Backlight module and display panel

Abstract

This invention provides a backlight module and a display panel. The backlight module includes: a substrate; a plurality of micro-light-emitting devices located on the substrate; a support structure located on the substrate, including a plurality of support portions, at least one of the support portions surrounding a corresponding micro-light-emitting device, wherein the height of the end of the support portion closer to the micro-light-emitting device is less than the height of the end of the support portion farther from the micro-light-emitting device; and a reflective layer including a plurality of reflective portions, at least one of the reflective portions located on a corresponding support portion, wherein the reflective portion includes a reflective surface facing the micro-light-emitting device, and the angle between the reflective surface and the horizontal plane of the substrate is an acute angle. In this invention, by setting the reflective surface of the reflective portion as an inclined surface with a certain tilt angle, the emission range of the light reflected on the reflective surface is significantly reduced, thereby effectively reducing light loss caused by an excessively large emission range of the reflected light.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of display technology, specifically to a backlight module and a display panel. Background Technology

[0002] Mini LED displays are increasingly favored by consumers in fields such as televisions, laptops, and backlighting due to their high brightness, small pixel pitch, short response time, and ability to be made into large screens.

[0003] Currently, Mini LEDs use glass substrates as backplanes. To improve reflectivity, screen printing or spraying white paint is typically done on the backplane surface. The reflective properties of the white paint enhance reflectivity. However, the actual effect of coating with white paint is not as... Figure 1 As shown in the figure, taking an LED chip as a micro-light-emitting device as an example, LED solder joints for electrical connection of the LED chip are provided on the backplane. The LED chip is electrically connected to the circuit layer on the backplane through the LED solder joints. A layer of white oil is coated around the LED chip, which acts as a reflective layer to reflect light. Figure 1 As can be seen, when white oil is directly applied to the back plate, the reflected light cannot reach the observation surface due to the excessively large range of reflected light, i.e., the angle θ1, which makes it difficult to utilize the light and results in light loss. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention provides a backlight module and a display panel to improve the problem that some of the light reflected by the reflective layer of the existing backlight module cannot reach the viewing surface, resulting in light loss and low brightness of the backlight module.

[0005] This invention provides a backlight module, comprising: a substrate; a plurality of micro-light-emitting devices located on the substrate; a support structure located on the substrate, including a plurality of support portions, at least one of the support portions surrounding a corresponding micro-light-emitting device, wherein the height of the end of the support portion closer to the micro-light-emitting device is less than the height of the end of the support portion farther from the micro-light-emitting device; and a reflective layer including a plurality of reflective portions, at least one of the reflective portions located on a corresponding support portion, wherein the reflective portion includes a reflective surface facing the micro-light-emitting device, and the angle between the reflective surface and the horizontal plane on which the substrate is located is an acute angle.

[0006] In some embodiments of the present invention, the support portion is an integral structure, the support portion includes a first end close to the micro-light-emitting device, a second end away from the micro-light-emitting device, and an inclined surface connecting the first end and the second end, the reflective portion is located on the inclined surface, and the height of the first end is less than the height of the second end.

[0007] In some embodiments of the present invention, a stepped groove is provided on the inclined surface, and at least a portion of the reflective portion is located within the groove.

[0008] In some embodiments of the present invention, the support portion includes a plurality of support columns spaced apart, wherein the height of the support column closer to the micro-light-emitting device is less than the height of the support column farther away from the micro-light-emitting device.

[0009] In some embodiments of the present invention, the height of the plurality of support pillars increases sequentially in the direction away from the micro-light-emitting device, and the height of the top of the farthest support pillar is less than the height of the light-emitting surface of the micro-light-emitting device.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present invention, the shape of the support column is one of a cylinder, a cone, and a frustum.

[0011] In some embodiments of the present invention, the material of the support structure is photosensitive resin.

[0012] In some embodiments of the present invention, the material of the reflective layer is one of white oil and white glue.

