Adsorption device and method for preparing flexible device

Abstract

The present invention discloses an adsorption device and a method for preparing a flexible device using the adsorption device. The adsorption device includes a plurality of adsorption sheets arranged side by side, each of which has an adsorption surface and a pressure-bearing surface arranged opposite each other. The adsorption surface is a curved surface convex outward, and the pressure-bearing surface is a curved surface concave toward the adsorption surface. The adsorption sheet is provided with a vent hole, one end of which opens onto the adsorption surface, and the other end of which is used to connect to an exhaust mechanism. Adjacent adsorption sheets are rotatably connected on the side. The adsorption device is suitable for peeling a flexible device from a carrier substrate and can significantly reduce the occurrence of deformation damage to the flexible device during peeling.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of flexible display technology, and in particular to an adsorption device and a method for preparing a flexible device. Background Art

[0002] Flexible display and foldable display technologies are gaining popularity due to their potential to offer a wider range of functionalities. These technologies have become a research hotspot and a key area of ​​focus for major display companies and device manufacturers. With the continuous advancement of manufacturing processes and technologies, flexible display devices are becoming increasingly diverse in form factors, while screen sizes are increasing and display quality is also improving.

[0003] Traditional flexible display devices typically consist of the following structure: a flexible substrate, an electrode layer sequentially arranged on the flexible substrate, a flexible thin-film transistor array, a flexible light-emitting functional layer, and an encapsulation layer. Flexible display devices require that each component have a certain and similar bending radius and withstand bending without damage or detachment, in order to achieve the integration of the flexible display device. Flexible display devices include flexible electronic paper, flexible liquid crystal displays, and flexible organic electroluminescent displays. Compared with conventional display devices, flexible display devices offer numerous advantages: light weight, small size, thinness, and portability; greater impact and vibration resistance, adaptability to a wider range of working environments; rollability, resulting in an aesthetically pleasing design; and the ability to adopt a roll-to-roll printing process, making large-scale production easier and more cost-effective.

[0004] Traditional flexible devices are primarily manufactured using the following attach-and-remove production process. The attach process involves first fabricating the entire flexible device on a rigid substrate, while the removal process involves peeling the flexible device from the rigid substrate after the attach process is complete. Using a rigid substrate for fabrication does not compromise the precision of the flexible device, and the manufacturing equipment and processes are similar to those used for traditional non-flexible display devices, eliminating the need for significant adjustments. Therefore, it is more suitable for mass production applications in the short term.

[0005] The production process of peeling flexible devices from hard substrates can be divided into laser peeling technology and mechanical peeling technology. Laser peeling technology uses laser to directly act on the interface between the flexible substrate and the carrier substrate, reduces the bonding force between the plastic substrate and the carrier substrate through high-energy laser, and then removes the flexible device from the carrier substrate as a whole. The disadvantage of this peeling technology is that in the actual production and preparation process, small particles will inevitably be embedded between the flexible substrate and the carrier substrate, affecting the subsequent laser irradiation process, and ultimately damaging the device itself during peeling, reducing the peeling yield of the flexible device. Mechanical peeling technology usually uses release film for separation, which can better avoid the influence of small particles, but the technology is still in the research and development stage. Flexible display devices are prone to deformation and damage when subjected to force during the mechanical peeling process, which will also reduce the yield of flexible devices. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Based on this, one of the objectives of the present invention is to provide an adsorption device that can reduce deformation damage of flexible devices during mechanical peeling, so as to improve the yield rate in the flexible device manufacturing process.

[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide a peeling and attaching device for a flexible device comprising the above-mentioned adsorption device, and further to provide a peeling method and an attaching method that can prevent the flexible device from being damaged during the peeling and subsequent attaching process.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present invention, an adsorption device includes:

[0009] A plurality of adsorption sheets arranged side by side, each of the adsorption sheets having an adsorption surface and a pressure-bearing surface arranged opposite to each other, the adsorption surface being in the shape of an outwardly convex curved surface, and the pressure-bearing surface being in the shape of a curved surface concave toward the adsorption surface;

[0010] The adsorption sheet is provided with an air vent, one end of the air vent is opened on the adsorption surface, and the other end of the air vent is used to connect with the air extraction mechanism;

[0011] The adjacent adsorption sheets are rotatably connected on the side surfaces.

[0012] In one embodiment, a plurality of the ventilation holes are spaced apart on each of the adsorption sheets, and the openings of the plurality of ventilation holes on the adsorption surface are distributed in at least one row.

[0013] In one embodiment, the direction of the columns is parallel to the side of the adsorption sheet facing the adjacent adsorption sheet.

[0014] In one embodiment, the distance between the openings of adjacent vent holes in the row is 5 mm to 10 mm.

[0015] In one embodiment, the openings of the plurality of vent holes on the adsorption surface are distributed in multiple columns, and the spacing between adjacent columns is 3 mm to 5 mm.

[0016] In one embodiment, the opening of the vent hole on the adsorption surface is circular, and the diameter of the circle is 0.1 mm to 1 mm.

[0017] In one embodiment, the pressure-bearing surface and the adsorption surface are both in the shape of arc surfaces;

[0018] The pressure-bearing surface is parallel to the adsorption surface, or the center of a circle corresponding to the pressure-bearing surface coincides with the center of a circle corresponding to the adsorption surface.

[0019] In one embodiment, it further includes:

[0020] An elastic covering layer covers the adsorption surface, and the elastic covering layer is provided with through holes corresponding to the opening positions of the vent holes on the adsorption surface.

