Display panel, manufacturing method thereof and display device

Abstract

The application discloses a display panel, a manufacturing method thereof and a display device. The display panel comprises a substrate, a pixel definition layer and a light emitting unit. The display panel further comprises a partition layer. The partition layer is arranged below the pixel definition layer. In the orthographic projection of the substrate, the boundary of the partition layer is within the projection range of the pixel definition layer, and has a preset distance from the projection boundary of the pixel definition layer. The pixel definition layer and the partition layer form a partition structure. The light emitting unit comprises a cathode, a light emitting functional layer and an anode. The cathode is arranged on the substrate. The light emitting functional layer is arranged on the cathode. The anode is arranged on the light emitting functional layer. The partition structure is used to partition the cathode and the cathode redundancy part formed on the pixel definition layer when the cathode is deposited in an integral plane. The cathode is deposited in an integral plane through the partition structure, the light emitting efficiency of the light emitting unit is improved, and the quality of the display panel is improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of display, in particular to a display panel, a manufacturing method thereof and a display device. BACKGROUND

[0002] OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display devices are widely used in various fields due to their lightness, wide viewing angle, fast response, low temperature resistance, high luminous efficiency, and the ability to prepare flexible display screens. Due to the increasing maturity of mass production technology, OLED display panels have gradually become mainstream reality panels.

[0003] Existing organic light emitting display panels mainly include two types. One is a normal organic light emitting display panel, wherein the light emitting unit in the normal organic light emitting display panel includes an anode, a light emitting functional layer and a cathode which are sequentially stacked from a substrate. The other is an inverted organic light emitting display panel, which includes a cathode, a light emitting functional layer and an anode which are sequentially stacked from a substrate. As for the normal organic light emitting display panel, the active metal in the cathode is easily eroded by water and oxygen, resulting in a decrease in the service life of the display panel. As for the inverted organic light emitting display panel, the active metal in the cathode is also easily oxidized or has process residues during the process, resulting in low light emitting efficiency of the inverted organic light emitting display panel. Therefore, there is an urgent need in the art for a solution to the above problems. SUMMARY

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to provide a display panel, a manufacturing method thereof and a display device. By setting a partition structure, the cathode is deposited through the partition structure, and there is no need for etching steps, which reduces the possibility of oxidation or process residues of the active metal in the cathode during the process, improves the light emitting efficiency of the light emitting unit, and improves the quality of the display panel.

[0005] The application discloses a display panel, which comprises a substrate, a pixel definition layer and a light emitting unit. The pixel definition layer is arranged on the substrate and is provided with a plurality of opening areas. The light emitting unit is arranged on the substrate and is located in the opening areas. The display panel further comprises a partition layer. The partition layer is arranged below the pixel definition layer. In the orthographic projection of the substrate, the boundary of the partition layer is in the projection range of the pixel definition layer and has a preset distance from the projection boundary of the pixel definition layer. The pixel definition layer and the partition layer form a partition structure. The light emitting unit comprises a cathode, a light emitting functional layer and an anode. The cathode is arranged on the substrate. The light emitting functional layer is arranged on the cathode. The anode is arranged on the light emitting functional layer. The partition structure is used for partitioning the cathode and a cathode redundancy part formed on the pixel definition layer when the cathode is deposited in a whole surface mode.

[0006] Optionally, the cathode is formed of magnesium or silver material. The anode is formed of one or both of magnesium material and silver material. The anodes of a plurality of light emitting units are shared. Light emitted by the light emitting unit is emitted from one side of the substrate.

[0007] Optionally, the light emitting functional layer comprises an electron transport layer, a light emitting layer and a hole transport layer. The electron transport layer is arranged on the cathode. The light emitting layer is arranged on the electron transport layer. The hole transport layer is arranged on the light emitting layer. The anode is arranged on the hole transport layer.

[0008] Optionally, the display panel further comprises a cathode auxiliary electrode. The cathode auxiliary electrode is formed of transparent metal oxide material. The cathode auxiliary electrode is arranged below the cathode and is electrically connected with the cathode. The cathode auxiliary electrodes of two adjacent light emitting units are separated by the pixel definition layer. The partition layer is arranged on the cathode auxiliary electrode.

[0009] Optionally, the partition layer is formed of metal material. A gap is arranged between the cathode and the partition structure. The preset distance is greater than or equal to 5000 angstrom and less than or equal to 50000 angstrom.

[0010] The application further discloses a manufacturing method of the display panel, which comprises the following steps.

[0011] A substrate is provided.

[0012] A partition layer is deposited on the substrate.

[0013] A pixel definition layer is deposited on the partition layer. After the pixel definition layer is patterned, the partition layer is etched, so that the pixel definition layer and the partition layer form a partition structure.

[0014] Depositing a cathode material on the whole surface to form a cathode in the opening region;

[0015] sequentially forming a light emitting functional layer and an anode to form a plurality of light emitting units;

[0016] The boundary of the partition layer is within the projection range of the pixel definition layer and has a preset distance from the projected boundary of the pixel definition layer in the orthographic projection of the substrate.

