Array substrate and manufacturing method thereof, flexible display panel, and spliced ​​screen

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of display devices, and discloses an array substrate and a manufacturing method thereof, a flexible display panel, and a spliced ​​screen. The array substrate includes a flexible substrate substrate, a plurality of electroplating electrodes formed on one side of the flexible substrate substrate, and a thin film transistor (TFT) device layer. Through holes corresponding to the electroplating electrodes are formed on the flexible substrate substrate, and the through holes are filled with conductive materials. Binding electrodes corresponding to the through holes are formed on the side of the flexible substrate substrate away from the plurality of electroplating electrodes, and each binding electrode is electrically connected to the electroplating electrode through the conductive material in the through hole. The array substrate directly leads the thin film transistor (TFT) device layer to the side of the flexible substrate away from the thin film transistor (TFT) device layer and is connected to a flexible circuit board through the arrangement of the electroplating electrodes, the conductive materials, and the binding electrodes, thereby realizing an extremely narrow frame or a frameless design.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of display devices, and in particular to an array substrate and a manufacturing method thereof, a flexible display panel, and a spliced ​​screen. Background Art

[0002] Currently, the array substrate of the flexible display panel includes a display area and a frame area. Figure 1 As shown, the border area is provided with fan-out wiring Fanout and binding electrodes that are electrically connected to the gate lines 01 and data lines 02 of the display area in a one-to-one correspondence, and the binding electrodes are electrically connected to the flexible circuit board 03 to realize the transmission of scanning signals and data signals. However, the production of a large-area flexible spliced ​​screen requires the splicing of flexible display panels with narrow borders, and the fan-out wiring Fanout and binding electrodes in the border area are not conducive to the production of a large-area spliced ​​screen.

[0003] Based on this, how to achieve a flexible display product with a narrower border or no border is a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently by those skilled in the art. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention provides an array substrate and a manufacturing method thereof, a flexible display panel, and a spliced ​​screen. The array substrate can realize a design with an extremely narrow frame or no frame, and further can realize the manufacturing of a spliced ​​screen with a large area.

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] An array substrate comprises a flexible substrate, a plurality of electroplating electrodes formed on one side of the flexible substrate, and a thin film transistor (TFT) device layer, wherein through holes corresponding to the electroplating electrodes are formed on the flexible substrate, and the through holes are filled with conductive material, and binding electrodes corresponding to the through holes are formed on one side of the flexible substrate away from the plurality of electroplating electrodes, and each of the binding electrodes is electrically connected to the corresponding electroplating electrode through the conductive material in the corresponding through hole.

[0007] In the above array substrate, a plurality of electroplating electrodes and a thin film transistor TFT device layer for transmitting display signals are formed on the flexible substrate substrate, the thin film transistor TFT device layer is electrically connected to the electroplating electrodes, a through hole is formed in the area of ​​the flexible substrate substrate opposite to each electroplating electrode, the through hole is filled with a conductive material, a binding electrode corresponding to the through hole is formed on the side of the flexible substrate substrate away from the plurality of electroplating electrodes, the binding electrode is electrically connected to the corresponding electroplating electrode through the conductive material in the corresponding through hole, the above structure can directly lead the thin film transistor TFT device layer to the side of the flexible substrate away from the thin film transistor TFT device layer and connect it to the flexible circuit board of the external circuit through the arrangement of the electroplating electrode, the conductive material and the binding electrode, so as to realize the transmission of the display signal by the thin film transistor TFT device layer, since the binding electrode is directly arranged on the side of the flexible substrate substrate away from the thin film transistor TFT device layer, and the arrangement of the fan-out wiring on the array substrate is omitted, thereby realizing the design of extremely narrow frame or frameless, and further realizing the production of a large-area spliced ​​screen.

[0008] In a possible implementation, a buffer layer is formed between the flexible substrate and the plurality of electroplating electrodes, the through holes are formed in the flexible substrate and in regions where the buffer layer and the electroplating electrodes are opposite, and the conductive material is formed in the through holes.

