# US 10,504,942 B2 · Method of manufacturing array substrate and method of manufacturing display device

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- Number: US 10,504,942 B2
- Document ID: US10504942B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/928,761
- Filed: 2018-03-22
- Published: 2019-01-24
- Granted: 2019-12-10
- Earliest claimed: 2017-07-19
- Assignees: Boe Technology Group Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Boe Technology Group Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Haixu Li; Zhanfeng Cao; Qi Yao
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10504942B2

## CPC

- H10D 86/0212: {comprising manufacture, treatment or coating of substrates}
- H10D 30/0316: {of lateral bottom-gate TFTs comprising only a single gate}
- H10D 30/0321: {comprising silicon, e.g. amorphous silicon or polysilicon}
- H10D 86/021: {of multiple TFTs}
- H10D 86/0231: {using masks, e.g. half-tone masks}
- H10D 86/451: {characterised by the compositions or shapes of the interlayer dielectrics}
- H10D 86/60: wherein the TFTs are in active matrices
- H10P 50/262: {by physical means only}
- H10P 50/69: {using masks for semiconductor materials}
- H10P 50/71: {using masks for conductive or resistive materials}
- H10D: INORGANIC ELECTRIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method of manufacturing an array substrate and a method of manufacturing a display device. The method of manufacturing an array substrate includes steps of: forming a planarization layer above a base substrate; forming an electrode layer above the planarization layer; forming a metal functional layer above the electrode layer; patterning the metal functional layer by using a multi-greyscale mask layer as a mask; forming an insulating protection layer on a portion of the electrode layer not being covered by the patterned metal functional layer; performing an ashing process on the multi-greyscale mask layer; patterning the electrode layer by using the metal functional layer as a mask; further patterning the metal functional layer by using the multi-greyscale mask layer subjected to the ashing process as a mask.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of manufacturing an array substrate, comprising steps of:
forming a planarization layer above a base substrate;
forming an electrode layer above the planarization layer;
forming a metal functional layer above the electrode layer;
patterning the metal functional layer by using a multi-greyscale mask layer as a mask;
forming an insulating protection layer on a portion of the electrode layer not being covered by the patterned metal functional layer;
performing an ashing process on the multi-greyscale mask layer;
patterning the electrode layer by using the metal functional layer as a mask; and
further patterning the metal functional layer by using the multi-greyscale mask layer subjected to the ashing process as a mask,
wherein the step of forming the insulating protection layer further comprises:
forming a metal layer on the electrode layer; and
performing an oxidation process on the metal layer to obtain a transparent and insulating metal oxide layer serving as the insulating protection layer.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of manufacturing an array substrate according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming the metal layer on the electrode layer further comprises:
depositing the metal layer on the electrode layer by using a magnetron sputtering method.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of manufacturing an array substrate according to claim 2, wherein the metal layer has a thickness ranging from 100 Å to 200 Å.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of manufacturing an array substrate according to claim 3, wherein the metal layer includes aluminum, and the insulating protection layer includes aluminum oxide.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of manufacturing an array substrate according to claim 1, wherein the oxidation process is performed on the metal layer by using an ion implantation apparatus.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method for manufacturing an array substrate according to claim 1, further comprising:
before patterning the electrode layer by using the metal functional layer as a mask, removing the insulating protection layer.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of manufacturing an array substrate according to claim 1, wherein the step of patterning the metal functional layer by using the multi-greyscale mask layer as the mask further comprises:
applying a photoresist layer on the metal functional layer;
exposing the photoresist layer by using a multi-greyscale mask plate to form the multi-greyscale mask layer on the metal functional layer; and
removing a portion of the metal functional layer not being covered by the multi-greyscale mask layer.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of manufacturing an array substrate according to claim 1, wherein the metal functional layer includes Mo, and the electrode layer includes ITO.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method of manufacturing an array substrate according to claim 1, further comprising:
before forming the planarization layer above the base substrate, providing the base substrate;
forming a gate, a gate insulating layer, an active layer, a source and a drain, and a passivation layer successively on the base substrate.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

A method of manufacturing a display device, comprising the method of manufacturing the array substrate according to claim 1.

### Claim 11

A method of manufacturing an array substrate, comprising steps of:
forming a planarization layer above a base substrate;
forming an electrode layer above the planarization layer;
forming a metal functional layer above the electrode layer;
patterning the metal functional layer by using a multi-greyscale mask layer as a mask;
forming an insulating protection layer on a portion of the electrode layer not being covered by the patterned metal functional layer;
performing an ashing process on the multi-greyscale mask layer;
patterning the electrode layer by using the metal functional layer as a mask; and
further patterning the metal functional layer by using the multi-greyscale mask layer subjected to the ashing process as a mask.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method of manufacturing an array substrate according to claim 11, wherein the step of forming the insulating protection layer further comprises:
performing an oxidation process on a portion of the metal layer not being covered by the patterned metal functional layer to obtain a transparent and insulating metal oxide layer serving as the insulating protection layer.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The method of manufacturing an array substrate according to claim 12, wherein the step of forming the metal layer on the electrode layer further comprises:
depositing the metal layer on the electrode layer by using a magnetron sputtering method.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method of manufacturing an array substrate according to claim 13, wherein the metal layer has a thickness ranging from 100 Å to 200 Å.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The method of manufacturing an array substrate according to claim 14, wherein the metal layer includes aluminum, and the insulating protection layer includes aluminum oxide.

### Claim 16 (depends on 12)

The method of manufacturing an array substrate according to claim 12, wherein the oxidation process is performed on the metal layer by using an ion implantation apparatus.

### Claim 17 (depends on 12)

The method for manufacturing an array substrate according to claim 12, further comprising:
before patterning the electrode layer by using the metal functional layer as the mask, removing the insulating protection layer.

### Claim 18 (depends on 11)

A method of manufacturing a display device, comprising the method of manufacturing the array substrate according to claim 11.