Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Takatoshi Orui

Kiyoshi Minoura

Makoto Nakazawa

Fumiki Nakano

Wataru Nakamura

Tadashi Ohtake

Shigeyasu Mori

Masanobu Mizusaki

Kenichi Kitoh

Disclosed is a liquid crystal panel of a scanning antenna including a transmission and/or reception region in which a plurality of antenna units are arrayed, and a non-transmission and/or reception region, the liquid crystal panel including: a TFT substrate provided with a first dielectric substrate, a TFT supported by the first dielectric substrate, a gate bus line, a source bus line, and a patch electrode; a slot substrate provided with a second dielectric substrate, and a slot electrode formed on a first main surface of the second dielectric substrate and including a slot arranged so as to correspond to the patch electrode; a liquid crystal layer provided between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate and including a plurality of liquid crystal regions; and a plurality of sealing portions that respectively surround the plurality of liquid crystal regions and bond the TFT substrate and the slot substrate together. Each of the plurality of antenna units includes one of the plurality of liquid crystal regions.

Scanned antenna

A scanning antenna includes a TFT substrate including a plurality of TFTs supported by a first dielectric substrate and a plurality of patch electrodes, a slot substrate including a slot electrode supported by a second dielectric substrate, a liquid crystal layer provided between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate, and a reflective conductive plate disposed opposing the second dielectric substrate across a dielectric layer. The slot electrode includes a plurality of slots disposed corresponding to the plurality of patch electrodes, each patch electrode is connected to a drain of the corresponding TFT, the slot electrode includes Cu layers, and lower metal layers and/or an upper metal layer, and the lower metal layer and/or the upper metal layer decrease about a half or more of a tensile stress of the Cu layer.

Scanned antenna and method of manufacturing scanned antenna

A liquid crystal panel of a scanning antenna includes a TFT substrate provided with a first dielectric substrate, a TFT supported by the first dielectric substrate, a gate bus line, a source bus line, and a patch electrode; a slot substrate provided with a second dielectric substrate, and a slot electrode that is formed on a first main surface of the second dielectric substrate and includes a slot arranged so as to correspond to the patch electrode; and a liquid crystal layer provided between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate. One of the TFT substrate and the slot substrate includes a projecting layer formed of resin and disposed on the liquid crystal layer side of the patch electrode or the slot electrode in a region surrounded by a sealing portion. The projecting layer is arranged so as not to overlap the patch electrode or the slot.

The scanning antenna () is a scanning antenna in which antenna units (U) are arranged, the scanning antenna including: a TFT substrate () including: a first dielectric substrate (), TFTs, gate bus lines, source bus lines, and patch electrodes (); a slot substrate () including: a second dielectric substrate (), and a slot electrode (); a liquid crystal layer (LC) provided between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate; and a reflective conductive plate (). The slot electrode includes slots () arranged in correspondence with the plurality of patch electrodes, and a thickness of the second dielectric substrate () is smaller than the thickness of the first dielectric substrate () at least in a region where the antenna units (U) are arranged.

Scanning antenna

A scanning antenna includes a TFT substrate including a first dielectric substrate, a plurality of TFTs, a plurality of gate bus lines, a plurality of source bus lines, and a plurality of patch electrodes, a slot substrate including a second dielectric substrate and a slot electrode () formed on the first main surface of the second dielectric substrate, a liquid crystal layer provided between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate, and a reflective conductive plate provided opposing a second main surface opposite to the first main surface of the second dielectric substrate via a dielectric layer, and the slot electrode includes a plurality of slots arranged in accordance with the plurality of patch electrodes, and a groove configured to divide the slot electrode into two or more sections, and the TFT substrate includes an opposing metal part arranged opposing the groove, and when viewed from a normal line direction of the first dielectric substrate, the groove is covered with the opposing metal part in the width direction thereof.

Scanning antenna and method for manufacturing same

A scanning antenna including: a TFT substrate including a first dielectric substrate, a TFT, a gate bus line, a source bus line, and a patch electrode; a slot substrate including a second dielectric substrate and a slot electrode formed on a first main surface of the second dielectric substrate; a liquid crystal layer provided between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate; and a reflective conductive plate. The scanning antenna has a tiling structure in which a plurality of scanning antenna portions are bonded together, and each of the plurality of scanning antenna portions includes a TFT substrate portion and a slot substrate portion. The plurality of scanning portions include: a scanning antenna portion including, on a side to be bonded with an adjacent scanning antenna portion, a side which the TFT substrate portion protrudes beyond the slot substrate portion, and a scanning antenna portion including, on a side to be bonded with an adjacent scanning antenna portion, a side in which the slot substrate portion protrudes beyond the TFT substrate portion.

