A liquid crystal display apparatus has been widely used as a display apparatus such as a television or a monitor.
Particularly, an active matrix liquid crystal display apparatus in which a transistor which serves as a switching element is provided in each of pixels has been recently mainstream of liquid crystal display apparatuses, from viewpoints of high display quality and high-speed response.
In general, a liquid crystal display panel constituting the active matrix liquid crystal display apparatus is made by combining, as a pair, a color filter substrate serving as a counter substrate with an active matrix substrate.
The active matrix substrate includes pixel electrodes arranged in a grid pattern, a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of source lines, and thin-film transistors (TFT) each serving as a switching element and each provided in the vicinity of an intersection of a corresponding one of the plurality of gate lines and a corresponding one of the plurality of source lines. Each of the plurality of gate lines is provided between corresponding two adjacent ones of the pixel electrodes, and each of the plurality of source lines is provided between corresponding two adjacent ones of the pixel electrodes. The plurality of gate lines and the plurality of source lines are provided so as to orthogonally intersect with each other.
In a pixel region which is a display region of the liquid crystal display panel, in general, an insulating layer is provided between (i) a gate line and (ii) respective of a pixel electrode and a source line.
The plurality of gate lines and the plurality of source lines are provided so as to be partially exposed, for their electrical connections with other components, in a terminal region which is a peripheral region of the liquid crystal display panel.
(Patent Literature 1)
A liquid crystal display apparatus having such an arrangement is exemplified by a liquid crystal display apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 1. Specifically, Patent Literature 1 discloses an arrangement as below. In a display region (pixel region), a gate electrode and a source electrode are formed on a first transparent substrate via a gate insulating film. Further, the gate electrode, the gate insulating film, and the source electrode are covered by a protection film.
In a terminal region on the periphery of the display region, the protection film is formed in the terminal region except a region where a line terminal section is provided.
(Patent Literature 2)
Patent Literature 2 discloses an arrangement as below. In a pixel region, an upper insulating film is provided on a signal line (source line) so that a surface of the upper insulating film is planarized. Then, a pixel electrode is formed on the upper insulating film.
(Patent Literature 3)
Patent Literature 3 discloses an arrangement as below. In a pixel section (pixel region) and a terminal section (terminal region), an underlayer is provided on a substrate, and then, lines are formed on the underlayer.