Patent Description:
Currently, as the panel display technology becomes increasingly mature, consumers gradually pay attention to the appearance and diversified functions of panel displays. Therefore, panel displays with narrow-bezel designs are very common in the current market. A panel display with a narrow-bezel design can be minimized in size, and at the same time can effectively provide people with a larger visual area. Therefore, the narrow-bezel design is the development trend and direction for future panel displays.

However, as the bezels are designed to be narrower, the marginal wire area becomes narrower as well, which weakens the antistatic capability. During a production process, static electricity is inevitably generated when equipment or an operator touches a product, which may easily damage the product and affect the product yield.

In the prior art, damages caused by static electricity are generally prevented through the following methods. For example, the width of a marginal ground wire is increased during the design. However, it is relatively difficult to increase the width of the wire due to the limitation of a narrow-bezel mechanism. For another example, operation technique specifications are established, which require operators to wear antistatic wrist straps; antistatic equipment such as ion fan is added; machines with good antistatic performance are purchased and ensured to be perfectly grounded for improving the antistatic capability. However, none of these methods can effectively avoid damages caused by static electricity.

<CIT> discloses an array substrate comprising on an insulative substrate, a plurality of display areas to be portions of a plurality of display panels, in which, each display area is constituted with a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, and the pixels is constituted with pixel electrodes formed at intersection portions of plural scan wirings and plural signal wirings; a common wiring is formed outside each display area, for applying a reference voltage to the pixels; a plurality of external-connection terminals is formed outside each display area, to be connected with a driver circuit that drives; and comprises connection wirings located so as to intersect a cutting line along which the insulative substrate is to be cut, for connecting the external-connection terminals in one of the display panels on the insulative substrate with a common wiring in another one of the display panels adjacent to the external-connection terminals, wherein the connection wirings are formed in a conductive layer superior in corrosion resistance to the most inferior corrosion-resistance conductive layer among conductive layers constituting the array substrate.

<CIT> discloses a display substrate including a substrate, a guard ring and a connecting line. The substrate includes a plurality of active areas, and each of the active areas has a pixel area and a peripheral area. The guard ring is formed on the substrate to enclose each of the active areas, and is formed from substantially the same layer as a pixel electrode that is formed in a unit pixel. The connecting line is formed from a different layer than the guard ring, to electrically connect the guard ring with pads. The connecting line is formed before forming an organic insulating layer, and thus the frequency and/or severity of patterning defects of the connecting line may be reduced or prevented. Accordingly, short circuits between the pads may be prevented, and the corrosion resistance of the display apparatus may be increased.

Therefore, it is an urgent technical problem to be solved by persons skilled in the art to prevent electrostatic damages.

An object of the present application is to provide an array substrate and a method for manufacturing the same, so as to avoid electrostatic damage and protect the array substrate.

In order to achieve the foregoing object, the present application provides an array substrate, including an substrate, a plurality of groups of bonding terminals located on the substrate, a first electrostatic protection wire located on a marginal region of the substrate, and a second electrostatic protection wire located on the substrate, wherein each group of bonding terminals is connected to the first electrostatic protection wire via the second electrostatic protection wire. Each group of the bonding terminals is arranged into a fan shape. The second electrostatic protection wire comprises a plurality of second electrostatic protection branches arranged along a radial direction of the fan shape and a second electrostatic protection branch arranged along a horizontal direction. Each of the plurality of second electrostatic protection branches comprises one end connected to a corresponding bonding terminal and the other end connected to the second electrostatic protection branch disposed along the horizontal direction.

Optionally, the substrate includes a plurality of effective regions and a peripheral region surrounding the plurality of effective regions, wherein the first electrostatic protection wire is located in the peripheral region, and the plurality of groups of bonding terminals are located in the plurality of effective regions respectively.

Optionally, the effective region includes a display region and a non-display region surrounding the display region, and the bonding terminals are located in the non-display region.

Optionally, the periphery of each effective region is provided with electrically connected first electrostatic protection wires and/or second electrostatic protection wires.

Optionally, the first electrostatic protection wire and the second electrostatic protection wire are both metal wires.

Optionally, the first electrostatic protection wire is in a closed shape of ellipse, circle or polygon.

Correspondingly, the present application further provides a manufacturing method for an array substrate, including:.

