in ⁇ Vd will never happen.
  • FIG. 21 shows the grayscale dependences of ⁇ Vd of respective color picture elements in a liquid crystal display device as a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the graph shown in FIG. 21 shows ⁇ Vd of the respective color picture elements in a situation where the ratio X of the capacitance value of the storage capacitor of the blue picture element to that of the storage capacitor of the other color picture elements is optimized to be 0.56 in order to minimize the shift toward the yellow range at an oblique viewing angle in the liquid crystal display device that has already been described with reference to FIG. 10 .
  • the curve L(B) shows ⁇ Vd of the blue picture element
  • the curve L′(R, G) shows ⁇ Vd of the other color picture elements, of which the difference in storage capacitance value is not compensated for
  • the curve L(R, G) shows ⁇ Vd of the other color picture elements that has been substantially equalized with that of the blue picture element by adjusting Cgd.
  • ⁇ Vd is substantially the same, it means that the difference in ⁇ Vd is equal to or smaller than 50 mV. It can be seen that in the example illustrated in FIG. 21 , the difference between the curve L(B) and the curve L(R, G) at the 140 th grayscale is as small as 4 mV.
  • each picture element is split into two sub-picture elements.
  • the present invention is in no way limited to that specific preferred embodiment.
  • each picture element may also be divided into three or more sub-picture elements as well.
  • a liquid crystal display device can be used effectively in liquid crystal TVs and other applications that require excellent viewing angle characteristics.

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US8674919B2 (en) 2014-03-18
WO2008018552A1 (fr) 2008-02-14
CN101501561A (zh) 2009-08-05
JPWO2008018552A1 (ja) 2010-01-07
EP2051136A4 (de) 2010-09-22
CN101501561B (zh) 2011-04-06
US20120281168A1 (en) 2012-11-08
EP2051136A1 (de) 2009-04-22

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