[0013] The present invention provides a display panel including any of the aforementioned backlight modules.

[0014] The present invention also provides a display panel, comprising: a substrate; a plurality of micro-light-emitting devices located on the substrate; a support structure located on the substrate, including a plurality of support portions, at least one of the support portions surrounding a corresponding micro-light-emitting device, wherein the height of the end of the support portion near the micro-light-emitting device is less than the height of the end of the support portion away from the micro-light-emitting device; and a reflective layer including a plurality of reflective portions, at least one of the reflective portions located on a corresponding support portion, wherein the reflective portion includes a reflective surface facing the micro-light-emitting device, and the angle between the reflective surface and the horizontal plane on which the substrate is located is an acute angle.

[0015] In the backlight module and display panel provided in the embodiments of the present invention, since the reflective surface of the reflective part is changed from the original plane to an inclined surface with a certain tilt angle, the light that was originally easily reflected and lost from the end of the reflective part away from the micro-light-emitting device is now reflected at a different angle due to the change in the incident angle on the reflective surface. Compared with the backlight module prepared in the prior art, which has a larger range of outgoing angles, the present invention significantly reduces the outgoing angle of the reflected light, thereby ensuring that all reflected light reaches the observation surface, effectively reducing light loss and improving the brightness of the backlight module. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an existing backlight module in the background art of this invention;

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the backlight module provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional structural diagram of a backlight module with an integral support structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional structural diagram of another backlight module with an integral support structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of the backlight module provided in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the fabrication process of the support structure provided in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 7 This is a cross-sectional structural diagram of a backlight module with a non-integral support structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 8 This is a top view of the backlight module with a non-integral support structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention. Furthermore, it should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only for illustration and explanation of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. In the present invention, unless otherwise stated, directional terms such as "upper" and "lower" generally refer to the upper and lower positions of the device in actual use or operation, specifically the drawing directions in the accompanying drawings; while "inner" and "outer" refer to the outline of the device.

[0026] In the prior art, please refer to Figure 1 The planar reflective layer causes light to be reflected from all directions. Some of the reflected light cannot reach the viewing surface because the emission range is too large, resulting in the loss of some reflected light and low brightness of the backlight module.

[0027] To address the problem of low brightness in backlight modules due to reflected light loss in existing technologies, this invention provides a backlight module, wherein, as... Figure 2 As shown, the backlight module includes: a substrate 100; a plurality of micro-light-emitting devices 200 located on the substrate 100; a support structure 300 located on the substrate 100, including a plurality of support portions 310, at least one of the support portions 310 surrounding a corresponding micro-light-emitting device 200, the height of the end of the support portion 310 near the micro-light-emitting device 200 being less than the height of the end of the support portion 310 away from the micro-light-emitting device 200; and a reflective layer 400 including a plurality of reflective portions 410, at least one of the reflective portions 410 located on a corresponding support portion 310, the reflective portion 410 including a reflective surface 420 facing the micro-light-emitting device 200, the angle between the reflective surface 420 and the horizontal plane where the substrate 100 is located being an acute angle.

[0028] In this embodiment, the support portion 310 is provided around the micro-light-emitting device 200. The support portion 310 can support the reflective layer 400. Since the height of the end of the support portion 310 near the micro-light-emitting device 200 is less than the height of the end of the support portion 310 away from the micro-light-emitting device 200, the reflective portion 410 located on the support portion 310 will also form a structure that is higher at one end and lower at the other end relative to the substrate 100. That is, the end of the reflective portion 410 near the micro-light-emitting device 200 is lower, and the end away from the micro-light-emitting device 200 is higher. The angle between the reflective surface 420 of the reflective portion 410 and the horizontal plane where the substrate 100 is located is an acute angle. Further, as... Figure 2 As shown in the optical path, because the reflecting surface 420 of the reflecting part 410 changes from a plane to an inclined surface, the light that would normally be lost due to refraction at the end of the reflecting part 410 away from the micro-light-emitting device 200 is now emitted at a different angle due to the change in the incident angle on the reflecting surface 420. Figure 1 Compared with the large emission angle range of existing technologies, the present invention can effectively reduce light loss by significantly reducing the emission range θ2 of reflected light, thereby improving the brightness of the backlight module.

