A display panel

Abstract

The present application provides a display panel, which includes at least a plurality of pixels, an encapsulation layer located above the plurality of pixels, a connecting electrode located on the encapsulation layer, and a plurality of touch electrodes located above the connecting electrode. There is a spacing area between the plurality of touch electrodes, and two adjacent touch electrodes are respectively connected to the connecting electrode through a via hole, so that the two adjacent touch electrodes are electrically connected. Among them, the touch electrode includes a first shading portion and a light-transmitting opening above the corresponding pixel, and the connecting electrode includes a second shading portion below the corresponding spacing area. Since the touch electrode and the connecting electrode serve as a shading portion together, there is no need to set up a shading layer portion to cover the periphery of the pixel, thereby reducing the thickness of the display panel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of display technology, and in particular to a display panel. Background Art

[0002] As people's demand for electronic device control continues to increase, display devices with touch functions have received more and more attention. In the prior art, OLED touch panels basically use external touch panels to achieve touch functions.

[0003] How to further reduce the thickness of OLED display panels has become a research direction for R&D personnel in the industry. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to provide a display panel, aiming to reduce the thickness of the display panel.

[0005] The present application provides a display panel, the display panel comprising at least:

[0006] Multiple pixels;

[0007] An encapsulation layer, located above the plurality of pixels;

[0008] A connecting electrode, located on the packaging layer;

[0009] A plurality of touch electrodes are located above the connecting electrodes, and a spacing area is provided between the plurality of touch electrodes, and two adjacent touch electrodes are respectively connected to the connecting electrodes through via holes;

[0010] The touch electrode includes a first light shielding portion and a light-transmitting opening, and the light-transmitting opening corresponds to the top of the pixel; the connecting electrode includes a second light shielding portion, and the second light shielding portion corresponds to the bottom of the spacing area.

[0011] In some embodiments, the touch electrode includes a first black conductive layer.

[0012] In some embodiments, the touch electrode further includes a first metal layer located on the first black conductive layer.

[0013] In some embodiments, the touch electrode further includes a first black material layer located on the first metal layer.

[0014] In some embodiments, the touch electrode comprises:

[0015] A first metal layer;

[0016] The first black material layer is located on the first metal layer.

[0017] In some embodiments, the connecting electrode includes a second black conductive layer.

[0018] In some embodiments, the connection electrode further includes a second metal layer located on a lower surface of the second black conductive layer.

[0019] In some embodiments, the connecting electrode further includes a second black material layer located on a lower surface of the second metal layer.

[0020] In some embodiments, the connecting electrode comprises:

[0021] a second black material layer;

[0022] The second metal layer is located on the second black material layer.

[0023] In some embodiments, the display panel further comprises:

[0024] The color resist layer is located in the light-transmitting opening and covers a portion of the upper surface of the touch electrode.

[0025] The beneficial effects of the present application are: providing a display panel, which at least includes a plurality of pixels, a packaging layer located above the plurality of pixels, a connecting electrode located on the packaging layer, and a plurality of touch electrodes located above the connecting electrode. There is a spacing area between the plurality of touch electrodes, and two adjacent touch electrodes are respectively connected to the connecting electrode through a via hole, so that the two adjacent touch electrodes are electrically connected. Among them, the touch electrode includes a first shading portion and a light-transmitting opening above the corresponding pixel, and the connecting electrode includes a second shading portion below the corresponding spacing area. Since the touch electrode and the connecting electrode serve as a shading portion together, there is no need to set up a shading layer portion to cover the periphery of the pixel, thereby reducing the thickness of the display panel. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The technical solution and other beneficial effects of the present application will be made apparent by describing in detail the specific implementation methods of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Figure 1 The structure of the display panel provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Figure 1 ;

[0028] Figure 2 is a perspective structural diagram of pixels and touch electrodes in a display panel provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 3 The structure of the display panel provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Figure 2 ;

[0030] Figure 4 The structure of the display panel provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Figure 3 ;

[0031] Figure 5 The structure of the display panel provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Figure 4 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0033] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present application, "plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0034] In the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or may include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" and "above" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" and "below" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0035] The disclosure below provides many different embodiments or examples to realize the different structures of the present application. In order to simplify the disclosure of the present application, the parts and settings of specific examples are described below. Of course, they are only examples, and the purpose is not to limit the present application. In addition, the present application can repeat reference numbers and / or reference letters in different examples, and this repetition is for the purpose of simplification and clarity, which itself does not indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or settings discussed. In addition, the various specific processes and material examples provided by the present application, but those of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate the application of other processes and / or the use of other materials.