[0009] In a possible implementation manner, the material of the binding electrode is indium tin oxide.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the thin film transistor TFT device layer includes a plurality of signal lines formed on a side of the plurality of electroplating electrodes away from the flexible substrate, and the signal lines are electrically connected to the electroplating electrodes in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the signal lines include a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data lines that are insulated from each other.

[0012] In a possible implementation, a black matrix is ​​formed on a side of the thin film transistor TFT device layer away from the plurality of electroplating electrodes, and a projection of the black matrix on the flexible substrate covers a projection of the through hole on the flexible substrate.

[0013] The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing any one of the array substrates provided in the above technical solutions, comprising:

[0014] forming a flexible substrate base;

[0015] Forming a plurality of electroplating electrodes and a thin film transistor (TFT) device layer on one side of the flexible substrate;

[0016] Forming through holes corresponding to the electroplating electrodes on the flexible substrate by a laser drilling process;

[0017] Electroplating a conductive material in the through hole;

[0018] Binding electrodes corresponding to the through holes are formed on one side of the flexible substrate away from the plurality of electroplating electrodes. The binding electrodes are electrically connected to the corresponding electroplating electrodes through the conductive material in the corresponding through holes.

[0019] In a possible implementation, when a buffer layer is formed between the flexible substrate and the plurality of electroplating electrodes, after drilling holes in the flexible substrate, the buffer layer is etched by a dry etching process to form through holes opposite to the electroplating electrodes.

[0020] The present invention also provides a flexible display panel, comprising any one of the array substrates provided in the above technical solutions.

[0021] The present invention also provides a spliced ​​screen, comprising the flexible display panel provided in the above technical solution. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an array substrate provided in the prior art;

[0023] Figure 2 A schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of an array substrate provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 A schematic structural diagram of an array substrate provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 A flow chart of a method for manufacturing an array substrate provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 A flow chart of a method for manufacturing an array substrate provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 6-Figure 12 A state diagram of an array substrate manufacturing process provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] icon:

[0029] 1-flexible substrate substrate; 2-electroplating electrode; 201-gate electroplating electrode; 202-data electroplating electrode; 31-first gate metal layer; 301-gate line; 302-connecting electrode; 32-second gate metal layer; 303-gate line electrode; 304-connecting electrode; 4-conductive material; 5-binding electrode; 6-buffer layer; 7-first source and drain metal layer; 701-data line; 702-first source and drain; 8-active layer; 901-first gate line insulating layer; 902-second gate line insulating layer; 10-black matrix; 11-interlayer insulating layer; 12-flat layer; 13-second source and drain; 14-boss structure; 15-display binding electrode; 16-protective layer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0031] Please refer to Figure 2 The present invention provides an array substrate, comprising a flexible substrate 1, a plurality of electroplating electrodes 2 formed on one side of the flexible substrate 1, and a thin film transistor TFT device layer, wherein through holes corresponding to the electroplating electrodes 2 are formed on the flexible substrate 1, and the through holes are filled with a conductive material 4, and binding electrodes 5 corresponding to the through holes are formed on one side of the flexible substrate 1 away from the plurality of electroplating electrodes 2, and each binding electrode 5 is electrically connected to its corresponding electroplating electrode 2 through the conductive material 4 in its corresponding through hole.

