KR20160063125A - High stiffness of column spacer and liquid crystal display device having thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a high strength column spacer and a liquid crystal display device having the same. The column spacer includes a pigment, a bead, or a nanoparticle in a composition, and the pigment, the bead, or the nanoparticle is coupled with a chain structure through crosslink by a crosslinking agent, wherein a space of a polymer crumpled into a form of a network is filled with the pigment to implement the coupling, which increases the strength of the column spacer and minimizes deformation of the column spacer, thereby improving an elastic restoring force. The liquid crystal display device includes: a first substrate and a second substrate; a liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate; a column spacer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate to maintain a cell gap; and a protrusion disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate to come in contact with the column spacer.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a high-strength column spacer,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a column spacer, and more particularly, to a column spacer having high elasticity and high strength and a liquid crystal display element having the same.

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, various portable electronic devices such as a mobile phone, a PDA, and a notebook computer have been developed. Accordingly, there is a growing need for a flat panel display device for a light and small size. As such a flat panel display device, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), an organic light emitting display (OLED), and an electrophoretic display device have been actively studied, but the mass production technology, the ease of driving means, A liquid crystal display device (LCD) is currently in the spotlight.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional liquid crystal display device. The liquid crystal display element 1 includes a first substrate 3 and a second substrate 5 and a liquid crystal layer 7 formed between the first substrate 3 and the second substrate 5, . The first substrate 3 is a driving element array substrate. Although not shown in the drawing, a plurality of pixels are formed on the first substrate 3, and a thin film transistor (TFT) A second substrate 5 is a color filter substrate, and a color filter layer for realizing a color is formed. A pixel electrode and a common electrode are formed on the first substrate 3 and the second substrate 5 and an alignment film for aligning the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 7 layer.

The first substrate 3 and the second substrate 5 are bonded together by a sealant 6 formed on the outer surface of the substrate and spacers 8 formed between the first substrate 3 and the second substrate 5, Thereby maintaining a constant cell gap. The liquid crystal layer 7 formed between the substrates 3 and 5 may display information by controlling the amount of light transmitted through the liquid crystal layer by driving liquid crystal molecules by a driving element formed on the first substrate 3 do.

The liquid crystal display element having the above structure is formed by a driving element array substrate process for forming a driving element on the first substrate 3 and the second substrate 5 is formed by a color filter substrate process for forming a color filter do. Thereafter, the liquid crystal cell element is completed through the spacer and the sealant forming process.

The driving element array substrate process is performed by forming a plurality of gate lines and data lines which are arranged on the first substrate 3 to define pixel regions and forming gate lines and data lines And a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor and driving the liquid crystal layer by applying a signal through the thin film transistor is formed.

In the color filter substrate process, a black matrix is formed on the second substrate 5, a color filter is formed on the black matrix, and then a common electrode is formed.

As the spacer, a column spacer is mainly used. In the past, a ball spacer was mainly used. However, in the case of a ball spacer, there is a problem that it is difficult to uniformly disperse the cell gap of the liquid crystal display element uniformly, such as aggregation when scattering, There has been a problem that the ball spacers are irregularly distributed in the display area of the display element to lower the aperture ratio. In addition, the ball spacer rubs against the alignment film and causes scratches on the alignment film.

Therefore, a column spacer is mainly used in recent years because the column spacer can be formed at a desired position with the same density throughout the liquid crystal display element. As described above, by forming the column spacer at a desired position, the cell gap of the liquid crystal display element can be kept constant and the aperture ratio can be prevented from being lowered.

However, such a column spacer causes the following problems.

In the case where the cell gap is kept constant by the column spacer 8 as described above, if the column spacer 8 is not restored after the column spacer 8 is retracted when an external force acts on the liquid crystal display element 1, the cell gap is not maintained constant , The liquid crystal display element is likely to suffer a poor press or a touch failure. When the surface of the liquid crystal display element is scratched off due to lack of touch, deficiency or excess of liquid crystal is not caused in the sweeping area and the sweeping peripheral area, so that the normal liquid crystal is not driven, and the brightness at the boundary between the sweeping area and the sweeping peripheral area So that unevenness occurs. When the surface of the liquid crystal display element is pressed with a certain force, the pressing failure is caused in the contact area between the column spacer and the thin film transistor substrate, and the unevenness is generated in that area.

