Display panel, preparation method of display panel and display device

Abstract

The invention relates to a display panel, a preparation method of the display panel and a display device. The display panel includes: a substrate; the light-emitting unit is arranged on one side of the substrate; the first packaging layer is arranged on the side, away from the substrate, of the light emitting unit, and a via hole is formed in the first packaging layer; the conductive layer is arranged on the side, away from the substrate, of the first packaging layer, and the conductive layer is electrically connected with the light-emitting unit through a via hole; the protective layer is arranged on the side, away from the substrate, of the conductive layer, and the orthographic projection of the protective layer on the substrate and the orthographic projection of the conductive layer on the substrate at least partially coincide. Therefore, according to the display panel, the preparation method of the display panel and the display device provided by the invention, the phenomenon of failure of the light-emitting functional part can be relieved.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panels are widely used due to their advantages such as thinness, active light emission, fast response speed, wide viewing angle, rich colors, high brightness, low power consumption, high and low temperature resistance, etc. However, the light emitting materials of the above display panels are prone to failure. Summary of the invention

[0003] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a display panel, a method for preparing the display panel, and a display device that can alleviate the failure of the light-emitting unit.

[0004] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a display panel comprising:

[0005] substrate;

[0006] A light emitting unit, the light emitting unit is arranged on one side of the substrate;

[0007] A first encapsulation layer, the first encapsulation layer is arranged on a side of the light-emitting unit away from the substrate, and a via is arranged in the first encapsulation layer;

[0008] A conductive layer, the conductive layer is arranged on a side of the first packaging layer away from the substrate, and the conductive layer is electrically connected to the light-emitting unit through a via hole;

[0009] The protective layer is arranged on a side of the conductive layer facing away from the substrate, and the orthographic projection of the protective layer on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the conductive layer on the substrate.

[0010] The display panel provided in the embodiment of the present application has a protective layer disposed on the side of the conductive layer facing away from the substrate, and the orthographic projection of the protective layer on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the conductive layer on the substrate. The protective layer can prevent water and oxygen from passing through the conductive layer and invading the light-emitting unit, thereby alleviating the phenomenon of light-emitting unit failure.

[0011] In one embodiment, the thickness of the protective layer ranges from 50 nm to 500 nm;

[0012] Preferably, the material of the protective layer includes an insulating material;

[0013] Preferably, the material of the protective layer includes an inorganic insulating material;

[0014] Preferably, the material of the protection layer includes at least one of silicon oxide, silicon nitride and silicon oxynitride.

[0015] In one embodiment, the display panel includes a non-luminous area and a plurality of luminous areas, and each luminous area is surrounded by a non-luminous area;

[0016] The conductive layer and the protective layer are both located in the non-luminous area;

[0017] Preferably, the via hole is located in the non-luminous area;

[0018] Preferably, the orthographic projection of the first encapsulation layer and the via hole on the substrate covers the display area of ​​the display panel;

[0019] Preferably, the first encapsulation layer is an integrated structure;

[0020] Preferably, the material of the conductive layer includes a metal material;

[0021] Preferably, the conductive layer includes a plurality of first sub-portions, the plurality of first sub-portions are arranged at intervals along the first direction, and all extend along the second direction, the protective layer includes a plurality of second sub-portions, the plurality of second sub-portions are arranged at intervals along the first direction, and all extend along the second direction, the plurality of first sub-portions are arranged correspondingly to the plurality of second sub-portions, the orthographic projection of the first sub-portion on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the corresponding second sub-portion on the substrate, the first direction and the second direction intersect, and both are perpendicular to the thickness direction of the substrate;

[0022] Preferably, the distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the first sub-section on the substrate and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the corresponding second sub-section on the substrate is less than or equal to 1 μm;

[0023] Preferably, the conductive layer includes a plurality of third sub-portions, the plurality of third sub-portions are arranged at intervals along the second direction, and all extend along the first direction, and the third sub-portions intersect with the first sub-portions; the protective layer includes a plurality of fourth sub-portions, the plurality of fourth sub-portions are arranged at intervals along the second direction, and all extend along the first direction, and the fourth sub-portions intersect with the second sub-portions, the plurality of third sub-portions are arranged correspondingly to the plurality of fourth sub-portions, and the orthographic projection of the third sub-portions on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the corresponding fourth sub-portions on the substrate;

[0024] Preferably, the distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the third sub-section on the substrate and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the corresponding fourth sub-section on the substrate is less than or equal to 1 μm;

[0025] Preferably, the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular.

[0026] In one of the embodiments, along a direction away from the substrate, the light-emitting unit includes a first electrode, a light-emitting functional component, and a second electrode arranged in sequence, and the conductive layer is electrically connected to the second electrode through a via hole;

[0027] Preferably, the display panel includes a pixel defining layer, which is disposed between the substrate and the first encapsulation layer, the pixel defining layer defines a plurality of pixel openings, the pixel openings are disposed corresponding to the light emitting units, and the light emitting units are at least partially located in the corresponding pixel openings;

[0028] Preferably, the display panel comprises a second encapsulation layer, and the second encapsulation layer is located on a side of the protective layer and the first encapsulation layer away from the substrate;

[0029] Preferably, the second encapsulation layer is continuously arranged over the entire surface;

[0030] Preferably, along the direction away from the substrate, the second encapsulation layer includes a first sub-encapsulation layer, a second sub-encapsulation layer and a third sub-encapsulation layer which are arranged in sequence;

[0031] Preferably, the material of at least one of the first sub-encapsulation layer and the third sub-encapsulation layer comprises an inorganic insulating material;

[0032] Preferably, the first sub-encapsulation layer is an integrated structure;

[0033] Preferably, the second sub-encapsulation layer is an integrated structure;

[0034] Preferably, the third sub-encapsulation layer is an integrated structure;

[0035] Preferably, the material of the second sub-encapsulation layer includes an organic insulating material;

[0036] Preferably, the orthographic projection of the protective layer on the substrate coincides with the orthographic projection of the conductive layer on the substrate.

[0037] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for preparing a display panel, comprising:

[0038] forming a light emitting unit on one side of the substrate;

[0039] A first encapsulation layer is formed on a side of the light-emitting unit facing away from the substrate; a via hole is provided in the first encapsulation layer;

[0040] A conductive layer and a protective layer are formed on the side of the first packaging layer away from the substrate; the conductive layer is located between the protective layer and the first packaging layer, the conductive layer is electrically connected to the light-emitting unit through a via, and the orthographic projection of the protective layer on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the conductive layer on the substrate.

[0041] In the method for preparing a display panel provided in an embodiment of the present application, a protective layer is arranged on the side of the conductive layer facing away from the substrate, and the orthographic projection of the protective layer on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the conductive layer on the substrate. The protective layer can prevent water and oxygen from passing through the conductive layer and invading the light-emitting unit, thereby alleviating the phenomenon of light-emitting unit failure.

[0042] In one embodiment, a first encapsulation layer is formed on a side of the light emitting unit facing away from the substrate, comprising:

[0043] forming a first packaging material layer on a side of the light emitting unit facing away from the substrate;

[0044] In an oxygen-free environment, patterning the first packaging material layer to form vias in the first packaging material layer, and the remaining first packaging material layer forms a first packaging layer;

[0045] Preferably, patterning the first packaging material layer includes: patterning the first packaging material layer by dry etching.

[0046] In one embodiment, forming a conductive layer and a protective layer on a side of the first packaging layer facing away from the substrate includes:

[0047] forming a conductive material layer on a side of the first packaging layer facing away from the substrate;

[0048] A protective material layer is formed on a side of the conductive material layer away from the substrate; the protective material layer includes a first protective portion and a second protective portion arranged in a thickness direction perpendicular to the substrate, the first protective portion and the second protective portion are connected, and the thickness of the first protective portion is greater than the thickness of the second protective portion;

[0049] Using the first protection portion as a mask, patterning the conductive material layer and the protective material layer to remove the second protection portion and the conductive material layer corresponding to the second protection portion, and thinning the first protection portion, so that the thinned first protection portion forms a protective layer, and the conductive material layer corresponding to the protective layer forms a conductive layer;

[0050] Preferably, the conductive material layer covered by the protective layer forms a conductive layer;

[0051] Preferably, patterning the conductive material layer and the protective material layer comprises: patterning the conductive material layer and the protective material layer by dry etching;

[0052] Preferably, the ratio of the thickness of the second protection portion to the thickness of the first protection portion is in the range of 0.3-0.7;

[0053] Preferably, the thickness of the first protection portion ranges from 0.5 μm to 2 μm;

[0054] Preferably, the thickness of the second protection portion is in the range of 0.15 μm to 1.4 μm.

