Flexible OLED substrate and packaging method thereof

Abstract

A flexible OLED substrate comprises a flexible substrate, an inorganic barrier layer, an OLED device, and a filler layer. The inorganic barrier layer is disposed on the flexible substrate, the OLED device is disposed on the inorganic barrier layer, and the filler layer covers the OLED device and the inorganic barrier layer. The flexible substrate further comprises a substrate, a folded portion, and a covering portion. The substrate is provided with a thin-film transistor layer. The folded portion connects the substrate and the covering portion. The covering portion covers the filler layer and is aligned with the substrate, thereby improving the packaging effect and simplifying the packaging process. The present invention also provides a packaging method for a flexible OLED substrate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of packaging technology and preparation technology, and in particular to a flexible OLED substrate and a packaging method thereof. Background Art

[0002] OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) has an organic light-emitting layer, which is an organic compound film that emits light in response to an electric current. The organic material is sandwiched between two electrodes, at least one of which is a light-transmitting electrode. OLED exhibits high optical rotation, high efficiency and requires a low driving voltage, so it is a good candidate for display screens. However, using OLED for displays requires specific processing. Specifically, exposure to moisture or oxygen can cause serious damage to the organic light-emitting layer. Therefore, the encapsulation of OLED is very critical to protect it from moisture and oxygen. Thin film encapsulation (TFE) is mainly used for flexible OLED display devices. The general method is to prepare an inorganic, organic or hybrid film layer on the OLED device. The inorganic layer can be deposited by any of a number of standard deposition techniques, including chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), or atomic layer deposition (ALD), but none of these packaging methods can completely block water and oxygen to protect the device from the effects of moisture and oxygen. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a flexible OLED substrate and its packaging method, which can completely block water and oxygen, protect OLED devices from the influence of moisture and oxygen, thereby effectively improving the packaging effect and extending the service life of OLED devices.

[0004] To achieve the aforementioned objectives of the present invention, the present invention provides a flexible OLED substrate, comprising a flexible substrate, an inorganic barrier layer, an OLED device, and a filler layer. The inorganic barrier layer is disposed on the flexible substrate, the OLED device is disposed on the inorganic barrier layer, and the filler layer covers the OLED device and the inorganic barrier layer. The flexible substrate further comprises a substrate, a folded portion, and a covering portion. The substrate is provided with a thin-film transistor layer (TFT). The folded portion connects the substrate and the covering portion. The covering portion covers the filler layer and is disposed in contact with the substrate.

[0005] Preferably, the method further comprises providing a frame glue on the edge of the filling glue layer and the edge of the OLED device.

[0006] Preferably, the frame glue, the filling glue layer and the inorganic barrier layer jointly cover the OLED device.

[0007] Preferably, the thickness of the inorganic barrier layer is between 100 nm and 5000 nm, and the constituent material includes one or more of aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, chromium oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and silicon oxide.

[0008] The present invention also provides a packaging method for a flexible OLED substrate, comprising the following steps:

[0009] providing a glass substrate having a first substrate portion and a second substrate portion connected to each other;

[0010] Providing a flexible substrate on the first substrate portion and the second substrate portion, and preparing an inorganic barrier layer on a surface of the flexible substrate away from the glass substrate;

[0011] preparing an OLED device on the inorganic barrier layer corresponding to the first substrate portion, and preparing a filling glue layer on the flexible substrate corresponding to the second substrate portion; and

[0012] The first substrate portion is bent and pressed against the second substrate portion, or the second substrate portion is bent and pressed against the first substrate portion, so that the flexible substrate is separated from the OLED device by the filling glue layer and covers the OLED device.

[0013] Preferably, the step of providing the glass substrate further includes forming a gap between the first substrate portion and the second substrate portion.

[0014] Preferably, in the step of preparing the flexible substrate, the flexible substrate further forms a substrate, a bending portion and a covering portion, the substrate includes a thin film transistor layer that connects and drives the OLED device to emit light, the bending portion connects the substrate and the covering portion, and the covering portion is covered with the filling glue layer and correspondingly adhered to the substrate, and the spacing forms the bending portion and is formed by cutting.