In order to prevent the occurrence of unevenness due to such deformation, the restoration ratio of the column spacer 8 is about 100%, which must be restored to its original size after shrinkage. However, in the case of the conventional column spacer, the restoration ratio is only about 70% A touch failure occurred and the liquid crystal display element became defective.

In addition, since the conventional column spacer 8 is weak in strength, the shape of the column spacer 8 is deformed or even broken when an external force is applied.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a column spacer having improved strength and elasticity and a liquid crystal display element having the same.

In the present invention, a composition for a column spacer includes additives such as a pigment, a bead or nanoparticles, and an additive for strengthening the elasticity, in order to realize a column spacer having a high strength and a high resilience. The pigment, the beads or the nanoparticles are bonded to the chain structure of the polymer through the crosslinking by the crosslinking agent. At this time, the bonding is performed by filling the pigments between the polymers in the network form so as to improve the strength of the column spacer, The deformation of the column spacer due to the elastic force is minimized and the elastic restoring force is improved.

In addition, the column spacer of the present invention comprises a polymer, a matrix polymer, a photoinitiator, a crosslinking agent, a silica monolith, and a solvent.

The silica monolith is bonded to the side chain of the matrix polymer to form a silica monolith grafted polymer which is crosslinked with the polymer for the column spacer to form a The silica is positioned so that the strength of the column spacer is formed and at the same time, the deformation is minimized and the elastic restoring force is improved.

The column spacer of the present invention is formed of the composition on the second substrate, and protrusions are formed on the first substrate to contact the column spacer. At this time, since the area of the projection is much smaller than that of the column spacer, the frictional force between the column spacer and the projection can be minimized.

The column spacers and protrusions of the column spacers are gap spacers that keep the cell gap of the liquid crystal display element constant and the column spacers that are not in contact with the protrusions are pressed spacers. When pressure is applied to the substrate, frictional force between the substrate and the column spacer is reduced, prevent.

In the present invention, such a gap spacer and a pressed spacer are distributed on a substrate to prevent a touch failure or a pressing failure from occurring.

In the present invention, by using a material having high strength and high elasticity, the column spacer can be prevented from being deformed or damaged when pressure is applied from the outside, and it is also possible to prevent the occurrence of a pressing failure or a touch failure.

In addition, in the present invention, by distributing the gap spacer and the pressed spacer on the substrate, it is possible to more effectively prevent the occurrence of the pressing failure or the touch failure.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a conventional liquid crystal display device.
2 is a sectional view of a liquid crystal display according to the present invention.
Figure 3 shows that in the column spacer according to the invention the pigment is combined with the chain structure of the polymer for the column spacer by cross-linking.
Figure 4 shows that in the column spacer according to the invention the silica monolith bonds with the side chain of the matrix polymer to form a silica monolith grafted polymer.
Figure 5 shows a silica monolith graft polymer cross-linked with a polymer for a column spacer in a column spacer according to the present invention.
6 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display element according to the present invention.
7A and 7B are detailed sectional views of a liquid crystal display element of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention and the manner of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims.

The shapes, sizes, ratios, angles, numbers, and the like disclosed in the drawings for describing the embodiments of the present invention are illustrative, and thus the present invention is not limited thereto. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. In the case where the word 'includes', 'having', 'done', etc. are used in this specification, other parts can be added unless '~ only' is used. Unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, including the plural unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In interpreting the constituent elements, it is construed to include the error range even if there is no separate description.

In the case of a description of the positional relationship, for example, if the positional relationship between two parts is described as 'on', 'on top', 'under', and 'next to' Or " direct " is not used, one or more other portions may be located between the two portions.

In the case of a description of a temporal relationship, for example, if the temporal relationship is described by 'after', 'after', 'after', 'before', etc., May not be continuous unless they are not used.

The first, second, etc. are used to describe various components, but these components are not limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one component from another. Therefore, the first component mentioned below may be the second component within the technical spirit of the present invention.