Optionally, the substrate includes a plurality of effective regions and a peripheral region surrounding the plurality of effective regions, wherein the first electrostatic protection wire is formed in the peripheral region, and the plurality of groups of bonding terminals are formed in the plurality of effective regions respectively.

Optionally, the periphery of each effective region is provided with electrically connected first electrostatic protection wires and/or second electrostatic protection wires disposed on the periphery thereof.

Optionally, the bonding terminals, forming a plurality of groups of bonding terminals on a substrate and forming a first electrostatic protection wire and a second electrostatic protection wire in a marginal region of the substrate are processed simultaneously.

Compared to the prior art, in the array substrate and the manufacturing method thereof provided in the present application, a plurality of groups of bonding terminals are formed on an substrate, a first electrostatic protection wire is formed on a marginal area of the substrate, and a second electrostatic protection wire is formed to connect the bonding terminals and the first electrostatic protection wire, so that static electricity on the bonding terminals is guided to the first electrostatic protection wire via the second electrostatic protection wire to balance and consume electricity charges, thereby achieving the purpose of effectively protecting the array substrate.

Further, forming a first electrostatic protection wire and a second electrostatic protection wire and forming a plurality of groups of bonding terminals are processed simultaneously, and therefore no processing step or processing cost is able to be added.

As described in the background section, a narrow area for marginal wire weakens an anti-static capability. In a production process, static electricity is inevitably generated when equipment or an operator touches a product, which may easily damage the product and affect the product yield.

In order to prevent electrostatic damage, the present application provides an array substrate, including an substrate, a plurality of groups of bonding terminals located on the substrate, a first electrostatic protection wire located on a marginal area of the substrate, and a second electrostatic protection wire located on the substrate, wherein the bonding terminals are connected to the first electrostatic protection wire via the second electrostatic protection wire.

In the array substrate provided by the present application, a plurality of groups of bonding terminals are formed on an substrate, a first electrostatic protection wire is formed on a marginal region of the substrate, and a second electrostatic protection wire is formed to connect the bonding terminals and the first electrostatic protection wire, so that static electricity on the bonding terminals is guided to the first electrostatic protection wire via the second electrostatic protection wire to balance and consume electricity charges, thereby achieving the purpose of effectively protecting the array substrate.

In order to make the content of the present application easier to be understood, the content of the present application is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Definitely, the present application is not limited to the specific embodiments, and general replacements well known to persons skilled in the art also fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Then, schematic diagrams are used to illustrate the present application in detail. When illustrating the embodiment of the present application in detail, the schematic diagrams are partially enlarged without following general proportions with the purpose of facilitating the description, and the present application is not limited thereto.

Referring to <FIG>, which is a schematic structural diagram of an array substrate according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in <FIG>, the present application provides an array substrate, including an substrate <NUM>, a plurality of groups of bonding terminals <NUM> located on the substrate <NUM>, a first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> located on a marginal region of the substrate <NUM>, and a second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> located on the substrate <NUM>, wherein the bonding terminals <NUM> are connected to the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> via the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM>.

Preferably, the substrate <NUM> includes a plurality of effective regions <NUM> and a peripheral region <NUM> surrounding the effective regions <NUM>. The effective regions <NUM> are areas for forming display screens subsequently, which are preferably rectangular, and the peripheral region <NUM> is an area to be discarded after subsequent cutting. That is, the substrate <NUM> is finally cut with the effective regions <NUM> being retained to form display screens and the peripheral region <NUM> becoming a waste material after cutting. The first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> is located in the peripheral region <NUM>, and the plurality of groups of bonding terminals <NUM> are located in the plurality of effective regions <NUM> respectively.

The effective region <NUM> includes a display region <NUM> and a non-display region <NUM> surrounding the display region <NUM> (only the non-display region on one side is shown in <FIG>). A plurality of pixels are configured in the display region <NUM> to form a pixel array. A plurality of metal layers are disposed in the non-display region <NUM> to form a peripheral circuit. Generally, each pixel includes at least a thin film transistor and a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor. Each pixel is surrounded by two adjacent scan lines and two adjacent data lines. The scan lines and data lines extend from the display region <NUM> to the non-display region <NUM>, and are electrically connected to a driving chip through the peripheral circuit of the non-display region <NUM>, thereby realizing normal operation of the display screen. The bonding terminals <NUM> are located in a bonding area of the non-display region <NUM> and are used to be bonded to the driving chip.

