The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 18, 2002
Filed:
Sep. 01, 1999
Chae Gee Sung, Miyagi-ken, JP;
Alps Electric Co., Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A thin-film transistor substrate includes a substrate; an underlying metal film disposed on the substrate, the underlying metal film being formed of a metal capable of being electrically connected to an indium tin oxide film used to form a gate terminal, a source terminal, and a pixel electrode; an aluminum film used to form a gate interconnection, a source interconnection, and a drain electrode, the aluminum film being disposed on the underlying metal film; an aluminum oxide film disposed on the aluminum film; an insulating film disposed on the aluminum oxide film; a contact hole formed in the insulating film, the aluminum oxide film, and the aluminum film, the contact hole extending from the surface of the insulating film to the surface of the underlying metal film through the insulating film, the aluminum oxide film, and the aluminum film; and an indium tin oxide film formed on the insulating film and in the contact hole, the indium tin oxide film in the contact hole being electrically connected to the underlying metal film. In this thin-film transistor substrate, low-resistance interconnections are formed using aluminum without causing an increase in electric resistance due to direct contact between aluminum and ITO. Furthermore, short circuits and poor electric isolation due to hillocks are prevented.