It is to be understood that each of the features of the various embodiments of the present invention may be combined or combined with each other, partially or wholly, technically various interlocking and driving, and that the embodiments may be practiced independently of each other, It is possible.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The cause of the touch defect in the liquid crystal display element is caused by the contact between the column spacer and the substrate. That is, since the column spacer is in contact with the substrate, a frictional force is generated between the column spacer and the substrate. When the substrate is touched by the frictional force, the liquid crystal can not return to its original state, resulting in irregularities. The best way to prevent such touch failure is to minimize the contact area of the column spacers contacting the substrate.

On the other hand, when the pressure is applied to the substrate, the pressing failure occurs at a contact portion with the thin film transistor substrate. The best way to prevent such pressing failure is to minimize deformation of the column spacer when pressure is applied to the substrate will be.

As described above, the touch failure and the pressing failure occur in the opposite case. That is, as the density of the column spacer increases, the contact area between the column spacer and the substrate increases. Therefore, a large number of touch defects occur. Instead, the force against the pressure applied to the substrate increases. On the contrary, when the density of the column spacer is decreased, the contact area between the column spacer and the substrate is reduced, so that the touch defect is reduced, and the spacer is easily deformed by the pressure, thereby increasing the pressure failure.

As described above, the touch failure and the pressing failure are not both deteriorated or improved at the same time, but have a mutually inconsistent relationship in which, when one is improved, the other is deteriorated. Therefore, simply by adjusting the number of column spacers, i.e., density, can not improve defects.

In the present invention, a new type of column spacer is provided in order to minimize these two defects, i.e., touch failure and pressure failure. In addition, in the present invention, the column spacer is formed of a material having high strength and high elasticity so that the column spacer can be completely restored when the external force is applied, and the column spacer is prevented from being deformed or damaged.

2 is a view schematically showing a structure of a liquid crystal display element according to the present invention.

2, in the liquid crystal display of the present invention, a first substrate 103 on which a driving element array such as a thin film transistor is formed and a second substrate 105 on which a color filter is formed are adhered to each other by a sealant 106 And a liquid crystal layer 107 is formed therebetween. A first column spacer 108 and a second column spacer 109 are formed on the second substrate 105. At this time, the first column spacer 108 and the second column spacer 109 are spaced apart from the first substrate 103 at regular intervals.

Further, the first substrate 103 has a projection 118 formed thereon. As shown in FIG. 2, the first column spacer 108 contacts the protrusion 118, but the second column spacer 109 is spaced apart from the first substrate 103 at regular intervals. The first column spacer 108 contacts the protrusion 118 formed on the first substrate 103 to maintain a constant cell gap between the first substrate 103 and the second substrate 105. In this sense, the first column spacer 108 and the protrusion 118 may be referred to as a gap spacer that maintains a cell gap.

Since the second column spacer 109 is spaced apart from the first substrate 103 by a predetermined distance, the second column spacer 109 is not in contact with the first substrate 103. However, when pressure is applied to the substrates 103 and 105, the second column spacer 109 comes into contact with the first substrate 103 and the second substrate 105 to move the first substrate 103 and the second substrate 105 105 are prevented from being deformed. In this sense, the second column spacer 109 may be referred to as a pressed spacer.

The first column spacer 108 and the second column spacer 109 are formed of the same material on the second substrate 105 by the same process and the protrusion 118 is formed on the first substrate 103 in another process . That is, the first column spacer 108 and the second column spacer 109 have substantially the same structure. However, it is only for convenience of description that these column spacers 108 and 109 are referred to as a first column spacer 108 and a second column spacer 109, and these may be defined as column spacers.

In the present invention, only the first column spacer 108, which is in contact with the projection 118, functions as a gap spacer for maintaining the cell gap of the liquid crystal display element 101. Since the protrusions 118 are formed to be smaller than the sum of the first and second column spacers 108 and 109, a gap spacer for maintaining the cell gap of the liquid crystal display element is formed in a conventional column spacer (i.e., a gap spacer) . Accordingly, in the present invention, the number of column spacers contacting the first substrate 103 is reduced compared to the conventional one, and the contact area between the column spacer and the substrate is reduced.