[0055] In one embodiment, forming a protective material layer on a side of the conductive material layer facing away from the substrate comprises:

[0056] forming an initial protective material layer on a side of the conductive material layer facing away from the substrate;

[0057] A photoresist layer is formed on a side of the initial protective material layer facing away from the substrate; the photoresist layer is arranged corresponding to the conductive layer;

[0058] Using the photoresist layer as a mask, patterning the initial protection material layer to thin the initial protection material layer not covered by the photoresist layer, so that the thinned initial protection material layer forms a second protection portion, and the initial protection material layer covered by the photoresist layer forms a first protection portion;

[0059] removing the photoresist layer;

[0060] Preferably, patterning the initial protective material layer comprises: patterning the initial protective material layer by dry etching;

[0061] Preferably, the thickness of the initial protective material layer is in the range of 0.5 μm to 2 μm;

[0062] Preferably, wet etching is used to remove the photoresist layer.

[0063] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for preparing a display panel, comprising:

[0064] forming a light emitting unit on one side of the substrate;

[0065] A first encapsulation layer is formed on a side of the light-emitting unit facing away from the substrate; a via hole is provided in the first encapsulation layer;

[0066] forming a conductive material layer on a side of the first packaging layer facing away from the substrate;

[0067] A protective material layer is formed on a side of the conductive material layer away from the substrate; the protective material layer includes a first protective portion and a second protective portion arranged in a direction parallel to the substrate, and the thickness of the first protective portion is greater than the thickness of the second protective portion;

[0068] Using the first protection portion as a mask, patterning the conductive material layer and the protective material layer to remove the second protection portion and the conductive material layer corresponding to the second protection portion, and the remaining conductive material layer corresponding to the first protection portion forms a conductive layer;

[0069] Preferably, the process of patterning the conductive material layer and the protective material layer further includes: removing the first protective portion.

[0070] The method for preparing a display panel provided in an embodiment of the present application forms a protective material layer on a side of a conductive material layer away from a substrate; the protective material layer includes a first protective portion and a second protective portion arranged along an extension direction of the substrate, and the thickness of the first protective portion is greater than the thickness of the second protective portion; the conductive material layer and the protective material layer are patterned using the first protective portion as a mask to remove the second protective portion and the conductive material layer corresponding to the second protective portion, and the conductive material layer corresponding to the first protective portion is retained to form a conductive layer, and there is no need to use a photoresist layer as a mask in the patterning process, thereby avoiding wet etching to remove the photoresist layer and causing water and oxygen to invade the light-emitting unit, thereby alleviating the phenomenon of light-emitting unit failure.

[0071] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a display device, comprising the display panel of the first aspect, and a display panel prepared by the method for preparing a display panel of the second aspect or the third aspect.

[0072] The display device provided in the embodiment of the present application includes a display panel, in which a protective layer is arranged on the side of the conductive layer facing away from the substrate, and the orthographic projection of the protective layer on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the conductive layer on the substrate. The protective layer can prevent water and oxygen from passing through the conductive layer and invading the light-emitting unit, thereby alleviating the phenomenon of failure of the light-emitting unit. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0073] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments or exemplary embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or exemplary embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0074] Figure 1a A cross-sectional view of a display panel provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0075] Figure 1b A top view of the conductive layer and the protective layer provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0076] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure after providing a substrate according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0077] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure after forming the light-emitting unit provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0078] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure after the first encapsulation layer is formed according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0079] Figure 5A schematic diagram of the structure after forming a conductive material layer and an initial protective material layer provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0080] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure after forming a photoresist layer provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0081] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure after forming a protective material layer provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0082] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure for removing the photoresist layer provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0083] Fig. 9 This is a schematic structural diagram of the first implementation mode after patterning the protective material layer and the conductive material layer provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0084] Fig.10 A schematic structural diagram of a second implementation mode after patterning the protective material layer and the conductive material layer provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0085] Fig.11 A schematic flow chart of a method for preparing a display panel provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0086] Fig.12 Another schematic diagram of the process of the method for preparing a display panel provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0087] Description of reference numerals:

[0088] 100, display panel; 100a, light-emitting area; 100b, non-light-emitting area; 110, substrate; 120, pixel defining layer; 121, pixel opening; 130, light-emitting unit; 131, first electrode; 132, second electrode; 133, light-emitting functional part; 150, protective layer; 150a, protective material layer; 1501a, first protective part; 1502a, second protective part; 150b, initial protective material layer; 152, second sub-part; 154, fourth sub-part; 160, conductive layer; 160a, conductive material layer; 161, first sub-part; 163, third sub-part; 171, first encapsulation layer; 1711, via; 172, second encapsulation layer; 1721, first sub-encapsulation layer; 1722, second sub-encapsulation layer; 1723, third sub-encapsulation layer; 180, photoresist layer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0089] In order to facilitate the understanding of the present application, the present application will be described more fully below with reference to the relevant drawings. The preferred embodiments of the present application are provided in the drawings. However, the present application can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the understanding of the disclosure of the present application more thorough and comprehensive.

[0090] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, they do not represent any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the present application, the first element may be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element may be referred to as the first element. "Including" or "comprising" and similar words mean that the elements or objects appearing before the word cover the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects.

[0091] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this application belongs. The terms used herein in the specification of this application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application. The term "and / or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0092] In the related technology, organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panels are widely used due to their many advantages such as light weight, active light emission, fast response speed, wide viewing angle, rich colors and high brightness, low power consumption, and resistance to high and low temperatures.

[0093] In the first related example, the display panel may include a substrate and a partition structure and a plurality of light-emitting units arranged on the substrate, the partition structure defines a plurality of partition openings, the light-emitting units are arranged corresponding to the partition openings, and at least part of the light-emitting units are arranged in the corresponding partition openings. Due to the existence of the partition structure, the light-emitting material layer and the cathode can be isolated when preparing the light-emitting unit, thereby eliminating the fine metal mask plate to save the preparation cost of the display panel. In order to introduce a low-level signal to the cathode, it is necessary to set the material of the partition structure to a conductive material, and utilize the difference in the evaporation angle between the cathode and the light-emitting material layer to avoid the cathode from the light-emitting material layer to be electrically connected to the conductive partition structure, thereby providing a low-level signal to the cathode through the partition structure. Among them, the partition structure includes an isolation part and a blocking part, the blocking part is located on the side of the isolation part away from the substrate, and the positive projection of the isolation part on the substrate is located within the positive projection of the blocking part on the substrate, so that the partition structure is large at the top and small at the bottom. However, the preparation process of the partition structure is relatively complicated, and the conductivity reliability of the partition structure is poor, and the gap under the blocking part will have an adverse effect on the film layer formed subsequently.

[0094] In the related example 2, after the cathode is prepared, an insulating layer is formed on the side of the cathode away from the substrate, and then a cathode auxiliary electrode is formed on the side of the insulating layer away from the substrate, and a contact hole is provided in the insulating layer, and the cathode auxiliary electrode is electrically connected to the cathode through the contact hole, so that a low-level signal is provided to the cathode through the cathode auxiliary electrode. In this way, the partition structure can be eliminated, thereby avoiding the technical problem in the related example 1.

[0095] However, the inventors discovered during actual work that in the wet process after patterning the cathode auxiliary electrode, for example, the photoresist layer on the cathode auxiliary electrode is removed by a wet process, so that the cathode auxiliary electrode is exposed to the water and oxygen environment in the wet process. The water and oxygen may invade the light-emitting material layer of the light-emitting unit under the conductive layer through the gap between the cathode auxiliary electrode and the contact hole or directly from the cathode auxiliary electrode, thereby causing the light-emitting material layer to fail.

