Light-emitting substrate, display panel and preparation method of light-emitting substrate

Abstract

The invention provides a light-emitting substrate, a display panel and a preparation method of the light-emitting substrate. The preparation method of the display panel comprises the following steps: manufacturing a light-emitting substrate; manufacturing a driving substrate; and performing counterpoint bonding on the light-emitting substrate and the driving substrate. The step of manufacturing the light-emitting substrate comprises the steps that a metal pattern layer and a first protection layer are manufactured on the two opposite sides of the glass substrate respectively, and the first protection layer wraps the protruding part of the conductive part; and manufacturing a light-emitting device layer on the metal pattern layer. The step of manufacturing the driving substrate comprises the substeps of manufacturing a driving circuit layer, a driving electrode and an insulating layer on a silicon substrate; and manufacturing a second protective layer on the insulating layer, wherein the second protective layer covers the exposed part of the driving electrode. The preparation method can improve the production efficiency and the product yield, and is easy to implement.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of display technology, and in particular to a light-emitting substrate, a display panel, and a method for preparing the same. Background Technology

[0002] Monocrystalline silicon driving backplanes are driving substrates formed using semiconductor devices fabricated using Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology as driving units. Compared to conventional Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode (AMOLED) panels that use amorphous silicon, microcrystalline silicon, or low-temperature polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors as backplanes, monocrystalline silicon driving backplanes exhibit higher carrier mobility. Therefore, silicon-based organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panels are currently the highest-performing display panel type used in AR / VR products.

[0003] Currently, silicon-based OLED display panels integrate the traditionally externally bonded display chip into a silicon-based driving backplane. The fabrication method involves depositing OLED light-emitting devices onto a silicon-based driving substrate. Specifically, the process involves first depositing an anode, then creating a pixel definition layer, followed by the sequential deposition of an organic light-emitting layer and a cathode. This allows for the fabrication of smaller pixel units, achieving display detail exceeding retina-level precision, and offering numerous advantages such as high resolution, high integration, low power consumption, small size, and light weight.

[0004] However, directly depositing OLED light-emitting devices on silicon-based driving substrates can easily damage the silicon-based driving circuits, rendering them unusable and increasing costs. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a light-emitting substrate, a display panel, and a method for fabricating the same, aiming to solve the problem in the prior art that directly evaporating and depositing OLED light-emitting devices on a silicon-based driving substrate can easily lead to damage to the driving circuit.

[0006] To address the aforementioned technical problems, the first technical solution provided in this application is: a method for manufacturing a display panel. This method for manufacturing a display panel includes:

[0007] Fabrication of a light-emitting substrate includes:

[0008] Provide glass substrates;

[0009] A metal pattern layer and a first protective layer are respectively formed on opposite sides of a glass substrate; wherein, the metal pattern layer includes an electrode layer and a conductive portion connected to each other, the electrode layer is disposed on one side of the glass substrate, and the conductive portion penetrates the glass substrate to the other side and protrudes partially; the first protective layer covers the protruding portion of the conductive portion.

[0010] A light-emitting device layer is fabricated on the side of the metal pattern layer away from the glass substrate;

[0011] Fabrication of the driver substrate includes:

[0012] A silicon substrate is provided, and a driving circuit layer, a driving electrode, and an insulating layer are fabricated on the silicon substrate; the driving electrode is electrically coupled to the driving circuit layer and is exposed through the insulating layer;

[0013] A second protective layer is formed on the side of the insulating layer away from the silicon substrate; the second protective layer covers the exposed portion of the driving electrode;

[0014] The alignment and bonding of the light-emitting substrate and the driving substrate includes:

[0015] Remove the first and second protective layers;

[0016] The conductive part of the light-emitting substrate is aligned and bonded to the driving electrode of the driving substrate.

[0017] In some embodiments, a plurality of glass through holes are formed on the glass substrate;

[0018] The steps of fabricating a metal pattern layer and a first protective layer on opposite sides of a glass substrate include:

[0019] Fabrication of a metal pattern layer: A first metal layer is deposited on one side of a glass substrate and patterned to form an electrode layer and conductive parts;

[0020] Fabrication of the first protective layer: Photoresist is coated on the other side of the glass substrate to cover the glass vias, and the photoresist is cured to form the first protective layer.

[0021] In some implementations, the step of creating the metallic pattern layer precedes the step of creating the first protective layer;

[0022] The step of creating the metal pattern layer includes, before depositing the first metal layer:

[0023] A glass substrate is aligned and placed on a carrier plate; the upper surface of the carrier plate has multiple first grooves, and after the glass substrate is aligned and placed on the carrier plate, the first grooves are aligned with and connected to the glass through holes.

[0024] In some implementations, the step of creating the first protective layer precedes the step of creating the metal pattern layer;

[0025] The step of fabricating the first protective layer, after coating the other side of the glass substrate with photoresist, also includes:

[0026] The photoresist is exposed and developed, which forms multiple second grooves on the side of the photoresist close to the glass substrate. The second grooves are aligned with and connected to the glass vias.

[0027] In some embodiments, the step of forming a second protective layer on the side of the insulating layer away from the silicon substrate includes:

[0028] Photoresist is coated on the insulating layer, the photoresist covers the exposed part of the driving electrode, and the photoresist is cured to form a second protective layer.

[0029] The steps for removing the first protective layer and the second protective layer include: etching the first protective layer and the second protective layer respectively to remove the first protective layer and the second protective layer.

[0030] In some embodiments, the electrode layer includes an anode electrode and an auxiliary cathode, the auxiliary cathode being located at the edge of the metal pattern layer; the conductive portion includes an anode bonding portion connected to the anode electrode and a cathode bonding portion connected to the auxiliary cathode; the driving electrode includes an anode driving electrode and a cathode driving electrode, the cathode driving electrode being located at the edge of the driving electrode.