[0017] Optionally, the step of forming the partition layer on the substrate includes:

[0018] sequentially depositing a cathode auxiliary electrode and a partition layer on the substrate;

[0019] sequentially etching the partition layer and the cathode auxiliary electrode in the non-opening region to form a partition hole;

[0020] The step of depositing a pixel definition layer on the partition layer and etching the partition layer after patterning the pixel definition layer to form a partition structure between the pixel definition layer and the partition layer includes:

[0021] forming a pixel definition layer in the non-opening region; the pixel definition layer fills the partition hole, and the radial width of the pixel definition layer is greater than the width of the partition hole;

[0022] etching the partition layer using the pixel definition layer as a protective layer to form a partition structure between the pixel definition layer and the partition layer.

[0023] Optionally, the step of depositing a cathode material on the whole surface to form a cathode in the opening region includes:

[0024] depositing a cathode material on the whole surface to form a cathode in the opening region and a cathode redundancy on the pixel definition layer; the partition structure is used to partition the cathode and the cathode redundancy;

[0025] The step of sequentially forming a light emitting functional layer and an anode to form a plurality of light emitting units includes:

[0026] forming a light emitting functional layer of a plurality of light emitting units in the opening region using the partition structure;

[0027] depositing an anode on the whole surface to form a plurality of light emitting units.

[0028] Optionally, the thickness of the cathode is greater than or equal to 100 angstrom and less than or equal to 300 angstrom; the preset distance is greater than or equal to 5000 angstrom and less than or equal to 50000 angstrom; and the thickness of the partition layer is greater than or equal to 100 angstrom and less than or equal to 600 angstrom.

[0029] The application further discloses a display device comprising the display panel and a driving circuit.

[0030] The application forms a partition structure by using the partition layer and the pixel definition layer, the partition structure can be arranged around each opening area, so that in the process of forming the cathode, the full-area deposition process can be adopted, the cathode material is laid at each position of the substrate, but in the opening area, the cathode between adjacent light emitting units is completely separated by the partition structure, and the part of the cathode redundant layer remaining on the pixel definition layer is also disconnected from the cathode, so as to prevent the current crosstalk problem. The application adopts the process of full-area deposition of the cathode material, avoids the problem of oxidation of the active metal material in the cathode in the subsequent etching of the cathode pattern, and also avoids the influence caused by the residual etching material in the etching process. It is worth mentioning that the application uses the partition structure to form the cathode, can use the active metal as the cathode, on the one hand, avoids the oxidation of the active metal in the cathode, and on the other hand, can reduce the work function of the cathode to improve the unbalanced phenomenon of hole injection and electron injection in the inverted organic light emitting display panel, and solves the problem of low light emitting efficiency of the current inverted organic light emitting display panel. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0031] The accompanying drawings included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the application and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate the embodiments of the application and together with the text description serve to explain the principles of the application. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor. In the drawings:

[0032] Figure 1 is a top view of a display panel of a first embodiment of the application;

[0033] Figure 2 is Figure 1 is a sectional view along the cutting line AA;

[0034] Figure 3 is a schematic view of an inverted organic light emitting display panel of the application;

[0035] Figure 4 is a sectional view of a display panel of a second embodiment of the application;

[0036] Figure 5 is an enlarged schematic view of a partition structure of the application; Figure 4

[0037] Figure 6 is a schematic view of a manufacturing method of a display panel of the application; ​

[0038] Figure 7 is a flowchart of manufacturing a display panel of the present application;

[0039] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a display device of the present application.

[0040] Wherein, 100, display panel; 101, opening area; 102, non-opening area; 110, substrate; 120, pixel definition layer; 130, light emitting unit; 131, anode; 132, light emitting functional layer; 1321, electron transport layer; 1322, light emitting layer; 1323, hole transport layer; 1324, electron injection layer; 1325, hole blocking layer; 1326, electron blocking layer; 1327, hole injection layer; 133, cathode; 134, cathode auxiliary electrode; 135, cathode redundancy; 140, partition layer; 141, partition structure; 150, drive circuit layer; 200, display device; 210, drive circuit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] It should be understood that the terms, specific structures and functional details used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are representative, but the present application can be embodied in many alternative forms, and should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0042] In the description of the present application, the terms "first", "second" are only for the purpose of description, and should not be understood as indicating relative importance, or implying the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, unless otherwise specified, the features limited by "first", "second" can explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features; the meaning of "multiple" is two or more. In addition, the terms indicating the orientation or positional relationship such as "up", "down", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", etc. are described based on the orientation or relative position relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the purpose of facilitating the simplified description of the present application, and should not be understood as indicating that the indicated device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present application. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0043] The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and optional embodiments.