[0096] In view of this, the embodiments of the present application provide a display panel, a method for preparing a display panel, and a display device, wherein a protective layer is disposed on a side of the conductive layer away from the substrate, and the orthographic projection of the protective layer on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the conductive layer on the substrate, and the protective layer can prevent water and oxygen from passing through the conductive layer and invading the light-emitting unit, thereby alleviating the phenomenon of failure of the light-emitting unit. For example, the protective layer can be formed by patterning the protective material layer, and the conductive layer can be formed by patterning the conductive material layer, and the protective material layer can alleviate the phenomenon of water and oxygen passing through the gap between the conductive layer and the via hole, or water and oxygen directly passing through the conductive layer and corroding the light-emitting functional parts of the light-emitting unit in the wet process, thereby alleviating the phenomenon of failure of the light-emitting functional parts of the light-emitting unit. In addition, the protective layer can also play a packaging role, thereby improving the packaging effect, and further better alleviating the phenomenon of failure of the light-emitting functional parts of the light-emitting unit.

[0097] The following will be combined Figure 1a-Figure 12 The display panel 100 and the display device provided in the embodiments of the present application are described.

[0098] The embodiment of the present application provides a display device, which includes a display panel 100. The display device can be an electronic paper, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a television, a display, a laptop computer, a digital photo frame, a smart bracelet, a smart watch, a super personal computer, a navigator, a wireless device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld or portable computer, a GPS receiver / navigator, a camera, an MP4 video player, a camera, a game console, a clock, a calculator, a TV monitor, a computer monitor, a car display (e.g., an odometer display, etc.), a cockpit controller and / or display, a display of a camera view (e.g., a display of a rear-view camera in a vehicle), an electronic billboard or sign, a projector, and other mobile or fixed terminals.

[0099] Exemplarily, the display panel 100 may be an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel.

[0100] The display panel 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application is described below.

[0101] See also Figure 1a An embodiment of the present application provides a display panel 100 , which may include a substrate 110 , and the substrate 110 may provide support for other film layers that are subsequently arranged.

[0102] In some embodiments, see Figure 1a , the display panel 100 may include a light emitting unit 130, and the light emitting unit 130 is disposed on one side of the substrate 110. The display panel 100 may include a first encapsulation layer 171, a conductive layer 160, and a protective layer 150. The first encapsulation layer 171 is disposed on the side of the light emitting unit 130 away from the substrate 110, and a via 1711 may be disposed in the first encapsulation layer 171. Part of the conductive layer 160 may be disposed on the side of the first encapsulation layer 171 away from the substrate 110, and part of the conductive layer 160 may also extend into the via 1711, and the conductive layer 160 and the light emitting unit 130 may be electrically connected through the via 1711. The protective layer 150 is disposed on the side of the conductive layer 160 away from the substrate 110, and the orthographic projection of the protective layer 150 on the substrate 110 at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the conductive layer 160 on the substrate 110. In this way, the protective layer 150 can isolate water and oxygen to prevent water and oxygen from penetrating the conductive layer 160 and invading the light-emitting unit 130, thereby alleviating the failure of the light-emitting unit 130. For example, the protective layer 150 can be composed of a protective material layer 150a ( Figure 7 ) is patterned, the conductive layer 160 may be formed by a conductive material layer 160a ( Figure 7) is patterned, the protective material layer 150a can alleviate the phenomenon that water and oxygen pass through the gap between the conductive layer 160 and the via 1711, or water and oxygen directly pass through the conductive layer 160 to corrode the light-emitting functional component 133 during the wet process, thereby alleviating the failure of the light-emitting functional component 133. In addition, the protective layer 150 can also play a packaging role, thereby improving the packaging effect, and further better alleviating the failure of the light-emitting functional component 133.

[0103] Exemplarily, the via hole 1711 is located in the non-light-emitting area 100 b , which helps prevent the via hole 1711 from affecting the light emission of the light-emitting unit 130 , and helps improve the aperture ratio of the display panel 100 .

[0104] Exemplarily, the orthographic projections of the first encapsulation layer 171 and the via hole 1711 on the substrate 110 cover the display area of ​​the display panel. Alternatively, the orthographic projections of the first encapsulation layer 171 and the via hole 1711 on the substrate 110 cover the display area and at least part of the non-display area of ​​the display panel.

[0105] Exemplarily, the first encapsulation layer 171 is an integrated structure, so that the preparation of the first encapsulation layer 171 is relatively simple, which is beneficial to improving the encapsulation effect of the first encapsulation layer 171 .

[0106] Exemplarily, the orthographic projection of the protection layer 150 on the substrate 110 coincides with the orthographic projection of the conductive layer 160 on the substrate 110 .

[0107] Exemplarily, the conductive layer 160 can be electrically connected to the second electrode 132 of the light emitting unit 130 through the via 1711, and the conductive layer 160 can be connected in parallel with the second electrode 132, thereby facilitating the reduction of the resistance of the second electrode 132 and the voltage drop of the second electrode 132, thereby improving the display effect of the display panel 100. In addition, the conductive layer 160 can be used to transmit a power signal to the second electrode 132 of the light emitting unit 130.

[0108] In some embodiments, the display panel 100 may include a display area and a non-display area, the display area may be used to display a picture, and the non-display area may be arranged adjacent to the display area. The non-display area may be located on at least one side of the display area. For example, the non-display area may be arranged around the periphery of the display area, and the non-display area may form a "black border" surrounding the periphery of the display area.

[0109] For example, see Figure 1a The display area may include a light-emitting area 100a and a non-light-emitting area 100b. There may be multiple light-emitting areas 100a, and each light-emitting area 100a is surrounded by a non-light-emitting area 100b. It should be noted that the light-emitting area 100a may emit light, and the non-light-emitting area 100b may not emit light, or the non-light-emitting area 100b may also emit light.

[0110] The following is a description of the conductive layer 160 and the protective layer 150 provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0111] In some embodiments, the conductive layer 160 and the protective layer 150 may both be located in the non-light-emitting area 100 b , thereby preventing the conductive layer 160 and the protective layer 150 from affecting the light emission of the light-emitting unit 130 .

[0112] For example, the thickness of the protective layer 150 may be in the range of 50 nm to 500 nm, so as to avoid the protective layer 150 being too thin, thereby making it difficult for the protective layer 150 to be formed on the protective material layer 150a ( Figure 7 ) is completely removed by over-etching during the patterning process, thereby alleviating the damage to the conductive layer 160 caused by over-etching, and also preventing the thickness of the protective layer 150 from being too large, thereby facilitating the thinning of the display panel 100. For example, the thickness of the protective layer 150 may be 50nm, 100nm, 200nm, 300nm, 400nm, 500nm, or any value between 50nm and 500nm.

[0113] Exemplarily, the material of the protective layer 150 may include an insulating material, for example, the material of the protective layer 150 may include an inorganic insulating material or an organic insulating material. In the embodiment where the protective layer 150 is an inorganic insulating material, the inorganic insulating material protective layer 150 has a better barrier effect on water vapor and oxygen, thereby providing better protection.

[0114] Exemplarily, the material of the protection layer 150 may include at least one of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and silicon oxynitride.

[0115] Exemplarily, the material of the conductive layer 160 may include a metal material, for example, at least one of titanium, silver, copper, aluminum, molybdenum, etc., which is beneficial to reduce the resistance of the conductive layer 160 and reduce the voltage drop between the conductive layer 160 and the second electrode 132.

[0116] Exemplarily, the material of the conductive layer 160 may include conductive oxides, such as any one or more of indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), aluminum zinc oxide (AZO), zinc gallium oxide, titanium tantalum oxide, tin oxide, cadmium oxide, and indium oxide.