[0031] The steps of aligning and bonding the conductive portion of the light-emitting substrate with the driving electrode of the driving substrate include:

[0032] Align the anode bonding portion with the anode driving electrode, and align the cathode bonding portion with the cathode driving electrode.

[0033] The aligned light-emitting substrate and the driving substrate are bonded together to form an electrical connection.

[0034] In some embodiments, the auxiliary cathode is annular and surrounds a plurality of anode electrodes; the cathode driving electrode is annular and surrounds a plurality of anode driving electrodes; or,

[0035] There are multiple auxiliary cathodes, which surround multiple anodes; there are multiple cathode driving electrodes, which surround multiple anode driving electrodes.

[0036] The auxiliary cathode's orthogonal projection on the glass substrate covers multiple cathode bonding portions; after the light-emitting substrate and the driving substrate are aligned, the multiple cathode bonding portions are located in the region of the cathode driving electrode in a direction perpendicular to the driving substrate.

[0037] In some embodiments, the step of fabricating a light-emitting device layer on the side of the metal pattern layer away from the substrate includes:

[0038] A pixel definition layer is fabricated on one side of the glass substrate to define the pixel opening and expose the electrode layer through the pixel opening;

[0039] Evaporate the light-emitting layer material, depositing the light-emitting layer material onto the electrode layer inside the pixel opening to form the light-emitting layer;

[0040] The cathode material is vapor-deposited onto the light-emitting layer and the pixel definition layer, and extends to the outermost electrode layer to form the cathode electrode.

[0041] To address the aforementioned technical problems, the second technical solution provided in this application is: to provide a light-emitting substrate. The light-emitting substrate includes:

[0042] Glass substrate;

[0043] A metal patterned layer includes interconnected electrode layers and conductive portions; the electrode layers are disposed on one side of a glass substrate, and the conductive portions penetrate the glass substrate to the other side and partially protrude.

[0044] A protective layer is disposed on the other side of the glass substrate and covers the protruding portion of the conductive part;

[0045] The light-emitting device layer is disposed on the side of the electrode layer away from the glass substrate.

[0046] To address the aforementioned technical problems, the third technical solution provided in this application is: to provide a display panel. The light-emitting substrate includes a driving substrate and a light-emitting substrate bonded together; the display panel is fabricated by the method provided in the above technical solutions.

[0047] The beneficial effects of this application are as follows: Unlike existing technologies, this application provides a light-emitting substrate, a display panel, and a method for fabricating the same. The method for fabricating the display panel includes fabricating a light-emitting substrate, fabricating a driving substrate, and aligning and bonding the light-emitting substrate and the driving substrate. By fabricating light-emitting devices on a glass substrate to form the light-emitting substrate, and then bonding the light-emitting substrate to the driving substrate, the light-emitting devices can be fabricated independently of the driving substrate. This avoids the problem of damage to the driving circuit caused by directly depositing light-emitting devices on the driving substrate, thus improving product yield. Furthermore, the separate fabrication of the light-emitting substrate and the driving substrate makes the fabrication method more flexible and improves production efficiency. Further, the fabrication method provided in this application involves fabricating a metal pattern layer and a first protective layer on opposite sides of the glass substrate, with the first protective layer covering the portion of the conductive part of the metal pattern layer that protrudes from the glass substrate. This protects the protruding portion of the conductive part from damage during subsequent processes due to contact with equipment, preventing signal transmission abnormalities. Similarly, by fabricating a second protective layer on the insulating layer on the surface of the driving substrate, the second protective layer covers the exposed portion of the driving electrode to protect the driving electrode and prevent damage to the driving electrode caused by external forces or other external factors during subsequent storage, transportation and other operations, which could lead to abnormal signal transmission and other problems. Attached Figure Description

[0048] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0049] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a display panel provided in one embodiment of this application;

[0050] Figure 2 This is a schematic flowchart of a method for manufacturing a display panel according to an embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating one embodiment of step S10 is provided;

[0052] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the fabrication process of the light-emitting substrate provided in the implementation method;

[0053] Figure 5 yes Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating one embodiment of step S20 is provided;

[0054] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of the driving substrate provided in the implementation method;

[0055] Figure 7 yes Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating one embodiment of step S12 is provided;

[0056] Figure 8 yes Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the process flow for step S12 provided in the implementation method;

[0057] Figure 9 yes Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating another embodiment of step S12 is provided;

[0058] Figure 10 yes Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the process flow for step S12 provided in the implementation method;

[0059] Figure 11 yes Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating one embodiment of step S13 is provided;

[0060] Figure 12 yes Figure 11 A schematic diagram of the process flow for step S13 provided in the implementation method;

[0061] Figure 13 yes Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating another embodiment of step S20 is provided;

[0062] Figure 14 yes Figure 13 A schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of the driving substrate provided in the implementation method;

[0063] Figure 15 yes Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating another embodiment of step S20;

[0064] Figure 16 yes Figure 15 A schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of the driving substrate provided in the implementation method;

[0065] Figure 17 yes Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating one embodiment of step S30 is provided;

[0066] Figure 18 yes Figure 17 A schematic diagram of the bonding process between two substrates provided in the implementation method;

[0067] Figure 19This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of a metal patterned layer provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0068] Figure 20 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of the driving electrode provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0069] Figure 21 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of a metal patterned layer provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0070] Figure 22 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of the driving electrode provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0071] Figure label:

[0072] 100-Display panel; 10-Light-emitting substrate; 11-Glass substrate; 111-Glass through-hole; 12-Metal pattern layer; 121-Electrode layer; 1211-Anode electrode; 1212-Auxiliary electrode; 122-Conductive part; 1221-Anode bonding part; 1222-Cathode bonding part; 13-Pixel definition layer; 131-Pixel opening; 14-Light-emitting layer; 15-Cathode electrode; 16-Encapsulation layer; 17-First protective layer; 171-Second groove;

[0073] 20-Driver substrate; 21-Silicon substrate; 22-Driver circuit layer; 23-Insulating layer; 231-Via; 24-Bonding electrode layer; 241-Driver electrode; 2411-Anode drive electrode; 2412-Cathode drive electrode; 25-Second protective layer;

[0074] 30 - Carrier; 31 - First groove; L - Light-emitting unit; LD - Light-emitting device layer; PR - Photoresist. Detailed Implementation

[0075] The embodiments of this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0076] In the following description, specific details such as particular system architectures, interfaces, and technologies are presented for illustrative purposes rather than for limiting purposes, in order to provide a thorough understanding of this application.