[0044] Figure 1 is a top view schematic diagram of a display panel of the first embodiment of the present application, Figure 2 is Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view along the cutting line AA, see Figures 1-2As shown, the display panel 100 includes a substrate 110, a pixel definition layer 120, a light emitting unit 130, and a partition layer 140. The pixel definition layer 120 is disposed on the substrate 110 and is provided with a plurality of opening regions 101. The light emitting unit 130 is disposed on the substrate 110 and is located within the opening region 101. The partition layer 140 is disposed under the pixel definition layer 120. In the orthographic projection of the substrate 110, the boundary of the partition layer 140 is within the projection range of the pixel definition layer 120 and has a predetermined distance w from the projection boundary of the pixel definition layer 120. The pixel definition layer 120 and the partition layer 140 form a partition structure 141. The light emitting unit 130 includes a cathode 133, a light emitting functional layer 132, and an anode 131. The cathode 133 is disposed on the substrate 110. The light emitting functional layer 132 is disposed on the cathode 133. The anode 131 is disposed on the light emitting functional layer 132. The partition structure 141 is used to partition the cathode 133 and the cathode redundancy 135 formed on the pixel definition layer 120 when the cathode 133 is deposited by a full-area deposition process.

[0045] The partition layer 140 and the pixel definition layer 120 form the partition structure 141, which is disposed around each opening region 101. In the process of forming the cathode 133, the full-area deposition process is used to lay the cathode 133 material on the substrate 110. However, in the opening region 101, the partition structure 141 is used to completely separate the cathode 133 between adjacent light emitting units 130 and to disconnect the residual cathode 133 redundancy layer on the pixel definition layer 120 from the cathode 133, thereby preventing current crosstalk. The full-area deposition process of the cathode 133 material avoids the oxidation of the active metal material in the cathode 133 in the subsequent etching process of the cathode 133 pattern. In addition, the etching material residue in the etching process is also avoided. It is worth mentioning that the use of the partition structure 141 to form the cathode 133 can use active metal as the cathode 133, which can avoid the oxidation of the active metal in the cathode 133 and reduce the work function of the cathode 133 to improve the imbalance between hole injection and electron injection in the inverted organic light emitting display panel 100, thereby solving the low light emitting efficiency problem of the inverted organic light emitting display panel 100.

[0046] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an inverted organic light emitting display panel of the present application, referring to Figure 3As shown, the light-emitting functional layer 132 in the light-emitting unit 130 of the inverted organic light-emitting display panel 100 is different. Generally, the light-emitting functional layer 132 includes an electron transport layer 1321, a light-emitting layer 1322 and a hole transport layer 1323, the electron transport layer 1321 is arranged on the cathode 133, the light-emitting layer 1322 is arranged on the electron transport layer 1321, the hole transport layer 1323 is arranged on the light-emitting layer 1322, and the anode 131 is arranged on the hole transport layer 1323. The electron transport layer 1321 is arranged on the side close to the cathode 133, and the hole transport layer 1323 is arranged on the side close to the anode 131, which is completely opposite to the light-emitting functional layer 132 in the light-emitting unit 130 of the upright organic light-emitting display panel 100. The electron transport layer 1321 in the embodiment is connected with the cathode 133 through an electron injection layer 1324, and a hole blocking layer 1325 is further arranged between the electron transport layer 1321 and the light-emitting layer 1322. The hole transport layer 1323 is connected with the anode 131 through a hole injection layer 1327, and an electron blocking layer 1321 is further arranged between the hole transport layer 1323 and the light-emitting layer 1322.

[0047] The application adopts bottom light emitting technology in the inverted organic light emitting display panel 100, that is, the cathode 133 is light-transmitting, and the anode 131 is light-non-transmitting and has strong reflection, so that light is emitted from the upper anode 131 to the lower cathode 133, and bottom light emission is realized. Generally, for the inverted bottom light emitting display panel 100, if high light emitting efficiency is required, the work function of the anode 131 should be as high as possible, and the work function of the cathode 133 should be as low as possible. When the anode 131 is selected as a reflective electrode and the cathode 133 is selected as a light-transmitting electrode, the work function of the anode 131 is reduced, and the work function of the cathode 133 is increased, which causes the light emitting efficiency of the inverted bottom light emitting display panel 100 to be low. Therefore, a light-transmitting active metal is added to the cathode 133 to reduce the work function of the cathode 133, and an ITO or IZO material with high work function is added to the anode 131 to increase the work function of the anode 131. In the case of adding an active metal to the cathode 133, two aspects need to be considered. The first aspect is to consider the light-transmitting property of the active metal. The transmittance of the metal is related to its crystal structure. The crystal structure refers to the arrangement mode of metal atoms according to a specific rule. When the crystal structure of the metal is tight enough, there is not enough space for photons to pass through, and the metal will show the characteristic of being opaque. If the thickness of the metal is reduced to a certain extent, photons can pass through the crystal structure of the metal, so that the metal becomes light-transmitting. The other aspect is to consider the work function. When the light-transmitting property is considered to set the thickness, the work function also needs to be considered. The thickness also has an influence on the work function. Generally, the cathode 133 is formed by using an active metal material, and the active metal material is taken as an example of magnesium or silver. The thickness of the cathode 133 needs to be smaller than that of the reflective metal layer in the anode 131, so as to realize high light emitting efficiency.