[0015] Preferably, in the step of preparing the filling glue layer, it also includes applying a frame glue on the edge of the second substrate portion, the frame glue is connected to the filling glue layer, when the flexible substrate is bent and covers the OLED device, the inorganic barrier layer, the filling glue layer and the frame glue jointly cover the OLED device, wherein the filling glue layer and the frame glue are formed on both edges of the OLED device.

[0016] Preferably, after the step of bending the first substrate portion and pressing it with the second substrate portion or bending the second substrate portion and pressing it with the first substrate portion, the method further includes peeling off the glass substrate and curing the frame glue. After peeling off the glass substrate, the glass substrate is separated from the flexible substrate and the flexible substrate is exposed. The frame glue is cured by ultraviolet light to form a frame glue, thereby completing the encapsulation of the OLED substrate.

[0017] Preferably, the thickness of the inorganic barrier layer is between 100 nm and 5000 nm, and the constituent material includes one or more of aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, chromium oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and silicon oxide.

[0018] The present invention also has the following effects: the flexible substrate of the present invention itself has an inorganic barrier layer instead of an additionally deposited barrier layer (Barrier Layer), which simplifies the packaging process. Furthermore, an OLED device is prepared on one side of the flexible substrate, and a filling glue layer and a frame glue (Dam glue) are coated on the other side. Then, the filling glue layer and the frame glue are attached to the OLED device by bending the first substrate portion or the second substrate portion, thereby completing the packaging of the OLED substrate. Since the filling glue layer provided in the surface of the OLED substrate and the frame glue provided at the edge are both water-resistant, and the inorganic barrier layer of the flexible substrate also has water-resistant properties, a multi-layer and effective packaging effect can be achieved, thereby preventing the OLED device from being affected by moisture and oxygen, improving the packaging effect and increasing the service life of the OLED substrate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments or the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a flexible OLED substrate of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 is a first cross-sectional schematic diagram of a method for packaging a flexible OLED substrate according to the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 is a second cross-sectional schematic diagram of the packaging method of the flexible OLED substrate of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 is a third cross-sectional schematic diagram of the packaging method of the flexible OLED substrate of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5is a fourth cross-sectional schematic diagram of the packaging method of the flexible OLED substrate of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 6 is a fifth cross-sectional schematic diagram of the packaging method of the flexible OLED substrate of the present invention; and

[0026] Figure 7 It is a block flow chart of the packaging method of the flexible OLED substrate of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Reference to "embodiment" in the detailed description means that the specific features, structures, or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. The same terms appearing in different places in the specification are not necessarily limited to the same embodiment, but should be understood as independent or alternative embodiments of other embodiments. In light of the technical solutions disclosed in the embodiments provided by the present invention, ordinary technicians in this field should understand that the embodiments described in the present invention may have other technical solutions that are consistent with the concept of the present invention.

[0028] Please refer to Figure 1 , which is a schematic cross-sectional view of a flexible OLED substrate according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the present invention provides a flexible OLED substrate 100, comprising a flexible substrate 110, an inorganic barrier layer 120, an OLED device 130, and a filler layer 140. The inorganic barrier layer 120 is disposed on the flexible substrate 110, the OLED device 130 is disposed on the inorganic barrier layer 120, and the filler layer 140 covers the OLED device 130 and the inorganic barrier layer 120.

[0029] In such Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, a border glue 150 is further provided on the edges of the filler layer 140 and the OLED device 130. The border glue 150, the filler layer 140, and the inorganic barrier layer 120 collectively cover the OLED device 130. The flexible substrate 110 further includes a substrate 112, a bent portion 114, and a covering portion 116. The substrate 112 is provided with a thin film transistor layer (TFT) 118. The bent portion 114 connects the substrate 112 and the covering portion 116. The covering portion 116 covers the filler layer 140 and is disposed in contact with the substrate 112.

[0030] Specifically, the OLED device 130 is covered on all sides by the inorganic barrier layer 120, the filling glue layer 140 and the frame glue 150, wherein the filling glue layer 140 and the frame glue are formed at the two edges of the OLED device, thereby improving the packaging effect. In addition, the flexible substrate 110 itself has an inorganic barrier layer 120 instead of an additionally deposited barrier layer (Barrier Layer), which can simplify the packaging process. The material of the flexible substrate 110 of this embodiment (i.e., the inorganic barrier layer 120) replaces the barrier layer that needs to be additionally deposited, which simplifies the packaging process. The material of the flexible substrate 110 is, for example, polyimide (PI), PET and other common materials, but is not limited to this in this embodiment.