[0117] For example, see Figure 1a and Figure 1b, the display panel 100 may have a first direction X, a second direction Y and a third direction Z, and the first direction X, the second direction Y and the third direction Z are all different. The first direction X and the second direction Y may be any two different directions parallel to the display panel 100, and the third direction Z may be any direction intersecting with a plane parallel to the display panel 100. For example, the first direction X, the second direction Y and the third direction Z may be perpendicular to each other. Exemplarily, the first direction X may be the width direction of the display panel 100, the second direction Y may be the length direction of the display panel 100, and the third direction Z may be the thickness direction of the display panel 100. The length, width and thickness in the embodiments of the present application are merely for the convenience of description and do not imply any limitation on the size. For example, the width may be greater than, equal to or less than the length. The direction of the display panel 100 may be consistent with the direction of the film layer such as the substrate 110.

[0118] See also Figure 1b In some embodiments, the conductive layer 160 includes a plurality of first sub-portions 161, which are arranged at intervals along the first direction X, and the plurality of first sub-portions 161 extend along the second direction Y. The protective layer 150 includes a plurality of second sub-portions 152, which are arranged at intervals along the first direction X, and the plurality of second sub-portions 152 extend along the second direction Y. The plurality of first sub-portions 161 are arranged correspondingly to the plurality of second sub-portions 152, and the orthographic projection of the first sub-portion 161 on the substrate 110 is at least partially overlapped with the orthographic projection of the corresponding second sub-portion 152 on the substrate 110. In this way, the second sub-portion 152 can be prevented from passing through the first sub-portion 161 and invading the light-emitting unit 130, thereby alleviating the phenomenon of failure of the light-emitting unit 130.

[0119] See also Figure 1b In some embodiments, the conductive layer 160 includes a plurality of third sub-portions 163, the plurality of third sub-portions 163 are arranged at intervals along the second direction Y, and the plurality of third sub-portions 163 extend along the first direction X. The protective layer 150 includes a plurality of fourth sub-portions 154, the plurality of fourth sub-portions 154 are arranged at intervals along the second direction Y, and the plurality of fourth sub-portions 154 extend along the first direction X. The plurality of third sub-portions 163 are arranged correspondingly to the plurality of fourth sub-portions 154, and the orthographic projection of the third sub-portion 163 on the substrate 110 is at least partially overlapped with the orthographic projection of the corresponding fourth sub-portion 154 on the substrate 110. The fourth sub-portion 154 can prevent the light emitting unit 130 from being invaded through the third sub-portion 163, thereby alleviating the failure of the light emitting unit 130.

[0120] The conductive layer 160 may be provided with at least one of the first sub-portion 161 and the third sub-portion 163. When only the first sub-portion 161 or the third sub-portion 163 is provided, it is beneficial to reduce the influence of the conductive layer 160 on the transmittance of the display panel 100, thereby facilitating the lighting of the under-screen device (for example, a fingerprint recognition device). When both the first sub-portion 161 and the third sub-portion 163 are provided, it is beneficial to further reduce the resistance of the second electrode 132.

[0121] The embodiment of the present application is described by taking the conductive layer 160 as an example in which the first sub-portion 161 and the third sub-portion 163 are provided at the same time. The third sub-portion 163 intersects with the first sub-portion 161 to form a grid-shaped conductive layer 160. In addition, the protective layer 150 may be provided with at least one of the second sub-portion 152 and the fourth sub-portion 154. The embodiment of the present application is described by taking the protective layer as an example in which the second sub-portion 152 and the fourth sub-portion 154 are provided at the same time. The second sub-portion 152 and the fourth sub-portion 154 intersect to form a grid-shaped protective layer 150.

[0122] Exemplarily, the distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the first sub-section 161 on the substrate 110 and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the corresponding second sub-section 152 on the substrate 110 is less than or equal to 1 μm, so that the second sub-section 152 can better cover the corresponding first sub-section 161, which is beneficial to the water-oxygen isolation effect of the second sub-section 152, thereby better alleviating the failure phenomenon of the light-emitting unit 130.

[0123] Exemplarily, the distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the third sub-section 163 on the substrate 110 and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the corresponding fourth sub-section 154 on the substrate 110 is less than or equal to 1 μm, so that the fourth sub-section 154 can better cover the corresponding third sub-section 163, which is beneficial to the water-oxygen isolation effect of the fourth sub-section 154, thereby better alleviating the failure phenomenon of the light-emitting unit 130.

[0124] The following is a description of the light emitting unit 130 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0125] In some embodiments, there may be a plurality of light emitting units 130 , for example, the plurality of light emitting units 130 may be arranged in an array.

[0126] See also Figure 1a The light emitting unit 130 may include a first electrode 131 , a light emitting functional component 133 , and a second electrode 132 sequentially arranged in a direction away from the substrate 110 . The first electrode 131 may be located on a side of the light emitting functional component 133 facing the substrate 110 .

[0127] In one example, the light-emitting functional part 133 may include a light-emitting material layer. The light-emitting functional part 133 may also include at least one of a hole injection layer (HIL), a hole transport layer (HTL), an electron injection layer (EIL), an electron transport layer (ETL), a hole blocking layer (HBL), and an electron blocking layer (EBL).

[0128] Exemplarily, the light-emitting material layers of two adjacent light-emitting units 130 are arranged at intervals, that is, the light-emitting material layers of two adjacent light-emitting units 130 are independent structures and are not connected together.

[0129] For example, one of the first electrode 131 and the second electrode 132 may be an anode, and the other of the first electrode 131 and the second electrode 132 may be a cathode. The present embodiment is described by taking the first electrode 131 as an anode and the second electrode 132 as a cathode as an example.

[0130] Exemplarily, the first electrode 131 may be electrically connected to a pixel driving circuit, and the pixel driving circuit may be electrically connected to a first power line. The second electrode 132 may be electrically connected to a second power line. One of the first power line and the second power line is used to transmit a high voltage, and the other is used to transmit a low voltage. For example, the first power line is used to transmit a high voltage, and the second power line is used to transmit a low voltage.

[0131] Exemplarily, the second electrodes 132 of all the light-emitting units 130 are an integrated structure, that is, the second electrodes 132 of all the light-emitting units 130 can form a whole surface electrode, thereby simplifying the preparation process of the second electrodes 132 of all the light-emitting units 130. At this time, the second power line can be directly connected to the second electrode 132, or the second power line can be connected to the conductive layer 160, so as to realize the electrical connection between the second power line and the second electrode 132. The conductive layer 160 can include only at least one of the first sub-section 161 and the third sub-section 163.

[0132] Exemplarily, the second electrodes 132 of two adjacent light-emitting units 130 are arranged at intervals, that is, the second electrodes 132 of two adjacent light-emitting units 130 are independent structures and are not connected together. In this case, the conductive layer 160 can be a grid-shaped conductive layer 160, and the second power line can be connected to the conductive layer 160, so as to realize the electrical connection between the second power line and the second electrode 132.

[0133] Exemplarily, the plurality of light-emitting units 130 may include a first light-emitting unit, a second light-emitting unit, and a third light-emitting unit that emit different colors of light. For example, the first light-emitting unit, the second light-emitting unit, and the third light-emitting unit may be a red light-emitting unit, a green light-emitting unit, and a blue light-emitting unit, respectively. For another example, the plurality of light-emitting units 130 may also include a fourth light-emitting unit, and the fourth light-emitting unit may be a white light-emitting unit. The pixel defining layer 120 provided in an embodiment of the present application is described below.

[0134] In some embodiments, see Figure 1a , the display panel 100 may include a pixel defining layer 120, the pixel defining layer 120 is disposed between the substrate 110 and the first encapsulation layer 171, the pixel defining layer 120 may define a plurality of pixel openings 121, the pixel openings 121 are disposed corresponding to the light emitting units 130, and at least a portion of the light emitting units 130 may be located in the corresponding pixel openings 121. For example, at least a portion of the light emitting functional component 133 and the second electrode 132 may be located in the corresponding pixel openings 121. The light emitting functional component 133 and the second electrode 132 may also extend to a side of the pixel defining layer 120 away from the substrate 110. The pixel defining layer 120 may be located on a side of the substrate 110 facing the first electrode 131, the pixel defining layer 120 is disposed around the periphery of the first electrode 131, and the pixel openings 121 may expose at least a portion of the first electrode 131. In this way, by disposing the pixel defining layer 120, it is convenient to dispose the light emitting unit 130 on the substrate 110.