[0048] However, when the active metal material of the cathode 133 is thin, for example, 100-300 angstroms, the deposition and etching steps in the process are prone to oxidation; in particular, in the etching process, there are also problems such as photoresist residue and etching, which will affect the work function of the cathode 133, thereby causing the light-emitting efficiency of the inverted bottom-emitting display panel 100 to be low. In response to this, the application forms a partition structure 141 formed by the pixel definition layer 120 and the partition layer 140, and in the process of depositing the cathode 133 on the entire surface, the partition structure 141 is used to form a patterned cathode 133. Even when a thin active metal is formed as the cathode 133, there will be no oxidation problem in a vacuum environment. It is worth mentioning that in the case of a thin active metal deposition of the cathode 133, it is prone to oxidation during the deposition process. For the normal top-emitting display panel 100, the cathode 133 material is generally formed of indium tin oxide material, and the anode 131 material is generally formed of two layers of indium tin oxide material sandwiching a layer of silver material, the silver material has a relatively thick thickness to form a reflective electrode, and is protected by two layers of indium tin oxide material, so it is relatively not prone to oxidation. However, for the inverted bottom-emitting display panel 100, the cathode 133 is not protected by the indium tin oxide material above it, and is prone to oxidation in subsequent processes. The cathode 133 is protected by the partition structure 141 in the embodiment.

[0049] In the embodiment, the process sequence of the light-emitting unit 130 is to first form the lowermost cathode 133, then form the light-emitting functional layer 132, and finally form the anode 131.

[0050] After depositing the entire surface of the cathode 133, no other process is needed, and the light-emitting functional layer 132 can be directly formed, so that the cathode 133 and the light-emitting functional layer 132 are in direct contact and can be processed in the same environment, reducing the influence of intermediate processes on the cathode 133 and the light-emitting functional layer 132. It can be understood that the cathode 133 mentioned in the embodiment refers to being formed of one or both of magnesium material or silver material, for example, magnesium and silver are simultaneously evaporated in a 1:9 ratio to form the cathode. Of course, the cathode 133 material is not limited to the above-mentioned magnesium or silver material, and other active metals also belong to the protection scope of the application.

[0051] Specifically, the anode 131 is formed by depositing a reflective metal material on the entire surface, and the plurality of light-emitting units 130 share the anode 131; for the inverted bottom-emitting display panel 100 in the embodiment, the light-emitting direction of the light-emitting unit 130 is from the anode 131 to the cathode 133, that is, the light-emitting direction of the light-emitting unit is from one side of the substrate.

[0052] To match the work function of the cathode 133 and the light-emitting functional layer 132, the anode 131 of the present embodiment can first be formed by a sputtering process to form a thin layer of indium tin oxide material with a thickness of about 0.01 mm to 0.1 mm, and then vacuum evaporated with a high-reflectivity reflective metal material, which can generally be silver material. Since the anode 131 does not need to be light-transmissive, the anode 131 can be thick and formed on the entire surface, so that the anode 131 formed on the entire surface has a smaller difference in resistance drop at different positions compared to the cathode 133 formed by indium tin oxide in the inverted top-emitting display panel 100, and the resistance drop at different positions is more uniform, avoiding different voltages at different positions. The inverted bottom-emitting display panel 100 has another advantage that, after the light-emitting unit 130 is completed, the emitted light does not exit from the encapsulation layer above the light-emitting unit 130. Therefore, the material and process of the encapsulation layer have more selectivity, and better encapsulation of the light-emitting unit 130 can be achieved.

[0053] Continuing to refer to Figure 2 As shown, the partition layer 140 can also be formed of metal material, that is, after the driving circuit layer 150 on the substrate 110 is completed, a partition layer 140 is formed on the driving circuit layer 150, and a pixel definition layer 120 is formed on the partition layer 140. After the pixel definition layer 120 is patterned, that is, a plurality of opening regions 101 are formed on the pixel definition layer 120, the partition layer 140 is etched using the pattern of the pixel definition layer 120, so that in each non-opening region 102, the radial width of the pixel definition layer 120 is greater than the width of the partition layer 140, that is, at the junction of the opening region 101 and the non-opening region 102, the pixel definition layer 120 protrudes from the partition layer 140.

[0054] Of course, to avoid the cathode 133 of the adjacent two light-emitting units 130 from being electrically connected after being lapped with the partition layer 140, the material of the partition layer 140 can be changed to a non-conductive material, or an insulating material can be added inside the partition layer 140 to avoid the problem of electrical conduction between the cathodes 133 of the adjacent two light-emitting units 130. For example, when the partition layer 140 is formed, a notch is provided around the opening region 101, and when the pixel definition layer 120 is formed, the notch is filled with the pixel definition layer 120, so that the partition layer 140 around each opening region 101 is independent and not connected to each other.

[0055] It is worth mentioning that the cathode redundancy 135 in the present embodiment can also be removed in subsequent processes, for example, after the light-emitting functional layer 132 is formed, the light-emitting functional layer 132 and the cathode redundancy 135 above the pixel definition layer 120 can be removed in sequence.