[0031] The thickness of the inorganic barrier layer 120 is between 100 nm and 5000 nm, and the material of the inorganic barrier layer 120 includes aluminum oxide (Al x O x ), titanium oxide (TiO x ), chromium oxide (CrO x ), silicon nitride (SiN x ), silicon oxynitride (SiON x ), silicon oxide (SiO x ) one or more.

[0032] Please refer to Figures 2 to 7 As shown, the present invention also provides a method for packaging a flexible OLED substrate 100, comprising the following steps: Step S1, providing a glass substrate 200, wherein the glass substrate 200 is formed with a first substrate portion 210 and a second substrate portion 220 connected to each other. Step S2, providing a flexible substrate 110 on the first substrate portion 210 and the second substrate portion 220, and forming an inorganic barrier layer 120 on a surface of the flexible substrate 110 away from the glass substrate 200. Step S3, forming an OLED device 130 on the inorganic barrier layer 120 corresponding to the first substrate portion 210, and forming a filler layer 140 on the flexible substrate 110 corresponding to the second substrate portion 220. Step S4, bending the first substrate portion 210 and pressing them together with the second substrate portion 220, or bending the second substrate portion 220 and pressing them together with the first substrate portion 210, so that the flexible substrate 110 is separated from the OLED device 130 by the filler layer 140, and the OLED device 130 is encapsulated.

[0033] In step S1 of providing the glass substrate, a gap 230 is also formed between the first substrate portion 210 and the second substrate portion 220 (to facilitate bending the first substrate portion 210 onto the second substrate portion 220 or bending the second substrate portion 220 onto the first substrate portion 210). In step S2 of preparing the flexible substrate, the flexible substrate 110 further comprises a substrate 112, a bending portion 114, and a covering portion 116. The substrate 112 includes a thin-film transistor layer (TFT) 118 that connects to and drives the OLED device 130 to emit light. The bending portion 114 connects the substrate 112 and the covering portion 116. The covering portion 116 is covered with the filler layer 140 and aligned with the substrate 112. The gap 230 forms the bending portion 114 and is formed by cutting or other suitable methods, which are not limited in this embodiment.

[0034] The step of preparing the filler layer S3 further includes applying a border glue 150 on the edge of the second substrate portion 220, wherein the border glue 150 is connected to the filler layer 140. When the flexible substrate 110 is bent and covers the OLED device 130, the inorganic barrier layer 120, the filler layer 140, and the border glue 150 jointly cover the OLED device 130, wherein the filler layer 140 and the border glue 150 are formed on both edges of the OLED device 130.

[0035] After step S4 of bending the first substrate portion 210 and pressing the second substrate portion 220 together or bending the second substrate portion 220 and pressing the first substrate portion 210 together, the process further includes peeling off the glass substrate 200 and curing the border glue 150. After peeling off the glass substrate 200, the glass substrate 200 is separated from the flexible substrate 110 and the flexible substrate 110 is exposed. The border glue 150 is cured by ultraviolet light to form a sealant, thereby completing the encapsulation of the OLED substrate 100.

[0036] It should be noted that the thickness of the inorganic barrier layer 120 is between 100 nm and 5000 nm, and the constituent material includes aluminum oxide (Al x O x ), titanium oxide (TiO x ), chromium oxide (CrO x ), silicon nitride (SiN x ), silicon oxynitride (SiON x ), silicon oxide (SiO x ) one or more.