[0021] In one embodiment, a plurality of the adsorption sheets form an adsorption chain, and the adsorption device further comprises:

[0022] The fixing parts are connected to both ends of the adsorption chain, and the fixing parts are used to keep the adsorption chain taut during operation.

[0023] In one embodiment, the adsorption device further comprises:

[0024] A roller used in conjunction with each of the adsorption sheets is used to roll along the pressure-bearing surface of each of the adsorption sheets and apply pressure to the adsorption sheets.

[0025] Correspondingly, the present invention also provides a method for preparing a flexible device using the adsorption device of any of the above embodiments.

[0026] In one embodiment, the method includes the step of peeling the flexible layer:

[0027] Placing each of the adsorption sheets of the adsorption device on an intermediate product containing a flexible layer to be peeled off, with the adsorption surface of the adsorption sheet facing the intermediate product, and fixing both ends of an adsorption chain formed by a plurality of the adsorption sheets to tighten the adsorption chain; wherein the intermediate product comprises a substrate, a release layer, and a flexible layer stacked in sequence;

[0028] Along the direction from one end of the adsorption chain to the other end, pressure is applied to the pressure-bearing surface of each adsorption sheet toward the flexible layer in sequence, so that the adsorption sheet is tightly attached to the flexible layer at the corresponding force-bearing point. At the same time, air is evacuated from the vent holes located at the force-bearing point, so that the flexible layer is tightly attached to the adsorption surface and peeled off from the substrate.

[0029] In one embodiment, the release layer includes multiple sub-release layers stacked together.

[0030] In one embodiment, the method for preparing the intermediate product comprises:

[0031] preparing the release layer on the surface of the substrate;

[0032] removing the release layer outside the area where the flexible device is located; and

[0033] The flexible layer is prepared on a surface of the release layer that is away from the carrier substrate.

[0034] In one embodiment, the step of attaching the flexible layer adsorbed on the adsorption device to a supporting film is further included:

[0035] The adsorption device is arranged with the side on which the flexible layer is adsorbed facing the support membrane, and pressure is applied to the pressure-bearing surface of each adsorption sheet toward the support membrane in sequence along the direction from one end to the other end of the adsorption chain, so that the flexible layer at the corresponding force point is tightly attached to the support membrane, and at the same time, air is ventilated into the vent holes opening at the force point, so that the flexible layer is detached from the adsorption surface and attached to the support membrane.

[0036] The beneficial effects of the adsorption device of the present invention will be described below through the specific usage of the adsorption device in the mechanical peeling and attachment process of a flexible device.

[0037] During the fabrication of flexible devices on a carrier substrate, a release layer can be pre-formed between the carrier substrate and the flexible device. Due to the varying bonding forces between the release layer, the carrier substrate, and the flexible device, the flexible device can be separated from the carrier substrate at the release layer when subjected to force. However, during separation, it is difficult to ensure uniform force distribution across the entire flexible device. This uneven force distribution can lead to uneven deformation of the flexible device during the peeling process, potentially damaging the device.

[0038] The aforementioned adsorption device can be used to peel a flexible device from a carrier substrate. Specifically, the device comprises a plurality of adsorption sheets, each of which has a vent opening on its adsorption surface. During use, the sheets are pressed down sequentially along the area where the flexible device is located, pressing each sheet onto the flexible device. The air in the vent openings on the sheet at the corresponding force-bearing points is then extracted to create a vacuum state, thereby adsorbing the flexible device at the corresponding position.

[0039] Furthermore, fasteners can be provided to fix the adsorption sheets at both ends to tighten the adsorption sheets. When the adsorption sheets are pressed forward in sequence, the adsorption sheet at the rear is lifted up by the force, so that the flexible device at the rear is uncovered.

[0040] Furthermore, the multiple adsorption sheets in the adsorption device can be rotatably connected. By fixing the adsorption sheets at both ends and applying downward pressure and position to the pressure-bearing surface of the adsorption sheet, the whole formed by the adsorption sheet can produce different degrees of bending, thereby producing different separation angles between the whole formed by the adsorption sheet and the plane, thereby broadening the actual use of the adsorption device.

[0041] In addition, another technical concept of the above-mentioned adsorption device is that the flexible device is pre-adsorbed on the surface of each adsorption sheet by vacuuming, and the flexible device can be conveniently transferred from the surface of the curved sheet main body to the surface of the support film by applying pressure to the pressure-bearing surface and releasing the vacuum. The peeling process and the attachment process in the actual production and preparation process are merged and simplified, which is more conducive to the engineering application of flexible device preparation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the process of laser peeling of flexible devices in traditional technology;

[0043] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of an adsorption device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 3 This is a schematic top view of the structure of an adsorption device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 4 This is a schematic structural diagram of an adsorption sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of a manufacturing process of a flexible display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 6 for Figure 5 A top view of the flexible display device is shown;

[0048] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the peeling process of a flexible device using an adsorption device;

[0049] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the process of reattaching the flexible device using an adsorption device;

[0050] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of the adsorption chain in the adsorption device at different degrees of bending.

[0051] Description of reference numerals:

[0052] 110: Carrier substrate; 111: Particles; 120: Flexible substrate; 121: Crack defect; 130: Flexible display functional body; 20: Adsorption device; 210: Adsorption sheet; 211: Adsorption surface; 212: Pressure-bearing surface; 213: Vent; 220: Hinge; 230: Fixing part; 240: Roller; 310: Carrier substrate; 301: Particles; 320: Release layer; 321: First sub-release layer; 322: Second sub-release layer; 323: Third sub-release layer; 330: Flexible layer; 331: Flexible substrate; 332: Barrier layer; 333: Driving element; 334: Light-emitting device; 335: Encapsulation layer; 336: Polarizer; 400: Support film. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] To facilitate understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention may be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of the present disclosure.