[0056] Figure 4is a schematic view of a cross section of a display panel according to a second embodiment of the present application, referring to Figure 4 As shown in the drawings, the present application further discloses a display panel 100, which comprises a substrate 110, a pixel definition layer 120, a light emitting unit 130 and a partition layer 140. The pixel definition layer 120 is arranged on the substrate 110 and is provided with a plurality of opening regions 101. The light emitting unit 130 is arranged on the substrate 110 and is located in the opening regions 101. The partition layer 140 is arranged under the pixel definition layer 120. In the orthographic projection of the substrate 110, the boundary of the partition layer 140 is in the projection range of the pixel definition layer 120 and has a preset distance w from the projection boundary of the pixel definition layer 120. The pixel definition layer 120 and the partition layer 140 form a partition structure 141. The light emitting unit 130 comprises a cathode 133, a light emitting functional layer 132 and an anode 131. The cathode 133 is arranged on the substrate 110. The light emitting functional layer 132 is arranged on the cathode 133. The anode 131 is arranged on the light emitting functional layer 132. The partition structure 141 is used to partition the cathode 133 and the cathode redundancy 135 formed on the pixel definition layer 120 when the cathode 133 is deposited in a full surface.

[0057] The display panel 100 further comprises a cathode auxiliary electrode 134, which is formed of a transparent metal oxide material. The cathode auxiliary electrode 134 is arranged under the cathode 133 and is electrically connected to the cathode 133.

[0058] In order to further improve the light emitting efficiency of the inverted bottom light emitting light emitting unit 130, the present embodiment further comprises a cathode auxiliary electrode 134 arranged under the cathode 133. The transparent metal oxide material of the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 comprises an indium tin oxide material (ITO) or an indium zinc oxide material (IZO) and has a light transmittance greater than 90% of the metal material. The cathode auxiliary electrode 134 is connected to the pixel active switch in the driving circuit layer 150 through a via. It can be understood that the substrate 110 is further provided with a driving circuit layer 150. The driving circuit layer 150 generally comprises a pixel driving circuit of the light emitting unit 130, such as a pixel active switch, a data driving line, a scanning control line and the like. The cathode 133 of each light emitting unit 130 is connected to the pixel active switch through the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 and the voltage of the cathode 133 is controlled by the pixel active switch.

[0059] Specifically, the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 of two adjacent light emitting units 130 is separated by the pixel definition layer 120. Considering that the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 needs to be directly connected with the cathode 133 of each light emitting unit 130, the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 of adjacent light emitting units 130 also needs to be arranged in a spaced manner to avoid the problem of electrical crosstalk. When the separation layer 140 is formed of a metal material, the separation layer 140 also needs to be arranged in a spaced manner for adjacent light emitting units 130 because it is in direct contact with the cathode auxiliary electrode 134.

[0060] Further, the separation layer 140 is arranged on the cathode auxiliary electrode 134. After forming the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 and the separation layer 140 in a full surface, a notch is arranged around each opening region 101, which is filled by the pixel definition layer 120.

[0061] When the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 is formed of ITO or IZO material, there is a risk of residue caused by incomplete stripping of the organic photoresist on the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 because ITO and IZO are in direct contact with the organic photoresist or PDL. If residue occurs, an additional process such as plasma treatment is required to remove it, otherwise it will cause device defects and a significant decrease in service life. In the present embodiment, the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 is protected by the separation layer 140 above. After sequentially depositing the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 and the separation layer 140 in a full surface, an organic photoresist material is formed on the separation layer 140 to form protection, a notch is formed in the non-opening region 102, and the pixel definition layer 120 is formed at the notch position. After patterning the pixel definition layer 120, the width of the pixel definition layer 120 above the separation layer 140 is greater than the width of the notch. The pixel definition layer 120 is used as a protective layer to etch the exposed separation layer 140 in the opening region 101. The separation layer 140 under the pixel definition layer 120 is protected by the pixel definition layer 120 and is not etched. The separation layer 140 material not protected by the pixel definition layer 120 is etched away, and the etching liquid will also etch away the separation layer 140 material at the edge position of the pixel definition layer 120, so that a separation structure 141 is formed between the pixel definition layer 120 and the separation layer 140. In a non-opening region 102, the width of the pixel definition layer 120 is greater than the sum of the width of the separation layer 140 below and the width of the notch, i.e. the boundary of the separation layer 140 is within the projection range of the pixel definition layer 120 in the orthographic projection of the substrate 110, and has a predetermined distance w from the projection boundary of the pixel definition layer 120. The pixel definition layer 120 and the separation layer 140 form a separation structure 141.

[0062] At this time, the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 is exposed at the position of the opening region 101, and directly contacts the cathode 133 to form an electrode for driving the light-emitting unit 130 to emit light. In the embodiment, the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 is always not in contact with the organic photoresist, thereby avoiding the problem of the residual organic photoresist on the cathode auxiliary electrode 134. In addition, because the material of the separation layer 140 is different from that of the cathode auxiliary electrode 134, the etching liquid used in the process of etching the separation layer 140 only reacts with the separation metal, and does not react with the cathode auxiliary electrode 134. Therefore, after the separation layer 140 that is not under the pixel definition layer 120 is etched, the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 is exposed, and the separation structure 141 is formed between the separation layer 140 and the pixel definition layer 120.

[0063] In the process of forming the driving circuit layer 150, at least one via hole exists for the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 corresponding to each light-emitting unit 130, so that the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 can be connected to the driving circuit layer 150.