[0037] In this embodiment, the flexible substrate 110 inherently includes an inorganic barrier layer 120, replacing an additionally deposited barrier layer, simplifying the encapsulation process. Furthermore, an OLED device 130 is fabricated on one side of the flexible substrate 110, while a filler layer 140 and a border adhesive 150 (Dam adhesive) are applied to the other side. The filler layer 140 and the border adhesive 150 are then attached to the OLED device 130 by bending the first substrate portion 210 or the second substrate portion 220, thereby completing the encapsulation of the OLED substrate 100. Because the filler layer 140 within the surface of the OLED substrate 100 and the border adhesive 150 at the edge both have water-blocking properties, coupled with the inorganic barrier layer 120 of the flexible substrate 110 also having water-blocking properties, a multi-layer, effective encapsulation process is achieved, protecting the OLED device 130 from moisture and oxygen, improving the encapsulation effect, and increasing the service life of the OLED substrate 100.

[0038] In summary, although the present invention is described in conjunction with its specific embodiments, it should be understood that many substitutions, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended to include all substitutions, modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A flexible OLED substrate, characterized in that: include: Flexible substrates; an inorganic barrier layer, disposed on the flexible substrate; An OLED device is disposed on the inorganic barrier layer; as well as A filling glue layer covering the OLED device and the inorganic barrier layer, The flexible substrate further includes a substrate, a bending portion and a covering portion, wherein the substrate is provided with a thin film transistor layer, the bending portion connects the substrate and the covering portion, and the covering portion is covered with the filling glue layer and is arranged in correspondence with the substrate, and the filling glue layer fills the gap between the OLED device and the inorganic barrier layer.

2. The flexible OLED substrate according to claim 1, wherein: The method also includes providing a frame glue on the edge of the filling glue layer and the edge of the OLED device.

3. The flexible OLED substrate according to claim 2, wherein: The frame glue, the filling glue layer and the inorganic barrier layer jointly cover the OLED device.

4. The flexible OLED substrate according to claim 1, wherein: The thickness of the inorganic barrier layer is between 100 nm and 5000 nm, and the constituent materials include one or more of aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, chromium oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and silicon oxide.

5. A packaging method for a flexible OLED substrate, characterized in that: The steps include: providing a glass substrate having a first substrate portion and a second substrate portion connected to each other; Providing a flexible substrate on the first substrate portion and the second substrate portion, and preparing an inorganic barrier layer on a surface of the flexible substrate away from the glass substrate; preparing an OLED device on the inorganic barrier layer corresponding to the first substrate portion, and preparing a filling glue layer on the flexible substrate corresponding to the second substrate portion; as well as The first substrate portion is bent and pressed against the second substrate portion, or the second substrate portion is bent and pressed against the first substrate portion, so that the flexible substrate is separated from the OLED device by the filling glue layer and covers the OLED device, and the filling glue layer fills the gap between the OLED device and the inorganic barrier layer.

6. The packaging method of the flexible OLED substrate according to claim 5, wherein: The step of providing the glass substrate further includes forming a gap between the first substrate portion and the second substrate portion.

7. The packaging method of the flexible OLED substrate according to claim 6, wherein: In the step of preparing the flexible substrate, the flexible substrate further forms a substrate, a bending portion and a covering portion. The substrate includes a thin film transistor layer that connects and drives the OLED device to emit light. The bending portion connects the substrate and the covering portion, and the covering portion is covered with the filling glue layer and correspondingly adhered to the substrate. The spacing forms the bending portion and is formed by cutting.

8. The packaging method of the flexible OLED substrate according to claim 5, wherein: The step of preparing the filling glue layer also includes applying a frame glue on the edge of the second substrate portion, the frame glue is connected to the filling glue layer, and when the flexible substrate is bent and covers the OLED device, the inorganic barrier layer, the filling glue layer and the frame glue jointly cover the OLED device, wherein the filling glue layer and the frame glue are formed on both edges of the OLED device.

9. The packaging method of the flexible OLED substrate according to claim 8, wherein: After the step of bending the first substrate portion and pressing the second substrate portion together or bending the second substrate portion and pressing the first substrate portion together, the method further includes peeling off the glass substrate and curing the frame glue. After peeling off the glass substrate, the glass substrate is separated from the flexible substrate and the flexible substrate is exposed. The frame glue is cured by ultraviolet light to form a frame glue, thereby completing the encapsulation of the OLED substrate.

10. The packaging method of the flexible OLED substrate according to claim 5, wherein: The thickness of the inorganic barrier layer is between 100 nm and 5000 nm, and the constituent materials include one or more of aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, chromium oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and silicon oxide.

Images