[0036] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 The structure of the display panel provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Figure 1The display panel 100 may be an organic light-emitting diode display panel (Organic Light-Emitting Diode, OLED).

[0037] The display panel 100 includes a plurality of pixels 10 (only one pixel 10 is shown in the figure), an encapsulation layer 11, a connection electrode 12, and a plurality of touch electrodes 13. The encapsulation layer 11 is located above the plurality of pixels 10, and the connection electrode 12 is located on the encapsulation layer 11. The plurality of touch electrodes 13 are located above the connection electrode 12, and there is a spacing area 13a between the plurality of touch electrodes 13, which can also be said that the plurality of touch electrodes 13 are arranged at intervals. Two adjacent touch electrodes 13 are respectively connected to the connection electrode 12 through a via VIA, so that the two adjacent touch electrodes 13 are electrically connected through the connection electrode 12 below.

[0038] Each pixel 10 may include an anode, a light-emitting functional layer and a cathode stacked in sequence. The structure of the anode includes but is not limited to a stacked structure of oxidized ITO / Ag / ITO or a single-layer ITO structure. The structure of the light-emitting functional layer may include a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light-emitting layer, an electron transport layer and an electron injection layer. The material of the cathode may be one or more of Mg, Ag, and IZO. Depending on the material of the light-emitting layer, the plurality of pixels 10 may include red sub-pixels, green sub-pixels and blue sub-pixels.

[0039] In some embodiments, Figure 1 The touch electrode 13 in the figure can be a driving electrode or a sensing electrode, that is, when the touch electrode 13 is a driving electrode, two adjacent driving electrodes are connected through the lower connecting electrode 12; when the touch electrode 13 is a sensing electrode, two adjacent sensing electrodes are connected through the lower connecting electrode 12. When the touch electrode 13 is a driving electrode and is arranged along a first direction, the sensing electrode (not shown in the figure) is arranged along a second direction, and the second direction intersects with the first direction. The multiple touch electrodes 13 and the multiple sensing electrodes are insulated from each other at the intersection position to form a coupling capacitor. The driving electrode is used to receive a touch driving signal. When a finger touches, the coupling capacitor decreases, so the amount of charge (sensing signal) received by the sensing electrode changes, and the sensing signal is transmitted to the flexible circuit board through the touch lead, and the flexible circuit board detects the touched position according to the sensing signal.

[0040] The touch electrode 13 includes a first light shielding portion 131 and a light-transmitting opening 132, and the light-transmitting opening 132 corresponds to the top of the pixel 10. The connecting electrode 12 includes a second light shielding portion 120, and the second light shielding portion 120 corresponds to the bottom of the spacer 13a, and the orthographic projection of the spacer 13a on the second light shielding portion 120 is located within the range of the second light shielding portion 120. Therefore, the first light shielding portion 131 of the touch electrode 13 and the second light shielding portion 120 of the connecting electrode 12 can completely shield the area around the pixel 10, so that the light emitted by the pixel 10 is emitted from the light-transmitting opening 132, so there is no need to set up a black light shielding layer, thereby reducing the film layer structure and reducing the manufacturing cost.

[0041] In some embodiments, the touch electrode 13 may be a first black conductive layer, such as a conductive black metal oxide. The connecting electrode 12 may be a second black conductive layer, such as a conductive black metal oxide. The conductive structure A in the via VIA may also be made of the same material as the first black conductive layer and the second black conductive layer.

[0042] The touch electrode 13 and the connecting electrode 12 can be called a touch structure. The touch structure in the display panel 100 can be applied not only to organic light-emitting diode displays (OLED), but also to various displays, such as liquid crystal displays (LCD) and micro-light-emitting diode displays (Micro-LED).

[0043] In some embodiments, the display panel 100 may further include a substrate 14, an array driving circuit layer 15 and a pixel definition layer 16 located on the substrate 14. The pixel definition layer 16 and a plurality of pixels 10 are located on the array driving circuit layer 15, the pixel definition layer 16 has a light emitting region opening 161, and the pixels 10 are located in the light emitting region opening 161 of the pixel definition layer 16. The substrate 14 may include one or a combination of a glass substrate and a flexible substrate, the array driving circuit layer 15 may include a thin film transistor, and the material of the pixel definition layer 16 may be an organic material.

[0044] The display panel 100 may further include a planar layer 17 covering the pixel definition layer 16 and the plurality of pixels 10. The encapsulation layer 11 is located on the planar layer 17. The planar layer 17 may be made of an organic material, and the encapsulation layer 11 may be made of an inorganic material such as silicon nitride.