[0029] Understandably, in this invention, the angle between the reflective surface 420 and the horizontal plane where the substrate 100 is located, i.e. the degree of inclination of the reflective surface 420, has a significant impact on the light reflection effect. Generally, the angle between the reflective surface 420 and the horizontal plane where the substrate 100 is located is an acute angle, preferably, the acute angle is an acute angle greater than 30°.

[0030] The micro-light-emitting device 200 can be either an LED chip or a light-emitting diode.

[0031] Furthermore, such as Figure 3 As shown, the support portion 310 is an integral structure. The support portion 310 includes a first end 310A close to the micro-light-emitting device 200, a second end 310B away from the micro-light-emitting device 200, and an inclined surface 310C connecting the first end 310A and the second end 310B. The reflective portion 410 is located on the inclined surface 310C. The height of the first end 310A is less than the height of the second end 310B.

[0032] The inclined surface is provided with a stepped groove 310D, and at least a portion of the reflective part 410 is located in the groove 310D.

[0033] In this embodiment, by providing a stepped groove 310D on the inclined surface 310C, it is possible to prevent the material used to prepare the reflective part 410 from being affected by gravity and accumulating near the bottom of the first end 310A of the micro-light-emitting device 200 during the preparation of the reflective part 410, thereby causing the reflective part 410 formed on the inclined surface 310C to be uneven and affecting the light reflection effect.

[0034] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, preferably, a stepped groove is provided on the inclined surface 310C. In addition, grooves of other shapes can also be provided on the inclined surface 310C to prevent uneven coating of the reflective part 410 formed on the inclined surface 310C. The shapes of other grooves that can achieve the same technical effect will not be described in detail here.

[0035] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the height of the support portion 310 near the first end of the micro-light-emitting device 200 is zero, such as Figure 4 As shown, the support portion 310 is composed of a second end 310B away from the micro-light-emitting device 200 and an inclined surface 310C, and the reflective portion 410 is located on the inclined surface 310C.

[0036] In this embodiment, as Figure 5 As shown, the fabrication of the backlight module includes the following steps:

[0037] 1) A circuit layer is formed on the upper surface of the substrate 100;

[0038] 2) Fix the micro-light-emitting device 200 onto the substrate 100;

[0039] 3) The support structure 300 is fabricated on the upper surface of the substrate 100 around the micro-light-emitting device 200;

[0040] 4) The reflective layer 400 is formed on the support structure 300.

[0041] Specifically, in this embodiment, the circuit layer includes a gate layer, a first insulating layer, a semiconductor layer, a second insulating layer, and a source / drain layer sequentially formed along a direction away from the substrate 100. The gate layer, the channel layer, and the semiconductor layer together form multiple transistors to form multiple driving circuits. Furthermore, the circuit layer also includes multiple connection solder joints 210 for the micro-light-emitting devices 200. The micro-light-emitting devices 200 are electrically connected to the driving circuit of the circuit layer through the solder joints 210 to be driven by the driving circuit. It should be noted that... Figure 5 The fact that the circuit layer is not shown does not mean that the circuit layer is not provided on the substrate 100.

[0042] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the aforementioned support structure 300 is made of negative photosensitive material or positive photosensitive material. Preferably, it is made of negative photosensitive material using a gray tone mask through a photolithography process. The relevant steps of the photolithography process are as follows: Figure 6 As shown, Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the process for fabricating the support structure using negative photosensitive materials.

[0043] like Figure 6 As shown, firstly, a negative photosensitive material needs to be coated on the substrate 100, that is, a negative photosensitive material layer is formed on the substrate 100. Then, using the gray-tone mask, the support structure 300 is formed on the substrate 100 after exposure and development.