[0032] In the array substrate provided by the above-mentioned invention embodiment, a plurality of electroplating electrodes 2 and a thin film transistor TFT device layer for transmitting display signals are formed on the flexible substrate 1, and the thin film transistor TFT device layer is electrically connected to the electroplating electrodes 2. A through hole is formed in the area of ​​the flexible substrate 1 opposite to each electroplating electrode, and the through hole is filled with a conductive material 4. A binding electrode 5 corresponding to the through hole is formed on the side of the flexible substrate 1 away from the plurality of electroplating electrodes 2, and the binding electrode 5 is electrically connected to the corresponding electroplating electrode 2 through the conductive material 4 in the corresponding through hole. The above-mentioned structure can directly lead the thin film transistor TFT device layer to the side of the flexible substrate away from the thin film transistor TFT device layer and connect it to the flexible circuit board of the external circuit through the arrangement of the electroplating electrode 2, the conductive material 4 and the binding electrode 5, so as to realize the transmission of the display signal by the thin film transistor TFT device layer. Since the binding electrode 5 is directly arranged on the side of the flexible substrate 1 away from the thin film transistor TFT device layer, and the arrangement of the fan-out wiring on the array substrate is omitted, an extremely narrow frame or a frameless design can be realized, and thus the production of a large-area spliced ​​screen can be realized.

[0033] In the array substrate provided by the above-mentioned embodiment of the invention, a buffer layer 6 is also formed between the flexible substrate substrate 1 and the multiple electroplated electrodes 2, and through holes are formed in the areas of the flexible substrate substrate 1 and the buffer layer 6 opposite to each electroplated electrode, and a conductive material 4 is formed in the through holes. The setting of the buffer layer 6 can enhance the bending ability of the flexible display panel, and improve the water and oxygen barrier ability and heat insulation effect of the display panel.

[0034] Optionally, the material of the binding electrode 5 can be indium tin oxide, which has excellent photoelectric properties. In application, the material of the binding electrode 5 is determined according to actual selection and is not limited here. Preferably, the binding electrode 5 covers the through hole, which can achieve the function of conductivity and protect the conductive material in the through hole.

[0035] In the above array substrate, specifically, the thin film transistor TFT device layer may include a plurality of signal lines formed on a side of the plurality of electroplated electrodes 2 away from the flexible substrate 1, and the signal lines are electrically connected to the electroplated electrodes one by one to achieve signal transmission.

[0036] In the above array substrate, specifically, Figure 3 As shown, the signal line includes a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data lines 701 insulated from each other, and the plurality of electroplated electrodes 2 include gate electroplated electrodes 201 electrically connected to the gate lines 301 one-to-one and data electroplated electrodes 202 electrically connected to the data lines 701 one-to-one. The gate lines 301 and the data lines 701 are led to the side of the flexible substrate 1 away from the plurality of electroplated electrodes 2 through the conductive material 4 and the binding electrode 5, so that the binding electrode 5 is connected to the flexible circuit board for signal transmission.

[0037] In the above-mentioned array substrate, preferably, a black matrix 10 is formed on the side of the thin film transistor TFT device layer away from the multiple electroplated electrodes 2, and the projection of the black matrix 10 on the flexible substrate substrate 1 covers the projection of the through hole on the flexible substrate substrate 1. This structural setting can avoid light leakage of the display panel.

[0038] Specifically, taking the array substrate manufactured by low temperature polysilicon technology as an example, the thin film transistor TFT device layer may specifically include, for example Figure 1 As shown, an active layer 8, a first gate line insulating layer 901, a first gate metal layer 31, a second gate line insulating layer 902, a second gate metal layer 32, an interlayer insulating layer 11, a first source and drain metal layer 7, a planarizing layer 12, a second source and drain 13, a protective layer 16, a boss structure 14, and a display binding electrode 15 for binding to a display device.

[0039] Among them, the active layer 8 can be arranged in the same layer as the electroplating electrode 2;

[0040] A gate line 301 and a connecting electrode 302 are disposed on the first gate metal layer 31 , and the gate line 301 is electrically connected to the gate electroplating electrode 201 ;

[0041] The second gate metal layer 32 is provided with a gate line electrode 303 and a connecting electrode 304 that form a capacitor with the first gate metal layer 31;

[0042] A data line 701 and a first source-drain electrode 702 are formed on the first source-drain electrode metal layer 7. The first source-drain electrode 702 is electrically connected to the active layer 8. The data line 701 is electrically connected to the data electroplating electrode 202 through the connecting electrode 302 and the connecting electrode 304 to avoid overlapping difficulties caused by excessive film layer discontinuity.