[0077] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0078] The terms "first," "second," and "third" in this application are for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, a feature defined as "first," "second," or "third" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. In the description of this application, "multiple" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified. All directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.) in the embodiments of this application are only used to explain the relative positional relationships and movements between components in a specific orientation (as shown in the figures). If the specific orientation changes, the directional indications also change accordingly. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0079] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0080] The present application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0081] Please see Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a display panel provided in an embodiment of this application. In this embodiment, a display panel 100 is provided, which includes a driving substrate 20 and a light-emitting substrate 10 bonded together with each other.

[0082] The driving substrate 20 includes a silicon substrate 21, a driving circuit layer 22, a bonding electrode layer 24, and an insulating layer 23 stacked sequentially. Specifically, in some embodiments, the silicon substrate 21 may be configured as a single-crystal silicon substrate.

[0083] The driving circuit layer 22 includes a plurality of pixel driving circuit units, each pixel driving circuit unit including a driving device; in some embodiments, a CMOS device may be used as a driving device to form a pixel driving circuit unit, thereby driving the light-emitting unit L to emit light.

[0084] The bonding electrode layer 24 is electrically coupled to the driving circuit layer 22. The bonding electrode layer 24 includes a plurality of driving electrodes 241. The driving electrodes 241 are electrically connected to the pixel driving circuit unit so that the driving signal is transmitted from the pixel driving circuit unit to the driving electrode 241, and then transmitted to the light-emitting substrate 10 through the driving electrode 241.

[0085] An insulating layer 23 is disposed on the side of the driving circuit layer 22 away from the silicon substrate 21, and has a plurality of vias 231. The driving electrode 241 passes through the insulating layer 23 and is electrically connected to the pixel driving circuit unit, and the driving electrode 241 is partially exposed for alignment and bonding with the light-emitting substrate 10. The insulating layer 23 may include an organic insulating layer 23 and / or an inorganic insulating layer 23. Specifically, the insulating layer 23 may be configured as an inorganic insulating layer 23, and the material of the inorganic insulating layer 23 may be an inorganic insulating material such as silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, or silicon oxynitride.

[0086] The light-emitting substrate 10 includes a conductive portion 122, a glass substrate 11, an electrode layer 121, and a light-emitting device layer LD, which are stacked sequentially. Specifically, the conductive portion 122 and the electrode layer 121 are disposed on opposite sides of the glass substrate 11. The electrode layer 121 includes a plurality of anode electrodes 1211 and an auxiliary cathode disposed around the plurality of anode electrodes 1211. The glass substrate 11 has a plurality of glass through holes 111, and the conductive portion 122 is electrically connected to the corresponding anode electrode 1211 or auxiliary cathode through the glass through holes 111.

[0087] The light-emitting device layer LD is disposed on the side of the electrode layer 121 away from the glass substrate 11, and includes a pixel definition layer 13, a light-emitting layer 14, and a cathode electrode 15. The pixel definition layer 13 is disposed on the side of the electrode layer 121 away from the glass substrate 11, and multiple pixel openings 131 are defined by patterning. The pixel openings 131 are corresponding to the anode, so that the anode electrode 1211 is exposed. The light-emitting layer 14 is disposed within the pixel openings 131 and contacts the anode electrode 1211. The cathode electrode 15 is disposed on the side of the light-emitting layer 14 away from the glass substrate 11 and contacts the light-emitting layer 14. The cathode electrode 15 can specifically be a full-surface electrode and extends to the outside of the pixel definition layer 13 to make contact with an auxiliary cathode. Each light-emitting layer 14, together with the contacting anode electrode 1211 and cathode electrode 15, constitutes a light-emitting unit L. In some embodiments, the light-emitting layer 14 may include light-emitting layers 14 with different emitting colors, such as a red light-emitting layer 14, a green light-emitting layer 14, and a blue light-emitting layer 14, thereby forming a red light-emitting unit L, a green light-emitting unit L, and a blue light-emitting unit L to achieve color display. In some embodiments, the light-emitting layer 14 may also be a white light-emitting layer 14, thereby forming a white light-emitting unit L. A color filter layer may be provided on the side of the cathode away from the glass substrate 11, and color display is achieved through the color filter layer. The light-emitting substrate 10 may also include an encapsulation layer 16 for sealing the light-emitting unit L, for blocking external water and oxygen, and preventing external water and oxygen intrusion from causing the light-emitting unit L to fail.

[0088] By aligning and bonding the conductive part 122 with the driving electrode 241, the driving signal of the driving substrate 20 can be transmitted to the light-emitting unit L through the conductive part 122, thereby driving the light-emitting unit L to emit light.

[0089] In this embodiment, by setting the light-emitting device layer (LD) on the glass substrate 11 to form an independent structure of the light-emitting substrate 10, the light-emitting substrate 10 and the driving substrate 20 can be fabricated separately. This not only improves production efficiency but also effectively avoids damage to the pixel driving circuit during the direct fabrication of the light-emitting device layer (LD) on the driving substrate 20, thus preventing a decrease in product yield. Simultaneously, by using the glass substrate 11 as the substrate of the light-emitting substrate 10, the glass substrate 11 exhibits better stability and is less susceptible to deformation due to temperature changes, which is beneficial for maintaining the stability and electrical performance of the light-emitting device. Furthermore, the glass substrate 11 has better light transmittance, which is beneficial for improving the brightness of the display panel 100. Moreover, by setting the light-emitting device layer (LD) on the glass substrate 11, it is beneficial for the large-size fabrication of the light-emitting substrate 10.