Further, in the present invention, since the area of the end of the projection 118 is smaller than the end area of the first column spacer 108, the contact area of the column spacer and the substrate is smaller than that of the prior art in which the column spacer is in direct contact with the substrate 103 And becomes smaller. Therefore, in the liquid crystal display element according to the present invention, compared with the conventional liquid crystal display element in which the column spacer is formed, the touch failure can be improved.

However, in the present invention, when pressure is applied to the substrates 103 and 105, the second column spacer 109 contacts the first substrate 103 and acts as a pressing spacer 109, so that the substrates 103 and 105 are pressed by the pressure It is possible to improve the defective pressing.

 As described above, in the present invention, when no pressure is applied to the first substrate 103 and the second substrate 105, only the first column spacer 108, which is smaller than the column spacers of the conventional liquid crystal display element, The first column spacer 108 is in contact with the projection 118 and the second column spacer 109 is in contact with the substrate as a pressed spacer, (I.e., all of the column spacers 108, 109 are in contact with the substrate).

The protrusion 118 may be formed of various materials. For example, the protrusion 118 may be formed of various materials such as metal, organic and inorganic insulating materials, semiconductor materials, and the like. When the protrusion 118 is formed of a metal, it may be a metal pattern made of the same metal as the various electrodes such as the gate electrode, the source / drain electrode, etc. of the thin film transistor. When the protrusion 118 is formed of an organic or inorganic insulating material, It may be an insulating pattern made of the same material. Further, when the protrusion 118 is made of a semiconductor material, the protrusion 118 may be a semiconductor pattern.

Also, the protrusion 118 may be made of the same material as the first column spacer 108 and the second column spacer 109.

In the present invention, the first column spacer 108 and the second column spacer 109 may be formed of various materials. Hereinafter, the material of the column spacer according to the present invention will be described in detail. Since the first and second column spacers 108 and 109 are formed of the same material, the first and second column spacers 108 and 109 will be collectively referred to as a column spacer.

The composition of the column spacer of the present invention may be composed of a polymer and a pigment. That is, the composition of the column spacer according to the present invention is composed of a polymer, a matrix polymer, a photo initiator, a crosslinking agent, a solvent, and a pigment. As the polymer, an acrylic polymer is mainly used, and a polymer, a photoinitiator, a crosslinking agent and a pigment are added to a solvent to form a solution for a spacer.

The photoinitiator initiates the photoreaction of the polymer by irradiation with light such as UV. In the present invention, acylphosphine oxide derivatives, oxime ester derivatives, acetophenone derivatives acetophenone derivatives, benzophenone derivatives, and triazine derivatives. However, the present invention is not limited to these specific materials, but various materials can be used.

The matrix polymer is used for imparting mechanical and physical properties by forming a film on a column spacer. The matrix polymer mainly comprises a benzene ring, a carboxylic group, or an alkyl chain polymer having a substituent However, it is not limited to these specific materials, but various materials can be used.

Here, X, Y and Z are functional groups bonded to the side chains of the matrix polymer, X is a photoreactive group, Y is a group for stabilizing heat, Z is a group relating to the strength characteristics, Whereby a composition for a column spacer is formed.

The crosslinking agent crosslinks the pigment with the polymer by a light reaction by light irradiation. In the present invention, as the crosslinking agent, an amine compound such as an oligomer, urea, melamine and glycol urea, amino But it is not limited to these materials, but various materials can be used.

The pigment is an additive for enhancing the strength of a column spacer when a column spacer is manufactured. In the present invention, an anthraquinone pigment, a quinophthalonepigment, an azo pigment, Examples of the pigment include perylene pigment, perinone pigment, phthalocyanine pigment, quinacridone pigment, isoindolinone pigment, isoindoline pigment, Dioxazine pigments, diketopyrrolopyrole pigments, thioindigo pigments, metal complex pigments and the like can be used, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Other pigments may be used, not limited to pigments.