[0135] Among them, the light-emitting area 100a can be set corresponding to the pixel opening 121. The "light-emitting area 100a" can correspond to the area on the light-emitting unit 130 that plays a major role in emitting light. The first electrode 131 of the light-emitting unit 130 can be set on the side of the pixel opening 121 close to the substrate 110, and the light-emitting functional part 133 located in the pixel opening 121 is in direct contact with the first electrode 131. The light-emitting functional part 133 located outside the pixel opening 121 is not in direct contact with the first electrode 131, and the light emitted by the part of the light-emitting functional part 133 located outside the pixel opening 121 is weak or even does not emit light. Therefore, the "light-emitting area 100a" can correspond to the area where the light-emitting functional part 133 located in the pixel opening 121 and in direct contact with the first electrode 131 is located.

[0136] In the embodiment of the present application, the corresponding arrangement of A and B may refer to: one A is correspondingly arranged with at least one B, or one B is correspondingly arranged with at least one A. The embodiment of the present application is described by taking the corresponding arrangement of one A and one B as an example. For example, the corresponding arrangement of the light-emitting unit 130 and the pixel opening 121 may refer to: one light-emitting unit 130 is correspondingly arranged with at least one pixel opening 121, or one pixel opening 121 is correspondingly arranged with at least one light-emitting unit 130.

[0137] The second encapsulation layer 172 provided in the embodiment of the present application is described below.

[0138] See also Figure 1a The display panel 100 may include a second encapsulation layer 172, which may be located on a side of the protective layer 150 and the first encapsulation layer 171 away from the substrate 110. The second encapsulation layer 172 may be used to prevent external water and oxygen from penetrating into the light-emitting functional element 133 and damaging the display panel 100 after the conductive layer 160 and the protective layer 150 are formed.

[0139] For example, the second encapsulation layer 172 may be a single film layer, or the second encapsulation layer 172 may be formed by stacking a plurality of film layers. For example, the second encapsulation layer 172 may include a plurality of sub-encapsulation layers. Figure 1a , along the direction away from the substrate 110, the multiple sub-encapsulation layers of the second encapsulation layer 172 may include a first sub-encapsulation layer 1721, a second sub-encapsulation layer 1722, and a third sub-encapsulation layer 1723 arranged in sequence, and by providing multiple sub-encapsulation layers, the encapsulation effect of the second encapsulation layer 172 can be improved. In addition, since the first encapsulation layer 171 and the second encapsulation layer 172 are provided at the same time, the encapsulation effect of the display panel 100 can be further improved.

[0140] Exemplarily, the second encapsulation layer 172 is continuously disposed over the entire surface, thereby facilitating improving the encapsulation effect of the second encapsulation layer 172 .

[0141] Exemplarily, the first sub-encapsulation layer 1721 is an integrated structure, so that the preparation of the first sub-encapsulation layer 1721 is relatively simple, which is beneficial to improving the encapsulation effect of the first sub-encapsulation layer 1721 .

[0142] Exemplarily, the second sub-packaging layer 1722 is an integrated structure, so that the preparation of the second sub-packaging layer 1722 is relatively simple, which is beneficial to improving the packaging effect of the second sub-packaging layer 1722 .

[0143] Exemplarily, the third sub-encapsulation layer 1723 is an integrated structure, so that the preparation of the third sub-encapsulation layer 1723 is relatively simple, which is beneficial to improving the encapsulation effect of the third sub-encapsulation layer 1723 .

[0144] Exemplarily, the material of at least one of the first sub-encapsulation layer 1721 and the third sub-encapsulation layer 1723 includes an inorganic insulating material, and the sub-encapsulation layer of the inorganic insulating material has a good barrier effect on water vapor and oxygen, thereby achieving a good encapsulation effect. In addition, the first sub-encapsulation layer 1721 of the inorganic insulating material can prevent the water vapor in the second sub-encapsulation layer 1722 of the organic sealing insulating material from invading the light-emitting functional part 133 through the via 1711 on the first encapsulation layer 171.

[0145] Exemplarily, the material of the second sub-encapsulation layer 1722 includes an organic insulating material, which helps to relieve the stress of the film layer.

[0146] An implementation of a method for manufacturing the display panel 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application is described below.

[0147] The method for preparing the display panel 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application can be used to prepare the display panel 100 in the above embodiment, see Fig.11 , the preparation method may include the following steps:

[0148] S110: forming a light emitting unit on one side of the substrate.

[0149] See also Figure 2 and Figure 3 , providing a substrate 110, the substrate 110 can provide support for the remaining film layers that are subsequently provided. After providing the substrate 110, the process can include forming a light emitting unit 130 on one side of the substrate 110.

[0150] For example, see Figure 3 , forming a light-emitting unit 130 on one side of a substrate 110 may include forming a first electrode 131 on one side of the substrate 110, and then forming a light-emitting functional part 133 and a second electrode 132 on a side of the first electrode 131 away from the substrate 110, and the second electrode 132 may be located on a side of the light-emitting functional part 133 away from the substrate 110.

[0151] For example, see Figure 3 After forming the first electrode 131 on one side of the substrate 110, before forming the light-emitting functional component 133 and the second electrode 132 on the side of the first electrode 131 facing away from the substrate 110, it may include forming a pixel defining layer 120 on the side of the substrate 110 facing the first electrode 131, and the pixel defining layer 120 defines a plurality of pixel openings 121.

[0152] In other examples, the pixel defining layer 120 may be formed first, and then the first electrode 131 may be formed. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the preparation order of the pixel defining layer 120 and the first electrode 131 .

[0153] S120: forming a first encapsulation layer on a side of the light-emitting unit facing away from the substrate; a via hole is provided in the first encapsulation layer.

[0154] See also Figure 4 After forming the light emitting unit 130 on one side of the substrate 110, the process may include forming a first encapsulation layer 171 on the side of the light emitting unit 130 away from the substrate 110. The first encapsulation layer 171 may be formed on the conductive material layer 160a ( Figure 7) During the patterning process, the film layer between the first encapsulation layer 171 and the substrate 110 is protected. For example, a via 1711 may be provided in the first encapsulation layer 171.

[0155] Exemplarily, forming the first encapsulation layer 171 on the side of the light-emitting unit 130 facing away from the substrate 110 may include forming a first encapsulation material layer on the side of the light-emitting unit 130 facing away from the substrate 110, and then patterning the first encapsulation material layer in an oxygen-free environment to form a via 1711 in the first encapsulation material layer, and the retained first encapsulation material layer forms the first encapsulation layer 171. In this configuration, since the via 1711 is formed in an oxygen-free environment, oxygen can be prevented from invading the light-emitting functional part 133 through the via 1711 during the formation of the via 1711, thereby alleviating the phenomenon that the light-emitting unit 130 fails during the patterning process of the first encapsulation material layer.

[0156] Exemplarily, patterning the first packaging material layer may include patterning the first packaging material layer using dry etching, thereby avoiding the intrusion of water vapor into the light-emitting functional component 133 caused by wet etching, thereby alleviating the phenomenon of failure of the light-emitting unit 130 during the patterning process of the first packaging material layer.

[0157] S130: forming a conductive layer and a protective layer on a side of the first packaging layer away from the substrate; the conductive layer is located between the protective layer and the first packaging layer, the conductive layer is electrically connected to the light-emitting unit through a via, and the orthographic projection of the protective layer on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the conductive layer on the substrate.

[0158] See also Fig. 9 After forming the first encapsulation layer 171 on the side of the light-emitting unit 130 away from the substrate 110, the conductive layer 160 and the protective layer 150 may be formed on the side of the first encapsulation layer 171 away from the substrate 110, the conductive layer 160 may be electrically connected to the second electrode 132 through the via 1711, and the orthographic projection of the protective layer 150 on the substrate 110 at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the conductive layer 160 on the substrate 110. In this way, the protective layer 150 can alleviate the phenomenon of water and oxygen passing through the conductive layer 160 and corroding the light-emitting functional component 133 during the wet process, thereby alleviating the phenomenon of failure of the light-emitting functional component 133. For example, the protective layer 150 can be composed of a protective material layer 150a ( Figure 7 ) is patterned, the conductive layer 160 may be formed by a conductive material layer 160a ( Figure 7) is patterned, the protective material layer 150a can alleviate the phenomenon that water and oxygen pass through the gap between the conductive layer 160 and the via 1711, or water and oxygen directly pass through the conductive layer 160 to corrode the light-emitting functional component 133 during the wet process, thereby alleviating the failure of the light-emitting functional component 133. In addition, the protective layer 150 can also play a packaging role, thereby improving the packaging effect, and further better alleviating the failure of the light-emitting functional component 133.