[0090] Specifically, the display panel 100 can be prepared by the preparation method described below, please refer to the detailed description and introduction below.

[0091] Please refer to 2. Figure 2This is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for manufacturing a display panel according to an embodiment of this application. In this embodiment, a method for manufacturing a display panel 100 is provided, the method comprising:

[0092] S10: Fabrication of light-emitting substrate 10;

[0093] S20: Fabrication of driver substrate 20;

[0094] S30: Align and bond the light-emitting substrate 10 with the driving substrate 20.

[0095] In this process, steps S10 and S20 are not sequential; that is, the light-emitting substrate 10 and the driving substrate 20 are manufactured separately. Steps S10 and S20 can be prepared according to production needs, and there is no specific order requirement.

[0096] Please see Figure 3 and Figure 4 , Figure 3 yes Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating one embodiment of step S10 is provided. Figure 4 yes Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the fabrication process of the light-emitting substrate provided in the embodiment. Specifically, step S10 of fabricating the light-emitting substrate 10 includes:

[0097] S11: Provides glass substrate 11;

[0098] S12: A metal pattern layer 12 and a first protective layer 17 are respectively formed on opposite sides of the glass substrate 11;

[0099] S13: A light-emitting device layer (LD) is fabricated on the side of the metal pattern layer 12 away from the glass substrate 11.

[0100] In step S12, the metal pattern layer 12 includes an electrode layer 121 and a conductive portion 122 that are connected to each other. The electrode layer 121 is disposed on one side of the glass substrate 11, and the conductive portion 122 penetrates through the glass substrate 11 to the other side and protrudes partially. The first protective layer 17 covers the protruding portion of the conductive portion 122.

[0101] Specifically, in step S12, a plurality of glass through holes 111 are formed on the glass substrate 11 so that when the metal pattern layer 12 is formed on the glass substrate 11, the metal material fills into the glass through holes 111 and protrudes from the glass substrate 11 on the other side to form a conductive portion 122. The conductive portion 122 is used to align and bond with the driving electrode 241 of the driving substrate 20 so that the driving signal is transmitted to the light-emitting substrate 10.

[0102] Furthermore, in step S12, by forming a first protective layer 17 on the other side of the glass substrate 11, the first protective layer 17 covers the protruding portion of the conductive part 122, which can protect the conductive part 122 to ensure the reliability of bonding and prevent the conductive part 122 from being exposed and damaged in subsequent processes. For example, in subsequent processes, it is inevitable that it will come into contact with equipment, which can easily cause damage to the conductive part 122, thus making it very easy to have problems such as poor bonding during subsequent alignment and bonding, resulting in abnormal signal transmission. At the same time, it can also avoid damage to the conductive part 122 during handling, storage and other operations.

[0103] Please see Figure 5 and Figure 6 , Figure 5 yes Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating one embodiment of step S20 is provided. Figure 6 yes Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of the driving substrate provided in this embodiment. In this embodiment, step S20 of manufacturing the driving substrate 20 specifically includes:

[0104] S21: Provides silicon substrate 21;

[0105] S22: A driving circuit layer 22, a driving electrode 241 and an insulating layer 23 are fabricated on a silicon substrate 21;

[0106] S23: A second protective layer 25 is formed on the side of the insulating layer 23 away from the silicon substrate 21.

[0107] In step S22, the driving electrode 241 is electrically coupled to the driving circuit layer 22 and exposed through the insulating layer 23 for alignment and bonding with the conductive part 122 of the light-emitting substrate 10, so that the driving signal is conducted to the light-emitting unit L through the bonded driving electrode 241 and the conductive part 122 to drive the light-emitting unit L to emit light.

[0108] In step S23, the second protective layer 25 covers the exposed portion of the driving electrode 241, which can protect the driving electrode 241 to ensure bonding reliability and prevent the driving electrode 241 from being exposed to the outside and damaged, such as being damaged by external forces or other external factors during subsequent handling and storage, which can easily lead to poor bonding and other problems during subsequent alignment bonding, resulting in abnormal signal transmission.

[0109] This embodiment, by fabricating the light-emitting substrate 10 and the driving substrate 20 separately, not only improves production efficiency, but also retains the advantages of the silicon-based driving substrate 20 by using the silicon substrate 21 as the substrate of the driving substrate 20. Meanwhile, using the glass substrate 11 as the substrate of the light-emitting substrate 10 saves costs, and the glass substrate 11 has better stability, is less susceptible to deformation due to temperature changes, which helps maintain the stability and electrical performance of the light-emitting device; furthermore, the glass substrate 11 has better light transmittance, which is beneficial for improving the brightness of the display panel 100. Furthermore, by fabricating the light-emitting device layer LD on the glass substrate 11, it is possible to achieve a large-size light-emitting substrate 10.

[0110] In step S10, the method further includes: forming multiple glass vias 111 on the glass substrate 11. Specifically, the glass vias 111 can be fabricated using a laser-induced etching process. This involves first irradiating the desired location on the glass substrate 11 with a laser to form a modified region, and then etching the modified region with an etching solution to form the glass vias 111. By using a glass substrate 11 as the substrate, compared to a silicon-based substrate, the glass substrate 11 has better insulation properties. Therefore, it is not necessary to fabricate an oxide insulating layer 23 on the wall of the glass vias 111, nor is a specialized thin wafer holding technique required, thus reducing costs. Simultaneously, due to the good insulation properties of the glass substrate 11, electromagnetic coupling effects are less likely to occur during signal transmission, effectively reducing insertion loss, crosstalk, and other signal problems, ensuring signal integrity.

[0111] In a specific implementation, step S12 includes:

[0112] S121: Fabrication of metal pattern layer 12: A first metal layer is deposited on the first side of the glass substrate 11 and patterned to form an electrode layer 121 and a conductive portion 122.

