A silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches and a preparation method thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field related to OLED displays, and discloses a silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches and a preparation method thereof. The silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches consists of a mask support structure and a substrate with an IC driving circuit and a display area. The mask consists of a shielding area and an opening area, and the mask support structure is located below the shielding area. The mask support structure provided by the present invention can effectively prevent the mask from scratching the surface of the substrate, reduce the introduction of particles, and thus improve the product yield.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field related to OLED displays, and in particular relates to a silicon-based OLED structure capable of reducing mask scratches and a preparation method thereof. Background Art

[0002] In the production process of OLED display devices, organic light-emitting materials are prepared by evaporation, and cathode materials are prepared by low-temperature and low-damage magnetron sputtering (hereinafter referred to as Sputter). In the process of organic material and cathode metal film formation, the mask is a particularly critical fixture. By controlling the opening size, fitting accuracy, alignment accuracy and other parameters of the mask, the material can be accurately deposited in the target film formation area. The current silicon-based OLED uses a mask directly attached to the substrate for deposition, but during the mask alignment process, the mask and the substrate may slide relative to each other, causing scratches on the substrate display area, and the particles on the mask will be transferred to the substrate, causing the substrate to be contaminated and packaging failure to occur.

[0003] Therefore, in view of the above situation, there is an urgent need to provide a silicon-based OLED structure and a preparation method thereof that can reduce mask scratches, so as to overcome the shortcomings in current practical applications. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above situation, in order to overcome the defects of the prior art, the present invention provides a silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches and a preparation method thereof, which effectively solves the problems in the above background technology.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides the following technical solution: a silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches, wherein the silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches is composed of a mask support structure and a substrate with an IC driving circuit and a display area, the mask is composed of a shielding area and an opening area, and the mask support structure is located below the shielding area.

[0006] Preferably, the material of the mask support structure is PR glue.

[0007] Preferably, the height and width of the mask support structure range from 10 to 50 um.

[0008] Preferably, the mask is made of Invar material.

[0009] Preferably, the mask support structure has a shape of one of a strip and a column.

[0010] A method for preparing a silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches as described above, the method comprising the following steps:

[0011] Step 1: Provide a substrate with an IC driving and display area, and provide a mask with a shielding area and an opening area;

[0012] Step 2: Use Track equipment to evenly coat a layer of PR glue on the substrate. The PR glue can be positive or negative.

[0013] Step 3: Use a photolithography machine to photolithography the unnecessary parts. If it is a positive photoresist, the unnecessary parts are exposed; if it is a negative photoresist, the necessary parts are exposed;

[0014] Step 4: Remove the unnecessary part of the photoresist by developing, leaving the target pattern, i.e., the mask support structure;

[0015] Step 5: Bond the mask to the structure produced in step 4, and then perform evaporation or Sputtering process.

[0016] Preferably, in step 2, the coating thickness of the PR glue is 10-50 um.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: the mask support structure provided by the present invention can effectively prevent the mask from scratching the surface of the substrate, reduce the introduction of particles, and thus improve the product yield. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The accompanying drawings are used to provide further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of the specification. They are used to explain the present invention together with the embodiments of the present invention and do not constitute a limitation of the present invention.

[0019] In the attached picture:

[0020] Figure 1 This is a mask schematic diagram;

[0021] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches provided by the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 A cross-sectional view of a silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches provided by the present invention and a mask after being attached;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a traditional silicon-based OLED without a mask support structure;

[0024] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view of the traditional silicon-based OLED structure after being attached to the mask;

[0025] Figure 6A flow chart of the preparation of a silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches provided by the present invention;

[0026] Figure 7 This is another schematic diagram of the appearance of a silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches provided by the present invention.

