TFT mask reduction

US8801948B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Apple Inc. · US

Inventors

• Ming-Chin Hung · Cupertino, US
• Youngbae Park · Milpitas, US
• Chun-Yao Huang · Cupertino, US
• Shih Chang Chang · Cupertino, US
• John Z. Zhong · Saratoga, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 11, 2012
• Grant date: Aug 12, 2014
• Expiry date: Oct 17, 2032

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H10D86/0231
• WIPO field: Semiconductors
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to display devices and methods for manufacturing display devices. Specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure employ a halftone photoresist layer useful for reducing a number of masks needed to manufacture TFT backplane (e.g., thin-film transistors (TFTs) with fringe-field shifting). The halftone photoresist layer defines two areas, one defining an etching area for a first layer (e.g., a common voltage layer) and the other defining an etching area for a second layer (e.g., an organic passivation layer).