[0054] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. The terms used herein in the specification of the present invention are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items. "Multiple" as used herein refers to a combination of two or more items. If not expressly stated or if a person skilled in the art does not have a common understanding of this, the concepts of proportion or concentration in this application should be considered to be mass proportion or mass concentration.

[0055] The traditional method for peeling flexible devices from carrier substrates is mainly laser lift-off. However, during the laser lift-off process, small particles that are difficult to avoid in the production process are located at the interface between the flexible substrate and the carrier substrate, which will significantly affect the yield of the flexible device. For details, please refer to Figure 1 The carrier substrate 110 has the prepared flexible substrate 120 and the flexible display function body 130 attached to its surface. During the production process, small particles 111 inevitably form between the carrier substrate 110 and the flexible substrate 120. These small particles significantly affect the local energy during laser etching, preventing effective destruction of the interface where the particles 111 are located. Consequently, during the subsequent separation process, crack defects 121 may form on the flexible substrate 120 and even on the flexible display function body 130 at the locations corresponding to the original particles, affecting the peeling yield.

[0056] Because the aforementioned particle 111 issue is inherent to the manufacturing process, it's difficult to resolve. To avoid this problem, some technologies exist that employ one or more release layers between the carrier substrate and the flexible substrate to reduce adhesion between them. The flexible device can then be removed using a method similar to clamping. However, clamping the flexible device with a clamp can cause deformation and damage to the flexible device.

[0057] In response to the above problems, one embodiment of the present invention provides an adsorption device that can be used to assist in peeling a flexible device, and an application method of the adsorption device.

[0058] First, please refer to Figure 2 As shown, an adsorption device 20 includes a plurality of adsorption sheets 210 arranged side by side. The adsorption sheets 210 have an adsorption surface 211 and a pressure-bearing surface 212 arranged opposite to each other. The adsorption surface 211 is a curved surface convex outward, and the pressure-bearing surface 212 is a curved surface concave toward the adsorption surface 211. The adsorption sheet 210 is provided with a vent hole ( Figure 2 (not shown), one end of the vent hole opens on the adsorption surface 211, and the other end of the vent hole opens to connect with the air extraction mechanism. The adjacent adsorption sheets 210 are rotatably connected on the side. Furthermore, the surface area of ​​the pressure-bearing surface 212 is smaller than the surface area of ​​the adsorption surface 211. It can be understood that in the case of Figure 2 In the illustrated content, the adsorption surface 211 is convex outwardly, and the pressure-bearing surface 212 is concave inwardly and is recessed toward the adsorption surface 211 .

[0059] Please combine Figure 2 and Figure 3 The adsorption sheet 210 has two side surfaces respectively connected to the pressure-bearing surface 212 and the adsorption surface 211. Adjacent adsorption sheets 210 are rotatably connected at the side edges on the side surfaces. For example, a specific implementation of the rotatable connection is that adjacent adsorption sheets are connected at the side edges with a hinge 220. A hinge, also known as a hinge, is a mechanical device used to connect two solids and allow relative rotation between the two. The hinge 220 can be composed of a movable component or a foldable material. The two adsorption sheets 210 connected by the hinge 220 can rotate around the connection to change the angle between the two adjacent adsorption sheets 210.

[0060] In one specific example, the adsorption sheets 210 in the adsorption device 20 are connected to form an adsorption chain. The adsorption device 20 also includes fixing members 230 connected to both ends of the adsorption chain. The fixing members 230 are used to keep the adsorption chain taut during operation. Specifically, the fixing members 230 are used to fix the position of the adsorption sheets 210 connected thereto so that the rotationally connected adsorption sheets 210 are taut.

[0061] In one specific example, the adsorption device 20 further includes a cylindrical roller 240 used in conjunction with the adsorption sheet 210, and the side surface of the roller 240 is adapted to the pressure-bearing surface 212 of the adsorption sheet 210. Figure 2 As shown, the roller 240 can move sequentially along the pressure-bearing surfaces 212 of the suction sheets 210 when rolling. In particular, the side surface of the roller 240 is in contact with the pressure-bearing surfaces 212 of the suction sheets 210.

[0062] In one specific example, the pressure-bearing surface 212 is in the shape of an arc. More specifically, the pressure-bearing surface 212 is in the shape of a circular arc. A circular arc is a trajectory formed by a segment of an arc moving along a straight line. For example, the side surface of a cylinder is a circular arc with an arc of 360°.

[0063] In one specific example, the adsorption surface 211 is in the shape of an arc surface.

[0064] In one specific example, the pressure-bearing surface 212 and the adsorption surface 211 are parallel to each other, or the center of a circle corresponding to the pressure-bearing surface 212 coincides with the center of a circle corresponding to the adsorption surface 211 .

[0065] Furthermore, an adsorption sheet 210 that meets the above-mentioned specific examples has a fan-shaped cross section. The adsorption sheet 210 is fan-shaped when the fan-shaped surface moves in a direction perpendicular to the fan-shaped surface.