[0043] The second source-drain electrode 13 is electrically connected to the first source-drain electrode 702. The second source-drain electrode 13 is mainly used to reduce the resistance on the data line 701 and reduce the IR voltage drop when the display device bound to the display binding electrode 15 displays a relatively large current. Optionally, the display device may be a Micro LED display device;

[0044] The function of the protection layer 16 is to protect the second source and drain electrodes 13 from being damaged during the manufacturing process;

[0045] The boss structure 14 is beneficial for the display binding electrode 15 to be bound to the display device.

[0046] It should be noted that the specific structure of the array substrate described above is only used as an illustration of how a narrow frame or no frame can be achieved in the present invention, and cannot be used as a limiting embodiment.

[0047] The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing any one of the array substrates provided in the above embodiments, such as Figure 4 As shown, the following steps are included:

[0048] S401: forming a flexible substrate;

[0049] S402: forming a plurality of electroplating electrodes and a thin film transistor (TFT) device layer on one side of the flexible substrate;

[0050] S403: forming through holes corresponding to the electroplating electrodes on the flexible substrate by a laser drilling process;

[0051] S404: electroplating to form a conductive material in the through hole;

[0052] S405: forming binding electrodes corresponding to the through holes one by one on a side of the flexible substrate away from the plurality of electroplating electrodes, wherein the binding electrodes are electrically connected to the corresponding electroplating electrodes through the conductive material in the corresponding through holes.

[0053] In the above-mentioned method for manufacturing the array substrate, a plurality of electroplating electrodes and a thin film transistor TFT device layer are formed on the flexible substrate, the thin film transistor TFT device layer is electrically connected to the electroplating electrodes, and then a through hole is formed in the area of ​​the flexible substrate opposite to each electroplating electrode, a conductive material is formed by electroplating in the through hole, and finally a binding electrode corresponding to the through hole is formed on the side of the flexible substrate away from the plurality of electroplating electrodes, the binding electrode is electrically connected to the corresponding electroplating electrode through the conductive material in the corresponding through hole. This method can directly lead the thin film transistor TFT device layer to the side of the flexible substrate away from the thin film transistor TFT device layer and connect it to the flexible circuit board of the external circuit through the arrangement of the electroplating electrode, the conductive material and the binding electrode, so as to realize the transmission of the display signal by the thin film transistor TFT device layer. Since the binding electrode is directly arranged on the side of the flexible substrate away from the thin film transistor TFT device layer, and the arrangement of the fan-out wiring on the array substrate is omitted, an extremely narrow frame or a frameless design can be realized, and thus the manufacture of a large-area spliced ​​screen can be realized.

[0054] Specifically, a buffer layer is formed between the flexible substrate and the plurality of electroplated electrodes. After drilling holes on the flexible substrate, the buffer layer is etched by a dry etching process to form a through hole opposite to each electroplated electrode, and the through hole penetrates the buffer layer and the flexible substrate.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the specific steps of manufacturing the array substrate may include: Figure 5 As shown:

[0056] S501: forming a flexible substrate 1 on a surface of a first glass A;

[0057] S502: forming a plurality of electroplated electrodes 2 and a thin film transistor TFT device layer on one side of the flexible substrate 1, such as Figure 6 As shown;

[0058] S503: a second glass B is arranged on the side of the thin film transistor TFT device layer away from the flexible substrate, and the second glass is assembled by an assembly device, wherein the second glass B is fixed to the box by an adhesive C, such as Figure 7 As shown;

[0059] S504: Use a stripping device to strip the first glass, such as Figure 8 As shown;

[0060] S505: using laser drilling technology to drill holes in the area opposite to the electroplating electrode on the flexible substrate, and using dry etching technology to etch the area opposite to the electroplating electrode on the buffer layer to form a through hole penetrating the flexible substrate 1 and the buffer layer 6, such as Fig. 9 as well as Fig.10 As shown;