A scanning antenna is a scanning antenna in which antenna units U are arranged, and includes a TFT substrate including a first dielectric substrate, TFTs, a plurality of gate bus lines, source bus lines, and patch electrodes; a slot substrate including a second dielectric substrate, and a slot electrode formed on a first main surface of the second dielectric substrate; a liquid crystal layer LC provided between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate; and a reflective conductive plate provided opposing a second main surface of the second dielectric substrate opposite to the first main surface via a dielectric layer. The slot electrode includes slots arranged in correspondence with the plurality of patch electrodes, and each of the patch electrodes is connected to a drain of a corresponding TFT and is supplied with a data signal from a corresponding source bus line while selected by a scanning signal supplied from the gate bus line of the corresponding TFT. The frequency at which the polarity of the voltage applied to each of the plurality of patch electrodes is inverted is greater than or equal to 300 Hz.

Scanning antenna and method for driving same

A scanning antenna includes a TFT substrate including a first dielectric substrate, TFTs supported by the first dielectric substrate, gate bus lines, source bus lines, and patch electrodes; a slot substrate including a second dielectric substrate, and a slot electrode formed on a first main surface of the second dielectric substrate; a liquid crystal layer provided between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate; and a reflective conduction plate facing a second main surface of the second dielectric substrate&#x2014;on a side opposite the first main surface with a dielectric layer therebetween. The slot electrode includes slots disposed corresponding to the patch electrodes, and each of the patch electrodes is connected to the drain of a corresponding TFT. A low-dielectric-loss material layer is formed in the slot, the low-dielectric-loss material layer being made from a material having a smaller dielectric loss with respect to microwaves than that of the liquid crystal material constituting the liquid crystal layer.

Scanning antenna and method for manufacturing scanning antenna

A scanning antenna () in which a plurality of antenna units (U) are arranged, the scanning antenna including: a TFT substrate () including a first dielectric substrate (), TFTs, gate bus lines, source bus lines, and patch electrodes (); a slot substrate () including a second dielectric substrate () and a slot electrode () formed on a first main surface of the second dielectric substrate; a liquid crystal layer (LC) provided between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate; and a reflective conductive plate () disposed opposing via a dielectric layer () a second main surface opposite to the first main surface of the second dielectric substrate, () wherein the slot electrode includes slots disposed corresponding to the respective patch electrodes, and a heater part () is further provided on the outside of the TFT substrate () or on the outside of the slot substrate ().

A scanned antenna () is a scanned antenna including antenna elements (U) arranged together, the scanned antenna including: a TFT substrate () including a first dielectric substrate (), TFTs, gate bus lines, source bus lines, and patch electrodes (); a slot substrate () including a second dielectric substrate () a slot electrode (); a liquid crystal layer (LC) provided between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate; and a reflective conductive plate (). The slot electrode includes slots () arranged so as to correspond to the patch electrodes. As seen from the normal direction to the first dielectric substrate, a plurality of spacer structures () provided between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate are arranged so as not to overlap with first regions (Rp) and/or second regions (Rp), where the first regions are regions that are within a distance of 0.3 mm from edges of the slots and the second regions are regions that are within a distance of 0.3 mm from edges of the patch electrodes.

A TFT substrate () including a plurality of antenna element regions (U) arranged on a dielectric substrate (), the TFT substrate including a transmitting/receiving region including a plurality of antenna element regions, and a non-transmitting/receiving region located outside of the transmitting/receiving region, each of the plurality of antenna element regions (U) including: a thin film transistor (); a first insulating layer () covering the thin film transistor and having a first opening (CH) which exposes a drain electrode (D) of the thin film transistor (); and a patch electrode () formed on the first insulating layer () and in the first opening (CH), and electrically connected to the drain electrode (D) of the thin film transistor, wherein the patch electrode () includes a metal layer, and a thickness of the metal layer is greater than a thickness of a source electrode (S) and the drain electrode (D) of the thin film transistor.

TFT substrate, scanning antenna using same, and method for manufacturing TFT substrate

A scanned antenna () is a scanned antenna including antenna elements (U) arranged together, the scanned antenna comprising: a TFT substrate including a first dielectric substrate (), TFTs, gate bus lines, source bus lines, and patch electrodes (); a slot substrate () including a second dielectric substrate (), and a slot electrode () formed on a first primary surface of the second dielectric substrate; a liquid crystal layer (LC) provided between the TFT substrate and the slot substrate; and a reflective conductive plate () arranged so as to oppose a second primary surface of the second dielectric substrate () with a dielectric layer () interposed therebetween, the second primary surface being on an opposite side from the first primary surface. The TFT substrate (TFT substrate portion (Cb)) includes a terminal region (TR) outside of the seal portion (), and the gate bus lines or the source bus lines are connected to gate terminal portions or source terminal portions formed in the terminal region via a transparent conductive layer () provided between the seal portion () and the TFT substrate.

Growing community of inventors

Sakai, Japan

Takatoshi Orui