[0064] Specifically, the via hole corresponding to each light-emitting unit 130 is arranged under the separation layer 140, so that at the position of the via hole, the edge portion of the separation layer 140 overlaps the edge portion of the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 in the orthographic projection of the substrate 110. At this time, the separation layer 140 is connected to the cathode auxiliary electrode 134, and the metal material of the separation layer 140 reduces the voltage drop of the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 at this position, which can greatly reduce the resistance of the cathode auxiliary electrode 134, thereby improving the light-emitting efficiency of the light-emitting unit 130.

[0065] In an embodiment, the separation structure 141 in the present application can be realized by setting the thickness of the separation layer 140 and the preset distance w as parameters, wherein the thickness of the separation layer 140 is the separation height difference, specifically the length from the part of the bottom surface of the pixel definition layer 120 protruding from the separation layer 140 to the top surface of the cathode auxiliary electrode 134, and the preset distance w is the width of the pixel definition layer 120 protruding from the separation layer 140. The separation structure 141 is used to form the patterned cathode 133 only when the cathode 133 is formed. The separation structure 141 can also be used to form the separated light-emitting functional layer 132 when the light-emitting functional layer 132 is formed subsequently. However, because the anode 131 needs a certain flatness and is laid continuously and uniformly, the separation structure 141 also needs to ensure that the anode 131 is not separated.

[0066] Figure 5 is an enlarged schematic view of the separation structure of the present application Figure 4 . Figure 5As shown, in a specific embodiment, when the thickness of the cathode 133 is in the range of 100-300 angstroms (it is worth mentioning that all the length ranges in the present application include the end values), the thickness h of the partition layer 140 in the partition structure 141 can be in the range of 100-600 angstroms, so as to realize the partition of the cathode 133. Preferably, the thickness h of the partition layer 140 is in the range of 200-500 angstroms.

[0067] In another specific embodiment, when it is needed to partition the light-emitting functional layer 132, the thickness of the partition layer 140 needs to be further increased. When the thickness of the light-emitting functional layer 132 is in the range of 100-800 angstroms, the thickness h of the partition layer 140 is set in the range of 200-1500 angstroms, so that the partition structure 141 partitions the cathode 133 and the light-emitting functional layer 132 together. Of course, the thickness of the light-emitting functional layer 132 in the present embodiment can be the thickness of the electronic paper transmission layer, or can refer to the total thickness of the light-emitting functional layer 132. That is, the present embodiment can partition a certain layer or multiple film layers in the light-emitting functional layer 132 through the partition structure 141, so as to realize the partition of the light-emitting functional layer 132 of the multiple light-emitting units 130.

[0068] Specifically, the preset distance w is greater than or equal to 5000 angstroms and less than or equal to 50000 angstroms, and further can be in the range of 10000-30000 angstroms. The shorter preset distance w in the present embodiment leads to an unobvious partition effect, and the longer preset distance w leads to an increase in the area of the non-opening region 102.

[0069] Figure 6 FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a display panel according to the present application, Figure 7 FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the manufacturing process of the display panel according to the present application, referring to Figures 6-7 As shown, the present application further discloses a manufacturing method of a display panel, comprising the steps of:

[0070] S110: providing a substrate;

[0071] S120: depositing a partition layer on the substrate;

[0072] S130: depositing a pixel definition layer on the partition layer, and etching the partition layer after patterning the pixel definition layer, so that the pixel definition layer and the partition layer form a partition structure;

[0073] S140: depositing a cathode material on the whole surface to form a cathode in the opening region;

[0074] S150: sequentially forming a light-emitting functional layer and an anode to form multiple light-emitting units;

[0075] In the orthographic projection of the substrate 110, the boundary of the partition layer 140 is within the projection range of the pixel definition layer 120, and has a preset distance w from the projected boundary of the pixel definition layer 120.

[0076] In the embodiment, the partition structure 141 is formed by the partition layer 140 and the pixel definition layer 120, which can be arranged around each opening region 101, so that in the process of forming the cathode 133, the full-area deposition process can be used to lay the cathode 133 material at each position of the substrate 110, but in the opening region 101, the partition structure 141 can completely separate the cathodes 133 between adjacent light emitting units 130, and also disconnect the redundant cathode 133 layer remaining on the pixel definition layer 120 from the cathode 133, to prevent the problem of current crosstalk.

[0077] The full-area deposition process of the cathode 133 material avoids the problem of oxidation of the active metal material in the cathode 133 in the subsequent etching of the cathode 133 pattern, and also avoids the influence of the residual etching material in the etching process. It is worth mentioning that the use of the partition structure 141 to form the cathode 133 can use active metal as the cathode 133, which can avoid the oxidation of the active metal in the cathode 133, and can also reduce the work function of the cathode 133 to improve the imbalance between hole injection and electron injection in the inverted organic light emitting display panel 100, and solve the problem of low light emitting efficiency of the current inverted organic light emitting display panel 100.

[0078] Specifically, when the display panel further includes a cathode auxiliary electrode, the steps in S120 include:

[0079] S121: sequentially depositing a cathode auxiliary electrode and a partition layer on the substrate;

[0080] S122: etching the partition layer and the cathode auxiliary electrode in the non-opening region to form a partition hole.