For the purpose of convenience, <FIG> only shows nine groups of bonding terminals <NUM>, while the number of groups of bonding terminals <NUM> is not limited in other embodiments. The number of groups of bonding terminals <NUM> formed on the substrate is the same as the number of display screens to be formed after an array substrate is cut. That is, one display screen needs one group of bonding terminals <NUM>. In addition, the number of bonding terminals in one group of bonding terminals <NUM> is also determined according to the requirement of the display screen, and is not limited in the present application.

The first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> are both wires made of a conductive material, and are preferably metal wires. The first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> is located in the peripheral region <NUM>. Due to disposing marginal wires in the peripheral region <NUM> being unnecessary, the wider the width of the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM>, the better. Preferably, the width of the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> is greater than <NUM>. The second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> is used for connecting the bonding terminals <NUM> and the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM>. Similarly, the width of the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> is preferably greater than <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, each bonding terminal <NUM> is connected to the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> via the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM>. Referring to <FIG>, which is an enlarged view of point A in <FIG> according to an embodiment of the present application, not falling within the scope of the claimed invention. Each bonding terminal in each group of bonding terminals <NUM> is regularly arranged along a horizontal direction, and is connected to a second electrostatic protection wire extending along the horizontal direction via a second electrostatic protection wire extending along a vertical direction. That is, the electrostatic protection wire <NUM> includes a plurality of second electrostatic protection branches <NUM> arranged along a vertical direction, and the number of the second electrostatic protection branches <NUM> is the same as the number of bonding terminals <NUM> in each group. The second electrostatic protection branches <NUM> are one-to-one corresponded to and electrically connected to the bonding terminals <NUM>. Besides, the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> further includes a second electrostatic protection branch <NUM> disposed along the horizontal direction. The second electrostatic protection branches <NUM> are connected to the second electrostatic protection branch <NUM>, and are finally connected to the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM>. The plurality of second electrostatic protection branches <NUM> have a same line width and length, and are arranged in parallel.

In <FIG>, each bonding terminal in each group of bonding terminals <NUM> is rectangular, and the bonding terminals are regularly arranged along the horizontal direction. Moreover, the short side of the bonding terminal is along the horizontal direction, and the long side thereof is along the vertical direction. However, in other embodiments, the bonding terminals may have a different shape and arrangement. Referring to <FIG>, which is an enlarged view of point A in <FIG> according to an embodiment of the claimed invention.

As shown in <FIG>, each bonding terminal in each group of bonding terminals <NUM> is rectangular, and the bonding terminals are arranged roughly into a fan shape. Moreover, the virtual extension line <NUM> (preferably through central axis) along the direction of the long side of each bonding terminal forms an inclination angle with a baseline <NUM> (the vertical direction), and intersects the baseline <NUM> at a same point P. Definitely, the bonding terminals may converge outward, that is, the point P is located on a side away from the display region (as shown in <FIG>); or the bonding terminals may diverge outward, that is, the point P is located on a side close to the display region. In a same group of bonding terminals, a virtual extension line <NUM> of a bonding terminal farther away from the baseline <NUM> forms a larger angle with the baseline <NUM>.

In this embodiment, an area occupied by each bonding terminal may be the same, that is, each bonding terminal has a same shape and size; or the length of each bonding terminal along the direction of the baseline <NUM> is same. Preferably, two ends of each bonding terminal may be having a shape of triangle, wedge, trapezoid, or the like. That is, a portion of the bonding terminal which needs to be bonded to the driving chip is kept in a rectangular shape to ensure a crimping area, while the two ends of the bonding terminal are pointed to increase the gap between adjacent bonding terminals, thereby effectively preventing short-circuit between the adjacent bonding terminals.

Referring to <FIG>, each bonding terminal in each group of bonding terminals <NUM> is connected to the second electrostatic protection wire extending along the horizontal direction via the second electrostatic protection wire extending along the direction of the virtual extension line <NUM>. That is, the electrostatic protection wire <NUM> includes a plurality of second electrostatic protection branches <NUM> arranged along the direction of the virtual extension lines <NUM> of the bonding terminals <NUM>, and the number of the second electrostatic protection branches <NUM> is the same as the number of bonding terminals <NUM> in each group. The second electrostatic protection branches <NUM> are one-to-one corresponded to and electrically connected to the bonding terminals <NUM>. Moreover, the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> further includes a second electrostatic protection branch <NUM> disposed along the horizontal direction. The second electrostatic protection branches <NUM> are connected to the second electrostatic protection branch <NUM>, and are finally connected to the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM>. The plurality of second electrostatic protection branches <NUM> may have a same width.