[0044] It is understood that the support structure 300 prepared in this embodiment is an irregular structure, that is, the heights of the first end 310A near the micro-light-emitting device 200 and the second end 310B away from the micro-light-emitting device 200 are not the same. In the actual exposure and development process, the effect of the present invention can be achieved by adjusting the light intensity, light exposure time and other operating conditions.

[0045] In some embodiments of the present invention, such as Figure 7As shown, the support portion 310 includes a plurality of support columns 310E arranged at intervals, and the height of the support column 310E closer to the micro-light-emitting device 200 is less than the height of the support column 310E farther away from the micro-light-emitting device 200.

[0046] Specifically, in this embodiment, the support portion 310 is a non-integral structure, consisting of multiple spaced-apart support pillars 310E. The support pillars 310E have different heights; the support pillars 310E closer to the micro-light-emitting device 200 are shorter than those farther away. Due to the intermolecular forces between the support pillars 310E and the material of the reflective portion 410, and the blocking effect of the support pillars 310E, the material of the reflective portion 410 adheres to the support pillars 310E, effectively forming a reflective surface with an inclined angle. Since the reflective surface is transformed from a planar surface to an inclined surface, the incident and exit angles of light change significantly. Based on the aforementioned principle, the non-integral structure of the support portion 310 can also achieve the technical effect of reducing light loss. It should be noted that, preferably, the angle between the reflective surface and the horizontal plane of the substrate 100 is greater than 30°.

[0047] Please continue reading. Figure 8 , Figure 8 This is a top view of the backlight module with a non-integral support structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in the figure. Figure 8 As shown, the support columns 310E are neatly arranged in the space surrounding the micro-light-emitting device 200. The arrangement density of the support columns 310E can be adjusted according to the actual situation. If the required tilt angle of the reflective surface is small, it can be achieved by adjusting the height of the support columns 310E so that the height difference between the support columns 310E close to the micro-light-emitting device 200 and the support columns 310E far away from the micro-light-emitting device 200 is set to be small. Alternatively, the support columns 310E can be sparsely distributed without changing the height difference of the support columns 310E. When the required tilt angle of the reflective surface is large, it can be achieved by setting a larger height difference between the support columns 310E close to the micro-light-emitting device 200 and the support columns far away from the micro-light-emitting device 200. Alternatively, the support columns 310E can be densely distributed without changing the height difference of the support columns 310E.

[0048] Optionally, the height of the plurality of support pillars 310E increases sequentially in the direction away from the micro-light-emitting device 200, and the height of the top of the farthest support pillar 310E is less than the height of the light-emitting surface of the micro-light-emitting device 200.

[0049] Understandably, since the light reflected by the support 310 comes from the micro-light-emitting device 200, the height of the top of the support 310 must not be greater than that of the micro-light-emitting device 200, so as to reflect the light emitted by the micro-light-emitting device 200 to the greatest extent possible, so that it can reach the observation surface and be used reasonably. At the same time, it can also avoid the reflected light from interfering with the light emitted by the micro-light-emitting device 200.

[0050] Optionally, the support column 310E may be in the shape of a cylinder, a cone, or a frustum.

[0051] In this embodiment, the support column 310E can be composed of a single cylinder, cone, or frustum, or at least two of cylinder, cone, and frustum. In addition, the support column 310E can also be a polyhedral column, that is, the cross-section of the support column 310E is polygonal.

[0052] Optionally, the material of the support structure 300 is photosensitive resin.

[0053] Understandably, in this embodiment, the support structure 300 can be an integral structure or a non-integral structure, and can be prepared by using negative photosensitive material, through a photolithography process, and using a gray tone mask. Preferably, the photosensitive resin is used to prepare the support column 310E.

[0054] Optionally, the material of the reflective layer 400 is one of white oil and white glue.

[0055] In this embodiment, both white oil and white glue are materials with high viscosity. White oil, white glue, or a mixture of white oil and white glue can be coated on each of the support portions 310 of the support structure 300 to form the reflective layer 400.