[0113] S122: Fabrication of the first protective layer 17: Photoresist PR is coated on the second side of the glass substrate 11, so that the photoresist PR covers the glass via 111, and the photoresist PR is cured to form the first protective layer 17.

[0114] In this configuration, the first and second sides of the glass substrate 11 are opposite each other. It should be noted that steps S121 and S122 can be interchanged. That is, step S121 can be performed before step S122, or vice versa. This can be understood as follows: the metal pattern layer 12 can be fabricated first, followed by the first protective layer 17; or the first protective layer 17 can be fabricated first, followed by the metal pattern layer 12. Please refer to the following description for details.

[0115] Please see Figure 7 and Figure 8 , Figure 7 yes Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating one embodiment of step S12 is provided. Figure 8 yes Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the process flow for step S12 provided in this embodiment. In this embodiment, step S121 occurs before step S122.

[0116] Specifically, before step S121, step S120 is included: aligning and setting the glass substrate 11 onto the carrier plate 30. The upper surface of the carrier plate 30 has multiple first grooves 31. After the glass substrate 11 is aligned and set onto the carrier plate 30, the first grooves 31 align and communicate with the glass through holes 111, that is, they overlap and communicate in the direction perpendicular to the glass substrate 11. The number of first grooves 31 on the carrier plate 30 is greater than or equal to the number of glass through holes 111. The shape and depth of the first grooves 31 can be designed according to the protruding portion of the conductive part 122. It should be noted that after the glass substrate 11 is aligned and set onto the carrier plate 30, it is necessary to ensure that the second side of the glass substrate 11 is tightly fitted with the carrier plate 30 to avoid the first metal layer overflowing and causing a short circuit in the conductive part 122.

[0117] In step S121, a first metal layer is deposited on the first side of the glass substrate 11 and in the glass via 111 and the first groove 31 to fill the glass via 111 and the first groove 31, thereby forming a conductive portion 122. Then, the first metal layer is patterned to form an electrode layer 121. Specifically, the electrode layer 121 includes an outermost auxiliary electrode 1212 and an anode electrode 1211 located in the display area; the conductive portion 122 includes an anode bonding portion 1221 and a cathode bonding portion 1222. The conductive portion 122 connected to the anode electrode 1211 is the anode bonding portion 1221, and the conductive portion connected to the auxiliary cathode is the cathode bonding portion 1222. The anode electrode 1211 is used for contact electrical connection with the light-emitting layer 14, and the auxiliary cathode is used for contact electrical connection with the cathode electrode 15.

[0118] It is easy to understand that before step S122, the carrier plate 30 needs to be separated from the glass substrate 11, and then the glass substrate 11 is flipped so that the second side of the glass substrate 11 is on top and the first side is on the bottom. Then, the first protective layer 17 is formed on the second side. In step S122, since photoresist PR is a commonly used material for manufacturing display panels 100, it is more convenient to use photoresist PR to make the first protective layer 17, and there is no need to prepare materials specifically for making the protective layer. Moreover, when the first protective layer 17 is made of photoresist PR, after the photoresist PR is cured, the connection between the photoresist PR and the glass substrate 11 is more reliable, and it is not easy to peel off, which can better protect the protruding part of the conductive part 122.

[0119] Please see Figure 9and Figure 10 , Figure 9 yes Figure 3 Another embodiment of step S12 provides a flowchart. Figure 10 yes Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the process flow for step S12 provided in this embodiment. In this embodiment, step S122 occurs before step S123.

[0120] Specifically, step S122 includes:

[0121] S1221: Coat the second side of the glass substrate 11 with photoresist PR, so that the photoresist PR covers the second side of the glass substrate 11, and pre-dry it;

[0122] S1222: Expose and develop the photoresist PR to form a plurality of second grooves 171 on the side of the photoresist PR close to the glass substrate 11. The second grooves 171 are aligned with and connected to the glass through holes 111.

[0123] S1223: Curing process for photoresist PR.

[0124] In step S1222, the photoresist PR is exposed using a mask and then developed to form a plurality of second grooves 171 in the area of ​​the photoresist PR near the glass substrate 11 corresponding to the glass via 111. The shape and depth of the second grooves 171 can be fabricated according to the shape and height of the protrusion of the conductive portion 122.

[0125] Then, the glass substrate 11 is flipped, and step S21 is performed, whereby a first metal layer is deposited on the first side of the glass substrate 11 and deposited in the glass through-hole 111 and the second groove 171 to fill the glass through-hole 111 and the second groove 171, thereby forming a conductive portion 122. The first metal layer is then patterned to form an electrode layer 121. Compared to the previous embodiment, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to fabricate the protrusions forming the conductive portion 122 on the carrier plate 30. The first protective layer 17 is used both to fabricate the protrusions forming the conductive portion 122 and to protect the protrusions of the conductive portion 122.

[0126] Please see Figure 11 and Figure 12 , Figure 11 yes Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating one embodiment of step S13 is provided. Figure 12 yes Figure 11 A schematic diagram of the process flow for step S13 provided in the implementation method.

[0127] In this embodiment, after step S12, step S13 is performed, which specifically includes:

[0128] S131: A pixel definition layer 13 is formed on the first side of the glass substrate 11 to define a pixel opening 131 and expose the electrode layer 121 through the pixel opening 131.

[0129] S132: Evaporate the material of the light-emitting layer 14, so that the material of the light-emitting layer 14 is deposited on the electrode layer 121 inside the pixel opening 131 to form the light-emitting layer 14;

[0130] S133: Evaporate cathode material, depositing the cathode material on the light-emitting layer 14 and the pixel definition layer 13, and extending it to the outermost electrode layer 121 to form the cathode electrode 15.