In this embodiment, the virtual extension line <NUM> along the direction of the long side of each bonding terminal intersects the baseline <NUM> at a same point P which is converged outward and located on a side away from the display region. Moreover, the point P is located on a side of the second electrostatic protection branch <NUM> which is away from the display region. In other embodiments, the point P may also be located on the second electrostatic protection branch <NUM>, and in this case, the virtual extension lines <NUM> exactly coincide with the second electrostatic protection branches <NUM>. Definitely, the point P may also be located between the display region and the second electrostatic protection branch <NUM>, which is not limited in the present application.

Definitely, <FIG> and <FIG> are schematic enlarged views of point A in <FIG>, which show a connection situation of the bonding terminals located at a middle position. If the bonding terminals <NUM> (i.e., the finally formed display screen) are located at the lower edge of the substrate <NUM>, the second electrostatic protection branch <NUM> is not needed, and the second electrostatic protection branches <NUM> are directly connected to the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM>.

The bonding terminals <NUM> are connected to the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> via the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM>. Then, in the subsequent manufacturing process, the static electricity generated by the bonding terminals <NUM> (or generated in the effective region <NUM>) is able to be guided to the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> through the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> to balance and consume electricity charges, thereby preventing damages caused by static electricity and achieving the purpose of effectively protecting the array substrate.

It can be understood that, the static electricity can also be exported through the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM>. For example, the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> is connected to zero potential. Alternatively, a tapered portion can be formed on the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM>, that is, one section of the first electrostatic protection wire becomes narrowed, so that static electricity is able to be easily released from the tapered portion and the releasing speed of the electrostatic charges is also able to be increased.

In this embodiment, the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> is in a closed shape, such as a closed ellipse, circle or polygon, or another shape known to people skilled in the art. The polygon may be a triangle, a quadrangle, a pentagon or the like. The first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> being rectangular is used as an example in <FIG> for description, but the present application is not limited thereto. Definitely, in other embodiments, the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> may also have a non-closed shape.

Referring to <FIG>, which is a schematic structural diagram of another array substrate according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in <FIG>, the present application provides an array substrate, including an substrate <NUM>, a plurality of groups of bonding terminals <NUM> located on the substrate10, a first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> located on a marginal region of the substrate <NUM>, and a second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> located on the substrate <NUM>, wherein the bonding terminals <NUM> are connected to the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> through the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM>. In the array substrate, the periphery of each effective region <NUM> is provided with electrically connected first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and/or second electrostatic protection wire <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, in this embodiment, second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> is also disposed between the effective regions <NUM> along the vertical direction, and the second electrostatic protection wire is electrically connected to the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and the second electrostatic protection wires along the horizontal direction for improving the overall area or length of the electrostatic protection wires, thereby further balancing and consuming the static electricity.

It can be understood that, the horizontal direction and the vertical direction in the present application both take the content shown in the figures as a reference standard to illustrate the present application, and do not refer to the horizontal direction and the vertical direction in an actual product. For example, the "vertical direction" in the present application may be the vertical direction in the figures or may also refer to the horizontal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction in the figures; the "horizontal direction" may be the horizontal direction in the figures or may also refer to the vertical direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction in the figures. That is, the meaning of the "horizontal direction" and the "vertical direction" in the present application is not limited to the "horizontal direction" and the "vertical direction" in the conventional sense.

Correspondingly, the present application further provides a manufacturing method for an array substrate, which is used for forming the array substrates of the foregoing two embodiments. Referring to <FIG>, the manufacturing method for an array substrate includes:.

Specifically, a substrate <NUM> is provided. The substrate <NUM> may be made of transparent material, for example, glass, quartz, silicon wafer, polycarbonate, polymethyl methacrylate, metal foil, or the like. The substrate <NUM> may be a rigid substrate or a flexible substrate. The selection and pretreatment of the substrate <NUM> are familiar to persons skilled in the art, and therefore are not described in detail again.