[0066] The adsorption device 20 can be used in the preparation of flexible devices. Specifically, it can be used in the process of peeling a flexible layer from a carrier substrate. The adsorption device 20 includes multiple adsorption sheets 210. Each adsorption surface 211 of each adsorption sheet 210 is provided with vent openings. In actual use, the adsorption sheets 210 can be pressed down one by one along the area where the flexible layer is located, thereby pressing the adsorption sheets 210 onto the flexible layer. Specifically, the adsorption sheets 210 can be pressed onto the flexible layer one by one by rotating the roller 240 forward. As the adsorption sheets 210 are pressed onto the flexible layer, gas is simultaneously extracted from the vent openings on the corresponding adsorption sheet 210, creating a vacuum state and adsorbing the flexible layer at the corresponding location. In actual use, the adsorption surface 211 is used to adsorb the external flexible layer and can be understood as the outer surface. The pressure-bearing surface 212 is used to withstand the pressure of the rotating roller 240 and can be understood as the inner surface.

[0067] Furthermore, a fixing member 230 can be provided to connect the adsorption sheets 210 at both ends to tighten each adsorption sheet. When the adsorption sheets 210 are pressed forward in sequence, the rear adsorption sheet 210 is lifted by force, so that the flexible layer at the rear portion is uncovered.

[0068] Furthermore, the multiple adsorption sheets 210 in the adsorption device 20 can be rotatably connected. By fixing the adsorption sheets 210 at both ends and applying downward pressure and position to the pressure-bearing surface of the adsorption sheet, the whole formed by the adsorption sheet can be made to have different degrees of bending, thereby generating different separation angles between the whole formed by the adsorption sheet 210 and the plane, so as to broaden the actual use of the curved sheet body.

[0069] In one specific example, each adsorption sheet 210 is provided with a plurality of vent holes, and the openings of the plurality of vent holes on the adsorption surface 211 are distributed in at least one row.

[0070] Optionally, the rows of openings of the plurality of vent holes on the adsorption surface 211 are parallel to the side of the adsorption sheet 210 facing the adjacent adsorption sheet. Furthermore, the distance between adjacent vent hole openings in the row is 5 mm to 10 mm. Specifically, the distance may be 5 mm, 6 mm, 7 mm, 8 mm, 9 mm, or 10 mm.

[0071] In one specific example, the openings of multiple vents on the adsorption surface 211 are distributed in multiple columns. The spacing between adjacent columns is 3mm to 5mm. Specifically, it can be 3mm, 4mm or 5mm. Corresponding to flexible layers of different sizes, the size of a single adsorption sheet 210 may be different, but preferably, the spacing between the columns formed by the vent openings should be maintained at 3mm to 5mm, and the spacing between adjacent columns should be maintained at 5mm to 10mm, so as to avoid the distance between adjacent vent openings being too large, resulting in the adsorption force generated by the local vent openings in a vacuum being less than the gravity of the flexible layer in that area, and then the local shedding of the flexible layer occurs.

[0072] Optionally, the openings of the plurality of vents on the adsorption surface 211 are distributed in multiple rows and columns. The columns and rows formed by the openings of the vents should be understood in a broad sense, rather than simply understood as vertical. For example, taking the column formed by the vents as a reference, the row formed by the vents can be at a certain angle to the column, for example, 30°, 45°, 60°, 90°, etc. More preferably, the column formed by the vents is perpendicular to the row formed by the vents. The vents distributed in rows and columns can improve the uniformity of force on the flexible layer attached to the vent distribution area, and prevent excessive force on a part of the flexible layer while the other part is too little or not stressed, so that the flexible layer that is subjected to excessive force is deformed and damaged.

[0073] In one of the more preferred specific examples, for example Figure 4As shown, in the row-and-column arrangement of openings, the rows of vent holes 213 are parallel to the sides of the adsorption sheet 210 facing the adjacent adsorption sheet, while the rows are perpendicular to the sides of the adsorption sheet 210 facing the adjacent adsorption sheet. By aligning the columns with the sides of the adsorption sheet 210 facing the adjacent adsorption sheet and the rows with the sides of the adsorption sheet 210 facing the adjacent adsorption sheet, the force-bearing area of ​​the flexible layer forms a curved rectangular shape. Since the flexible layer itself is rectangular, forming a rectangular force-bearing area further improves force uniformity on the flexible layer and reduces the probability of deformation damage.

[0074] In one specific example, the width of each adsorption sheet 210 is 0.5 cm to 5 cm, and can be 0.5 cm, 1 cm, 2 cm, 3 cm, 4 cm, or 5 cm.

[0075] In one of the more preferred specific examples, the opening of the vent 213 on the adsorption surface of the adsorption sheet 210 is circular. During the actual adsorption process, uneven force on the entire flexible layer can cause deformation and damage. Because the force on the local area of ​​the flexible layer subjected to vacuum adsorption significantly exceeds that of the area where no adsorption occurs, a large pressure is generated at the adsorption site, especially at the edge of the flexible layer in contact with the opening of the vent 213. Compared to setting the opening of the vent 213 to be rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, etc., setting the opening of the vent 213 to be circular can prevent local damage to the flexible layer caused by excessive stress concentration at the edges, especially at the corners.

[0076] In one specific example, the diameter of the vent hole 213 is 0.1 mm to 1 mm; for example, the diameter of the vent hole is 0.1 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm, or 1 mm. The diameter of the vent hole 213 should not be too large to avoid causing large-scale deformation on the surface of the flexible layer, leaving obvious marks, and affecting the yield rate.

[0077] In one specific example, the vent holes 213 opened on an adsorption sheet 210 are connected to a main air duct, which can be set inside or outside the adsorption sheet 210. By directly evacuating the air duct, the vent holes on the adsorption sheet 210 can be evacuated synchronously as a whole. Furthermore, the air ducts corresponding to each adsorption sheet 210 are ventilated independently. The specific method of independent ventilation can be, for example, to set an air valve on each air duct respectively, and control the opening or closing of the air valve to control the ventilation of the corresponding air duct.

