Liquid crystal display with protruding sub-pixel electrode
View Patent ↗A pixel unit of a liquid crystal display includes a first sub-pixel electrode coupled by a direct current path to a corresponding switching element and a second sub-pixel electrode capacitively connected to the first sub-pixel electrode. The second sub-pixel electrode has a protrusion extending upwardly toward a spaced apart common electrode. The common electrode has a cut-out directly above the protrusion.
1. A liquid crystal display comprising:
a first electrically insulative substrate;
a gate line and a data line disposed on the first insulative substrate, the gate line intersecting the data line;
a switching element disposed on the first insulative substrate and operatively coupled to the gate line and the data line;
a first sub-pixel electrode disposed on the first insulative substrate and coupled by a direct current path to the switching element;
a second sub-pixel electrode disposed on the first insulative substrate and capacitively coupled to the first sub-pixel electrode;
a second electrically insulative substrate disposed spaced apart from, above and facing the first insulative substrate; and
a common electrode formed on the second insulative substrate to face the first and second sub-pixel electrodes and define electrical fields extending between the common electrode and the first and second sub-pixel electrodes;
wherein the second sub-pixel electrode has an upwardly directed protrusion in a portion thereof;
wherein the common electrode includes a first cut-out disposed above the first sub-pixel electrode and the common electrode includes a second cut-out disposed directly above and facing the upwardly directed protrusion.
2. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 , wherein a width of the second cut-out is greater than a width of the first cut-out.
3. The liquid crystal display of claim 2 , wherein the protrusion is part of a stacked structure having a lower layer and an upper layer, wherein the lower layer is formed from at least one of a same metal used for the gate line, a same metal used for the data line, and an organic layer, and further wherein the upper layer is formed of ITO or IZO.
4. The liquid crystal display of claim 2 , wherein a width of the protrusion is less than a width of the second cut-out.
5. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 , wherein a height of the protrusion is in a range of about 0.15 to about 0.4 μm.
6. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 , wherein a shape of the first cut-out is rectangular or circular.
7. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 ,
wherein the switching element comprises a source electrode connected to the data line, and a drain electrode having one end facing to the source electrode and another end connected by the direct current path to the first sub-pixel electrode, wherein the drain electrode is capacitively coupled to the second sub-pixel electrode.