[0159] For example, see Figure 8 , forming a conductive layer 160 and a protective layer 150 on a side of the first encapsulation layer 171 away from the substrate 110 may include forming a conductive material layer 160a on a side of the first encapsulation layer 171 away from the substrate 110, and then forming a protective material layer 150a on a side of the conductive material layer 160a away from the substrate 110. For example, the protective material layer 150a may include a first protective portion 1501a and a second protective portion 1502a arranged in a direction perpendicular to the thickness of the substrate 110, the first protective portion 1501a and the second protective portion 1502a are connected, the first protective portion 1501a and the second protective portion 1502a are arranged in a direction parallel to the substrate 110, and the thickness of the first protective portion 1501a is greater than the thickness of the second protective portion 1502a. Part of the first protective portion 1501a is used to form the protective layer 150 in a subsequent process. The conductive material layer 160a covered by the first protective portion 1501a can be used to form the conductive layer 160 in a subsequent process. With such an arrangement, see Figure 8 and Fig. 9 Since the thickness of the first protection portion 1501a is greater than that of the second protection portion 1502a, in the process of patterning the conductive material layer 160a and the protective material layer 150a, the first protection portion 1501a can be used as a mask to remove the second protection portion 1502a, remove the conductive material layer 160a corresponding to the second protection portion 1502a, and thin the first protection portion 1501a. The thinned first protection portion 1501a forms the protective layer 150, and the conductive material layer 160a corresponding to the protective layer 150 forms the conductive layer 160. For example, the conductive material layer 160a covered by the protective layer 150 forms the conductive layer 160. In addition, since the first protection portion 1501a with a larger thickness is used as a mask, in the process of patterning the protective material layer 150a and the conductive material layer 160a, the protective material layer 150a and the conductive material layer 160a can be continuously etched over the entire surface without using the photoresist layer 180 ( Figure 7) is used as a mask for patterning the conductive material layer 160a and the protective material layer 150a, that is, in the process of patterning the protective material layer 150a and the conductive material layer 160a, there is no need to retain the photoresist layer 180, and the photoresist layer 180 can be removed before patterning the protective material layer 150a and the conductive material layer 160a. When the photoresist layer 180 is removed, the protective material layer 150a can alleviate the invasion of water and oxygen into the conductive material layer 160a, thereby alleviating the invasion of water and oxygen into the light-emitting functional component 133 through the via 1711, and can avoid the phenomenon that water and oxygen invade the light-emitting functional component 133 due to the removal of the photoresist layer 180 after the patterning of the protective material layer 150a and the conductive material layer 160a, thereby alleviating the failure of the light-emitting functional component 133.

[0160] Exemplarily, patterning the conductive material layer 160a and the protective material layer 150a may include patterning the conductive material layer 160a and the protective material layer 150a using dry etching, thereby avoiding the intrusion of water and oxygen into the light-emitting functional component 133 when wet etching is used, thereby alleviating the failure of the light-emitting functional component 133.

[0161] Exemplarily, the ratio of the thickness of the second protection portion 1502a to the thickness of the first protection portion 1501a can be in the range of 0.3-0.7, so that the thickness of the second protection portion 1502a can be prevented from being too small, so that the second protection portion 1502a can be better isolated from water and oxygen in the wet process, and prevent water and oxygen from invading the conductive material layer 160a, so as to better alleviate the phenomenon of failure of the light-emitting functional component 133, and also prevent the thickness of the second protection portion 1502a from being too large, so as to shorten the time for subsequent removal of the second protection portion 1502a. For example, the ratio can be 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7 or any value between 0.3-0.7.

[0162] Exemplarily, the thickness of the first protection portion 1501a ranges from 0.5 μm to 2 μm, thereby preventing the first protection portion 1501a from being too thin, which results in the formation of a protective layer 150 that is too thin, and is beneficial to improving the water-oxygen isolation effect of the protective layer 150. In addition, it can also prevent the first protection portion 1501a from being too thick, which results in a long preparation time, and is beneficial to reducing the preparation cost of the first protection portion 1501a. For example, the thickness of the first protection portion 1501a can be 0.5 μm, 1 μm, 1.5 μm, 2 μm, or any value between 0.5 μm and 2 μm.

[0163] Exemplarily, the thickness of the second protection portion 1502a ranges from 0.15 μm to 1.4 μm, thereby preventing the second protection portion 1502a from being too thin, which is beneficial to improving the water-oxygen isolation effect of the second protection portion 1502a in the wet process. In addition, it is also possible to prevent the second protection portion 1502a from being too thick, which results in a long preparation time, and is beneficial to reducing the preparation cost of the second protection portion 1502a. For example, the thickness of the second protection portion 1502a can be 0.15 μm, 0.5 μm, 1 μm, 1.2 μm, 1.4 μm, or any value between 0.15 μm and 1.4 μm.

[0164] In some embodiments, forming a protective material layer 150a on a side of the conductive material layer 160a facing away from the substrate 110 may include: Figure 5 , an initial protective material layer 150a is formed on the side of the conductive material layer 160a facing away from the substrate 110, and then, see Figure 6 , a photoresist layer 180 is formed on the side of the initial protection material layer 150b away from the substrate 110. The photoresist layer 180 is arranged corresponding to the conductive layer 160. For example, the initial protection layer 150 covered by the photoresist layer 180 can form a first protection portion 1501a ( Figure 7 ). Then, see Figure 6 and Figure 7 , using the photoresist layer 180 as a mask, the initial protective material layer 150b is patterned to thin the initial protective material layer 150b not covered by the photoresist layer 180, the thinned initial protective material layer 150b forms the second protective portion 1502a of the protective material layer 150a, and the initial protective material layer 150b covered by the photoresist layer 180 forms the first protective portion 1501a of the protective material layer 150a. Then, see Figure 8 , remove the photoresist layer 180, for example, by using a wet process (such as wet etching) to remove the photoresist layer 180, so that the first protection portion 1501a can be exposed. In this way, since the initial protection material layer 150b completely covers the conductive material layer 160a, the initial protection material layer 150b can prevent water and oxygen from invading the light-emitting functional component 133 during the coating process of the photoresist layer 180, thereby alleviating the phenomenon of failure of the light-emitting functional component 133. In addition, since the protection material layer 150a completely covers the conductive material layer 160a, the protection material layer 150a can prevent water and oxygen from invading the light-emitting functional component 133 during the stripping process of the photoresist layer 180, thereby alleviating the phenomenon of failure of the light-emitting functional component 133.

[0165] Exemplarily, forming the photoresist layer 180 on the side of the initial protection material layer 150b away from the substrate 110 may include forming a photoresist material layer on the side of the initial protection material layer 150b away from the substrate 110, and patterning the photoresist material layer to remove the second protection portion 1502a ( Figure 7 ) corresponding to the photoresist material layer, retaining the first protection portion 1501a ( Figure 7 ) corresponding to the photoresist material layer and form a photoresist layer 180 ( Figure 7 For example, the photoresist material layer may be formed by coating, wherein the coating and subsequent development and stripping of the photoresist material layer may also be wet processes.

[0166] Exemplarily, patterning the initial protective material layer 150b may include patterning the initial protective material layer 150b by dry etching, so that the thickness of the thinned initial protective material layer 150b can be better controlled, that is, the thickness of the second protective portion 1502a can be better controlled.

[0167] Exemplarily, the thickness of the initial protective material layer 150b may be in the range of 0.5 μm-2 μm, so that the thickness of the initial protective material layer 150b can be prevented from being too small, which is conducive to preventing the thickness of the second protective portion 1502a from being too small, so that the second protective portion 1502a has a better effect of isolating water and oxygen when removing the photoresist layer 180. In addition, the thickness of the initial protective material layer 150b can be prevented from being too large, thereby reducing the preparation cost and preparation time of the initial protective material layer 150b. For example, the thickness of the initial protective material layer 150b may be 0.5 μm, 0.7 μm, 1 μm, 1.5 μm, 2 μm, or any value between 0.5 μm and 2 μm.