[0061] S506: forming a conductive material 4 in the through hole by electroplating, such as Fig.11 As shown;

[0062] S507: forming a binding electrode 5 on a side of the flexible substrate 1 away from the plurality of electroplating electrodes 2, wherein the binding electrode 5 is electrically connected to the electroplating electrode through the conductive material 4 in the through hole, such as Fig.12 As shown;

[0063] S508: removing the second glass B and the adhesive C, and cutting off the redundant area of ​​the array substrate. Figure 2 and Figure 3 shown.

[0064] In the above array substrate manufacturing method, manufacturing the thin film transistor TFT device layer includes manufacturing signal lines electrically connected to the electroplating electrodes in a one-to-one correspondence, and the signal lines may include gate lines and data lines.

[0065] In a specific manufacturing method, manufacturing a thin film transistor TFT device layer may include manufacturing Figure 6 As shown, an active layer 8, a first gate line insulating layer 901, a first gate metal layer 31, a second gate line insulating layer 902, a second gate metal layer 32, an interlayer insulating layer 11, a first source and drain metal layer 7, a planarizing layer 12, a second source and drain 13, a protective layer 16, a boss structure 14, and a display binding electrode 15 are sequentially formed on one side of the base substrate 1.

[0066] Among them, the active layer 8 in the thin film transistor TFT device layer can be arranged in the same layer as the electroplating electrode 2; when the active layer and the electroplating electrode are arranged in the same layer, in the manufacturing process of the array substrate, a plurality of electroplating electrodes 2 can be manufactured first, and then the active layer 8 can be manufactured in the same layer, or the active layer 8 in the thin film transistor TFT device layer can be manufactured first, and then a plurality of electroplating electrodes 2 can be manufactured in the same layer;

[0067] A gate line 301 and a connecting electrode 302 are disposed on the first gate metal layer 31 , and the gate line 301 is electrically connected to the gate electroplating electrode 201 ;

[0068] The second gate metal layer 32 is provided with a gate line electrode 303 and a connecting electrode 304 that form a capacitor with the first gate metal layer 31;

[0069] A data line 701 and a first source-drain electrode 702 are formed on the first source-drain electrode metal layer 7. The first source-drain electrode 702 is electrically connected to the active layer 8. The data line 701 is electrically connected to the data electroplating electrode 202 through the connecting electrode 302 and the connecting electrode 304.

[0070] The second source-drain electrode 13 is electrically connected to the first source-drain electrode 702 .

[0071] It should be noted that when manufacturing an array substrate, if a through hole is first made on the flexible substrate, and then the signal line (gate line, data line, etc.) is directly overlapped in the through hole during the process of manufacturing the thin film transistor TFT device layer, the signal line may be easily broken due to the different expansion coefficients of the flexible substrate and the metal material. In the manufacturing method of this embodiment, before manufacturing the thin film transistor TFT device layer, a plating electrode electrically connected to the corresponding signal line is first made on the flexible substrate by electroplating. After the thin film transistor TFT device layer process is completed, a through hole is made, and a conductive material is formed in the through hole by electroplating to ensure that the signal on the thin film transistor TFT device layer can be transmitted to the side of the flexible substrate away from the thin film transistor TFT device layer, thereby avoiding the signal line from being broken, and the connection between the plating electrode and the conductive material formed by electroplating makes the signal transmission more accurate.

[0072] Specifically, the electroplating material in the through hole may be a conductive metal such as copper, and the material of the flexible substrate may be polyimide or the like.

[0073] The present invention further provides a flexible display panel, comprising any one of the array substrates provided in the above embodiments.

[0074] The present invention also provides a spliced ​​screen, comprising the flexible display panel provided in the above embodiment.