[0078] In one specific example, the adsorption device further includes an elastic coating layer ( Figure 2(not shown in the figure), the elastic covering layer is provided with through holes corresponding to the positions of the vent holes on the adsorption surface of the fan ring sheet. The elastic covering layer refers to a covering layer that will undergo elastic deformation when subjected to a certain pressure. An elastic covering layer is further provided on the adsorption surface of each adsorption sheet 210 and through holes are provided on the surface of the elastic covering layer. Then, when the adsorption sheet 210 is pressed onto the surface of the flexible layer, both the elastic covering layer and the flexible layer on the surface of the adsorption sheet 210 can undergo a certain degree of deformation, so as to effectively increase the attachment area between the two and reduce the pressure on the flexible layer. It can protect the flexible layer during the peeling and attachment process, and can also form a good sealing effect to maintain the negative pressure in the vent hole 213 for a long time, so as to significantly improve the yield rate of the production process.

[0079] In one specific example, the elastic coating layer is made of Teflon coating, which not only protects the flexible layer as described above, but also prevents static electricity from affecting the local area of ​​the flexible layer.

[0080] In one specific example, the thickness of the elastic covering layer is 3 mm to 5 mm. Specifically, for example, the thickness of the elastic covering layer is 3 mm, 3.5 mm, 4 mm, 4.5 mm or 5 mm.

[0081] Furthermore, the aforementioned adsorption device 20 can also control the degree of curvature of the entire unit formed by the adsorption sheet 210 by controlling the downward pressure and position of the roller 240 during the actual preparation process, thereby controlling the separation angle between the entire unit formed by the adsorption sheet 210 and the flexible layer on the horizontal surface. It is understood that a larger separation angle makes it easier for the flexible layer to be peeled off from the carrier substrate, but it also increases the degree of curvature of the flexible layer, potentially causing deformation and damage. By controlling the degree of curvature of the entire unit formed by the adsorption sheet 210, the aforementioned adsorption device 20 can select an appropriate degree of curvature during the actual preparation process, thereby both enabling the peeling of the flexible layer and minimizing deformation and damage to the flexible layer.

[0082] The basic function of the fixing part 230 is to keep the adsorption chain taut. In actual use, the fixing part 230 can be an elastic connector such as a spring, which can generate a rebound force when stretched, thereby applying a pulling force to both sides of the adsorption sheet 210 to tighten the adsorption sheet 210; however, the elastic force of the spring itself is related to its deformation, which causes it to tend to return to a state with a certain degree of bending in the actual working process when the roller 240 does not assist the adsorption sheet 210 in shaping. This is not conducive to the shaping of the adsorption sheet 210.

[0083] Therefore, in order to simplify the structure and give the adsorption sheet 210 the function of self-shaping, in one specific example, the fixing part 230 is a damping motor. Under normal working conditions, the damping motor can be energized to do work to actively apply tension to both sides of the adsorption sheet 210 to tighten the adsorption sheet 210. In the process of the roller 240 pressing down the adsorption sheet 210 to increase the overall bending degree of the adsorption sheet 210, the two sides of the adsorption sheet 210 are approaching each other, thereby also driving the fixing parts 230 at both ends to approach each other. At this time, the damper in the damping motor will offset the impact of the movement of approaching each other on the rotor of the motor to a certain extent, avoiding damage to the motor. After the position of the adsorption sheet 210 is changed, tension will still be applied at the changed position to tighten the main body of the curved sheet.

[0084] In one specific example, it includes an air extraction mechanism and the adsorption device 20 according to the above embodiment, and the air extraction mechanism is connected to each vent 213 in the adsorption device 20. For example, the air extraction mechanism can be an air pump.

[0085] In one specific example, the adsorption device further includes a motor connected to the roller 240 in the adsorption device 20 , and the motor is used to control the pressure of the roller 240 on the adsorption sheet 210 and control the movement of the roller 240 along the surface of the adsorption sheet 210 .

[0086] Furthermore, an embodiment of the present invention also provides a method for preparing a flexible device using the adsorption device 20 of the above embodiment. Specifically, the method for preparing a flexible device includes the step of peeling off the flexible layer.

[0087] Typically, flexible devices are fabricated on a rigid carrier substrate. To facilitate understanding of the purpose of the peeling method of the present invention, the following first describes a process for fabricating a flexible layer on a carrier substrate.

[0088] Please refer to Figure 5 , an intermediate product in the process of preparing a flexible device, which can be prepared by a preparation method including the following steps.

[0089] Step S1 : preparing a release layer 320 on the surface of the carrier substrate 310 .

[0090] In one specific example, the carrier substrate 310 is a hard substrate. Optionally, the hard substrate is, for example, glass.

[0091] In one specific example, the release layer 320 is made of a material with low adhesion to the carrier substrate, such as graphene or carbon nanotubes. The release layer 320 can be prepared, for example, by spraying a graphene solution and / or a carbon nanotube solution onto the carrier substrate to form a liquid release film. This liquid release film is then dried with a nitrogen air knife and then baked at high temperature to remove the solvent, forming a solid film.