[0168] In some embodiments, after forming the conductive layer 160 and the protective layer 150 on the side of the first encapsulation layer 171 facing away from the substrate 110 , the second encapsulation layer 172 may be formed on the side of the protective layer 150 and the first encapsulation layer 171 facing away from the substrate 110 .

[0169] Exemplarily, the second encapsulation layer 172 may include at least one of a first sub-encapsulation layer 1721, a second sub-encapsulation layer 1722, and a third sub-encapsulation layer 1723. For example, forming the second encapsulation layer 172 may include sequentially forming the first sub-encapsulation layer 1721, the second sub-encapsulation layer 1722, and the third sub-encapsulation layer 1723 in a direction away from the substrate 110, forming the first sub-encapsulation layer 1721 on a side of the protective layer 150 and the first encapsulation layer 171 away from the substrate 110, forming the second sub-encapsulation layer 1722 on a side of the first sub-encapsulation layer 1721 away from the substrate 110, and forming the third sub-encapsulation layer 1723 on a side of the second sub-encapsulation layer 1722 away from the substrate 110.

[0170] Another implementation of the method for preparing the display panel 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application is described below.

[0171] It should be noted that the following mainly describes the differences from the previous method for preparing the display panel 100 .

[0172] The method for preparing the display panel 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application is as follows. Fig.12 , the preparation method may include the following steps:

[0173] S210: forming a light emitting unit on one side of the substrate.

[0174] See also Figure 2 and Figure 3 , providing a substrate 110, the substrate 110 can provide support for the remaining film layers that are subsequently set. After providing the substrate 110, it can include forming a light-emitting unit 130 on one side of the substrate 110. The specific implementation of forming the light-emitting unit 130 on one side of the substrate 110 has been explained in the first implementation, and will not be repeated.

[0175] For example, see Figure 3 After forming the first electrode 131 on one side of the substrate 110, before forming the light-emitting functional component 133 and the second electrode 132 on the side of the first electrode 131 facing away from the substrate 110, it may include forming a pixel defining layer 120 on the side of the substrate 110 facing the first electrode 131, and the pixel defining layer 120 defines a plurality of pixel openings 121.

[0176] In other examples, the pixel defining layer 120 may be formed first, and then the first electrode 131 may be formed. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the preparation order of the pixel defining layer 120 and the first electrode 131 .

[0177] S220: forming a first encapsulation layer on a side of the light-emitting unit facing away from the substrate; and providing a via hole in the first encapsulation layer.

[0178] See also Figure 4 After forming the light emitting unit 130 on one side of the substrate 110, the method may include forming a first encapsulation layer 171 on the side of the light emitting unit 130 facing away from the substrate 110. For example, a via 1711 may be provided in the first encapsulation layer 171. The specific implementation of the first encapsulation layer 171 has been explained in the first implementation and will not be repeated.

[0179] S230: forming a conductive material layer on a side of the first packaging layer facing away from the substrate.

[0180] See also Figure 8After forming the first encapsulation layer 171 on the side of the light emitting unit 130 facing away from the substrate 110 , the method may include forming a conductive material layer 160 a on the side of the first encapsulation layer 171 facing away from the substrate 110 .

[0181] S240: forming a protective material layer on a side of the conductive material layer away from the substrate; the protective material layer comprises a first protective portion and a second protective portion arranged in a direction parallel to the substrate, and a thickness of the first protective portion is greater than a thickness of the second protective portion.

[0182] See also Figure 8 After forming a conductive material layer 160a on the side of the first encapsulation layer 171 away from the substrate 110, it may include forming a protective material layer 150a on the side of the conductive material layer 160a away from the substrate 110; the protective material layer 150a includes a first protective portion 1501a and a second protective portion 1502a arranged in a direction parallel to the substrate 110, and the thickness of the first protective portion 1501a is greater than the thickness of the second protective portion 1502a.

[0183] S250: using the first protection portion as a mask, patterning the conductive material layer and the protective material layer to remove the second protection portion and the conductive material layer corresponding to the second protection portion, and the remaining conductive material layer corresponding to the first protection portion forms a conductive layer.

[0184] See also Figure 8 and Fig.10 Since the thickness of the first protective portion 1501a is greater than that of the second protective portion 1502a, in the process of patterning the conductive material layer 160a and the protective material layer 150a, the first protective portion 1501a can be used as a mask to remove the second protective portion 1502a and the conductive material layer 160a corresponding to the second protective portion 1502a. In addition, the first protective portion 1501a can also be removed, that is, the protective material layer 150a and the conductive material layer 160a corresponding to the second protective portion 1502a are removed, and the conductive material layer 160a corresponding to the first protective portion 1501a is retained to form a conductive layer 160. In addition, since the first protective portion 1501a with a relatively large thickness is used as a mask, the protective material layer 150a and the conductive material layer 160a can be etched continuously over the entire surface during the process of patterning the protective material layer 150a and the conductive material layer 160a. Compared with the related art, in the process of patterning the conductive material layer, a photoresist layer needs to be provided on the side of the conductive material layer away from the substrate as a mask, and after patterning the conductive material layer, the photoresist layer is removed by wet etching. The embodiment of the present application does not need to use the photoresist layer 180 ( Figure 7) is used as a mask for patterning the conductive material layer 160a and the protective material layer 150a, that is, in the process of patterning the protective material layer 150a and the conductive material layer 160a, there is no need to retain the photoresist layer 180, and the photoresist layer 180 can be removed before patterning the protective material layer 150a and the conductive material layer 160a. When the photoresist layer 180 is removed, the protective material layer 150a can alleviate the invasion of water and oxygen into the conductive material layer 160a, thereby alleviating the invasion of water and oxygen into the light-emitting functional component 133 through the via 1711, and can avoid the phenomenon that water and oxygen invade the light-emitting functional component 133 due to the removal of the photoresist layer 180 after the patterning of the protective material layer 150a and the conductive material layer 160a, thereby alleviating the failure of the light-emitting functional component 133.

[0185] It is understood that, in the process of patterning the conductive material layer 160a and the protective material layer 150a, the first protective portion 1501a and the second protective portion 1502a are both formed by the protective material layer 150a, so that the two can be etched synchronously. Therefore, by adjusting the thickness of the first protective portion 1501a, the thickness of the second protective portion 1502a, the thickness of the conductive material layer 160a corresponding to the second protective portion 1502a, the etching rate and other parameters, it is possible to achieve that after patterning the conductive material layer 160a and the protective material layer 150a, while removing the second protective portion 1502a and the conductive material layer 160a corresponding to the second protective portion 1502a, a portion of the thickness of the first protective portion 1501a is retained to form the protective layer 150 (for example, Fig. 9 Alternatively, the first protection portion 1501a may be completely removed to expose the conductive layer 160 (eg, Fig.10 The second embodiment shown in the figure) is advantageous for making the display panel 100 lighter and thinner.

[0186] The specific implementation of forming the protective material layer 150a on the side of the conductive material layer 160a facing away from the substrate 110 has been described in the previous implementation and will not be repeated here.

[0187] It should be noted that in the method for preparing the display panel 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application, at least one film layer can be prepared by sputtering, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), vacuum deposition, pulsed laser deposition (PLD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), etc. The CVD method includes plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), laser chemical vapor deposition (LCVD), low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), etc.

[0188] In the case of using “including”, “having”, and “comprising” described herein, another component may be added unless a clear limiting term such as “only”, “consisting of”, etc. is used. Unless mentioned otherwise, a term in the singular form may include a plural form and should not be understood as being one in number.

[0189] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described 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.