[0056] In this invention, by tilting the reflective surface 420 of the reflective layer 400, on the one hand, the problem that existing backlight modules cannot focus light at small angles because the reflective layer is set on a planar substrate can be improved; on the other hand, the light aligning of the backlight module can be improved, thereby reducing the overall thickness of the backlight module. In addition, the brightness of the backlight module is improved without increasing the lamp or driving capability.

[0057] Furthermore, the present invention also provides a display panel, the display panel including any of the aforementioned backlight modules.

[0058] Furthermore, the present invention also provides a display panel, comprising: a substrate; a plurality of micro-light-emitting devices located on the substrate; a support structure located on the substrate, including a plurality of support portions, at least one of the support portions surrounding a corresponding micro-light-emitting device, wherein the height of the end of the support portion near the micro-light-emitting device is less than the height of the end of the support portion away from the micro-light-emitting device; and a reflective layer including a plurality of reflective portions, at least one of the reflective portions located on a corresponding support portion, wherein the reflective portion includes a reflective surface facing the micro-light-emitting device, and the angle between the reflective surface and the horizontal plane on which the substrate is located is an acute angle.

[0059] This document uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The descriptions of the above embodiments are only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of the present invention. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope based on the ideas of the present invention. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention.

Claims

1. A backlight module, characterized in that, include: substrate; Multiple micro-light-emitting devices are located on the substrate; A support structure is located on the substrate and includes multiple support portions, at least one of the support portions surrounding a corresponding micro-light-emitting device, wherein the height of the end of the support portion closer to the micro-light-emitting device is less than the height of the end of the support portion farther from the micro-light-emitting device; A reflective layer includes multiple reflective portions, at least one of the reflective portions being located on a corresponding support portion, the reflective portion including a reflective surface facing the micro-light-emitting device, the reflective surface forming an acute angle with the horizontal plane where the substrate is located; The support portion includes a plurality of support pillars spaced apart and arranged on the substrate. The height of the support pillars closer to the micro-light-emitting device is less than the height of the support pillars farther away from the micro-light-emitting device. The height of the plurality of support pillars increases sequentially in the direction away from the micro-light-emitting device, and the height of the top of the farthest support pillar is less than the height of the light-emitting surface of the micro-light-emitting device. The material of the reflective part is adhered to the support column and fills the gap between the support columns, forming a continuous inclined surface with an inclination on the support structure. The inclined surface is the reflective surface.

2. The backlight module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The shape of the support column is one of cylinder, cone, and frustum.

3. The backlight module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The material of the supporting structure is photosensitive resin.

4. The backlight module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The material of the reflective layer is either white oil or white glue.

5. A display panel, characterized in that, Includes the backlight module as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. A display panel, characterized in that, include: substrate; Multiple micro-light-emitting devices are located on the substrate; A support structure is located on the substrate and includes multiple support portions, at least one of the support portions surrounding a corresponding micro-light-emitting device, wherein the height of the end of the support portion closer to the micro-light-emitting device is less than the height of the end of the support portion farther from the micro-light-emitting device; A reflective layer includes multiple reflective portions, at least one of the reflective portions being located on a corresponding support portion, the reflective portion including a reflective surface facing the micro-light-emitting device, the reflective surface forming an acute angle with the horizontal plane where the substrate is located; The support portion includes a plurality of support pillars spaced apart and arranged on the substrate. The height of the support pillars closer to the micro-light-emitting device is less than the height of the support pillars farther away from the micro-light-emitting device. The height of the plurality of support pillars increases sequentially in the direction away from the micro-light-emitting device, and the height of the top of the farthest support pillar is less than the height of the light-emitting surface of the micro-light-emitting device. The material of the reflective part is adhered to the support column and fills the gap between the support columns, forming a continuous inclined surface with an inclination on the support structure. The inclined surface is the reflective surface.

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