[0045] The display panel 100 may further include a first insulating layer 171 (eg, silicon nitride) covering the connecting electrode 12 . A via VIA is formed in the first insulating layer 171 . The via VIA is filled with a conductive structure A to connect the touch electrode 13 with the connecting electrode 12 .

[0046] In some embodiments, the display panel 100 may further include a color resist layer 18 in the light-transmitting opening 132 , the color resist layer 18 corresponds one-to-one to the pixel 10 , and may also cover a portion of the upper surface of the touch electrode 13 , so that the color resist layer 18 can completely cover the light-emitting surface of the pixel 10 .

[0047] The display panel 100 may further include a second insulating layer 172 covering the touch electrode 13 and the color resist layer 18 .

[0048] The present embodiment also provides a method for manufacturing a display panel. Taking the manufacturing of the display panel 100 as an example, the manufacturing method of the display panel includes: 1) providing a substrate 14, and sequentially forming an array driving circuit layer 15, a pixel definition layer 16, pixels 10, a flat layer 17 and a packaging layer 11 on the substrate 14, wherein the pixel definition layer 16 has a light-emitting area opening 161, and the pixel 10 is located in the light-emitting area opening 161 of the pixel definition layer 16, and the flat layer 17 covers the pixel definition layer 16 and the plurality of pixels 10; 2) forming a connecting electrode 12 on the packaging layer 11; 3) forming a covering A first insulating layer 171 is provided to cover the connecting electrode 12, and a via hole VIA is formed in the first insulating layer 171; 4) a conductive structure A is formed in the via hole VIA; 5) a plurality of touch electrodes 13 are formed on the first insulating layer 171, each touch electrode 13 includes a first light shielding portion 131 and a light-transmitting opening 132 above the corresponding pixel 10, and a spacing area 13a above the corresponding connecting electrode 12 is provided between the plurality of touch electrodes 13; 6) a color resist layer 18 is formed in the light-transmitting opening 132; 7) a second insulating layer 172 is formed to cover the touch electrode 13 and the color resist layer 18.

[0049] See also Figure 2 , Figure 2 It is a perspective structural diagram of pixels and touch electrodes in a display panel provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0050] In this embodiment, the larger four-pointed star shape represents the blue sub-pixel, the smaller four-pointed star shape represents the red sub-pixel, and the ellipse represents the green sub-pixel. The touch electrodes 13 are arranged around the pixel 10, and the multiple touch electrodes 13 are connected to each other through the connecting electrodes 12 to form a mesh structure.

[0051] In some embodiments, see Figure 3 , Figure 3 The structure of the display panel provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Figure 2For ease of understanding and brief description, the same reference numerals are used for the same structures in this embodiment as in the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0052] The display panel 200 and Figure 1 The difference between the display panel 100 and the display panel 100 is that the color resist layer 18 is not included, but a polarizer 20 is included on the second insulating layer 172. The same structures as those in the above embodiments are not described in detail.

[0053] See also Figure 4 , Figure 4 The structure of the display panel provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Figure 3 For ease of understanding and brief description, the same reference numerals are used for the same structures in this embodiment as in the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0054] In the display panel 300 , a plurality of touch electrodes 33 have spacers 33 a between them. Each touch electrode 33 includes a first light shielding portion 331 and a light-transmitting opening 332 corresponding to the pixel 10 .

[0055] In this embodiment, the touch electrode 33 includes a first black conductive layer 333 and a first metal layer 334 located on the first black conductive layer 333, and the material of the first metal layer 334 may include aluminum, copper or silver. The connecting electrode 32 may include a second black conductive layer 321 and a second metal layer 322 located on the lower surface of the second black conductive layer 321. The first black conductive layer 333, the second black conductive layer 321 and the conductive structure A in the via VIA may be made of the same material, for example, they may all be black metal oxides. The second metal layer 322 and the first metal layer 334 may be made of the same material.

[0056] In this embodiment, the first black conductive layer 333 not only serves as a part of the touch electrode 33 but also serves as a shielding part of the first shielding portion 331 , and the second black conductive layer 321 not only serves as a part of the connecting electrode 32 but also serves as a second shielding portion 320 .

[0057] In some embodiments, the first black conductive layer 333 may be exchanged with the first metal layer 334, that is, the first black conductive layer 333 may be located on the first metal layer 334. The first black conductive layer 333 may also be replaced by other black material layers (eg, the first black material layer).