[0131] In step S131, the pixel definition layer 13 can be patterned using photoresist PR, or it can be patterned using an inorganic material film layer, depending on the actual needs. The pixel definition layer 13 defines a plurality of pixel openings 131, which expose the anode electrode 1211 and the auxiliary electrode 1212.

[0132] In step S32, different light-emitting layer 14 materials can be used to form light-emitting layers 14 with different light-emitting colors by vapor deposition, such as red light-emitting layer 14, green light-emitting layer 14 and blue light-emitting layer 14; or, white light-emitting layer 14 material can be used for vapor deposition to form white light-emitting layer 14; then, a color filter layer is made to achieve color display.

[0133] In step S133, cathode material is vapor-deposited onto each light-emitting layer 14 and the pixel definition layer 13, and extends to the outermost auxiliary electrode 1212, forming an electrical connection with the auxiliary electrode 1212, thereby forming a full-surface cathode electrode 15 to improve the uniformity of the cathode signal and reduce the voltage drop. Through step S133, multiple arrayed light-emitting units L are formed, namely, the anode electrode 1211, the light-emitting layer 14, and the cathode electrode 15 constitute the light-emitting unit L, and the color of the light-emitting unit L depends on the emission color of its electrode layer 121.

[0134] In this embodiment, step S13 may further include:

[0135] S134: An encapsulation layer 16 is formed on the side of the cathode electrode 15 away from the glass substrate 11 to encapsulate the light-emitting unit L.

[0136] The encapsulation layer 16 can be a multilayer stack of organic encapsulation layer 16 and inorganic encapsulation layer 16 to ensure the effectiveness of encapsulation, isolate external water and oxygen, and prevent water and oxygen intrusion from causing the light-emitting unit L to fail.

[0137] Please see Figure 13 and Figure 14 , Figure 13yes Figure 2 Another embodiment of step S20 provides a flowchart. Figure 14 yes Figure 13 A schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of the driving substrate provided in this embodiment. In this embodiment, step S20 of manufacturing the driving substrate 20 specifically includes:

[0138] S21: Provides silicon substrate 21;

[0139] S221: Fabricate a driving circuit layer 22 on the silicon substrate 21;

[0140] S222: An insulating layer 23 is fabricated on the driving circuit layer 22, and multiple vias 231 are formed on the insulating layer 23;

[0141] S223: A second metal layer is deposited on the insulating layer 23, and the second metal layer is deposited in the via 231 to make contact and electrical connection with the driving circuit layer 22. The second metal layer is patterned to form multiple driving electrodes 241.

[0142] S231: Photoresist PR is coated on the side of insulating layer 23 away from silicon substrate 21, so that photoresist PR covers driving electrode 241, and photoresist PR is cured.

[0143] In step S222, the insulating layer 23 can be an inorganic insulating layer, such as a silicon dioxide insulating layer. The insulating layer 23 can be etched to form a via 231. In step S223, a second metal layer of a predetermined thickness is deposited on the insulating layer 23, and the second metal layer fills the via 231 to form an electrical connection with the driving circuit layer 22 through the via 231. Then, the second metal layer is patterned to form a driving electrode 241 at the via 231.

[0144] In step S231, the second protective layer 25 is also fabricated using photoresist PR, which is more convenient and does not require special materials for fabricating the protective layer. Moreover, using photoresist PR to fabricate the second protective layer 25, after the photoresist PR is cured, the connection between it and the insulating layer 23 is more reliable, less prone to peeling off, and can better protect the protruding part of the driving electrode 241.

[0145] Please see Figure 15 and Figure 16 , Figure 15 yes Figure 2 A flowchart is provided in another embodiment of step S20. Figure 16 yes Figure 15 A schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of the driving substrate provided in this embodiment. In this embodiment, step S20 of manufacturing the driving substrate 20 specifically includes:

[0146] S21: Provides silicon substrate 21;

[0147] S221: Fabricate a driving circuit layer 22 on the silicon substrate 21;

[0148] S224: A second metal layer is deposited on the insulating layer 23 and the second metal layer is patterned to form a plurality of driving electrodes 241;

[0149] S225: An insulating layer 23 is fabricated on the driving circuit layer 22, and multiple vias 231 are formed on the insulating layer 23 to expose the driving electrode 241.

[0150] S231: Photoresist PR is coated on the side of insulating layer 23 away from silicon substrate 21, so that photoresist PR covers driving electrode 241, and photoresist PR is cured.

[0151] Unlike the previous embodiment, in this embodiment, the driving electrode 241 is fabricated first, and then the insulating layer 23 is fabricated. Specifically, in step S225, in some embodiments, the depth of the via 231 can be greater than the height of the driving electrode 241, that is, the driving electrode 241 is completely located in the via 231, so that the driving electrode 241 and the via 231 form a recessed structure. When the driving electrode 241 is aligned and bonded to the conductive part 122 of the light-emitting substrate 10, the conductive part 122 is embedded in the recessed structure to form alignment. This can play an inductive role during alignment, improve alignment accuracy, and limit the conductive part 122 to avoid displacement problems after alignment. It should be noted that the protrusion height of the conductive part 122 needs to be greater than the depth of the recessed structure to facilitate the bonding of the conductive part 122 and the driving electrode 241 to form an electrical connection.

[0152] In a specific embodiment of this application, on the light-emitting substrate 10, the electrode layer 121 includes an anode electrode 1211 and an auxiliary cathode, with the auxiliary cathode located at the edge of the metal pattern layer 12; the conductive portion 122 includes an anode bonding portion 1221 connected to the anode electrode 1211 and a cathode bonding portion 1222 connected to the auxiliary cathode. On the driving substrate 20, the driving electrode 241 includes an anode driving electrode 2411 and a cathode driving electrode 2412, with the cathode driving electrode 2412 located at the edge of the driving electrode 241. The distribution design of the conductive portions 122 matches the distribution design of the driving electrodes 241, so that each conductive portion 122 can be aligned and bonded to the corresponding driving electrode 241. For details on the specific alignment and bonding method, please refer to the following description.

