Abstract:
An exemplary liquid crystal display panel includes a substrate, parallel gate lines disposed on the substrate, parallel source lines disposed on the substrate and crossing the gate lines insultingly, and first protection elements and second protection elements electrically connected to the gate lines and the source lines respectively. The first and second protection elements are capacitors, which can break down to discharge electrostatic buildup therein.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and more particularly to an LCD having a protection element. The protection element can be used for protecting a driver of the LCD when an electrostatic discharge (ESD) takes place in the LCD. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     LCDs are commonly used as display devices for compact electronic apparatuses, because they not only are very thin but also provide good quality images with little power consumption. 
     During an LCD manufacturing process, static charge may be generated and build up in the LCD. Static charge may enter the LCD from exterior objects or operators when they contact the LCD. For example, static charge in a human operator may be transmitted to the LCD via a so-called human body mode (HBM) when the operator handles the LCD. If too much static charge builds up at any one location on the LCD, the static charge is liable to discharge suddenly. This phenomenon is known as ESD. The ESD may damage or destroy internal components of the LCD such as metal signal lines, thin film transistors (TFTs), and the like. Thus a means for safely discharging electrostatic buildup in an LCD is desired. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an abbreviated, plan view of a liquid crystal display panel according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is an abbreviated, plan view of a part of a liquid crystal display panel according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe embodiments of the present disclosure in detail. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a liquid crystal display panel  3  according to a first embodiment includes a first substrate  30 , a second substrate (not shown) generally opposite to the first substrate  30 , and a liquid crystal cell (not shown) disposed between the first substrate  30  and the second substrate. 
     The first substrate  30  includes a base plate (not labeled), a gate driver  31 , a source driver  32 , a plurality of gate lines  310 , a plurality of source lines  320  crossing the plurality of gate lines  310 , a plurality of first protection elements  33 , and a plurality of second protection elements  34 . An output of the gate driver  31  is connected to the gate lines  310  to output gate signals thereto. Outputs (not labeled) of the source driver  32  are respectively connected to the source lines  320  to drive the source lines  320 . Each first protection element  33  is electrically connected to one of the gate lines  310  and disposed adjacent to the gate driver  31 . Similarly, each second protection element  34  is electrically connected to one of the source lines  320  and disposed adjacent to the source driver  32 . 
     The first protection elements  33  and the second protection elements  34  have essentially the same structure. Each first protection element  33  includes a first metal layer (not shown), a second metal layer (not shown) generally opposite to the first metal layer, and an amorphous silicon layer (not shown) sandwiched between the first metal layer and the second metal layer. The first metal layer is electrically connected to the gate line  310 . The second metal layer is electrically connected to a discharge circuit (not shown) such as a grounded circuit. The first metal layer, the second metal layer, and the amorphous silicon layer are used to form a capacitor for collecting static charge. When the amount of collected static charge in the capacitor reaches a predetermined level, the voltage between the first metal layer and the second metal layer reaches to a breakdown voltage of the amorphous silicon layer. Thereupon the capacitor starts to discharge the static charge. 
     Compared with a convention LCD, each of the first and second protection elements  33 ,  34  includes the first metal layer, the second metal layer and the amorphous silicon layer cooperatively forming a capacitor that is capable of timely discharging electrostatic buildup. In addition, the structure of the first and second elements  33 ,  34  is simple. Because the amorphous silicon layer is broken down when the collected static charge reaches a threshold level, the capacitor can discharge the electrostatic buildup effectively and timely. 
     Reference to  FIG. 2 , a liquid crystal display panel  4  according to a second embodiment is similar to the liquid crystal display panel  3 . However, in the liquid crystal display panel  4 , at least one first protection element  43  and at least one second protection element  44  is disposed around each intersection of gate lines  410  and source lines  420 . In the illustrated embodiment, two first protection elements  43  and two second protection elements  44  are disposed around each intersection of the gate lines  410  and the source lines  420 . A first metal layer (not shown) of each first protection element  43  is electrically connected to the corresponding gate line  410 . A first metal layer of each second protection element  44  is electrically connected to the corresponding source line  420 . A second metal layer of the first protection element  43  and a second metal layer of the second protection element  44  are connected to a discharge circuit (not shown) of the liquid crystal display panel  4 . The liquid crystal display panel  4  having plural protection elements  43 ,  44  around each intersection of the gate lines  410  and the source lines  420  can discharge electrostatic buildup effectively and timely. 
     Other embodiments of the present liquid crystal display panel can include the following. For example, the structure of each of the first and second protection elements can include a first metal layer, a second metal layer, an amorphous silicon layer, and an insulating layer. The first metal layer and the second metal layer are generally opposite to each other. The amorphous silicon layer and the insulating layer are disposed between the first metal layer and the second metal layer. The insulating layer is disposed close to the first metal layer. With this structure, the insulating layer also can be used to eliminate excessive electrostatic buildup. Thus, the protection element can eliminate excessive electrostatic buildup. 
     In another example which is a variation of the second embodiment, two first protection elements  43  and two second protection elements  44  are disposed around every intersection of the gate lines  410  and the source lines  420 , except for intersections that are at an outmost periphery of the grid of intersections formed by the crossing gate lines  410  and source lines  420 . 
     It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure or sacrificing all of its material advantages.