When light such as ultraviolet light is irradiated to a composition containing a polymer, a matrix polymer, a photoinitiator, a crosslinking agent and a pigment in a solvent, the polymer begins to undergo a photoreaction so that the matrix polymer bonds with the side chain or main chain of the polymer to form a network structure , Crosslinking occurs between the network structure and the pigment by the crosslinking agent. At this time, since the bonding is performed by filling the pigment between the polymers in the network form, the strength of the column spacer is improved and the deformation of the column spacer due to the external pressure is minimized, so that the elastic restoring force is improved.

A specific method for producing the column spacer by such a composition will be described in more detail as follows.

First, a composition in which a polymer, a matrix polymer, a photoinitiator, a crosslinking agent, and a pigment are mixed in a solvent is coated on a substrate, and then heat is applied to pre-baked the applied composition. Thereafter, the prebake composition is irradiated with light such as ultraviolet light to bind the polymer and the pigment, and then heat is applied to the bonded composition to post-baking to form an organic film for the column spacer on the substrate. Then, an organic film for a column spacer is patterned by an exposure process using an etching solution to form a column spacer.

As described above, in the present invention, the pigment is filled between the networks of the polymer forming the column spacer by adding the pigment to the polymer, so that the strength and the restoring force of the column spacer can be improved. As a result, It is possible to prevent deformation or breakage of the magnetic recording medium.

In the present invention, nano-particles such as beads, PEMCa (porous epoxy microparticle with CaCO ₃ ), or PEM (porous epoxy microparticle) can be used as a reinforcing additive instead of a pigment. Even when such beads or nanoparticles are used, the strength and restoring force of the column spacer can be improved by filling beads or nanoparticles between the networks of the polymer forming the column spacer. As a result, when the external force is applied, It is possible to prevent deformation or breakage of the magnetic recording medium.

In addition, the composition of the column spacer of the present invention comprises a polymer, a matrix polymer, a photoinitiator, a crosslinking agent, a silica monolith, and a solvent.

In this case, the polymer is an acryl polymer. Examples of the photoinitiator include acyl phosphine derivatives, oxime ester derivatives, acetophenone derivatives, benzophenone derivatives, , Triazine derivatives, and the like can be used. However, it is not limited to these specific materials, but various materials can be used.

The matrix polymer is for imparting mechanical and physical properties by forming a film on a column spacer. The matrix polymer mainly comprises a benzene ring, a carboxylic group, or an alkyl chain polymer having a substituent use.

X, Y and Z in the formula (1) are functional groups which bind to the side chains of the matrix polymer, X is a photoreactive group, Y is a group for stabilizing heat and Z is a group relating to the strength characteristics, The polymer and the corresponding group of the silica monolith are bonded to the main chain to form a composition for a column spacer.

Examples of the crosslinking agent include an amine compound such as an oligomer, urea, melamine and glycol urea, and an aminoplast. However, the crosslinking agent is not limited to these substances, Materials can be used.

The silica monolith can be made of various materials such as the chemical formula 2-4.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the composition configured as described above, the silica monolith bonds with the side chain or the main chain of the matrix polymer to form a silica monolith grafted polymer.

As shown in FIG. 5, the silica monolith graft polymer is crosslinked with the polymer for the column spacer, and the silica is positioned in the pores of the polymer having the chain structure, so that the strength of the column spacer is improved and the deformation of the column spacer is minimized The elastic restoring force is improved.

As described above, in the present invention, the strength of the column spacer can be improved and the elastic force can be improved by adding a strength-enhancing additive such as pigment, beads or nanoparticles to the composition for forming a column spacer or adding a silica monolith . As a result, it is possible to prevent the shape of the column spacer from being deformed or broken when an external force is applied.

Hereinafter, a column spacer made of the above-described composition is actually applied to a liquid crystal display device.

6 is a plan view showing that the column spacers 108 and 109 according to the present invention are actually applied to a liquid crystal display element. Here, the transverse electric field mode liquid crystal display element is shown as an example, but the present invention can be applied not only to the transverse electric field mode but also to the TN mode or VA mode liquid crystal display element.

6, a liquid crystal display according to the present invention includes a plurality of pixels defined by a plurality of gate lines 130 and data lines 135, and each pixel includes a thin film transistor 150, Respectively.