[0081] In the step of etching the partition hole, an organic photoresist is formed on the partition layer 140 for protection, and the organic photoresist is not arranged at the position of the partition hole, and the partition layer 140 and the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 at the position of the partition hole are etched away by two times of etching.

[0082] In the steps of S130, the steps include:

[0083] S131: forming a pixel definition layer in the non-opening region; wherein the pixel definition layer fills the partition hole, and the radial width of the pixel definition layer is greater than the width of the partition hole.

[0084] The portion of the pixel definition layer 120 in the partition hole is used to partition the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 of the adjacent light emitting unit 130 and separate the partition layer 140, so as to avoid the electrical connection of the partition layer 140 of the adjacent light emitting unit 130. The portion of the pixel definition layer 120 outside the partition hole has a radial width much larger than the width of the partition hole and is located in the non-opening area 102 after etching the pixel definition layer 120. It can be understood that the partition hole in the embodiment is the notch mentioned above.

[0085] S132: etching the partition layer using the pixel definition layer as a protection layer, so that the pixel definition layer and the partition layer form a partition structure.

[0086] After the etching of the pixel definition layer 120 is completed, the partition layer 140 is exposed at the opening area 101. At this time, the pixel definition layer 120 is used as a protection layer to etch the partition layer 140. The pixel definition layer 120 is used as a protection layer to etch the partition layer 140 exposed at the opening area 101. The partition layer 140 under the pixel definition layer 120 is protected by the pixel definition layer 120 and is not etched. The partition layer 140 material not protected by the pixel definition layer 120 is etched away. The etching liquid will also etch away the partition layer 140 material at the edge position of the pixel definition layer 120, so that the pixel definition layer 120 and the partition layer 140 form a partition structure 141. In a non-opening area 102, the width of the pixel definition layer 120 is greater than the sum of the width of the partition layer 140 and the width of the notch below, that is, the boundary of the partition layer 140 is within the projection range of the pixel definition layer 120 in the orthographic projection of the substrate 110, and has a predetermined distance w from the projection boundary of the pixel definition layer 120. The pixel definition layer 120 and the partition layer 140 form a partition structure 141.

[0087] In the embodiment, the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 can be protected by the partition layer 140 above. After the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 and the partition layer 140 are deposited in sequence, the organic photoresist material is formed above the partition layer 140 to protect the partition layer 140. The partition hole is formed in the non-opening area 102, and the pixel definition layer 120 is formed at the position of the partition hole. The pixel definition layer 120 is used as a protection layer, and the partition layer 140 is etched. At this time, the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 is exposed at the position of the opening area 101, and directly contacts the cathode 133 when the cathode 133 is formed, thereby forming an electrode for driving the light-emitting unit 130 to emit light. In the embodiment, the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 is always not in contact with the organic photoresist, thereby avoiding the problem of the residual organic photoresist on the cathode auxiliary electrode 134. Moreover, because the material of the partition layer 140 is different from that of the cathode auxiliary electrode 134, the etching liquid used in the process of etching the partition layer 140 only reacts with the partition metal, and does not react with the cathode auxiliary electrode 134. Therefore, after the partition layer 140 under the pixel definition layer 120 is etched, the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 is exposed, and the partition structure 141 is formed between the partition layer 140 and the pixel definition layer 120.

[0088] In the step of S140, the following steps are included:

[0089] The cathode material is deposited in the whole area, the cathode is formed in the opening area, and the cathode redundancy is formed on the pixel definition layer. The partition structure is used to partition the cathode and the cathode redundancy. The partition structure also partitions the cathodes of adjacent light-emitting units, so that there is no electrical connection between the two.

[0090] In the step of S150, the following steps are included:

[0091] S151: The light-emitting functional layer of a plurality of light-emitting units is formed in the opening area by using the partition structure.

[0092] S152: The anode is deposited in the whole area to form a plurality of light-emitting units.

[0093] In the embodiment, the application forms a partition structure 141 by using the partition layer 140 and the pixel definition layer 120, which can be arranged around each opening region 101, so that in the process of forming the cathode 133, the full-area deposition process can be used to lay the cathode 133 material at each position of the substrate 110, but in the opening region 101, the cathode 133 between adjacent light emitting units 130 can be completely separated by the partition structure 141, and the redundant layer of the cathode 133 remaining on the pixel definition layer 120 is also disconnected from the cathode 133, so as to prevent the problem of current crosstalk. The cathode 133, the cathode auxiliary electrode 134 and the full-area anode 131 in the embodiment make the inverted bottom light emitting display panel 100 have high light emitting efficiency and high display brightness. Moreover, since the anode 131 does not need to be light-transmissive, the anode 131 can be thick and full-area formed, so that the full-area formed anode 131 has smaller resistance drop difference at different positions compared with the full-area cathode 133 formed by indium tin oxide in the upright top light emitting display panel 100, and the resistance drop at different positions is more uniform, so as to avoid different voltages at different positions. The inverted bottom light emitting display panel 100 has another advantage that since the emitted light does not emit from the encapsulation layer above the light emitting unit 130 after the process of the light emitting unit 130 is completed, the material and process of the encapsulation layer can be more selective, and the light emitting unit 130 can be better encapsulated.