[0027] In the figure: 101, shielding area, 102, opening area, 201, substrate, 202, IC driving and display area, 203, mask supporting structure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments; based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] See also Figure 1-Figure 7 , an embodiment of the present invention provides a silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches, the silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches is composed of a substrate 201 with an IC driving circuit and a display area 202, and a mask support structure 203. The mask support structure 203 is made of PR glue (photoresist) and is manufactured by photolithography. The height and width of the mask support structure 203 range from 10um to 50um, and the height and width of the mask support structure 203 depend on the product design; Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a mask, the mask is composed of a shielding area 101 and an opening area 102. The mask is generally made of an invar material, and its function is to control the film forming area. The size of the opening area depends on the size of the display area. Generally, the opening area and the display area need to correspond one to one and require high-precision alignment; Figure 3 It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the mask and the substrate 201 being attached during the evaporation or Sputter process, wherein the mask support structure 203 is located below the shielding area 101, and the support structure can lift up the mask when the mask and the substrate 201 are attached together;

[0030] The height of the mask support structure 203 should not be too high (not more than 50um). If the height is too high, the distance between the mask plate and the substrate 201 will be too large, and the film layer will form a large shadow (i.e., the film layer thickness becomes thicker or thinner near the mask opening) during the evaporation and sputtering process, which will cause uneven brightness in the area after the product is lit. Similarly, the height of the mask support structure 203 should not be too low (not less than 10um). If it is too low, it will cause the larger particles on the shielding area 101 to be transferred to the substrate 201, causing the substrate 201 to be contaminated, resulting in black spots and packaging failure.

[0031] The mask support structure 203 may be in the form of a strip (eg Figure 2 ) box, or a column (such as Figure 7 ) frame, the shape of the columnar structure includes but is not limited to square, circle and other geometric shapes, and the spacing between the columnar structures is determined according to the product design.

[0032] In the embodiment of the present invention, the mask support structure 203 is provided to reduce the scratches on the display area and the introduction of particles caused by the mask. Figure 2 and Figure 3 and Figure 4 and Figure 5 By comparison, it can be seen that the mask support structure 203 provided by the invention can effectively prevent the mask from scratching the surface of the substrate 201, reduce the introduction of particles, and thus improve the product yield.

[0033] See also Figure 1-Figure 7 The present invention provides a method for preparing a silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches as described above, the method comprising the following steps:

[0034] Step 1: providing a substrate 201 with an IC driving and display area 202, and providing a mask with a shielding area 101 and an opening area 102;

[0035] Step 2: Evenly coat a 10-50um layer of PR glue (photoresist, which can be positive glue or negative glue) on the substrate 201 by using a Track device;

[0036] Step 3: Photolithography the unnecessary parts through a photolithography machine (if it is a positive photoresist, the unnecessary parts are exposed, if it is a negative photoresist, the necessary parts are exposed);

[0037] Step 4: removing the unnecessary part of the photoresist by developing, leaving the target pattern (i.e., the mask support structure 203);

[0038] Step 5: Bond the mask to the structure produced in step 4, and then perform evaporation or Sputtering process.

[0039] It should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device.

[0040] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches, characterized in that: The silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches is composed of a mask support structure and a substrate with an IC driving circuit and a display area. The mask is composed of a shielding area and an opening area, and the mask support structure is located below the shielding area.

2. A silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches and a method for preparing the same according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material of the mask support structure is PR glue.

3. A silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches and a method for preparing the same according to claim 2, characterized in that: The height and width of the mask support structure range from 10 to 50 um.

4. The silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches and the preparation method thereof according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mask is made of Invar material.

5. The silicon-based OLED structure for reducing mask scratches and the preparation method thereof according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mask support structure has a shape of a strip or a column.

6. A method for preparing a silicon-based OLED structure with reduced mask scratches as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The method comprises the following steps: Step 1: Provide a substrate with an IC driving and display area, and provide a mask with a shielding area and an opening area; Step 2: Use Track equipment to evenly coat a layer of PR glue on the substrate. The PR glue can be positive or negative. Step 3: Use a photolithography machine to photolithography the unnecessary parts. If it is a positive photoresist, the unnecessary parts are exposed; if it is a negative photoresist, the necessary parts are exposed; Step 4: Remove the unnecessary part of the photoresist by developing, leaving the target pattern, i.e., the mask support structure; Step 5: Bond the mask to the structure produced in step 4, and then perform evaporation or Sputtering process.

7. The method for preparing a silicon-based OLED structure with reduced mask scratches according to claim 6, characterized in that: In step 2, the coating thickness of the PR glue is 10-50 um.

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