The substrate <NUM> includes a plurality of effective regions <NUM> and a peripheral region <NUM> surrounding the effective regions <NUM>. The effective regions <NUM> are areas for forming display screens in the subsequent. The peripheral region <NUM> is an area to be discarded after cutting. The effective region <NUM> includes a display region <NUM> and a non-display region <NUM> surrounding the display region <NUM>. The display region <NUM> is subsequently used for forming scan lines, data lines, transistor switches, pixel electrodes, or the like on the substrate <NUM>. The non-display region <NUM> is subsequently used for forming peripheral wires on the substrate <NUM> to connect the scan lines, data lines, and the like on the display region <NUM> to a driving chip.

Next, scan lines, data lines, transistor switches, pixel electrodes, or the like are formed in the display region <NUM>. A plurality of metal layers are formed in the non-display region <NUM> to form a peripheral circuit. Moreover, when bonding terminals <NUM> are formed in the non-display region <NUM>, the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> is formed on the marginal region (i.e., the peripheral region <NUM>) of the substrate <NUM>, and the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> are formed on the substrate <NUM>. The first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> is connected to the bonding terminals <NUM> via the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM>.

Forming the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and forming the bonding terminals <NUM> may be processed simultaneously. Definitely, the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> may also be formed in a same processing step as the scan lines, data lines, transistor switches or pixel electrodes in the display region <NUM>, or as one of the plurality of metal layers in the non-display region <NUM>. That is, forming the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> would not add any processing step or processing cost.

Using the bonding terminals <NUM> as an example, firstly, a metal layer is formed on the substrate <NUM>, and a patterned photoresist layer is formed on the metal layer. The patterned photoresist layer exposes areas for bonding terminals, the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM>. Then, metal sputtering is performed using the patterned photoresist layer as a mask to form the bonding terminals <NUM>, the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM>. Therefore, the formed first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> would not add any processing step.

It can be understood that, when the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> are formed in the same processing step as the plurality of metal layers in the non-display region <NUM>, the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> may also include plurality of layers, so as to increase cross-sectional areas of the protection wires, thereby further balancing and consuming static electricity. That is, the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> may include a single layer or a plurality of layers. Definitely, the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> may also be formed independently.

The first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> and the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM> are wires made of a conductive material, preferably metal wires, or are made of the material which is the same as that of the bonding terminals <NUM>, pixel electrodes or the plurality of metal layers formed in the same processing step.

The scan lines and data lines extend from the display region <NUM> to the non-display region <NUM> and are electrically connected to the driving chip through the peripheral circuit of the non-display region <NUM>, and the driving chip provides driving terminals <NUM> that are bonded to the non-display region <NUM>. Therefore, static electricity generated in the effective region <NUM> is able to be transferred to the driving terminals <NUM> and then guided to the first electrostatic protection wire <NUM> through the second electrostatic protection wire <NUM>, so that the electricity is balanced and consumed to achieve the purpose of effectively protecting the array.

In conclusion, in the array substrate and the manufacturing method thereof provided in the present application, a plurality groups of bonding terminals are formed on an substrate, a first electrostatic protection wire is formed on a marginal region of the substrate, and a second electrostatic protection wire is formed to connect the bonding terminals and the first electrostatic protection wire, so that static electricity on the bonding terminals is guided to the first electrostatic protection wire through the second electrostatic protection wire to balance and consume the electricity charges, thereby achieving the purpose of effectively protecting the array substrate.

Further, forming the first electrostatic protection wire and the second electrostatic protection wire and forming the bonding terminals are processed simultaneously, therefore no processing step or processing cost is able to be added.

Claim 1:
An array substrate, comprising:
a substrate (<NUM>);
a plurality of groups of bonding terminals (<NUM>) located on the substrate (<NUM>);
a first electrostatic protection wire (<NUM>) located on a marginal region of the substrate (<NUM>); and
a second electrostatic protection wire located on the substrate (<NUM>), each group of bonding terminals (<NUM>) is electrically connected to the first electrostatic protection wire (<NUM>) via the second electrostatic protection wire (<NUM>),
characterized in that:
each group of the bonding terminals (<NUM>) is arranged into a fan shape;
the second electrostatic protection wire (<NUM>) comprises a plurality of second electrostatic protection branches (<NUM>) arranged along a radial direction of the fan shape and a second electrostatic protection branch (<NUM>) arranged along a horizontal direction; and
each of the plurality of second electrostatic protection branches (<NUM>) comprises one end connected to a corresponding bonding terminal and the other end connected to the second electrostatic protection branch (<NUM>) disposed along the horizontal direction.