Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

U.S. Philips Corporation

Jeffrey Alan Chapman

Mark Thomas Johnson

Steven Charles Deane

Dirk Kornelis Gerhardus De Boer

Ian D French

Masahiro Yoshiga

Pieter J Van Der Zaag

Armanda Cinderella Nieuwkerk

Johannes Albertus Matthijs Maria Van Haaren

Masakazu Fukumoto

A thin-film transistor for an active matrix display is fabricated using printing means, such as a gravure offset printer. First and second pattern layers () are formed on a layer structure () wherein at least one of the layers is printed. The printed layers () mask regions () for defining source a and drain terminals. The second pattern layer () can be removed so as to allow etching of the second region () for defining a channel.

Method of fabricating a TFT device formed by printing

A method of forming an active plate for a liquid crystal display is disclosed in which the source and drain conductors ( ), pixel electrodes ( ) and column conductors ( ) are formed by depositing and patterning a transparent conductor layer. There is selective plating of areas ( ) of the transparent conductor layer to form a metallic layer for reducing the resistivity of the transparent conductor layer. The plated areas include the column conductors ( ) but exclude the source and drain conductors and the pixel electrodes. This enables the column conductors to be treated to reduce the resistivity, but without altering the channel length of the transistor because the source and drain parts of the layer are shielded from the plating process.

Pixellated devices such as active matrix liquid crystal displays

A printing plate for use in fabricating electronic circuitry on a substrate. It includes a body layer, and a non-metallic pattern definition layer over the body layer having a printing pattern anisotropically etched into its outer surface. The material of the body layer may be selected to have thermal expansion properties which substantially match those of the substrate, whilst the pattern definition layer may be selected for its etching characteristics.

Printing plates

In a vertical aligned LCD the other substrate has further protrusion parts e.g. parallel to the gate buses or source buses, in addition to the protrusion parts parallel to slits of pixel electrodes. By the further protrusion, when a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer, it becomes easy to align axes of liquid crystal molecules in one direction, so that transmittivity of light which travels through liquid crystal panel becomes high.

Liquid crystal display device including pixel electrodes with slits and protrusion between common electrode and alignment film

In the manufacture of liquid crystal display devices with drive circuits and of other large area electronics devices, discharge damage of tracks (9) and other parts of a thin-film pattern (12) can result during an ion-implantation step for forming transistors (15) and doping the tracks (9). This damage is avoided by providing a discharge path (10) which is so constructed in accordance with the invention that no extra processing steps are required, and the path (10) can be retained in the manufactured device. This discharge path has along its length a series of discharge gaps (20) which separate successive thin-film regions (10, 9) of the path and so provide electrical isolation for normal operation of the device. However, during the ion implantation, charge leakage occurs across the discharge gaps (20) between the separate successive regions (10, 9) of the path so providing a continuous and controlled discharge from the pattern (12).

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Burgess Hill, United Kingdom

Jeffrey Alan Chapman