[0153] Please see Figure 17 and Figure 18 , Figure 17 yes Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating one embodiment of step S30 is provided. Figure 18 yes Figure 17 A schematic diagram of the bonding process between two substrates provided in this embodiment. In this embodiment, step S30 specifically includes:

[0154] S31: Remove the first protective layer 17 and the second protective layer 25;

[0155] S32: The light-emitting substrate 10 is aligned and disposed on the driving substrate 20: the anode bonding portion 1221 is aligned with the anode driving electrode 2411, and the cathode bonding portion 1222 is aligned with the cathode driving electrode 2412.

[0156] S33: The aligned light-emitting substrate 10 and the driving substrate 20 are bonded to form an electrical connection.

[0157] In step S31, the first protective layer 17 and the second protective layer 25 can be etched to remove the first protective layer 17 and the second protective layer 25.

[0158] Through steps S32 and S33, the driving signals on the driving substrate 20 are transmitted to the anode electrode 1211 and cathode electrode 15 of the light-emitting substrate 10, thereby driving the light-emitting unit L to emit light. The structural arrangement of each electrode is described below.

[0159] Please see Figure 19 , Figure 19 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of a metal patterned layer provided in an embodiment of this application. In this embodiment, the auxiliary cathode is annular and surrounds a plurality of anode electrodes 1211. That is, on the metal patterned layer 12, the outermost annular electrode is the auxiliary cathode, and the anode electrodes 1211 are located in the area surrounded by the annular electrode.

[0160] The auxiliary cathode's orthographic projection on the glass substrate 11 covers multiple cathode bonding portions 1222. Specifically, multiple cathode bonding portions 1222 arranged in a ring are provided on the ring of the auxiliary electrode 1212. The multiple cathode bonding portions 1222 can be arranged at equal intervals, or they can be arranged according to actual needs and do not necessarily have to be arranged at equal intervals. This allows the cathode signal to be conducted to all parts of the auxiliary electrode 1212 through the multiple cathode bonding portions 1222, which is beneficial to the reliability of signal transmission and the signal uniformity of the cathode electrode 15.

[0161] Please see Figure 20 , Figure 20This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of the driving electrode provided in an embodiment of this application. In this embodiment, the cathode driving electrode 2412 is annular and surrounds multiple anode driving electrodes 2411, that is, on the film layer where the driving electrodes 241 are located. The outermost annular electrode is the cathode driving electrode 2412, and the anode driving electrodes 2411 are located in the area surrounded by the cathode driving electrode 2412.

[0162] In this configuration, after the light-emitting substrate 10 and the driving substrate 20 are aligned, a plurality of cathode bonding portions 1222 are located in the region of the cathode driving electrode 2412 in a direction perpendicular to the driving substrate 20. That is, after the light-emitting substrate 10 and the driving substrate 20 are aligned, a plurality of cathode bonding portions 1222 are located directly above the cathode driving electrode 2412 to form an electrical connection after bonding.

[0163] Please see Figure 21 , Figure 21 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of a metal patterned layer provided in another embodiment of this application. In this embodiment, there are multiple auxiliary cathodes, which surround multiple anodes. That is, there are multiple auxiliary electrodes 1212 located on the outermost side, which surround the anodes. The arrangement of multiple auxiliary electrodes 1212 can ensure the uniformity of the cathode signal on the cathode electrode 15, and also facilitates the wiring design of other signal lines in the first metal layer.

[0164] Each auxiliary cathode's orthographic projection onto the glass substrate 11 covers at least one cathode bonding portion 1222. Specifically, each auxiliary electrode 1212 is provided with at least one cathode bonding portion 1222, thereby allowing the cathode signal to be conducted to each auxiliary electrode 1212 through the cathode bonding portion 1222, which is beneficial to the reliability of signal transmission and the signal uniformity of the cathode electrode 15. The number of cathode bonding portions 1222 provided on the auxiliary cathode can be configured according to the shape and size of the auxiliary cathode.

[0165] Please refer to Figure 22 , Figure 22 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of the driving electrode provided in another embodiment of this application. In this embodiment, there are also multiple cathode driving electrodes 2412, which surround multiple anode driving electrodes 2411. That is, multiple cathode driving electrodes 2412 are disposed on the outermost side of the film layer where the driving electrodes 241 are located, and the multiple cathode driving electrodes 2412 surround a region, in which the anode driving electrodes 2411 are located.

[0166] After the light-emitting substrate 10 and the driving substrate 20 are aligned, at least one cathode bonding portion 1222 is disposed above each cathode driving electrode 2412, so that the cathode bonding portion 1222 forms an electrical connection with the cathode bonding portion 1222 after bonding, for signal transmission.

[0167] Specifically, after the light-emitting substrate 10 and the driving substrate 20 are aligned, an anode bonding portion 1221 is disposed above each anode driving electrode 2411 so that the anode electrode 1211 and the anode driving electrode 2411 are electrically connected after bonding, so as to receive the driving signal of the anode driving electrode 2411 to realize image display.

[0168] In this embodiment of the application, a light-emitting substrate 10 is also provided, such as Figure 4 As shown, the specific structure of the light-emitting substrate 10 is similar to... Figure 4 The resulting light-emitting substrates 10 have the same or similar specific structures and can achieve the same technical effects. Specifically, the light-emitting substrate 10 includes:

[0169] Glass substrate 11;

[0170] The metal pattern layer 12 includes an electrode layer 121 and a conductive portion 122 that are interconnected; the electrode layer 121 is disposed on one side of the glass substrate 11, and the conductive portion 122 penetrates the glass substrate 11 to the other side and protrudes partially.

[0171] A protective layer is disposed on the other side of the glass substrate 11 and covers the protruding portion of the conductive part 122;

[0172] The light-emitting device layer (LD) is disposed on the side of the electrode layer 121 away from the glass substrate 11.