[0092] In one specific example, the release layer 320 includes multiple sub-release layers. The multiple sub-release layers can be prepared by repeating the above-mentioned preparation method multiple times. The number of sub-release layers can be 3 to 5. Figure 5 The embodiment shows a case with three sub-release layers, including a first sub-release layer 321, a second sub-release layer 322 and a third sub-release layer 323. The thickness of any single sub-release layer may be 50nm to 500nm, more specifically, the thickness of a single sub-release layer may be 200nm. In order to avoid the introduction of the release layer 320 significantly affecting the preparation process of the device itself, the overall thickness of the release layer 320 may be 500nm to 2000nm, more specifically, the overall thickness of the release layer 320 may be 1000nm. The peeling force between the sub-release layer and the sub-release layer is very weak. For example, the peeling force between the sub-release layer and the sub-release layer is 0.1N / cm to 0.5N / cm. Therefore, in the subsequent mechanical peeling process, separation will preferentially occur between the sub-release layer and the sub-release layer. That is, by providing multiple sub-release layers, the adsorption force between the interfaces during peeling can be reduced. Furthermore, the tiny particles 301 , whether embedded between the flexible substrate and the sub-release layer or between the carrier substrate and the sub-release layer, will only affect the integrity of the release layer at the separation point without affecting the flexible layer.

[0093] In one specific example, after forming the release layer 320, the step of patterning the release layer 320 is further included. The step of patterning the release layer 320 specifically includes removing the components of the release layer 320 outside the area corresponding to the flexible layer 330 to be prepared subsequently. Figure 6 As shown in the figure, the area of ​​the release layer 320 is usually slightly larger than the flexible layer 330, and the edge portion of the release layer 320 formed has a strong bonding force, which makes this portion more difficult to peel off during the peeling process and affects the peeling quality. Therefore, removing this non-device area can improve the peeling quality. The specific method of patterning the release layer 320 can be dry etching, for example, using high-energy plasma to bombard the release layer 320 film in the non-device area to completely remove the area. In addition, there is usually a gap of 8mm to 15mm between the edge of the release layer 320 and the edge of the carrier glass 310, such as Figure 6 The content shown.

[0094] Step S2 : preparing a flexible layer 330 on a side of the release layer 320 away from the carrier substrate 310 .

[0095] In one specific example, the flexible layer 330 is a flexible display device, and the display function body in the flexible display device can be selected from electronic paper, a flexible liquid crystal display, or a flexible electroluminescent display.

[0096] In one specific example, the process of preparing the flexible layer 330 also includes the step of forming a flexible substrate 331 on the surface of the release layer 320 on the side away from the carrier substrate 310. The material of the flexible substrate 331 can be selected from polyimide (PI). Polyimide has excellent bending resistance and is particularly suitable as a material for flexible display devices. The method for preparing the flexible substrate 331 can be as follows: a polyimide solution is applied to the carrier substrate 310 including the release layer 320, followed by high vacuum drying to quickly evaporate and remove most of the solvent in the polyimide. Then, heating and drying are used to further remove the solvent and crosslink and solidify the polyimide material, ultimately forming a flexible substrate 331 with good thickness uniformity. In one specific example, the thickness of the flexible substrate 331 is 10μm to 50μm. More specifically, the thickness of the flexible substrate 331 can be about 20μm. In one specific example, the area of ​​the flexible substrate 331 protrudes from the edge of the release layer 320 area by 3mm to 5mm, and the area edge of the flexible substrate 331 is 5mm to 10mm away from the area edge of the carrier substrate 310. Figure 6 The size of the flexible substrate 331 is shown.

[0097] The step of preparing the flexible layer 330 also includes preparing the functional body of the flexible device after preparing the flexible substrate 331. Taking a flexible display device as an example, the functional body of the flexible display device may include a barrier layer 332, a driving element 333, a light-emitting device 334, an encapsulation layer 335, and a polarizer 336, which are stacked in sequence.

[0098] The barrier layer 332 is used to block water and oxygen; the driving element 332 is a thin film transistor (TFT) and its bonding area leads. The thin film transistor is used to drive the light emitting device 335 thereon to emit light. The light emitting device 334 can be an organic light emitting diode. The thin film transistor drives the pixelated light emitting device 334 to emit light to display a pattern. The device area refers to the area where the functional body of the flexible layer 330 is located, such as Figure 5 As shown, the size of the area where the barrier layer 332 is located is the same as the size of the area where the release layer 320 is located.

[0099] In one specific example, the specific manufacturing process of the flexible device 332 may include: sequentially preparing a barrier layer, a thin-film transistor (TFT) array, pixelated light-emitting diodes, an encapsulation layer, and a polarizer. The light-emitting diode may be an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), more specifically, an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED). Because the water and oxygen permeability of the flexible substrate 331 may be high, a barrier layer is required to isolate water and oxygen when manufacturing the light-emitting device 332. The barrier layer may adopt an organic / inorganic alternating structure, such as a stacked arrangement of parylene / silicon nitride / parylene / silicon nitride, or an inorganic / inorganic alternating structure, such as a stacked arrangement of silicon nitride / silicon dioxide / silicon nitride. Then, a TFT array for driving the light-emitting device is fabricated on the barrier layer. Depending on the TFT process temperature, the material of the flexible substrate 331 with different temperature resistance can be selected. Next, the light-emitting device is prepared, thin-film encapsulated, and then a polarizer is installed. The light-emitting device can be manufactured using a printing process or an evaporation process.

[0100] In one specific example, after the flexible layer 330 is prepared, a step of laser cutting is further included to remove the flexible substrate 331 and the carrier substrate 310 in areas other than the flexible device, thereby removing the flexible substrate 331 and the carrier substrate 310 in the non-device area.

