Display apparatus and method of manufacturing the same

A display apparatus comprising:

• a substrate comprising a display area and a peripheral area adjacent to the display area;
• a thin-film transistor located in the display area of the substrate, and comprising:
• a semiconductor layer;
• and
• a gate electrode overlapping a channel region of the semiconductor layer;
• a conductive layer disposed between the substrate and the semiconductor layer, and comprising:
• a first electrode located in the display area of the substrate;
• and
• a pad electrode located in the peripheral area of the substrate;
• and
• a first insulating layer disposed between the conductive layer and the semiconductor layer and having a first opening that exposes at least a portion of an upper surface of the pad electrode, wherein
• the first insulating layer comprises:
• a first portion having a first thickness;
• and
• a second portion having a second thickness less than the first thickness of the first portion,
• the first opening is located in the second portion of the first insulating layer, and
• the first portion is located around the second portion.

A method of manufacturing a display apparatus, the method comprising:

• preparing a substrate comprising a display area and a peripheral area adjacent to the display area;
• forming a conductive layer on the substrate, the conductive layer comprising a first electrode located in the display area and a pad electrode located in the peripheral area;
• forming a first insulating layer on the conductive layer;
• forming a semiconductor layer on the first insulating layer, the semiconductor layer having a channel region that overlaps the first electrode;
• forming a gate insulating layer that overlaps the semiconductor layer in a plan view;
• forming an electrode layer on the gate insulating layer, the electrode layer including a gate electrode that overlaps the channel region of the semiconductor layer in a plan view;
• forming a second insulating layer on the electrode layer;
• the gate electrode being disposed between the second insulating layer and the substrate;
• and
• forming a pixel electrode over the second insulating layer.