[0075] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. An array substrate, characterized in that: It comprises a flexible substrate, a plurality of electroplating electrodes formed on one side of the flexible substrate, and a thin film transistor (TFT) device layer, wherein through holes corresponding to the electroplating electrodes are formed on the flexible substrate, and the through holes are filled with a conductive material, and binding electrodes corresponding to the through holes are formed on one side of the flexible substrate away from the plurality of electroplating electrodes, and each of the binding electrodes is electrically connected to the corresponding electroplating electrode through the conductive material in the corresponding through hole; the thin film transistor (TFT) device layer comprises a boss structure, a display binding electrode for binding with a display device, a second source and drain electrode, and a flat layer; A buffer layer is formed between the flexible substrate and the plurality of electroplating electrodes, the flexible substrate and the buffer layer are formed with the through holes in the areas opposite to the electroplating electrodes, and the conductive material is formed in the through holes, wherein the plurality of electroplating electrodes include gate electroplating electrodes electrically connected to the gate lines in a one-to-one correspondence and data electroplating electrodes electrically connected to the data lines in a one-to-one correspondence; A black matrix is ​​formed on a side of the thin film transistor TFT device layer away from the plurality of electroplating electrodes, the projection of the black matrix on the flexible substrate covers the projection of the through hole on the flexible substrate, the black matrix is ​​located on a side of the flat layer away from the flexible substrate, and the projection of the black matrix on the flexible substrate partially overlaps with the projections of the gate electroplating electrode and the data electroplating electrode on the flexible substrate; The orthographic projection of the boss structure on the flexible substrate overlaps with the orthographic projection of the second source and drain on the flexible substrate, and the display binding electrode is located on a side of the boss structure away from the flexible substrate.

2. The array substrate according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material of the binding electrode is indium tin oxide.

3. The array substrate according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thin film transistor (TFT) device layer includes a plurality of signal lines formed on a side of the plurality of electroplating electrodes away from the flexible substrate, and the signal lines are electrically connected to the electroplating electrodes in a one-to-one correspondence.

4. The array substrate according to claim 3, characterized in that: The signal lines include a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data lines which are insulated from each other.

5. A method for manufacturing the array substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: include: forming a flexible substrate base; Forming a plurality of electroplating electrodes and a thin film transistor (TFT) device layer on one side of the flexible substrate; Forming through holes corresponding to the electroplating electrodes on the flexible substrate by a laser drilling process; Electroplating a conductive material in the through hole; A binding electrode corresponding to each of the through holes is formed on one side of the flexible substrate away from the plurality of electroplating electrodes, and the binding electrode is electrically connected to the corresponding electroplating electrode through the conductive material in the corresponding through hole; the thin film transistor TFT device layer includes a boss structure, a display binding electrode for binding with a display device, a second source and drain electrode, and a flat layer; When a buffer layer is formed between the flexible substrate and the plurality of electroplating electrodes, after drilling holes on the flexible substrate, the buffer layer is etched by a dry etching process to form through holes opposite to the electroplating electrodes, wherein the plurality of electroplating electrodes include gate electroplating electrodes electrically connected to the gate lines in a one-to-one correspondence and data electroplating electrodes electrically connected to the data lines in a one-to-one correspondence; A black matrix is ​​formed on a side of the thin film transistor TFT device layer away from the plurality of electroplating electrodes, the projection of the black matrix on the flexible substrate covers the projection of the through hole on the flexible substrate, the black matrix is ​​located on a side of the flat layer away from the flexible substrate, and the projection of the black matrix on the flexible substrate partially overlaps with the projections of the gate electroplating electrode and the data electroplating electrode on the flexible substrate; The orthographic projection of the boss structure on the flexible substrate overlaps with the orthographic projection of the second source and drain on the flexible substrate, and the display binding electrode is located on a side of the boss structure away from the flexible substrate.

6. A flexible display panel, characterized in that: It comprises the array substrate as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. A spliced ​​screen, characterized in that: Comprising the flexible display panel as claimed in claim 6.

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