[0101] The following embodiment also provides a method for further preparing a flexible device from the intermediate product of the above embodiment. Figure 7 , which includes the step of peeling the flexible layer:

[0102] Each adsorption sheet 210 of the adsorption device 20 is placed on the intermediate product containing the flexible layer 330 to be peeled, with the adsorption surface 211 facing the intermediate product, and the two ends of the adsorption chain composed of multiple adsorption sheets 210 are fixed to make the adsorption chain taut; the intermediate product includes a substrate 310, a release layer 320, and a flexible layer 330 stacked in sequence;

[0103] Along the direction from one end of the adsorption chain to the other end, pressure is applied to the pressure-bearing surface 212 of each adsorption sheet 210 toward the flexible layer 330 in sequence, so that the adsorption sheet 210 is tightly attached to the flexible layer 330 at the corresponding force-bearing point. At the same time, air is evacuated from the vent holes 213 openings at the force-bearing points, so that the flexible layer 330 is tightly attached to the adsorption surface 211 and peeled off from the substrate 310.

[0104] Furthermore, the specific process is as follows:

[0105] The adsorption device 20 provided in the above embodiment is used, and the adsorption sheet 210 is placed on the surface of the flexible display device 330. The fixing member 230 is controlled to apply tension to both sides of the adsorption sheet 210 to tighten the adsorption sheet 210. The roller 240 is controlled to press down the adsorption sheet 210 and move along the surface of the adsorption sheet 210, while simultaneously evacuating the vents 213. This causes the flexible layer 330 to peel from the carrier substrate surface 310 along the release layer 320 and adhere to the adsorption sheet 210. If the release layer 320 includes multiple sub-release layers, the peeling site will occur between the sub-release layers.

[0106] In conventional laboratory applications, flexible devices are typically clamped with a clamp, which can cause deformation and damage. The adsorption device 20 provided in the above embodiment gradually lifts the entire flexible device through vacuum adsorption without significantly affecting its shape. Furthermore, the more evenly spaced vents 213 help evenly distribute the overall adsorption force of the flexible layer 330, preventing damage to the flexible layer 330 caused by excessive localized force.

[0107] In one specific example, while simultaneously vacuuming the vent holes 213, specifically: controlling the roller 240 to press down the adsorption sheet 210 and move along the surface of the adsorption sheet 210, vacuuming the vent holes 213 opening on the adsorption sheet 210 pressed down by the roller 240, and as the roller 240 advances, vacuuming the vent holes 213 on each adsorption sheet 210 in turn, so that the flexible layer 330 is adhered to each adsorption sheet 210 in turn, and finally the flexible layer 330 is peeled off from the surface of the carrier substrate 310 along the release layer 320 and adsorbed on the adsorption sheet 210.

[0108] In one specific example, when the roller 240 is rolled, the forward speed of the roller 240 is 3 mm / s to 5 mm / s.

[0109] Through the above-mentioned peeling process, the flexible layer 330 can be transferred to the surface of the adsorption sheet 210 , that is, the adsorption surface of each adsorption sheet 210 .

[0110] For further information, please refer to Figure 8The method for preparing the flexible device provided in this embodiment also includes the step of attaching the flexible layer 330 adsorbed on the adsorption device 20 to the support film 400: the adsorption device 20 is arranged with the side on which the flexible layer 330 is adsorbed facing the support film, and pressure is applied toward the support film 400 on the pressure-bearing surface 212 of each adsorption sheet 210 in sequence along the direction from one end to the other end of the adsorption chain, so that the flexible layer 330 at the corresponding force point position is tightly attached to the support film 400, and at the same time, air is ventilated into the vent hole 213 opened at the force point position, so that the flexible layer 330 is detached from the adsorption surface 211 and attached to the support film 400.

[0111] When preparing flexible devices, it is usually necessary to prepare them on a carrier substrate so as to complete the preparation of the entire flexible device without the need for high precision. The prepared flexible device cannot proceed to subsequent processing steps alone, so the flexible device needs to be transferred to a support film. In the traditional preparation process, mechanical stripping and the subsequent attachment process are usually two separate and independent steps, and both stripping and attachment need to ensure that the flexible device does not deform or be damaged, which undoubtedly brings huge challenges to the processing technology. Another advantage of the above-mentioned adsorption device 20 is that, by means of structural design, the adsorption device 20 is not only suitable for the stripping process, but also for the subsequent attachment process. By combining the two-step preparation process of stripping and attachment, the problems existing in the stripping and attachment processes can be solved at the same time.

[0112] In one specific example, the vacuum state can be released by directly opening the vent holes to allow air to enter. More preferably, the vacuum state can be released by slowly injecting gas into the vent holes 213 via a vent mechanism to prevent drastic pressure changes in the vent holes 213, which could cause a large impact force on the flexible layer 330 and damage it.

[0113] Based on the adsorption device 20 and the flexible device peeling and attaching methods described in the above embodiments, it can be seen that the adsorption device 20 can be used to peel the flexible layer 330 from the carrier substrate 310. By pressing and moving the roller 240 against the pressure-bearing surface 212 of the adsorption sheet 210, while simultaneously vacuuming the corresponding vents 213, the flexible device is gradually attached to the adsorption surface 211 of the adsorption sheet 210, completing the peeling of the flexible layer 330 from the carrier substrate 310. Subsequently, by moving the roller 240 and gradually releasing the vacuum in the vents 212, the flexible device can be removed from the adsorption surface of the adsorption sheet 210 and attached to the support film 400. This adsorption device 20 can prevent significant deformation and damage to the flexible layer 330 during actual production processes, making it suitable for large-scale production processes.