[0058] The second black conductive layer 321 can be exchanged with the second metal layer 322, that is, the second black conductive layer 321 can be located on the lower surface of the second metal layer 322. The second black conductive layer 321 can also be replaced by other black material layers (such as the second black material layer). The conductive structure A can be made of the same material as the first metal layer 334 and the second metal layer 322.

[0059] See also Figure 5 , Figure 5 The structure of the display panel provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Figure 4 For ease of understanding and brief description, the same reference numerals are used for the same structures in this embodiment as in the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0060] In the display panel 400 , a plurality of touch electrodes 43 have spacers 43 a between them. Each touch electrode 43 includes a first light shielding portion 431 and a light-transmitting opening 432 corresponding to the pixel 10 .

[0061] In this embodiment, the touch electrode 43 includes a first black conductive layer 433, a first metal layer 434 and a first black material layer 435. The first metal layer 434 is located on the first black conductive layer 433, and the first black material layer 435 is located on the first metal layer 434. The first black material layer 435 can be conductive or non-conductive. Both the first black conductive layer 433 and the first black material layer 435 can serve as the light shielding portion of the first light shielding portion 431.

[0062] The connecting electrode 42 includes a second black conductive layer 421, a second metal layer 422, and a second black material layer 423. The second metal layer 422 is located on the lower surface of the second black conductive layer 421, and the second black material layer 423 is located on the lower surface of the second metal layer 422. The second black material layer 423 can be conductive or non-conductive. Both the second black conductive layer 421 and the second black material layer 423 can serve as a second light shielding portion 420. The second black material layer 423 can also absorb stray light released by the pixel 10 to alleviate color separation, and can improve the signal-to-noise ratio of fingerprint recognition when using in-screen fingerprint recognition.

[0063] The material of the conductive structure A may be the same as that of the first black conductive layer 433 and the second black conductive layer 421 .

[0064] It is understandable that the composition structure of the touch electrodes and the composition structure of the connection electrodes can be combined arbitrarily and are not limited to the embodiments provided in this application.

[0065] The display panel provided in the embodiment of the present application comprises at least a plurality of pixels 10, an encapsulation layer 11 located above the plurality of pixels 10, a connecting electrode located on the encapsulation layer 11, and a plurality of touch electrodes located above the connecting electrode. There is a spacing area between the plurality of touch electrodes, and two adjacent touch electrodes are respectively connected to the connecting electrode through a via VIA, so that the two adjacent touch electrodes are electrically connected. Among them, the touch electrode comprises a first shading portion and a light-transmitting opening above the corresponding pixel 10, and the connecting electrode comprises a second shading portion below the corresponding spacing area. Since the touch electrode and the connecting electrode serve together as a shading portion, there is no need to separately set a shading layer portion to cover around the pixel 10, thereby reducing the thickness of the display panel.

[0066] The embodiment of the present application further provides a display device, comprising the display panel in any of the above embodiments. The display device has the same beneficial effects as the display panel in any of the above embodiments, which will not be described in detail here.

[0067] The description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the technical solutions and core ideas of the present application. Ordinary technical personnel in this field should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A display panel, characterized in that: The display panel at least comprises: Multiple pixels; An encapsulation layer, located above the plurality of pixels; A connecting electrode, located on the packaging layer; A plurality of touch electrodes are located above the connecting electrodes, and a spacing area is provided between the plurality of touch electrodes, and two adjacent touch electrodes are respectively connected to the connecting electrodes through via holes; The touch electrodes include a first light shielding portion and a light-transmitting opening, and the light-transmitting opening corresponds to the top of the pixel; the connecting electrode includes a second light shielding portion, and the second light shielding portion corresponds to the bottom of the spacing area.

2. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The touch electrode includes a first black conductive layer.

3. The display panel according to claim 2, characterized in that: The touch electrode further includes a first metal layer located on the first black conductive layer.

4. The display panel according to claim 3, characterized in that: The touch electrode further includes a first black material layer located on the first metal layer.

5. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The touch electrode comprises: A first metal layer; The first black material layer is located on the first metal layer.

6. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connection electrode includes a second black conductive layer.

7. The display panel according to claim 6, characterized in that: The connecting electrode further includes a second metal layer located on the lower surface of the second black conductive layer.

8. The display panel according to claim 7, characterized in that: The connecting electrode further includes a second black material layer located on the lower surface of the second metal layer.

9. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting electrode comprises: a second black material layer; The second metal layer is located on the second black material layer.

10. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The display panel further includes: The color resist layer is located in the light-transmitting opening and covers a portion of the upper surface of the touch electrode.

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