[0173] The specific structure and function of each component of the light-emitting substrate 10 described above are the same as or similar to the specific structure and function of each component of the light-emitting substrate 10 involved in the above embodiments, and can achieve the same technical effect. The light-emitting substrate 10 can be made by the above manufacturing method. For details, please refer to the detailed description of the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0174] In this embodiment of the application, a driving substrate 20 is also provided, such as Figure 6 As shown, the specific structure of the driving substrate 20 is similar to... Figure 6 The specific structure of the obtained driving substrate 20 is the same or similar, and the same technical effect can be achieved. For details, please refer to the relevant introduction above, which will not be repeated here.

[0175] The above are merely embodiments of this application and do not limit the scope of patent protection of this application. Any equivalent structural or procedural changes made using the content of this application’s specification and drawings, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are similarly included within the scope of patent protection of this application.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a display panel, characterized in that, include: Fabrication of a light-emitting substrate includes: Provide glass substrates; A metal pattern layer and a first protective layer are respectively formed on opposite sides of a glass substrate; wherein, the metal pattern layer includes an electrode layer and a conductive portion connected to each other, the electrode layer is disposed on one side of the glass substrate, and the conductive portion penetrates the glass substrate to the other side and protrudes partially; the first protective layer covers the protruding portion of the conductive portion. A light-emitting device layer is formed on the side of the metal pattern layer away from the glass substrate; Fabrication of the driver substrate includes: A silicon substrate is provided, and a driving circuit layer, a driving electrode, and an insulating layer are fabricated on the silicon substrate; the driving electrode is electrically coupled to the driving circuit layer and is exposed through the insulating layer; A second protective layer is formed on the side of the insulating layer away from the silicon substrate; the second protective layer covers the exposed portion of the driving electrode; The alignment and bonding of the light-emitting substrate and the driving substrate includes: Remove the first protective layer and the second protective layer; The conductive portion of the light-emitting substrate is aligned and bonded to the driving electrode of the driving substrate.

2. The method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that, The glass substrate has multiple glass through holes; The step of fabricating a metal pattern layer and a first protective layer on opposite sides of the glass substrate includes: Fabrication of the metal pattern layer: A first metal layer is deposited on one side of the glass substrate and patterned to form the electrode layer and the conductive portion; Fabrication of the first protective layer: Photoresist is coated on the other side of the glass substrate to cover the glass via, and the photoresist is cured to form the first protective layer.

3. The method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 2, characterized in that, The step of creating the metal pattern layer precedes the step of creating the first protective layer; The step of fabricating the metal pattern layer further includes, before depositing the first metal layer: The glass substrate is aligned and disposed on the carrier plate; the upper surface of the carrier plate has a plurality of first grooves, and after the glass substrate is aligned and disposed on the carrier plate, the first grooves are aligned and connected with the glass through holes.

4. The method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 2, characterized in that, The step of making the first protective layer precedes the step of making the metal pattern layer; The step of fabricating the first protective layer, after coating the other side of the glass substrate with photoresist, further includes: The photoresist is exposed and developed to form a plurality of second grooves on the side of the photoresist close to the glass substrate. The second grooves are aligned with and connected to the glass vias.

5. The method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 2, characterized in that, The step of forming a second protective layer on the side of the insulating layer away from the silicon substrate includes: Photoresist is coated on the insulating layer, the photoresist covers the exposed portion of the driving electrode, and the photoresist is cured to form the second protective layer; The step of removing the first protective layer and the second protective layer includes: etching the first protective layer and the second protective layer respectively to remove the first protective layer and the second protective layer.

6. The method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 5, characterized in that, The electrode layer includes an anode electrode and an auxiliary cathode, the auxiliary cathode being located at the edge of the metal pattern layer; the conductive portion includes an anode bonding portion connected to the anode electrode and a cathode bonding portion connected to the auxiliary cathode; the driving electrode includes an anode driving electrode and a cathode driving electrode, the cathode driving electrode being located at the edge of the driving electrode; The step of aligning and bonding the conductive portion of the light-emitting substrate with the driving electrode of the driving substrate includes: The anode bonding portion is aligned with the anode driving electrode, and the cathode bonding portion is aligned with the cathode driving electrode; The aligned light-emitting substrate is bonded to the driving substrate to form an electrical connection.

7. The method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 6, characterized in that, The auxiliary cathode is annular and surrounds the plurality of anode electrodes; the cathode driving electrode is annular and surrounds the plurality of anode driving electrodes; or, There are multiple auxiliary cathodes, which surround the multiple anodes; there are multiple cathode driving electrodes, which surround the multiple anode driving electrodes. The auxiliary cathode's orthogonal projection on the glass substrate covers multiple cathode bonding portions; after the light-emitting substrate and the driving substrate are aligned, the multiple cathode bonding portions are located in the region of the cathode driving electrode in a direction perpendicular to the driving substrate.

8. The method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of fabricating a light-emitting device layer on the side of the metal pattern layer away from the substrate includes: A pixel definition layer is formed on one side of the glass substrate to define pixel openings and expose the electrode layer through the pixel openings; Evaporate the light-emitting layer material, depositing the light-emitting layer material onto the electrode layer inside the pixel opening to form a light-emitting layer; A cathode material is vapor-deposited onto the light-emitting layer and the pixel definition layer, and extends to the outermost electrode layer to form a cathode electrode.

9. A light-emitting substrate, characterized in that, include: Glass substrate; A metal patterned layer includes interconnected electrode layers and conductive portions; the electrode layers are disposed on one side of the glass substrate, and the conductive portions penetrate the glass substrate to the other side and partially protrude. A protective layer is disposed on the other side of the glass substrate and covers the protruding portion of the conductive part; A light-emitting device layer is disposed on the side of the electrode layer away from the glass substrate.

10. A display panel, characterized in that, The display panel includes a driving substrate and a light-emitting substrate bonded together; the display panel is prepared by the preparation method as described in any one of claims 1-8.

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