[0190] The above-described embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be construed as limiting the scope of the patent application. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A display panel, characterized in that: The display panel comprises: substrate; A light emitting unit, wherein the light emitting unit is disposed on one side of the substrate; A first encapsulation layer, the first encapsulation layer is arranged on a side of the light-emitting unit away from the substrate, and a via hole is arranged in the first encapsulation layer; A conductive layer, the conductive layer is arranged on a side of the first encapsulation layer away from the substrate, and the conductive layer is electrically connected to the light-emitting unit through the via hole; A protective layer is disposed on a side of the conductive layer facing away from the substrate, and an orthographic projection of the protective layer on the substrate at least partially overlaps with an orthographic projection of the conductive layer on the substrate.

2. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the protective layer is in the range of 50nm-500nm; Preferably, the material of the protective layer includes insulating material; Preferably, the material of the protective layer includes an inorganic insulating material; Preferably, the material of the protective layer includes at least one of silicon oxide, silicon nitride and silicon oxynitride.

3. The display panel according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The display panel comprises a non-luminous area and a plurality of luminous areas, and the periphery of each luminous area is surrounded by the non-luminous area; The conductive layer and the protective layer are both located in the non-luminous area; Preferably, the via hole is located in the non-luminous area; Preferably, the orthographic projections of the first encapsulation layer and the via hole on the substrate cover the display area of ​​the display panel; Preferably, the first encapsulation layer is an integrated structure; Preferably, the material of the conductive layer includes a metal material; Preferably, the conductive layer includes a plurality of first sub-portions, the plurality of first sub-portions are arranged at intervals along the first direction, and all extend along the second direction, the protective layer includes a plurality of second sub-portions, the plurality of second sub-portions are arranged at intervals along the first direction, and all extend along the second direction, the plurality of first sub-portions are arranged correspondingly to the plurality of second sub-portions, the orthographic projection of the first sub-portion on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the corresponding second sub-portion on the substrate, the first direction and the second direction intersect, and are both perpendicular to the thickness direction of the substrate; Preferably, the distance between the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the first sub-section on the substrate and the outer contour of the orthographic projection of the corresponding second sub-section on the substrate is less than or equal to 1 μm; Preferably, the conductive layer includes a plurality of third sub-portions, the plurality of third sub-portions are arranged at intervals along the second direction, and all extend along the first direction, and the third sub-portions intersect with the first sub-portions; the protective layer includes a plurality of fourth sub-portions, the plurality of fourth sub-portions are arranged at intervals along the second direction, and all extend along the first direction, and the fourth sub-portions intersect with the second sub-portions, the plurality of third sub-portions are arranged correspondingly to the plurality of fourth sub-portions, and the orthographic projection of the third sub-portion on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the corresponding fourth sub-portion on the substrate; Preferably, a distance between an outer contour of an orthographic projection of the third sub-section on the substrate and an outer contour of an orthographic projection of the corresponding fourth sub-section on the substrate is less than or equal to 1 μm; Preferably, the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular.

4. The display panel according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Along a direction away from the substrate, the light-emitting unit includes a first electrode, a light-emitting functional component, and a second electrode arranged in sequence, and the conductive layer is electrically connected to the second electrode through the via hole; Preferably, the display panel comprises a pixel defining layer, the pixel defining layer is arranged between the substrate and the first encapsulation layer, the pixel defining layer defines a plurality of pixel openings, the pixel openings are arranged corresponding to the light emitting units, and the light emitting units are at least partially located in the corresponding pixel openings; Preferably, the display panel comprises a second encapsulation layer, and the second encapsulation layer is located on a side of the protective layer and the first encapsulation layer away from the substrate; Preferably, the second encapsulation layer is continuously disposed over the entire surface; Preferably, along a direction away from the substrate, the second encapsulation layer comprises a first sub-encapsulation layer, a second sub-encapsulation layer and a third sub-encapsulation layer which are arranged in sequence; Preferably, the first sub-encapsulation layer is an integrated structure; Preferably, the second sub-encapsulation layer is an integrated structure; Preferably, the third sub-encapsulation layer is an integrated structure; Preferably, the material of at least one of the first sub-encapsulation layer and the third sub-encapsulation layer comprises an inorganic insulating material; Preferably, the material of the second sub-encapsulation layer includes an organic insulating material; Preferably, the orthographic projection of the protective layer on the substrate coincides with the orthographic projection of the conductive layer on the substrate.

5. A method for preparing a display panel, characterized in that: include: forming a light emitting unit on one side of the substrate; forming a first encapsulation layer on a side of the light-emitting unit away from the substrate; The first packaging layer is provided with a via; A conductive layer and a protective layer are formed on the side of the first packaging layer facing away from the substrate; the conductive layer is located between the protective layer and the first packaging layer, the conductive layer is electrically connected to the light-emitting unit through the via hole, and the orthographic projection of the protective layer on the substrate at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the conductive layer on the substrate.

6. The method for preparing a display panel according to claim 5, characterized in that: The step of forming a first encapsulation layer on a side of the light emitting unit away from the substrate comprises: forming a first packaging material layer on a side of the light-emitting unit facing away from the substrate; In an oxygen-free environment, patterning the first packaging material layer to form vias in the first packaging material layer, and the remaining first packaging material layer forms a first packaging layer; Preferably, the patterning of the first packaging material layer includes: patterning the first packaging material layer by dry etching.

7. The method for preparing a display panel according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: The forming of a conductive layer and a protective layer on a side of the first encapsulation layer facing away from the substrate comprises: forming a conductive material layer on a side of the first packaging layer facing away from the substrate; A protective material layer is formed on a side of the conductive material layer away from the substrate; the protective material layer includes a first protective portion and a second protective portion arranged in a thickness direction perpendicular to the substrate, the first protective portion and the second protective portion are connected, and the thickness of the first protective portion is greater than the thickness of the second protective portion; Using the first protection portion as a mask, patterning the conductive material layer and the protective material layer to remove the second protection portion and the conductive material layer corresponding to the second protection portion, and thinning the first protection portion, so that the thinned first protection portion forms the protective layer, and the conductive material layer corresponding to the protective layer forms the conductive layer; Preferably, the conductive material layer covered by the protective layer forms the conductive layer; Preferably, the patterning of the conductive material layer and the protective material layer comprises: patterning the conductive material layer and the protective material layer by dry etching; Preferably, the ratio of the thickness of the second protection portion to the thickness of the first protection portion is in the range of 0.3-0.7; Preferably, the thickness of the first protection portion is in the range of 0.5 μm to 2 μm; Preferably, the second protection portion has a thickness ranging from 0.15 μm to 1.4 μm.

8. The method for preparing a display panel according to claim 7, characterized in that: The step of forming a protective material layer on a side of the conductive material layer facing away from the substrate comprises: forming an initial protective material layer on a side of the conductive material layer facing away from the substrate; Forming a photoresist layer on a side of the initial protective material layer away from the substrate; the photoresist layer is arranged corresponding to the conductive layer; Using the photoresist layer as a mask, patterning the initial protection material layer to thin the initial protection material layer not covered by the photoresist layer, so that the thinned initial protection material layer forms the second protection portion, and the initial protection material layer covered by the photoresist layer forms the first protection portion; removing the photoresist layer; Preferably, the patterning of the initial protective material layer comprises: patterning the initial protective material layer by dry etching; Preferably, the thickness of the initial protective material layer is in the range of 0.5 μm to 2 μm; Preferably, wet etching is used to remove the photoresist layer.

9. A method for preparing a display panel, characterized in that: include: forming a light emitting unit on one side of the substrate; forming a first encapsulation layer on a side of the light-emitting unit away from the substrate; The first packaging layer is provided with a via; forming a conductive material layer on a side of the first packaging layer facing away from the substrate; A protective material layer is formed on a side of the conductive material layer away from the substrate; the protective material layer comprises a first protective portion and a second protective portion arranged in a direction parallel to the substrate, and a thickness of the first protective portion is greater than a thickness of the second protective portion; Using the first protection portion as a mask, patterning the conductive material layer and the protective material layer to remove the second protection portion and the conductive material layer corresponding to the second protection portion, and the remaining conductive material layer corresponding to the first protection portion forms a conductive layer; Preferably, the process of patterning the conductive material layer and the protective material layer further includes: removing the first protective portion.

10. A display device, characterized in that: A display panel comprising the display panel described in any one of claims 1 to 4 or a display panel prepared by the method for preparing a display panel described in any one of claims 5 to 9.

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