[0114] Furthermore, the plurality of adsorption sheets 210 in the adsorption sheet 210 are connected by a hinge 220. By controlling the forces of the fixing member 230 and the roller 240, the adsorption sheet 210 as a whole can be deformed to different degrees of bending, thereby generating different separation angles θ between the adsorption sheet 210 as a whole and the flexible layer 330. For example, please refer to Figure 9 The content shown, Figure 9 In (a), the adsorption sheet 210 as a whole has a small separation angle θ with the plane. Figure 9 In (b), the adsorption sheet 210 as a whole has a large separation angle θ with the plane, which can be achieved by controlling the pressure of the roller 240. It can be understood that the larger the separation angle, the smaller the external force required to peel the flexible device from the carrier substrate, but the flexible device will also be subjected to a greater degree of bending, which may lead to deformation damage. The above-mentioned adsorption device 20 can control the degree of bending of the adsorption sheet 210 to select a suitable degree of bending during the actual preparation process, which can not only peel off the flexible device but also minimize the deformation damage of the flexible device. Therefore, the adsorption device 20 also has a wide range of practical application scenarios. For example, the adsorption device 20 is not only suitable for the preparation of traditional flexible devices such as 31 inches, but is also more suitable for the preparation of flexible devices of larger sizes such as 65 inches.

[0115] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. In order to make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0116] The above embodiment merely represents a preferred embodiment of the present invention. While the description is relatively specific and detailed, it should not be construed as limiting the scope of the patent. It should be noted that a person skilled in the art could make various modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit of the present invention, all of which fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the patent for this invention shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An adsorption device, characterized in that: include: A plurality of adsorption sheets arranged side by side, each of the adsorption sheets having an adsorption surface and a pressure-bearing surface arranged opposite to each other, the adsorption surface being in the shape of an outwardly convex curved surface, and the pressure-bearing surface being in the shape of a curved surface concave toward the adsorption surface; The adsorption sheet is provided with an air vent, one end of the air vent is opened on the adsorption surface, and the other end of the air vent is used to connect with the air extraction mechanism; Adjacent adsorption sheets are rotatably connected on the side; a plurality of adsorption sheets form an adsorption chain, and the adsorption device further comprises: fixing members connected to both ends of the adsorption chain, the fixing members being used to fix the positions of the adsorption sheets connected thereto so as to tighten the rotatably connected adsorption sheets; A roller used in conjunction with each of the adsorption sheets is used to roll along the pressure-bearing surface of each of the adsorption sheets and apply pressure to the adsorption sheets.

2. The adsorption device according to claim 1, characterized in that A plurality of ventilation holes are arranged at intervals on each of the adsorption sheets, and the openings of the plurality of ventilation holes on the adsorption surface are distributed in at least one row.

3. The adsorption device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The direction of the column is parallel to the side of the adsorption sheet facing the adjacent adsorption sheet; and / or The distance between the openings of adjacent vent holes in the row is 5 mm to 10 mm; and / or The openings of the plurality of vent holes on the adsorption surface are distributed in multiple rows, and the spacing between adjacent rows is 3 mm to 5 mm.

4. The adsorption device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The opening of the vent hole on the adsorption surface is circular, and the diameter of the circle is 0.1 mm to 1 mm.

5. The adsorption device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The pressure-bearing surface and the adsorption surface are both in the shape of arc surfaces; The pressure-bearing surface is parallel to the adsorption surface, or the center of a circle corresponding to the pressure-bearing surface coincides with the center of a circle corresponding to the adsorption surface.

6. The adsorption device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: Also includes: An elastic covering layer covers the adsorption surface, and the elastic covering layer is provided with through holes corresponding to the opening positions of the vent holes on the adsorption surface.

7. A method for preparing a flexible device using the adsorption device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The method comprises the steps of peeling off the flexible layer: Placing each of the adsorption sheets of the adsorption device on an intermediate product containing a flexible layer to be peeled off, with the adsorption surface of the adsorption sheet facing the intermediate product, and fixing both ends of an adsorption chain formed by a plurality of the adsorption sheets to tighten the adsorption chain; wherein the intermediate product comprises a substrate, a release layer, and a flexible layer stacked in sequence; Along the direction from one end of the adsorption chain to the other end, pressure is applied to the pressure-bearing surface of each adsorption sheet toward the flexible layer in sequence, so that the adsorption sheet is tightly attached to the flexible layer at the corresponding force-bearing point. At the same time, air is evacuated from the vent holes located at the force-bearing point, so that the flexible layer is tightly attached to the adsorption surface and peeled off from the substrate.

8. The method for preparing a flexible device according to claim 7, wherein: The method for preparing the intermediate product comprises: preparing the release layer on the surface of the substrate; removing the release layer outside the area where the flexible device is located; and The flexible layer is prepared on a surface of the release layer that is away from the substrate.

9. The method for preparing a flexible device according to any one of claims 7 to 8, characterized in that: The method further includes the step of attaching the flexible layer adsorbed on the adsorption device to a supporting film: The adsorption device is arranged with the side on which the flexible layer is adsorbed facing the support membrane, and pressure is applied to the pressure-bearing surface of each adsorption sheet toward the support membrane in sequence along the direction from one end to the other end of the adsorption chain, so that the flexible layer at the corresponding force point is tightly attached to the support membrane, and at the same time, air is ventilated into the vent holes opening at the force point, so that the flexible layer is detached from the adsorption surface and attached to the support membrane.

Images