[0094] Figure 8 is a schematic view of the display device of the application, as shown in Figure 8 The application further discloses a display device, which comprises a driving circuit 210 and the display panel 100 of any one of the above embodiments, wherein the driving circuit 210 is used for driving the display panel 100 to display.

[0095] It should be noted that the inventive concept of the application can form very many embodiments, but the length of the application file is limited, and therefore, under the premise of not conflicting, the above-described embodiments or technical features can be combined to form new embodiments, and the combination of the embodiments or technical features will enhance the original technical effect.

[0096] The above is a further detailed description of the application in combination with specific optional embodiments, and the specific implementation of the application cannot be limited to these descriptions. For ordinary skilled persons in the technical field to which the application belongs, some simple deductions or replacements can be made without departing from the concept of the application, and all of them should be regarded as falling within the protection scope of the application.

Claims

1. A display panel, comprising a substrate, a pixel definition layer, and light-emitting units, wherein the pixel definition layer is disposed on the substrate and has a plurality of opening regions, and the light-emitting units are disposed on the substrate and located within the opening regions; characterized in that, The display panel further includes a partition layer, which is disposed below the pixel definition layer. Under the orthographic projection of the substrate, the boundary of the partition layer is within the projection range of the pixel definition layer and has a preset distance from the projection boundary of the pixel definition layer. The pixel definition layer and the partition layer form a partition structure. The light-emitting unit includes a cathode, a light-emitting functional layer, and an anode. The cathode is disposed on the substrate, the light-emitting functional layer is disposed on the cathode, and the anode is disposed on the light-emitting functional layer. The isolation structure is used to isolate the cathode from the cathode redundant portion formed on the pixel definition layer when the cathode is deposited on a whole surface.

2. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cathode is formed using one or both of magnesium and silver materials; the anode is formed by deposition of a reflective metal material over the entire surface, and multiple light-emitting units share the anode; the light emitted by the light-emitting unit is emitted from one side of the substrate.

3. The display panel according to claim 2, characterized in that, The light-emitting functional layer includes an electron transport layer, a light-emitting layer, and a hole transport layer. The electron transport layer is disposed on the cathode, the light-emitting layer is disposed on the electron transport layer, the hole transport layer is disposed on the light-emitting layer, and the anode is disposed on the hole transport layer.

4. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that, The display panel also includes a cathode auxiliary electrode, which is formed of a transparent metal oxide material, and is disposed under the cathode and electrically connected to the cathode. The cathode auxiliary electrodes of two adjacent light-emitting units are separated by the pixel definition layer; The partition layer is disposed on the cathode auxiliary electrode.

5. The display panel according to claim 4, characterized in that, The partition layer is made of a metallic material; a gap is provided between the cathode and the partition structure; The preset distance is greater than or equal to 5000 angstroms and less than or equal to 50000 angstroms.

6. A method for manufacturing a display panel, characterized in that, Including the following steps: Provide a substrate; A barrier layer is deposited on the substrate. A pixel definition layer is deposited on the partition layer, and the partition layer is etched after the pixel definition layer is patterned to form a partition structure between the pixel definition layer and the partition layer. The cathode material is deposited over the entire surface to form a cathode in the opening region; A light-emitting functional layer and an anode are formed sequentially to create multiple light-emitting units; Wherein, under the orthographic projection of the substrate, the boundary of the partition layer is within the projection range of the pixel definition layer, and has a preset distance from the projection boundary of the pixel definition layer.

7. The method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 6, characterized in that, The step of creating a substrate isolation layer on the substrate includes: A cathode auxiliary electrode and a partition layer are sequentially deposited on the substrate. The partition layer and the cathode auxiliary electrode are sequentially etched in the non-opening area to form a partition hole; The step of depositing a pixel definition layer on the partition layer, patterning the pixel definition layer, and then etching the partition layer to form a partition structure between the pixel definition layer and the partition layer includes: A pixel definition layer is formed at the non-opening area; wherein the pixel definition layer fills the partition hole, and the radial width of the pixel definition layer is greater than the width of the partition hole; The partition layer is etched using a pixel definition layer as a protective layer to form a partition structure between the pixel definition layer and the partition layer.

8. The method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 6, characterized in that, The step of forming a cathode in the opening region by depositing cathode material over the entire surface includes: A cathode material is deposited over the entire surface to form a cathode in the opening area and a cathode redundancy is formed on the pixel definition layer; wherein, the partition structure is used to isolate the cathode from the cathode redundancy. The step of sequentially forming a light-emitting functional layer and an anode to form multiple light-emitting units includes: The partition structure is used to form a light-emitting functional layer with multiple light-emitting units in the opening area; The entire surface is deposited with an anode to form multiple light-emitting units.

9. The method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 6, characterized in that, The thickness of the cathode is greater than or equal to 100 angstroms and less than or equal to 300 angstroms; The preset distance is greater than or equal to 5000 angstroms and less than or equal to 50000 angstroms; the thickness of the partition layer is greater than or equal to 100 angstroms and less than or equal to 600 angstroms.

10. A display device, characterized in that, The device includes a driving circuit and a display panel as described in any one of claims 1-5, wherein the driving circuit is used to drive the display panel to display.

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