The thin film transistor 150 includes a gate electrode 151 connected to the gate line 130 to receive a scan signal and a gate electrode 151 formed on the gate electrode 151. The thin film transistor 150 is activated when a scan signal is applied to the gate electrode, And a source electrode 153 and a drain electrode 154 formed on the semiconductor layer 152 and transmitting image signals inputted through the data line 135 to the pixels.

In the pixel, the common electrode 162 and the pixel electrode 164 are disposed substantially parallel to each other to form a transverse electric field. In this case, the common electrode 162 is connected to the common line 137 disposed in the pixel, the pixel electrode 164 is connected to the pixel electrode line 138 to apply a signal, The lines 138 overlap to form a storage capacitance.

Although the pixel electrode and the common electrode have a zigzag shape in the drawing, the pixel electrode and the common electrode may have a straight shape. Alternatively, one of the pixel electrode and the common electrode may have a linear shape and the other may have a zigzag shape. One of the pixel electrode and the common electrode may be a straight line or a zigzag shape, and the other may be a rectangular shape. In the present invention, such pixel electrodes and common electrodes are not limited to these specific shapes.

The pixel electrode and the common electrode may be formed of a transparent conductive material, but at least one of the pixel electrode and the common electrode may be formed of an opaque conductive material, such as copper (Cu), a copper alloy It is possible. The present invention is not limited to the material for forming the pixel electrode and the common electrode.

Column spacers 108 and 109 are formed on the gate line 130. Although the column spacers 108 and 109 are formed in the gate line 130 of each pixel in the drawing, two column spacers 108 and 109 may be formed in one pixel and two column spacers 108 and 109 may be formed in two or more pixels. (108, 109) may be formed.

The column spacers 108 and 109 are formed of the composition shown in FIGS.

The protrusion 118 is also formed on the gate line 130 to contact the column spacer 108 to maintain the cell gap of the liquid crystal display element. In this case, although the protrusions 118 are formed in a structure in which one protrusion 118 is disposed for each two pixels, the protrusions 118 may be disposed in one pixel or only one pixel in three or more pixels.

The column spacer 108, which is in contact with the projection 118, serves as a gap spacer for holding the cell gap of the liquid crystal display element together with the projection 118. The column spacer 108, which is in contact with the projection 118, The spacer, that is, the second column spacer 109, serves as a pressing spacer.

In view of such a gap spacer and a pressed spacer, the gap spacer and the pressed spacer are alternately formed in each pixel. Of course, the distribution of the gap spacer and the pressed spacer is not specified, but it is distributed over the entire substrate 103 and 105 to maintain the cell gap of the liquid crystal display element, and at the same time, the touch failure and the pressure failure can be effectively improved.

Although the column spacers 108 and 109 and the protrusions 118 are disposed on the gate line 130 in the drawing, the column spacers 108 and 109 and the protrusions 118 may be disposed on the data line 135 and the intersection of the gate line 130 and the data line 135 Area. ≪ / RTI >

7A and 7B are cross-sectional views taken along line I-I 'of FIG. 6, illustrating the structure of the column spacers 108 and 109 and the protrusion 118 in detail. And the second substrate 105 is a color filter substrate on which a color filter (not shown) is formed. The thin film transistor includes a gate electrode 151 formed on a first substrate 103, a gate insulating layer 162 formed on the gate electrode 151, a semiconductor layer 152 formed on the gate insulating layer 162, A source electrode 153 and a drain electrode 154 formed on the semiconductor layer 152. The protrusion 118 includes a semiconductor layer 118a formed on the gate insulating layer 162 and a metal layer 118b formed on the semiconductor layer 118a. A protective layer 164 is formed on the thin film transistor and the protrusion 118 as described above.

The semiconductor layer 118a of the protrusion 118 is formed in the same process as the semiconductor layer 152 of the thin film transistor and the metal layer 118b is formed in the same process as the source electrode 153 and the drain electrode 154 of the thin film transistor . Of course, the semiconductor layer 118a and the metal layer 118b of the protrusion 118 may be formed by a process different from the process of the thin film transistor, but it is preferable that the semiconductor layer 118a and the metal layer 118b are formed by the same process in order to simplify the process. Further, the protrusions 118 may be formed only of the semiconductor layer and may be formed of only the metal layer.

Meanwhile, the first column spacer 108 and the second column spacer 109 are formed on the second substrate 105. The first column spacer 108 and the second column spacer 109 are made of the composition shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.

That is, after coating the above-described composition on the second substrate 105, an organic film is formed by a pre-baking process, an exposure process, and a post-baking process, and then the organic film is patterned by a photolithography process using a mask, (108, 109). At this time, the first column spacer 108 and the second column spacer 109 may be formed by the same process, but may be formed by a separate process.

Although not shown in the drawing, a black matrix and a color filter layer are disposed on the second substrate 105. A first column spacer 108 and a second column spacer 109 are formed on the black matrix and the color filter layer. An alignment layer for aligning the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer is formed on the first column spacer 108 and the second column spacer 109. The first column spacer 108 and the second column spacer 109 are formed on the second substrate. However, the first column spacer 108 and the second column spacer 109 are formed on the second substrate, Which is formed on the matrix and the color filter.

Although the end surfaces of the first column spacer 108 and the second column spacer 109 are formed flat, they may be round (or round).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7B, the protrusion 118 may be formed on the protective layer 164. At this time, the protrusion 118 may be formed of an organic material or a metal.

Also, the first column spacer 108 may be in direct contact with the first substrate 103 without the projection 118. In this case, it is desirable to minimize the cross-sectional area of the first column spacer 108 contacting the first substrate 103 to minimize the frictional force when the screen is pressed.

As described above, in the present invention, by applying a column spacer with a material having high strength and high elastic restoring force, it is possible to prevent deformation or breakage of the column spacer due to external force, and it is possible to improve touch failure and poor pressing. Particularly, even when the projection is formed of a material having high strength, the column spacer with high strength is not damaged even when the projection and the column spacer are in contact with each other.

Further, in the present invention, by applying a column spacer with a high-strength material, the cross-sectional area of the column spacer can be minimized, so that it can be applied to a liquid crystal display device of high resolution.

While the present invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments of the invention, it is not limited thereto. And all configurations that can be inferred based on the technical idea of the present invention of the present invention.

103, 105: substrate 108, 109: column spacer
118: projection 151: gate electrode
152: semiconductor layer

Claims (15)

A first substrate and a second substrate;
A liquid crystal layer between the first substrate and the second substrate;
A column spacer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate to maintain a cell gap; And
And a protrusion disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate and contacting the column spacer,
Wherein the column spacer comprises a polymer, a matrix polymer, a photoinitiator, a cross-linking agent, an additive for reinforcement, and a solvent. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 1, wherein the polymer of the column spacer comprises an acrylic polymer. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing additive comprises a pigment. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing additive comprises beads or nanoparticles. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing additive is a silica monolith. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein a gate line and a data line are disposed on the first substrate, and the column spacer is positioned on a gate line or a data line. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions are disposed on a substrate opposite to a substrate on which the column spacers are disposed, and contact the column spacers. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions are disposed on a first substrate and the column spacers are disposed on a second substrate. The liquid crystal display element according to claim 8, wherein the area of the end of the projection is smaller than the area of the end of the corresponding column spacer. A column spacer for a liquid crystal display element comprising a polymer, a matrix polymer, a photoinitiator, a crosslinking agent, an additive for reinforcement, and a solvent. 11. The column spacer for a liquid crystal display element according to claim 10, wherein the polymer comprises an acrylic polymer. 11. The column spacer of claim 10, wherein the reinforcing additive is selected from the group consisting of pigments, beads, and nanoparticles. A column spacer for a liquid crystal display element comprising a polymer, a matrix polymer, a silica monolith, a photoinitiator, a cross-linking agent, and a solvent. 14. The column spacer for a liquid crystal display element according to claim 13, wherein the polymer comprises an acrylic polymer. 14. The column spacer for a liquid crystal display element according to claim 13, wherein the matrix polymer comprises a benzene ring, a carboxyl group, or an alkyl chain polymer having a substituent.

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